The Jeff Does Vegas Podcast

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Episodes

Taking you to the World Famous Las Vegas Strip...and beyond! Featuring conversations with entertainers and experts as well as trip reports with reviews of hotels, casinos, restaurants, shows, attractions, and more!

Episodes

Monday Dec 26, 2022

2022 In Review - Las Vegas History

Monday Dec 26, 2022

As 2022 comes to an end, I've decided to take you all on a little trip back in time to re-visit some of my favorite conversations from the last 12 months of the podcast.

For the third & final instalment of 2022 In Review, I've decided to cover what is easily one of my favorite things to talk about - and based on your reactions to these episodes, I'm betting it's yours as well:

Las Vegas History

Over the past year, I've covered some pretty cool parts of Vegas history and been very fortunate to be joined by some amazing guests for these conversations!

If you want to check out their full episodes, here they are (in order of appearance):

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Jeff Does Vegas is an official Vegas.com affiliate!

Help support the podcast & get exclusive deals by booking your hotel stays, shows, attractions, tours, clubs and even complete vacation packages (including air & hotel) with our special link!

Monday Dec 19, 2022

2022 In Review - Content Creators

Monday Dec 19, 2022

As 2022 comes to an end, I've decided to take you all on a little trip back in time to re-visit some of my favorite conversations from the last 12 months of the podcast.

This time on 2022 In Review, I'm jumping into the archives and re-sharing conversations with some of the excellent content creators I've had the pleasure of speaking with over the last year including authors, vloggers, bloggers & podcasters.

It was awesome getting them on the podcast to talk about Las Vegas and share their fantastic work with you!

If you want to check out their full episodes, here they are (in order of appearance):

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Jeff Does Vegas is an official Vegas.com affiliate!

Help support the podcast & get exclusive deals by booking your hotel stays, shows, attractions, tours, clubs and even complete vacation packages (including air & hotel) with our special link!

Monday Dec 12, 2022

2022 In Review - Entertainers & Entertainment

Monday Dec 12, 2022

As 2022 comes to an end, I've decided to take you all on a little trip back in time to re-visit some of my favorite conversations from the last 12 months of the podcast.

For the first episode of 2022 In Review, I wanted to pay tribute to the amazing entertainers who took time out of their busy lives to jump on the show for a chat.

Singers, musicians, showgirls, comedians and even an exotic dancer all made it on the podcast this year. We covered a ton of great topics and it was a blast talking to all these incredibly talented people!

If you want to check out their full episodes, here they are (in order of appearance):

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Jeff Does Vegas is an official Vegas.com affiliate!

Help support the podcast & get exclusive deals by booking your hotel stays, shows, attractions, tours, clubs and even complete vacation packages (including air & hotel) with our special link!

Monday Dec 05, 2022

My Special Guest - John Katsilometes

Monday Dec 05, 2022

When you really want to know what's going on in the Las Vegas entertainment scene, there's only one guy you need to turn to...and he's my guest for this episode of the podcast!

John Katsilometes is the writer of "Kats!", a daily column in the Las Vegas Review-Journal that covers everything & anything to do with entertainment in Vegas, both on and off the Vegas Strip.

John was kind enough to join me to chat about his beginnings in the world of journalism, how me moved from writing about sports to writing about entertainment, some of the big stories he's broken during his career, and much more!

Check out "Kats!" on the Las Vegas Review-Journal's website, follow John on Twitter & Instagram for all the latest happenings in Vegas, and check out his podcast, "Podkats!"

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Jeff Does Vegas is an official Vegas.com affiliate!

Help support the podcast & get exclusive deals by booking your hotel stays, shows, attractions, tours, clubs and even complete vacation packages (including air & hotel) with our special link!

Monday Nov 28, 2022

Ask Me Anything

Monday Nov 28, 2022

Back a few weeks ago, I decided it might be fun to step outside of my comfort zone and host an official Jeff Does Vegas Ask Me Anything session.

I put it out to you, the amazing listeners of this podcast, to ask me questions about anything you wanted to know - whether it was about Las Vegas, podcasting, my radio career, my personal life...literally ANYTHING.

