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FI Promises Cheaper Las Vegas Tix, Less Disruption, This Time Around

Formula 1 said it would sell at least some tickets for this year’s Las Vegas race at lower price points. Las Vegas Grand Prix CEO Renee Wilm made the promise during F1 parent company Liberty Media’s earnings call this week. F1 has also promised that preparations for its second Las Vegas race — taking place Nov. 21-23, 2024 — would be only a third as disruptive to traffic, tourism, and commerce on the Strip.

About 316,000 tickets were sold for the 2023 race, with F1 estimating its economic impact on Las Vegas at $1.2 billion. (Image: XPB)

The inaugural Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix was the most expensive to attend on the racing group’s 2023 calendar. Though a limited number of standing-room only general admission seats were available for $500 in the MSG Sphere Zone, grandstand seats were priced at a minimum of $2,000 — and that was before the secondary market raised their prices even higher.

Though neglecting to mention how much the cheapest 2024 tickets would go for, Wilm said they would apply to new general admission zone where single-day admission will be possible.

Wilm also promised that F1 would try to distribute these tickets to the casino properties that felt disengaged from the first race — and its profits.

“We are also working in partnership with the LVCVA to actively engage downtown,” Wilm said. “Different types of activations, potentially watch parties, but really to spread this benefit of what was an incredible weekend throughout the entire valley.”

Vroom for Improvement

Clark County representatives also confirmed this week that the race would continue on the Las Vegas Strip through at least 2026, even though one Clark County official recently claimed that Clark County had no long-term commitment to stage the disruptive event.

The 2024 race will be run on the same 3.8-mile street circuit, which includes the Las Vegas Strip, Koval Lane and Harmon and Sands avenues.

F1 will also once again construct a temporary bridge on Flamingo Road over Koval, even though some local businesses negatively impacted by the bridge have threatened to sue F1 for millions in business losses. (Race officials and Clark County have stated that they are working on a plan to make this year’s bridge less disruptive.)

Grand Prix officials have claimed that the nine months it took to prep the circuit for 2023’s race will be compressed into three months.

About 316,000 tickets were sold for the 2023 race, with F1 estimating its economic impact on Las Vegas at $1.2 billion.

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Las Vegas’ Strat Complex Is Site of Yearly Fundraiser for Lung Association

Hundreds of participants are expected to take part in Sunday’s ‘Scale the Strat’ climb-a-thon up the Strat Hotel, Casino & Tower’s 108 floors.

Alexis Trujillo of Mexico City walks up the stairs at the Strat. He has taken part in prior Scale the Strat events in Las Vegas. (Image: KSNV)

Walkers need to make it up 1,455 steps to the top of the Las Vegas structure, some 800 feet above the ground. The ascent up the stairs takes place between 7 a.m. and noon on Sunday. It benefits the American Lung Association.

Current Record Time

Some participants have been able to make the journey in less than seven minutes. The current record was set last year when Wai Ching Soh of the Malaysia Tower Running Association reached the top stair in 6 minutes and 46 seconds.

Others are more likely to walk up the stairs at a more leisurely speed of about 40 minutes. Whatever their time, there is great anticipation over the philanthropic tradition.

Veteran climbers say it’s well worth the effort.

When you come out of that stairwell, you’re having trouble breathing, and you know what it’s like to fight for every breath,” Shannon Proctor, executive director of the American Lung Association of Nevada, told Las Vegas TV station KTNV last year.

Proctor’s own family members have battled lung disease. Her grandmother died from lung cancer, and both of her parents have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Participants include locals and visitors from many nations.

We can’t wait to welcome stair climbers from all over the world, as well as locals, who look forward to Scale the Strat each year,” Stephen Thayer, vice president and general manager of the Strat Hotel, Casino & Tower, told Las Vegas TV station KLAS.

Online registration has closed. But in-person registration takes place between 2 and 5 p.m. on Saturday and before 9 a.m. on Sunday.

Weekend registration is $50. There is a $200 fundraising minimum.

The Strat stair climb is affiliated with the American Lung Association’s Fight for Air Climb national events.

Millions Have Been Raised

As of earlier this month, $215K has been pledged for this year’s Strat event. The fundraising goal is more than $300K. Since it began in 2008, Scale the Strat has raised more than $2.8M.

The American Lung Association uses the money raised in Las Vegas and throughout the US in similar events to prevent lung disease and improve respiratory health through advocacy, patient education, and research efforts.

