When describing what makes Las Vegas great, one inevitably has to talk about a bit of everything: Shows, attractions, restaurants, nightclubs, individual properties … the list just goes on and on. It’s in that spirit that we present Las Vegas Magazine’s 2026 Hall of Fame class.
On the following pages, you’ll get the pleasure of discovering some of what makes Las Vegas (and its surrounding areas) great, exclusively chosen by our growing list of past Hall of Fame honorees, including Jabbawockeez, Carrot Top, Wayne Newton, Blue Man Group, The Las Vegas Aces and Penn & Teller.
The goal of our Hall of Fame is simple: We want to provide you with a list you can check off here and now (or make reservations for on your return trip); after all, we are the premier tourist publication in the Las Vegas Valley—our goal is to help you make the most out of your stay.
Here’s to the class of 2026!
Shows/Productions: Donny Osmond
When Donny Osmond launched his solo residency at Harrah’s Las Vegas in 2021, a familiar Vegas question hovered: Could a former teen idol still command a modern Strip stage without leaning on nostalgia, or his equally famous sister? The answer was a resounding “Yes!”
Attractions: Shark Reef Aquarium
When Shark Reef Aquarium opened at Mandalay Bay in 2000, the idea—to build a massive aquarium full of apex predators in the middle of the Mojave Desert—sounded both improbable and delightful. Twenty-five years later, it stands as one of the Strip’s most enduring attractions, and a reminder that this town thrives on unfettered imagination.
Restaurants: Benihana
The casino around it may have changed names and ownership over the years—from the International to the Las Vegas Hilton to Westgate—but Benihana has stayed exactly where it belongs for the last 50 years. In Vegas terms, that’s practically immortality.
Dayclubs/Nightclubs: Stadium Swim
When Stadium Swim opened in 2020, it made more than a splash. It, in fact, cannonballed into the Vegas pool scene and rewrote the rules. Designed to operate 365 days a year, it features six pools, multiple swim-up bars and a jaw-dropping 40-foot-tall, 14 million-pixel, high-definition screen that turns sports into a communal experience.
Bars/Lounges: Atomic Liquors
Las Vegas has no shortage of legendary bars, but only one can claim to be the beginning. Atomic Liquors, opened in 1954, is the city’s oldest free-standing bar and the birthplace of Nevada's Tavern Sale License: No. 00001, which still hangs proudly behind the bar.
Performance Venues: MGM Grand Garden Arena
If Las Vegas needed confirmation it could host events on a global scale, MGM Grand Garden Arena delivered it in 1993 and never looked back. Opening with a Barbra Streisand performance, the venue immediately announced itself as a place where history would be made, and then went on to make good on that promise repeatedly.
Sports: Wrangler National Finals Rodeo
Every December, Las Vegas becomes a sea of Stetsons as the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo rides into town. Known as the Super Bowl of Rodeo, the event brings the top 15 money-earning cowboys and cowgirls in professional rodeo to the Thomas & Mack Center for 10 adrenaline-packed days of competition.
Festivals: Electric Daisy Carnival
When Electric Daisy Carnival moved to Las Vegas in 2011, it transformed the city into the global capital of electronic dance music. What began in 1997 as a modest event in Los Angeles has grown into a three-day, multi-stage festival at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, drawing more than half a million fans (known as “headliners”) from around the world.
The Great Outdoors: Hoover Dam
Nearly a century after its completion, Hoover Dam still feels awe-inspiring. Built between 1931 and 1936, the concrete arch-gravity marvel rises 726 feet above the Colorado River, holding back Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in the United States. It contains enough concrete to pave a highway from San Francisco to New York.
Properties/Resorts: Bellagio
When Bellagio opened in 1998, it redefined the very core of Las Vegas’ identity. Steve Wynn’s $1.6 billion monument showed that elegance, art and refinement could thrive on the Strip without sacrificing excitement.
Hall of Fame honorees from 2020
Hall of Fame honorees from 2021
Hall of Fame honorees from 2022
Hall of Fame honorees from 2023
Hall of Fame honorees from 2024
Hall of Fame honorees from 2025
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