About Us

Who are we? Well, in terms of sheer obfuscation, who aren’t we?

More specifically, though, we are lovers of all things Las Vegas. We love the casinos, the restaurants, the shows and even Criss Angel. Well, OK, we love the casinos, the restaurants and shows.

We should say this, up front: As of March 3, 2014, our day job is that of Interactive Marketing Manager for the Fremont Street Experience. Fremont Street Experience serves as the marketing umbrella for a group of casinos including The D Las Vegas, Fremont, California, Main Street, Four Queens, Binion’s, Golden Gate and Golden Nugget.

That said, our opinions are completely our own. We loved downtown Las Vegas before we got the gig, and we continue to love it now.

While our site is a hobby, we would not be offended if you visited our Cafepress Shop for some Las Vegas merch.

We’re here to give you the essential news and information you need to get the most from your next Las Vegas visit, all with a slightly skewed, and often highly-intoxicated, perspective.

We were going to write a mission statement, but it sounded too much like having a job, so we made this instead.

We were going to write a mission statement, but it sounded too much like having a job, so we made this instead.

We know people. We dig things up. We lampoon when required. We’re so inside, we’re concave.

One of the most baffling things about us is we’re just one person, Scott Roeben, although we speak about ourselves in the first person plural. Drop us a line at scott@vitalvegas.com.

We’ve been in Las Vegas for more than a decade, and once created words for one of the world’s most recognized Web sites, LasVegas.com.

From there, we went on to write the blog for Caesars Entertainment, the world’s largest gaming company, including a number of Las Vegas resorts. The blog was named the “Best Blog” in the country in PR Daily’s 2012 Digital PR and Social Media Awards. We were named the most valuable blogger/blog in Las Vegas in 2011 by CBS Las Vegas, and were an editor’s choice for Best Blog in the Trippies Awards in 2010. “Essential.” We liked the sound of that.

Given our love of Las Vegas, though, it was just a matter of time before we started a site devoted to the entire city. The Strip. Downtown. All of it. Well, maybe not the nightclubs so much. We don’t really get those.

We were recently honored to be named “Best Blog” in the 2013 Las Vegas Digital Media Awards, presented by the Las Vegas Interactive Marketing Association.

Las Vegas Digital Media Award

Hey, beautiful.

We were also named the “Best Las Vegas Blog” in the Trippies Awards each year from 2014 to 2017.

If we look familiar, it’s because we have a weekly segment on KLAS Channel 8 Las Vegas.

Hear some rambling insights into what VitalVegas.com is all about in this riveting radio interview.

Here’s the thing about VitalVegas.com, though. What’s vital is hearing from you, and creating a place where the community of people who love Las Vegas can chat each other up, answer questions and share tips and snarky comments about Criss Angel. So, please comment. Share our posts and pictures if you enjoy them. (If you don’t, keep it to yourself.)  Post thoughts and questions. Tell us about your trip. Your discoveries. Your disappointments. Your sexcapades.

Thanks for visiting, and we hope you’ll be back.

96 thoughts on “About Us”

  1. Dustinofholland

    Why is it that all Vegas bloggers (except maybe Chuckmonster) use the first person plural? It’s like a giant mass of pronoun reference error, it’s annoying, and it needs to stop. Thanks for listening.

    Reply ↓
    1. vitalvegas

      Valid point and appreciate hearing it! We use it because saying “I” all the time sounds weird to our ear. We also think it’s funnier when it’s one person but they say “we.” Here, it’s done tongue-in-cheek–not sure why others do it, other than possibly it sounds like there are more people involved than there really are, which is certainly the case here. Also, this site has been live for about a week, so we haven’t sorted all that out yet. Old habits die hard. Appreciate your thoughts, though. Hope it’s not too distracting.

      Reply ↓
  3. Jessalynn Strauss

    Ah ha! I thought I recognized your writing style from the Pulse of Vegas blog. I love that one and am looking forward to reading this one, too. (I’m not just blowing smoke – I use it frequently as an example in the PR classes I teach.) I have my own blog about Vegas, askdrvegas.com. It’s been, um, sleeping for a while as I’ve been switching jobs and moving my whole life around, but I plan to pick it up again in the next few weeks. Would love to hear what you think!

