MANILOW ! s n r u t e R d The Legen JUL AUG AUG SEP SEP 16-18 20-22 27-29 17-19 24-26 Manilow show tickets are available at
IN HONOR OF OUR NATION’S
WE ARE CELEBRATING EVERY SUNDAY AND MONDAY IN JULY WITH A GUARANTEED
Beginning July 5th, 2026 at 12:01am, a floorwide Cash Blast Progressive Bonus of
1,000
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will begin and start to increase immediately and continue to grow until one active carded slot player is randomly awarded the Cash Blast Progressive Bonus
The Cash Blast Progressive Bonus will be awarded before it reaches
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HIT S ON AV E R AGE
3X PE R DAY
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After the Cash Blast Progressive Bonus hits, it will immediately reset to $ 1,000 and begin to increase and this process will be repeated continuously every Sunday and Monday in July until it ends on July 27th at 11:59pm Complete rules posted at THE CLUB
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EDITORIAL
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Esther’s Kitchen (Courtesy/ Jose Salinas)
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TI YOGE TO CK U T DA ET R Y! S
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NELLY & LIL JON OCT 24
COVER STORY
18 STAR STATUS The fine dining-focused Michelin Guide is once again evaluating Las Vegas restaurants and the community is ready to be acknowledged. COVER ART Photo by Anthony Mair/Courtesy
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SUMMER UNLOCKED Local stores invite connection and community through tabletop games.
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NEWS Nevada joins the Trump administration’s wider efforts to root out Medicaid fraud.
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SPORTS Jackie Young is once again stepping up her game just when the Aces need a boost.
THE STRIP Broadway finds a home at Venetian with two crowd-pleasing musicals.
NIGHTLIFE Swingers After Dark marries mini golf with nightlife at Mandalay Bay.
FOOD & DRINK Buddy Valastro’s Dolce Notte speakeasy debuts with the decadent luxury of old Vegas.
08 SUPERGUIDE
SPECIAL GUEST
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SUPERGUIDE THURSDAY JULY 16
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BACKSTREET BOYS Thru 7/18, 8 p.m., Sphere, ticketmaster.com.
BRAINRACK 9 p.m., the Wall at Area15, area15.com.
GRYFFIN 10 p.m., XS Nightclub, wynnsocial.com.
GARY OWEN 8:30 p.m., & 7/18, Venetian Theatre, ticketmaster.com. WHAT SO NOT 10 p.m., Substance, eventim.us.
SHE WEEKEND With all the deserved hype around women’s sports in Las Vegas—the championship reign of the Aces, this year’s addition of a Professional Women’s Hockey League team, and more—it only makes sense for the greatest hype man of them all to get involved. Hip-hop legend and girl dad Flavor Flav has championed women’s sports across the board, and now he’s enticing the rest of Las Vegas to celebrate with him for SHE Weekend. The event kicks off July 16 at 7 p.m. with performances by Public Enemy, Sheila E. and more at Toshiba Plaza, followed by a free parade down Las Vegas Boulevard. The party continues the next night at Marquee Nightclub. And Tailgate Beach Club caps off the weekend by honoring athletes poolside. Thru 7/19, times and venues vary, sheweekend.com. –Amber Sampson
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KELLY CLARKSON 8 p.m., & 7/18, the Colosseum, ticketmaster.com.
LA PISTA With Los Metichones Band, Conjunto Secreto, Mysk Miguel Y Sus Kompaz, 9 p.m., the Portal at Area15, eventim.us.
DIRT MONKEY 10 p.m., We All Scream, tixr.com.
PIECING IT TOGETHER PODCAST: THE ODYSSEY 6:45 p.m., Galaxy Theatres Boulevard Mall, piecingpod.com.
SANZU 10 p.m., Discopussy, tixr.com.
JEEZY 8 p.m., & 7/18, PH Live, ticketmaster.com.
COMMON THREADS: THE HISTORY OF WALKING BOX RANCH 4 p.m., Nevada State Museum, lasvegasnvmuseum. org.
BARRY MANILOW 7 p.m., & 7/18 (& 7/17, 8 p.m.), Westgate International Theater, ticketmaster.com.
JADEN THOMPSON 9 p.m., Rouge Room, rougeroomlv.com.
Courtesy/Denise Truscello
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MARY J. BLIGE 8 p.m., & 7/18, Dolby Live, ticketmaster.com.
SUMMER LEAGUE FILM FESTIVAL Thru 6/18, times vary, Strip View Pavilion at Thomas & Mack Center, summerleague events.com.
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NBA SUMMER LEAGUE Thru 7/19, times vary, Thomas & Mack Center and Cox Pavilion, unlvtickets.com.
FRIDAY JULY 17
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AZÚCAR BANDA & LATIN NIGHTS Las Vegas finally has its Latin party and it’s happening every Friday and Saturday on the Strip. Azúcar brings together a live banda performance, Latin DJ, and an open bar with breathtaking rooftop views of the Las Vegas Boulevard at Sugar Factory. From reggaeton to cumbia, bachata to salsa, Azúcar is the most electric Latin night in the city. Whether you’re celebrating a birthday, bachelorette or just an unforgettable weekend, this is the party you’ve been waiting for. Ages 21+. azucarvegas.com
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PARTY
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SATURDAY JULY 18 ED SHEERAN 5:30 p.m., Allegiant Stadium, ticketmaster.com. OLIVIA DEAN 8 p.m., MGM Grand Garden Arena, axs.com. CA7RIEL & PACO AMOROSO 8 p.m., BleauLive Theater, ticketmaster.com. OHGEESY 7 p.m., Orleans Arena, ticketmaster.com. HAPPY TOGETHER TOUR With The Association, The Troggs, Jason Scheff, Gary Puckett, more, 7:30 p.m., Reynolds Hall, thesmithcenter.com. COLE SWINDELL 8 p.m., Sandbar Pool at Red Rock, ticketmaster.com. NIKO MOON 10 p.m., Zouk Nightclub, rwlasvegas.com. PATRICK LAMB 8 p.m., Side Lawn at Sunset Station, ticketmaster.com.
(Courtesy)
THE BATTLE OF THE HUNTRIX LIVE 4 & 6:30 p.m., & 7/19, the Space, thespacelv.com.
Courtesy
MUSIC
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MO AMER 8 p.m., the Chelsea, ticketmaster.com. MARSHMELLO 11 a.m., Encore Beach Club, wynnsocial.com.
TIËSTO 11:30 a.m., LIV Beach, livnightclub.com. CHRIS LAKE 11 a.m., Palm Tree Beach Club, taogroup.com. TYGA 11 a.m., Tao Beach, taogroup.com. SOLARDO 9 p.m., Rouge Room, rougeroomlv.com. ODESZA 10 p.m., XS Nightclub, wynnsocial.com.
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DEORRO 10:30 p.m., Omnia Nightclub, taogroup.com.
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FRENCH MONTANA 10:30 p.m., Hakkasan Nightclub, taogroup.com.
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LEGADO 7 WITH IVAN DAVALOS 10:30 p.m., Zouk Nightclub, zoukgrouplv.com. DAVE AUDÉ 10 p.m., Ghostbar, palms.com. LV BONDAGE BALL APOCALYPTIC MASQUERADE 10 p.m., Fremont Country Club, eventbrite.com.
DO IT ALL
F O R M O R E U P C O M I N G E V E N T S , V I S I T L A S V E G A S W E E K LY.C O M .
