| Hannah Elliott here, and it's that time of year again. In two weeks the traveling circus known as F1 will descend on Las Vegas. This is year two for the Formula One Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix (Nov. 21–23). I expect it will exceed last year's bet, which saw F1 fans spending 3.6 times as much as a typical Vegas visitor, $884 million in total, with around 20% of them coming from outside the US. All told, the 2023 Vegas GP attracted more than 300,000 people and boosted the local economy by $1.5 billion, organizers said. Apart from some grumbling about construction and road closures, most locals I spoke with, including taxi drivers, food servers, cocktail waiters and nail specialists, said they thought it was cool F1 had come to Vegas. They loved being able to catch a glimpse of the racing live right from the Strip or hotel rooms, bars and clubs, without having to buy a ticket. Vincenzo Landino, who writes an excellent F1 substack called Business of Speed, echoed that refrain, noting that sponsorship values doubled after Vegas, not because of the race itself but because owner Liberty Media had solved F1's accessibility problem. "The sport remained exclusive where it mattered (good luck getting a paddock pass) while becoming inclusive where it counted (content, access, narrative)," Landino wrote.  The race will be 50 laps around this track, which makes a loop around town, including a long straight on the Las Vegas Strip. Photographer: Clive Mason/Formula 1 And let's be honest: A 3.8-mile circuit running through town isn't something most of the hardworking folks in sprawling Vegas are going to sweat. This is the key to Vegas' massive advantage over other, more remote F1 destinations, such as COTA outside Austin or Silverstone in the UK: It has impeccable culture, food, shopping and hospitality. Las Vegas is the nation's premier destination for entertainment on the biggest scale. (Super Bowl LVIII, anyone?) A car race is a no-brainer. In this town, F1 racing is just another night. So let's talk about this year. Are you going? Great! Expect affordable hotel rooms and easy walking access to pretty much every part of the Grand Prix, which starts at 10 p.m. local time on Nov. 23. (Opulent suites are still available, but the price-gouging seems to have been a one-time thing—the Cosmopolitan, for instance, started offering 20% discounted rates for race-weekend as far back as July instead of waiting to reduce rates. You can still get a room at that old budget standby, Circus Circus, for less than $100 per night. Rumors of its demise have been greatly exaggerated.) That doesn't mean putting off your plans until the last minute. As of Friday, a race-night room at the Four Seasons Hotel Las Vegas cost at least $800; available rooms at the Fontainebleau Las Vegas were hovering around $670. Rooms available online at the Aria were sold out.  Loads of musical acts will flood Vegas this year for the F1 race, including the Chainsmokers, Marshmellow and Swedish House Mafia at the Encore Las Vegas nightclub. Photographer: David Becker/Formula 1 The city is already preparing for the festivities, though with far less disruption than last year. During the Las Vegas Concours last weekend, I noticed that parts of the track are already assembled along Las Vegas Blvd.; billboards are advertising which DJs will be in residency (Chainsmokers, Marshmellow, Swedish House Mafia are all at the Encore Las Vegas nightclub); and hotels including the Wynn Las Vegas and MGM Grand are already festooning their properties with advertising touting the race. I'm glad to report that the Los Angeles/Las Vegas hotspot Delilah is as slammed and energetic as ever (the macaroni is the best thing on the menu–love that crispy-cheese-toasted goodness on top). And you'll still be able to catch Adele's residency at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace, which concludes F1 weekend and is by all accounts an expensive but worth-it ticket. Eagles fans will be happy to hear they can catch the band performing at the Sphere until spring of 2025. (Personally, I'll wait until a fresher band comes to town; the exterior lights of that $2.3 billion orb are wonderfully mesmerizing in the meantime.)  The Sphere overlooks the F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix in November. Photographer: Icon Sportswire/Icon Sportswire Make time one morning after breakfast at the Peppermill, an old-school American diner, to drive a loop through the Valley of Fire State Park 45 miles from town. It might even be worth taking the time for a hike there; the rusty red monoliths and ancient pine trees there are as dramatic as anything you'll see during a show. The visitor center is open daily from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and the rest of the park closes at sunset. The day-use entrance fee costs $10 per vehicle. I must confess that it's impossible for me to be in Vegas and not shop a little bit, so of course I ducked into Alexander McQueen, Yves Saint Laurent and the wonderful Watches of Switzerland outpost at the Wynn, where the friendly staff told me they're all ready for an influx of sports fans next weekend. I also availed myself to the Sugar Nail at the Fashion Show Las Vegas mall for an emergency manicure—they take nighttime appointments, which, in a pinch, you'll be happy to know are there. Expensive race packages are still on offer, of course. If you want to check out things like a $35,000 ticketed experience that includes trackside dining by chef Gordon Ramsay, click here.  Last year at the Bellagio Fountain Club, an $11,000 ticket got you access to decadent celebrity chef meals. Photographer: Bridget Bennett for Bloomberg Pursuits I plan to make my way over to the Fontainebleau, where Aston Martin will display its full line-up of new cars, including the Vanquish V-12, as well as vintage models like the 1965 DB5 driven by James Bond in 1964's Goldfinger. I also may just stop by the Cosmopolitan, where $350 gets you race-day admission to the rooftop right above the track straightaway. See you there? | 
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