    Reply ↓
    1. Scott Roeben Post author

      Very flattering, thanks, Jessalynn! It’s only a little scary knowing our work is influencing young minds. We’ll definitely take a look at your blog, and thanks for the kind words.

      Reply ↓
  4. Kevin Goodspeed

    Can you do a piece on best places to catch live music on the strip and downtown? I’m looking for a place to grab a drink, relax, and watch some talent without paying $150 for a show.

    Reply ↓
    1. vitalvegas

      Great idea! We’ll keep that in the editorial mix. Fremont Street is always a great, free option. Picnic at Downtown Grand has started having live bands, too. Might try Brooklyn Bowl for bands, their schedule is full!

      Reply ↓
  5. Mike V

    Hello,

    Ive been realy curious about a tour I attended about a year ago at Elara.
    The rooms that we were shown were completely different than what I’ve seen there
    before. Deep purples and grays, different headboards, furniture, hallways, etc.
    (kinda Cosmopolitan-ish). This is one of my favorite hotels to stay at because
    the rooms are nice, large and close to the strip. I have been trying to find more info on these new rooms but cannot find anything online. I’ve stayed twice since the tour
    and although the lobby has received a big face-lift, I keep getting booked into the same red Planet Hollywood themed rooms (they’re nice but the other rooms I saw were much nicer). Anyway.. I found this interesting and would like to find out
    more. Hopefully it is something you would be interested in looking into as well.
    😉

    Reply ↓
    2. Kevin McShane

      The Elara is slowly remodeling all their rooms from when the Westgate was majority owner. Needless to tell the new Westgate (old Hiltion LVH) is buying all their old furniture back and putting them in Westgate again. However, I do have list of floors that have been remodeled at the Elara. A majority of the Elara rooms are still the red black decor you’re use too.

      Reply ↓
  7. Kevin McShane

    First I’ve have been reading your blog for about a year and I really enjoy
    it. You do a great job. I’m sure you have seen that the VegasChatter
    folks are all but done on Friday the 31st; Which to me is quite sad.
    I’m not a writer (I’m sure you can tell by now) but, just a big fan of
    all the work you guys do by providing us with the Vegas411 (which is a
    cool site name).
    So comes the purpose of this email…. if you ever run a paid membership
    to read your blog I would love to commit to something like that to keep
    it going. Also a source of revenue for your site could be the Amazon
    affiliate program offered to small business. Visitors click the link on
    your site and you receive a 8% commission on anything bought through
    your site. I use Amazon a lot and I make sure to click links of my
    favorite small business so they receive advertisement commission.
    Thanks again for all the hard work you provide. I really enjoy everything on your site.

    Reply ↓
      1. Cmurder

        Not sure you’ll see this but I was a dedicated daily VegasChatter reader, so I was very bummed to be suddenly be cut off from my favorite Vegas site “cold turkey”. I have been aware of VitalVegas for over a year and have occasionally visited your page if Chatter wasn’t covering something I was looking for. The main reason Chatter was my first choice was two-fold: 1) they seemed to discuss “future Vegas/construction updates” topics more often (my favorite category) and 2) they seemed to update their blog more frequently and had more stories on a daily/weekly basis. Now that VitalVegas is my only reliable source for Vegas news, I thought I’d put in my two cents on what made VegasChatter my first choice and hope some of what I said will resonate here as I am now a daily follower of Vital Vegas.

        Reply ↓
        1. Scott Roeben

          Hi, and thanks for your note. I read all the comments on my blog and try to respond to all of them as well. Also bummed about Vegas Chatter, and pleased folks are giving my site a look. Appreciate hearing your thoughts, and hope you’ll visit from time to time, but this definitely isn’t that. This site is a hobby and a labor of love. I sort of post when I can, but often opt to drink or gamble instead. It’s one of the great things about it being a hobby! I can’t possible keep up with the quantity of material Vegas Chatter put out. I’m happy just doing stuff and taking pictures and sharing them. Hopefully, we’ll be part of your Vegas site routine, though. Combined, all the sites and blogs in Vegas can cover a lot of ground, although nobody’s going to replace Vegas Chatter anytime soon.

