Category: General

What's open in Vegas

Your Guide To What Is Open In Vegas!

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Your Guide To What Is Open In Vegas!

Are you unsure what to expect on your next trip to Vegas? Is everything you love about Vegas still open? We got you covered with, what is open as of July 28, 2020. Please note this is an ever developing situation and the below can and most likely change. The list is just meant to be used as a guide. We strongly encourage you to check directly with the attraction, restaurant or casino for the most up to date opening protocols. Vegas is still here waiting for you! Las Vegas

 

Being entertained is the name of the game in Vegas. People are always looking for something to ‘Wow’ them, laugh with, or capture their attention. During this pandemic, Vegas is striving to give you the same level of amusement that you have grown to expect.

Entertainment:

  • The Mob Museum encourages people to buy tickets ahead of time and has limited entry for visitors.
  • The Neon Museum encourages people to buy tickets ahead of time and has limited entry for visitors.
  • Kenny Davidsen’s Celebrity Piano Bar at the Tuscany Hotel and Casino, there is fitted plexiglass that will separate the audience from the stage. Shows start at 8:45 PM on Friday’s.
  • Big Elvis is back at Harrah’s . Performing Thursday through Saturday at 2, 3:30 and 5 PM and it’s free!
  • The High Roller at the Linq Promenade is open with a limit of 10 people per cabin for social distancing.
  • Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood is partly re-opened with limited hours (11 AM to 7 PM)
  • Topgolf at MGM Grand
  • The Bellagio Fountains are dancing once again.
  • Minus5 Ice Experience located on a skywalk linking Luxor and Mandalay Bay is open.
  • Luxor’s and Mandalay Bay’s Shoppes are open, including Luxor’s HyperX Esports Arena.
  • Shark Reef Aquarium
  • Fly Linq Zip Line
  • The Eiffel Tower
  • Siegfried & Roy’s Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat

 

Casinos:

Vegas CasinosThe dice are rolling once again at some of your favorite gambling spots.  Your health and safety are the top priority at the casinos, all have been equipped with Plexiglass screens, increase sanitation protocols, social distancing and have strict enforcement of wearing masks on the casino floor at all times.

Please know that when they are open (times, days of the week, unexpected closures, etc.) could change rapidly so we encourage you to go to their website for more detailed information!

 

 

  • The Strat- AKA the Stratosphere
  • Sahara
  • Circus Circus
  • Treasure Island
  • The Venetian
  • Harrah’s
  • Caesars Palace
  • Bellagio
  • The Cosmopolitan
  • MGM Grand
  • New York-New York
  • Tuscany Suites and Casino
  • Excalibur
  • Plaza Hotel and Casino
  • Paris
  • Westgate
  • Aria
  • Mandalay Bay
  • Bally’s
  • Golden Nugget Las Vegas
  • Luxor

 

Restaurants:

We all look forward to good food and Las Vegas has no shortage of restaurants that have just that! Famous Chefs such as Gordon Ramsay and Bobby Flay have places here and then there are hidden gems like Secret Pizza inside the Cosmopolitan that make the choices absolutely endless! Here are a few examples of what is open currently (please visit their website for reservations and open times).

  • Hash House A Go Go
  • Guy Fieri’s Vegas Kitchen and Bar
  • Restaurant Guy Savoy
  • Oscar’s Steakhouse
  • Wolfgang Punk’s Spago
  • Elio at Wynn
  • The Buffet at Wynn
  • Gordon Ramsay Steak
  • Diablo’s Catina
  • Catch at Aria
  • Jean Georges Steakhouse
  • Salt and Ivy
  • Gordon Ramsay Hell’s Kitchen
  • Gordon Ramsay Pub and Grill
  • Mesa Grill by Bobby Flay

 

Please know that for more information on anything mentioned above, our Concierge staff is always available to help you in any way they can! Especially when it comes to making reservations at some of these wonderful places to eat, they will be able to assist you and your family make that happen.

