Latest / Vegas Revealed / MGM Resorts will Operate Cosmopolitan Las Vegas in Billion Dollar Deal, Revived Downtown Henderson, New Derek Hough Dance Show Rocks the House | Ep. 88

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MGM Resorts will Operate Cosmopolitan Las Vegas in Billion Dollar Deal, Revived Downtown Henderson, New Derek Hough Dance Show Rocks the House | Ep. 88 · Vegas Revealed

• 0:00
  Dayna Roselli: Welcome to Vegas Revealed Episode 88 Double Eight.
• 0:04
  Sean McAllister: Derek Huff is blowing up our TikTok.
• 0:08
  Sean McAllister: People just want more.
• 0:09
  Sean McAllister: We have our take on his new show at The Venetian coming up.
• 0:14
  Dayna Roselli: Plus, MGM will soon operate the Cosmopolitan in a multi-billion dollar deal.
• 0:19
  Sean McAllister: And Henderson, right down the road from Las Vegas, revitalizes its downtown area.
• 0:25
  Sean McAllister: And we're often asked where unique local places are that are driving distance from the strip.
• 0:31
  Sean McAllister: We take a tour.
• 0:32
  Dayna Roselli: Alright, let's go ahead and spin that wheel.
• 0:49
  Sean McAllister: Sean McAllister here with Dana Roselli.
• 0:51
  Sean McAllister: We have officially entered the fall season.
• 0:54
  Sean McAllister: It is October.
• 0:56
  Sean McAllister: We have lots going on.
• 0:57
  Sean McAllister: Fall is a season of change, and it's a season of change in Las Vegas as well, Dana.
• 1:03
  Dayna Roselli: Yeah, a huge$5.65 billion deal was announced, and it all centers around the Cosmopolitan, which is right in between Ariane Crystals and the Bellagio.
• 1:14
  Sean McAllister: And uh MGM Resorts International, as part of this deal, is going to end up operating the Cosmopolitan.
• 1:22
  Sean McAllister: Uh, this deal isn't expected to close because there's regulatory stuff that needs to happen.
• 1:27
  Sean McAllister: Uh, so it'll be sometime in the first half of 2022, but it will end up being operated as an MGM Resorts property.
• 1:36
  Dayna Roselli: Right.
• 1:37
  Dayna Roselli: They paid$1.6 billion to take over the hotel's operations.
• 1:40
  Dayna Roselli: The new owners, the Churn Family Trust, Sean, I thought this was interesting, or headed by Panda Express billionaires Andrew and Peggy Churn.
• 1:48
  Dayna Roselli: I didn't realize that.
• 1:49
  Sean McAllister: Wow.
• 1:50
  Sean McAllister: So listen, the Cosmopolitan has kind of become known for the unique array of restaurants that are over there.
• 1:59
  Sean McAllister: So could the world's first like elevated fine dining luxury elevated Panda Express be coming to the Cosmopolitan?
• 2:11
  Sean McAllister: I don't know, but I think it would work.
• 2:12
  Dayna Roselli: People love their panda.
• 2:14
  Sean McAllister: They do.
• 2:15
  Sean McAllister: I mean, if there's no better place to do it.
• 2:18
  Dayna Roselli: It's true.
• 2:19
  Dayna Roselli: Um when I mentioned it's between the Bellagio and City Center.
• 2:22
  Dayna Roselli: I also thought, you know, now that the cosmopolitan's going to be, you know, run and operated by MGM, I mean, maybe they wanted that hotel because it's kind of like their section.
• 2:31
  Dayna Roselli: It literally goes Bellagio, now it'll be Cosmopolitan, then it'll be Arya and Crystals, then it'll be Park MGM, then it'll be New York, New York, and Mandalay Bay, which would mean MGM would own that south end of the strip, like basically, you know, just past Caesars.
• 2:46
  Sean McAllister: Right.
• 2:47
  Sean McAllister: And there's also uh Luxor and Excalibur that are in there too.
• 2:51
  Sean McAllister: So I mean, literally from Mandalay Bay up to Caesars would entirely be MGM Resorts properties.
• 2:59
  Sean McAllister: And then across the street, of course, is the MGM Grand.
• 3:02
  Dayna Roselli: So this brings up an interesting topic, and that's kind of the chatter I saw on social media was, you know, a lot of people are saying it's kind of nice to have a hotel that was different from Caesars and MGM.
• 3:14
  Dayna Roselli: Yes, we have the Venetian and we have the Wynn, but other than that on Treasure Island and a few others, you know, the Strat, but mostly the strip is Caesars and MGM properties, and now it's like adding another.
• 3:26
  Dayna Roselli: The cosmopolitan is very unique.
• 3:29
  Dayna Roselli: All I can say is I hope they keep it the way that it is now.
• 3:32
  Dayna Roselli: Of course, you know, maybe make improvements, that's always good, but it is really unique.
• 3:37
  Dayna Roselli: It's one of the only resorts with balconies.
• 3:40
  Dayna Roselli: That's not gonna change.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 3:41
  Dayna Roselli: But the way that they have the whole layout with the casino on the bottom floor, so you don't have to walk to through the casino to get to a restaurant, or you know, there's not a restaurant off the casino, they kind of don't mix, and I feel like a lot of people like that.
• 3:57
  Sean McAllister: And another thing that a lot of people liked are uh the perks from being a player there.
• 4:02
  Sean McAllister: I know we heard uh from some people who have played and stayed at the cosmopolitan, and they said, Listen, I chose the cosmopolitan because of all the perks I would get from staying there.
• 4:15
  Dayna Roselli: Right.
• 4:16
  Dayna Roselli: I have a friend that said she plays there because they actually send a car for her to go out at night.
• 4:20
  Dayna Roselli: And she's like, I mean, I gamble a decent, but I'm not like crazy, crazy high roller or anything like that.
• 4:27
  Dayna Roselli: She's like, it's a really nice perk that I don't get when I played at Caesars and MGM.
• 4:31
  Sean McAllister: Some of the bigger properties that, you know, count on the bigger players to get those kind of perks.
