Best of 2018: 10 Most Notable Las Vegas Venue Openings of 2018

Spago, Wolfgang Puck’s flagship restaurant, is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year and debuted a reimagined look at the Bellagio Resort & Casino in June. The restaurant, which left its original Forum Shops at Caesars location this year, replaced former Todd English’s Olives space and features a sleek design from Massimiliano Locatelli and Annamaria Scevola of CLS Architetti. New elements include an open-air patio with views of the Fountain of Bellagio, leather chairs and couches at a bar and wine cellar, and a series of 20 topographical map images inspired by the Nevada desert landscape, created by artist Katie Lewis. The 6,610-square-foot restaurant seats 232 guests, and it has two private dining rooms that each seat 20 guests and offer views of the fountains. 

HyperX Esports Arena Las Vegas opened on the Strip in March. The 30,000-square-foot, multi-level arena hosts electronic sports tournaments in a venue that features a competition stage, a 50-foot LED video wall, telescopic seating, and console gaming stations. The arena also offers a gamer-inspired menu with fare from chef José Andrés, and has classic arcade games at a first-floor bar. The venue has five V.I.P. areas, which include three private rooms that each seat as many as 15 people. The private rooms can fit six PCs for group gaming and are equipped with 55-inch televisions for presentations. 

Mandarin Oriental Las Vegas was officially converted to the Waldorf Astoria Las Vegas Hotel & Residences in August. The rebranded hotel has 392 guest rooms and 225 residences, which include 55 suites and three larger presidential suites. Other additions include the French restaurant Twist and a 27,000-square-foot spa. The resort also has an eighth-floor pool deck. The property has 12,000 square feet of event space including the Waldorf Ballroom, which holds as many as 800 guests for receptions. 

Electra Cocktail Club opened inside the Palazzo at the Venetian Resort in September. The new nightlife hotspot serves cocktails created by barman Sam Ross in a luxury environment designed by Someone Deary Design Group. The bar’s focal point is a 40-foot digital display that features rotating original art projected in 70 million pixels. The interior also has more than 1,200 points of light, which is offset by teal accents throughout the space. The bar seats 127 people and is available for large parties and groups. 

Apex Social Club opened in the former Ghostbar space at the Palms Casino Resort in May. The nightclub, which is managed by Clique Hospitality, is part of the resort’s $620 million renovation and is located on the 55th floor. The space offers a 360-degree view of the city and includes a 4,500-square-foot patio and terrace. The venue offers an upscale aesthetic, highlighted by four 3,000-pound humanoid sculptures created by Brooklyn-based artist Dustin Yellin. The 8,000-square-foot space holds nearly 400 guests for a reception and is available for private events. 

Aria Resort & Casino unveiled an additional 200,000 square feet of flexible meeting space at its convention center in February. The $170 million expansion—which brings the total square footage of convention space to 500,000—features a number of non-traditional meeting areas including the 3,000-square-foot Cypress Executive Lounge, which offers a stocked pantry, three private suites for personal work space and one-on-one meetings, and a conference room that holds 30 for receptions. Other additions include 15 new meeting rooms and three new ballrooms, including a top floor ballroom with two open-air verandas that accommodate as many as 2,000 guests for receptions. 

The Westin Las Vegas Hotel & Spa completed its transformation into a non-gaming, non-smoking property in January. Along with upgrades to the property’s 826 guest rooms, the renovation included the replacement of the casino floor with Jake & Eli, a bourbon-theme restaurant, and 2,000 square feet of new meeting spaces. These include the Bristlecone room, which seats 200 theater-style; the Wisteria room, which seats 60 theater-style; and the Cactus and Rosewood rooms, which each seat 42 theater-style. 

The Underground, a speakeasy bar and distillery, opened at the Mob Museum in April. The space is a permanent exhibition dedicated to the history of Prohibition, located in the basement of the museum. The venue has an Art Deco-inspired design and serves house-distilled spirits, house-brewed beer, and Prohibition-era cocktails. The 2,814-square-foot space, which is available for full buyouts, holds 95 guests reception-style. Interested parties also can book the distillery exhibit and meeting room, which holds 33 guests reception-style, as well as a V.I.P. room that seats 12 guests. 

China Tang, the first U.S. restaurant from Hong Kong-based Lai Sun Group, opened at MGM Grand in February. The Tang Dynasty-theme restaurant offers an extensive menu helmed by executive chef Albert Au Kwok Keung and a cocktail menu with drinks inspired by Pre-Opium War Era China and Colonial Era China. The venue seats 232 guests and has a private dining room that can be sectioned off for smaller groups or used for a large event. 

Thunderbird Boutique Hotel debuted the renovated Thunderbird Lounge in September. The retro-chic lounge, which is helmed by Kelley Jones of Kelley Jones Hospitality and Todd Parmelee, principal and consultant with Parmelee Hospitality Entertainment Consulting, serves American fare and classic cocktails and also has beer pong and bar-top gaming. The space includes a 3,800-square-foot lounge that holds 187 for receptions and a 2,500-square-foot showroom with room for 300 for receptions.