Films, burgers, residencies: The Wahlbergs have Las Vegas covered
The OG Sand Dollar on Polaris and Spring Mountain is again splashed with Christmas decor in its annual Miracle on Spring Mountain theme. What is usually the VIP deck is in the blue of Hanukkah.
Wednesday, a pair of Wahlbergs — actor Mark and Chef Paul — took over the space as part of Sand Dollar’s Pizza Pop-Up series. The Wahlberg brothers presented their special Wahlburgers-influenced pizzas for one evening only, to benefit of Zo’s Bravehearts Foundation, dedicated to the fight against childhood cancer.
The Wahlbergs are omnipresent around town anymore, with Mark a resident and Paul overseeing the Wahlburgers restaurant company. And Donnie Wahlberg will be spotted around Las Vegas a lot in ‘25 for the New Kids on the Block residency run at Dolby Live.
“Everybody is gravitating to Vegas,” Wahlberg said. “We are, too.”
When Donnie told Mark that NKOTB was planning an extended run in Las Vegas, Mark said, “I thought it was very cool. I was surprised they hadn’t done it before.”
Mark has lived with NKOTB fever for some 30 years.
“They have one of the most amazing fan bases,” the 53-year-old A-lister said. “They have amazing loyalty, even now.”
The brothers might work together to promote their various interests next year.
“We’re all focusing on our restaurant group, we’re all partners in Wahlbugers,” Wahlberg said. “There are a lot of things we want to do together. We are ready to take everything we do to the next level.”
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His “PodKats!” podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.