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SUPERGUIDE SUNDAY JULY 19
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AMANDA KING AND HER PROHIBITION THREE 7 p.m., the Underground, themobmuseum. org.
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WIZ KHALIFA 11 a.m., Tao Beach Dayclub, taogroup.com.
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ELDERBROOK 11 a.m., Omnia Dayclub, taogroup.com.
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FLUORESCENTS With Not My Weekend, Worseforwear, MSMRS, 8 p.m., Griffin, dice.fm.
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MARC STOUT 11 a.m., Encore Beach Club, wynnsocial.com.
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MATRODA 10:30 p.m., LIV Nightclub, livnightclub.com.
RAYBURGER 11 a.m., Palm Tree Beach Club, taogroup.com.
MONDAYS DARK 8 p.m., the Space, mondaysdark.com. ERIC FORBES 11 a.m., Marquee Dayclub, taogroup.com. DJ VICE 10:30 p.m., Marquee Nightclub, taogroup.com. BRAD GARRETT With Vince Carone, 8 p.m., & 7/22-7/26, Brad Garrett’s Comedy Club, mgmgrand.com.
Courtesy/Jordan Fraker
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MARK SCHIFF Thru 7/26, 8:30 p.m., Laugh Factory, ticketmaster.com. JC CURRAIS With Noah Copfer, thru 7/26, 8 p.m., LA Comedy Club, bestvegascomedy. com.
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LA STREGA AFTER DARK Summerlin Italian favorite La Strega launches a new quarterly late-night event focused on cocktails and community, music and hospitality. “In Italy, some of the most memorable dining experiences happen late into the evening, when food, drinks, and community come together in a relaxed and welcoming environment,” founding chef Gina Marinelli says. “We’re creating a space for those moments to happen while showcasing talented chefs, great food and the spirit of collaboration.” For this first installment, Marinelli teams with Double Zero Pie & Pub’s Erica Bell, with guests enjoying New York-style pizzas along with charcuterie and select beer and wine offerings. 9 p.m., $60 inclusive of food and beverage, La Strega, lastregalv.com. –Brock Radke
MUSIC
PARTY
ARTS
SPORTS
FOOD
DO IT ALL
COMEDY
MISC
SCAN TO BUY TICKETS
P R E SE NTE D B Y
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SUPERGUIDE MUSIC
PARTY
ARTS
TUESDAY JULY 21
SPORTS
FOOD
COMEDY
MISC
WEDNESDAY JULY 22
S U P E R G U
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LAS VEGAS AVIATORS VS. EL PASO CHIHUAHUAS Thru 7/25, 7:05 p.m., Las Vegas Ballpark, ticketmaster.com.
DILLON FRANCIS 10 p.m., Encore Beach Club, wynnsocial.com.
MRS. DOUBTFIRE 7:30 p.m. (& thru 8/2, days & times vary), Venetian Theatre, ticketmaster.com.
JOHN CAPARULO 9 p.m., Jimmy Kimmel’s Comedy Club, ticketmaster.com.
FUTONS With Post Noble, Purple Cab, 9 p.m., Red Dwarf,, reddwarflv.com.
KEITH THOMPSON’S PIANO PARTY 6 p.m., Composers Room, the composersroom. com.
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BOOTYLICIOUS DELUXE 10 p.m., Sand Dollar Lounge, thesanddollarlv. com.
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MIKEY FRANCIS 10:30 p.m., Omnia Nightclub, taogroup.com.
JEREMY CORNWALL & ILAN DVIR-DJERASSI 6 p.m., Downtown Summerlin, summerlin.com. AYCE ORCHESTRA 10 p.m., Sand Dollar Lounge, thesanddollarlv. com. DMTRI 10:30 p.m., Marquee Nightclub, taogroup.com.
DO IT ALL Courtesy
Showtime
Live Entertainment July–September 2026
Cole Swindell
Patrick Lamb
One Night of Queen
Iration
Red Rock July 18
Sunset July 18
Durango July 24
Red Rock August 1
Trace Adkins
Kirk Whalum
Vertical Horizon & Tonic
Brantley Gilbert
Sunset August 6
Santa Fe August 8
Green Valley Ranch August 14
Sunset August 14
Nicholas Cole
Pepper & The Movement
The Band Perry
Paradice with Kaytranada
Sunset August 15
Durango August 20
Green Valley Ranch September 4
Red Rock September 12
Scan this QR Code for ticketing and more information. Tickets can be purchased at any Station Casinos Rewards Center or Player Services, by logging on to StationCasinosLive.com or online at Ticketmaster.com. Bel-Aire Backyard show tickets can be purchased at AXS.com. Additional service fees may apply for purchases made online. Professional digital photography/video is strictly prohibited at all venues. Management reserves all rights.
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Photos by Christopher DeVargas
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BY SHANNON MILLER Jose Hernandez is showing me how to play Pokémon. “People’s decks will show you a lot about their personality,” he says, pulling out a kit of starter decks he uses to help initiate noobs like me. All the cards are in protective sleeves. First, we start with etiquette—shuffling our decks and deciding who goes first by the roll of a die. Then, we each draw seven cards from our decks. (Well, Hernandez’s deck, that he’s letting me use.) And we each draw six “prize cards” that we put to the side, face down. “If you don’t draw a basic card, redraw,” he says. I settle for Roselia and place the card in my active spot. Hernandez places a Ditto down and attaches an energy card. The goal is to knock out your opponent’s Pokémon and
collect six prize cards. It takes an hour, but finally, I start to retain the rules. I’m maneuvering unprompted, without having to ask questions. And I feel like I’m on the inside. Better known as Professor (an official Pokémon certification) Dogwood, Hernandez volunteers to teach people to play the trading card game on a weekly basis at Henderson outpost Natural Twenty. The game store recently moved to a new, larger location on East Sunset Road and Green Valley Parkway—adding additional private game rooms and more square feet in 2024 and a restaurant and bar in 2025— to accommodate its growing customer base. Although the store has been in Las Vegas since 2014, co-owners Katy and Zac Weinstein say it was after the COVID pandemic when they really started to notice people craving
the kind of space they offer—one that is centered around tabletop games, that is accessible and inclusive. “We all deserve to be able to sit down and not feel like we shouldn’t be there. Outside of gaming, that’s what people want. People crave connection,” says Katy. “Being able to provide that—whether it’s a board game, a card game, them just eating food, having a drink, sitting with their headphones on, Beyblades—that’s really what the store has kind of grown into. People want a community hall.” On any day of the week, the game store’s attached restaurant and bar, Natural 21, is packed with people playing the staples like Magic: The Gathering as well as board games and mahjong. Players may order from the expansive fantasy-themed menu—second breakfast or Dragon Dropping chicken nuggets, anyone?
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PLACES TO PLAY Meepleville Board Game Cafe 4704 W. Sahara Ave., 702-444-4540, meepleville.com. Daily, noon-11 p.m. Knight & Day Games 6521 Las Vegas Blvd. S. #C105, 702-6397835, knightand daygames.com. Monday-Saturday, 9 a.m.-midnight; Sunday, 10 a.m.-8 p.m.
