How To Spend New Years In Vegas

In my last post, I focused on how I spent my NYE at Usher's Residency, but for this post, I wanted to focus on what else I did while I was in Vegas for those few days. I always think of Las Vegas as an extended version of Times Square. Although, I always say I am done with Vegas, I keep discovering new places or new shows when I go. For NYE, there was over 300,000 celebrating on the Las Vegas strip. I couldn’t believe it because we are still in a pandemic, but at this point, everyone just wanted to get out the house. I can’t even be mad at that.

If you’re looking for Black-owned Vegas eateries, then check out one of my older post to see where I went as well from one of my past trips.

Read more below about where I went during my stay in Las Vegas this time.

Vanderpump Cocktail Restaurant

Lisa Vanderpump brings to Vegas, Vanderpump Cocktail Garden, located in Caesar’s Palace. This restautant features a hand-crafted cocktail menu and a selection of small bites making it the perfect way to start the night.

Pictured: Vanderpump Sangria

Peppermill Restaurant and Fireside Lounge

The Peppermill is well-known for its hearty breakfast dishes, which are served 24 hours a day. As of now, they close at 2am due to the pandemic. It’s also known for their neon lit lounge and booths and fruity cocktails.

Pictured: Peppermill Burger and Strawberry Margarita

Magic Mike Live

Magic Mike Live is based on the hit film starring Channing Tatum and Matthew McConaughey, the production features risque themed dance and strip routines from a diverse cast of performers on a vibrantly lit stage that's surrounded by seats. This is located in the Sahara Hotel.

International Smoke

International Smoke is the wildly popular collaboration between Chef Michael Mina and celebrity entrepreneur, television host, and New York Times best-selling author Ayesha Curry. This was one of my favorite restaurants during the trip because everything was seasoned so well and it was just the right amount. This is located at the MGM Grand.

Pictured: Mahi Mahi, Ayesha’s Fresh Baked Cornbread, Shape Shifter, Red Sangria

Hell’s Kitchen

Hell’s Kitchen Las Vegas is located in the renowned hotel-casino at Ceasar’s Palace, on The Strip near Bellagio and Cosmopolitan Hotels. Chef Gordon Ramsay is known for his meat recipes. I wanted to see what the hype was about the beef wellington dish prix fixe menu. I picked pan seared scallops and sticky toffee pudding with the prix fixe menu as well.

Pictured: Beef Wellington

Smith and Wollensky

If you’re looking for a family styled dinner, especially for NYE or other occasions, then this location would be it. You can rent out a private room, open bar and unlimited food depending what package plan you choose. This restaurant is located at The Venetian Resort.

Freemont Street Experience

The Fremont Street Experience is a pedestrian mall and attraction in downtown Las Vegas, Nevada. The FSE occupies the westernmost five blocks of Fremont Street, including the area known for years as "Glitter Gulch," and portions of some other adjacent streets. You can go zip lining here as well. They have dance parties with DJ’s and other attractions depending on the occasion. For NYE, this strip gets packed! Make sure you get there early.

Bellagio Fountain Water Show

The Fountains of Bellagio is a daily experience in Las Vegas, every 30 minutes, from 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM Monday through Friday and every 15 minutes from 7:00 PM to midnight. In my opinion, the best time to go is at night because the fountain is lit during the show.

NYE Fireworks on Las Vegas Blvd

After Usher’s Residency at Caesar’s Palace, I had a perfect spot to watch the fireworks outside of the hotel. Each hotel on the strip has a firework show.The strip closes down around 6pm. This means you have to really figure out where you will be since the strip closes and transportation will be scarce. Ubers and Lyfts are running, however, it can be a hassle. There are trans that run up and down the strip, but that can also be a hassle as well. For some stops, you have to walk through the resort hotels to find them and just imagine everyone trying to figure out transportation after the 10 mins firework show is over.

Luxor Hotel & Casino Spa

I started my New Year off with the spa at the Luxor Hotel. It was convenient since that’s where I stayed. Since I had a red-eye back to NYC on New Years Day, this was the perfect way to end the trip.

Usher Residency in Vegas for NYE

Happy New Year!

I’ve never spent New Year’s in Vegas and I always say I am done with Vegas, but I wasn’t missing this Usher Residency. This is an Usher stan account. I love him so much that I saw him twice that week. I know, obsessed. lol

I’ve been an Usher fan for as long as I can remember. I think I discovered him when I was about 10-years-old or maybe my pre-teen era. Can’t remember. My earliest memories of the Atlanta-bred crooner include his recurring role on Moesha, his leading role in Light It Up, and the first song that ever stole my heart, 1997’s “You Make Me Wanna.” He had the stocking cap on, dancing in the chair in that music video. I was in love after that. Fast forward nearly 25 years later, Usher still has that same baby face, but it’s now paired with the mental and physical makeup of a grown man and the career of an industry veteran.

Everyone you can even think of popped up at this show. Babyface, T.I., Wanya Morris from Boys II Men, Summer Walker and so many more made appearances in the audience and to perform.

There wasn’t a better way to start this new year than with a night of classic slow jams and R&B legends. The crowd vibed and we sung our hearts out the whole entire time.

What a great way to start the New Year! Click the image below to see some TikTok highlights from the show!

New Year's Eve Afropunk in South Africa

I had to dedicate a seperate post to Afropunk.

Why you ask? Because I had way too much content NOT to share and this Coronavirus is making me write more… 🧐

To bring in 2020, we partied hard at Constitution Hill for Afropunk, New Year’s Eve weekend. Constitution Hill used to be a former prison and military fort in South Africa, but now Afropunk uses the space for their festival each year. The music, the outfits, and the vibes were very different compared to the one in Brooklyn. In my opinion, I love going to the Brooklyn festival every year, but attending this festival in another country was more eventful. South Africa has a wide range of diversity due to many different melonated shades and ethnicities.

I advise you to get VIP tickets for this event because you will NOT want to be in general admission. Supposedly, it rains every year for this event and general admission doesn’t have a covering. On the other hand, the VIP section does. Our VIP included bathrooms, a bar, hookah stations, and light bites. We were able to reserve our VIP tickets in advance. Are purchasing VIP tickets cheap when you do the conversion? Yes, everything in South Africa is a lot cheaper when you do the conversion. Hint: Do the math or download a conversion app. Totally worth it! Our group had such a good time partying for the 2-day event. We saw Miguel, NAO, Solange, Busiswa, Goldlink, and many more. Shoutout to everyone at Afropunk that held us down.

Again, shoutout to AwayToAfrica for planning this entire trip to Africa for us. Tell them that I sent you! 😉

P.S.- Don’t forget to watch my video recap of the festival below!