          Reply ↓
  9. Benjamin Brown

    I was on Freemont street on Tuesday and they were filming something in 2 spots. One was on the street between the Nugget and 4 queens and later on Freemont street. They had the road closed from Las Vegas Blvd down to the El Cortez and on that shoot they had 2 folks riding horses don the middle of the street. (I noticed that after I took my friend to the container park and scared the sh** out of him with the fire breathing preying mantis) Any idea what they were filming?

    Reply ↓
    1. Scott Roeben Post author

      Good eye, Benjamin! They’re shooting “The Player,” a new show with Wesley Snipes. The show has been picked up, and they expect to shoot downtown often.

      Reply ↓
    1. Scott Roeben

      Keep meaning to see it. I’ve heard it’s pretty good, on par with other comedy-hypnosis shows in town–although it would be hard to beat Anthony Cools. Raunchy and very funny.

      Reply ↓
  12. Maurice Lauzier

    My wife is a horny and sexy 70 year old. Would she qualify as a professional whore at one of the brothels. //////////////////////////////we woud be ready to relocate.

    Reply ↓
  14. Shane Sparky

    Any idea how the parking fees work at MGM resort hotels? In/outs allowed? Can you stay at MGM and pay parking and use Mirage parking lot, or pay again? Thanks for this blog, keeps me connected to Vegas!

    Reply ↓
  16. Angel

    Does anyone really know what is going to happened with the Harley Davidson cafe? I am a member of Tacos El Gordo and I think the owner will like to put the restaurant there,if The Harley Davidson cafe decides to leave. Can anyone let me know. Thank You

    Reply ↓
    1. Scott Roeben

      Michael at Vegas Bright says he was told the rent was jacked up. If it was doing well, that probably wouldn’t matter too much, but if they were on the fence, that probably sealed its fate.

      Reply ↓
    2. Coop

      I loved my island cheeseburger. 2 napkins please!!. always good! Lost this and BLT in the same couple months!

      Reply ↓
  18. Bill B

    As you guys work with the FSE do you know when the street surface will be repaired & brought up to it’s former glory/condition?
    Since the Zip line monstrosity was built, the street surface, especially near the GG is wrecked.
    Years ago Fremont was special, gold & silver coloured flecked pavement that was repaired regularly & always spotless during the day, Now, in places, it looks, well, tatty.
    Any ideas? We love downtown & want it to look as good as it did.

    Reply ↓
    1. Scott Roeben

      They’re working on the surfacing (you can see tests near the SlotZilla tower), but no timeline on when the whole thing will take off. Even when it starts, it’ll be months doing the work, so it’s awhile off.

      Reply ↓
  19. Jim Johnson

    Hi gang, Am I wrong or is downtown being gentrified (to a degree ?). Since the under 30’s don’t spend time or money in the casinos….and now we LV vets have to pick up the slack by paying for parking and possibly soon drinks…..could we be downsizing to Fremont St. I’m over 70 and the walking around the strip is more of a chore. So having all the stripness within 4 blocks fits better ?

    Reply ↓
  20. Jim Johnson

    I really like boobs…not so much gigantic butts. Many examples of these can be seen, really seen, on Fremont St. Am I getting too curmudgeonly, or do the exposees of the aforementioned naughty bits need to be reeled in a bit ?

    Reply ↓
    1. Scott Roeben

      Yeah, I’m a big fan of pretty much all body parts, but have issues with the amount of skin being shown on Fremont. There are a lot of aspects of the street “performers” that are detrimental to the destination.

      Reply ↓
  21. Lee

    Scott, your worst nightmare may come true. I just read an article where Caesar’s is looking to expand to land they own on Kovall lane, and they are even considering developing the 7 acres of land they own in front of Caesar’s Palace.

    Reply ↓
  22. Dal Sayers

    Hey Scott,

    We were in Vegas Nov. 2-9 and the man and I and another couple did a “Nugget Crawl.” Four unwary Canadians.