We are so excited to see you and your loved one’s back in Vegas for more memorable vacations and experiences!

We hope to see you soon!

COVID-19

COVID-19: Tahiti Village Update

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covidThe COVID-19 pandemic has certainly changed everyone’s lives. That doesn’t stop us from doing everything we can to give our guests and owners the best experience and vacation possible. At Tahiti Village Resort, we care deeply about the well-being and safety of our owners and guests and wanted to provide you with an update on the steps we are taking at the resort to ensure your safety!

Just recently, the Governor stated that in order for Nevada to stay safe and remain open during COVID-19 it is mandated to wear face coverings in all public areas. This Declaration of Emergency Directive was announced on June 26, 2020.

With that, all guests must wear face coverings while indoors, while walking around the property outdoors and while at the pool and lazy river areas. This is for not only your safety but for everyone at the resort. If you have further questions about the new directive, please click here.

Nevada entered Phase Two of reopening on May 29, since then there have been many positive changes in regards to what we can have open on property. After careful consideration of the Phase 2 plan and guidance from the CDC and state directives, we were able to make these further changes–

  • Our pool, lazy river and hot tubs will be open but operating at 50% capacity. Pool admittance will be on a “first come, first served” basis. Wristbands are required to access pool, hot tubs and lazy river.
  • Our gym will officially be opening for use.
  • Wristbands are required to access our pool, lazy river and hot tubs for all registered guests except for children less than 5 years of age. Visit Concierge for these!
  • BBQ area will be open for use.

 

We are accepting reservations at the resort for guests and owners to come and stay with us. We have taken these additional precautions –

  • The Front Desk and Concierge areas will be fitted with plexiglass acrylic screens. Social distance markers are on the floor for everyone’s reference.
  • Keys, lobby access doors, stairway banisters, elevator buttons, desks, door handles, and all other high contact areas will be disinfected regularly by our staff.
  • In your room, we will be placing “Cleaned and Sanitized” stickers in all high contact areas to let you know we got it.
  • Room assignments will be done so in a way that will allow for better social distancing.
  • Enhanced cleaning of the gym.
  • All employees will be participating in ongoing training to ensure health and safety measures are upheld.

 

covidWhile you are at the resort we recommend you only ride the elevator with people in your party. Please continue to practice social distancing between each other and in all public areas on our property. Such as our walkways, hallways, lobby areas, etc.

We intend to operate as set forth for as long as possible; however, please realize that these are dynamic and rapidly-evolving circumstances that require day-to-day decision making with COVID-19.

If you need to adjust retail reservations, please contact our Reservation Team at 1-855-386-4658. Adjusting a retail reservation made through an online travel agency (OTA) or another third party, please contact them directly.

For those who are taking advantage in our Complimentary Stay offer and need to change your dates or cancel, please contact us at 1-877-751-8444.

Rest assured that we will contact you in the event that we are required to further change course due to updated health and safety guidance. Thank you for your continued support and understanding as our team navigates what is truly new ground. This is a fluid situation with local, state, and federal jurisdictions issuing guidance and/or restrictions continuously.

covidWe understand that your vacations with us are not what any of us are used to and we apologize for that. The new rules and restrictions that have been placed upon us from State of Nevada’s Directive 024 are one’s we need to follow so we can get back to the Vegas everyone loves! We are doing everything we can to comply with these rules while still maintaining the level of enjoyment that you have grown to expect. With your help, we can navigate through these unchartered territories together and shed those masks! We would like to thank our owners, guests and employees that have been so understanding and cooperative during these times so we can be the Tahiti Village we all want!

 

Tahiti Village Resort wants to thank you for your continued support and love as we do everything we can to provide you with the best vacation possible!

Today is National Super Hero Day!

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Today is National Super Hero Day!

When you think of a super hero, you think of someone that wears a cape or scales walls, but in this day and age when we think of a super hero we think of all the countless first responders fighting on the front lines against this insidious virus. So we thought it only fitting to honor the Super Hero’s in our life today, on National Super Hero Day!

