24 things to look forward to in Las Vegas in 2024

With the return of Formula One and the openings of the Sphere, Fontainebleau and Durango, we won’t see another year like 2023 for a while.

But 2024 isn’t exactly shaping up to be a slouch.

From new restaurants to new music residencies to plenty of places to play, plus a little event known as the Super Bowl, here are 24 things to look forward to in 2024:

1. A (hopefully) smoother F1 transition

There’s not much left to say about the inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix. The Nov. 18 race itself was a hit, but lane closures that began April 2 snarled traffic, angered business owners and exasperated many residents to the point that the head of Formula One’s parent company issued an apology. Race officials have promised fewer disruptions next year, especially because the new paving is expected to last at least six years. And, as a sign that lessons definitely were learned, an early look at rates shows several resorts are asking half or less for rooms in 2024 than prices started at in 2023.

2. The Super Bowl

It wasn’t that long ago that the National Football League wouldn’t even allow the words “Las Vegas” on its telecasts. Now, the league’s biggest party is coming to Allegiant Stadium. Super Bowl Opening Night is set for Feb. 5 leading up to a week full of events and the big game Feb. 11.

3. The primaries are coming

Nevada legislators only thought they ended the state’s caucuses in 2021 when they moved presidential elections to a primary system. Nevada’s first primary elections in decades will take place Feb. 6, with both Democrats and Republicans on the ballot. The state Republican party, though, will hold its own caucus two days later. Republican candidates can’t compete in both, and only the caucus will count toward each candidate’s delegate haul.

4. The mayoral race

After a quarter century of Goodmans running Las Vegas, there will be a new last name in the mayor’s office. Mayor Carolyn Goodman is term-limited, as was her husband, Oscar, before her. Former U.S. Rep. Shelley Berkley, Councilman Cedric Crear and Councilwoman Victoria Seaman are among those running in the June 11 election.

5. More dining options

The new year will bring restaurants from celebrated chefs and restaurateurs, including Wolfgang Puck’s Caramá at Mandalay Bay, Michael Mina’s Orla at Mandalay Bay, Gordon Ramsay Burger at Flamingo Las Vegas, Pinky’s by Vanderpump at Flamingo Las Vegas and Brasserie B by Bobby Flay at Caesars Palace.

6. Chain restaurants, too

Not all restaurants coming our way are culinary marvels. There’s definitely something to be said, though, for the comfort food offered by these regional favorites. Whataburger will begin slinging its famous fast food with its beloved spicy ketchup next to the Waldorf Astoria. Bojangles, the North Carolina-based chicken and biscuits emporium, has signed a deal to open 20 restaurants in Las Vegas. And Norms will open its first diner outside Southern California when it expands to West Charleston Boulevard.

7. A cult favorite

The Korean grocery sensation H Mart will open its first Nevada location at Sahara Avenue and Decatur Boulevard. H Mart president Brian Kwon said the 54,552-square-foot store, complete with a food court, will be the “newest food lover destination.”

8. The Stones keep rolling

They’ve been singing “This could be the last time” since 1965, but with each passing year it’s becoming increasingly likely that this could be the last time you can see the Rolling Stones in concert. Mick and Keith are 80, and Ronnie Wood is the baby of what’s now a trio at the tender age of 76. With the October release of “Hackney Diamonds,” their first original studio album since 2005, the band is sounding more vital than it has in decades, so there’s no telling how long they’ll keep going. But it wouldn’t hurt to check them out when they play Allegiant Stadium on May 11 just in case.

9. Bruuuuuuuuce!

If you were a newborn during Bruce Springsteen’s most recent Las Vegas concert, you’ll be legally allowed to drink at his next one. Springsteen and The E Street Band will play T-Mobile Arena on March 22, their first local show since the Thomas & Mack Center on Aug. 18, 2002.

10. New residencies

Usher and Katy Perry wrapped their celebrated residencies this year. Rod Stewart, Miranda Lambert and Luke Bryan will close theirs in 2024. So who’s going to help fill that void? There’s still hope Celine Dion will be up to launching her show at Resorts World. Beyond that, it’s all about cumbersomely titled shows with “Shania Twain: Come on Over — The Las Vegas Residency — All The Hits” at Planet Hollywood, “Wu-Tang Clan: The Saga Continues … The Las Vegas Residency” at Virgin and “Jodeci — The Party, The After Party, The Vegas Residency” in the House of Blues at Mandalay Bay. In yet-to-be-named residencies, Phish has four shows planned at the Sphere, while New Edition has six at Wynn Las Vegas.

11. More uses for the Sphere

The Sphere’s debut has been a global sensation, but the $2.3 billion venue needs more content in addition to U2’s mind-blowing residency (the final show is scheduled for March 2) and the 50-minute “Postcard From Earth” movie that in some cases costs more than U2 for the same seat. Thankfully, a few reinforcements are on the way. In addition to those Phish shows April 18-21, the NHL draft is scheduled there for June 28-29, and Dana White says he’s booked it for a UFC card Sept. 14, promising “the greatest live combat sports show anybody’s ever seen.”

12. Celebrity-backed music venues

Blake Shelton’s Ole Red is importing its honky-tonk vibe straight from Nashville’s Lower Broadway. The three-story-plus-a-rooftop restaurant, bar, lounge and performance venue in front of Horseshoe Las Vegas will be home to live country music all day. Look for the upside-down 1947 Farmall H tractor hanging from the ceiling. Across the street at Bellagio, Park MGM headliner Bruno Mars is opening a cocktail lounge and jazz bar. The Pinky Ring, he promises, will feel “like my personal penthouse suite, with live music and sensational cocktails.”

