SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — It figures that a billionaire would win big in Las Vegas.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker reported a gambling windfall of $1.4 million on his federal tax return this week.
The two-term Democrat, often mentioned as a 2028 presidential candidate, told reporters in Chicago on Thursday that he drew charmed hands in blackjack during a vacation with first lady MK Pritzker and friends in Sin City.
“I was incredibly lucky,” he said. “You have to be to end up ahead, frankly, going to a casino anywhere.”
Pritzker, an heir to the Hyatt hotel chain, has a net worth of $3.9 billion, tied for No. 382 on the Forbes 400 list of the nation’s richest people. A campaign spokesperson said via email that Pritzker planned to donate the money to charity but did not respond when asked why he hadn’t already done so.
Pritzker, who intends to seek a third term in 2026, was under consideration as a vice presidential running mate to Kamala Harris last year. He has deflected questions about any ambition beyond the Illinois governor’s mansion. But he has used his personal wealth to fund other Democrats and related efforts, including a campaign to protect access to abortion.
His profile has gotten an additional bump this fall as he condemns President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement in Chicago and the president’s attempt to deploy National Guard troops there.
The Pritzkers reported income of $10.66 million in 2024, mostly from dividends and capital gains. They paid $1.6 million in taxes on taxable income of $5.87 million.
Pritzker is an avid card player whose charitable Chicago Poker Challenge has raised millions of dollars for the Holocaust Museum and Education Center. The Vegas windfall was a “net number” given wins and losses on one trip, he said. He declined to say what his winning hand was.
“Anybody who’s played cards in a casino, you often play for too long and lose whatever it is you won,” Pritzker said. “I was fortunate enough to have to leave before that happened.”
O’Connor writes for the Associated Press. AP writer Sophia Tareen contributed to this report from Chicago.
The Latin Recording Academy unveiled the first slate of performers for the 26th annual Latin Grammy Awards, which will take place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Nov. 13.
Among the artists announced were música Mexicana acts Carín León, Pepe Aguilar and Los Tigres del Norte; sad sierreño singer-songwriters Ivan Cornejo and DannyLux; Latin pop icon Gloria Estefan, and Colombian rock band Morat.
“Happy to be at the biggest Latin music festival! Even more so because it features music from my Mexico. Long live Mariachi!” Aguilar told The Times. His latest project, “Mi Suerte Es Ser Mexicano,” is nominated for ranchero/mariachi album.
“Very honored to be part of this musical celebration,” León wrote on Instagram. The 36-year-old singer nabbed three nominations, including for album of the year, contemporary Mexican music album for his LP “Palabra de To’s (Seca),” as well as regional song for “Si Tú Me Vieras,” which features Maluma. León will make history next year by being the first Latin music act to perform at the Sphere in Las Vegas. The one-of-a-kind venue features a 16K resolution wraparound LED screen.
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“It’s crazy to even say that I’m performing at the Latin Grammys. I think of my parents, all their struggles, and how far we’ve come,” DannyLux shared in a statement. “This isn’t just my moment. It’s for every kid who grew up watching their parents fight for a better life.”
The 21-year-old Coachella Valley native celebrated his second Latin Grammy nomination (“Leyenda” is up for contemporary Mexican music album) by unveiling a billboard on Sunset Boulevard that paid tribute to his parents.
Spanish singer Raphael, who will receive the 2025 Person of the Year award, is also expected to grace the stage. The honoree’s career spans six decades, first wowing crowds during Eurovision Song contests in 1966 and 1967, where he gained recognition for his love-struck ballads “Yo Soy Aquél” and “Hablemos del Amor,” respectively.
Fort Lauderdale, Fla. — Some airports around the country are refusing to play a video with a message from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in which she blames Democrats for the federal government shutdown and its impacts on TSA operations because of its political content.
Airports in Las Vegas, Charlotte, Atlanta, Phoenix, Seattle and more say the video goes against their airport policy or regulations that prohibit political messaging in their facilities.
Various government agencies, in emails to workers and on websites, have adopted language that blames Democrats for the shutdown, with some experts arguing it could be in violation of the 1939 Hatch Act, which restricts certain political activities by federal employees.
The shutdown has halted routine operations and left airports scrambling with flight disruptions. Democrats say any deal to reopen the government has to address their healthcare demands, and Republicans say they won’t negotiate until they agree to fund the government. Insurance premiums would double if Congress fails to renew the subsidy payments that expire Dec. 31.
In the video, Noem says that TSA’s “top priority” is to help make travel pleasant and efficient while keeping passengers safe.
“However, Democrats in Congress refuse to fund the federal government, and because of this, many of our operations are impacted, and most of our TSA employees are working without pay,” she continues.
The Transportation Security Administration falls under the Department of Homeland Security. Roughly 61,000 of the agency’s 64,130 employees are required to continue working during the shutdown. The Department said Friday that the video is being rolled out to airports across the country.
A DHS spokeswoman responded to a request for comment restating some of the message from Noem’s video.
“It’s unfortunate our workforce has been put in this position due to political gamesmanship. Our hope is that Democrats will soon recognize the importance of opening the government,” spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said.
The Harry Reid International Airport, in Las Vegas, said it had to “remain mindful of the Hatch Act’s restrictions.”
“Per airport regulations, the terminals and surrounding areas are not designated public forums, and the airport’s intent is to avoid the use of the facility for political or religious advocacy,” the statement said.
Westchester County Executive Ken Jenkins said the county north of New York City won’t play the video at its local airport. In a statement, he called the video “inappropriate, unacceptable, and inconsistent with the values we expect from our nation’s top public officials,” and said its tone is “unnecessarily alarmist” as it relates to operations at Westchester County Airport.
“At a time when we should be focused on ensuring stability, collaboration and preparedness, this type of messaging only distracts from the real issues, and undermines public trust,” he said.
Even in red states, airports weren’t showing the video for various reasons. Salt Lake City International Airport wasn’t playing the video because state law prohibits using city-owned property for political purposes, said airport spokesperson Nancy Volmer.
The airport in Billings, Mont., “politely declined” even though it has screens that could show the video with audio, assistant aviation director Paul Khera said Tuesday.
“We don’t want to get in the middle of partisan politics,” Khera said. “We like to stay middle of the road, we didn’t want to play that video.”
Gomez Licon writes for the Associated Press. AP writers Rio Yamat in Las Vegas and Mead Gruver in Fort Collins, Colo. contributed to this report.
After Contreras’ offensive coordinator, Carlos Trujillo, did his work on Friday night during his team’s 39-14 win over Hollywood, he was picked up by car and whisked off to Los Angeles International Airport to take a red-eye flight to Chicago so he could complete the 11th marathon of his life.
“I will never be crazy enough to do one,” Contreras head coach Manuel Guevara said.
Running 26.2 miles is pretty challenging, but Trujillo has found something he enjoys, and players admire his commitment.
“The entire varsity [team] wished him good luck,” Guevara said. “It teaches the kids that coaches challenge themselves in different ways.”
He’ll be back for practice on Tuesday as Contreras (4-3, 2-0) prepares for a key Central League game against Bernstein on Thursday night.
Trujillo, 43, said he started running marathons when he was head coach at North Hollywood. He has run marathons in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Las Vegas and New York besides Chicago.
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The question caused Lakers coach JJ Redick to say he was “not being combative” with his answer.
Asked if the Lakers are missing opportunities to practice more and build on-court chemistry because of their busy six-game preseason slate, Redick was quick to wonder why reporters were so concerned about the situation.
“You guys are really harping on this,” Redick responded.
So, Redick was asked, is it a thing or is it not a thing?
“I’m not being combative right now,” Redick said. “I just want to acknowledge that you guys, like the last four days, like it’s becoming a little bit obsessive with all these questions about opportunities lost. So, I will answer it again. These are the cards that we were dealt. I sure would like everybody to be healthy.”
Making the most out of the situation, the Lakers held off the Golden State Warriors 126-116 Sunday night at Crypto.com Arena despite not playing with LeBron James (sciatica), Luka Doncic and Marcus Smart (Achilles tendinopathy).
