Bright Lights, Big City, Bold New Attractions
Viewed from outer space—250 miles up—Las Vegas glitters, diamond-like, against the dark velvet of the Mojave Desert.
According to Smithsonian magazine, astronauts on the International Space Station say that Las Vegas—not New York, Delhi or Tokyo—is “truly the brightest spot on Earth.” And no wonder. The Strip alone is illuminated by some 12 million lights, and they are ablaze 24/7.
Sin City is a one-of-a-kind destination and a must-see for most tourists. Only in Las Vegas can you visit New York, Paris, Venice, ancient Rome and the Pyramid of Giza, all within a four-mile radius. Las Vegas is both the marriage and divorce capital of the world, the crossroads of superstar entertainment, a place to win or lose a fortune at the turn of a card.
The city has seen its fortunes rise and fall several times over the years; economic jitters caused an 8 percent drop in Strip traffic in this year’s second quarter and a 12 percent decline in gaming revenue. But the slump isn’t Vegas-specific. According to a May report from the World Travel and Tourism Council, the U.S. as a whole is projected to lose $12.5 billion in international tourism this year. It’s the only country among 184 studied by the council to face such a drop-off.
But don’t count out Las Vegas. The visionaries (and their heirs) who built this city are still betting on the City of Second Chances, where luck is a lady and the future is always neon-bright.
The following new and pending developments will continue to transform the Vegas skyline and lure the next generation of fun-seekers.
Play Ball
Once a literal sports desert, Las Vegas did not get its first major league team until 2017, when the Golden Knights joined the NHL. The Aces WNBA team followed in 2018, and the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders in 2020. Now it’s time for peanuts, Cracker Jacks and the boys of summer.
The Las Vegas Athletics won’t throw out the first pitch until March 2028, but fans are already signing up for priority access at their future ballpark, currently under construction on 9 acres at the former site of the Tropicana.
In an interesting choice of words, architect Bjarke Ingels called the modernistic, light-filled facility “a spherical armadillo” that will create “a new kind of vernacular icon in Vegas.” Plans for the roof-covered ballpark include a massive, 18,000-square-foot jumbotron, the largest screen in the MLB.
The 33,000-capacity facility will provide “an unmatched fan experience,” added A’s owner and Managing Partner John Fisher, boosting “the dynamic atmosphere and liveliness of the Las Vegas Strip.”
Conventional Wisdom
The Las Vegas Convention Center hosts some of the country’s biggest trade shows. In 2023, the venue hosted 48 conventions and approximately 1.2 million attendees, generating more than $15 billion for the local economy.
But the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority isn’t sitting on its laurels. It is expected to complete a three-year, $600 million renovation of its legacy campus by the end of the year. The upgrade will add a grand lobby, new lighting, reconfigured entranceways, digital signage and improved technology, for an unparalleled guest experience.
At a topping-off ceremony last year, LVCVA President and CEO Steve Hill called the project “a milestone for our city.”
Start Your Engines
Viva Las Vegas is the story of a race car driver (Elvis Presley) out to win both Ann-Margret and the Las Vegas Grand Prix. Just one hitch: When the movie was released in 1964, there was no Las Vegas Grand Prix.
Now there is. On November 22, the checkered flag will drop for the third year of the Formula 1 race in Las Vegas. But every day is race day at Grand Prix Plaza, located just off the Strip.
Every day of the year, visitors can experience real and virtual races at the world’s largest Formula 1 attraction. High-performance karts with LED steering wheel displays and DRS technology “channel the speed, sights and sounds” of the sport, zipping along a section of the Vegas Strip Circuit.
“These new experiences are as close to an F1 race as one can get without being a professional driver,” according to Jonathan Linden, producer of the Formula 1 Exhibition.
Guitar Hero
Last year, the curtain rang down on a legendary Las Vegas attraction: Steve Wynn’s Mirage. For more than 30 years, tourists came to gape at the property’s faux volcano, which belched fire and water three times a night for their viewing pleasure.
Mirage’s successor may draw just as much attention: a nearly 70-story guitar-shaped hotel, courtesy of Hard Rock International.
The $4.3 billion resort will feature 3,600 rooms, 660 luxury suites, a 48,000-square-foot casino, 96,000 square feet of retail and restaurants and more than 200,000 square feet of meeting space along with pools, spas, a fitness center and other amenities.
If you think this is a one-of-a-kind attraction, think again. In 2019, a smaller, 450-foot-high prototype opened at Hard Rock’s resort in Hollywood, Florida. Big brother debuts in 2027.
As Hard Rock Chairman Jim Allen once recalled, the architect on the original project “used a few f-bombs and asked me if I was out of my you-know-what-kind-of mind trying to create a building that’s shaped like a guitar.”
But it worked (fun fact: the guitar was modeled on a Gibson Les Paul).
Upping the Game
Other gaming expansions are also in the works. Station Casinos opened Phase I of its new Durango casino hotel in 2023, with an 83,000-square-foot gaming area, a 10,000-square-foot sportsbook, multiple restaurants and a 209-room hotel. The Phase II expansion will add another 25,000 square feet of gaming floor in 2026, plus a new high-limit slot and bar area and 230 new slot machines.
On track to debut in November, it’s part of a significant growth strategy by parent company Red Rock Resorts. The firm is also investing in renovations at its Green Valley Ranch and Sunset Station properties in Henderson.
“There’s no one more bullish on Las Vegas growth than we are,” Red Rock President Scott Kreeger said in 2023. “We’re on a course to double the size of the company over the next 10 years.”
The off-Strip Ellis Island Casino Hotel also is undergoing a $35 million renovation.
The project will expand the gaming floor, adding more than 250 slot machines and a new pit area, plus a new casino bar and a rooftop event space. It’s all due to be finished by the end of the year.
Out of this World
Interstellar Arc at Area15. This futuristic experience at the Area15 entertainment district takes guests on a 26th century deep-space mission, all without leaving Las Vegas. Their destination: Arcadia, “the sole exoplanet suitable for long-term habitation,” 11.4 light years from our solar system.
The 20,000-square-foot “spaceport attraction” was created by Felix & Paul Studios, creator of the virtual reality series “Space Explorers.” Interstellar Arc takes off with daily space jaunts starting October 15.
That’s Entertainment
And that’s not all, folks. In October, megastars in residence include Rod Stewart at Caesars Palace, Lionel Richie at Wynn, Earth, Wind & Fire at the Venetian, and the Eagles at the Sphere.
Also at the Sphere: a mind-bending 16K restoration of the 1939 film classic The Wizard of Oz. Immersive technology like haptic vibrating seats, environmental effects, remastered music and even “smell-o-vision” make the trek from Kansas to Oz more unforgettable than ever.
Because no city puts out the welcome mat like Las Vegas. Enjoy your stay.