13. Good news for golfers

The 10-acre Atomic Golf will open 103 hitting bays and six bars next to The Strat. PopStroke, the golf and casual dining destination that counts Tiger Woods and TaylorMade as partners, is bringing two 18-hole putting courses to Town Square. Swingers, which began life as a London pop-up, will open its flagship location — featuring five miniature golf courses over three floors with an emphasis on cocktails and street food — at Mandalay Bay. The divisive, Saudi-backed LIV Golf, meanwhile, will make its local debut at Las Vegas Country Club over Super Bowl weekend. The event will feature a “Party Hole” with live DJs and, according to LIV, the ability to “sing, shout, and share good vibes with your tribe” in “the most hedonistic city on earth.”

14. Another Raiders rebuild

So the whole Patriot Way experiment didn’t exactly work out. Coach Josh McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler were ousted after just 25 games with the Raiders. Whoever’s in charge next season, whether it’s interim coach Antonio Pierce and general manager Champ Kelly or others, will have a big task ahead of them.

15. The Paris Olympics

In July, 17-year-old Las Vegas swimmer Katie Grimes became the first athlete in any sport to make the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team. The month before, her Sandpipers of Nevada teammate Claire Weinstein became the first American in nine years to defeat Katie Ledecky in the 200-meter freestyle. Coming off three medals at the Tokyo Games, the local swim team should be well represented at the Paris Olympics, which will run from July 26-Aug. 11.

16. Still more sports

The Dollar Loan Center is filling up. In 2022, the arena became the home of the Henderson Silver Knights, the Vegas Knight Hawks of the Indoor Football League and the NBA G League Ignite. In February, they’ll be joined by the Vegas Thrill, one of the seven teams in the inaugural season of the Pro Volleyball Federation.

17. Electric Pickle

We would’ve included Electric Pickle on this list just so we could type Electric Pickle a couple of times. But the 3-acre luxury pickleball facility will boast 10 courts, private full-service cabanas and upscale dining. It’s opening as the anchor tenant of The Bend retail complex across from Ikea, which, alongside UnCommons and the recently opened Durango, will add another reason to visit the booming southwest valley.

18. Get ready to play

There has been a noticeable lack of slide-based entrances on the Strip ever since Circus Circus removed its sliding board access, along with its fireman’s pole, not long after opening in 1968. Fear not, though, as a slide is one of the options for Play Playground guests to enter the upcoming venue at Luxor. The 20 games and attractions, including a giant bounce house and a Velcro wall, will be open for all ages during the day but will be for adults only, complete with cocktails, at night. Other new experiential additions will include “Particle Ink: House of Shattered Prisms,” also at Luxor, which promises a “360-degree, narrative-driven experience” that’s “a portal into the 2.5th dimension.” Then there’s Dreambox360º at The Linq Promenade, which will be highlighted by a 15-minute animated adventure featuring cocktails that’s described as an “immersive and intimate 5D projection experience.”

19. Nevada’s newest state park

First announced in 2017, the Ice Age Fossils State Park seems finally ready to open in January. During the Ice Age, the 315-acre park at 8660 N. Decatur Blvd. was home to Columbian mammoths, American lions, camels, dire wolves and ground sloths. The visitor center is expected to display some of the fossils found on the site, and one of its three trails will feature metal sculptures of the extinct mammals that lived there.

20. Disco isn’t dead

When “Absinthe” and The Gazillionaire, its poorly tuxedoed Tony Clifton-esque ringleader, touched down in a tent in front of Caesars Palace in 2011, few people could’ve predicted its success. Spiegelworld, its parent company, has since branched out with “Atomic Saloon Show” and “OPM” and kicked off 2023 with the announcement that it had purchased the town of Nipton, California, with plans to transform it into a “circus village.” For 2024, Spiegelworld is opening “DiscoShow” in The Linq’s custom Glitterloft showroom, reintroducing a space that hasn’t been used since 2014 when it was the Imperial Palace sportsbook.

21. The future of TSA

Harry Reid International Airport is expected to begin testing a self-service Transportation Security Administration screening system in January. The goal is to speed up the security process and eventually allow passengers to be screened with minimal contact with TSA officers. Now if the airport could just do something about those long waits at the luggage carousels.

22. Saying goodbye to the Trop

At this point we don’t know when — or even, honestly, if — the Tropicana will join the ranks of imploded Strip resorts to make way for a stadium for the A’s. But there should be plenty of time in 2024 to bid farewell to what was at one time the grandest, most expensive hotel in town — once described as “the Taj Mahal of the American scene.”

23. Breathing new life into the Rio

Dreamscape Companies took over operations of the Rio on Oct. 2, beginning a “multi-year redevelopment” of the property. Up first in January, Canteen Food Hall will open with the first West Coast outlet of South Philadelphia cheesesteak chain Tony Luke’s, Southland Burrito Co. and its Sonoran-style burritos, Tender Crush chicken tenders from the founders of Black Tap Craft Burgers & Beer, Nama Nama and its street food-style sushi, Shogun Ramen with umami by the bowlful and the first location of chef Alex Resnick’s Attaboy Burger. The renovation of the Ipanema Tower and its 1,427 rooms and suites also is on the way.

24. Maybe, possibly, finally the start of work on that train to California

The dream of high-speed rail service connecting Las Vegas and Los Angeles has been kicking around seemingly since the days of the steam engine. The current plan dates to 2005, with Brightline West coming aboard in 2018. Construction on the 218-mile rail line was supposed to begin pretty much every year since. But with the $3 billion in federal funds the project was awarded this month, 2024 could finally be the year.

Contact Christopher Lawrence at clawrence@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4567. Follow @life_onthecouch on X.