Redick said the plan is for Smart to “get two games [in] this week.”
The Lakers have three remaining preseason games: Tuesday at Phoenix, Wednesday at Las Vegas against the Dallas Mavericks and Friday against the visiting Sacramento Kings — four games over a six-day span.
Redick was reminded that the Lakers as an organization have chosen to play six preseason games — the maximum allowed by the NBA.
“It’s something to be discussed I think going forward,” Redick said. “I think it’s awesome. I really do because we got to play in Palm Springs and I think it’s awesome that we get to play in Vegas and I recognize that there’s Lakers fans all over the world that maybe don’t get the chance to see us play.
“You hope that we can find some sort of balance in the future to get more practice time, less travel time. I’m sure at some point we’ll be one of the teams going overseas, so then that adds another scenario.”
Lakers guard Bronny James, front, and Golden State forward Trayce Jackson-Davis battle for a rebound in the first half Sunday of the Lakers’ 126-116 preseason win at Crypto.com Arena.
(Jae C. Hong / Associated Press)
Redick did say for training camp purposes, practice tends to be more helpful in team building than preseason games.
“I think more practices would be beneficial,” Redick said. “I do think the exposure to a game situation and playing against an opponent is very beneficial. You don’t have a lot of days anymore and to try to cram six games in there [and] four games in six nights, it’s significantly difficult.”
For Ayton, who was six for eight from the field and had a blocked shot, his joy came from the fans cheering him on. Sure, it was only a preseason game, but Ayton loved the vibe and the positive energy he felt.
It was Ayton’s first time playing at Crypto.com Arena since he signed a two-year, $16.6-million deal with the Lakers.
“It hit me in the whole arena today just hearing the fans and everybody cheering,” Ayton said. “It was kind of an unusual sound other than boos. … It was everybody showing love and welcoming me to L.A. I played so freely and I had a lot of fun.”
Sharina Butler, from the Bahamas, was staying at the Paris Hotel Las Vegas when she was landed with a hefty, unexpected bill, she has claimed in a TikTok video
Sharina Butler recounted the incident on TikTok(Image: FACEBOOK)
A visitor to Las Vegas has issued a warning after she claiming was charged $200 (£150) for using a plug socket.
Sharina Butler, from the Bahamas, was staying at the Paris Hotel Las Vegas when she received a surprise bill for $224 (£168), she alleges.
According to the mum, she was landed with the hefty payment request due to her son unplugging a tray used for mini-bar snacks and drinks. Sharina claimed the policy was written on a small card that was placed in front of the tray.
The card warned that there would be a $56 (£42) charge for every day the tray remained unplugged. In a TikTok video recalling the incident, Sharina claimed she said to an employee, “You’ve got to be kidding me. The tray isn’t attached to any electricity, the tray isn’t attached to anything, it’s just a plug.”
Sharina said that they had unplugged the tray to charge their phones while sitting at the small desk inside the room. She hadn’t read the note on the minibar because she knew she wasn’t going to touch any of the overpriced items.
“Why am I reading a tray when I’m not touching it… The only thing it should be saying is that if you move something off the minibar, you will be charged, right? But that wasn’t the case.”
According to Sharina, the employee then showed her an enlarged version of the note, which indicated the $56-per-night charge if the plug is removed.
Butler told her 1,200 fans that she “blocked that charge” after being slapped with the fee. In the comments beneath the video, some called Marci claimed they had a similar problem at the hotel.
“I wanted them to remove the whole damn tray from the room, and they told me it would cost me $50 to have it removed, so I argued them into having someone come up to move it off of the desk (because I needed to use the desk to work), so it sat on the floor the whole time,” she wrote.
Paris Hotel Las Vegas has been contacted for comment.
The tourist industry in Las Vegas has been going through a difficult time of late, with resorts and convention centers reporting fewer visitors compared to last year, especially from abroad, and some officials are blaming the Trump administration’s tariffs and immigration policies for the decline.
The city known for lavish shows, endless buffets and around-the-clock gambling welcomed just under 3.1 million tourists in June, an 11% drop compared to the same month in 2024. There were 13% fewer international travelers, and hotel occupancy fell by about 15%, according to data from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.
Mayor Shelley Berkley said tourism from Canada — Nevada’s largest international market — has dried up from a torrent “to a drip.” Same with Mexico.
“We have a number of very high rollers that come in from Mexico that aren’t so keen on coming in right now. And that seems to be the prevailing attitude internationally,” Berkley told reporters this month.
Ted Pappageorge, head of the powerful Culinary Workers Union, called it the “Trump slump.” He said visits from Southern California, home to a large Latino population, were also drying up because people are afraid of the administration’s immigration crackdown. If you tell the rest of the world they’re not welcome, then they won’t come.”
The Vegas dip mirrors a national trend. The travel forecasting company Tourism Economics, which in December 2024 anticipated the US, would have nearly 9% more international arrivals this year, revised its annual outlook to predict a 9.4% drop. Some of the steepest declines could be from Canada, the company said. Canada was the largest source of visitors to the US in 2024, with more than 20.2 million, according to US government data.
A major American hotspot is thought to be ‘dying’ as tourist numbers have significantly decreased since last year. Experts have had their say on the reason for this downfall.
A popular destination in the US is losing tourists as costs rise (stock image)(Image: Andrey Denisyuk via Getty Images)
A beloved hotspot in the US is experiencing a dramatic drop in visitor numbers. Las Vegas stands as an internationally renowned major resort city, celebrated for its casinos, shows, exquisite cuisine and buzzing nightlife.
The most populated city in Nevada has served as the backdrop for a number of Hollywood blockbusters, including Ocean’s Eleven, The Hangover and What Happens in Vegas. Yet, tourism to this iconic American location is plummeting, with specialists revealing the reasons behind the decline. This concern was spotlighted by Race Across The World champion, Alfie Watts, who travelled to Las Vegas to investigate what’s causing the drop in holidaymakers.
He documented his latest journey to the metropolis and posted it on TikTok. The BBC TV personality said: “Vegas tourism is falling off a cliff and I went to find out why.
“This city is a neon soaked fever dream of excess. You can have dinner in Paris, cocktails in Venice and you’ll lose all of your money in New York all before midnight.”
Las Vegas boasts hotels modelled on Paris, Venice and New York that have been crafted to resemble these destinations.
Watts continued: “It’s outrageous and it’s unique but it is still incredible but back in the day the whole point of Vegas was that you didn’t have to be rich to live like it for a weekend.”
During the first half of this year, Las Vegas saw a 7.3 per cent drop in visitor numbers compared to the same period last year, with June alone witnessing an 11 per cent decrease, as reported by Investopedia.
Watts attributes this decline to the rising costs of hotels and food and drink. He elaborated: “It used to be the ultimate weekend blow-out, the wild stag do’s, the girls’ trips, the spontaneous getaway where you came back sunburnt, broke but buzzing.
“Now, it’s priced itself into special occasion only territory and when the magic costs that much, people start asking if they can get it cheaper somewhere else.”
The TV star and renowned travel content creator argued that hotel rooms which “once cost next to nothing” are now comparable to the price of a city break in Paris.
He added: “Thirty years ago Vegas was the spot for outrageous fun but now you can get a similar weekend in Dubai, Ibiza and Cancun, and very often for half the price.”
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However, he admitted that Las Vegas still holds its unique charm with its dazzling lights, vibrant energy, mind-blowing events, world-class cuisine, and the opportunity to dance at 4am in a hotel lobby “shaped like ancient Rome.”
Watts concluded: “Vegas is still a glitter cannon in the desert. It’s just that these days the glitter’s a little bit more unappealing because it’s a lot more expensive.”
Investopedia highlighted additional factors driving tourists away from Las Vegas, including fewer flights arriving in the US from Canada and other nations, partly due to escalating tensions from trade rows between the Trump administration and foreign governments.
Technology could also be playing a role, as sports betting apps and online gaming mean punters no longer need to travel to Las Vegas to gamble.
In his TikTok post’s caption, Watts argued that Las Vegas is “dying” and international arrivals are “tanking.”
