The sound of crumbling, crystallized confection was not sweet. Groans of anguish roared through the ballroom as a lifetime of training and more than a year of preparation showed itself as a heap of shattered sugar. For Team South Korea, it was the equivalent of a gymnast falling from the balance beam, an ice skater falling on the ice. Pastry sculpture at this level is an intense, suspenseful art.
Restaurateur and nightclub owner Michael Morton is the latest Las Vegas entrepreneur to look downtown for new ventures. Morton is planning to open a tequila/rock-'n'-roll bar serving Mexican food near Fremont and Sixth streets.
Rock star Gavin Rossdale described the bejeweled steak knife at STK this way: "It cut like a knife but glitters like the best girl," the Bush lead singer wrote in a notebook for the steakhouse at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.
Ian Chan looked across the poker table and saw other players concentrating not on cards but on their smartphones. Then someone noticed the little blue bird logo on Chan's T-shirt.
The Eldorado marked the beginning of Boyd Gaming, which now owns 17 casinos. It was one of the first casinos to market itself to locals. And it was among the first casinos in the valley to hire women dealers. The casino turns 50 today and now features many of the blinking casino signs that hung on its walls during the 1960s. Antiques emblazoned with the casino’s logo decorate shelves. Old-fashioned mechanical slot machines line the main gaming floor. They no longer work, but they remind visitors of the casino’s history. A large part of the Eldorado’s charm remains its intimate setting and family feel.
Aladdin & the Magic Quest is as much a ride as it is a slot machine. The penny slot that began appearing in casinos two weeks ago gives players the sensation of riding a magic carpet. A moving seat sways and bobs as a virtual carpet flies through a castle.
Robert Irvine didn’t ask producers why they chose the Maple Tree Cafe in Las Vegas for his show “Restaurant: Impossible.” He never does. “When I first pull up in my car, I’m really seeing everything for the first time, and I don’t want to spoil that,” Irvine said.
Healthy, tasty eating was a major focus of this week's Institute for Food Technologies Expo at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Companies from across the world showcased healthy products that they say taste good. Even burgers, soft drinks and chocolate.
Inside the shiny pink dome of Circus Circus, amid the clang of arcade games and the squeals of children, is a revered Las Vegas steakhouse. The Steak House sits between a souvenir shop and a “Party 2 Night” store that sells light-up hats. Customers must walk past screaming families on roller coasters and barkers hawking toys to get to it.
Toy collectors lined up by the dozens Thursday night at the Cosmopolitan to pick up a new series of Kidrobot figures and have them signed by two of the artists who created them.
Facebook could shape the future of the Strip. As gambling expands overseas and Las Vegas diversifies as a tourist destination, casino operators are looking to online gaming as a way to attract new customers and increase profits.
An Alaska woman is planning to take her son to New Zealand after winning a $1 million jackpot Wednesday night at the Hard Rock in Las Vegas. Linda Fleury of Eagle River hit the prize on the Wheel of Fortune.
The trailer with 15 slot machines popped up once again today on the site of the historic Moulin Rouge near downtown Las Vegas. But unlike in past years when owners set up the makeshift casino to keep alive the property's unrestricted gaming license, people showed up.
A bellboy without pants. A stylish woman with a man packed in her steamer trunk. A guy using Queen lyrics as a pick-up line. Those startling, but memorable, images earned the Cosmopolitan two national advertising awards.
When Silke Ortloff began choreographing a number for dancers from the Nevada Ballet and Las Vegas’ Cirque du Soleil shows, she had a major challenge to overcome — clothing. Ortloff usually works as artistic director and choreographer for Zumanity, the adults-only Cirque du Soleil show at New York-New York that features nude performers.
The Gold Rush Casino in Henderson closed its doors last week but will reopen in the fall as Wildfire Sunset. Crews are working to bring the casino at Sunset Road and Marks Street in line with the rest of the Wildfire neighborhood casinos.
Geno Bernardo, executive chef of Nove Italiano at the Palms, will prepare local ingredients from his own farm, as well as area farms, during this month's Project Dinner Table.
The themed bar is part of a business strategy that will bring the Broadway show "Rock of Ages" to the Las Vegas resort by the end of the year to replace the Blue Man Group.
When Yasmin Tajik took up marine biology, she didn't figure on working in the desert, caring for sea creatures that would soon become someone's dinner. But that's where her career has taken her — to a chilled cooler filled with saltwater tanks beneath the casino floor of the Wynn Las Vegas resort. It's a hidden world where an array of sea creatures, including about 3,000 lobsters a month, pass through on their way to one of 20 restaurants supplied by Tajik's operation. "Yes, we sell that many lobsters," she said. "It's like the restaurants are buying out of our warehouse."