And you guys didn't disappoint! You asked some really great questions - both in advance and during the session - and it was a blast to engage with everyone and answer them.

I hosted the original live stream on October 21, 2022 and, as promised, I'm now releasing it as a podcast episode. I've cleaned it up and done a bit of editing but, for the most part, it's presented here exactly as it happened.

If you'd like to check out the original video version of the Jeff Does Vegas Ask Me Anything live stream, you can find on the Jeff Does Vegas YouTube Channel.

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Jeff Does Vegas is an official Vegas.com affiliate!

Help support the podcast & get exclusive deals by booking your hotel stays, shows, attractions, tours, clubs and even complete vacation packages (including air & hotel) with our special link!

Monday Nov 21, 2022

Inferno At The MGM Grand

Monday Nov 21, 2022

On November 21, 1980, the Las Vegas Strip was the site of what would become the third-worst hotel fire in modern U.S. history and what to this day remains the biggest disaster in the history of the state of Nevada.

Early that morning, a small fire broke out in a restaurant on the ground floor of what was - at the time - the MGM Grand Hotel. The fire quickly spread, engulfing the casino level and sending thick black smoke & toxic fumes to the upper floors of the hotel. In the end, 85 people were killed and hundreds more were injured.

But what exactly caused the fire and led to such widespread fatalities & injuries? And what changes were made to ensure that something like this could ever happen again?

As we mark 42 years since this horrific event, these are the questions we aim to answer with this specially re-mastered edition of Sin City Stories: Inferno At The MGM Grand.

If you want to learn more about the history of the original MGM Grand Hotel, the fire that claimed the lives of 85 innocent victims, or any of the other incidents covered in this episode, check out the shownotes for Volume 2 of Sin City Stories featuring photos, videos, articles and more!

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Jeff Does Vegas is an official Vegas.com affiliate!

Help support the podcast & get exclusive deals by booking your hotel stays, shows, attractions, tours, clubs and even complete vacation packages (including air & hotel) with our special link!

Monday Nov 14, 2022

My Special Guest: Anne Martinez

Monday Nov 14, 2022

October 21, 1977 saw the release of what would eventually become one of the best selling albums of all time:

Meat Loaf's Bat Out Of Hell

The idea for the album came from a musical that writer/composer Jim Steinman had conceived back in 1974. Meat Loaf & Jim spent most of 1975 re-writing & recording the album, then close to 2 years auditioning the record - and getting rejected by every single record company they presented it to.

After a concert video of the title track aired on BBC Television in the UK, the album gained A LOT of traction...and the rest, as they say, is history.

Bat Out Hell has sold 43 million copies worldwide, it's certified 14x Platinum in the US, and it's spent a record 530 weeks on the UK Album Charts.

Flash forward to the late 90's, when word of a new musical based on the album (and it's sequel, "Bat Out Of Hell II") begins to surface. The show was officially announced in 2008, workshopped in New York City in 2015, and finally hit the stage in the UK in 2017. After spending time in London's West End, Toronto, and touring around the world, it was revealed in early 2022 that the Paris Theater in the Paris Hotel & Casino would be home to a new resident production of Bat Out Hell: The Musical.

Joining me for this episode of the podcast is veteran Vegas performer, Anne Martinez, who plays the role of "Sloane" in the show.

Anne & I chatted about what initially brought her to Las Vegas a decade ago, we talked about her love for the music of Jim Steinman & Meat Loaf, and what makes Bat Out Of Hell such a special show.

For more info on Bat Out Of Hell: The Musical at the Paris Hotel & Casino, visit the show's website for showtimes/days & ticket info. For exclusive pics & videos, be sure to follow Bat Out Of Hell on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram.

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Jeff Does Vegas is an official Vegas.com affiliate!

Help support the podcast & get exclusive deals by booking your hotel stays, shows, attractions, tours, clubs and even complete vacation packages (including air & hotel) with our special link!

