24 Ways Las Vegas Looks Different in 2024

It's hard to follow up 2023, which brought us the Sphere, a Formula 1 debut, and two big hotel openings in the Fontainebleau and Durango. But 2024 is shaping up to be equally exciting—and this year's openings in Sin City have a lot to offer, including bars, restaurants, attractions, and a noticeable obsession with reinventing golf. So now that one year is over, it's time to look ahead to 24 new things taking shape in Vegas in 2024. 

Caesars Palace
Bobby Flay's new French restaurant quietly opened at the end of the year, taking over the space formerly home to Old Homestead steakhouse. With 175 seats, it has a more intimate dining room than Flay's Amalfi seafood restaurant around the corner. A French influence is felt in the design (featuring an L-shaped cocktail bar, raw bar offerings, and an entrance designed to resemble a Parisian storefront). Brasserie B is big on frites, serving them with lobster, lamb chops, pork chops, and three different steaks.

Caesars Palace
Cleopatra's Barge, an intimate lounge and music venue, opened at the height of Vegas kitsch in 1970, featuring a ship and statue of the Egyptian queen whose bare breasts were rubbed by gamblers for good luck. That stuff doesn't really fly in today's world and the venue closed for good during the pandemic. This spring, Caspian's will take over the space, featuring a music lounge for close to 100 guests and a 50-seat bar for caviar, vodka, cocktails, and champagne. The place is designed to be a spectacle of gold, brass, onyx, and velvet with a large chandelier as the centerpiece. It's a bummer to see pieces of Strip history disappear, but at least Cleopatra's Barge is no longer sitting vacant.

Downtown Arts District
The restaurant most responsible for establishing the Downtown Arts District as an up-and-coming dining destination will become noticeably bigger this year. Esther's Kitchen is taking over the old Retro Vegas antique shop next door with an opening anticipated on February 29. Chef and owner James Trees is building a world-class kitchen from the ground up with a live-action pasta station and woodfired oven for pizzas as well as possible specials like a lamb shank or whole fish. The restaurant will have a 30-seat wraparound bar, an upstairs loft bar, and the capability to bake bread for Trees' full culinary empire, which includes Al Solito Posto and Ada's. Regulars will recognize some furniture and plateware from the original Esther's Kitchen, which will be transformed into a new tasting-menu concept with global influences and a name to be finalized. Trees is also opening Bar Bohème later in the year, bringing a new kind of French brasserie to the Arts District.

Henderson
Henderson is a little short on quality restaurants, so it's always a good thing when a few new choices show up. The Green Valley Ranch resort will welcome Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar & Grill this spring, featuring Japanese cuisine by chefs Eric and Bruce Bromberg. The menu includes A5 Wagyu , sushi and sashimi platters, fried chicken with wasabi honey, and other dishes familiar to those who've eaten at the original location at Red Rock Resort. The District, an outdoor promenade at Green Valley Ranch, will see the arrival of Flower Child (fast casual cuisine on the healthy side) and North Italia (sit-down Italian) in the months ahead.

You can't have too many food halls in Las Vegas these days, although some are beginning to shy away from the term. The Fontainebleau, for example, is calling their cluster of fast-casual service counters a "promenade." Now, a "food collective" called Miracle Eats is coming to the Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood with as many as 11 food and drink concepts. The space is designed to be easy and convenient with communal dining areas, high-tech LED screens, and even some entertainment with the Lost City Show to show off some projection mapping. Expect an opening later in the year by the south entrance. The Rio had no shame with the name of what it calls the Canteen Food Hall, which opened on January 19 in the old Carnival World Buffet space, once known as the best seafood buffet in town. Guests now line up to order grab-and-go food from the Southland Burrito Co., Shogun Ramen, Tony Luke's (a Philadelphia cheesesteak chain), Tender Crush (chicken tenders by the team behind Black Tap Craft Burgers & Beer), Nama Nama (sushi in a "street food" format by the creators of Tekka Bar), and Attaboy Burgers (a simple menu of smash burgers and fried bologna sandwiches) by chef Alex Reznick, a former Top Chef competitor who recently had a management role in the now-closed 138 Chophouse. This is just the beginning of what will likely be a year of big changes for the Rio, which is now under the ownership of Dreamscape.

