Las Vegas Magazine is thrilled to announce this year’s Hall of Fame class! It’s an honor bestowed not by our staff, but by past honorees. That means the content of the following pages was chosen by a growing list of luminaries that includes Penn & Teller, David Copperfield, Barry Manilow, Wolfgang Puck, Carrot Top, Wayne Newton, the cast of Fantasy, Blue Man Group, Cirque du Soleil’s “O” and many more.
It’s worth mentioning that the Las Vegas Magazine Hall of Fame differs from the normal model of hall of fames in that all of our honorees are experiences that our readers can enjoy right here and now, from shows and restaurants to nightlife and attractions. After all, our goal at Las Vegas Magazine is to inform our visitors of the best ways to spend their entertainment dollar.
Our Hall of Fame is not only a special honor; it’s your ticket to enjoying your stay here to the absolute fullest. Tell them Wayne Newton sent you!
Mystère
There are multiple Cirque du Soleil productions in Las Vegas, which leads novices with limited time during their stay to struggle with the issue of which one to start with. Cirque audience veterans know the answer: begin with la première, Mystère. When Mystère debuted at Treasure Island 30 years ago, the Vegas entertainment landscape was vastly different. Variety shows existed, but nothing like the omnibus of acrobats, dancers, comics, costumes and pageantry presented as a fantasy circus.
Bellagio Conservatory & Botanical Gardens
As far as slices of heaven amidst the hustle and bustle of the Strip go, the Bellagio Conservatory & Botanical Gardens is unsurpassed. Only a few steps away from the Bellagio’s lobby, the Conservatory creates the perception of bucolic attunement with nature via five installations a year. Spring thaws, summertime solstices, fall harvests, winter wonderlands and lunar new years are all interpreted by a Bellagio botanical supergroup guided by designer Ed Libby.
Golden Steer Steakhouse
In a city where iconic landmarks without stewardship are vulnerable to decay and decline, old-school restaurants become cherished institutions. Sometimes new owners step in to make sure those institutions remain standing, as the Signorelli family did 20 years ago to keep the doors open at The Golden Steer Steakhouse. The little restaurant west of the Strip on Sahara Avenue with the bronzed bovine statue in front has been open since 1958 and is rich with anecdotal tales of its early mob clientele and celebrity guests who have red leather booths dedicated to them.
Omnia
If Jay Gatsby was a modern-day tycoon looking for the perfect place to soirée in Las Vegas, he’d stop at Omnia. The four-story, three-room venue has been a nightlife landmark on the Strip since it was established as Pure Nightclub nearly two decades ago, but it reopened in 2015 after an extreme makeover by the Hakkasan Group. In March 2021 Hakkasan was acquired by the Tao Hospitality Group, which now has the largest nightclub portfolio on the Strip and is a dominant player on international market.
Tao Beach Dayclub
Tao Group Hospitality changed the daylife scene forever when it opened Tao Beach Dayclub on the rooftop of The Venetian. Secluded in an area of the Venetian’s sprawling pool complex, Tao Beach combined an environment of exclusivity with off-the-hook excitement that continues to distinguish it in the competitive pool party scene. After a $50 million renovation, it’s almost an island unto itself, with overhead sky and sun creating the backdrop for splashing good times.
Town Square Las Vegas
Virtual town squares wax and wane with popularity, but Town Square Las Vegas has remained consistently vital as a place to shop, see, socialize and spend family time in real life since it opened one mile south of the Strip in 2007. Anchor tenants such as Guitar Store and H&M, an 18-screen movie theater, and drink-and-dining options such as Blue Martini and Yard House helped make it an immediate hit.
The Smith Center for the Performing Arts
The Smith Center for the Performing Arts’ mission “to inspire artists, audiences, and our diverse community through great performances, enriching experiences, and engaging educational programming” has been accomplished many times over since it opened in March 2012. The nonprofit, three-venue complex instantly became a permanent hub for music, theater and dance for a population accustomed to seeing historic buildings imploded in order to make way for the next evolutionary phase.
Las Vegas Aces
It wasn’t playoff upstarts Golden Knights or Marc Davis’ Raiders who won the first championship of Las Vegas’ professional sports era. It was the Las Vegas Aces, who earned a Sept. 21 parade on the Strip that stopped traffic in both directions after besting the Connecticut Suns in four games to bring home the WBNA Commissioner's Cup. The Aces electrified the sports world during a stunning series that saw superstar play from A’ja Wilson, inspiring intensity from Chelsea Gray and the first triple-double in NBA Finals history achieved by Alyssa Thomas in Game Three.
The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas
If the heart of Las Vegas is located mid-Strip, the beat comes from The Cosmopolitan. While larger in size and scope than a boutique hotel, it has an inherent spirit of independence that sets it apart from its neighbors, with an adrenaline rush palpable upon entering the property. The Cosmpolitan provides some of the easiest access points to the Strip on its ground floors, but it also has a nearly infinite number of reasons to never leave the property.
Life is Beautiful
As Life Is Beautiful prepares for its 10th anniversary edition this year, the organizers face their biggest challenge yet: to produce a milestone music festival that draws on a decade’s worth of experience and transcends all previous efforts on every level.“We have big things planned for this next year’s event, and we look forward to welcoming our community of fans back to the streets of Downtown Las Vegas for a weekend of weird, fun, and unforgettable moments,” says LIB CEO David Oehm. “All centered around a city we love.”
Cynthia Kiser Murphey
Cynthia Kiser Murphey has spent a lifetime making a difference in the lives of others. It’s an attribute that serves her well in her current position as general manager of San Manuel’s Palms Casino Resort.
The Kansas City native studied hotel management at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, receiving both a bachelor’s degree in Hotel & Restaurant Management and a master’s degree in Hotel Administration. She held multiple leadership positions at MGM Resorts International, helping to open three megaresorts in multiple jurisdictions as a key member of the senior leadership team.
In 2008, she was named president and chief operating officer of New York-New York, and over the next 12 years she oversaw many positive changes, from refurbishments to the 2,000-room property to leading the resort’s activations establishing an indoor and outdoor multi-use destination.
Hall of Fame honorees from 2020
Hall of Fame honorees from 2021
Hall of Fame honorees from 2022
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