The video has attracted a number of comments with viewers expressing their opinions.
One commented: “The millennials don’t gamble and if they do, it’s online and they also are smart with their money, they’re not going to go somewhere where they have to pay this, that and [the] other.”
Another remarked: “Ridiculous ‘resort fees’ and the outrageous tipping culture isn’t very attractive when everything else is getting more expensive.”
A third declared: “No one under 40 cares about Vegas.” A different viewer proposed: “Downtown Vegas is the place to be. Cheaper rooms, food and drink.”
Skye Taylor, 50, from Southampton, travelled the world with Virgin Atlantic for 16 years and has revealed the worst routes for drunk and disorderly passengers
Liam McInerney Content Editor
06:30, 22 Sep 2025Updated 07:09, 22 Sep 2025
Skye Taylor spent 16 years as a flight attendant (Image: Jam Press/@skye_taylor_xx)
A former cabin crew worker has shared her experiences of “absolute chaos” on certain routes where passengers consumed the most alcohol.
Ex-flight attendant Skye Taylor, who spent 16 years travelling the globe with Virgin Atlantic, made her comments after a discussion on RTÉ’s Today with Claire Byrne show. Travel correspondent Simon Calder sparked the debate by questioning whether it was time to trial alcohol-free flights.
Simon highlighted an increase in individuals combining alcohol with prescription drugs, leading Claire to ask: “If the airlines decide that they’re going to trial this and ban the sale of alcohol on flights, does it not just encourage us to get tanked up at the airport?”
After the conversation, Skye, 50, from Southampton, argued that a complete ban wasn’t the solution. However, she did advocate for restrictions on alcohol, attributing most of the issues she faced on the job to alcohol-related incidents.
Offering a troubling insight, she revealed: “Long haul flights… It is absolute chaos sometimes. I had an absolutely awful experience in upper class. I am going to say it because it was awful.
Skye was employed by Virgin Atlantic (Image: Jam Press/@skye_taylor_xx)
“There were a lot of quite well off guys off to a boxing match in Vegas and because they were in upper class there was no control on how much they were drinking.
“They literally drunk the bar dry which led to some behaviour that I couldn’t imagine seeing, like trying to touch the cabin crew, just in general, awful.”
She revealed that passengers mixing alcohol with prescription medication often caused the biggest headaches.
Skye also urged travellers to exercise caution, revealing how one drink at 30,000ft in the air was equivalent to downing three on the ground.
The mum, who left the industry after developing insomnia, said some upper class passengers felt overly entitled after splashing out so much cash for their seat.
However, she insisted this shouldn’t give them the right to make cabin crew workers feel threatened.
She named the most chaotic routes for drunk passengers (Image: Jam Press/@skye_taylor_xx)
And discussing the contrast in different destinations, she added: “It is crazy to see the difference in routes. Say you are going to Dubai, the majority of your passengers are not going to be drinking because they don’t drink alcohol (in Dubai), so there are very very few incidents on flights like that.
“But the rest of the time the incidents are caused by alcohol and it is scary, it is scary sometimes when you are up there.”
So what does Skye reckon are the worst flights for drunken behaviour?
Las Vegas
Skye discovered the American party capital Las Vegas was the worst flight when departing from the UK.
She explained: “On the way out it can just be carnage. Which does make you feel unsafe as crew and other passengers if they are flying with families and stuff like that as well.”
But the return journey is frequently vastly different.
The mum quit the industry after developing insomnia because of the brutal shift hours (Image: Jam Press/@skye_taylor_xx)
She revealed: “It is very different, if you come back from Vegas nobody wants to drink on the way home, so it is a very different atmosphere. Everyone is relaxed, chilled, everyone is going to sleep. It makes your job very easy.”
Magaluf and Ibiza
Predictably, two of Spain’s most legendary party hotspots featured on Skye’s list of the most challenging flights.
While detailing some of her tactics for handling disruptive passengers (see below), Skye highlighted the destinations as among the most problematic on budget carrier routes.
Jamaica
Remembering a flight to the Jamaican capital of Kingston, she revealed “it was absolutely chaos”.
Skye added: “And it was a big aircraft but we had the staff to deal with it then and I think most airlines now don’t have the staff. They are down to minimum crew and that’s not leaving anyone to watch for people drinking because they are too busy.”
The most challenging route, she discovers, is from the UK to Las Vegas.
Skye is calling for booze restrictions rather than bans (Image: Jam Press/@skye_taylor_xx)
Following her description of Las Vegas as the most difficult route, Skye noted that paradoxically, on the homeward flight to England, nobody aboard wishes to drink.
‘Booze ban is not the answer’
According to the International Air Transport Association, air rage incidents have risen by 8% in the past year. And while not believing that an alcohol prohibition on flights was the solution, Skye did offer one recommendation.
According to Skye, most difficulties emerged when travellers brought aboard alcohol purchased in the airport, before uncorking the bottle during the flight. She firmly believes any booze bought in duty free should be collected during boarding, then returned after touchdown.
Skye reckons this would prevent passengers “acting like they are in Wetherspoons” which occurs on numerous routes.
She concluded: “It definitely needs tighter restrictions and even if alcohol is free on board, just reduce that, especially routes that cause the problems, so low cost routes it is going to be Ibiza, Magluf, that type of flight.
“Stop them bringing alcohol on that board, because that is when they act up. I don’t know how they get away with it anyway, it is purchased outside the aircraft and it shouldn’t be in their hands, that’s my opinion.”
It’s Viva Las Vegas for the top girls volleyball teams in Southern California. They’ll be in Las Vegas this weekend for the 30th Durango Classic that will be played at four sites beginning Friday.
Seven of MaxPreps’ top 10 teams nationally are scheduled to compete, including Sierra Canyon, Mater Dei, Redondo Union, Marymount and Mira Costa.
Sea Hawks go on the road and sweep in 3 close sets against a scrappy El Segundo squad. Redondo moves to 13-3, 2-0 league.
Next up the #1 girls high school tournament in the country, Durango!
Sierra Canyon is ranked No. 1 in the Southern Section power rankings after knocking off Redondo Union last week.
It’s also one of the first chances to see teams strengthened by players who had to sit out the first half of the season after transferring without moving. The sit-out period ended Sept. 13. …
The Ivy League football season begins on Saturday, and there are 39 players from Southern Section high school teams listed on Ivy League rosters.
It’s my annual look at players from Southern California playing in the Ivy League. There’s 39 from Southern Section. Loyola and Harvard-Westlake have five each. Brains and brawn. pic.twitter.com/pePe8PDhOC
PRIMM, Nevada — As the sun set just before 8 p.m., the bison-headed neon marquee welcoming visitors to Primm flickered faintly. The animal’s face was dark, though the words “Buffalo Bill’s” remained alight — for now — for the down-on-its-luck resort and casino.
Inland Empire residents Marcy Glenn and Kristina Gula parked in a mostly vacant lot and ran to pose for a selfie in front of the sign. One last snapshot.
“I’ve been coming here since I was a kid, when I was handed a bag of quarters to play all day at the arcade,” Gula said. “I just can’t believe it’s closing.”
Primm was once one of Nevada’s more popular gambling resorts, a less expensive, less flashy, slightly more kitschy alternative to Las Vegas that benefited from being a good 45 minutes closer than Sin City.
It was the place where you could stop and ride the iconic freeway-adjacent roller coaster, ogle the Bonnie and Clyde “Death Car” or shop at the premium outlet mall.
But a series of factors has contributed to Primm’s slow decline, including the COVID pandemic and increased competition from casinos popping up on tribal lands in California.
Those newer casinos are easier to get to than Primm from key Southern California population centers, reducing the value proposition.
Lights still glow on the Buffalo Bill’s Resort and Casino sign in July.
The Western-themed Buffalo Bill’s resort in Primm concluded a 31-year run of regular business on July 6. Its owner, Affinity Gaming, ended its “24/7 operations,” not a positive sign in an area acclaimed for nonstop action. Buffalo Bill’s partial shuttering follows Affinity’s recent closure of its nearby Whiskey Pete’s resort, leaving the Primm Valley Casino Resorts as the lone survivor.
