New Las Vegas Strip honky-tonk sets opening

Blake Shelton’s Ole Red Las Vegas at Grand Bazaar Shops at the Horseshoe opens 11 a.m. Monday. This is the largest of six Ole Red locations across the county, taking up four stories, 27,000 square feet with a 686-seat dining and performance venue. Upside-down 1947 Farmall H tractor, too.

Last January, Shelton himself said he would play the club.

“Oh hell, yeah. I have no clue how, but I’ll tell you right now, I’ll be there on that stage,” Shelton said during a chat in a booth at Jack Binion’s Steak at Horseshoe Las Vegas. “I don’t know how often, but the way we’ve handled it in the past with the other Ole Reds is, hey, I’m going to be on that side of the country anyway. Let’s block off a couple of days and surprise people.”

The entertainment calendar is taking shape. DJ KC Ray, Ryan Whyte Maloney and Jacklyn Hayden open. Sarah Jessica Rhodes’ SJ & the Ruckus plays Jan. 23. Sam Riddle, Dez Houston, Dan Fester and Downtown Avenue are among the Vegas artists on the club’s entertainment roster.

The venue’s authentic Shelton-inspired and approved menu features signature items including the “Redneck Nachos” and the “Blue Tick Burger.” Some 15 new items are exclusive to Las Vegas, including the “Blackberry Crispy Chicken Sliders,” the “Hillbilly Bone St. Louis Ribs” and the “Ole Red Ribeye.”

Specialty cocktails, beer and wine are all on the menu. Find it at olered.com/lasvegas/menu/.

And you have to love the Super Bowl party dubbed “The Big-Ass Game On a Big-Ass Screen.” No ambiguity with this place.

Eager to see Shelton himself play it, whenever he dang well wants.

“If you’re going to come to Vegas, you’re not going to have to just go big, you’ve got to go huge,” the country superstar said. “And I feel like that’s what we’re doing with this location.”

John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His “PodKats!” podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.