City Cast Las Vegas
City Cast Las Vegas is a daily podcast and newsletter created by and for locals (and locals-at-heart) that’ll challenge the easy narratives about our city … and, okay, maybe confirm a few of them, too. Las Vegas is a city of reinvention, bursting at the seams as it welcomes newcomers into its various incarnations as a service-worker union town, a military town, a college town, and, most recently, a sports town. There’s a four-mile street testifying to our entrepreneurial genius, not far from pockets of staggering inequality. Great wealth runs through our city, but how much of that actually stays in Vegas? We’re independent in spirit, but also ruled by orange traffic cones. Our 2.5 million residents anchor an ever-changing city of 42 million visitors. Join us every morning for the messy, delightful, complicated conversations that Las Vegans are having: You’ll hear us ask hard questions about where we’ll get our water when Lake Mead runs out, and how we’ll keep housing affordable. We’ll argue over our favorite Chinatown bars, and share insider tips on the best tacos in town. City Cast Las Vegas will show you how loving a city means celebrating it and also holding it accountable, while having some fun along the way—because Las Vegans know how to have a good time.
Episodes
April 26, 2024 • 36 mins
Now that Mojave Max has finally emerged, we can officially welcome you to spring on this week’s Friday News Roundup. After a local restaurant owner discovered ghost kitchens posing as popular established restaurants on UberEats, four local restaurants filed a class-action lawsuit against Uber and related parties. Uber paused applications for virtual kitchens on the app on Tuesday, but the affected businesses want more. Also this we...
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April 25, 2024 • 23 mins
American restaurateur and writer David Chang almost broke the foodie internet when he declared “the best Chinese food in America is in Las Vegas” on his Instagram earlier this year. While we are inclined to accept any food flattery towards Las Vegas, we needed some proof. Co-host Dayvid Figler sits down with Review-Journal restaurant reporter Johnathan L. Wright, a major Chinese food fan, to ask what makes Las Vegas the Chinese foo...
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April 24, 2024 • 23 mins
How well do you really know the Strip? Today, our resident Vegas insiders, co-hosts Dayvid Figler and Sarah Lohman, along with newsletter editor Rob Kachelriess, spill their favorite hidden gems from around the Strip: From little-known historical oddities and quiet places for reflection to the best food and drink surprises they’ve discovered.
We’re on social media! Follow us @CityCastVegas on Instagram. You can also call or text us...
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April 23, 2024 • 16 mins
Myths about Las Vegas go all the way back to our city’s earliest days. Today, journalist Corey Levitan, creator of the Vegas Myths Busted series at Casino.org, quizzes our two hosts, Dayvid Figler and Sarah Lohman, about how well they know old Vegas history. Play along and let us know how you did!
We’re on social media! Follow us @CityCastVegas on Instagram. You can also call or text us at 702-514-0719.
Want some more Las Vegas new...
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April 22, 2024 • 23 mins
This June, for the first time in 25 years, Las Vegas voters will face a mayoral ballot without a single Goodman on it. But given our valley’s odd jurisdictional boundaries, less than half of Southern Nevadans actually live within the city and can vote for the Las Vegas mayor. So why does this election matter to the whole Vegas Valley? How did the Mayors Goodman transform the role for a global stage — and what’s next for our city? C...
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On this week’s Friday News Roundup, we lay out all the details from a Henderson police barricade situation that resulted in the suspect deceased and the front of a home ripped away. Also, Assemblywoman Danielle Gallant gets a policy she voted for wrong and issues an apology after receiving backlash in videos posted to social media. Lastly, National park rangers are asking the public to help identify two men videoed pushing over anc...
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April 18, 2024 • 20 mins
The Kroger-Albertsons merger proposed in 2022 is still in the works, but the FTC has raised alarm bells about the consequences a merger of this magnitude would have on consumers. And about a month ago, the Nevada Attorney General’s office announced it was joining the FTC and seven other states in a lawsuit to block the proposal. So today, we’re revisiting a conversation co-host David Figler had in September with food justice writer...
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April 17, 2024 • 24 mins
Most people know a little about the mob and their part in building the Las Vegas we know today, but what you might not realize is how integral burlesque was in cementing Vegas’ sinful status. As new burlesque shows pop up left and right in the city, co-host Sarah Lohman takes a look back on the history of the American art form with burlesque stars Dirty Martini from DITA Las Vegas and Buttercup from the Burlesque Hall of Fame. They...
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April 16, 2024 • 18 mins
We’re only four months into 2024, but we’ve already heard some infuriating, hilarious, or, honestly, kinda out-there quotes on Vegas issues in the news. So today, Executive Producer Sonja Cho Swanson invites co-hosts David Figler and Sarah Lohman to a game of “Guess Who Said It” to reflect on all the shenanigans our city finds itself in and, of course, win some bragging rights!