Friday night Pokémon at Natural Twenty
NATURAL TWENTY
4136 E. Sunset Road, 702-778-6776, natural20gaming.com. Monday-Friday, noon-midnight; Saturday-Sunday, 10 a.m.-10 p.m.
Natural Twenty’s event calendar is packed with multiple tracks of programming each day, from tabletop games like Dungeons & Dragons and Warhammer to trading card games like Magic: The Gathering and Yu-Gi-Oh. Veterans’ D&D groups, Pride nights for LGBTQ players and more cater to the community. There’s a space at the game table for everyone. There has always been gatekeeping in nerddom—people who want to exclude women, people of color or LGBTQ. Natural Twenty does everything in its power to ensure the culture shifts away from that. The people who work and play there want to invite as many new friends into
the fold as they can. And they want people to feel like they’re helping build this community. “We’ve instructed [our staff] to welcome everybody, regardless of what age, sex, income— anything like that. It doesn’t matter to us. People want to have those places where they can just come in,” says Zac. The co-owners emphasize creating an enjoyable environment first—being the Cheers bar of game stores. And they say they get a lot in return. “If you make that investment in people, they’ll show up for you, especially when they feel that it’s theirs,” says Katy.
Team Trio with Rings of Power onion rings, Mimic potato skins and cheese curds
Many Realms 6209 Dean Martin Drive, 725-290-7814, manyrealms.com. Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-10 p.m.; Saturday, 11 a.m.10 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Stomping Grounds 5300 S. Eastern Ave. #140, 725-287-8011, stompinggroundstcg. com. Friday, 10 a.m.-midnight; Saturday-Thursday 10 a.m.-10 p.m.
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Which Las Vegas restaurants should be recognized in the Michelin Guide?
C O V E R
S T O R Y
Anyone who’s spent any time in Las Vegas knows it’s one of the greatest restaurant cities in the world, but critical acclaim and national exposure hasn’t always backed that claim. That has been changing in recent years as more chef-driven dining concepts have blossomed in the Valley’s diverse neighborhoods, with many of those chefs earning accolades including James Beard Award nominations; Sarah Thompson, executive chef at Casa Playa at Wynn, just won the city’s first Best Chef award in 15 years. The balance of elite restaurants on and off the Las Vegas Strip has never been as exciting as it is right now, as evidenced by the return of the Michelin Guide, created more than 125 years ago by the French tire company and now considered the standard of culinary excellence with its star rating system for fine dining restaurants. Last year the guide announced its inaugural Michelin Guide Southwest, expected to be unveiled August 26 at Fontainebleau, meaning the prestigious guide will likely award stars and Bib Gourmand recognition (to exceptional restaurants with more moderate prices) to some or many Las Vegas venues for the first time in more than 17 years. Will Michelin give Vegas what it deserves? Time will tell. Until then, the Weekly quizzed some of our favorite local chefs, restaurateurs, hospitality pros and dining experts to find out which restaurants they’d like to see in the guide.
Courtesy/Sabin Orr
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B Y L A S V E G A S W E E K LY S TA F F
“Sparrow & Wolf and Esther’s Kitchen are the kind of restaurants chefs actually go to on their nights off, not because they’re trendy, but because they’re genuinely good. Brian Howard and James Trees have spent years building restaurants with a clear identity and a strong sense of purpose. The food is thoughtful, consistent and memorable because it reflects who they are as chefs. Las Vegas has plenty of flashy restaurants, but these two have substance. They have built experiences that feel authentic and rooted in the community. That is exactly the kind of cooking Michelin should recognize.” –Alex Reznik, chef and restaurateur at SMKD BBQ and Hayworth Dan Krohmer is the founder of neighborhood favorites. After the success of the sushi-centric Other Mama, he debuted Durango Social Club, a concept driven by intimate culinary gatherings. He’s the people’s chef in many ways, always eager to engage guests at the bar and keep the conversation flowing to the table. So it’s no surprise that his Michelin Guide wish list is full of glowing remarks for some of the most hospitable chefs in town and their restaurants. When it comes to Amador Cocina Fina, “I have said for years that chef Oscar [Amador] is my favorite chef in
town,” Krohmer says. “He is there every day, doing as much as he can possibly do by himself and making the most innovative food in Las Vegas.” The highly exclusive, six-seat omakase experience at Endo is another highlight Krohmer thinks should be recognized on a grand scale. “Chef [Mitsuo] Endo has been making the best Japanese food in Las Vegas for years, and now to have the opportunity to have an intimate dinner with him cooking directly for you is an amazing opportunity,” he says. “Las Vegas has really grown to embrace small-room experiences that are more focused on the experience.” –Amber Sampson If there’s one thing prolific pastry chef Dominique Ansel values, its attention to detail. Years before he brought sweet relief to the Strip (at Caesars Palace and Paris) with his world-famous Cronuts, Ansel worked in New York City at Daniel Boulud’s Michelin-starred restaurant, Daniel. So when it comes to recognizing the best, Ansel speaks from experience. Restaurant Guy Savoy, which opened at Caesars Palace 20 years ago, is a “true fine dining experience,” Ansel says. “With each dish that’s served, you can sense that there’s a deep respect for French classics and technique. My favorite moment? When the team brings
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Courtesy/Midnight Creative
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over the tower of French butter, perfectly softened and the most beautiful array of breads to start off the meal. You know you’re in for a treat and a meal to remember.” Over at Fontainebleau, Ansel craves chef Evan Funke’s Mother Wolf like nothing else. The food deserves the Michelin stamp of approval for its freshness alone. “We’ll start with the Sfincione— pillowy soft focaccia that we’ll inevitably order seconds or thirds of—the crispy squash blossoms, and when tomatoes are in peak season, the panzanella is excellent,” he says. “Of course, the handmade pastas too—usually carbonara or cacio e pepe for me. Great service, and we leave happily stuffed and ready for our next visit.” –AS “I was very excited to watch Sarah Thompson win a Best [Chef] award
this year, so I’m looking forward to Casa Playa getting a Michelin recommendation. Same goes for Cantina Contramar, the new Las Vegas outpost of Gabriela Cámara’s fantastic Mexico City restaurant. And Javier’s, Las Vegas’ iconic traditional Mexican spot, has been making people happy for generations, so it should definitely be in the mix.” –Rick Bayless, celebrity chef and operator at Tortazo “Partage, for sure. Yuri [Szarzewski] is doing great things. It’s so chef-driven, and what he’s doing is staying true to his roots in French cuisine. It’s reminiscent of some of the places I’ve been to in France where the chef is always the one doing the cooking. He just does a great job and he’s a great chef.” –Tayden Poha-Ellamar, executive chef at Braseria by Edo
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C O V E R
While big-name chefs were battling for Strip real estate, Brian Howard planted his flag in Chinatown in 2017 and built one of the most exciting restaurants in the city. Billing itself as a neighborhood cookery, Sparrow & Wolf is an outsize presence on Spring Mountain Road. A vibrant mural marks the spot, but what’s inside will do the real convincing. Howard grew up in the Midwest, where food meant cookouts and his grandmother’s table. A meal was the thing that pulled people together. That instinct never left him, even through tenures in the kitchens of Thomas Keller and Kerry Simon. At Sparrow & Wolf, it’s the invisible ingredient in everything: a two-time James Beard finalist who is as passionate about what’s on the plate as he is about the warmth a shared meal creates. The menu makes the case, with bold nods to Korean, Japanese and Chinese pantries, filtered through classical training and ingredients whose provenance Howard tracks as carefully as his technique. Oxtail hummus, sinigang steamed clams, wood-fired Lumina lamb with braised white beans and pickled fennel, Mishima Ranch zabuton with pommes purée and panang curry. The tasting menu, with a wine pairing
S T O R Y
curated by wine director Nick Tatum, is a full evening’s argument for why Chinatown is where the most interesting cooking in Las Vegas happens. If you haven’t been to Sparrow & Wolf, pull up a chair. It might just be the most essential table in town. – Genevie Durano, Las Vegas writer Jamie Tran, Top Chef finalist and multiple James Beard Award semifinalist, honed her craft at Strip standouts like Venetian’s former DB Brasserie before moving south to helm her own Vietnamese-American restaurant, The Black Sheep, in 2017. Most of her Michelin Guide picks followed her off-Strip. “I love supporting local,” Tran says, pointing first to the Arts District’s Bar Boheme—a French spot “quietly opened” last year by James Trees, close to his already-beloved Esther’s Kitchen. Nearby, owner Kim Owens’ Main St. Provisions earns Tran’s praise for its creativity. She says both are more than worthy of inclusion. Back in the resort corridor, she calls fellow James Beard semifinalist Nicole Brisson’s Brezza “a special place,” citing the Resorts World Italian concept as a go-to destination when she wants “a Strip experience that feels distinct.” –Tyler Schneider
Courtesy/Jose Salinas & SeanJorgensen.
