City Cast Las Vegas

Just a couple weeks ago, the Nevada Supreme Court issued a non-decision with potentially huge implications for our elections — they declined to compel Washoe County to certify the results of a June primary recount. It gets a little wonky, but the big question coming out of this is: Does this give Nevada counties free rein to just… not certify any election results they don’t like? What does this al...

Welcome to our Friday news roundup! After a turbulent week in Las Vegas as the Robert Telles murder trial came to a dramatic close on Wednesday, we are welcoming the three-day weekend with the stories you might have missed. Governor Joe Lombardo responds after Nevada Democrats called him out for vetoing a universal free school lunch measure last year as they bring the issue up again for the next l...

One of our city’s most high-profile murder cases has finally come to a close: Almost two years to the day after journalist Jeff German was found stabbed to death outside his home, former Clark County public administrator Robert Telles has been found guilty of his murder. So how exactly did this case come to its conclusion, and what can we learn from its twists and turns? Executive producer Sonja C...

If you're new here, welcome! We’ve put together a starter pack for you, with episodes and articles to welcome you to the City Cast Las Vegas community. While some cities gear up for a cozy fall complete with scarves and sweaters, in Vegas, we like to call it our second spring. It’s finally time to start getting outside! From food festival hacks to sustainable shopping, in this episode you’ll hear...

Have you ever felt lonely living in Las Vegas? In a recent study of moving and living trends, we were ranked as the 2nd loneliest city in the United States. And just last year, the U.S. Surgeon General called loneliness a public health epidemic, with 1 in 3 Americans feeling lonely every week. No one is immune to feeling lonely — as it becomes a bigger problem across the country, we tackle just on...

As the national debate over free school meals for all students heats up, Nevada Democrats are also putting pressure on Governor Joe Lombardo. The governor vetoed a universal school lunch measure last year, but assembly members have recently submitted a bill draft request to get it back on the agenda in time for next year’s legislative session. Governor Lombardo shot back saying despite his veto, t...

Completing their infinity stone glove of the Strip, Culinary 226 has announced a tentative union contract with the Venetian and the Palazzo, the last two major casino holdouts on the Strip. So what now? Co-hosts Sarah Lohman and Dayvid Figler are joined by Nevada Current journalist Michael MJ Lyle to discuss. Next up, the team talks about slumlords and a new County proposal that could hold them mo...

Dozens of Las Vegas buffets became casualties of the pandemic, but those that remain have found ways to adapt and thrive — even in this era of the rise of food halls. Eater Las Vegas editor Janna Karel spent a week recently eating at every buffet on the Strip, and she joins City Cast Las Vegas co-host Dayvid Figler to talk about the best, worst, and weirdest buffets she tried, and the future of th...

On Thursday, the federal government came out with its annual Colorado River water cuts: To maintain levels at Lake Mead and Lake Powell, Arizona will lose 18% of its allocation, California will lose 7%, Nevada will lose 7%, and Mexico will lose 5%. We’re on a water diet, y’all! But how will this affect Las Vegas? Why are the headlines so confusing, and how worried should we actually be? Co-host Da...

If any town deserves the moniker of “City Who Never Sleeps,” it’s clearly Las Vegas — city of entertainers, graveyard shift workers, and all the industries that cater to them. But are we losing our 24/7 edge? Co-host Dayvid Figler brings back a conversation with longtime local Brent Holmes about the 24-hour venues we’ve lost, the ones we still have, and why nightlife is the best life. Want to get...

When presidential candidate Donald Trump proposed “no taxes on tips” in Las Vegas this June, the mighty Culinary Union responded with deep skepticism. But now that a bipartisan bill has been introduced to Congress and Kamala Harris has endorsed the measure, they’ve come out in favor. So is this all just politicking? What about economists’ concerns about the impact of “no taxes on tips,” and why ar...

Summer may be winding down in some places as the school year begins, but we’re still going strong here in Las Vegas. For this Friday’s weekly news roundup, the summer heat is taking its toll on locals as heat-related deaths spike this year, a former player is suing our champion Las Vegas Aces for discrimination, and residents complain the Sphere’s new sound feature is way too loud. Co-host Dayvid...