• 4:38
  Sean McAllister: So yeah, it'll be interesting to see what happens over there at the Cosmopolitan.
• 4:42
  Dayna Roselli: Yeah, there's 3,000 rooms on that property, by the way.
• 4:44
  Dayna Roselli: But again, like you had mentioned, it's probably not gonna be finalized until the early part of 2022.
• 4:51
  Sean McAllister: Hey, you know, we talked last week about uh our Vegas Revealed TikTok page blowing up because of DJ Pauly D.
• 5:00
  Sean McAllister: And we talked all about, you know, going to see him, being at the DJ booth uh at the sugar factory grand opening at the Harman Center.
• 5:08
  Sean McAllister: But we've blown up again on TikTok for a whole nother reason, another headliner.
• 5:15
  Dayna Roselli: We have surpassed Pauly D's TikTok, by the way.
• 5:18
  Dayna Roselli: Derek Huff coming in right now at over half a million views.
• 5:22
  Dayna Roselli: And counting.
• 5:23
  Dayna Roselli: And counting, and hundreds and hundreds of comments on TikTok.
• 5:28
  Dayna Roselli: We posted this quick clip of Derek and his partner, Haley, doing a dance on stage when we were at the show.
• 5:35
  Dayna Roselli: We, you know, just took a little video with our phone, came out really nice, posted it, and everyone is just going crazy over it.
• 5:41
  Dayna Roselli: They love it.
• 5:42
  Sean McAllister: Especially Argentina.
• 5:43
  Dayna Roselli: Yes.
• 5:44
  Sean McAllister: What up, Argentina?
• 5:45
  Dayna Roselli: I know.
• 5:46
  Dayna Roselli: We charted in Argentina this week, and we figured this dance that they're doing, I think, because I'm not a dance expert, it's the samba.
• 5:53
  Sean McAllister: Okay.
• 5:54
  Dayna Roselli: Apparently, you know, obviously, is is very big in South America.
• 5:57
  Dayna Roselli: And so all of a sudden we see we're blowing up on all these charts in South America and our TikTok.
• 6:03
  Dayna Roselli: And so we just recently last night put another video of Derek on there, um, you know, kind of like taking his shirt off and doing a little dance on stage, and that one's already at 80,000 and growing and growing and growing literally by the minute.
• 6:17
  Dayna Roselli: It's incredible on TikTok.
• 6:18
  Dayna Roselli: You can look at a number and then instantly in like two minutes, it will jump 500 views.
• 6:24
  Sean McAllister: And listen, we uh give our perspectives of Las Vegas shows and events on our Vegas Revealed TikTok page, and it's different from the things that you see on our other social media platforms.
• 6:38
  Sean McAllister: So please go to TikTok, give Vegas Revealed a follow.
• 6:41
  Sean McAllister: We'd love for you to see what we're putting up there.
• 6:44
  Dayna Roselli: That's right.
• 6:44
  Dayna Roselli: And it's at Vegas.reveed on TikTok.
• 6:47
  Dayna Roselli: But let's talk about Derek's show.
• 6:48
  Dayna Roselli: Yes.
• 6:49
  Dayna Roselli: First of all, it was incredible.
• 6:51
  Dayna Roselli: We talked recently about Donnie Osman's show and we loved it.
• 6:55
  Dayna Roselli: And now it's like we went to this and we're like, another show that we love.
• 6:59
  Dayna Roselli: And before we get to that, I just want to mention sometimes you see the chatter of, oh, people go to shows and they get free tickets and they just talk positive about the show no matter what.
• 7:08
  Dayna Roselli: I want everyone to know that that is not the case with us.
• 7:10
  Dayna Roselli: If we rave about a show and we point out certain things that we just loved about it because it was an all-around good show, we mean it.
• 7:18
  Sean McAllister: We do.
• 7:19
  Sean McAllister: And if you listen, listen back to the episode when we talked about Usher's show at the Coliseum at Caesars Palace.
• 7:26
  Sean McAllister: Listen, uh I thought that it wasn't the best Vegas show that I've seen.
• 7:34
  Sean McAllister: I think that it was a a great production.
• 7:37
  Sean McAllister: It was a good show, and Usher fans, I think, would love it.
• 7:41
  Sean McAllister: But if you go back and listen to that conversation, that wasn't a rave review.
• 7:45
  Dayna Roselli: Exactly.
• 7:46
  Dayna Roselli: And then we pointed out about Donnie Osman's show is like when I left there, I became a Don a bigger Donnie Osman fan.
• 7:53
  Dayna Roselli: I was a fan of him as a person, a fan of him when I've seen him perform a couple songs here and there at fundraisers and big events.
• 8:00
  Dayna Roselli: But when I left and watched Donnie do an entire show by himself, I'm a Donnie Osman fan now.
• 8:06
  Dayna Roselli: I downloaded his song.
• 8:07
  Sean McAllister: And so I I think we both left Derek Huff's show over at the Venetian with the feeling like, wow, we are Derek Huff fans.
• 8:17
  Sean McAllister: And I'd seen him on Dancing with the Stars, Judging on World of Dance, you know, various other projects that that he's done, but I'd never really paid attention to like Derek Huff individually as a performer, but he's freaking phenomenal.
• 8:32
  Dayna Roselli: Oh my gosh.
• 8:33
  Dayna Roselli: Man, can he move.
• 8:35
  Dayna Roselli: Then you and I kept going, what?
• 8:36
  Dayna Roselli: I mean, his voice is incredible.
• 8:38
  Dayna Roselli: He sings.
• 8:39
  Dayna Roselli: And I remember when we interviewed him, he said he was going to sing in the show, and I thought, oh, I've never heard Derek sing.
• 8:44
  Dayna Roselli: Okay, you know, he's gonna give it a shot.
• 8:46
  Dayna Roselli: No, he's good.
• 8:47
  Dayna Roselli: He has an incredible voice.
• 8:48
  Dayna Roselli: I looked at you, I remember during the show, going, he literally has a lifelong career on Broadway if he ever wants it.
• 8:54
  Sean McAllister: Oh, without a doubt.
