Vegas Magazine - Niche Media - There is a place beyond the crowds, beyond the ropes, where dreams are realized and success is celebrated. You are invited.
Issue link: http://digital.greengale.com/i/753186
IT'S A WEEKEND NIGHT—OR ANY NIGHT— IN LAS VEGAS, and at least a few thousand people are enacting their #whathappensinvegas fantasies. On one end of town, Steve Aoki could be "caking" a few lucky fans among 7,000 packed into Hakkasan before spraying them with Champagne. Holly Madison might be busting out of a Monarch butterfly costume at the Electric Daisy Carnival. A newly married couple weaves its way through a casino floor; a massive, animatronic squirrel picks up an acorn in Bellagio's Conservatory; an adult-sized Minion chats with a hirsute angel in pink pasties on Fremont Street as zipliners shoot themselves from a 77-foot-high slot machine overhead. You get the picture: Instagram seems purpose-built for Vegas. For the record, we'll always dispute the idea that "Vegas doesn't have character, it has characters." But some of its characters are capturing the city and its surrounds at their wildest, wackiest, and most naturally beautiful. Watch them watch Vegas, and you'll get some of the best insider views on everything from our nightlife and nature to fashion and food. HOLLY MADISON | AUTHOR/ENTERTAINER @hollymadison Few have mastered the art of reinvention like Holly Madison, who first seared America's eyeballs on E!'s The Girls Next Door, but is better known now by fans as mom to two Insta-gorgeous children and wife of Insomniac founder Pasquale Rotella, and a bubblegum-sexy social media presence. The two-time author—Down the Rabbit Hole, about life with Hugh Hefner, became a #1 New York Times bestseller, which she followed with the recently released The Vegas Diaries—isn't stopping at writing books (though she's currently at work on a YA novel). "I don't put myself in a box," she says. "After I've accomplished a goal, I move on to something new." And if you're not already among her 4 million social media followers, don't expect "just 'Hey, look at me in a bikini' pictures.' My followers and I bond over being a new mom, music festivals, travel, or our nerdy fangirl obsessions. I try to include all aspects of my life on Instagram." Inspirations: "Old Hollywood visuals. Also: Disney, Harry Potter, Star Wars, Game of Thrones." Most memorable image: "A photo of my newborn son's hand on mine." Vegas love: "It's a city full of interesting characters and eccentrics, and I love a good eccentric." Shopping with Holly: "I love Palazzo (they have my favorite Louboutin store) and the Dolce & Gabbana at Crystals stocks amazing pieces." 20 minutes in Vegas: "Somewhere with an amazing view, like Lago at Bellagio." Most missed old school Vegas venue: "The Crazy Horse Paris. My friends and I used to go there all the time." Best season: "Fall in Vegas. The weather is nice, the city's not too busy, and everything feels like it's starting over." For more on Madison's best of Vegas, go to vegasmagazine.com. PHOTOGRAPHY BY ALIVE COVERAGE FOR INSOMNIAC EVENTS (EDC); DENISE TRUSCELLO (BOB MACKIE COSTUME); LKB PHOTOGRAPHY (CHANDELIER); COURTESY OF @HOLLYMADISON (REMAINING IMAGES) In her own words! clockwise from above: "Before Jubilee closed, they kindly let me borrow one of their iconic Bob Mackie costumes for a shoot. I love the classic showgirl look (though not enough to put my hair up, apparently, haha)."; "There is this great art wall in the NICU where my son had to stay for a few days after he was born. This was the day I brought him home!"; "My husband had a bunch of tiny flamingo floaties at the house from a company party, so I decided to take a bath with them, because why not?"; "This one is at my Vegas home. I'm obsessed with chandeliers, the bigger the better."; "I love all the amazing pictures from EDC, especially this one because the color palette is so fabulous!"