We would like to introduce you to the Vesterfelt Family. Marianne, Tyler, Katie, Blair, Kayla and Noah have been owners with Somerpointe Resorts since 2002. Marianne is a nurse practitioner and the Director of Clinical Services for Optalis Health Care in Michigan.

She runs 9 skilled nursing facilities and 3 assisted livings. They were forced to open 5 COVID units within designated parts of some of her buildings to help with the hospital overflow in her city. She has directed set up, training, policy/procedures on safety and helped with care items within these units, but truth be told her favorite place is bedside, she often will choose a unit where she can spend time next to the patents simply just holding their hands. Her patients are not on ventilators. They require monitoring and therapy. Some come to her on hospice others are trying to stabilize and get stronger to return home. The mental toll is heavy, but so worth it to her. If that isn’t a super hero, we don’t know what is.

But this is just part of the story, her daughter Katie is finishing her first year in college at Michigan State University awaiting entry into the nursing program. She is currently working as a nursing assistant at Evergreen Health and Rehabilitation Center which is part of Optalis Heath Care system. Evergreen is a dedicated COVID unit recognized as part of the state of emergency relief package provided by Michigan’s governor Ms Whitmer. Katie provides for all of the daily needs and assistance to the residents. She works 12 hour shifts with all of the PPE on and NEVER complains.

Marianne is amazed at how seamless Katie’s transition to healthcare has been. Her mom describes her as fearless and incredibly compassionate. (We wonder where she gets that from )

Marianne and Katie have been away from their family for 4 weeks, all they want is to be back together as a family sitting on a beach, but as the selfless superheroes they are, they know where they are needed now.

We want to honor not only Marianne and Katie but Tyler, Blair, Kayla and Noah for their sacrifice back home. It isn’t easy being away from the ones you love.

Without people like Marianne and Katie this world would be a much different place.

The Somerpointe Team wants to thank you from the bottom of our heart, you truly are our super heroes!

Fireworks over the Las Vegas Strip

How the Vegas Experience has Changed Over the Years

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Think you know Las Vegas? The Sin City experience has evolved over the years and a lot has changed. Here’s what you need to know!

You can certainly say that a lot has changed since Vegas’ early days as a dusty stopover for travelers heading West across the scorching Southwest. This largest city in Nevada has evolved into much more than a destination for those seeking a cheap room, plenty of whisky, and card games aplenty. Las Vegas has reinvented itself, transcending the apt description of a “one-horse town for gamblers” and enjoying a renaissance of sorts over the past several decades. Las Vegas is now an international travel mecca for visitors who value excitement, refined amenities, and a wide array of entertainment possibilities.

Whether you’re looking for a relaxed, under-the-radar type of vacation or a wolf pack-worthy trip that would rival anything imagined by a Hollywood director, you’ll find it in Vegas. Here are some of the major changes seen in Vegas over the years:

The Resorts

50,000 people a day travel through McCarran Airport, shuttling about half of the 38 million annual visitors to the heart of Las Vegas. These travelers generally opt to stay in a resort on or near the Strip, so these mega-hotels now cater to those seeking a comfortable, relaxing, and decadent home-away-from-home versus those simply wanting a “cheap room.” Visitors spend an average of $95 per night, but many are now looking at off-Strip options that deliver a more personalized experience, in a serene location with a greater array of amenities than ever thought possible.

Culinary Options

Vegas was once known for the 99-cent shrimp cocktail, but today it flaunts a vibrant, eclectic, and alluring culinary scene that rivals the food offerings of the world’s largest cities. From some of the most elegant dining options in the heart of the Strip to quirky spots like The Perch in Downtown Container Park, to family-friendly options like Hash House a Go Go or tropical fare at 17-degree South Booze & Bites, there is truly something for everyone.  You’ll still find the one-dollar shrimp cocktail (visitors to Vegas eat more than 30 tons of shrimp per day!), but you can also find a $5,000 burger, the world’s most expensive sundae (the Golden Opulence at Caesar’s – $1,000), and a $40,000 bottle of cognac at the Monte Carlo Hotel that dates back to 1777. Vegas’ culinary scene is undeniably appealing.

