This is Las Vegas Magazine’s favorite time of the year: The announcement of the latest Las Vegas Magazine Hall of Fame class. What make this honor so special is that we have nothing to do with the selection process: All 2022 honorees have been chosen by previous Hall of Fame inductees. That means the following shows, restaurants, performance arenas and more have been chosen by Carrot Top, Wayne Newton, Wolfgang Puck, Penn & Teller and so many more.
It’s worth mentioning that the Las Vegas Magazine Hall of Fame differs from the normal model in that all of our honorees are things our readers can enjoy right here and now. After all, our goal is to inform our readers of the best ways to spend their entertainment dollar while in town. Our Hall of Fame is not only a special honor; it’s your ticket to enjoying your stay here to the absolute fullest.
The Venetian and The Palazzo
Sheldon Adelson was a man of means who was well-invested in Las Vegas when he had a vision for canals in the desert, with gondolas piloted by singing gondoliers and a luxury resort-casino built around that. The vision came to fruition as The Venetian, eventually complemented by The Palazzo, becoming a one-of-a-kind property. The trade-show pioneer’s shining jewel contributed greatly to the Strip becoming a dining destination, with a major-league lineup of chefs recruited for restaurant row. Accommodations were top-notch, as were the entertainment, the spa experience, the nightclubs and the pools.
T-Mobile Arena
T-Mobile Arena proved that if you brought ice to the desert, hockey fans would follow. How it would compete as a music venue was another matter, one demonstrated shortly after it opened for business with an April 2016 concert featuring The Killers and Wayne Newton. The sight lines and sonics were amply demonstrated by the hometown heroes, and the arena proceeded to stand out, even as more venues were built. The home of the Vegas Golden Knights specialized in music’s most super of stars, and as a Strip-accessible stop for the biggest touring acts, T-Mobile Arena remains unparalleled.
High Roller
The High Roller is an attraction, a physical landmark, a giant observation wheel and a feature that literally and symbolically contributed to Las Vegas’ continuing ascension as an international city. The Strip’s overall world-class hospitality industry and the gastronomic scene has long been held in high esteem by luxury travelers and frequent visitors, but when the 550-foot observation wheel opened at the east end of The Linq Promenade in 2014, it rose taller than the London Eye, the Star of Nanchang (China) and the Singapore Flyer.
FSLV—Fashion Show Las Vegas
When the post-pandemic pendulum began to swing from online shopping back to real-life browsing, fitting, shoe-gazing and impulse-buying, FLSV—Fashion Show Las Vegas was more than ready. Its location at Spring Mountain and Las Vegas Boulevard and color-coded underground parking make entry effortless for pedestrian tourists and vehicle-driven locals alike, with its constellation of consumerism easily navigable. Shining bright are Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom and Saks Fifth Avenue, a triumvirate of high-end department store choices that make FSLV—Fashion Show Las Vegas a prime destination for designer dress and stylish suits ready for in-house tailoring.
Area15
When rumors of Area15’s emergence at an off-Strip location began to spread through Downtown Las Vegas’ thriving arts community, expectations and optimism ran high. It would be an immersive destination south of the Arts District, a psychedelic Smithsonian a few blocks west of Las Vegas Boulevard. It would entice both international tourists and Vegas cultural aficionados, especially with Santa Fe arts and entertainment entity Meow Wolf as an anchor tenant. And it would raise the bar for what is possible in the realms of art for a city always ready to get behind the next forward move.
Blue Man Group
Blue Man Group upped the ante for entertainment on the Strip. Conceptually, comedically, and sonically, the whimsical antics of three mute cobalt-colored biomechanical bipeds fully engages the auditory, optical, and intellectual capacities of audience members. What started out as street theater in New York in the late-’80s metamorphosed into a ’90s theatrical phenomenon, one that found a permanent post-millennial home on the Strip. This year, Blue Man Group celebrates a decade at the Luxor, where their act continues to sell out performances and demonstrate how high-concept a contemporary production needs to be to have staying power in the Entertainment Capitol of the World.
Jabbawockeez
There was a time when lavish musicals were part of the Las Vegas experience, when shows were built around movement. Standards for costume, stage design and sound were high, but performers had to know how to dance. As interest in the classic era of showgirl headdresses and sets resembling the Titanic sank, newer concepts in choreography began to float to the top. Jabbawockeez saw the possibilities, envisioned the future for dance shows on the Strip, and proved to be preeminent progressive body rockers both on the Strip and around the world. Along the way, they won humble-bragging rights to having created their own demographic, with fans coming to Vegas just for them.
Piero’s Italian Cuisine
Times and tastes may change, but the pleasure of experiencing Piero’s Italian Cuisine remains the same as when Freddie Glusman opened the restaurant’s original incarnation four decades ago. Glusman found the ideal off-Strip address in 1987 at Piero’s current location across from the Las Vegas Convention Center, and has been serving classic fare to classy clientele ever since. Now under the supervision of Freddie’s son Evan Glusman, Piero’s became as legendary for its celebrity patrons as it was for its 1980s atmosphere, which served director Martin Scorsese’s wish for authenticity so well in Casino.
Las Vegas Raiders
The notion that Vegas could never be the hometown of a professional sports franchise became ancient history with the arrival of the Vegas Golden Knights NHL franchise in 2017, and a new era with new hope and possibilities had begun.
Still, the idea that Las Vegas could ever become the capitol of Raider Nation seemed far-fetched, even after Mark Davis gained enough support from other National Football League team owners and Allegiant Stadium rose from the dust. Vegas was long considered “neutral” territory, although the league had no official objection to a team relocating here. A debut season in 2020 played under COVID-19 restrictions, without fans in attendance, added to the surreal circumstances.
Coyote Ugly
Back in the day, before dancing on banquettes in nightclubs became trendy and mixologists grew mustaches, a bar opened in a corner of New York-New York. Coyote Ugly was inspired by a sleeper-hit movie, in turn inspired by a fabled sleeper-hit New York City venue, and became known for its signature feature: boot-wearing bartenders jumping on bar tops and stomping to the soundtrack of the evening. Times have changed, nightclubs have come and gone, mixologists change shifts, but Coyote Ugly’s infectious, nothing-but-a-good-time vibe was key to its longevity as the Strip evolved around it.
For Hall of Fame honorees from 2020, click here
For Hall of Fame honorees from 2021, click here
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