Many of those taking part will be on voluntary teams, made of friends, relatives, or co-workers.

Those taking part can get a 35% discount on a Strat hotel room. They will also be given a $20 food and beverage limited credit. The event’s code is ALA24.

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Abused Las Vegas Woman Heading to Prison After Six Children Also Were Abused

A Las Vegas woman, whose stepchildren were locked in a dog cage and suffered other forms of abuse, was sentenced Thursday to at least seven years in prison.

Amanda Stamper, 33, could spend as much as 18 years behind bars, under the sentence handed down by Clark County District Court Judge Nadia Krall.

While in court, Stamper apologized for the abusive conditions suffered by each of the six stepchildren.

Defendant Was Scared

“I’m embarrassed to be here,” Stamper told the judge before sentencing. “I know I should have done something sooner.”

I do take full responsibility for it. I was not in the best situation either and I was scared.”

When Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) officers arrived at their apartment last June after Stamper called 911, two of the six kids were in the locked cage. Four others were in the apartment. All were unattended.

They each suffered from various abuse which took place over the course of a year, prosecutors revealed.

None of the children were enrolled in school, even though they ranged in age from two to 11 years old.

In December, Stamper pleaded guilty to reduced charges of three counts of child abuse, neglect, or endangerment. She had been indicted on seven counts of child abuse and neglect.

Every single day the defendant failed to protect her six stepchildren,” Clark County Chief Deputy District Attorney Dena Rinetti revealed in court. “Her actions and her inactions will affect these children for the rest of their lives.”

Husband Faces 42 Charges

Stamper’s husband, Travis Doss, 32, a rapper known professionally as “Trap Montana,” allegedly abused the children.

One of the kids was forced by Doss to live in the dog cage for five days and apparently was given no food to eat, Rinetti said in court.

At another point, Doss sent Stamper a photo of a kid who appeared deceased after abusive conditions, Rinetti said. The youngster didn’t die.

At least some of the children were beaten to such an extent with a skillet, it had “dents in it from the children’s heads,” Stamper has claimed.

Doss has been indicted on 38 counts of child abuse, two counts of first-degree kidnapping, a count of sex trafficking, and a count of living off of the earnings of a prostitute.

Doss’s case is pending after he pled not guilty to the multiple charges. He’s scheduled to next appear in court on Thursday and remains in the Clark County Detention Center.

Stamper was the victim in the sex trafficking case, according to Las Vegas TV station KLAS.

Because of the abuse she suffered, Stamper should have been given probation rather than time in prison, her attorney, Caesar Almase, argued before the judge.

Very clearly she was not thinking rationally,” Almase said.

The couple were the birth parents of two other children. They were not abused, Stamper revealed.

Both Stamper and Doss have faced charges in other states, KLAS reported. The couple first met in Atlanta in 2017, according to the New York Post.

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Las Vegas Lunar New Year Parade, Festivities To Celebrate Year of the Dragon

The annual Las Vegas Spring Festival, also known as the Lunar New Year Parade, will take place Saturday at Fremont East Entertainment District in downtown Las Vegas.

Celebrating Lunar New Year in Nevada, pictured above. This is the Year of the Dragon. (Image: *Travel Nevada*)

It starts at 11 a.m. and lasts for about an hour. Between noon and 3 p.m., a parade after-party will be held at Downtown Container Park. It will feature live entertainment and many vendors.

Many other Lunar New Year events to usher in the Year of the Dragon will be held at casinos, malls, and other locations throughout Las Vegas this weekend. These include:

The North Premium Outlets will host a dragon dance between 1 and 3 p.m. Saturday.
The festivities continue between 3 and 8 p.m. Saturday at the UnCommons development. It will be highlighted by an Asian night market with food, crafts, live entertainment, a traditional dragon dance, a squid game-themed display, and wishing trees. The event is scheduled to run from 3 and 8 p.m. at 6880 Helen Toland St. It’s sponsored by the Asian American & Pacific Islander (AAPI) Chamber of Commerce of Southern Nevada.
The Shops at Crystals will hold a ceremonial lion dance at 1 p.m. Sunday.
The Desert Springs Community Center will sponsor a spring festival between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Sunday. Live performances, arts and crafts, vendors, games, and workshops will take place.
Starting at 3 p.m. Sunday, the AAPI chamber will hold a new year’s festival at Chinatown Plaza, 4205 Spring Mountain Road. A traditional lion dance starts at 6:30 p.m. and a dragon drone show begins at 7:30 p.m. Events conclude at 9 p.m.