• 8:55
  Sean McAllister: I mean, mind-blowing dancing skills.
• 8:58
  Sean McAllister: He's a great singer.
• 9:00
  Sean McAllister: He picks up the guitar and plays, so he's a musician on top of all of it.
• 9:04
  Sean McAllister: He's an actor.
• 9:05
  Sean McAllister: I mean, literally the guy does it all.
• 9:08
  Sean McAllister: He does.
• 9:09
  Sean McAllister: And to have that talent be on display on stage over at the Venetian in such an intimate theater really was cool because you're you're super close.
• 9:19
  Sean McAllister: You are I mean, there's almost a a splash zone when Derek and the dancers, when the sweat's flinging off of them when they're spinning around.
• 9:27
  Dayna Roselli: Right.
• 9:27
  Dayna Roselli: And you know, they'll run through the aisles and things like that.
• 9:29
  Dayna Roselli: And it was great too, because he really pumped up his cast.
• 9:33
  Dayna Roselli: You can tell he's proud of he had said he was gonna handpick all the dancers.
• 9:37
  Dayna Roselli: They were all excellent.
• 9:38
  Dayna Roselli: He had a live band on stage, and he was telling a few stories in between.
• 9:42
  Dayna Roselli: He was a great storyteller, a great showman.
• 9:44
  Dayna Roselli: And like, even when he did the singing with the rain, he explained, like, I used to see this number on the TV when I was growing up and always think, like, I would like to learn that one day.
• 9:53
  Dayna Roselli: And so he was saying, like, he learned it, and here it is.
• 9:55
  Dayna Roselli: And I mean, there were so many great parts of the show.
• 9:58
  Dayna Roselli: It moved, it had variety.
• 10:00
  Dayna Roselli: His girlfriend's in the show, and one of the main dancers, along with him, and her name's Haley.
• 10:05
  Dayna Roselli: You'll see her on TikTok with him a lot.
• 10:06
  Dayna Roselli: She's got her own TikTok page.
• 10:08
  Dayna Roselli: She was incredible too.
• 10:10
  Sean McAllister: Yeah, and the backup dancers are phenomenal.
• 10:13
  Sean McAllister: The interaction with the audience was great.
• 10:17
  Dayna Roselli: The costumes.
• 10:18
  Sean McAllister: The costumes.
• 10:18
  Sean McAllister: Oh my gosh.
• 10:19
  Sean McAllister: I mean, all around, it was just very well produced, very entertaining, uh easy show just to go and you know, be immersed in the world of of Derek Huff and dance.
• 10:31
  Dayna Roselli: I thought you were gonna say easy on the eyes, because that too.
• 10:33
  Sean McAllister: Well, I mean, I think that goes without saying.
• 10:36
  Sean McAllister: And then look at our TikTok and see why.
• 10:38
  Dayna Roselli: Oh my gosh, I know.
• 10:39
  Dayna Roselli: We've got a great clip of him outside of dancing, mixed in with Little Dance, where he whips his shirt off.
• 10:44
  Dayna Roselli: So that's you know, doing really well as as well.
• 10:48
  Dayna Roselli: Um, something I wanted to point out was that you and I also were staring at Derek and Haley and going, I mean, listen, there's no doubt that dancing puts you in shape.
• 10:59
  Dayna Roselli: These two were like Ken and Barbie.
• 11:02
  Dayna Roselli: I mean, you and I were like, that's our 2022 goal.
• 11:05
  Dayna Roselli: We're gonna look in the mirror like Derek and Haley.
• 11:09
  Dayna Roselli: We're starting the diets now, but listen, you can't.
• 11:11
  Dayna Roselli: These guys work hard, it's a part of their j it's their job, and phenomenal bodies.
• 11:16
  Dayna Roselli: And I'm not even being like weird about it.
• 11:18
  Dayna Roselli: I'm like, they are it just it it adds to watching them dance because like their moves and the way that costumes fit, everything is perfection.
• 11:27
  Sean McAllister: It really, I mean, dance is an amazing workout.
• 11:31
  Sean McAllister: If you're lucky enough to be blessed with the dancing gene, then good on you.
• 11:39
  Sean McAllister: I was not, unfortunately.
• 11:40
  Sean McAllister: No, I have two left feet, and I am the most awkward-looking human being when I try and dance.
• 11:47
  Sean McAllister: And I feel even more awkward than I look.
• 11:50
  Dayna Roselli: Well, maybe we should take dance lessons then.
• 11:52
  Dayna Roselli: Maybe that should be like something we should do in 2022.
• 11:54
  Dayna Roselli: Black out the windows.
• 11:56
  Dayna Roselli: Maybe we can get Robin.
• 11:57
  Dayna Roselli: So our friend, uh, we're good friends with Robin Anton.
• 12:00
  Dayna Roselli: She's the creator of the Pussycat dolls, and she owns the playground in LA, which is a great dance studio, but she always tells me and tells women, because people will say to her, like, Oh my god, you look incredible.
• 12:10
  Dayna Roselli: What do you do?
• 12:11
  Dayna Roselli: And she's like, dance.
• 12:12
  Sean McAllister: She dances, she's like, like hardcore dance.
• 12:14
  Sean McAllister: And she goes, she goes for it when she dances.
• 12:17
  Dayna Roselli: Exactly.
• 12:18
  Dayna Roselli: And she goes for it, and she always says, one hour a day.
• 12:21
  Dayna Roselli: Dance one hour a day, and you could look like this too.
• 12:25
  Dayna Roselli: And I'm like, okay, but I've only got 15 minutes on that time.
• 12:31
  Sean McAllister: Find three other 15-minute chunks of time in your day.
• 12:35
  Sean McAllister: And there you go.
• 12:36
  Sean McAllister: Um, but yeah, Derek Huff over at the Venetian, terrific show.
• 12:41
  Sean McAllister: And that's just part of the fall entertainment lineup here, uh, Dana.
• 12:46
  Sean McAllister: So listen to this lineup of fall entertainment that we have going on here in Las Vegas across the city.
• 12:53
  Sean McAllister: At Caesar's Palace, Rod Stewart is back on stage with his show called The Hits, that is all with dates all through October.
