The Las Vegas Strip loves fighting and dead people.
Caesars Entertainment (CZR) and MGM Resorts International (MGM) have long been hosts to some of boxing's greatest fights. Caesars Palace, for example, Muhammad Ali versus Larry Holmes in 1980 and "Sugar" Ray Leonard against Thomas Hearns in 1981. Hearns took on "Marvelous" Marvin Hagler in 1985, also at Caesars and more recently Deontay Wilder vs. Tyson Fury 2 took place at MGM Grand.
Las Vegas has also become the home of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) with many of its big fights coming from T-Mobile Arena in the heart of the Strip, In addition, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) also hosted one of its big shows, Summerslam, at Allegiant Stadium, just off the Strip, in 2021.
Along with being a mecca for combat sports (and quasi sports) the Las Vegas Strip has become a key place to pay tribute to dead celebrities. A Whitney Houston hologram has a show at Caesars Harrah's Resort/Casino while Elvis Presley performs, marries people, and takes photos all over Las Vegas.
Sin City also has no shortage of tributes to Michael Jackson, the Rat Pack, and countless other celebrities who are no longer with us. Now, a new form or fighting and a unique tribute to a member of British royalty are on their way.
David Becker/Getty Images
BattleBots Take Over the Last Vegas Strip
BattleBots has been around since 2000 when it aired as a show on Comedy Central. That always seemed like an odd fit as there's nothing comedic about two robots doing battle to the death inside a cage. Yes, the robots are controlled by humans and some have funny names, but the premise is basically UFC, but until one robot no longer functions.
Now, after numerous television revivals, BattleBots has another unlikely television home on the Discovery network. The fighting robots have also found a home on the Las Vegas Strip in a warehouse-like building located behind Caesars Ballys (soon to be renamed the Horseshoe).
Called the BattleBox Arena, the building has been the site where “BattleBots World Championship VII” has been taped to air on Discovery in January. The battling robots will return to action early next year for a new live show, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.
“BattleBots: Destruct-A-Thon” opens Feb. 3 at BattleBox Arena at Caesars Entertainment Studios. Show times are 6 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, with 3 p.m. matinees on Saturdays and noon on Sundays. Tickets are onsale Nov. 14. Prices range from $49 general-admission, with $150 family “bundles,” to $125 VIP packages where guests are allowed to view the robots and their teams up close before and after the show
The latest Las Vegas show is more WWE than UFC. The human handlers are actually actors playing the part. They're not the actual designers of the robot fighters.
“We know this live show will be an enormous hit. It will feature the most famous fighting robots on the planet, and they’ll be fighting to the death every night,” BattleBots CEO Trey Roski told the Review-Journal. “It’s going to be the most violent show in Las Vegas where nobody ever gets hurt. The robot apocalypse starts soon!”
Princess Di Hits the Las Vegas Strip
The Shops at Crystals, a high-end shopping plaza located on the Las Vegas Strip, has welcome "Princess Diana: A Tribute Exhibition."
The limited-time event "combines Las Vegas entertainment and the world’s leading collection of Diana and royal memorabilia to offer North America’s premiere journey inside the royal family. The 10,000 square foot exhibition includes over 700 artifacts, including several of Diana’s authentic evening gowns and fashion garments, artist installations, historic royal textiles and a collection of correspondence, gifts and personal items of Diana and the royals," according to the Shops at Crystals website.
The exhibit also features artifacts and biographical material about other members of the royal family, including Queen Elizabeth II; her father, King George VI; and her uncle, King Edward VIII.
"First and foremost, I want them to have the best daytime experience they can on the Strip," David Corelli, who curated the exhibit told Travel Weekly. "When you're putting programming into Las Vegas, you're not just creating something for royal fans or Diana fans. You're creating options for all the visitors that come in every week."