Rancho Cucamonga friends Glenn and Gula often visited the town — which includes a popular lotto store where Nevadans can buy California lottery tickets, chain fast-food spots, a pair of gas stations and a virtually abandoned mall that once welcomed crowds of daily visitors.
On this weekend, however, the duo stayed at a Sin City short-term rental.
“There’s no easy answer as to why Primm is in its current state,” said Amanda Belarmino, associate professor of hospitality management at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. “They’ve had a slow decline expedited by COVID-19, and they’ve been unable to respond to competition in California and southern Nevada.”
The Desperado roller coaster at Buffalo Bill’s Resort and Casino, once one of the tallest and fastest coasters in the world, has long been closed to the public.
A screaming coaster and a $7 prime rib dinner
In American mystery writer Dolores Hitchens’ 1955 classic, “Sleep With Strangers,” the novel’s hero, private investigator Jim Sader, drives from Los Angeles to Las Vegas, noting his trip includes only “empty valley” and the “shimmering mist of heat.”
When he finally pulls over at a state-line roadside diner, he finds a barn-like restaurant split into halves: one side for slot machines and cards and the other for a soda fountain and lunch counter. Customers “who couldn’t wait for Las Vegas” are pulling the levers at the slots.
That vision of dining, playing and staying just across the state line was one that called to Ernest Primm. It was in the ’50s that he installed a motel and coffee shop at a spot in the road called State Line. Primm was the poker czar of the South Bay. Starting in the 1930s, he ran card rooms in Gardena, places where patrons might be lured in with a 25-cent steak.
He eventually relinquished control of six poker houses in Gardena to build Whiskey Pete’s in Primm. The area was renamed from State Line to Primm in 1996 after his death.
“When Primm was first developed, it was really a destination resort area for Southern Californians, people from the Los Angeles and Mojave areas,” Scott Butera, Affinity’s chief executive and president, said at a February meeting of the Nevada Gaming Commission.
The castle-shaped Whiskey Pete’s, which shuttered in December, opened in 1977, followed by Primm Valley in 1990 and Buffalo Bill’s in 1994.
Each hosted the famed Bonnie & Clyde “Death Car,” the V-8 Ford riddled with more than 100 bullets in 1934. Whiskey Pete’s offered a 24-hour IHOP, and Californians and Nevadans visited Primm Valley’s 100-store outlet mall supported by shoppers bused into the mall for free or at discounted prices as a part of tours.
There was also Buffalo Bill’s Desperado, the tallest, fastest roller coaster in the world when it opened in 1994; it sent visitors screaming 209 feet above the freeway right outside the resort. A tram, now dusty and shuttered, connected all three resorts.
Buffalo Bill’s and its sister resorts closed in March 2020 when the pandemic hit, reopening between December 2022 and 2023. But they struggled to attract customers.
The Desperado roller coaster at Buffalo Bill’s Resort and Casino made its final run in Feburary 2020. (Bridget Bennett/For The Times)
A sign blocks an entrance to the Primm Mall in July. Once a popular shopping stop for travelers between Las Vegas and Southern California, the mall has seen a steep decline in recent years.
Affinity Gaming announced Buffalo Bill’s full-time closure in July, saying the resort would still host concerts and special events at its arena, with the casino, food and beverage services, and the hotel open during those times. Whiskey Pete’s was closed — at least temporarily — on Dec. 18. Affinity personnel asked the board on March 4 to approve an extended closure until Dec. 18, 2026, with the possibility of two six-month extensions.
The approved closure allows the resort to maintain its county gaming license while Whiskey Pete’s operates up to 40 slot machines at its adjacent gas station.
The company, which operates the casinos via a lease agreement with the Primm family, turned down requests to speak about its resorts or the future of Primm.
Gamblers inside Primm Valley Casino Resorts, the last casino standing, in July.
Not enough gamblers to go around
While other casinos in Nevada’s Clark County have cleaned up financially over the last 10 years, Primm’s have been — as UNLV’s Belarmino noted — on a slow slide.
In a letter to the Clark County Board of Commissioners, Erin Barnett, Affinity’s vice president and general counsel, wrote in October “that traffic at the state line has proved to be heavily weighted towards weekend activity and is insufficient to support three full-time casino properties.”
The story of Primm’s decline is directly tied to the rise of Southern California’s tribal casinos, according to Belarmino.
Yaamava’ Resort & Casino, run by the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, sits in Highland, about 200 miles from Primm but less than half that distance from downtown L.A.
The 7,000 slot machines at Yaamava’ make the casino the West Coast’s largest, with 4,000 more slots than any Vegas peers.
Once, Yaamava’ was much humbler than the Primm resorts, opening in 1986 as a bingo hall. But by 1994, the location expanded into a 100,000-square-foot casino. Yaamava’ completed its most recent $760-million expansion in 2021, adding a 17-floor hotel tower, three bars and about 1,700 new slots.
Shortly after, Yaamava’ was one of several tribal casinos in San Bernardino and Riverside counties that declared an arms race with Nevada.
The tribal casinos are a pull for Southern Californians who might otherwise head to Primm, Affinity’s Butera acknowledged at February’s Gaming Commission meeting. “Now they have their own casinos,” he said, “quite large, nice casinos there.”
Still, Affinity is hoping a new airport planned for just north of Primm in the late 2030s and adjacent supporting businesses will spur a resurgence. Butera said at the February meeting that Primm was “in the process of doing a major repositioning.”
Primm 2.0 would have Primm Valley Hotel as its main resort, with national brands and new restaurant concepts and an improved truck stop travel center. There would also be a new $4-million marquee.
The vision is to restore Primm to a destination that Southern Californians traveling to Nevada would stop at, “get gas or recharge their car but also [have] something nice to eat, have a little fun at a casino and then move on.”
Signs alert any remaining passersby that this entrance at Primm Mall is closed. In July, the lone store in business was a thrift store.
Clothing time
It’s unclear if that would resuscitate Primm Valley’s 100-store outlet mall, an attraction that once extended Primm’s deals beyond cheap buffets and cocktails.
The Las Vegas Entertainment Guide wrote in December 2013 that Primm’s Prizm Outlets were “one of the top places to visit if you are visiting the Sin City and shopping is on your agenda.”
The 371,000-square-foot outlet mall, built in 1998, is attached to the Primm Valley Resort. Its retailers at one time included Neiman Marcus, Coach, American Eagle Outfitters, Fendi, Michael Kors and Kate Spade.
Las Vegas resident Lindsay Myer said the mall was a lure in its heyday.
“They had a jeans outlet and some good shopping,” said the 23-year-old as she stopped in Buffalo Bill’s before its closing in July. “Then the outlets closer to Vegas were built.”
Las Vegas North Premium Outlets, three miles from the Strip’s northern end, was built in 2003, with expansions completed in 2015. The South mall, near Harry Reid Airport, completed construction in 2011. They combined for more than 300 shops.
Meanwhile, more Primm storefronts became vacant.
By 2018, only 58 stores out of 111 total spots were operating. As of July, a thrift store was the only shop that remained.
Anna Barker and Chad Asindraza, both from Las Vegas, pose for a photo in front of the Buffalo Bill’s Resort and Casino sign.
For some, Primm just didn’t make sense
Scott Banks, a retired slot machine mechanic and salesman, said he never understood how Primm existed in the first place.
“I understand this is the first stop on your way through the desert to Las Vegas, but Vegas is only like 35 miles away,” said Banks, 65, a Sin City native. “The fact that people made that stop is something.”
Banks said he helped refurbish and update slot machines at Whiskey Pete’s in the mid-1980s, when it was undergoing one of its first expansions.
He was also a frequent visitor to Primm for its $1 hot dogs, the outlet mall and the roller coaster. When those amenities dropped away, so did he.
“Whiskey Pete’s, Primm, was an incredible gamble by the Primm family, and it worked, it worked for years,” he said. “That’s the way to look at it.”