• 13:01
  Sean McAllister: We have Z Top at the Venetian with dates through October.
• 13:05
  Sean McAllister: Lady Gaga with her jazz and piano show returns to the Park Theater at Park MGM with dates all through October.
• 13:12
  Sean McAllister: Uh Billy Idol is at the Chelsea at the Cosmopolitan with dates this month.
• 13:17
  Sean McAllister: Uh Jeff Dunham is back on stage at the Coliseum.
• 13:20
  Sean McAllister: Gwen Stefani resumes her show uh at Zappos Theater at Planet Hollywood with dates later in October and into November.
• 13:28
  Sean McAllister: Adam Lambert has dates later in October uh at the Venetian theater.
• 13:34
  Dayna Roselli: I mean, it just goes on and on and on.
• 13:37
  Dayna Roselli: It's incredible.
• 13:38
  Dayna Roselli: Yeah, we were at Derek Huff's show and saw someone from Live Nation and they were really excited about Adam Lambert's show, like were raving about it that it's gonna be great.
• 13:46
  Sean McAllister: And we talked about it here on Vegas Revealed before.
• 13:49
  Sean McAllister: Adam Lambert is just whether he's performing with Queen or doing his solo show, he's a terrific onstage presence.
• 13:57
  Dayna Roselli: Yeah, and we've also had a lot of arena shows lately.
• 14:00
  Dayna Roselli: Some of them were like because they were moved because they had to be postponed in 2020.
• 14:04
  Dayna Roselli: So is Michael Bublet, people were excited to see him, Ricky Martin performed.
• 14:09
  Dayna Roselli: This weekend we have Shaq doing a big fundraiser at MGM, and he's got Justin Bieber performing and Kelly Clarkson, so Imagine Dragons, Snoop Dogg.
• 14:20
  Dayna Roselli: Right.
• 14:20
  Dayna Roselli: And then we've got Alanis more set at the T-Mobile Arena too uh this weekend.
• 14:25
  Dayna Roselli: So lots of big arena shows, and then we've been telling you there's tons coming in 2022.
• 14:30
  Sean McAllister: Yeah, and among those, uh Andrea Bocelli is performing right around Valentine's Day at MGM Grand Garden Arena.
• 14:37
  Sean McAllister: That show was just announced, so get your Valentine's Day plan set now.
• 14:41
  Dayna Roselli: Okay, and a couple more notes.
• 14:43
  Dayna Roselli: Last week we mentioned we were going to the Tau 16th anniversary at the Venetian, 16 years, I can't believe it.
• 14:49
  Dayna Roselli: But it's an incredible Asian bistro and also a nightclub.
• 14:54
  Dayna Roselli: But sometimes when new things open up all around, you start of, you know, going to certain new places, and you and I both had said we hadn't been to Tau in a little while.
• 15:04
  Dayna Roselli: But we revisited for the anniversary party, and holy cow, a reminder of how incredible the food is there.
• 15:10
  Sean McAllister: Oh my and we sat down for dinner, and I don't think we realized how much dinner we were in for.
• 15:18
  Sean McAllister: I know.
• 15:19
  Sean McAllister: I mean, the first course lasted for it seemed like 20 minutes.
• 15:24
  Sean McAllister: They just kept bringing out more and more plates.
• 15:28
  Sean McAllister: And it everything was delicious.
• 15:30
  Sean McAllister: And what was the fish skewers we loved?
• 15:32
  Sean McAllister: Those were like glazed sea bass skewers.
• 15:36
  Sean McAllister: They were so good.
• 15:37
  Sean McAllister: It was like it just melted in your mouth.
• 15:39
  Sean McAllister: The fish was so just like buttery and delicate and glazed with the like miso sauce.
• 15:46
  Sean McAllister: Oh my god.
• 15:47
  Dayna Roselli: It was like you could taste like because you they were grilled, and you could like taste the grill when you were eating it.
• 15:53
  Dayna Roselli: It was really, really good.
• 15:54
  Dayna Roselli: Tons of great chicken dishes and veggies and sushi.
• 15:58
  Dayna Roselli: It was amazing.
• 15:59
  Sean McAllister: And a lot of people, when you talk about Tao, the nightclub is the first thing that comes to mind.
• 16:05
  Sean McAllister: But keep in mind Tao also does have an incredible restaurant, and it's big.
• 16:11
  Sean McAllister: It's big.
• 16:12
  Sean McAllister: They seat a lot of people in there.
• 16:14
  Sean McAllister: So it when you're thinking about dinner plans in Las Vegas, don't forget about Tao.
• 16:18
  Sean McAllister: And Hakasan, another nightclub down at MGM Grand, they also have a restaurant attached.
• 16:24
  Sean McAllister: So when you think about these nightclubs, also think about the restaurants that are attached to them.
• 16:28
  Dayna Roselli: I mean, it's an easy thing.
• 16:29
  Dayna Roselli: You eat dinner and then you literally go to the nightclub right after.
• 16:32
  Dayna Roselli: You don't have to, you know, traips around walking anywhere else.
• 16:34
  Dayna Roselli: So yeah, and and Tao, when we were in there, you're right, was a reminder how gorgeous it is.
• 16:39
  Dayna Roselli: It's beautiful dark ambiance and the decor is amazing.
• 16:42
  Dayna Roselli: And the women were back in the bathtubs with the rose petals.
• 16:45
  Sean McAllister: They were.
• 16:46
  Dayna Roselli: We'll put that on our TikTok next.
• 16:48
  Sean McAllister: Yeah, you it's we could explain it, but it won't do it justice.
• 16:52
  Sean McAllister: Look for the video.
• 16:54
  Dayna Roselli: We also hit the black and white ball, which supports AFAN.
• 16:58
  Sean McAllister: Which is Aid for AIDS of Nevada, helping people uh who are impacted with an HIV or AIDS diagnosis and helps them financially, helps them with medical.
• 17:10
  Sean McAllister: A great organization here in Southern Nevada.
• 17:12
  Dayna Roselli: Yeah, it was a great party.
• 17:14
  Dayna Roselli: Um they had to cancel last year.