Caviar — it’s the latest culinary status symbol, the padding on your dinner bill, the glittering cherry on top of your Vegas vacation Instagram posts. But with caviar showing up on donuts, hot dogs, and even ice cream … has caviar in Vegas gone too far? Executive producer Sonja Cho Swanson sits down with food critics John Curtas of the Eat, Talk, Repeat podcast and Gemini Stevens of the Food and L...

Just because the news cycle has moved on doesn’t mean our communities have, too — so what’s the latest on some of the biggest stories of the last year? Today, we’re trying something new and catching you up on the latest developments in three big stories we’ve previously covered on the show: The status of short-term rentals in Clark County and their Supreme Court limbo; the newest real-world impact...

Even though professional sport teams are fairly new to Las Vegas, mascots are not. Whether they are at schools or attached to local businesses, mascots have been bringing joy (and fear) to locals for decades. Co-hosts Dayvid Figler and Sarah Lohman are joined by former mascot and Nevada Current journalist April Corbin Girnus to discuss the best mascots in Las Vegas and the purpose that they serve....

No one would describe Vegas as a green place, but you might notice the city looking even more desert-y than usual thanks to AB356. This bill from the 2021 legislative session tackles our low levels in Lake Mead by prohibiting the use of Colorado River water on “nonfunctional turf” in public spaces by 2027. So what public grass will disappear and how will this affect our water shortage as Vegas get...

Ahead of the new school year starting this Monday, Clark County School District police and other officials held a press conference highlighting new safety measures they have planned, including cell phone pouches, social workers, and new scanners that can detect even non-metal weapons. Is it all just a bit … too much? Co-hosts Sarah Lohman and Dayvid Figler are joined by TheList. Vegas creator Andr...

Tiki bars are classic Americana — the mai tais, plastic leis, and faux-tropical decor are embedded into our culinary history. But why and how? Co-host Dayvid Figler and Sarah Lohman, a culinary historian, take a deep dive into Las Vegas history to talk about how tiki came to Vegas, the right (and wrong) ways to do it, and where to treat yourself to an excellent rum punch today. Is it possible that...

For the last several years, gaming industry watchers have observed a troubling trend: gambling odds are shifting subtly but surely in the casinos’ favor. It’s small changes, like introducing triple zero roulette (which gives the casino 2% better odds), and big ones, like cutting down on comps and free play. But are the casino analytics machines taking a short-term win with long-term losses? Co-hos...

The tiny riverside community of Laughlin is Nevada’s southernmost town (though it’s technically an unincorporated township), and it’s one of our youngest towns, too — so what exactly is there to do here? A lot, it turns out. Hey Las Vegas newsletter editor Rob Kachelriess recently wrote a guide to Laughlin for Thrillist and shares his favorite gems with co-host Dayvid Figler, from casino deals and...

Las Vegas media outlets are abuzz with the news that our city’s marketing arm, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) paid influencers over $2 million in the last couple of years to market the city — and the Authority’s refusal to release all of their payment records. But influencer marketing is par for the course these days, so what makes this initiative so controversial? Today,...

The Nevada Independent recently broke the news that Las Vegas Sands quietly funded a new ballot initiative to require Nevadans to show ID when voting. So why does that matter? Co-host Dayvid Figler and Sarah Lohman are joined by Nevada Current editor April Corbin Girnus to discuss. Next, the team looks at a recent spate of Department of Labor investigations in Las Vegas restaurants, including Blaz...

In 2017, Elena Medo, the “mother of the breast milk industry,” moved to Boulder City and set up Medolac, her third breast milk company — a bank that paid women for breast milk donations, and processed sterilized, shelf-stable breast milk for premature babies in hospitals. But paying women for breast milk (rather than receiving it as a donation) is controversial. And after facing lawsuits from a co...

Project 2025 is a whopping 920-page policy plan created by the Heritage Foundation, a right-wing think tank, with the intention of giving a ready-to-go guidebook to a second Trump administration, if elected. While Trump has denounced the plan, Democrats have turned it into a rallying cry. But what could it mean for Nevadans? Nevada Current reporter Dana Gentry has been going through the plan page...

If you're new here, welcome! We’ve put together a starter pack for you, with episodes and articles to welcome you to the City Cast Las Vegas community. The summer heat takes on a whole new dimension with the arrival of monsoon season this month (learn from our city’s weirdest mascot, Drainger Danger, and “turn around, don’t drown”). But we’ve got loads of other tips for how to make the most of Aug...