“The Wizard of Oz” is certainly the right movie to face the great and powerful ambitions of Sphere, the most expensive entertainment venue in Las Vegas history. Since 1939, the treasured classic has hailed the awe of gazing into a glowing globe, whether it’s glinting atop a fortune teller’s table, transporting the meddlesome Glinda the Good Witch or spying on a teenage girl and her companions like a sinister security camera.
Special effects are central both to “Oz’s” appeal and its plot: The big reveal is that technicians, not wizards, pull the levers that make an audience gasp. For Sphere — officially, there’s no “the” — those tools include three football fields of bright 16K LED screens that curve around its domed interior, with another 10 on the outside that light up Vegas day and night with rotating animations. (I saw blue gingham, scarlet sequins and thatches of burlap and straw.) Sphere cost an estimated $2.3 billion to build and must have an electricity bill scarier than the Wicked Witch. You can make out Dorothy’s slippers from an airplane.
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With no heel clicks needed, I was whisked to “The Wizard of Oz’s” Sphere premiere in a red sedan by a Lyft driver named — no fooling — Ruby, who said she was grateful that the Backstreet Boys’ recent stint at the arena “made Vegas busy for a minute.” There’s a lot of financial pressure on “Oz’s” girl from Kansas. Adapting the film to Sphere’s stunning dimensions took about $100 million. Although the arena seats 17,600 when full, “Oz” showings only offer a slice of the middle section, roughly a third of its capacity. A trimmed 70-minute edit of the movie is playing two to three times a day, nearly every day, through the end of March 2026, with a ticket price that currently starts at $114.
Eighty-six years ago, when a kiddie fare cost 15 cents, my then-6-year-old grandmother watched the theater blink from sepia to vivid color splendor. That innovation gets credited to Hollywood, but the idea of contrasting lush and luminous Oz against soul-drainingly monochrome Kansas is actually right there on Page 1 of L. Frank Baum’s book, published in May 1900, a self-proclaimed effort to write a “modernized” fairy tale that swaps Old World elves for American scarecrows. “When Dorothy stood in the doorway and looked around, she could see nothing but the great gray prairie on every side,” Baum wrote, adding that her house and her weary aunt and uncle and everything else were gray too, “to the edge of the sky in all directions.”
That’s exactly what Sphere was designed to do: stretch to the edge in all dimensions. It exists neither to save film nor supplant it, but to augment a rectangular screen with new digital and (controversially) generative-AI-supplied imagery, timed props and seats that vibrate whenever the Wicked Witch cackles.
Despite my queasiness about cutting “Oz” by half an hour, the experiment is a romp. I was immersed in — or, more accurately, surrounded by — scenes from one of my favorite movies, a pivotal blockbuster whose artistic influence extends from David Lynch to Elton John to Salman Rushdie. Even more giggle-inducing, I was pelted with scented foam apples and dive-bombed by half a dozen drone-piloted flying monkeys.
“The Wizard of Oz” has always braved new technology. An early adopter of Technicolor, it boasted a lighting budget nearly double that of its rival, “Gone With the Wind,” yet the latter gobbled nearly every Academy Award and poached “Oz’s” director, Victor Fleming, who swapped projects halfway through and won an Oscar for his vision of Sherman’s March instead of the Yellow Brick Road. In the 1950s, when the rest of Hollywood was terrified of television, “Oz” agreed to be the first theatrical movie to screen in full on a prime-time network. TV transformed the prestige money-loser into a hit. Sphere has turned “Oz” into a flash point in the industry’s fundamental fight over the use of AI. Artists and audiences alike fear a future in which, behind the curtain, there might not be a man at all.
I like my art made by human beings. But I’m no nostalgist. “Oz” was a book, a musical, a silent short and a cartoon before MGM made the variant we adore. It should be a playground for invention.
Entering Sphere, the escalators are tinted sepia and the soundscape hums with birdsong and lowing cattle. The implication is that we’ve not yet been whirled over the rainbow. Preshow, the view from one’s seat is of being in a massive old opera house with dusky green drapes flanked by rows of orchestra seats. None of the proscenium is actually there, nor are the musicians heard running scales and rehearsing “Follow the Yellow Brick Road.”
The simulation of human handicraft — of stagehands and horn players hiding in the wings — is unnerving. But it gets you thinking about the actual, contemporary people who are behind that curtain. Visual artists who labored on the Sphere project have justly grumbled that their sweat has gotten publicly dismissed as AI. An actual symphony orchestra rerecorded “Oz’s” mono score on the very same MGM stage used in 1939, allegedly with some of the same instruments. It sounds fantastic, and it’s so loyal to every jaunty warble that audiences might not notice.
A few scenes have been lopped off entirely. The Cowardly Lion no longer trills about becoming king of the forest. The majority of the shots have been micro-trimmed to be snappier, a pace that wouldn’t suit stoners’ penchant for synchronizing the movie to Pink Floyd’s dreamy, woozy “The Dark Side of the Moon.” Occasionally, the camera’s placement appears to have been adjusted to allow the visuals to expand to fill the space. Inside Dorothy’s Kansan house, a once-shadowed frying pan on the wall now dangles front and center, as does a digitally added “Home Sweet Home” needlepoint nailed to the threshold. (The plotting has become so brisk that we might otherwise miss the message that there’s no place like it.)
The tweaks can be subtle and lovely. Dorothy belts “Over the Rainbow” underneath newly actualized bluebirds and an impressively ominous sky. When the tornado happens, the tech changes hit us like a cyclone. We’re pulled through the window and into the eye of the storm, where a cow spirals around like it wants to outdo the scene-stealing bovine from “Twister.” A great, giddy blast of air from the 750-horsepower fans blew my bangs straight off my forehead. I kept one eye on the screen while trying to catch a flurry of tissue-paper leaves. The wow factor is so staggering that you might not spot that Sphere’s founder and chief executive, James Dolan, and Warner Bros. president and CEO David Zaslav have superimposed their faces on the two sailors twirling past in a rowboat — an apropos in-joke for people concerned the moguls have been swept away by their own bluster.
“Anyone can blow wind into your face,” Dolan said to the premiere audience before the film began. “Not everyone can make you feel like you’re in a tornado.” Wearing the Wizard’s green top hat and suit and with his microphone dropping out inauspiciously, Dolan never introduced himself, but he did compliment the other creators of the event, who also wore costumes. (I overheard that some of them thought Dolan was kidding about dressing in character until they found themselves spending four hours getting groomed to look lionesque.)
Just a week earlier, in trial runs, perfumes were piped into the air so people could get a whiff of the Emerald City. (Gauging by the souvenir candles in Sphere’s gift shop, it is chocolate mint.) They’ve currently been scaled back out of concerns that it all might get too overwhelming. Having figured out how to do sight, sound, feel and smell, Dolan conceded that only one sense remains: “We still haven’t figured out taste.”
Taste is definitely still a concern. Oddly, Sphere’s “Oz” loses a dram of its spellcraft once audiences touch down in Munchkinland. Seeing the newly added tops of Oz’s trees makes the fantastical place look smaller.
The margins of “The Wizard of Oz” have been expanded by generative AI to fit the enormous venue.
(Rich Fury / Sphere Entertainment)
You feel for the design teams. They’ve been challenged to magnify a 4-foot matte painting of the arched hallway into the Wizard’s throne room — initially done in pastels on black cardboard — into a 240-foot-tall tableau. One of the 1939 film’s production designers, Jack Martin Smith, said that his instructions were to make Oz “ethereal” and “subdued.” Descriptions of the cornfield’s hand-painted muslin background make it sound like a proto-Rothko. Now, you can see every kernel. The razor-sharp mountains on the horizon don’t inspire your imagination — they make you think of Machu Picchu.
More troublesome are the Munchkins and the citizens of Emerald City. Tidied into high definition, they often appear restless. As Dorothy pleads for the Wizard not to fly away without her, we’re distracted by hundreds of waving extras who visibly don’t give a hoot what happens to the girl. Worse, they occasionally seem to glitch. If that’s the best AI can do in 2025, then Sphere isn’t a resounding endorsement.