Entertainment

Even in what was once considered Vegas’ heyday, the entertainment options were limited. You had the average song-and-dance shows, Vegas Showgirls and their well-rehearsed nightly routines, the transient headliners, and the odd magic show. But it wasn’t until the latter part of the 20th century when Vegas became a real draw for big name acts, wildly popular resident singers and entertainers, and international shows like Cirque du Soleil. Today’s visitor has an endless choice of shows, concerts, parties, and entertainment venues to choose from, drawing some of the world’s biggest names to stages, arenas, and theaters throughout Vegas’ city limits.

Vegas is no longer a sleepy, desert town. While it still has a reputation for being a city that “knows how to have a good time,” the landscape has shifted from bawdy casinos and smoky bars to elegant resorts and alluring entertainment options. The good news? You can visit Las Vegas today and find exactly what you’re looking for – Las Vegas is bigger, better, and more exciting than ever.

NFL Draft is coming to Vegas. Book your Tahiti Village hotel room now!

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With the conclusion of the Big Game we can now turn our football attention to the NFL Draft, which, like the former Raiders of Oakland, is coming to Las Vegas in 2020.

More than 400,000 people are expected in town April 23-25 to witness the annual rite of passage for college players into the pros. If you’re planning to be among the nearly half million visitors in attendance, please consider that there are 150,000 hotel rooms in Las Vegas. So unless you have Vegas friends with a spare room or couch, it is therefore advisable to book your Tahiti Village Resort & Spa visit now or risk getting locked out of all the fun.

Don’t wait. Book a visit to spacious, family friendly Tahiti Village today and ensure you’ll have comfortable accommodations for the NFL draft.

If you’ve never been to Tahiti Village, you simply must experience a getaway to Las Vegas’ tropical resort retreat. Featuring a sand-entry beach pool, lazy river, condo-style accommodations, two 24-hour hot tubs, an onsite restaurant and spa, and shuttle service to the Strip, Tahiti Village has everything you need to relax, unwind and get away from it all. In-room amenities in larger one-bedroom and two-bedroom units include a fully stocked kitchen, washer-dryer, jetted tub, steam shower and private balcony for your convenience and enjoyment.

Tahiti Village Resort & Spa, Las Vegas’ favorite tropical resort paradise, was recently voted Best Family Friendly Resort and Best Family Friendly Pool in the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s annujal Best of Las Vegas contest.

According to news reports, the NFL Draft will be worthy of a Las Vegas production. Draft prospects will be ferried by boat to a stage at the Fountains of Bellagio and introduced one by one.

The celebration — at the NFL Draft red carpet, main stage and NFL Draft Experience — will include immersive activities, live entertainment and performances, the league said. All events are free and open to the public.

The main stage will be next to the Caesars Forum conference center, where fans can watch the draft selections. The Las Vegas Raiders – how does that sound? – have seven picks in the draft, including picks No. 12 and 19 in the first round and five in the initial three rounds. This is the NFL as only Las Vegas can do it!

Book a Tahiti Village visit. 

Family friendly Tahiti Village Resort & Spa Las Vegas

Family fun at Tahiti Village!

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Family friendly Tahiti Village Resort & Spa Las Vegas
The Lane Family from Wisconsin enjoying a Thanksgiving visit to Tahiti Village.

With engaging onsite activities, aquatic attractions and spacious guest rooms featuring full kitchens and private bedrooms, Tahiti Village Resort & Spa is a popular choice of families looking for fun in Las Vegas. Although the busy summer season finds our Tahiti Village tropical beach pool and lazy river at their splish-splashiest, some families prefer to visit during the quiet and comparatively mild winter. One such family is the Lanes, from Wisconsin, who spent a portion of their Thanksgiving visit to Las Vegas at Tahiti Village.