When a boom in her homeland's tourism industry prompted Foo Nyuk Xin to begin studying hotel management, the Singaporean student looked to Las Vegas as a learning ground. "It’s where they've been doing it for years, so there's no better place to learn how everything works," Foo said. "In Singapore, it's all new."
The cards may decide winner, but they can't beat the bling. The World Series of Poker unveiled its championship bracelet for the main event winner with what the jeweler called the most expensive championship adornment to be offered in any professional sport.
Smoke from a northern Nevada wildfire is likely to continue enveloping the Las Vegas Valley with a light gray blanket until late Thursday afternoon. The Clark County Department of Air Quality issued an advisory Wednesday morning, as smoke coming from the Tre wildfire west of Wellington increased the levels of pollutants in the air.
The staff at Joel Robuchon in Las Vegas offers a behind-the-scenes look at how it uses hand-painted plates and decorated desserts to transform food into art. Becoming, and remaining, one of the best restaurants in the world takes more than exquisite food. For a restaurant to earn a AAA Five Diamond distinction, as the Las Vegas establishment has done, it has to "exceed guest expectations by attending to every detail in an effortless and unobtrusive manner."
Howard Bulloch can peer over the top of Mandalay Bay from 500 feet above the Strip. "When you think of the Strip, that's the view people want to see," he said. "That's the attraction Las Vegas has for the rest of the world."
Jacqueline Carrizosa can say she's doubled for the sexiest woman alive. The 22-year-old U.S. Navy veteran and Las Vegas resident was a stunt double for Rihanna and taught the singer, model and now movie star how to act like a weapon-wielding sailor for the movie "Battleship," which opens nationwide this weekend.
Steve Martorano's grandmother died of Alzheimer's disease. So when the cook wanted to celebrate the fifth anniversary of Cafe Martorano at the Rio, he decided to throw a benefit for Keep Memory Alive.
Five new stores are opening at the Miracle Mile Shops, and others are moving into renovated or expand spaces — the latest of $8 million in construction at the center at Planet Hollywood in the past year.
People didn't always stop for photos between the Venetian and the Palazzo. But thanks to a few tweaks by the horticulture staff, the resorts' floral display has become one of the hottest sites for tourist photo ops — and one of the best-smelling spots — in Las Vegas during the past three years. The difference: adding tons of color and not planting the large flower gardens in neat little rows.
Rob Oseland heard plenty of skepticism about some of the projects he helped create along the Las Vegas Strip. The Bellagio was too expensive. The Wynn and Encore were too far north, away from the heart of the Strip.
Johnnie Walker will play the Riviera next month dressed in red, black, green, gold and blue. The top-selling Scotch label will headline a tasting dinner June 13 at the R Steak & Seafood restaurant.
Francois Payard tries to take the fear out of pastry. "People think pastry is hard, but they come here and they will learn everything the way I know how to do it," he says.
To create the kind of culinary experience that has drawn $20 million in spending to Las Vegas over the past five years, chefs need the freshest and best ingredients available at farmers markets.
As the summer heats up, visitors to the Las Vegas Strip can once again start the week with a poolside movie. The Cosmopolitan is bringing back "Dive-In Movies" beginning May 14 at the Boulevard Pool overlooking the Strip. Screenings begin at 8 p.m. each Monday.
Jennalyn Schilke started going to Station Casinos at age 7, romping in the properties' Kids Quest child centers while her parents hit the casino. Now, Station is featuring longtime customers like Schilke in TV ads aimed at portraying the company as part of the community fabric.
Progressive pai gow poker is paying off at locals casinos across Las Vegas. Station Casinos said its progressive jackpot winnings surpassed $1 million in April, three months after linking games at 10 of its properties. Top winners included a $216,000 jackpot on Jan. 31 and $213,500 on Feb. 16.
The rumble of an implosion early Tuesday provided the latest — and loudest — signal of progress in creation of the $500 million Project Linq entertainment district along the Las Vegas Strip.
When Sam Nazarian's sbe Entertainment Group launched the idea of an adult costume party on a Sunday afternoon at its XIV restaurant in Los Angeles, it wasn't universally predicted to become a hit. But it didn't take long to start packing in the 2,000 square-foot space on Sunset Boulevard each week with crowds looking for some Sunday afternoon debauchery.