Flamingo
The more things change, the more they stay the same. Gordon Ramsay is opening his second burger joint this summer and seventh overall restaurant in Las Vegas at the Flamingo. Gordon Ramsay Burger takes over the space formerly home to Bird Bar with an open-air patio overlooking the Strip to enjoy flame-grilled burgers, house-made ketchup, and truffle fries. Meanwhile, Lisa Vanderpump continues the British invasion of Vegas by opening her third Strip lounge this summer. Pinky's by Vanderpump takes over the old Purple Zebra Daiquiri Bar, promising a retro pink and green color scheme with brass accents and a covered terrace.

Mandalay Bay
After closing at Mandalay Bay, Wolfgang Puck's Lupo is moving to Downtown Summerlin to take over the old Player's Locker space. Meanwhile, the original location is coming back to life as Caramá. The new concept will see the celebrity chef go deeper in exploring the culinary regions of Italy with an interactive salumi station and greater emphasis on cocktails and wine. Michael Mina will bring a version of his Bourbon Steak to the adjacent Four Seasons later this year, replacing Charlie Palmer Steak. This comes on the heels of the opening of his second restaurant at the resort, Orla, where he blends Mediterranean and Middle Eastern flavors. Meanwhile, Mina's Stripsteak saw an impressive renovation in 2022.

West Valley
NORMS (all caps, no apostrophe) has been a staple in Los Angeles for 75 years and finally comes to Las Vegas for the first time with a location in the works near Charleston and Decatur. The restaurant chain, known for its retro Googie architecture and iconic sign, specializes in classic diner staples like omelets, burgers, meatloaf, and country fried steak. There are more than 20 SoCal locations, but the brand is promising the Vegas version will be NORMS "on steroids" with the possibility of gaming machines, beer, wine, and liquor around the clock. Expect doors to open in early summer.

Horseshoe
The Grand Bazaar Shops are a bit bizarre, with most of the business tucked inside interchangeable boxcar-style spaces. In a change of pace that's long overdue, the retail park is welcoming a pair of towering anchor tenants in 2024. Blake Shelton's Ole Red, originally planned for 2023, is finally opened as a four-story bar and restaurant with multiple levels overlooking a towering big-screen and live country music stage. It'll be a nice companion piece to Bottled Blonde, a four-story dining and entertainment venue that, if the Scottsdale original is any indication, will emphasize beer, brunch, and pizza. The Vegas version is aiming to prove bigger is better with bottle service, mimosa towers (with three bottles worth of bubbly), 128-ounce beer towers, and Zuluma, a separate lounge on the third floor. Both venues have open-air rooftop lounges and views of the Bellagio fountains across the street.

Park MGM
The Chef Truck quietly opened in late 2023, but is worth watching to see how it develops in the new year. Much like the 2014 movie it's based on, Chef (a modest box office success and cult classic), the new venture is a collaboration between director/writer/actor Jon Favreau and celebrity chef Roy Choi. Modeled after the food truck featured in the flick, the grab-and-go counter serves a simple, straight-forward menu of street food done right from Austin, Miami, New Orleans, and Los Angeles. The $15 Cuban sandwich is a must-try and the loaded Mojo Pork Bowl offers incredible value for $16. Choi says he wants to expand the menu this year, with a po' boy sandwich and beignet pancakes as top candidates for new dishes.

Off the Strip
The AREA15 art and entertainment complex is more of a campus now with multiple buildings and attractions–and it just continues to grow. Ground has broken on the AREA15 District, a 20-acre expansion to the north. So far, we can expect to see Horror Unleashed, a scary year-round attraction by Universal Destinations & Experiences, iFLY Indoor Skydiving (with new vertical wind-tunnel technology), and an outdoor space for pop-up events, featuring a salvaged Boeing 747 that once appeared at Burning Man. The expansion also opens up room for additional dining and shopping options at AREA15.

Southwest
If you couldn't tell by the 2023 arrivals of the Durango Casino and Resort and UnCommons, the Southwest Valley is booming right now. The Bend has been a slow work in progress for more than five years, but the 158,000-square-foot dining, retail, and entertainment complex is promising Phase 1 by the end of 2024. That means you'll get to roam the courtyard and check out new businesses like Butcher & Thief (a steak concept by Cory Harwell of Carson Kitchen), Union Biscuit (Southern-style biscuits and fried chicken), Sea Ya Soon (oysters, crudo, and champagne), St. Felix (cocktails and spirits), Dinette Luncheonette, Marufuku Ramen, and established Vegas favorites like the Great Greek, Aces & Ales, Freed's Dessert Shop, Mothership Coffee Roasters, Baguette Cafe, Makeshift Union barbershop, and Sola Salon Studios. The anticipated Electric Pickle, which mixes pickleball courts with a two-story restaurant, bars, and an event lawn, has been pushed back to 2025.