The Bellagio’s Conservatory & Botanical Gardens will display its “Infinite Prosperity: The Year of the Dragon” exhibit through March 2.

The display includes: 23K fresh and preserved flowers to make the children; 12K plants on display; 8K handmade and hand-placed scales on the dragon; and 1.8K I-Ching coins on the money trees and around Caishen, the Chinese God of Wealth.

Zodiac Symbol of Dragon

Traditionally, Chinese zodiac signs are represented by 12 different animals. This year it’s the dragon.

We love the Lunar New Year, and this symbol, the dragon, is one of the most powerful and prosperous of the lunar zodiacs,” Bellagio Gardens Project Manager Leah Jonic said in a statement.

The Lunar New Year also holds immense significance for the Asian community and visitors in Las Vegas, Chloe Kwan, director of strategic initiatives at Las Vegas-based Asian Community Development Council (ACDC), told Casino.org.

Fresh Start

“It marks the beginning of the year, symbolizing a fresh start through family gatherings, ancestral prayers, and cultural traditions,” Kwan explained. “In Las Vegas, the holiday is celebrated with elaborate decorations in every casino, reflecting the annual animal symbol — this year, the dragon.”

Among the traditions are gambling, believed to bring luck, and the many festivities bridge generations and preserve cultural heritage.

Lunar New Year events in Las Vegas encompass diverse Asian communities, fostering unity and participation. This year, being the Year of the Dragon (the wooden dragon in particular), holds heightened importance due to its symbolic power and leadership qualities,” Kwan said.

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Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s Las Vegas Hideout Revealed

Britain’s Daily Mail has leaked the location where America’s most beloved celebrity couple will sleep the night before the Super Bowl. Or at least, Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce will try to sleep.

“Villa de Swelce” features four bedrooms and six bathrooms in nearly 9K square feet of living space, with 300 feet of private waterfront. (Image: Zillow)

Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce rented the opulent villa on Lake Las Vegas because it’s a short distance from the posh Westin Lake Las Vegas, where his teammates are staying prior to the big game. And, quite understandably, he wanted more privacy than that.

Zillow values the residence at $8.5M, though it is not currently on the market. (Image: Zillow)

Kelce arrived in Las Vegas on Sunday night. Swift’s private jet is expected to land in Las Vegas, from an “Eras Tour” concert in Tokyo — around 10:30 p.m. Saturday, barring any unfortunate delays.

One of four of the villa’s bedrooms that look out on Lake Las Vegas. (Image: Zillow)

The isolated villa, in one of Lake Las Vegas’ newest communities, features four bedrooms and six bathrooms in nearly 9K square feet of living space, with 300 feet of private waterfront.

No Sinning

Both teams are being housed/detained in Lake Las Vegas, 25 miles east of the Las Vegas Strip, with daily getaways only to separate practice facilities.

This is so the temptations of Sin City don’t distract any players from their strenuous physical and mental preparations.

Lake Las Vegas features a dozen fancy restaurants and a couple of bars, but no nightclubs or wild nightlife.

It used to have a casino with a sportsbook, which definitely would have been a no-no for both Super Bowl teams. However, Casino MonteLago closed in 2013. (The NFL once prohibited its players from wagering on any sports games. That meant an active player couldn’t even visit Las Vegas and place a bet on the NBA playoffs. However, it has relaxed rules and NFL players are allowed to place bets that aren’t on football.)

The police presence, and the team’s tour buses, are shown in front of the Westin Lake Las Vegas. (Image: *Daily Mail*)

The San Francisco 49ers are staying at the Hilton Lake Las Vegas, a mile southeast and across the lake’s shore.

While the Chiefs are practicing at the Raiders’ nearby Intermountain Healthcare Performance Center in Henderson, the 49ers have a farther drive. They’re 16 miles away, at UNLV’s Intramural Field, where the Raiders’ opponents always practice. (This is because the AFC and NFC champs alternate home and away designations every Super Bowl.)

Lake Las Vegas is also home to Celine Dion, who raised her three sons there while performing two residencies at Caesars Palace.

Sorry, Swifties. All of Lake Las Vegas is currently crawling with police and there is only one road in and out, a road that officers are only allowing local residents to enter.

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