Monday Nov 07, 2022

Bugsy: Fact vs. Fiction

Monday Nov 07, 2022

In 1991, Warren Beatty jumped onto the big screen to portray one the most feared and most famous mobsters of all time...Bugsy.

The film, directed by Barry Levinson and co-starring Annette Bening (as Bugsy's longtime girlfriend, Virginia Hill) tells the story of Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel and his role in the creation of The Flamingo and the building of Las Vegas as an "oasis in the desert".

Bugsy was minor hit, grossing just over $49 Million at the box office, receiving high praise from critics, and garnering several Academy Award & Golden Globe nominations including a Golden Globe win for "Best Picture - Drama". But despite all these accolades, just how historically accurate was the film?

My guest for this episode of the podcast is here to tell us.

Making his FOURTH appearance on the podcast is Geoff Schumacher, the Vice President of Exhibits and Programs at the Mob Museum in Las Vegas. Geoff was kind enough to join me once again to help separate fact from fiction when it comes to the story of Bugsy Siegel.

Did Bugsy actually try to get into acting during his time in Hollywood? Who actually came up with the idea for The Flamingo? And was opening night at the casino really a total flop?

If you want to learn more about Bugsy & his associates and their place in Las Vegas history, plan a visit to the Mob Museum on your next Vegas vacation. You can also follow the Mob Museum on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

And be sure to check out Geoff's previous appearances on the podcast including:

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Jeff Does Vegas is an official Vegas.com affiliate!

Help support the podcast & get exclusive deals by booking your hotel stays, shows, attractions, tours, clubs and even complete vacation packages (including air & hotel) with our special link!

Monday Oct 31, 2022

Podcast Flashback: Viva SCARE Vegas

Monday Oct 31, 2022

For this Podcast Flashback, I've decided to take a deep dive into the archives and, being that it's Halloween, I thought it might be fun to re-share something spooky. And it all starts with a simple question:

Do you believe in ghosts?

With Vegas's somewhat shady past & tales of tragedy, it should come as no surprise that Sin City has more than its fair share of creepiness floating around. A quick search on Google reveals several spots both on and off The Strip that are believed to be haunted by the spirits of the infamous, the famous, and the not-so-famous.

Way back on Episode #41 of the podcast, I was joined by Josef Kruger of Las Vegas Ghost Tours for a conversation about some of the creepiest & strangest stories of Las Vegas spooks & spectres!

If you want to learn more about Vegas Ghost Tours and book yourself on an upcoming tour, be sure to visit their website. Also, follow US Ghost Adventures on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for all kinds of cool ghost stories not just from Vegas, but from all over the United States!

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Jeff Does Vegas is an official Vegas.com affiliate!

Help support the podcast & get exclusive deals by booking your hotel stays, shows, attractions, tours, clubs and even complete vacation packages (including air & hotel) with our special link!

Monday Oct 24, 2022

My Special Guest: Dennis Blair

Monday Oct 24, 2022

Picture it...it's the late 1970's. You're a singer-songwriter working the bar scene in New York City. One night, after having enough of dealing with crowds that don't pay attention to you, you decide to mess around with the lyrics of a popular song and perform that on stage...and you manage to turn that into a career spanning almost 40 years.

That's exactly what Dennis Blair did.

Dennis is a Las Vegas-based comedian & musician who, over the course of the last 4 decades, has had the opportunity to work with some of the biggest names in comedy & music. He co-wrote a feature film, he's worked on TV specials, he's appeared on The Tonight Show and he recently released a book chronicling his time on the road as an opening act.

Dennis and I chatted about what got him into comedy, the early days of working with Rodney Dangerfield & what led to their falling out, life on the road with Joan Rivers, and what it was like spending 18 years as the opening act for George Carlin.

Visit Dennis's website to find out where you can catch him performing in Vegas, pick up a copy of his book, "Touring With Legends" from your favorite online bookseller, and check out his music on Apple Music & Spotify.

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Jeff Does Vegas is an official Vegas.com affiliate!

Help support the podcast & get exclusive deals by booking your hotel stays, shows, attractions, tours, clubs and even complete vacation packages (including air & hotel) with our special link!