The LINQ
Consider 2024 a year of adjustment for Spiegelworld. The eclectic production company just closed OPM at the Cosmopolitan, but is gearing up to open DiscoShow at The LINQ inside the Glitterloft (the abandoned Imperial Palace sportsbook) this summer. The production is promising a cast of characters in a 1970s disco-era setting with a dancefloor, bars, and a diner. Meanwhile, Spiegelworld continues to draw crowds with Absinthe (alongside Pier 17 Yacht Club, a sister speakeasy bar) at Caesars Palace and Atomic Saloon at the Venetian, while teasing to turn Nipton into a "circus town" (or at least some type of creative incubator) after buying the small California community about a year ago.

The LINQ
Las Vegas is obsessed with immersive attractions these days–and you can add another one to the list soon. At least DREAMBOX360º is setting itself apart with booze. It makes sense because this is the latest project from the team behind Minus5 Ice Bar. Come during the week and sip cocktails with Captain Flint McGreggor during "The Arctic Ghost Ship: A Quest in Search of the Lost Rum," a 15-minute 5D presentation with wraparound video screens, rain, mist, and other special effects. Experience "The Weekend Trip" on Friday and Saturday nights–a psychedelic party with an open bar, colorful projections, thunderstorms, and blizzards while a live DJ performs.

Industrial Corridor
Planet 13 is adding some fun stuff in the months ahead. The off-Strip cannabis superstore is welcoming the Koolsville Tattoo Shop and DAZED! Lounge, a new space for consumption on April 20. The latter will have a speakeasy-style entrance via a phone booth in the main hallway, televisions, and decor that's on the trippy side whether you're high or not. Getting stoned and making decisions about getting a tattoo seems like a messy recipe, but Planet 13 wants to pack as much as possible into the pot shopping experience, which will also include live music and the opening of Cannabition, a marijuana museum that previously operated on Fremont Street.

The Strip
Las Vegas is already shaping up to be a huge year for concerts with the Rolling Stones, Morgan Wallen, Pink, George Strait, and K-Pop girl group Twice already booked at Allegiant Stadium and Bruce Springsteen making a long-awaited Vegas return at the T-Mobile Arena. A few other acts plan to stick around a while. Following the success of U2, PHISH becomes the second-ever music act at the Sphere, playing four shows in April with a different setlist each night. Shania Twain, Scorpions (both at Planet Hollywood's Bakkt Theater), New Edition (Encore Theater at the Wynn), Wu-Tang Clan (Virgin Hotels), Jodeci (House of Blues), and T-Pain (Zouk Nightclub) are also debuting new residencies on the Strip in 2024. Meanwhile, Adele (Caesar's Palace) extended her residency through June; Miranda Lambert (Planet Hollywood) wraps up her residency in April; and Foreigner (Venetian Theater) added 16 dates to its residency.

Bellagio
You can't keep Bruno Mars out of Las Vegas. The singer has enjoyed two residencies at the Park MGM (as a solo artist and part of his Silk Sonic collaboration with Anderson .Paak), but seems to have a special relationship with the Bellagio, where he first made a splash in town at the old Bank nightclub, performed a New Year's Eve set at Mayfair Supper Club last year, and rode a JetSki through the resort's iconic fountains while filming one of his biggest videos. Now he's getting his own cocktail lounge at the resort. Few details have been released about the Pinky Ring, which takes over Lily Bar & Lounge in early 2024. Mars is playing a major role in the design, promising it will resemble his "personal penthouse suite" with live jazz music, a DJ setup for spinning vinyl, and a crystal-clear audio system.

Silverton
The Silverton Casino Lodge welcomes an all-new sportsbook in March–just in time for college basketball tournament betting. Circa Sports' first satellite book in the Southwest will have a video wall with lounge seating, three betting windows, three self-service betting kiosks, and 22 bartop gaming machines. It's the latest in a series of renovations for the Silverton, which saw dramatic room upgrades in 2022.