• 17:15
  Dayna Roselli: You know, they weren't sure if they would get a huge amount of people to attend this year, but they went, you know what?
• 17:20
  Dayna Roselli: We just want people to know we are out there and remind them.
• 17:23
  Dayna Roselli: And so they had a great crowd there.
• 17:25
  Dayna Roselli: It was at the Virgin Hotels, and it was outside, which was nice, on the grounds and lots of entertainment and food and drinks, and it was great to run into so many people that we hadn't seen in a very long time.
• 17:36
  Dayna Roselli: Then we ran into Sarah Hester Ross, who we did just interview on the podcast a few back, and she has a new show downtown on Fremont Street at Notoriety.
• 17:47
  Dayna Roselli: We talked about that, and when we saw her, she said, Hey, guess what?
• 17:50
  Dayna Roselli: We did such a great job, we're extending the show.
• 17:52
  Dayna Roselli: So congratulations to her.
• 17:54
  Sean McAllister: Which is super exciting for Sarah Hester Ross on Thursdays at Notoriety down on Fremont Street.
• 18:01
  Sean McAllister: Uh, be sure to, you know, check out the dates, the tickets, and go support Sarah.
• 18:06
  Sean McAllister: She's hilarious.
• 18:07
  Sean McAllister: And if you uh need a refresher on what Sarah does, it's a it's a comedy show, but she's a musically inclined comedian.
• 18:18
  Sean McAllister: All of her routine is set to music.
• 18:21
  Sean McAllister: She plays the piano and she sings these songs, and she's hilarious.
• 18:26
  Sean McAllister: Great talent.
• 18:27
  Dayna Roselli: She just hit us up and said, You gotta get to the show, which we will eventually.
• 18:30
  Dayna Roselli: We need to.
• 18:31
  Dayna Roselli: It's on a Thursday night, so sometimes we've got things on Friday morning, but we're gonna get there.
• 18:35
  Dayna Roselli: Something we did do last week, though, is we took a little crawl.
• 18:39
  Dayna Roselli: Okay, we didn't get on our hands and needs and crawl, but it's called a crawl because if you've ever been on one, you basically like, you know, hop to different places.
• 18:46
  Dayna Roselli: And we went to the Water Street Crawl in downtown Henderson, which over the last two years has been in the works of just being completely revamped with new restaurants, upgrades, and they just opened a brand new arena, which is where the Henderson Silver Knights practice.
• 19:03
  Dayna Roselli: It's called Lifeguard Arena.
• 19:05
  Sean McAllister: And Dana, I've been going down to Water Street in downtown Henderson for years.
• 19:11
  Sean McAllister: Always I would take part with my uh former TV station in the St.
• 19:16
  Sean McAllister: Patrick's Day Parade, which is always a big event in downtown Henderson.
• 19:21
  Sean McAllister: Uh we would go, so I I've been familiar with the Water Street District for years since I've moved out to Las Vegas.
• 19:29
  Sean McAllister: And let me tell you, from the first time that I stepped foot down on the Water Street district until now, there really has been a night and day change.
• 19:41
  Sean McAllister: It looks great.
• 19:43
  Sean McAllister: They brought in a whole new vibe, they've revitalized the shops, the restaurants, the casinos, and so it it really is, you can feel the life being breathed back into the area.
• 19:54
  Dayna Roselli: It's a cool spot, and often when people come to Las Vegas, they love to do the strip, but sometimes you get the visitor that says, Well, where are the like local spots?
• 20:02
  Dayna Roselli: Where should I go that's you know different than the strip?
• 20:05
  Dayna Roselli: You know, they want to try different things, especially if they return over and over, or sometimes if they travel from overseas and they're in town for like 10 days and they want, like, you know, an afternoon or evening to do something different.
• 20:16
  Dayna Roselli: So we figured we would hit this topic today because we think it is important for people to explore.
• 20:22
  Dayna Roselli: And it's not very far, it's about a 20-minute drive from the strip, mostly highway.
• 20:26
  Dayna Roselli: You hop off, you just take a few lights, turn right, you're on Water Street.
• 20:30
  Dayna Roselli: Super easy.
• 20:31
  Dayna Roselli: We hit up the Rainbow Club Casino, a bar and tavern called Sticks, then we moved over to the Lifeguard Arena.
• 20:37
  Dayna Roselli: They had a great coffee shop inside called Public Works.
• 20:40
  Dayna Roselli: We went to a super cute portrait studio with some incredible works there.
• 20:45
  Dayna Roselli: Uh we also hit the Pass Casino and we stopped at a pizza place.
• 20:50
  Dayna Roselli: So all this was happening, but we could tell one of the people leading off the tour was Scott Mulerath, and he's from the Henderson Chamber of Commerce.
• 20:58
  Dayna Roselli: And Sean, couldn't you tell how proud he was of the upgrades?
• 21:01
  Sean McAllister: Oh, I mean, he he was.
• 21:03
  Sean McAllister: He was beaming and so excited to get the word out and let people know that this really is a new era for the Water Street district in downtown Henderson.
• 21:13
  Sean McAllister: So, Scott, for people who are out of town or are new to Las Vegas, they may not realize what's been going on here on Water Street in downtown Henderson.
• 21:25
  Sean McAllister: So, what has been going on?
• 21:27
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I think, and that's the point of our crawl today, right, is that there's been, you know, through the pandemic, there's been a lot of development activity that has continued up and down Water Street in uh downtown Henderson.
• 21:40
  SPEAKER_00: And so uh today the Henderson Chamber wants to get all these new uh new businesses exposure to uh, you know, whether it's the food, the bar, other activities that are going on on Water Street, and really kind of drawing down people to this region that haven't been here before or thought to come here before.
• 21:58
  Dayna Roselli: And talk about some of the improvements.
• 22:00
  Dayna Roselli: First of all, I know through COVID, a lot of people obviously were disappointed that things were shut.
• 22:04
  Dayna Roselli: It was a terrible time.
• 22:05
  Dayna Roselli: But it did get, did it give you a chance to kind of get some of this stuff done?