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“Lotus of Siam has been around for years and still delivers every time. You really see the consistency and depth in the food. Peter Luger Steak House is one of those classic steakhouses that doesn’t try to do too much—it’s all about quality beef, proper aging and simple execution done really well. It’s straightforward, but when it’s done right like that, it really sticks with you. To me, these places each show a different side of Las Vegas dining, and they really reflect how strong the food scene in the city has become.” –Esther Choi, chef and owner at Mok Bar
Courtesy/Anthony Mair
A longtime staple in the local hospitality industry and a mogul when it comes to bringing culinary concepts
to life, restaurateur Elizabeth Blau says the city’s Michelin-worthy restaurants share more than technical excellence. They deliver consistency, creativity and hospitality that keep diners coming back. “I would love to see Wing Lei recognized again,” Blau says of the Chinese restaurant at Wynn. “They’ve quietly set the standard for fine dining in Las Vegas for years, and the consistency, service and attention to detail are exceptional. It’s a restaurant that has continued to evolve while staying true to what it does best.” She also points to Sparrow & Wolf as a restaurant that reflects the city’s growing culinary identity. “Chef Brian Howard has created something
that feels uniquely Las Vegas, with creative, thoughtful cooking that never loses sight of flavor. Every meal feels personal, and the energy in the dining room is hard to replicate.” And for diners seeking a grandiose tasting menu, Blau singles out Partage. “It’s one of the city’s most ambitious tasting menu experiences, yet it remains approachable and genuinely welcoming. The level of technique, creativity and hospitality is exactly what makes dining memorable.” –Gabriela Rodriguez Mitsuo Endo is a pioneer in the Vegas dining scene, a six-time Beard Award-nominated chef and restaurateur who anchored a Japanese renaissance with multiple local
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venues, showcasing a small sliver of the breadth of his home country’s cuisine. At his speakeasy-like Endo, he runs what is arguably the Valley’s most technically precise restaurant, nightly culinary theater for a half-dozen diners delivered by the chef himself. The ever-changing omakase menu is heavily dependent upon hyper-seasonal ingredients rooted in traditional presentations. On any given night you may be treated to decadent cold caviar and uni soba noodles or grilled, delicate ayu sweetfish, but you will certainly experience both Endo’s house-made 30-minute fresh kokumi tofu and dashi prepared from three-year fermented bonito and Dewasansan water. Needless to say, this is not your corner sushi joint. In opening Endo, his lifetime dream, Endo handpicked everything from the sake glasses and cutlery to serving ware and chopstick holders. Similarly, in designing the space he evaluated sightlines to keep utensils and appliances unseen, leaving nothing to chance. This attention to detail delivered by Endo—the restaurant and the chef—is the essential element that should be rewarded by Michelin’s judges. –Jim Begley, Las Vegas writer Known for her passion for building up the local food community and as a founding member of the Women’s Hospitality Initiative, Jolene Mannina thinks the restaurants worthy of Michelin recognition pair ambitious cooking with memorable hospitality. Sparrow & Wolf sits at the top of Mannina’s list. “One of my favorite dishes to share with guests is the white miso-aged porterhouse served with American banchan and garlic naan.” When she visits Amador Cocina Fina, she never hesitates. “I always choose the tasting menu,” Mannina says. “ With Oscar [Amador] on the
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line nightly, each bite is meticulously crafted, showcasing his Barcelona roots and influences from Mexico and beyond.” At Tamba, she says the experience begins well before the first bite. “You feel the hospitality as soon as you step inside, with Olivier [Morowati] leading the room and setting an elevated standard of service down to the locally made linen napkins at each setting. The food delivers vibrant Indian flavors while weaving in global techniques. Some favorites include the masala butter oysters, charred octopus prepared in a Josper charcoal oven and exotic breads,” she says. –GR Award-winning mixologist Juyoung Kang has led beverage programs on and off the Strip for years,
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from Fontainebleau to Downtown’s Doberman Drawing Room. She’s also been behind the bar at some of the best restaurants in the city, and with that comes an insider’s read on which ones are operating at a Michelin level. She affirms the obvious: Brian Howard’s Sparrow & Wolf is changing the game. “He’s always elevating his food for the local scene with Strip-level precision,” Kang says. “He’s consistent and always collaborating with the best to create unique experiences.” Fontainebleau’s Ito is also pulling off a Michelin-worthy experience with its rotation of seasonal omakase-style tastings. “One of the best tasting menus and services I have ever experienced,” Kang says. “Such precision and
great teamwork.” –AS Kimberly McIntosh, a two-time Beard Award-nominee and co-owner of Milkfish Bakeshop, was one of three local chefs to travel recently to New York City for a collaborative dinner celebrating Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority and the Beard Foundation were involved with the event, emblematic of the powerful push behind off-Strip dining that’s happening now. “It feels like a really exciting time for the food scene in general now,” she says, adding that she’s “really optimistic” the Michelin Guide Southwest will recognize a balance of big casino restaurants on the Strip with compelling neighbor-
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hood establishments. McIntosh would like to see local standouts like Partage, Sparrow & Wolf, Anima and Esther’s Kitchen get some recognition, as well as “smaller spots that have been around and made a name for themselves,” including The Black Sheep and Calabash African Kitchen. “Calabash, for example, pops up to me as a possible Bib Gourmand mention, a place that really stands out. It’s a true concept and so true to its culture,” she says. “To be able to serve your food without any editing, just ‘this is how it is,’ that can be really hard to do.” As for Strip restaurants, McIntosh says: “Of course at Joël Robuchon and Guy Savoy, you almost expect it. Cote Korean Steakhouse is up there. And I’m a huge fan of Sarah
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innovative food. They’re definitely somebody that the rest of the chefs in the city watch and admire. The menu is constantly changing, so I don’t necessarily have a particular dish that I would single out, because I think the whole menu and service is extraordinary. They have a real understanding of how food and service work together, and I really think that they’re at that level.” –John Arena, founder of Metro Pizza
Thompson and I think Casa Playa deserves one.” –Brock Radke Las Vegas food writer Lorraine Blanco Moss knows where to nosh. The former TV anchor and chef at the Strip’s Bazaar Meat keeps the Valley fed with The Vegas Dish, a dining column for Desert Companion. But her recommendations don’t end there. “Any Las Vegas best restaurant list has to have Bazaar Meat on it. It would be an absolute travesty for Michelin to miss the opportunity to recognize this complete dining experience in its guide,” Moss says. “Every dish is prepared with precision and care. They’re in regular contact with their farmers; the cooks even know their names and origin stories. Each steak is prepped and seasoned and sliced with so much reverence.”