By contrast, Judy Garland’s performance, delivered at just age 16, feels monumental. Her big brown eyes dominate the screen. When the heartbroken girl sobs that the Wicked Witch has chased away her beloved Toto, I found myself annoyed by a flying monkey on the left side of the frame who simply looked bored.
The field of poppies is dazzling; the additional deer, ants and rodents skittering across the golden sidewalk are simply strange. Overall, you’re so caught up observing the experience itself that the emotions of the story don’t register as anything more than theme-ride hydraulics. Still, it’s nice to have a sweeping view of the first film’s prosthetic makeup: the Cowardly Lion’s upturned nostrils, the Scarecrow’s baggy jowls, the real horses painted purple and red with Jell-O. (Due to pace tightening, we only see two ponies, not all six).
I recoiled when the Wizard’s disembodied head loomed above. Who decided to make him look like a cheesy martian? Flipping through sketches from 1939 afterward, I realized that he always looked that bad. His gaunt cheekbones just weren’t as obvious before. Nevertheless, be sure to look to the right when Toto reveals Oz’s control booth. In a clever touch, Sphere lets us continue to see the monstrous green face, now neutered and ridiculous, mouth along as the panicked geek apologizes for being a humbug.
Can Sphere win big on its risky gamble that there’s no place like dome? It’s not the first Las Vegas attraction to bet on our love for the MGM extravaganza. “The Wizard of Oz” has been tangled up with Las Vegas’ fortunes for more than half a century, ever since real estate investor Kirk Kerkorian purchased MGM Studios in 1969 and, one year later, auctioned Dorothy’s slippers to help fund the construction of the first MGM Grand Hotel and Casino. The second MGM Grand, the one that opened in 1993, was branded for “The Wizard of Oz” — that’s why it’s green like Emerald City — and during the first year, visitors could walk through an animatronic forest of lions, tigers and gamblers.
The Strip was once a magical place where innocents like Dorothy flocked to get into trouble, often in encounters with sleight-of-hand hucksters like Professor Marvel. Hopes are high that tourists will come back to be transported to Oz, even at a ticket price that costs a chunk of the family farm. The hurdle is that although audiences have become begrudgingly accustomed to spending more than $100 to see their favorite bands, they’re still seeing an actual band and not a shortened version of a movie that’s popular in part because everyone grew up watching it on TV for free.
But on opening night at least, the crowd was treating the cinema like a concert. Many folks were in some sort of costume, including me. (I couldn’t resist wearing a pair of red shoes.) When I complimented a man’s blue gingham suit, he handed me a handmade beaded, Taylor Swift-style bracelet that read: Toto Too.
If fans like him turn this techno-incarnation of “Oz” into a hit, Sphere has said it would consider following it up with a similar presentation of “Gone With the Wind.” Imagine the smell of the burning of Atlanta. Much better than the air of burning money.
Talent agent Brandon Blackstock, who was the ex-husband of pop star Kelly Clarkson and the father of their two children, died Thursday after losing his battle with melanoma.
Butte-Silver Bow County coroner Dan Hollis confirmed Blackstock’s cause of death to The Times on Monday. He also confirmed that Blackstone died at his home in Montana under hospice care and surrounded by his family, as first reported by People. The coroner said Blackstock’s manner of death was natural causes.
The official cause of death clarifies information shared by Blackstock’s family, who announced his death last week in a statement shared with The Times and on social media. Blackstock “bravely battled cancer for more than three years,” the statement said, not giving specifics. Melanoma is a kind of skin cancer that first affects cells that help produce pigment for skin color, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Blackstock’s family announced his death shortly after Clarkson postponed four August shows in her Studio Sessions residency in Las Vegas for personal reasons. She wrote in an Instagram post that “this past year, my children’s father has been ill and at this moment, I need to be fully present for them.”
Clarkson and Blackstock married in 2013 and split in 2020, finalizing their divorce in 2022. They share a daughter and a son. Blackstock also had two children from his first marriage.
Since her ex-husband’s death, footage of Clarkson wiping away tears during a July 26 show in Las Vegas resurfaced on social media. In the video, the “American Idol” alumna reflects on the changes she had on her song “Piece by Piece,” which she first wrote about Blackstock.
As she tells her audience about rewriting a more mature version of the number she turns away, seemingly overcome with emotion. “I’m really trying to pull it together,” Clarkson says, later wiping her eyes as fans cheer.
“Screw it, let’s just sing it. This is ‘Piece by Piece,’” she says, carrying on.
It’s unclear when Clarkson will make up the postponed August shows, but she has several performances scheduled for November, according to her website. The 18-show residency at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace was announced in February and kicked off on the Fourth of July.
Las Vegas — I turn a bend and see a figure in a cornfield. The gray sky is foreboding, a storm clearly on the horizon. When I take a step forward, I’m hit with a gust of wind and fog. Suddenly, it’s no longer a silhouette in the haze but a scarecrow, shrouded in hay, lurching toward me.
Only I am not on a Midwestern farm, and there is no threat of severe weather. I‘m in a warehouse in Las Vegas, walking through a maze called “Scarecrow: The Reaping.” I jump back and fixate my phone’s camera on the creature, but that only encourages them to step closer. I‘m hurried out of the farmland and into a hall, where giant stalks now obscure my path.
(Michael Kirschbaum / For The Times)
(Michael Kirschbaum / For The Times)
(Michael Kirschbaum / For The Times)
Welcome to Universal Horror Unleashed, which aims to deliver year-round horrors and further expand theme park-like experiences beyond their hubs of Southern California and Central Florida. Horror Unleashed, opening Aug. 14, is an outgrowth of Universal’s popular fall event, Halloween Horror Nights, which has been running yearly at the company’s Los Angeles park since 2006 and even longer at its larger Florida counterpart.
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Like Halloween Horror Nights, there are maze-like haunted houses — four of them here themed to various properties such as “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” and “The Exorcist.” Their more permanent status allows for a greater production factor — think disappearing walls and more elaborate show scenes — and they are surrounded by brooding bars, a pop-up rock-inspired dance show and a host of original walk-around characters. “Hey, sugar,” said a young woman as I near the warehouse’s main bar, a wraparound establishment themed to a large boiler. The actor’s face was scarred with blood, hinting at a backstory I didn’t have time — or perhaps the inclination — to explore.
Horror Unleashed is opening just on the cusp of when theme parks and immersive-focused live experiences are entering one of the busiest times of the year: Halloween. The holiday, of course, essentially starts earlier each year. This year’s Halloween Horror Nights begins Sept. 4, while Halloween season at the Disneyland Resort launches Aug. 22. Horror shows and films are now successful year-round, with the likes of “Sinners” and “The Last of Us” enrapturing audiences long before Oct. 31. Culture has now fully embraced the darker side of fairy tales.
A scene from the “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” maze at Universal Horror Unleashed in Las Vegas.
Texas Chainsaw Massacre at the Universal Horror Unleashed.
A gruesome moment during the “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” maze at Universal Horror Unleashed.
“You can make every month horrific,” says Nate Stevenson, Horror Unleashed’s show director.
That’s been a goal of David Markland, co-founder of Long Beach’s Halloween-focused convention Midsummer Scream, which this year is set for the weekend of Aug. 15. When Midsummer Scream began in 2016, it attracted about 8,000 people, says Markland, but today commands audiences of around 50,000. “Rapidly, over the past 10 or 15 years, Halloween has become a year-round fascination for people,” Markland says. “Halloween is a culture now. Halloween is a lifestyle. It’s a part of people’s lives that they celebrate year-round.”
There will be challenges, a difficult tourism market among them, as visits to Las Vegas were down 11.3% in June 2025 versus a year earlier, according to data from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. And then there’s the question of whether audiences are ready for year-round haunts that extend beyond the fall Halloween season to winter, spring and summer. I entered Horror Unleashed for a media preview on an early August night when it was 105 degrees in the Las Vegas heat. It’s also been tried before, albeit on a smaller scale. Las Vegas was once home to Eli Roth’s Goretorium, a year-round haunted house that leaned on torture-horror and shuttered after about a year in 2013.