• 22:09
  Dayna Roselli: And now you're ready to open and you have something new for everyone who's ready to get out and about again?
• 22:15
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 22:15
  SPEAKER_00: So I mean it really starts with Lifeguard Arena.
• 22:18
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, back before this facility was ever built on Water Street, the uh City National Arena, 35% of the users that went up there were from Henderson.
• 22:28
  SPEAKER_00: So that tells you there was going to be a market and a draw once this was completed here on Water Street, and that's been just the case.
• 22:34
  SPEAKER_00: So with the completion of Lifeguard, it's really brought a critical mass, a focus to Water Street, and it's just uh the families come down here with the kids, they go into the restaurants, and the formula is uh is really working.
• 22:47
  Sean McAllister: Sports has really turned out to be a big part of this revitalization of the Water Street district, and kind of going along with that, I'm just looking at the sign over your shoulder for Circa Sports.
• 23:01
  SPEAKER_00: No, absolutely.
• 23:02
  SPEAKER_00: No, the um the ripple effect uh down Water Street, pun intended, uh uh from Lifeguard and the sporting element is is very real.
• 23:10
  SPEAKER_00: And so the the gain and the traction is, I mean, it's it's real here for Water Street, and it's also going to be true in Green Valley when they they finish up what will be Dollar Loan Center.
• 23:18
  SPEAKER_00: So it'll be a similar experience.
• 23:20
  Dayna Roselli: So on the list I see that we're going through, there's uh obviously the arena, but there's bars, there's restaurants.
• 23:26
  Dayna Roselli: I mean, people have something to look forward to to come and see whether they loved it before or something new.
• 23:31
  Dayna Roselli: And even like visitors to Las Vegas, say you go stay on the strip.
• 23:35
  Dayna Roselli: A lot of times people ask us, well, what are the places that you know as a local?
• 23:39
  Dayna Roselli: We want to go there.
• 23:40
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 23:40
  SPEAKER_00: So Water Street is very walkable.
• 23:43
  SPEAKER_00: And so it's it's sort of I mean, some people say the strip's walkable, but it's different.
• 23:47
  SPEAKER_00: So um this has a lot of No yard drinks here?
• 23:50
  Dayna Roselli: No yard No, I don't think we can bring yard drinks.
• 23:53
  SPEAKER_00: No yard drinks.
• 23:54
  SPEAKER_00: Um so but you know, we do have like a lot of authentic brick and things that have character down here on Water Street, and and so it it's very walkable, and that someone can go from from the south end to the north end.
• 24:07
  SPEAKER_00: And uh, I mean, tonight is just a sampling of six of our uh six of our food and drink partners, and there's actually, you know, a good 20 of them.
• 24:15
  SPEAKER_00: So uh so it's just a little glimpse, if you will.
• 24:18
  Sean McAllister: And I've been down here to watch Golden Knights games at uh some of the bar restaurants that you have here.
• 24:26
  Sean McAllister: And aside from the atmosphere, the food is really good, and there have been some great chefs who who really got roots on the strip and have come out here to kind of be transplanted to the Water Street district.
• 24:42
  Sean McAllister: Which is amazing.
• 24:43
  SPEAKER_00: Right, no, and it's very much the case, even just right here at at the Rainbow Club, um, that uh we we have some of the culinary when when uh the pandemic closed things down on the strip, you had some great chefs that were sort of displaced, and uh Water Street uh was able to gain from that, and there's been investments made from the uh different culinary uh leaders, and and certainly uh uh the the Rainbow Club is one of those spots.
• 25:08
  Dayna Roselli: Well, listen, we're ready to crawl.
• 25:10
  Dayna Roselli: So Sean and I will uh talk about our crawl experience momentarily, but we're excited and we're excited for Henderson and something new, and I know you guys really are too.
• 25:19
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 25:20
  SPEAKER_00: No, it is something new, and um that's just it.
• 25:23
  SPEAKER_00: Get come on down, see something you haven't seen before, and you'll you'll be surprised at what you find on Water Street.
• 25:29
  Sean McAllister: And while we were at the Rainbow Club, we saw an old friend, Chef Scott Pajek, who used to be the head chef over at Legassi Stadium at the Venetian, where that was our broadcast home of Vegas revealed when we first launched.
• 25:44
  Dayna Roselli: I know, and we had him on the show right away.
• 25:47
  Dayna Roselli: Was it episode one or two?
• 25:48
  Sean McAllister: It was episode one.
• 25:49
  Dayna Roselli: Okay, yeah, and it we it was great.
• 25:52
  Dayna Roselli: And he had talked about how long he had worked there and how much he loved it, but then obviously when COVID happened, they shut down Legossi, and what happened was they never reopened it.
• 26:02
  Sean McAllister: So uh the Rainbow Club on Water Street in Henderson was lucky enough to grab Chef Scott, and so he has been overseeing all the menu changes at all of the restaurants and eateries that they have over at the rainbow club.
• 26:19
  Sean McAllister: So he's over there now.
• 26:20
  Sean McAllister: Uh, he's doing great.
• 26:22
  Sean McAllister: We had some of his sliders that he had out for us.
• 26:25
  Sean McAllister: So good.
• 26:25
  Sean McAllister: Yeah, there's a great uh like garlic aioli that uh I put on my slider, and it was phenomenal.
• 26:33
  Sean McAllister: So, Chef Scott, well done on everything you're doing over at the rainbow club.
• 26:38
  Sean McAllister: It was great to see you.
• 26:39
  Dayna Roselli: And also, quick mention for people that might come to Vegas and and want this little evening or day trip, those casinos were really cute.
• 26:46
  Dayna Roselli: Like, if you want to intimate casinos with tons of slot machines and just want to go play, I mean, the rainbow club was amazing, and so was the pass casino.
• 26:55
  Dayna Roselli: I had actually never walked in there before, so I was like, wow, this is like looks like it'd be a fun place to play.
• 27:00
  Sean McAllister: And at the pass, we had some uh meatball sliders.
• 27:04
  Sean McAllister: Oh, yeah, those were good.