Amador Cocina Fina is another “Michelin slam dunk,” Moss says. The passion exists in each bite. “Chef Oscar Amador takes your mouth on a unique journey through the streets of his Barcelona heritage,” she says. “And the playful cooking and plating techniques demonstrate the triumphs of his expanding skillset in Las Vegas kitchens.” Moss also praises Partage, where chef Yuri Szarzewski “excels at modern French cuisine and technique while simultaneously honoring the restaurant’s location with surprising and delightful Asian ingredients and collaborations. His dishes are creative and beautiful, but most importantly, the flavors deliver.” –AS “Sparrow & Wolf. It has amazing, well-trained staff and
“My school in Barcelona where I studied has a restaurant that has one Michelin star, and it’s run by students, so I’m very familiar with Michelin and I’ve worked in a few restaurants for some time with that recognition. For a chef like me from Europe, it’s on my checklist for my life to get a star, so I’m very happy this region came back and I think it’s going to be great for the city. Off-Strip, I think Partage will get one, great French cuisine, and they deserve it. The edomai style restaurants, like Kaiseki Yuzu or Kabuto, I think a couple of them should get it. On the Strip, probably Ito at Fontainebleau, and I think Robuchon will get a couple stars for sure. There are so many great restaurants on and off the Strip now, I’m very curious how the guide is going to rate the city.” –Oscar Amador, chef and owner at Amador Cocina Fina and Anima by Edo The legendary chef Wolfgang Puck has spent decades defining the Strip scene, one transformative concept at a time. His stellar portfolio of restaurants reflects a broader empire that’s earned widespread acclaim, including Michelin stars for Spago and Cut. Now with his Italian-themed Caramá, Puck believes he’s finally created a Vegas concept that belongs in the Michelin Guide. It’s a love letter to Italian classics—handmade pastas,
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wood-fired cooking, coastal cuisine— and to Puck’s first mentor. “Caramá is inspired by my mother, Maria, who taught me how to cook,” Puck says. “The entire restaurant is built around honoring her legacy rather than creating another luxury Italian restaurant.” Puck also regards Sartiano’s Italian Steakhouse as a contender. The Manhattan hot spot landed at Wynn in March, with the resort’s lush golf course serving as a flashy backdrop for date nights and evenings with friends. South of the Strip, Puck raves about Tamba at Town Square, a James Beard Award finalist this year for Best New Restaurant. “I like this place for the adventurous diner,” Puck says. “You get a new wave of Indian food. It’s innovative and it is one of my favorite places in America.” –AS “For me, Las Vegas is like no other city. Long gone are the preconceptions of just a steak and casino town. Within five miles, you can find some of the best restaurants and greatest chefs in the world, all hustling side by side along the infamous Strip. [There’s] world-class French tasting menus, finessed Japanese, modern Mexican and honestly, some of the most amazing independent restaurants in the U.S. today. Picking a favorite would be like picking my favorite child. But I can confidently say Michelin coming back to town (and across the wider Southwest region), is a fantastic credit to all the business owners, restaurateurs, chefs and all their teams, delivering plate after plate of perfection, every single day!” –Gordon Ramsay, celebrity chef with multiple Las Vegas Strip restaurants
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IN THE NEWS
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Max Holloway looks to the referee as Conor McGregor goes down during UFC 329 at T-Mobile Arena on July 11. McGregor’s comeback fight lasted just 69 seconds after a knee injury took him out of action and gave the win to Holloway. (Steve Marcus/Staff)
PUBLIC HEALTH
Health advocates push to nearly double Nevada tobacco tax The Nevada Tobacco Control & Smoke-free Coalition is urging state lawmakers to raise the cigarette tax, arguing that an increase would drive down smoking rates after a decade without one. Jennifer Atlas, government relations director for the American Cancer Society Action Network and a member of the coalition, on Wednesday recommended a $1.75-per-pack increase in cigarette taxes to Nevada’s Joint Interim Committee on Revenue. She also suggested raising the tax on other tobacco products from 30% to 47%. The coalition also wants a portion of that revenue directed toward sustainable funding for tobacco control, relief and cessation programs—an
area it says Nevada has neglected. “Today, we’re generating significant tobacco revenue but investing very little into helping people quit or preventing youth from starting,” Atlas said. Nevada’s current $1.80 tax on a pack of cigarettes generated $147 million in 2025, according to the federal reserve. The rate that hasn’t budged since 2015. Nearly 22% of Nevada adults use tobacco, and Nevadans spend $1.25 billion each year on smoking-related healthcare costs, the coalition said. The coalition estimates the proposed cigarette tax hike would generate an additional $51 million in annual revenue, while increases to other tobacco products would
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bring in $14.6 million more. The state ranks 46th nationally in funding for tobacco prevention and cessation. Nevada spends roughly $966,000 a year on state-funded tobacco prevention and control programs, meeting just 3.2% of the $30 million the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends for such efforts. The coalition projects its proposed reforms would cut youth smoking by 12% and reduce the number of adult smokers by more than 11,000. State Sen. Dina Neal, D-North Las Vegas, said the committee could revisit the tobacco tax as early as August. –Ava Chatlosh
Harry Reid airport to get $3.5M for upgrades
Nevada’s airports will be getting a nearly $30 million federal funding boost for needed pavement and utility upgrades and improvements. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen, both Democrats, announced in a news release new funding secured from the Federal Aviation Administration, which includes about $3.5 million for Las Vegas’ Harry Reid International Airport to rehabilitate pavement and plan for future improvements, the release stated. “Nevada’s airports are the gateway to our state—for visitors, for emergency services, and for Nevadans traveling throughout the Silver State and across America,” Cortez Masto stated. Rosen added that the funds “will help keep the infrastructure of our airports up to date, allowing them to keep up with Nevada’s demands as a top travel destination.” –Las Vegas Sun Staff
ENTERTAINMENT
HBO’S INSECURE CELEBRATES 10TH ANNIVERSARY AT PALAZZO THEATRE HBO’s Insecure, Issa Rae’s hit coming-of-age adult comedy, returns to the limelight for a 10-year anniversary celebration at the Palazzo Theatre on September 25. Joined by beloved co-stars Yvonne Orji (Molly) Jay Ellis (Lawrence) and Natasha Rothwell (Kelli), Rae and showrunner Prentice Penny will reflect on the Emmy-nominated television series that brought Black stories so vividly to life. The 13-city tour comes fresh off the launch of Rae and Penny’s Blocc Party: An Insecure Podcast, which will move the conversation from the couch to the stage. Tickets go on sale to the general public July 16 at ticketmaster.com. –Amber Sampson
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NEVADA’S CRACKDOWN ON FRAUD IN HEALTH CARE BY TYLER SCHNEIDER
How a surge of fraudulent hospice providers led the state to pump the brakes on licenses
Hospice programs provide healthcare for terminally ill individuals with a life expectancy of six months or less. In Nevada, most hospice patients utilize federal Medicare or state-administered Medicaid benefits to access these services. Now, state leaders say that system is rife with fraudulent actors gaming the system for financial gain—billing those federal programs for patients who don’t qualify for hospice or shutting down a hospice under investigation only to reopen under a new name to continue collecting payments. To root it out, the Nevada Health Authority on June 11 enacted a temporary pause of new state licenses for hospice and home-health providers, plus a moratorium on new Nevada Medicaid enrollments, with some exceptions. Over the next six months, with the potential for an extension, state investigators will seek to “validate and confirm the legitimacy of current providers” and “identify any instances of potential Medicaid billing and payment fraud,” according to the Nevada Health Authority. One month earlier, the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) implemented a similar six-month, industry-wide pause on new Medicare enrollments. The moves are part of President Donald Trump’s wider efforts to root out what he has called fraud in the health care sector. Gov. Joe Lombardo’s communications director Drew Galang tells the Weekly that the state’s Medicaid inspector general had flagged “suspicious billing patterns” and a rapid increase in new hospice licenses before acting—in tandem with federal regulators flagging Nevada for “elevated fraud risk.” He declined to comment on the status of the investigation. Founded in 1978, Nathan Adelson Hospice serves around 3,500 patients each year from their homes or its two inpatient units. Now led by President and CEO Karen Rubel, the nonprofit has been urging state authorities to reform the system for years.