    We were staying at the Golden Nugget so decided to start the day at the Silver Nugget, went to Jerry’s Nugget and finished back at the Golden Nugget. Want to hear about it?

    We’re not great writers but not bad……

    It was a trip…..

    Dal and Chad

    Reply ↓
  23. mobycat

    Does anyone know what’s going on in front of Bellagio? The fountains are fenced off the length of the strip. (don’t know if they are fenced on Bellagio side.

    Reply ↓
    1. Scott Roeben Post author

      I don’t know if I’ve ever done that! DM me on Twitter or shoot a note to scott (@) vitalvegas.com.

      Reply ↓
  25. Shawn

    Hi Scott. Will you be writing a piece on the affect a culinary union strike will have on the city? I’m thinking it will be awful, I am supposed to be in town the second week of June but may have to cancel if the strike happens. Thanks.

    Reply ↓
  29. Forrest Nettles

    Hello Scott, I am part of a Commodore user group, the Clark County Commodore Computer Club here in Vegas. We are part of a Commodore show taking place at the Plaza on Aug 24-26, Commodore Retro eXpo, or CRX. We expect participation from our membership and Commodore fans from throughout the southwest US. This is the 2nd year for this show. last year was at the Alexis Park.
    We are hoping you might help promote our event. We (5C’s) are a co-sponsor, the event is being presented by CBMSTUFF.COM. This years theme is Retro Commodore, featuring recent commercial products that enhance and upgrade the line of Commodore 64 and Amiga computers. It seems that nearly everyone who was around in the 1980’s to early 2000’s had a Commodore computer. The Commodore 64 is rated by Wikipedia and Guinness Book of World Records as the best selling personal computer of all time. We hope you will take an interest in this event, and of our user group which has been in existence here in Las Vegas since 1983.
    Best regards,
    Forrest Nettles
    vice-president
    Clark County Commodore Computer Club
    702-363-3331 x5
    8633 Trafalgar Dr
    Las Vegas, NV 89117

    Reply ↓
  30. Daniel Krajewski

    You guys sure did a 360 with the drink coupons!!!! That person who convinced you it was a good way to do business must have given you a free drink to write what you did. I still think the whole idea
    SUCKS and it rates right up there with the pay to park issue on the Strip.

    Even though I disliked that story–Overall I enjoy your comments.

    Reply ↓
    1. Scott Roeben Post author

      Thanks. I hear you. It’s not that I like them, it’s just as I’ve spent more time using them, I realize they do more good than harm.

      Reply ↓
  31. David Ross Britton, Ed.D.

    After being in gambling for 50 years, and dealing the wheel for 20, I just learned from your site a basket bet is 5 numbers. As a previous owner of dealing schools, and teaching students, including at UNLV, have I been teaching my student the wrong terminology for all these years? A basket bet is the 0 00 and 2. A five number bet is called a five number bet, a line bet or a top line bet, not a basket.

    Reply ↓
  32. Jack Tarasar

    I think I heard this from VitalVegas, but not sure. I heard that in December, 2018, they would BEGIN a $17 Million dollar upgrade on the Freemont Street CANOPY.
    December has come and gone and I have not heard any update from anyone, VitalVegas included. You guys seem to have the best inside story on lots on Vegas news.
    Can you tell me/us what the status is and WHAT the upgrade entails????

    Reply ↓
    1. Scott Roeben Post author

      Ha, yes, it’s happening. The upgrade will be happening over the rest of the year, with a debut on NYE 2019/20. They’re manufacturing the LEDs now, and installation will take about nine months. The canopy will keep doing the light shows, just with sections out during the upgrade. Hope that helps. Nearly forgot I haven’t done a story about this. Weird, since I work there.

      Reply ↓
  33. Mr.E from Santa Cruz

    Awesome job keeping your finger on the pulse of LV. Any chance Emery will get a page / corner of the blog for her perspective ? I think she is a great counterbalance to you on the podcast and would be interested in reading her stuff as well.