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/a...
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April 15, 2024 • 18 mins
O.J. Simpson died at his home in Las Vegas on Thursday at age 76; the cause was cancer. He’s arguably one of our city’s most controversial celebrities, trailed by the specter of that notorious 1995 murder trial, and then later, his 2008 conviction for armed robbery at Palace Station right here in Vegas. Co-host Dayvid Figler, who is also a lawyer, was there in 2008 as an expert commentator for Court TV — he and executive producer S...
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April 12, 2024 • 35 mins
New details have emerged about the acrimonious child custody case at the heart of the Summerlin law firm shooting — but it also raises the question, how did things get this bad in the first place, and are we talking about this all wrong? Co-hosts Sarah Lohman and Dayvid Figler sit down with contributor Andrew Kiraly, creator of thelist.vegas, to discuss. Next up, we break down just why the monorail is feuding with media outlets ove...
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April 11, 2024 • 23 mins
As we emerge from winter hibernation of our comfy, cozy regular haunts, spring and summer invite us to venture further afield when trying new bars and eateries. Co-host Sarah Lohman sits down with Neon News editor-in-chief Gemini Stevens to talk about the hottest new bars in Las Vegas right now — and what our drink scene is still missing.
Bars mentioned in the episode:
Wineaux at the UnCommons
Crush Pad Wine Bar
Garagiste
The Silve...
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April 10, 2024 • 23 mins
No one expected much when the Vegas Golden Knights played their first season in 2017. Now, since the team’s success in their first season and winning the Stanley Cup in their 6th, it’s hard to find a Las Vegan who doesn’t rep VGK merch. And key to their success in the community? The spectacular entertainment at every home game. The energy they create in the arena during their pregame shows is unlike any other team in the league — a...
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April 9, 2024 • 19 mins
Ah, spring in Vegas: That golden season of hikes, picnics, and… allergies. But how did a desert town get so pollen-y, and is allergy season getting worse? Co-host Sarah Lohman sits down with UNLV Pollen Monitoring Program Supervisor Asma Tahir to learn more about the rooftop gadgets that measure our pollen counts, and how we can (and can’t) fight back.
Vegas residents, heads up! We’re starting a series on the mayoral race, and we w...
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April 8, 2024 • 24 mins
For a city that stays up late, we sure don’t have too many coffee shops open past 4 p.m. But it wasn’t always this way: Lifelong Las Vegan and co-host Dayvid Figler remembers the 90s as a golden era of late-night coffee shops that hosted poetry readings and musical performances. So where did they go? Co-host Sarah Lohman sits down with Dayvid and writer Kim Foster to talk about why late-night coffee shops are so important, and what...
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April 5, 2024 • 36 mins
Las Vegans are sharing an outpouring of support for Enzo, the police dog who was stabbed in a recent encounter downtown. Happily, he is on the road to recovery and heading home. But what really went down in that encounter, and how should we be thinking about the use of K-9 units with mentally unstable people? Today, co-hosts Dayvid Figler and Sarah Lohman sit down with comedian-magician Matt Donnelly from the podcast Matt and Matti...
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April 4, 2024 • 23 mins
The shrimp cocktail might just be the most iconic dish in Las Vegas. But why? Where did it come from, why’s it called a “cocktail,” and can you still find a good 99-center anywhere in town? Co-hosts Dayvid Figler and Sarah Lohman (a culinary historian) break down the history of the shrimp cocktail, its surprising Cajun and Jewish origins, and the story behind that special red sauce.
If you haven’t yet joined the City Cast Las Vegas...
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April 3, 2024 • 24 mins
As our population grows in Vegas and major events become a regular occurrence, sweeps of the storm tunnels under Las Vegas seem to be in the news more than ever. Not to mention the rain we’ve already experienced this year that can put people living down there in danger. It makes for titillating urban folklore — a subterranean quasi-community shuffling through the darkness beneath the bright city. But what’s the reality? We are revi...
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April 2, 2024 • 21 mins
Today, almost exactly 67 years after opening, the Tropicana Casino and Hotel closes its doors for good. Old-timers with deep connections to the property have shared their special memories from the Trop’s heyday… but most Las Vegans of today will admit it’s been years since they stepped foot inside the Trop. So when did the Tropicana start to lose its relevance and why? Should we care about its closure — and when does a casino becom...
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April 1, 2024 • 26 mins
Whether you know the difference between the Sunrise and Frenchman Mountains or not, they’re home to some extraordinary views and natural wonders — including rare plants, Indigenous sites, and a world-class geological feature called the Great Unconformity. But you might be surprised to hear that this land isn’t federally protected. You’ll often see broken glass bottles and graffiti here. City Cast co-host Sarah Lohman took a trip ou...
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