What factors led to the state moratorium? It started in 2022, when California put a moratorium on hospice business licenses. They were uncovering some shady dealings and wanted to slow down the growth so they could investigate. Some people took advantage of not being able to open another hospice there and came to Nevada, Arizona or Texas. We went from probably 30 competitors to almost 225 in the last few years, and we can make that connection for some of them back to California. As the oldest hospice in town, we felt like it was our obligation to bring attention to the matter. What are you hearing from patients? Patients from other hospice companies started calling us and saying, “We want to transfer to your hospice because we believe we’re receiving poor care. We’ve never seen a nurse, we aren’t getting our medications timely and when we call for a crisis, they direct us to the emergency rooms.” It’s very rare for a patient to transfer hospices, so that really got our attention. We also had patients
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Ask an Attorney: Rock Rocheleau, Esq.
Question: Can my spouse legally kick me out of our home during a divorce?
who had been signed on to other hospices even though they had no ability to make healthcare decisions for themselves, and we were contacted after their healthcare power of attorney realized what happened.
they have the resources to do that in six months, great. But if it goes beyond six months, that’s an indication that there probably really is a problem, and that it might be bigger than anybody thought.
Nathan Adelson Hospice officials penned a 2024 paper explicitly calling for a twoyear moratorium to weed out illegitimate providers—one year after Nevada was also flagged by federal regulators for its fraud risk. Why now? It’s really hard to prove that something fraudulent is happening. It’s all anecdotal, basically. So, I think the state and the Medicare office were trying to identify if there really is a problem. Is this just a growth issue, or is something else going on here? I think that’s part of what took so long.
What else did you do to push for change at the federal level? Through our membership in a national nonprofit hospice membership group, we were able to attract the attention of Dr. [Mehmet] Oz, the leader of CMS. He came here last fall for a community roundtable, where we invited some physicians and community members to talk about what they were seeing. All of our experiences were very similar— patients were receiving poor care or didn’t even know they were in hospice. He also went to California and talked about the same things with hospice operators there, which led CMS to put a six-month moratorium on new Medicare numbers.
What are your thoughts on that six-month pause? Should it be extended? It’s a really good start. It depends on how quickly they move and act to identify some of these nefarious players. If
The moratorium also has an exception for rural pro-
viders. What do you know about that and why that might be in place? I think that it was very wise of the state to exclude rural areas, where access to health care is already limited. We have an office in Nye County, which is considered rural, and we don’t have the type of competition from hospices out there that we do in Clark County. So, I think it was a good move. You don’t want to cut people off from hospice if they have an opportunity to access it. What would real, lasting oversight look like to you? I would like to see all hospices having mandated reporting to the state and to CMS. Without exception, I think everybody should have to show us their quality scores and how they’re doing when it comes to managing their patients’ care. I don’t know how you manage that and how they can get enough people to review the data all the time, but I think that there needs to be some more resources around making sure that people are getting quality hospice care.
Answer: In most cases, no. Nevada is a community property state, so both spouses generally have rights to the marital home, even if only one name is on the deed or lease. A spouse cannot simply change the locks or force the other to leave without a court order. If one spouse wants exclusive use of the home during a divorce, a judge may consider factors such as ownership, child custody, housing options and any history of abuse. Domestic violence cases are different. Courts can issue emergency protective orders that immediately remove an abusive spouse from the home. Whether you own or rent, these disputes are resolved by the courts, not by one spouse acting alone. Scan here to learn more:
Created and presented by Right Lawyers Divorce and Custody Attorneys
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Jackie Young soaring again, growing her game next to A’ja Wilson as Aces approach All-Star break BY CASE KEEFER Jackie Young’s best game of the season came in the biggest game of the season so far, but it still ended in heartbreak for the Las Vegas Aces. The eighth-year shooting guard scored 25 points in the second half of the Commissioner’s Cup Championship on June 30 at the New York Liberty and led the Aces to take a fourth-quarter lead despite a 13-point halftime deficit. But the Liberty roared back for a 93-85 victory clinched when Young, in her words, “smoked” a layup with 30 seconds remaining. She wore her devastation by staring down with slumped shoulders, but longtime teammate A’ja Wilson, who missed the game with an ankle injury, was there to console her when time expired. “We’ve played together throughout my entire career and have had a lot of big moments together, highs and lows, and she’s always been by my side,” Young said in the postgame news conference. “She’s stuck with me.” Wilson, and the Aces, couldn’t be happier about the partnership. Young is Wilson’s perfect sidekick, a truth that should be evident with the Aces having won three of the last four WNBA titles, but sometimes feels obscured. Wilson demands so much of the attention on her own, considering she’s in the midst of statistically the best five-year run in WNBA history and an odds-on favorite to win her fourth Most Valuable Player award in the span. And the other member of the Aces’ big three, point guard Chelsea Gray, is making history on a near nightly basis. Gray tied a WNBA record with nine
three-pointers in an earlier Commissioner’s Cup game and also became the fifth player in league history to reach 2,000 career assists while becoming the Aces’ all-time franchise leader in the category around the same time. The extroverted personalities of Wilson and Gray also seem to outshine Young’s more stoic nature, but she’s been as loud as ever on the court. Young recently made her fifth straight AllStar Game, scheduled for July 25 in Chicago, after posting career highs in assists (6.8 per game) and rebounds (4.5) over the first half of the season. She’s also averaging 16.5 points per game, her second-highest ever, and shooting 37.4% from three-point range, her best mark since a career year in 2023. “She can score in the most intuitive ways,” Gray said of Young. “(She’s) somebody that can just be a load every time she touches the basketball, even her off-ball cutting.” Aces coach Becky Hammon said Young claiming a larger chunk of the Aces’ offense this year, especially from a playmaking perspective, is all by design. Hammon challenged Young at the beginning of the season to be more aggressive and comfortable with the ball in her hands.
Young gladly accepted the slight uptick in responsibility. It’s the type of request that keeps her moving forward as Young, like Wilson, is never fully satisfied and regularly talks about trying to grow her game. “I always put in the work,” Young said. Young recorded a season-high 31 total points in the Cup loss to the Liberty with the performance yet another glimpse of the bulk scoring she’s capable of without Wilson in the lineup. There’s little doubt she could be the top option for a different WNBA squad. The temptation to lead a team outside of Wilson’s considerable shadow has proven too much to ignore for some Aces over the years, most notably Kelsey Plum, who forced a trade to the Los Angeles Sparks two offseasons ago. But Young has never given any indication she would ever want to be anywhere else. She might never be the face of the franchise with the Aces, but she’s more than happy to chase history as a standout No. 2. “She’s a perfectionist, demands a lot out of herself,” Hammon said after the Cup loss to the Liberty. “I need her to give herself a little more grace in some scenarios. The ball will be back in her hands late in games.”
