Las Vegas
The Park
Diamond Jack was born and raised in Kansas City, MO, and he knows parks. Kansas City is home to some great parks, including the 1,805-acre Swope Park, one of the largest urban parks in the United States.
Las Vegas now has The Park, the outdoor dining and entertainment district between New York-New York and Monte Carlo. There’s not a lot of green, but it does celebrates the surrounding desert landscape and is designed to be a gathering space where guests can admire unique design elements and iconic art. It is also the gateway to the new 20,000-seat T-Mobile Arena.
Unique water features add unexpected visuals, as do dramatic plantings incorporating a variety of desert blooms. Then there is Bliss Dance, the 40-foot-tall sculpture of a dancing woman created by artist Marco Cochrane. She stands as the centerpiece of The Park and is illuminated by nearly 3,000 colored LED lights at night.
When it’s time to eat, there are a number of casual restaurants and bars with indoor/outdoor seating. Start at Beerhaus, an American beer hall serving sustainably raised farm-to-table meats, regional craft brews, live music, and games such as foosball, shuffleboard and ping pong.
Shake Shack is known for its all-natural burgers, flat-top dogs and frozen custard. California Pizza Kitchen blends seasonal ingredients for its signature hand-tossed pizzas and unique pastas and salads. Sake Rok has sushi and Japanese cuisine and becomes a high-profile social dining extravaganza at night inspired by Japan’s pop culture and fashion movements. Bruxie is the casual, gourmet waffle restaurant that serves sandwiches on a light, crisp and not too sweet authentic Brussels Waffle.
After a day in The Park, Diamond Jack and his double diamond wife Marilyn may decide to stay on the Strip, and when we do we head over to either the Wynn or Encore resorts. That’s because all guest rooms and suites come with 507-thread count, 100 percent Egyptian cotton sheets. Wynn Resorts invested $9 million for these linens and are the only hotels in the world to offer a thread count this high. It will be a good night’s sleep. P.S. The linens are available for purchase at both properties.
— Diamond Jack Bulavsky
Summertime, summertime, sum-sum summertime!
Remember that song by The Jamies in 1958? While a lot of people will not remember this song from way back then, it still applies every year at this time! If you would like to recall the tune or hear it for the first time you can find a YouTube of it through Google. Let’s kick off the season with a few activities for your enjoyment in Las Vegas.
If you are into slip n’ slides, take a trip on June 4 to Henderson’s Slide The City. The slide is 3 football fields in length (1,000 feet) and you can slide from noon until 5 p.m. The slide is located on Shaded Canyon Drive — yes, on the street. The street is padded by the slide, so have no fear of asphalt burns! A Triple Slide ticket gives you 3 slides for $40 if ordered by June 4th. The price is $45 on the day of the event. The Ultimate Slider is $60 and you can ride as many times as you like from 9 a.m. until noon. You will receive an inflatable tube (which you must have in order to ride anyway), a mouth guard and a drawstring bag with either of these tickets. If you purchase a Single Slider ticket it does not include the inflatable tube, so, bring one or buy one. Also, food and entertainment will be at this long block party for the whole family.
Saturday, June 11 from noon until 11 p.m., Reggae in the Desert will return to the Clark County Amphitheater for its 15th year. General admission is $40 and VIP is $120 which includes a t-shirt, poster, air-conditioned area with rest rooms and couches (welcome respite from the heat!), a cash bar and meet & greet area with the artists. No food or beverages except a personal unopened water bottle are allowed in; however, you can bring a blanket, sunscreen and a still camera (no video). Island-type food and beverages are available for purchase. There will also be Caribbean arts and crafts to bargain for and food vendors. Note: There is no re-entry to the event.
June 11th also is the day for Junefest at Sunset Station’s Outdoor Amphitheater in Henderson. For a little bit of nostalgia, the featured performers are Pat Benatar, Lou Gramm (Foreigner), The English Beat and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy. The concerts begin at 4 p.m. and prices start at $29.
If you have not tried Salsa (dancing, not the sauce) you are in for a treat at the 13th annual Las Vegas Salsa Congress taking place at the Tropicana Hotel & Casino. The event takes place June 30 through July 4th, and a hot time will be had by all! There is a pre-party at the Hard Rock Live (on the Strip, not at the Hard Rock Hotel on Paradise) beginning at 10 p.m. on June 30th that runs until 4 a.m. (yes, a.m.). The cost is $15 in advance or $20 at the door. Each day has a different schedule of shows, workshops and dancing, and ticket prices run from $30 in advance to $50 at the door each day. But keep in mind that each day starts at 8 a.m. and ends at 5 a.m. the next day! The question is, “Can you keep up?”
— Pauline Cimoch
