Vital Vegas Podcast, Ep. 161: Fontainebleau Debut and 93 Casinos in One Day

After a short hiatus, the Vital Vegas Podcast is back and we’re so sorry. About the show being back. Not the hiatus. That was actually great. Although, we did miss stuffing Las Vegas into your sound collection orifices.

Anyway, in this episode, we walk you through the newest Las Vegas casino resort, the eye candy factory that is Fontainebleau Las Vegas.

We screwed up the pronunciation of LIV nightclub, but going back and editing it would involve “effort,” so that’s not happening. LIV is pronounced like “you only live once.” We knew that. Podcasting requires a sharp mind and the ability to think on one’s feet. This is not that.

Fontainebleau is an amazing new hotel-casino, despite being in close proximity to Circus Circus. Its story is all the more incredible given many didn’t beleive the opening would ever happen. The building sat idle for nearly two decades.

The folks at Fontainebleau Development and Koch Real Estate Investments, along with $2.2 billion in financing from J.P. Morgan, SMBC, Blackstone Real Estate Debt Strategies, Goldman Sachs, Guggenheim and Vici Properties, made it happen.

Yes, there’s been some drama around Fontainebleau (three key executives have left the building since it opened Dec. 13, 2023), but that makes the resort even more interesting because it gives us something to write about other than nuisance fees, paper straws and Criss Angel’s haircut.

At every turn, Fontainebleau gives visitors something to ogle. Every restaurant (there are a lot, with more on the way) is a work of art, and every work of art is a, well, also a work of art.

We’ll tell you what to expect and all the inside scoop on this glorious new addition to our magical city. Technically, county. Whatever.

Also in this episode, we interview our friends John and Kristina Mehaffey. This local couple runs VegasAdvantage.com and for their anniversary, they visited 93 casinos in and around Las Vegas in a 24 hour period. Yes, their record-breaking casino trek happened back in Oct. 2023, but we thought saving their interview would create some additional mystery and suspense. Here’s more.

We also blow through all the Las Vegas news we didn’t get a chance to talk about over the past few months. Not the stuff everyone else talked about. Boring. We share the behind-the-scenes skinny that nobody else reports because they have an even greater aversion to interacting with lawyers than we do.

The big stories from 2023 include MGM Resorts and Caesars Entertainment being hacked (and their very different ways of dealing with their respective fiascos), All Net is finally canceled, Dream Resort has stalled (probably for good), Silver Sevens will become The Continental, the Culinary union’s theatrics continue, Caesars Entertainment cleans house (a slew of executives have been shown the door), and some of the best news entering the New Year: Zowie Bowie is out at Fremont Street Experience.

Fremont Street Experience is revamping their line-up of house bands. Spandex Nation is done, too. But mostly Zowie Bowie. Ah, the memories.

Also, Las Vegas Review-Journal “journalist” Johnny Kleptometes is in the “find out” phase of our situationship. We share all the asshattery.

You’ll also hear details about why we’re going to dinner with Criss Angel, Perez Hilton and Sam Novak this week. It’s a doozy and you will definitely want to stock up on popcorn.

If you listen until after the “outro” of the show, there’s an Easter egg. You’ll hear us at age 11 making a recording for our grandparents. They’ve passed, so at least there’s somebody who we know won’t be suing us over this episode.

Listen to our semi-annual podcast at your leisure, and while you’re leaving a five-star review on iTunes, read the dozens of one-star reviews our nutjob stalker left because several of them are genuinely hysterical. Mentally disturbed-hysterical, but still hysterical.