But Universal creatives are undaunted.
Frankenstein’s monster comes alive during a Universal monsters maze at Universal Horror Unleashed.
More than a decade, of course, has passed, and Horror Unleashed is more diverse in its horror offerings. A maze themed to Universal’s classic creatures winds through a castle and catacombs with vintage-style horrors and a mid-show scene in which Frankenstein’s monster comes alive. Original tale “Scarecrow: The Reaping,” which began at Universal Studios Florida, mixes in jump scares with more natural-seeming frights, such as the aforementioned simulated dust bowl.
TJ Mannarino, vice president of entertainment, art and design at Universal Orlando, points to cultural happenings outside of the theme parks in broadening the terror scene — the success of shows such as “The Walking Dead” and “American Horror Story,” which found audiences outside of the Halloween season, as well as “Stranger Things,” which he says opened up horror to a younger crowd. Theme parks are simply reflecting our modern culture, which is craving darker fantasies. Universal, for instance, recently opened an entire theme park land focused on its classic monsters at its new Epic Universe in Florida, and even Disney is getting in on the action, as a villains-focused land is in the works for Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom.
An anxiety-ridden actor in “The Exorcist: Believer” maze at Universal Horror Unleashed.
“We think our audience really wants this,” says Mannarino, noting theme park attendance surveys were prodding the company to give horror a permanent home. And at Universal’s Orlando park, Halloween Horror Nights starts earlier, beginning in late August.
“Just a couple years ago, we started in August, and we were selling out August dates,” Stevenson says. “On a micro level, we’re seeing that, boy, it doesn’t matter if you extend past the season or extend out before the season — people are coming. People want it.”
The central bar, themed to a boiler room, at Universal Horror Unleashed.
Universal is betting on it, as the company has already announced that a second Horror Unleashed venue will be heading to Chicago in 2027. Smaller, more regional theme park-like experiences are once again something of a trend, as Netflix has immersive venues planned for the Dallas and Philadelphia regions, and Universal is also bringing a kid-focused park to Frisco, Texas.
There are antecedents for what Universal is attempting. Disney, for instance, tried an indoor interactive theme park with DisneyQuest, for which a Chicago location was short-lived and a Florida outpost closed in 2017. Star Trek: The Experience, a mix of theme park-like simulations and interactive theater, operated for about a decade in Las Vegas before it shuttered in 2008.
“I know there’s horror fans and Halloween fans who are always looking for something to do,” Markland says. “What [Universal is] doing is very ambitious and big, and so I’m nervous along with them. We’ll see how it goes. I’m sure people will go as soon as it opens and through the Halloween season, but after that, I don’t know. … They’ve definitely invested in Halloween and horror fans. They’re all-in.”
Horror, says author Lisa Morton — who has written multiple books on the Oct. 31 holiday, including “Trick or Treat: A History of Halloween” — is thriving in part because today it is taken more seriously by cultural critics. The genre also has metaphorical qualities — the struggle, for instance, that is life, art and creativity in “Sinners” or the underlying themes of PTSD that permeated the latest season of “The Last of Us.” That makes it especially appealing, she says, for today’s stressful times.
“I suspect that’s part of the reason horror is booming right now,” Morton says. “Everything from climate change, that we seem to have no voice in, and our politics, that don’t seem to represent us. Many of us are filled with anxiety about the future. I think horror is the perfect genre to talk about that. When you add a layer of a metaphor to it, it becomes much easier to digest.”
(Michael Kirschbaum / For The Times)
(Michael Kirschbaum / For The Times)
(Michael Kirschbaum / For The Times)
To step into Horror Unleashed is to walk into a demented wonderland, a place that turns standard theme park warmth and joy upside down. Don’t expect fairy tale-like happy endings. The space’s centerpiece performance is twisted, a story centering on Jack the Clown and his female sidekick Chance, who have kidnapped two poor Las Vegas street performers and are forcing them to execute their acts to perfection to avoid murder. The deeper one analyzes it, the more sinister its class dynamics feel, even if it’s an excuse to showcase, say, street dancing and hula hoop acrobatics.
A circus show at Universal Horror Unleashed features various Las Vegas performers.
The space has an underlying narrative. Broadly speaking, the warehouse is said to have been a storage place for Universal Studios’ early monster-focused horror films. That allows it to be littered with props, such as the throne-like chair near its entrance, and for nooks and crannies such as a “film vault” to be renamed a “kill vault.” Somehow — horror loves a good mystery — the space has come alive, and don’t be surprised to be greeted by a vampire or a costumed swampland figure that may or may not be related to the Creature from the Black Lagoon.
The goal, says Universal creatives, is to give Horror Unleashed a bit of an immersive theater feel, something that can’t really be done among the chaotic scare zones and fast-moving mazes of a Halloween Horror Nights event. But here, guests can linger with the actors and probe them to try to uncover the storyline that imbues the venue. One-to-one actor interaction has long been a goal of those in the theme park space but often a tough formula to crack, in part because cast members are costly and in part because of the difficulty to scale such experiences for thousands.
“As we’ve evolved this style of experience, we have given more and more control of the show to the actors,” says Mannarino on what separates Horror Unleashed from Halloween Horror Nights. “It’s less programmed. It’s less technology. I’ve had conversations with tech magazines, and they’ll ask me what is the most critical piece, and I’ll say it’s the actors. … The lifeblood of our all stories — we can build all of this, but it doesn’t go without the actors.
“It’s what really drives this whole animal,” he adds.
A dark moment in “The Exorcist: Believer” maze at Universal Horror Unleashed.
It extends a bit to the mazes as well. Audiences should expect to spend about five to seven minutes in each of the four walk-through attractions, but unlike a Halloween Horror Nights event, where guests are rushed from room to room without stopping, in Las Vegas there will be one dedicated show scene per maze. Here, groups will be held to watch a mini-performance. In the “Exorcist” maze, for instance, that means witnessing a full exorcism, complete with special effects that will have walls give way to demonic specters. In the ‘70s-themed “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” haunt, look out for a bloody scene designed to drench guests.
Universal Horror Unleashed
The mazes are intended to be semi-permanent. Stevenson says there’s no immediate plans to swap them out in the near future but hints that Horror Unleashed will be an evolving venue and, if all goes according to plan, will look a bit different in a few years. Thus, he says the key differentiator between Horror Unleashed and Halloween Horror Nights is not necessarily the tech used in the mazes, but the extended time they can devote to unwrapping a story.
“When Universal builds a haunted house, the level of story that starts that out is enormous,” Stevenson says. “There’s so much story. All of our partners need that because they base every little nuanced thing off of that story. Unfortunately, we don’t always have the chance to tell that story, and all our fans tell us they want to know more story.”
A sampling of food and drinks at Universal Horror Unleashed, including a bread dish with bourbon-laced cheese.
Tacos and a chainsaw-themed flatbread at Universal Horror Unleashed.
Story percolates throughout the venue. Flatbreads, for instance, are shaped like chainsaw blades. Desserts come on plates that are mini-shovels. Salad dressing is delivered in syringes. In the past, says Mannarino, no one wanted their food to be played with. ‘“Don’t do horrible things to my food!’” he says in mock exaggeration. “But now, people really love that.”
Little, it seems, is obscene, when every day can be Halloween.
Goodsprings, Nevada, is a ghost town located just 30 minutes outside of Las Vegas – and it’s proving incredibly popular with tourists, with thousands flocking in each year
The ghost town of Goodsprings has a surprisingly high tourism appeal(Image: Dimitrios Spanos via Getty Images)
Located in the middle of nowhere and allegedly haunted, the ghost town of Goodsprings is far from the most obvious tourist destination.
Coupled with its proximity to the dazzling lights of Las Vegas, it would be easy for Goodsprings to be overlooked. But, despite its spooky history and sparse amenities, the town finds itself subject to thousands of visitors every year.
Just half an hour away from the city’s bustling strip and vibrant nightlife, life in Goodsprings could not be more different. Home to around 200 residents, this quiet town at the base of the Spring Mountains in the Nevada desert was once a bustling mining hub.