Family friendly Tahiti Village Resort & Spa Las Vegas
Hanging out at Manihi Isle between the Tahiti Village pool and lazy river.

“We decided to run away from Thanksgiving this past year. Las Vegas, the sun and warmth, sounded like a great idea,” Jessica Lane blogged on her Memory Lane Photography website. “SO many people said, `Why Las Vegas?!?’ or `That’s not a very family friendly location!’ I had to laugh. Don’t get me wrong, Las Vegas is crazy and wild. But when you are a mom to four, we go to bed by 9pm. We miss all that craziness.”

Jessica, a commercial photographer specializing in weddings and lifestyle photography, enjoyed several days of fun at family friendly Tahiti Village Resort & Spa with her husband and four boys.

“We were impressed with the hotel and our stay,” she wrote. “I loved being surrounded by palm trees and Palapas. The landscape was beautiful.”

Our aquatic attractions and new Tiki Cove Arcade were also a hit with the Lanes, as they were with readers of the Las Vegas Review-Journal who voted Tahiti Village the Best Family Friendly Pool and Best Family Friendly Hotel in the last year’s Best of Las Vegas contest.

Family friendly Tahiti Village Resort & Spa Las Vegas
Creating vacation memories in the Tahiti Village sand entry beach pool.
Family friendly Tahiti Village Resort & Spa Las Vegas
Think we can make it to the other side?

“This resort has a Tahitian-themed pool area with sand beach entry and a renowned relaxing Lazy River, perfect for adults and kids! The Tiki Cove Arcade kept the Lane Boys busy! Jessica wrote, adding: “My family and I had so much fun. Thanks for providing a high quality of customer service and experience for our stay! We look forward to coming back in the summer!”

Thank you, Jessica! We look forward to seeing you and your family again next summer.

If you’ve never been to Tahiti Village, you simply must experience a getaway to Las Vegas’ tropical resort retreat. Featuring a sand-entry beach pool, lazy river, condo-style accommodations, two 24-hour hot tubs, an onsite restaurant and spa, and shuttle service to the Strip, Tahiti Village has everything you need to relax, unwind and get away from it all. In-room amenities in larger one-bedroom and two-bedroom units include a fully stocked kitchen, washer-dryer, jetted tub, steam shower and private balcony for your convenience and enjoyment. Book your stay today!

Family friendly Tahiti Village Resort & Spa Las Vegas
Having fun in the new Tiki Cove Arcade!
National Plan Your Vacation Day

Vegas Vacation at Tahiti Village

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Jan. 28, 2020, marks the second annual National Plan for Vacation Day, an idea that encourages Americans to plan their vacations early in the year and take them throughout the next 365 days. The Day is a leisure industry response to a curious trend that has seen Americans forego their vacation days, in many cases out of guilt, to work more often. In a nation of laborers who wear their work ethic like a badge of honor, vacations are well deserved but not often taken.

Las Vegas vacation Tahiti Village Resort & SpaGet this:

Did you know 662 million vacation days went unused by American workers last year?

Were you aware approximately 55 percent of Americans do not use their vacation time in a given year?

Can you believe 60 percent of millennials and 40 percent of people 35 and older actually feel guilty for using their vacation time?

Don’t be a statistic.

Our aquatic attractions and new Tiki Cove arcade were also a hit with the Lanes, as they were with readers of the Las Vegas Review-Journal who voted Tahiti Village the Best Family Friendly Pool and Best Family Friendly Hotel in the last year’s Best of Las Vegas contest.

If you’ve never been to Tahiti Village, you simply have to experience a getaway to Las Vegas’ tropical resort retreat. Featuring a sand-entry beach pool, lazy river, condo-style accommodations, two 24-hour hot tubs, an onsite restaurant and spa, and shuttle service to the Strip, Tahiti Village has everything you need to relax, unwind and get away from it all. In-room amenities in larger one-bedroom and two-bedroom units include a fully stocked kitchen, washer-dryer, jetted tub, steam shower and private balcony for your convenience and enjoyment.