Las Vegas Aces guard Jackie Young (0) attacks the basket against the Indiana Fever.
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Broadway returns to the Strip with Mrs. Doubtfire at the Venetian BY GEOFF CARTER In another age, major Broadway shows roamed the Strip like woolly mammoths with lavalier microphones. Starlight Express played at the former Las Vegas Hilton in the mid-1990s. Mandalay Bay opened in 1999 with a yearlong residency of Chicago. During the aughts, the Wynn hosted extended runs of Avenue Q and Spamalot. And Jersey Boys keeps popping up, most recently at the Orleans. Strip musicals largely disappeared when the Smith Center launched its Broadway Las Vegas Series in 2012 … but this month, the Venetian brings them back, wrapped in a matronly cardigan. Mrs. Doubtfire, a 2020 musical adaptation of the 1993 Chris Columbus film, makes its Vegas debut at the Venetian Theatre on July 22 for an 11-performance run, continuing through August 2. The musical, with music and lyrics by brothers Wayne Kirkpatrick and Karey Kirkpatrick and a book by Karey Kirkpatrick and John O’Farrell, follows the same beats as the film—divorced, out-of-work actor poses as a Scottish nanny to be close to his children—but updates the three decades-old story with modern references, and adds catchy songs that draw on the energy of the brilliant actor who originated the lead role, the late Robin Williams. “The revival of Broadway programming [aligns] with the Venetian’s long-term strategy of offering one of the most diverse entertainment portfolios in the market, which we saw with Six: The Musical,” says Venetian’s VP and GM of entertainment Edward “Tex” Dike. He’s alluding to the fact that the Venetian Theatre has already gone Broadway: In addition to that 2023 Six mini-residency, an adapted version of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera haunted this stage from 2006 to 2012. All the lighting, sound and mechanical elements built into the theater for Phantom—as well as the numerous state-of-the-art upgrades made since then to accommodate performing artists, like the B-52s— make the theater not only suitable for Broadway
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productions, but somewhat obliged to present them. And this November, a legitimate blockbuster hit follows Mrs. Doubtfire to the Venetian: Nine-time Tony Award-winner The Book of Mormon, a production that last visited the Smith Center more than a decade ago. Its return hints at an intriguing possibility: Could the Venetian bring back encores of shows that can’t find space in the Smith’s packed calendar? Hamilton, Wicked, Spamalot? Maybe Phantom, again? Whatever the Venetian does after these two productions, it’s good to have an expanded musical theater district, if only on an exploratory basis. The age of the Broadway mammoths has returned. “More than anything, we’re looking forward to seeing audiences discover these shows, whether they’re longtime Broadway fans or experiencing them for the first time,” Dike says. “We think both productions will be standout additions to our entertainment lineup that our guests won’t want to miss.”
MRS. DOUBTFIRE July 22-August 2, days & times vary, $57-$165. Venetian Theatre, ticketmaster.com.
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anthems and crowd-pleasing singalongs. The music strikes the perfect Millennials, consider this your balance between reminiscence and permission slip to retire the nightparty vibes, elevating the room from club routine. Gone are the nights recreational outing to full-fledged of sacrificing comfort for a coveted evening destination. spot behind the velvet rope or shellThis grownup weekly affair reing out a fortune for bottle service. imagines what a Vegas night out can At Swingers Crazy Golf Club, the look like. Plush booths positioned childlike thrill of miniature golf colnear the DJ offer the option of lides with the indulgent spectacle of bottle service with all the sparkling local nightlife, creating an escape presentations and celebratory pagwhere competition, cocktails and eantry one expects from a night on nostalgia coexist under one roof. the Strip. Since debuting at Once you’ve polished off Mandalay Bay in 2024, the a slice from Emmy Squared SWINGERS 40,000-square-foot venue Pizza or sipped your way AFTER DARK has offered four eccenthrough one of the clubhouse Mandalay Bay, tric multilevel mini-golf signature cocktails, make 725-201-1422, swingers.club. courses, a carnival-inspired your way upstairs to the Fridays, arcade, lively bars and arcade. From skee-ball and 9 p.m.-2 a.m. casual dining concepts that roll-a-ball derby to whackencourage guests to settle a-mole and other nostalgic in rather than rush through the favorites, there’s no shortage of evening. And now, its new Swingers ways to keep the competition alive, After Dark offers an adults-only exmaking the most of the 30-minute perience after 9 p.m. every Friday. playing session. From the moment guests step As more people seek nightlife inside, the atmosphere feels fun beyond the club, Swingers After intentionally theatrical. Dancing Dark offers a refreshingly unconvenneon glows against richly textured tional alternative. Equal parts playinteriors. Vintage carnival flourful and undeniably chic, it’s a place ishes mingle with contemporary where your biggest challenge of the design. And nearly every cornight just might be sinking the ner feels engineered to make winning putt. you pause and snap a quick photo. While the game portion may initially evoke childhood memories, that innocence quickly gives way to friendly rivalry as players celebrate hole-in-ones and some good-natured trash talk. Over at Discopussy (disCourse-appointed caddies orcopussydtlv.com), Dutch chestrate the flow with remarkable DJs Sickeau and RAMØN efficiency, keeping groups moving rattle the floorboards with without sacrificing the relaxed pace. their hard-hitting techno on And the experience feels thoughtJuly 16. Australian hitmaker fully curated from beginning to What So Not resurrects his end, right down to the appropriately trap roots with a rare set at analog ritual of keeping score with Substance (substancelv.com) pencil and paper. on July 17. Dubstep maestro After the final putt drops, so Brainrack ignites the dancedoes the beat. Commanding the floor at The Wall (area15. soundtrack is Las Vegas mainstay com) on July 17. And Rouge DJ Franzen, a current Hakkasan Noir (rougeroomlv.com) Nightclub resident, joined by a welcomes British house duo rotating cast of guest DJs spinning Solardo on July 18. a blend of R&B favorites, throwback
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Craving more club energy? Pencil these shows into your calendar.
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Swingers After Dark at Mandalay Bay transforms childhood nostalgia into an adults-only night of cocktails, competition and music
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Channeling the angst-ridden riffs of ‘90s torchbearers like Deftones, Smashing Pumpkins and Queens of the Stone Age, Newslang carves out a sound that feels both fresh and familiar. Frontman Phillip Seaton created the Vegas-based band with drummer Justin Truitt in 2023, the two releasing More or Less a year later. Since then, the lineup has filled out with bassist Matthew Graham and guitarist Drew Morris, but Newslang’s gritty, guitar-driven rock DNA has stayed the same.
Four reasons to listen to fast-rising alternative rock band Newslang BY AMBER SAMPSON
Seaton, the band’s primary lyricist, grew up on Whitney Houston and Celine Dion and pulls inspiration from every genre imaginable. A complex Deftones chord progression can grab him just as easily as a granular pop melody. He says Third Eye Blind’s 1997 debut was a heavy influence while recording More or Less. Even Slipknot has caught his ear. “If you just take it on the surface, [it] sounds ugly and borderline evil,” Seaton says. “But then you’re like, wait, that kick drum, that snare, those toms—why is that only coming in every third bar? You start listening to this stuff and being like, oh my gosh.”
