Love it or hate it, or even somewhere in between, something that’s absolutely certain about the ever-changing and ever-growing Las Vegas these days is that it’s almost impossible to ignore.

While the bright lights and lavish hotels of The Strip remain a constant fixture, the pace of change almost everywhere else in so-called Sin City is truly astonishing.

Take for example the new and shiny just opened Fontainebleau Las Vegas hotel, where a 25,000-square-metre, seven-pool rooftop deck will open in time for the northern hemisphere’s pool party season. Then there are the new music residencies – our Kylie, Wu-Tang Clan, Shania Twain – that for some will be enough reason to book flights. See a show or simply take in the spectacle of the record-breaking wraparound LED screen at The Sphere, a new entertainment venue on the grandest scale.

Then there’s the Australian angle, in the form of the ambitious National Rugby League (NRL) Telstra Premiership season kick-off at Allegiant Stadium, in Vegas on Saturday, March 2. This was the stunning venue where the US NFL Super Bowl 2024, the biggest event on the US sports calendar, was recently held. It will be the first time rugby league has hosted a season opener in North America. It’s big news for NRL fans, and another reason Sin City is rapidly evolving into Sports City, but the action on-field is nothing when compared to the after-parties.

Las Vegas is home to some of the most exciting hotels in the US. Fontainebleau Las Vegas made its splashy debut two months ago, swinging open the doors in December with great fanfare and a headliner performance by Justin Timberlake. The unveiling of the 67-storey luxury resort is a big deal for Vegas – the last major hotel opening was Resorts World in 2021 – an occasion 16 years in the making. Construction began in 2007, funding was lost in 2009 due to the global recession and the project changed hands several times before finally reaching completion.