Multiple locations
The success of Topgolf didn't go unnoticed. The new year brings a fresh lineup of golf attractions that give you more than a mere putting green. Atomic Golf is gearing up to open at the Strat during the first half of the year, featuring four levels with more than a hundred driving bays, eight digital putting bays, luxury suites, bars, and more, including the Astrocade for watching sports on floor-to-ceiling screens. Popstroke, a brand affiliated with Tiger Woods, comes to Town Square with a two-level venue that includes a beer garden, playground, bars, and a dining area with two 18-hole putting courses that resemble traditional golf courses with artificial turf. Order drinks on an app while you play. Swingers is a three-story mini-golf (or "crazy golf") complex for adults with booze, food trucks, and an English countryside theme. Chip Shots, a private club in the Southwest with two levels of high-tech golf simulators, a restaurant, cigar lounge, bars, and outdoor spaces, was supposed to open in 2023, but the date was pushed back to 2024 and little has been posted on its social media accounts for months.

Off the Strip
Yes, sports. U2 has already proved that the Sphere is the most incredible live concert venue in the world. Now, there's endless excitement about what other events might pop up there. The Ultimate Fighting Championship has officially booked the Sphere for September 14, 2024 with what's expected to be a loaded lineup to coincide with Mexican Independence Day weekend (traditionally a big fight weekend in Las Vegas). UFC President Dana White is promising "the greatest live combat sports show anybody has ever seen," although it's interesting that the fight organization didn't book the Sphere for the landmark UFC 300 card, which takes place April 13 at the T-Mobile Arena. It wouldn't be a surprise to see the Sphere's shape-shifting 160,000-square-foot LED screen to be fully utilized during fighter entrances—and with relative restraint during the bouts themselves. The NHL's draft lands in the Sphere June 28 and June 29.

On and off the Strip
Funny enough, the biggest thing to hit Las Vegas in 2024 takes place on a sole Sunday afternoon, although there will be a lot of hoopla and events leading up to it. Super Bowl LVIII is February 11 at Allegiant Stadium with a showdown to determine the best two teams in the NFL and frequent Strip headliner Usher as the halftime show. Expect to see road closures and barricades around the stadium and on certain areas of the Strip. At least 18 different TV shows are scheduled to film in front of the Bellagio during Super Bowl week. For the first time ever, the general public is invited to the Opening Night ceremonies (February 5) and there will be tons of activities all over town, including the Super Bowl Experience (a fan zone at Mandalay Bay with autograph signings, skills challenges, photo ops with the Vince Lombardi trophy, and other fun stuff February 7–10) Taste of the NFL at the Keep Memory Alive Event Center (February 10), and Guy Fieri's Flavortown Tailgate is Better with Pepsi the morning of the game at The LINQ.

Henderson
Vegas can't have enough sports teams these days, and yet another one has already arrived in 2024. The Vegas Thrill is one of seven teams in the new Pro Volleyball Association with home games taking place at the Dollar Loan Center arena in Henderson. The season runs from February 7 to May. Tickets are $29 to $114 with season tickets available for a deposit of $100.

Fontainebleau
The all-new Fontainebleau is full of restaurants, bars, and attractions–and it's almost surprising how much more is still to come in 2024. The resort is launching LIV Beach in time for pool party season in Las Vegas, featuring a to-be-named DJ lineup. John Summit already kicked off a residency at sister LIV Nightclub, so don't be surprised to see him make some appearances. The dayclub is just one part of a massive six-acre seven-pool rooftop deck with bars, restaurants, and gambling to keep you busy. As the new year progresses, the Fontainebleau will reveal most of its luxury retail lineup (Chrome Hearts, Giuseppe Zanotti, Missoni, Cocoa Dulce, Ora, Morris and Co., FB Express, with more to be announced this year) and additional restaurants like Ito (a 12-seat omakase experience in the top floor), Cantina Contramar (Mexican with a Casa Dragones tequila tasting room), and Chyna Club (Cantonese by the same team behind Hakkasan).

Luxor
Particle Ink had a successful run in 2022, giving the Arts District something of a residency show that combined live performances with technology, music, and trippy effects inside a self-guided warehouse tour. The concept comes to the Strip on March 14 with Particle Ink: House of Shattered Prisms at the Luxor. This time around, the attraction will be divided into two experiences: one based on live performances and a story with a one-hour runtime and another that's a choose-your-own adventure self-guided tour to explore the venue. Less is known about Play Playground, a 13,000-square-foot venue that aims to reimagine children's activities for adults with a large circular bar as the centerpiece. There will be more than 20 games with hours that are family-friendly during the day and 21-and-over at night.

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