Next year, the Oakland Raiders become the Las Vegas Raiders and will play in Allegiant Airlines Stadium currently being built adjacent to the Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino.
Until then, the biggest game in town remains the Vegas Golden Knights of the National Hockey League.
Every game, home or away, can be viewed at every bar and casino throughout the city, and one of the best places to watch is the 9,000-square-foot outdoor deck called The Beer Park at Paris Las Vegas. The dynamic bar and grill overlooks the Strip and has a tailgate party atmosphere with picnic tables and more than 100 beer selections (36 on draft). Not interested in hockey? Watch the incredible views of the Fountains of Bellagio or play billiards and foosball, as well as oversized yard games. 702-444-4500. www.beerpark.com.
The U.S. Figure Skating’s 2019 Skate America is coming to Las Vegas for the first time. The world’s top figure skaters will be at the Orleans Arena Oct. 18 – 20. It is the first of six stops of the International Skating Union Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series with other stops being Canada, France, Russia and Japan. Skaters are competing to qualify for the Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final in December in Torino, Italy.
The event features three days of competition in the women’s, men’s, pairs, and ice dance categories. It concludes Oct. 20 with the Skating Spectacular, an exhibition of champions, medalists and invited guests. The show will be headlined by United States’ two-time reigning World champion Nathan Chen; Olympian Bradie Tennell; reigning United States pairs champions Ashley Cain-Gribble and Timothy LeDuc; and two-time World medalist ice dancers Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue. Tickets can be purchased at gift shops inside The Orleans, Suncoast, Gold Coast and Sam’s Town. www.2019skateamerica.com.
Two antennas met on a roof, fell in love and got married. The ceremony wasn’t much but the reception was excellent.
A jumper cable walks into a bar. The bartender says, “I’ll serve you, but don’t start anything.”
Mahatma Gandhi walked barefoot most of the time, which produced an impressive set of calluses on his feet. He also ate very little, which made him rather frail, and with his odd diet, he suffered from bad breath. This made him “A super calloused fragile mystic hexed by halitosis.”
There was the person who sent 20 different puns to his friends with the hope that at least 10 of the puns would make them laugh. No pun in ten did.
— Diamond Jack Bulavsky
It’s the beginning of fall, and cooler weather and Oktoberfests are here!
Truly, the month to celebrate is October. There are many festivals to attend if you are a beer and German food lover.
Let’s start with the most famous for Las Vegas, Oktoberfest at The Hofbrauhaus. The Hof (or Haus as they call it) is located diagonally across the street from what is still the Hard Rock Hotel on Paradise Road and Harmon Avenue. It is a huge white building that you can’t miss if you are in this area. Their tapping-of-the-keg officially began on September 13th with Cesar Milan as the host. But Okltoberfest runs through the end of October, with celebrities hosting every Friday and Saturday night at 7:30 p.m.
If you want to see those celebrities and raise a pint or two the October weekends will have, among others, Crazy Girls (Oct. 4), Rick Harrison of Pawn Stars (Oct. 5), Chippendales (Oct. 18) and Zowie Bowie (Oct. 19).
If you miss the weekend activities you can still visit, eat and imbibe earlier in the day, since they open at 11 a.m., 7 days a week. Their entertainment, which is brought in each month from Germany, does not start until 5 p.m. Saturday through Thursday and 6 p.m. on Friday. And they do like to entertain in various ways. Be prepared to do the chicken dance and sing and, maybe, even play the horn!
Their seating is shared seating in the German tradition. So, if you are not bringing a group to fill the table you could be sitting with soon-to-be new friends. This is a happy place, so enjoy your time there, since you don’t go that often. If the huge main hall dining room fills up they have an outdoor, outback patio which is also huge for seating. Always ask for the main hall when reserving or just stopping in unplanned. I believe it is the most fun of the two seating areas. Reservations can be made on their website at this link.
Besides ordering from the great beer selection, don’t forget to eat! Obviously, you have to have a Bavarian Pretzel. (The question will be which size.) You should also try their daily specials of sausages, pork roast, beef, meat loaf and goulash. They have a regular menu with salads, soups, appetizers, snacks, and sausage specialties, and you can get a burger or roasted chicken, too. You should not leave hungry!
And I don’t believe you would even think about having too many beers and trying their challenge of the XL family style plate of Kasespatzle. This is 3 pounds of their German noodle, hence the Spatzle part, that has 1 pound of melted Swiss cheese and a half-pound of fried onions on top. The Haus will give it to you free if you, and only you, can finish it in an hour. They will also give you a free stein and a photo on social media for your efforts.
The prices are typical for the Las Vegas resort corridor; however, they give you huge portions for your money. And if you check in on Yelp just before you get there you can get a free 10 oz. stein of beer with a lunch or dinner entree! Make sure you show your server when ordering.