More or Less reflects the beginning of a DIY journey Seaton has been on since he left his dreams of being solely a songwriter behind. “What I love doing is music,” he says. “And so it was always, if I can, I’m going to invest in making sure that I don’t have to rely on anybody else to record things that I want to record.” The frontman dove headfirst into the production process, learning everything as he went. The music sharpened under Seaton’s meticulous approach to getting every recording just right. And though the band now works with a professional engineer, the result still lands somewhere between polished and primal. Seaton, who as a teenager opened for KISS with the Vegas-bred band Think, functions as a frontman with a true, sonic presence. He’s a husky vocal powerhouse on tracks like “Secrets of Water,” and thunderous riffs on “Breathe” only seem to amplify that.
Newslang’s already played local venues like the Griffin, Backstage Bar & Billiards and Swan Dive. But as the band gains momentum, Seaton says the goal is to move past the local mindset and open for more touring acts with built-in audiences, so this might be the best time to experience this growing band live. Newslang performs next at Dustland Bar on July 25. Before you go, stream its latest single, “Weighted Shoulders,” which releases on July 17 at newslangmusic.com.
SHOWTIME
Photo by Wade Vandervort
After a successful debut year, We the Beat’s Paradice Festival returns for a second installment September 12 at its new home, the Sandbar at Red Rock Resort. The groove-focused fest features a headlining poolside performance by Grammy Award-winning producer Kaytranada, plus electro-soul duo Drama, London disco outfit Collect 200 and Vegas-based DJs Dmtri and Hooper. Tickets begin at $99 and are now on sale at paradicefest.com.
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Celebrity baker Buddy Valastro debuts new speakeasy Dolce Notte at his Venetian restaurant
Since he first arrived on the Strip more than 10 years ago with Carlo’s Bakery and Buddy V’s Ristorante, Cake Boss TV star Buddy Valastro has been anything but subtle. His Las Vegas expansion has been well documented by TLC’s cameras and celebrated by fans who routinely rush him for autographs at the bakery every time he’s in town. So the idea of Valastro opening a hidden speakeasy inside one of his most famous Strip restaurants might seem slightly offbrand, but all the more intriguing. Dolce Notte, tucked inside Buddy V’s at the Grand Canal Shoppes at Venetian, is a treat to find. The speakeasy sits behind a nondescript wall, where the Valastro family portrait hangs. A host guides you to the secret entrance, the door hidden in plain sight. “Whether you want to throw a party in here, whether you just want to sneak in for a cocktail, or you just want to chill out and get away … you could come in here and just disappear and not know where you are,” Valastro says. Inside these walls, sounds of a bustling dinner service melt away. Valastro’s wife, Lisa, designed the moodily lit room with coziness and nightcaps in mind, anchored by a bar serving handcrafted cocktails and tapas-style bites. To Valastro, Dolce Notte conjures the
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cool atmosphere of Frank Sinatra’s days, back when live music and late nights fueled our appetites in more ways than one. Menu highlights include the Osestra Caviar Bombs ($22), decadent, salmon-topped parmesan puffs stuffed with cream cheese (fair warning: once you start with these, you might never stop); the mini paninos ($20), featuring tender cuts of prime ribeye and a dusting of cheese; and the fresh lobster fritto misto ($24), crisp and enhanced by a lemon basil aioli. Dolce Notte’s cocktails don’t disappoint. The Il Cervo combines Dalmore 12-year whisky with blood orange ginger beer, while the Bello layers pineapple Amaro with notes of burnt cinnamon, mint and vanilla. And Dolce Notte isn’t Valastro’s only recent unveiling. Carlo’s Bakery, his flagship, has also reopened after a full renovation, with new savory sandwiches on house-made focaccia and fresh breakfast offerings. As much as things change, Valastro says the core values of his concepts will always stay the same. “The culinary rock stars in my life were my mom, my grandma, my wife, my mother-in-law, my father and my aunts,” he says. “I want you to come and eat the food here and feel like it was prepared by Grandma. That’s something that I think we’ll always try to do.” Food photos by Wade Vandervort /Portrait courtesy
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DOLCE NOTTE Buddy V’s Ristorante at Grand Canal Shoppes, 702-607-2355, venetianlasvegas.com. Thursday-Sunday, 8 p.m.-1 a.m.
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MGM Resorts recently announced the lineup for its inaugural Drink Las Vegas weekend September 24-27, and the food and beverage festival (and hospitality industry showcase) is so stacked, event tickets are going fast and more programming has been added. For example, the opening night tasting at the Yucca Pool at Aria is hosted by chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten with special guest Shaquille O’Neal. Timeless Taste, hosted by icons Michael Mina, Masaharu Morimoto and Wolfgang Puck, is billed as “a walkaround of history with Las Vegas classics, modern mixology, and the legends who built it all.” And those are just some of the signature tasting events; other dining experiences we’re into include the Elements of Agave lunch with Laura and Sayat Ozyilmaz and Daniela Soto-Innes, and the Island Alchemy Caribbean dinner at Primrose with Paul Carmichael, Tristen Epps-Long and Pepper Stashek. Here’s the takeaway: Go to drinklasvegas.com now and secure your spot to what will surely be the most talked about new culinary event of the year. Weekend passes start at $600, panels are $95 and single events start at $150. –Brock Radke
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JOB LISTING PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER for Henderson, NV to pln & dsgn strm drn, wtr, swr, & rltd rdwy drnge infrstrctr. Req’s Master’s in Civil Eng or closely-related field & 1 yr exp. Mail resume to CONSOR North America, Inc., Attn: K. Washington, 1080 Eldridge Pkwy, Ste. 800, Houston, TX 77077 or email resume to karla.washington@consoreng.com Reference 547796.
JOB LISTING SENIOR SOFTWARE ENGINEERL4 MOBILITY, CXS CORE TECHNOLOGY sought by Aristocrat Technologies, Inc. in Las Vegas, NV (WFH permitted. When not working from home, must report to Las Vegas, NV office). Dsgn & dev scalable, high-perf apps. Req: BS+4/MS+3 yrs. $137,093/yr. 20% domestic/int’l travel req’d. Apply by email to: Aristocrat Technologies, Inc. Attn: totalrewards@aristocrat.com. (Ref Job code: NV0602MG)
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IN-N-OUT BURGER AT BLVD ROOFTOP | JULY 2026 If you cross two palm trees, an In-N-Out Burger appears. So I’ve been thinking: We have a lot of palm trees, so let’s just turn the whole Strip into one big In-N-Out. This fast food chain may be the pioneer of the first two-way speaker system drive-thru, but the website clearly states, “NOTE: This location does not have a drive-thru.” Your car will not fit up the escalator. You have to trust me on this one. Leave your Mystery Machine on the ground, and come and get your Scooby snacks, and your animal-style 4x4s. No, they still don’t have bacon, Ben. When you’re done with them milkshakes, visit the company store for your new In-N-Out wardrobe. Dinner and shopping, done. The location may not look anything like those blown-out renderings all over social media that were hyping up its arrival, but the rooftop overlook view of the most gorgeous, iconic Strip and always affordable prices will have to do. It’s said to be the world’s largest. I am not certain that’s true, but I am certain it takes up a lot of space in my heart. –Corlene Byrd
Photo by Christopher DeVargas