    Reply ↓
    1. Scott Roeben Post author

      Thanks, and absolutely not. She’s already stealing some of my limelight, and I will not abide that under any circumstances. I mentioned your request, and she said, “I’m lazy. I like being on the podcast because I only have to talk.”

      Reply ↓
  35. David E. Miller

    I used to frequent VegasTodayAndTomorrow to find out what was being built, or planned to be built, in Las Vegas. That web site died some years back. I just now discovered your blog, and appreciate it.

    Reply ↓
  36. Tom

    vitalvegas and Team,

    We are looking for additional inventory for our premium advertisers.

    We also provide our publisher partners with a video player, content (over 1M pieces of premium video in our library) and Google monetization. It’s a plug-and-play contextual video solution that creates net, new inventory with fantastic CPMs and fill rates.

    Let me know if you have some time to hop on a call.

    Regards, Tom.

    Reply ↓
  37. Craig Savage

    I really love this blog. It is very funny. I only go to Vegas about once per year but really enjoy keeping up with what is going on. Thanks,

    Reply ↓
  38. Mike Haeder

    Hi Scott,
    Huge raiding the rock vault fan! Have you heard the future of the show after Virgin takes over?
    Thanks

    Reply ↓
  39. Sherrie

    How nice to find a blogger with so much personality! I also missed VegasChatter when that nice lady moved away, and was thrilled to read your jaunty words and opinions today. I will surely be a follower and sometimes commentor…just can’t keep it to myself somedays.

    Reply ↓
  40. DOrthy Holman

    I think RiRa at Mandalay Bay will be sold to MGM by the investors by next year (prior to stadium opening.

    Reply ↓
  41. Doug

    Heard the sultry tones of your podcast’s voice on National Public Radio yesterday and my worlds collided. Consider yourself rarified. Mazel tov.

    Reply ↓
  42. Mike Haeder

    Just got back from our bi-annual trip to Vegas yesterday…..after having gone there 40+ times, the one thing that strikes me is, is there just one guy fixing escalators for the whole city? When they are off on the strip it is commensurate to climbing a mountain. In Jan when we were there is had rained a couple days and they must turn them off in the rain……hundreds of billions of dollars of investment on the strip and no one can run an escalator in the rain? I’m sure they think it might be slick, but it is a total turn off. I know you have done many articles too, that elude to the continual fleecing of the travelers, but maybe it is time to do another one in general.

    Reply ↓
  43. Chris Underwood

    This is by far the best Vegas oriented blog! Thanks Scott for what you do as it’s always an enjoyable read.

    Reply ↓
  44. George Panakakis

    I love your ground breaking info. Here’s ground breaking I’m a great Nfl handicapper and I separate myself from all the Scumbags by showing every pick at kickoff with a tweet @grpwins and on my web site to hopefully begin a cleanup of this industry. Please check out my web site and contact me if you want to do a story! Thanks and keep up the good work.

    Reply ↓
  46. deedee42

    Hi Scott,
    Just got back from Vegas and was pleasantly surprised to see that there are now clearly marked flat rates for cabs from the airport to various locations on the strip. We spent a flat $19 to Mandalay Bay – a bit pricey but at least no long haul. The airport had posted the rates on the way out the doors to the cab stand. I hadn’t seen this good news on your site so I thought I’d pass it along.
    Best regards,

    Reply ↓
    1. Scott Roeben Post author

      Yep, thanks. While a relief, it’s too little too late, and some believe those flat rates are institutionalizing a price that’s more than rideshare, so of little benefit to customers.

      Reply ↓
      1. DeeDee42

        Yeah, my husband says the cab fare now is more expensive than it had been prior to the flat rates. I’m just glad I don’t have to worry about been long hauled.

        Reply ↓
    1. Scott Roeben Post author

      Sorry, most of the news is happening so quickly, it’s impossible to do updates on the blog. Hit Twitter @VitalVegas.

      Reply ↓
  48. Daniel Krajewski

    Wow the world has sure changed in a few short weeks. Let’s all hunker in and try some of your suggestions. This may take some time but we WILL get through it all. DK

    Reply ↓

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