The German American Social Club of Nevada will be hosting a 2-day Oktoberfest event on Friday, October 4th from 6 p.m. until 10 p.m., and Saturday, October 5th from 3 p.m. until 10 p.m. with free admission both days. All are welcome to attend this public event.
The club is an older group of folks who can always use members. So don’t be surprised if they try to recruit you! Their club is open Tuesdays through Saturdays, and they have numerous events.
Friday’s opening will showcase beer, brats and sauerkraut and Saturday they will have German food, i.e. strudel, potato pancakes and potato salad, music and German dancers. While the entry for the event is free, the beer and food are available for purchase both days.
They are located at 1110 E. Lake Mead Blvd. which is just east of Las Vegas Boulevard and north of Downtown.
Have you been to Ellis Island Hotel & Brewery yet? Ellis Island Hotel & Brewery is located on the east side of Koval Lane just south of Flamingo Road. They are holding their annual Oktoberfest party on Saturday, October 5th. This is a fun event beginning at 7 p.m. and including all-you-can-drink beer, contests including holding as many steins as possible and how many pretzels you can eat, plus giveaways, karaoke and more.
If you purchase your tickets in advance from Eventbrite using this link you will receive a T-shirt and souvenir mug along with all that beer. Advance general admission is $35.43 with a Designated Drivers price of $24.15. (Both prices include tax and fees.) Designated Drivers will not receive beer. By the way, if you wait to purchase your tickets at the door on the night of the event the ticket price is $40.
— Pauline Cimoch
Dirty Heads Headline Concert at Mandalay Bay Beach
Southern California’s pop/reggae/hip-hop band the Dirty Heads will perform at Mandalay Bay’s 2019 Concerts on the Beach Series sponsored by MillerCoors and Pepsi on Friday, Oct. 4 at 9 p.m. General admission tickets are $62.50.
SoCal alt-rockers Dirty Heads released their seventh studio album, “Super Moon” at the beginning of August. The group has been redefining the sound of Southern California since 2003 and delivering hit after hit over their 16-year career.
Nitro Comedy Tour to Stop at Bally’s Jubilee Theater
The Nitro Comedy Tour, starring comedians Catfish Cooley and Andrew Conn and featuring DJ Slim McGraw, will headline the Jubilee Theater with two performances at Bally’s on Friday-Saturday, Oct. 11 and 12 at 9 p.m. General ticket prices begin at $31.
The hilarious trio will bring their Southern schtick to Sin City. For Cooley, don’t judge a book by its cover. He’s not just a guy drinking hot sauce and chugging whiskey, he’s a real storyteller with a positive message. You may recognize him from when he was featured on “Tosh.O.”
Conn, a Kentucky native, recently started dominating the stage with his playful personality and comical facial expressions. When he isn’t busy sharing his offbeat, true-life experiences center stage, he’s sharing his comedic journey through unfiltered videos.
McGraw with his Southern roots has opened for Brett Eldredge, Lee Brice, Randy Houser, Dylan Scott, and shared the stage with The Chainsmokers, Calvin Harris, Nelly, and Flo Rida, among others. When he’s in Nashville, you can find him on Broadway playing at Jason Aldean’s Rooftop Bar, Luke Bryan’s 32 Bridge and Florida Georgia Line’s FGL House.
“Atomic Saloon Show” Opens at Grand Canal Shoppes
Spiegelworld’s “Atomic Saloon Show” is now open at the Atomic Saloon inside the Grand Canal Shoppes at The Venetian Resort. Saloon owner Boozy Skunkton has collected a colorful troupe of international entertainers to create the greatest saloon show, now performing six nights a week.
Spiegelworld, the creators of “Absinthe” and “Opium” in Las Vegas, was just awarded five stars for “Atomic Saloon Show” by the UK’s leading newspapers during its month-long run at Edinburgh Festival Fringe. “The Times” of London wrote of the show, “Rodeo on steroids is louche and delirious…putting the wild into the Wild West.”
“Blanc de Blanc” Opened at Sahara
“Blanc de Blanc,” which opened at the Sahara, is the Las Vegas debut for Strut & Fret Production House, one of Australia’s preeminent theatre and major events companies. The award-winning production, which has sold out the Sydney Opera House, London’s West End, the Brisbane Festival, and the Adelaide Festival, is plunging audiences into an adult world production.
After a remodel, the French cabaret tiered showroom offers various types of seating, some circular pools and a hot tub and stage as focal points. Variety acts — acrobatic, balancing, aerial, etc. — led by a stud-model emcee turn the room into a party-like free for all! It’s important to attend with an open mind and an urge to go crazy. Drinking lots of champagne would be a good idea.
Show times are 7 p.m. Thursdays through Mondays, with additional 9:30 p.m. shows on Saturdays. Tickets range from $49 to $129.
— Jackie Brett
