By Larry Olmsted

It’s a couple of pandemic years behind schedule, but on July 5^th The Sphere was lit up for the first time, changing the Las Vegas skyline forever. But that was just a tease, and next month, on September 29, The Sphere will be opened in its full glory by U2 – with the band’s first live performance anywhere in the world in nearly four years.

This is really big, literally, figuratively and as a tourism attraction.

After 30 odd years of covering the development of Las Vegas, I thought I’d seen it all, and the one thing I’ve learned is that there is always something newer, bigger, brasher, more imaginative – and more bizarre – just around the corner. 2023 is an especially epic year here, and just between now and the end of the year – always punctuated by the nation’s largest New Year’s Eve fireworks display – there is going to be the new F1 race, almost certainly the most attended event in the city’s history (read more here), and the debut of a rare all-new from the ground up mega casino resort, the Fontainebleau … continue reading

Award-winning travel journalist Larry Olmsted is the author of “Real Food, Fake Food.” He is a Contributing Editor to Cigar Aficionado Magazine and “The Great Life” columnist for Forbes.com. His newest book is“Fans: How Watching Sports Makes Us Happer, Healthier, and More Understanding.”