Book a visit this year to Tahiti Village Resort & Spa by the end of January 2020 and you’ll receive 20 percent off your stay!

Plan a visit today to Tahiti Village, Las Vegas’ family friendly, tropical resort retreat!

New Year’s Eve in Las Vegas

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New Year’s Eve in Las Vegas comes with a license to party. Inhibitions, already in short supply on any garden variety visit to Vegas, are shed in even greater numbers when party animals of all stripes descend upon the city by the hundreds of thousands to celebrate the birth of another year. Resolutions? Those are for Jan. 1. On New Year’s Eve in Las Vegas it’s all about reveling in excess and wringing every last ounce of fun out of the remaining hours, minutes and seconds of the 365th day.

How one chooses to celebrate is up to the individual, but whatever your preference – dining with friends in extravagant restaurants on the Strip, dancing till dawn in the ubiquitous casino nightclubs, attending one of the numerous hotel parties, or braving the cold to watch the midnight fireworks spectacular blazing from the hotel rooftops – Las Vegas has no shortage of options.

LET’S PARTY!

Las Vegas is where the world (or maybe just Los Angeles) goes to party on New Year’s Eve, and tropical resort paradise Tahiti Village on the south end of the world famous Las Vegas Strip is the lodging choice of many New Year’s Eve visitor to Vegas. Our condo-style accommodations, with their private bedrooms and full kitchens in select units, offer uncommon space, comfort and privacy you won’t typically find in a standard Strip or downtown hotel room.

24-HOUR HOT TUBS!

And what could be better after a long night of celebrating New Year’s Eve on the Strip or downtown than returning to Tahiti Village in Las Vegas and sinking into one of our two 24-hour hot tubs, including one exclusively for adults? Not much, we tell you. Think of it as a renewing baptismal of body, mind and soul, a relaxing ritual that cleanses you of previous night’s party patina and primes a born-again you  for the year to come.

NEW YEAR’S EVE SHUTTLE TO THE LAS VEGAS STRIP

If you’re staying at Tahiti Village and planning to spend New Year’s Eve on the Strip, but wisely want to avoid the traffic and parking complications that come with driving yourself, be sure to hop aboard our Strip shuttle. It will be making deliveries from the front of Tahiti Village to the Tropicana Hotel all night long, depositing you into the heart of the action for an evening of fun, celebration and an eight-minute midnight fireworks display that will ring in 2020 with a breathtaking blast of shock and awe. We will also be picking you up from the same location and returning you to Tahiti Village all night until 1:45 a.m.

WATCH THE FIREWORKS

If you’re staying at family friendly Tahiti Village and prefer to enjoy a more sedate New Year’s Eve experience in Las Vegas, you can spend the hours leading up to midnight enjoying tempting menu items and lubricating beverages in our 17 South Booze & Bites, playing fun arcade games in our new Tahiti Cove, or simply relaxing in front of the TV in your comfortable guest suite. Just before midnight, be sure to head up to our 10th floor Sky View lounge in Tower 5 to witness an unobstructed view of the New Year’s Eve fireworks from the Strip. It offers the best view in town, if we do say so ourselves.

Click here and here for a comprehensive list of Las Vegas’ New Year’s Eve events and activities, including featured parties at TAO nightclub and the Stratosphere, concerts by Third Eye Blind and Christina Aguilera, and the popular Fremont Street Experience block party in downtown Las Vegas.

And be sure to visit family friendly Tahiti Village, Las Vegas’ favorite tropical resort paradise, in 2020. We wish you a happy and healthy new year!

Luke Brown, NFR Bull Rider

Rodeo star Luke Brown returns to Tahiti Village!

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Wrangler National Finals Rodeo superstar Luke Brown is back at family friendly Tahiti Village on Saturday, Dec. 7. Join us from 12:30-2 p.m. and watch Luke demonstrate the skills that have made him a 12-time NFR qualifier, a three-time average champion and the winner of more than $2 million in career earnings. He will sign autographs and pose for photos in addition to performing a roping demonstration.