• 27:05
  Sean McAllister: And the homemade meatballs were from uh the Italian restaurant inside the pass.
• 27:10
  Sean McAllister: It's called Ristorante Italiano, and man, those meatballs were good.
• 27:15
  Sean McAllister: However, they do need to pass the Roselli taste test.
• 27:19
  Dayna Roselli: Right, they were good, but it was a slider, so I felt like and we were it was the end, it was the last place we stopped, and I was stuffed.
• 27:26
  Dayna Roselli: So I feel like I didn't really get the true full effect of if I love the meatball or not.
• 27:31
  Dayna Roselli: All I know is it tasted really good.
• 27:33
  Dayna Roselli: It definitely passed in.
• 27:34
  Dayna Roselli: It was not a bad meatball at all.
• 27:36
  Dayna Roselli: But I would like to try them, you know, with some spaghetti on the side and all that kind of thing.
• 27:40
  Sean McAllister: So we need to make a reservation and go back to Ristorante Italiano at the Pass in downtown Henderson.
• 27:47
  Sean McAllister: Uh fantastic job on all the revitalization that's gone on down there so far.
• 27:52
  Sean McAllister: And I know uh more restaurants are opening up, more restaurants and businesses are opening up uh in the coming weeks as well.
• 28:00
  Dayna Roselli: All right, let's switch over to some tips now because we got a few things to talk about today.
• 28:07
  Dayna Roselli: Quick shout out to Jonathan Jackson from the UK.
• 28:10
  Dayna Roselli: He's been writing us some emails.
• 28:11
  Dayna Roselli: He discovered us, and he's been listening back to all the episodes.
• 28:15
  Dayna Roselli: We love getting messages like this.
• 28:18
  Dayna Roselli: He said recently, I'm still flying through all the episodes, but still not caught up yet.
• 28:23
  Dayna Roselli: There's just too much good content.
• 28:25
  Dayna Roselli: So we appreciate that, Jonathan.
• 28:27
  Dayna Roselli: He had a lot of questions about, you know, planning for a trip as an overseas traveler at the moment.
• 28:32
  Dayna Roselli: He wanted to know what kind of restrictions were in place and things like that.
• 28:35
  Dayna Roselli: And he did say he hadn't gotten through all the episodes.
• 28:38
  Dayna Roselli: So just a reminder to everyone, Sean and I do discuss all that in previous episodes every week, and especially if there's a change to anything, we talk about it a lot.
• 28:46
  Sean McAllister: In episode 87, we talked about the international travel opening up.
• 28:50
  Sean McAllister: So listen back to that.
• 28:52
  Sean McAllister: But uh Jonathan wanted to know if there is anything in particular that international travelers do need to be aware of when they're coming to Las Vegas.
• 29:01
  Dayna Roselli: And we do know one of the things, obviously, to get on a plane is you need a negative COVID test.
• 29:06
  Dayna Roselli: Have some friends that just recently traveled from the USA to the UK.
• 29:10
  Dayna Roselli: So the return route, obviously, uh they were going over there for some work, took a COVID test.
• 29:15
  Dayna Roselli: I don't know what kind of COVID test, anything like that, if it was rapid or what, but basically, something to remember is do your research because when they went to input the COVID tests results, they were not accepted by the TSA.
• 29:31
  Dayna Roselli: They said bring the results with you.
• 29:32
  Dayna Roselli: They did.
• 29:33
  Dayna Roselli: Anyway, they ended up having to get another test on site.
• 29:36
  Dayna Roselli: So I don't know the specifics, but it's just a tip and a reminder that if you are going to travel, read up heavily on what is required of you because I didn't even realize there are certain tests that are accepted and some that are not.
• 29:49
  Sean McAllister: Yeah, and you know, there are the at-home tests that you can pick up at a drugstore.
• 29:54
  Sean McAllister: Uh, some people accept those, some people don't.
• 29:58
  Sean McAllister: So definitely find out what is accepted so you're not wasting your time or your money on a test that's just gonna be tossed in the trash anyway.
• 30:06
  Dayna Roselli: And it takes all the stress off if you're prepared, you know?
• 30:09
  Dayna Roselli: Then you know what you're doing.
• 30:10
  Sean McAllister: It does.
• 30:10
  Sean McAllister: Be like a boy scout and a girl scout, always prepared.
• 30:13
  Dayna Roselli: Yeah.
• 30:14
  Dayna Roselli: Speaking of that, let's talk road trips.
• 30:16
  Dayna Roselli: Um, something you and I chatted about recently was Sedona, Arizona, and that's because your husband just got back from a trip there.
• 30:23
  Dayna Roselli: And I want to hear about it because for years I've thought about going there because it's in driving distance.
• 30:29
  Dayna Roselli: So a lot of time people ask us, what's close by Las Vegas that if I'm here, I want to do like a road trip or an overnight or a two-night that I can drive to that's a really cool place.
• 30:39
  Sean McAllister: Well, and there are a lot of fantastic options, Sedona being one of them.
• 30:44
  Sean McAllister: And Sedona is just like uh uh an oasis in the desert that is very spiritually charged, and you go there to kind of unplug, relax, they have great spas, they have uh great wine bars, they have uh great outdoor activities, and the scenery is uh just stunning.
• 31:06
  Sean McAllister: I mean, it's a panorama that is three hundred and sixty degrees and it's gorgeous every single direction that you look.
• 31:13
  Sean McAllister: And Sedona is only a four and a half hour drive from Las Vegas, which is an easy drive.
• 31:19
  Dayna Roselli: And he said it was easy, yeah, like pretty much all highway.
• 31:23
  Sean McAllister: Um so Sedona is a great option if you're looking for that day trip out of Las Vegas.
• 31:30
  Dayna Roselli: Right.
• 31:30
  Dayna Roselli: And if you are listening from somewhere outside of the United States and you're like, what's Sedona?
• 31:36
  Dayna Roselli: Literally go and Google it right now and what Sean's talking about, the beauty, you'll see exactly what we're talking about.
• 31:42
  Dayna Roselli: Sedona, Arizona.