In its heyday in the early 1900s, it housed 800 inhabitants and boasted amenities such as a hospital, hotels and a school – which remarkably still operates today, albeit with only two pupils on its roll. However, as the ore reserves in the Goodsprings mines dwindled, so did its populace.
Goodsprings lies at the foot of the Spring Mountains(Image: J Gillispie via Getty Images)
In 1942, the town served as the base for a special search mission following the tragic plane crash that claimed the life of actress Carole Lombard. Her aircraft crashed into Potosi Mountain, and her husband, Hollywood legend Clark Gable, anxiously awaited news at Goodsprings’ Pioneer Saloon.
It’s said that Gable’s cigar burns can still be seen on the Saloon’s bar to this day. Consequently, there’s a memorial room at the Pioneer honouring its connection to the iconic couple.
Today, Goodsprings has a somewhat eerie aura. A drive through the town on its dusty roads evokes a spooky feeling.
The historic Pioneer Saloon has been the site of many fascinating tales(Image: Darrell Craig Harris via Getty Images)
Often the subject of folk tales and ghost hunts, Reddit users have shared their experiences of visiting the town. One stated: “When I went to Goodsprings a few years back with my wife, it was completely dead.
“No one was outside or driving around, it looked like a wild west ghost town that time had forgotten”.
Despite its remote location, the owners of the Pioneer Saloon are eager to provide a warm welcome to visitors. Stephen Staats, also known as Old Man Liver, purchased the iconic pub in 2021 and discovered Goodsprings’ unique place in pop culture.
The town serves as the starting point for the cult classic video game Fallout: New Vegas, which features the main character revived after being buried alive in Goodsprings cemetery. Many of the game’s characters are based on real-life residents, and the Pioneer itself is featured in the game, rebranded as the Prospector Saloon.
Different factions pretend to face off during the Fallout Fan Celebration on Saturday, November 16, 2024(Image: Sam Morris/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Recognising the town’s popularity, Staats hosted a Fallout-themed event on National Video Game Day, July 8, in 2022. He expected “maybe 100 in a crazy world”, but was taken aback when more than a thousand fans showed up.
Since then, it has grown year on year, and following the launch of the acclaimed Amazon Prime Video series based off the game, 6,420 people visited Goodsprings in 2024. Fallout fans have praised the town’s atmosphere and welcoming spirit on Reddit, with one saying: “The locals love it, and it’s kind of their only form of tourism.”
Brian McLaughlin from Los Angles touches up his “Vault Boy” head during the Fallout Fan Celebration (Image: Sam Morris/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Another, who visited before Staats took over the Pioneer, said: “They were incredibly friendly and welcoming both times I went, and there’s even a marble wall inscribed with the town’s residents since it’s founding, movies and TV shows that have filmed there, all sorts of stuff.”
With a second season of the Amazon Prime show greenlit and likely to be set in and around ‘New Vegas’, Goodsprings could become an unlikely destination to rival the dazzling city that casts its wide shadow over the Nevada desert.
Cardi B’s infamous microphone-throw incident is being raised again, almost two years after it took place in Las Vegas.
An Ohio woman is suing the 32-year-old “Bodak Yellow” rapper, claiming battery, assault and negligence. The owners of Drai’s Beachclub and Nightclub, where the incident took place on July 29, 2023, are also being sued for negligence. The suit was filed days before the statute of limitations in Nevada for such charges ran out.
According to court documents filed in Clark County on Monday, the plaintiff — who chose to go by Jane Doe because of “psychiatric trauma” — alleges that during Cardi B’s performance, she encouraged the audience to “splash water on her” amid “visibly high-temperature conditions.” Though she initially approved, allegedly pouring water on herself and stating “Wooh that s— feel good,” it was when the plaintiff partook that the rapper abruptly and “forcefully” threw her microphone.
The object is said to have hit Jane Doe, with Cardi B shouting “I said splash my p—, not my face, b—.” Documents called it an “unreasonable escalation” that resulted in “harmful and offensive contact.” Though the deed was investigated by police at the time, the rapper was not charged. Representatives for Cardi B did not immediately respond on Thursday to The Times’ request for comment.
Just weeks later the microphone was auctioned on eBay and fetched $99,000. It is a key part of the case, as Jane Doe claims the sale “exacerbated emotional distress.” At the time, sellers told TMZ that the money would be given to two charities — the Wounded Warrior Project and Friendship Circle Las Vegas, a local program that helps individuals with special needs.
The plaintiff is seeking damages up to $15,000 for alleged physical and emotional injuries, as well as reputational harm.
Bronny James stood with his back to the wall with both hands buried in his workout shorts, his practice with the Lakers summer league team complete, his voice sounding more confident now that he’s entering his second season in the NBA.
He had to endure the outsized pressure and criticism of playing last season with his superstar father, LeBron James, a season in which Bronny and his dad made history by becoming the first father-son duo to play together in an NBA game.
Now, Bronny is more assured about his talents and he’ll get to showcase what he’s worked on when the Lakers play the Golden State Warriors in the California Classic on Saturday in San Francisco.
The Lakers will play three games there and then head to Las Vegas for the NBA Summer League.
That is where the most anticipated summer game could take place because the Lakers open the action against Cooper Flagg, the No. 1 overall pick in the June draft, and the Dallas Mavericks on July 10.
Like all last season, James knows a lot of people will pay attention to that game — to him, still, and to Flagg.
“Last year it was a crazy environment for me to step in and produce right off the rip, like being nervous too,” Bronny said. “So, I feel like this year, I’ll be able to go out and play freely and know what I’m gonna go out and do for me and my teammates. So, yeah, I’m just really excited to be able to play nervous-free.”
Dalton Knecht got some extra shots up after practice Wednesday, his stroke looking just as impressive as it did last season when he shot 37.6% from three-point range during his rookie season with the Lakers.
Knecht, too, is especially looking forward to playing in Las Vegas.
“Vegas, I mean, I feel like all of us didn’t care who we played [last summer],” Knecht said. “It was just go out there and play. Our fans always show up. We go out there all the time and it’s pretty much Laker fans that sell out that arena and show us so much love. We’re just trying to go out there and try to put on a show no matter who we are playing.”
Lakers rookie Adou Thiero, their second-round pick (36th overall) out of Arkansas whom they acquired in a trade with the Timberwolves, is dealing with a left knee injury and will not play this summer. The Lakers said Thiero is in the final stages of his return to play and expected to be fully cleared for training camp.
For James, one year of playing in the NBA has made a difference as he approaches this summer.
He appeared in 27 games last season, starting once, and averaged 2.3 points per game on 31.3% shooting, 28.1% from three-point range.
“Yeah, it’s definitely some more excitement than nervousness, for sure,” James said. “I’m just ready to go out there and play and be better than I was the last time I was playing. Just having that mindset of being ready to play and ready for whatever’s thrown at me, no matter the role, what I gotta do on defense, offense, everything. Being a good teammate for my new summer league team, stuff like that.”
Besides skill work, James said his plan for the summer is to be in “elite condition” and to “be disruptive on the defensive end.”
“So that’s my main focus, probably why I’m getting a little leaner,” he said. “But I still got 215 [pounds] on me still. So, I’m just running a lot, getting a lot of conditioning in. And then just staying on top of my diet, eating healthy, being a professional. It’s just Year 2, so I gotta lock in on the things that I didn’t know before my rookie year and being better and excel with that. Yeah, my main focus is this year, or this summer, has been being in elite condition. That’s what I’ve been talking to my coaches about.”
Knecht played in 78 games last season, averaging 9.1 points over 19.2 minutes per game.
As the season progressed, Knecht said the game slowed down for him and that allowed him to improve.
When the Lakers were eliminated from the playoffs by the Timberwolves, Knecht said he went to work right away. In his eyes, there was no time to waste.
“Right after the [playoff] loss, I pretty much started right away. Didn’t take much time off,” he said. “So I was getting in the gym, starting at 6 a.m., going with the guys at 10 and then coming back later at night just to get as many shots as I can, just working on my game and my cuts.”
