Mid-September 2023, news began trickling out online that MGM Resorts was experiencing - as they put it - a "cyber security issue."  The company said they'd began shutting down systems to minimize the impact of the problem and that their facilities were "operational". But on social media, it was a totally different story. Guests at several MGM Resorts, including Mandalay Bay, the MGM Grand, and the Bellagio were all reporting major issues including slot machines & gaming floors shut down,...

Here's what I need you to do: Close your eyes and imagine it's the early 1980's.  You're sitting in the captain's chair, cruising the Atlantic shores of the Hamptons with your friends on board.  The bikinis are florescent, the shirt collars are popped, and the boat shoes are being worn sock-free.  The sound system is pumping out the soft rock vibes of Toto, Kenny Loggins, and Air Supply. That's Yacht Rock.  And THAT is what Las Vegas headliners, The Docksiders, are all about! Joining me for...

I absolutely LOVE discovering new Vegas content creators and then sharing them with you.  Whether it's a new vlogger, blogger, or - as in the case of this episode - a fellow podcaster. Joining me this time around is Brian Ortega, host & creator of the Concierge Confidential podcast.  Every episode, Brian gives his listeners an inside look at the world of Las Vegas and the people who work in it.  Brian explores every aspect of the Vegas lifestyle from hotels to restaurants to nightlife and...

For the newest resort coming to the Las Vegas Strip, it's been a long and strange journey... Fontainbleau Las Vegas sat completely dormant and roughly 70% complete for almost 15 years.  It's been through ownership changes, multiple bankruptcies, and lawsuits.  It's faced recessions, financial issues, questions about its structural integrity, and even a global pandemic. But after all that, here we are...powering ahead towards the grand opening of what's shaping up to be one of the biggest...

We're roughly a month away from Formula 1 hitting the Vegas strip, and to say it's a "controversial topic" would be a massive understatement. On one side, you've got the proponents who love it; they say it will bring global attention to the city, shine the spotlight on Vegas as a world-class sporting city, and be a HUGE economic benefit for the city with an estimated $1.2 billion impact. Then, on the other side, you've got the people who absolutely HATE the event; they're tired of traffic...

Joining me for this episode of the podcast is one of my favorite Las Vegas content creators, Sergio Portesan, the brains behind Viva Las Value, a website/blog all about how to do Vegas like high roller on a low roller's budget. Last time I had Sergio on the show was a little over 3 years ago, shortly after Vegas had reopened following the big COVID-19 shutdown.  I was unable to go to Vegas due to various travel restrictions in place so I asked him to do a "Trip Report By Proxy" to talk about...

My guest for this episode of the podcast wears A LOT of different hats... Dayvid Figler is a performer, musician, author, podcast host...and he's a long-time trial lawyer with several notable clients & cases in his portfolio. Dayvid was kind enough to join me for a chat where we discussed his experiences growing up in the shadow of the Vegas Strip (literally), running away to college at the age of 16 and writing the Nevada Bar exam at 23, his role in overturning a lap dance ban in Clark...

It's been almost three decades since the world lost one of the most influential rap & hip-hop artists of all time...the legendary Tupac Shakur. On the night of September 7, 1996, Tupac was shot while sitting at a car at a stoplight at the corner of Flamingo Road & Koval Lane, just east of the Vegas Strip.  He died 6 days later at University Medical Center. The case has remained unsolved for the past 27 years and the circumstances surrounding the murder have been shrouded with...

It's not very often that you get the chance to talk with someone who's collaborated with & performed for the likes of Sting, Jerry Lewis, Ice T, Fergie, and Jeff Goldblum so when that opportunity comes up, you take it! My guest for this episode of the podcast is Las Vegas entertainer, Melody Sweets! You may recognize Melody from her time as "the Green Fairy" in Spiegelworld's Absinthe (a role she originated & performed for over 6 years), one her production show at the Roman Plaza at...

Undoubtedly, one of the most colorful characters in the history of Las Vegas is Oscar Goodman. Oscar has been a part of the Vegas scene since the mid-60's when he moved to town to practice law and ended up with some of the most notorious organized crime figures on his client list including Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal & Tony "The Ant" Spilotro.  Following his time as a defense attorney, he successfully ran for mayor, going on to serve three terms.  He had a cameo - as himself - in the film,...

I'm going to be totally honest with you...this episode of the podcast is very likely to upset a lot of people.  But everything being said here NEEDS to be said. After my last trip to Vegas, I released the "NOT The May Trip Report" episode, in which I brought up several things that I didn't enjoy about the city and, in turn, my vacation.  I got a lot of a lot of feedback about that particular episode - some agreeing with me and some STRONGLY disagreeing with me. I began to think that I was...

It's been a hot minute since we've had a chance to have a little "one-on-one" time, so as we approach the end of summer and get set to head into the fall, I thought it might be a good opportunity to get you all caught up on what's been happening in my world. I've got a recap of some of the most recent episodes of the podcast in case you missed out and want to go back & listen, I've got an update on future travel plans & whether or not a Vegas trip is in my future, and I'll take you...

If you dig into the history of Las Vegas, you're going to find a lot of stories about crime.  A majority of these stories involve the mob, organized crime, and their involvement in the casino industry & other illegal activities. But if you go deep enough down the rabbit hole, you'll discover that every once in awhile, things in Las Vegas go "BOOM"...and that's what this episode of the podcast is all about. I'm pleased to welcome back Meagan & Anthony Smith, the creators of Mayhem In...