• 31:43
  Sean McAllister: Uh somewhere else that is just stunning from a visual standpoint, uh, there are lots of places in southern Utah that are just a couple hours' drive from Las Vegas.
• 31:54
  Sean McAllister: You have Bryce Canyon National Park, you have Arches National Park, uh St.
• 31:58
  Sean McAllister: George, Utah, Moab, Utah.
• 32:01
  Sean McAllister: These are great places that are, you know, three, four-hour drive from Las Vegas.
• 32:07
  Sean McAllister: You can get to the national parks.
• 32:09
  Sean McAllister: And Google these too if you need to, because it's hard to describe.
• 32:12
  Sean McAllister: It is breathtaking the landscapes that you will see, and you d will not see them anywhere else in the United States, and likely nowhere else on earth will you see these formations that you see in southern Utah.
• 32:29
  Dayna Roselli: I've actually driven through there.
• 32:30
  Dayna Roselli: I did some camping in a cabin.
• 32:32
  Dayna Roselli: I don't do tents.
• 32:33
  Dayna Roselli: Glamping?
• 32:34
  Dayna Roselli: Before glamping.
• 32:35
  Dayna Roselli: Yeah, it it is gorgeous.
• 32:36
  Dayna Roselli: Southern Utah is beautiful, so take advantage of that.
• 32:39
  Dayna Roselli: That too is easy.
• 32:40
  Dayna Roselli: You literally hop on the I-15, which is right next to the Las Vegas Strip and drive north.
• 32:45
  Sean McAllister: Yeah, it's a straight shot.
• 32:46
  Sean McAllister: So you can't get any easier than that.
• 32:48
  Sean McAllister: Um, and as we approach Halloween, this is always a spooky time of year, and all around Nevada and Arizona, there are these little ghost towns that have turned into tourist spots.
• 33:01
  Sean McAllister: And when you go, I mean, there's great picture spots, and you have to look up just Nevada ghost towns, Arizona ghost towns, and you'll see maps of where they are, and they're easy to get to.
• 33:13
  Sean McAllister: You do have to get off of the main drags to get to something.
• 33:17
  Dayna Roselli: I don't know about that.
• 33:18
  Sean McAllister: So be stocked up with water, be stocked up with food, pack of lunch, flashlights, flashlights, um pepper spray.
• 33:26
  Dayna Roselli: No, just kidding.
• 33:28
  Dayna Roselli: Does pepper spray work on ghosts?
• 33:30
  Dayna Roselli: I don't know.
• 33:30
  Sean McAllister: It doesn't work on ghosts, but you probably will encounter um like donkeys and mules.
• 33:37
  Sean McAllister: Okay.
• 33:37
  Sean McAllister: And possibly wild horses that roam around out in the you know wilderness of Nevada and Arizona.
• 33:43
  Sean McAllister: So there are some great ghost towns out there as well.
• 33:46
  Dayna Roselli: Do not pepper spray them.
• 33:48
  Dayna Roselli: I didn't mean it that way.
• 33:48
  Dayna Roselli: I was joking about the ghosts, by the way.
• 33:51
  Sean McAllister: Definitely don't pepper spray the horses and what's mean.
• 33:55
  Dayna Roselli: I didn't mean it that way.
• 33:56
  Dayna Roselli: I meant for the ghosts.
• 33:57
  Dayna Roselli: I just want to make sure to make that clear so that I don't get any, you know, letters and emails and PETA writing me.
• 34:04
  Sean McAllister: I think you're starting to stir up some controversy there, Roselli.
• 34:08
  Dayna Roselli: Let's move on.
• 34:09
  Dayna Roselli: So listen, we want to say thank you for all the great reviews.
• 34:12
  Dayna Roselli: We appreciate your reviews on Apple Podcasts.
• 34:14
  Dayna Roselli: We just had a recent one.
• 34:16
  Dayna Roselli: We loved it, and it it makes us happy to read that listeners take the time to leave a quick note.
• 34:23
  Dayna Roselli: We love it.
• 34:24
  Dayna Roselli: It helps the podcast grow.
• 34:25
  Dayna Roselli: So again, leave your reviews, leave your five stars.
• 34:28
  Dayna Roselli: We love them, we love them, we love them.
• 34:30
  Sean McAllister: And a reminder also, whether you live here in Las Vegas or you're just visiting, you can hear our Vegas revealed entertainment reports on the Highway Radio network of stations, and you can stream that on highwayradio.com.
• 34:45
  Dayna Roselli: Yeah, and we give a full rundown of things happening weekly there.
• 34:48
  Dayna Roselli: So, and post little clips of the podcast, but mostly, you know, a rundown and a schedule of new events that are happening, new shows that are kicking up, when tickets go on sale.
• 34:56
  Dayna Roselli: So if you're interested in that, please give it a listen.
• 35:00
  Dayna Roselli: It's a fun radio network.
• 35:01
  Dayna Roselli: They have all sorts of music, and it's great to turn on if you're on that stretch from Southern California to Las Vegas when you get stuck in traffic, because it can happen and it does happen.
• 35:11
  Dayna Roselli: But hey, happy fall.
• 35:12
  Dayna Roselli: And happy uh pumpkin spice to all the pumpkin spice lovers out there.
• 35:17
  Dayna Roselli: We know it's a thing, and you know, we see it on Instagram.
• 35:20
  Dayna Roselli: People love to put their boots on and their fuzzy sweaters and get their pumpkin spice.
• 35:25
  Dayna Roselli: I hate all of it, so I'm a summer girl.
• 35:28
  Dayna Roselli: But you know what?
• 35:29
  Dayna Roselli: Everyone has to have their moment, enjoy.
• 35:32
  Dayna Roselli: It is good weather for walking the strip.
• 35:35
  Sean McAllister: And on that note, we'll chat again next week.
• 35:40
  Sean McAllister: Captain, did I pass my COVID test?
• 35:42
  SPEAKER_00: On behalf of the flight crew, thank you for flying with us and have a pleasant day.
• 35:46
  SPEAKER_02: Let's go to day.
• 35:50
  SPEAKER_02: Let's go to bed, baby.
• 35:52
  SPEAKER_02: Let's go.