There’s so much going down on Friday, December 28th, along the Strip, this year, that New Year’s Eve is seeming a bit anti-climactic by comparison.  Here’s how the night is looking to shake down.

Party of the First Part: Mott 32 – The Venetian Resort

The evening begins at The Venetian Resort, with the opening of the first American outpost of Hong Kong’s zhuzhy Mott 32 restaurant.  A Las Vegas-y concept if ever there was one, Mott 32 (also open in Vancouver, BC) is the flagship of Hong Kong-based eatery named after the address of Quong Yuen Shing and Company (aka the Mott Street General Store), a much revered family-owned and operated Chinese market located in the heart of New York’s Chinatown (at 32 Mott Street); where it was a community gathering place of sorts for more than a century, from 1891 until 2003.*

Known for its farm-to-table presentations of Cantonese (Yue), Shanghai (Hu), and Beijing (Jing) cuisines, some of the restaurants' more popular dishes include Pluma Iberico Pork with Yellow Mountain Honey, Crispy Triple-cooked Australian Black Angus Beef Short Rib, and Applewood-roasted Peking Duck, as well as such Dim Sum as Sui Mai with Soft Quail Egg, Iberico Pork, and Black Truffle.  (Sounds good, right?)

And to wrap it all in the most lovely surroundings, Hong Kong designer, Joyce Wang** has translated her award-winning design of the original Mott 32 – combining the industrial warehouse aesthetic of New York with colonial-style Chinese furnishing – for The Venetian Resort, by adding such whimsically Vegas-y elements as a feather boa draped languidly from a chandelier, and a vintage Roulette wheel fashioned into a dinner table.

A fortune teller, a napkin-sketch artist, burlesque dancers, and a photo booth promise to elevate the ambiance at this posh affair to that of a sumptuously exotic soirée.  (Thanks to Black Buddha for the exquisite video!)

Party of the Second Part: Lady Gaga ENIGMA: The Las Vegas Residency – Park Theater at Park MGM

There’s been more ink dedicated to (and buzz generated by) Lady Gaga’s new Live Nation Las Vegas-presented residency show at Park Theater, than any other entertainment event in recent Las Vegas history.  Assume it’s gonna be all that and the proverbial bag of chips; book your tickets, now (for both her hits residency, ENIGMA, and her more stripped-down JAZZ & PIANO performances), and hail the once and future Lady Vegas, who’s described the residency as “unlike anything I've done before. It will be a celebration of all that is unique and different within us. The challenges of bravery can be overcome with creativity and courage that is grown out of adversity, love and music…”  Carry on, Lady.  Carry on.

Party of the Third Part: Official Afterparty for Lady Gaga ENIGMA: The Las Vegas Residency – On the Record Speakeasy and Club at Park MGM

And immediately following the encores at the opening night of Lady Gaga ENIGMA, VIP guests will be promenading through Park MGM to the resort’s newest nightlife collab, Houston Hospitality's On the Record.  The creation of twin Los Angelino nightlife impresarios, Mark and Jonnie Houston,*** On the Record is a three-room venue featuring a hidden “speakeasy,” a functioning record store entry, a double-decker bus that doubles as the DJ booth and the patio bar, an intimate Vinyl Parlor, hidden karaoke break-rooms, indoor and outdoor spaces, and a world-class cocktail program; all spread over 11,000 square feet of music-inspired nostalgia driven by the Houston Bros.’ award-winning design team.

And you can assume that if it’s good enough for the Lady…

And if you didn’t receive your Golden Ticket, to any of the above, fret not!  Tickets to Lady Gaga ENIGMA: The Las Vegas Residency have been on sale for months; while Mott 32 opens to the public on Sunday, December 30th (aka New Year's Eve Eve), and On the Record does so on New Year’s Eve.

So get out, enjoy, and relish in Las Vegas’ latest offerings!

Mott 32 at The Venetian Resort – Click HERE
Lady Gaga ENIGMA: The Las Vegas Residency at Park Theater – Click HERE
On the Record Speakeasy and Bar at Park MGM – Click HERE

28 December
Get into it!
#Vegas

[Editor’s Note: * Quong Yuen Shing provided critical services – including providing sleeping lofts above the general store, safes in the storerooms that served as a de facto bank, and a post office fashioned from a wire rack – to the community of single male workers who’d immigrated from China, without their families // ** In 2014, at the INSIDE World Festival of Interiors, Joyce Wang’s design of Mott 32 won the coveted “World Interior of the Year” award, in the category of Restaurants and Bars.  INSIDE World and the World Architecture Festival were held in tandem, at the Marina Bay Sands // The outfit behind such L.A. hotspots as No Vacancy, Good Times at Davey Waynes, Pour Vous, Dirty Laundry, Harvard & Stone, Breakroom 86, La Descarga, Piano Bar, Butchers & Barbers, and Madame Siam; Houston Hospitality is going to bring a fun Angelino vibe to MGM Resorts Int'l's nightlife program.]