🧨 Which fireworks are legal in Vegas?

🛎️ A Look Inside the Vanderpump Hotel

I got a chance to scope out the new Vanderpump Hotel (and gather some intel 🍷) during last week’s grand opening festivities. Is this little more than the Cromwell with a fresh coat of paint? I’ll share some immediate impressions, from what’s new to what I’m worried about 😳 It’s all part of today’s City Cast Las Vegas news roundup, which also looks at why unions won't let go of the movie studio tax credits and a question that must be asked: Is Las Vegas just too dense? [City Cast Las Vegas 🎧]

🎉 A Casino Game Gets a Parade

Got plans this morning? A parade will march down the Fremont Street Experience at 10 a.m. to celebrate the relocation of the last Sigma Derby casino game still operating — for the general public anyway — from The D to the Golden Gate. You can pop a quarter (or whatever it takes) in the machine at its new location this Friday. [Casino.org]

👍 Offer the Temp a Full-Time Job

We’re still bummed about the Vegas Golden Knights’ Stanley Cup loss, but now the team is faced with the challenge of locking down coach John Tortorella, who was hired at the tail-end of the season after Bruce Cassidy was fired — and managed to turn the team around. [Associated Press]

• More sports: On the plus side, the attention on the Knights overshadowed the A's mixed performance while visiting their own future hometown with a weeklong series at the Las Vegas Ballpark. The team was doing pretty good until giving up 23 runs to the Colorado Rockies on Sunday — an A’s stat not seen since 1955. [Las Vegas Review-Journal]
• And: UFC President Dana White says the Vegas-based fight company won't stage an event on the White House lawn ever again. And they’re not returning to the Sphere either. This stuff is just too expensive. [Associated Press]

☀️ Can Solar Power’s Triumph Help Nevada?

Despite attempts by the Trump administration to disincentivize clean energy alternatives, solar power has overtaken coal as the third-largest source of electricity behind natural gas and nuclear. (I was surprised too.) Here in Nevada, where we have a lot of sun and consume 11 times more energy than we produce, solar accounts for about 25% of NV Energy’s power in the Las Vegas area. [Nevada Independent]

🇺🇲 Vegas Goes Overboard for Independence Day Fireworks

The July 4th holiday is coming up and celebrating America’s independence in Las Vegas can be, well, confusing. Fireworks are best left to the professionals, but that doesn't stop people from shooting off their own explosives in parks and backyards throughout the valley. Are they legal? The answer is complicated.

😀 Legal Fireworks in Las Vegas

Safe and Sane fireworks go on sale Sunday, June 28 and are available until Saturday, July 4. These are the only fireworks approved for the general public by Clark County, sold at pop-up booths in the parking lots of grocery stores, shopping centers, and other businesses throughout the valley to benefit nonprofits. The products are limited to sparklers, snakes, smokeballs, or to put it simply, stuff that doesn’t leave the ground.

😞 Illegal Fireworks in Las Vegas

More dangerous fireworks like Roman Candles, Cherry Bombs, and Bottle Rockets are legally sold outside Clark County in some of our favorite Nye County destinations (like Pahrump and the Amargosa Valley) as well as tribal territory (most notably, the Moapa Paiute Travel Plaza near Valley of Fire). However, it’s illegal to set them off back in Vegas, even though you can’t ignore the sight of them illuminating the sky. In an odd twist, it’s even against the law to set fireworks off in Pahrump, except for a single designated launch site.

👀 Where to See Fireworks in Las Vegas

If this all sounds confusing, you’re probably right. So, take the easy route and enjoy professional fireworks presentations throughout Southern Nevada — which are already underway to celebrate America’s 250th birthday.

Fridays, now through Sept. 4

• 🎆 The Plaza | 9:15 p.m. | Free | Downtown

Saturdays, now through July 18

• 🎆 Various resort locations | 9 p.m. | Free | The Strip & Downtown

Saturday, June 20

• 🎆 Night of Fire | After dark | $15 | Las Vegas Motor Speedway

Wednesday, July 1

• 🎆 Palace Station (coinciding with Station Casinos’ 50-year anniversary) | 9 p.m. | Free | Off the Strip

Thursday, July 4

• 🎆 The Backyard at Green Valley Ranch | 9 p.m. | $35, $10 for kids | Henderson
• 🎆 Bel-Aire Backyard at Durango Casino & Resort | 9 p.m. | $35, $10 for kids | Southwest
• 🎆 Boulder Station | 9 p.m. | Free | Boulder Strip
• 🎆 Buckskin Basin Park | 7 p.m. | Free | Northwest
• 🎆 Cowabunga Canyon | 9 p.m. | $49.99 | Southwest
• 🎆 Damboree at Veterans Memorial Park | After dark | Free (with possible parking charge) | Boulder City
• 🎆 Heritage Park | 9 p.m. | Free | Henderson
• 🎆 M Pool at The M Resort | 9 p.m. | $35, $15 kids | Henderson
• 🎆 The Plaza | 9:15 p.m. | Free | Downtown
• 🎆 Rockets Over the River | 9 p.m. | Free | Laughlin
• 🎆 Sandbar at Red Rock Resort | 9 p.m. | $35, $10 kids | Summerlin
• 🎆 Santa Fe Station | 9 p.m. | Free | Northwest
• 🎆 Sunset Station | 9 p.m. | Free | Henderson

Friday, July 10

• 🎆 Las Vegas Ballpark | After the Aviators game | $22+ | Downtown Summerlin