Downtown casino exec rooting for Las Vegas F1 ahead of inaugural Neon City Festival

Downtown Las Vegas casinos and attractions are ready to launch the inaugural Neon City Festival, but Plaza CEO Jonathan Jossel says it’s designed to be the alternative to the F1 Grand Prix, not in any way a rival. 

Neon City is a three-day music and food festival, boasting headline acts such as All American Rejects, Lit, and Charlotte Sands. Entry is completely free and available to all ages (even if some of the casinos will not be), with activities stretching out all over the Downtown area. 

It will feature four stages, numerous food and drink vendors, and attractions such as the Strat observation tower, Neon Boneyard, and Mob Museum speakeasy are also offering discounted rates. There will also be nightly fireworks at 10pm at Plaza, and drone shows as well. 

The timing of the festival is obviously not a coincidence. Just down the road, the Las Vegas Strip is hosting the second edition of the controversial F1 Grand Prix. While many are calling for F1 to be slung out of Vegas, Jossel says Neon City is about learning the lessons of last year and finding a way to prosper alongside it instead.

“The concept of it is real simple,” Jossel told casinos.com. “When they announced F1 (for 2023), everyone was very excited. There was going to be a huge thing for this city. As it turned out, the media and the city didn't do a good job of presenting that. 

“All these street closures and obvious obstacles weren't going to be as bad as they were presented last year. What happened is all the hotels raised their rates way too high, assuming that this was going to be another Super Bowl or another major convention. 

“And the customers, the traditional Vegas customers that aren't into F1 and aren't here for that stayed away because of the issues. Then the F1 customers didn't really come because probably it was way too expensive. 

“Tickets were expensive, and there's obviously a question about how much demand in Las Vegas there is [for F1]. It's more of a rodeo town, a NASCAR rodeo town than an F1 town. It's going to take time to build that and educate the customer on that. 

“So last year was a really, really bad weekend for everyone Downtown. It was great for some of the big players on the Strip, and afterwards myself and the owner of the next door casino (Circa), Derek Stevens, went to meet with some of the operators on the Strip and basically said: ‘look, it's great that it was good for you guys, but it was terrible for us and we need help.'

“They didn't all say it was great for them. You know, if you own 12 properties, half did really well. Half didn't do well.

“We went around in circles and met with everyone multiple times. Different people from F1. How can it get better? And I came to the realization that F1 can't be good for downtown. There's just no way because there's not enough people coming. 

“And if you are coming for F1, you want to be on the strip within the footprint of the track. You don't want to stay Downtown. We were talking about should we bring race cars down here or drivers, program around F1, but our better plan was instead of being anti-F1 or a part of it, let's just be the alternative. And that's where the Neon Festival came up with. 

“Derek Stevens took the lead. They drove it. They really played a big part in it. But every single casino in Downtown is a part of the Neon Festival as founders, and we're all supporting it. I'm going to be doing fireworks here. Everyone's chipping in on their own bit, and it's going to be a thing for Downtown and we're all working together on it.”

While Jossel makes no secret of the fact that F1 is the catalyst for the Neon City Festival, he is keen to remind everyone that it’s also just a continuation of what Las Vegas does – and has always done – better than anyone else in the world.

What it most certainly is not is a rebellion against F1 in any way.

“Neon City is directly a born out of F1, yes,” he tells us. “But it’s just taking what is historically a slow weekend around Thanksgiving, and then last year with F1, and saying: ‘how can we make it better?’ 

“Las Vegas is brilliant at looking at the slow weekends and finding ways to program and create a business around that. For example, when they put the NFR (National Rodeo Finals) over those slow weeks in December.

“So the Neon City Festivals are just designed to make it a better weekend for the Downtown hotel casinos. It's a free festival with some really, really good talent. If you're into music, there's something for everyone. 

“I suspect it'll end up being a much heavier local presence than tourists. I think locals are going to absolutely love it. Because what better way to spend your weekend than downtown with free fireworks, free music, great food offerings. You can just walk from place to place and enjoy it.

“Downtown is known for parties, great shows, great entertainment, giving people a good time. Why not keep Neon City going? I see it becoming a self-sustaining festival no matter what happens with F1.”

That open air, free-roaming nature is certainly a key piece to the Neon City Festival’s design. It’s not a wrist-banded event, there are no tickets, no bottleneck entry points. In many ways, it’s really just an extension of what already makes the Fremont Street Experience such a brilliant and popular attraction.

“On Fremont Street itself, you might not notice a big difference to be honest other than its much bigger talent. I mean, you can have all American rejects or Lit or some of the big bands playing out there versus some of the regular entertainment, but other than that, it will have the same feel – just a bit turbo charged and sprawling out into all areas of Downtown.”

Note: Avoiding the festivities this weekend? Check out our list of social casinos to play from the comfort of your home.

That area includes The Strat, a property that often struggles with a bit of an identity crisis. The observation tower is an iconic part of the Las Vegas Strip skyline, but its roots are Downtown. 

Like every other area of Downtown such as the Neon Boneyard, The Strat will be hosting events, special attraction offers, and guest food vendors. 

A key question in all this, though, is if Neon City is borne of F1, is it intrinsically linked to it? The 2024 race will be the second of three guaranteed by in the initial agreement, but nothing about the future of F1 Las Vegas has been confirmed yet. The current edition could be the penultimate, or it could turn into a ten-year deal. 

Jossel, though, says that while Downtown are finding ways to successfully co-exist with F1 at this time of year, Neon City should be seen as an event in its own right. And, most importantly, Downtown properties are rooting for F1 to become a more loved part of the Las Vegas spectacle. 

“Could they endear themselves to the town in the future? Perhaps. And I hope they do, because I do get the angle of it's a great billboard for Las Vegas. And, visually, it's exceptional for Downtown. 

“I don't know their business model. I can't speak to their plans, but I do understand that how they endear themselves to the community will be vital. They’ve got one more year after this year and we'll see if they figure it out.”

For full details on Neon City Festival, check out their website.