MGM Just Announced a Four Day Cocktail Festival, and It's Not Cheap to Get In

DRINK Las Vegas lands on the Strip September 24 through 27 with 50-plus events across four resorts and per-ticket prices that start around $275. Here's what's on the lineup, and why the regulars crowd at Boomers might sit this one out.

The Strip Is Getting Its Own Cocktail Weekend

MGM Resorts rolled out something new this week called DRINK Las Vegas, a four day festival built entirely around cocktails, wine and the people who make them. It lands September 24 through 27. Bellagio and ARIA anchor most of the programming, with Park MGM and the neighboring Cosmopolitan resort hosting pieces of it too. This is the first year for the event, put together with a couple of hospitality production partners, and it is being pitched as a curated, interactive weekend rather than just another convention floor.

MGM's Ryan Abboushi, who runs entertainment for the company, framed the whole thing as a chance to put a spotlight on the people behind the bar rather than just the drinks themselves. In his words, the festival is about "celebrating the innovators and leaders pushing the beverage world forward." That's a nice sentiment, and it lines up with everything else we're seeing this year, from the rise of zero proof menus to the ice sphere trend showing up at higher end bars everywhere.

What's Actually Happening Over Those Four Days

The programming stacks up fast once you start digging into it. Organizers say there are more than 50 individual events planned, with roughly two dozen of them ticketed separately, pulling in dozens of chefs, mixologists and a handful of Master Sommeliers for the weekend. Thursday's opening night tasting at ARIA's Yucca Pool is hosted by chef Jean Georges Vongerichten, with Shaquille O'Neal joining as a guest for the evening.

Friday shifts into a James Beard Foundation night with chefs Tom Colicchio and Tiffany Derry, and Saturday is stacked with a caviar and classics party tied to a Bruno Mars branded lounge, plus a Carbone lunch and a Michael Mina dinner celebrating Las Vegas food history. Sunday wraps things up with a brunch hosted by four different female chefs at Bellagio's Mayfair Supper Club. It's a lot of star power packed into one long weekend.

The Catch: This One Isn't Cheap

Here's where it gets a little less accessible for the average Tuesday night regular. Individual event tickets are running somewhere between $275 and $450 a person depending on the experience, and everything is 21 and up only. A few of the smaller, more exclusive social events reportedly sold out within about a week of the announcement, before most of the wider public even had tickets on sale.

None of that is a knock on the festival itself. Big Strip resorts putting on splashy, chef driven programming is nothing new, and it's genuinely cool that Las Vegas keeps landing this kind of national attention for its drink scene. But it also means most of us watching this news unfold aren't going to be posted up at the Yucca Pool that weekend. We'll be reading about it the next day like everybody else.

Why We're Still Pouring the Same Way We Always Have

This is exactly the kind of story that reminds us why Boomers exists in the first place. Not everybody wants a $400 ticket and a dress code to have a good cocktail and a good time. Some nights you just want a stool that's always open, a bartender who already knows your order, and a room full of people who showed up for the same reason you did.

So consider this our version of festival coverage: we'll keep the TVs on, keep the pours generous, and let the Strip have its big fancy weekend in late September. If you want to talk about who's on the lineup, or just want a normal Tuesday drink that doesn't require a reservation six weeks out, you know where to find us.

The Marquee Events on the DRINK Las Vegas Lineup

If you want to follow along with the buzz even from a bar stool at Boomers, here's what's headlining the weekend.

1. Opening Night Tasting: Thursday at ARIA's Yucca Pool, hosted by chef Jean Georges Vongerichten with a guest appearance from Shaquille O'Neal.
2. James Beard Foundation Night: Friday at ARIA, co-hosted by chefs Tom Colicchio and Tiffany Derry.
3. Caviar and Classics Party: Saturday at Bellagio, built around a Bruno Mars branded lounge concept with classic cocktail pairings.
4. Carbone Riviera Lunch: A Saturday sit-down lunch experience at Bellagio.
5. Timeless Taste Dinner: Saturday at ARIA's Yucca Pool, celebrating Las Vegas food history with chef Michael Mina.
6. Curtain Call Brunch: Sunday closer at Bellagio's Mayfair Supper Club, hosted by four different female chefs.

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