Wrangler National Finals Rodeo star Luke Brown returns to Tahiti Village Resort & Spa in Las VegasLuke competes in team roping on the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo circuit, and is in Las Vegas for the NFR’s annual December visit.

Don’t miss this opportunity to meet the great Luke Brown at Tahiti Village’s Manihi Isle. It is conveniently located between the pool and lazy river. There will also be a drawing for a pair of Durango boots to be given away at the end of the meet and greet.

We hope to see you here at Tahiti Village, Las Vegas’ favorite tropical resort paradise.

Let’s talk turkey!

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As we prepare for Thanksgiving at family friendly Tahiti Village, Las Vegas’ favorite tropical resort paradise, we take this opportunity to tell you, ahead of the biggest eating day of the year in America, that our spacious Bora Bora and Royal Tahitian guest suites come with full kitchens and large ovens. So if you’re visiting us over the Thanksgiving holiday and would rather cook your own turkey than eat out, you’re in luck!

In the meantime, here are some interesting and surprising facts about America’s favorite sacrificial lamb, the turkey.

DID YOU KNOW?

Turkeys can exhibit more than 20 distinct vocalizations, including the distinctive male gobble that can be heard a mile away.

Turkeys recognize other turkeys by their distinctive voices. No two sound alike.

Turkeys have their own internal GPS. They have the ability to learn precise details of even the largest habitat.

Wild turkeys (the bird, not the beverage) can reach the old driving speed limit of 55 miles per hour in flight.  Due to selective breeding (for obvious fattening reasons), domestic turkeys are ill-suited for lift-off and unable to fly.

Turkeys can run up to 25 miles per hour. Fast, but not fast enough to evade their dinner table fate.

Founding father Benjamin Franklin is said to have proposed to make wild turkeys the symbolic American bird instead of the bald eagle. Who knows? If he had gotten his way we may have all been eating bald eagles for Thanksgiving.

Male turkeys will attack their reflection in mirrors or windows.

The red dangly appendage under a turkey’s chin is called a wattle. The red flappy thing atop the beak is called the snood, which can change color with the bird’s mood.

Turkey meat in and of itself does not make you sleepy. More likely your post-dinner lethargy is caused by the over-consumption of carbs and alcohol.

Turkeys have two stomachs and no teeth. How did they evolve to have an extra tummy? Lacking the chompers to break down food, turkeys developed an extra stomach to aid in digestion.

There is an organization called the National Turkey Foundation. No one knows what it does precisely, but apparently one of its missions is extracting pertinent turkey data that can be shared with journalists looking for pertinent turkey data. Like this: According to official National Turkey Foundation research, the vast majority of people (88 percent) eat turkey on Thanksgiving.

If you’re staying at Tahiti Village Resort & Spa in Las Vegas over Thanksgiving and planning to cook your own bird, we are pleased to share the following tips for a juicy and flavorful turkey from renowned celebrity chef Jason Diaz.

CHEF JASON’S COOKING TIPS

Chef Jason Diaz 17 South Booze & Bites Tahiti Village Las Vegas
Chef Jason Diaz

Brine the turkey at least 24 hours in a mixture of salt and sugar (equal parts), lemons, oranges and herb sachet (I like to use sage, thyme and whole peppercorns).

Rub compound butter made with unsalted butter, garlic and herbs under the skin of the bird and on the skin prior to roasting to infuse flavor and also help to keep the bird moist.

Baste the turkey during the roasting process to help ensure that the bird stays juicy.

One thing most people tend to do is overcook turkey, leaving it dry. Poultry should be cooked to an internal temperature of 165 degrees. I personally like to pull it out of the oven at around 160 degrees and allow it to rest. The carryover cooking process should take it to 165 degrees.

Thank you, Jason!

And happy Thanksgiving to all!

Visit family friendly Tahiti Village on the south end of the world famous Las Vegas Strip