Pro sports is about more than just "the thrill of victory" and "the agony of defeat".  It's grown into a massive global industry that contributes hundreds of millions of dollars to the economy.  As such, it should come as no surprise that Las Vegas wants to get a piece of the action. And according to proponents, the impact pro sports can have on a community goes beyond what happens on the field or at the rink; job creation, tax revenue, and increased tourism are often cited as being big...

As anyone who's a regular listener knows, I absolutely LOVE food!  In fact, sharing my restaurant experiences from my Vegas vacations is one of my favorite parts of putting together my trip report episodes, so anytime I have the opportunity to have a guest on the show to talk about food, I jump at that chance. This time around, I'm joined by Las Vegas restaurant & food critic, John Curtas. John has been living in Las Vegas since the early 1980's and started writing about the Vegas food...

This time on Vegas Book Club, we're going ALLLLL the way back to Episode #25 of the podcast and my conversation with Steve Cyr, the subject of the book Whale Hunt In The Desert by Deke Castleman. Steve is a Casino Host in Las Vegas - but he's not just any host.  Steve is one of the elite hosts who deal almost exclusively with "whales". What is a "whale", you ask?  "Whales" are the extreme high-roller VIP's who come to Vegas and spend MASSIVE amounts of money; it's not uncommon for a "whale"...

On this instalment of Vegas Book Club, we're taking a trip back to   and my chat with Dennis Blair, author of the book, Touring With Legends. A Las Vegas-based comedian & musician, Dennis's career has spanned almost 40 years and over that time, he's worked with some of the biggest names in comedy and music.  He co-wrote a feature film, he's worked on numerous TV specials, and he's appeared on the Tonight Show several times. Dennis and I talked about what got him into comedy, his early...

This time around on Vegas Book Club, we're heading back to Episode #78 of the podcast and my conversation with David G. Schwartz, UNLV Professor, Las Vegas Historian, and author of the book At The Sands. December 15, 1952 saw the opening of one of the most iconic hotels in the history of Las Vegas - The Sands Hotel & Casino. During its heyday, it hosted some of the biggest names in entertainment, most notably the legendary Rat Pack featuring Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Sammy Davis...

For this episode of Vegas Book Club, we're taking a trip back to Episode #116 of the podcast and my chat with Eric Sherwood, aka "Annoyed Pit Boss" on Twitter, and author of the book Dealt: Stories From My Life On The Felt. Eric entered the gaming industry following what I like to call a "forced career change", first as a dealer and eventually moving up to the position of pit boss.  As he got further into the crazy world of the casino business, he realized the stories from his day-to-day life...

This time around on Vegas Book Club, we're headed back to Episode #93 of the podcast and my conversation with Matthew O'Brien, author of the books Beneath The Neon and Dark Days, Bright Nights: Surviving The Las Vegas Storm Drains. Underneath the glitz & glamour of the Las Vegas Strip lies a massive network of tunnels which serve the practical purpose of protecting the big casinos & hotels from flash floods that often occur after summertime rainfalls.  However, those tunnels have also...

For this instalment of Vegas Book Club, we're heading back to Episode #42 of the podcast and my conversation with Richard Zoglin, the author of Elvis In Vegas: How The King Reinvented The Las Vegas Show. July 31, 1969 was a day that changed Las Vegas forever; on that date, the King of Rock N' Roll stepped on stage at the newly-opened International Hotel to kick off what would eventually turn into one of the biggest Las Vegas residencies of all time. Richard and I took a deep dive into Elvis's...

So, you may have noticed this episode of the podcast is titled NOT The May Trip Report...and there's a very good reason it's called that. Quite simply, there wasn't all that much to report from my most recent trip to Las Vegas. As you may be aware, I had a trip planned to head to Vegas from May 29th to June 1st.  I had a lot of big ideas of what I wanted to do while I was down in Vegas this time around but, as the old saying goes, "The best laid plans of mice & men often go awry"...and...

When you think "music" and "Las Vegas" there's likely a few names that come to mind almost instantly like Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Liberace or Wayne Newton. But I'm willing to bet that "Punk Rock" isn't even on your radar.  However, a new attraction, sandwiched between the growing Arts District and the World-Famous Las Vegas Strip is hoping to change that. The recently-opened Punk Rock Museum houses the world's largest collection of Punk Rock artifacts & memorabilia including...

It's been a busy couple of months around JDV-land and, as we head into the summer, things are shaping up to get even busier! I thought it would be a good idea to jump on and give you a few updates on what's been happening in case you've missed out on some of the latest episodes, what I've got planned for my upcoming Vegas trip - happening as this episode is released, and share some of the cool stuff I've got planned for upcoming episodes of the...

The history of Las Vegas is jammed full of so many great stories about the mob and their involvement in the city but for this episode of the podcast, we're going in-depth on one that you might be be very familiar with. Originally hailing from a small town in Texas that doesn't even exist anymore, Benny Binion rose to become a kingpin of the Las Vegas casino scene, creating a legacy that's lasted well beyond his death in the late 1980's. Joining me to share Binion's story is Geoff Schumacher,...