2015 Guide to the olympia

I’ve probably written an Olympia guide every year for the last couple of decades. I think I’ve even written one for this magazine before. The point is, these things can get tedious—not only for me to write but also for all you veterans reading it. From a marketing perspective, however, common practice requires I write this couched, at least for the most part, to people who have never been to the Olympia. And, every year that’s what I’ve done. On top of my first rather complicated attempts at “guiding” one through the Olympia, a few times I took an extended trip and visited Vegas gyms, bodybuilder hangouts, pool bars, restaurants and nightclubs and chronicled my antics, to the shock and awe of my readers. During the economic crunch, I traveled on the cheap and tried to show how you could still make it to Vegas and buy Olympia tickets, hotel, transportation, and food for not much money. I stayed in a dump and dragged my poor girlfriend with me. It’s a miracle she still married me after that. I’ve done it all for the sake of the uninitiated to try to make it interesting, informative, and useful. This year’s guide is going to be a bit different. It’s what a seasoned veteran would suggest a trip to Vegas to contain, including the zenith of our beloved bodybuilding.

But, first we have to fix something…

The only problem with holding the Olympia in Vegas is that the Olympia is in Vegas. It poses two problems, actually. First, if you’re really there for the Olympia, then you’re pretty much occupied from Thursday to Sunday. The only time you’ll have free is Thursday night after the press conference. That brings us to the second problem: At any moment of the day or night, there’s too much going on in Vegas. There’s absolutely no reason to sleep. In fact, on a cloudy weekend, with mildly tinted sunglasses and the right limo driver, you’ll never know the difference between night and day. With all that’s going on around you, it’s hard to fit in the Expo, the press conference, Meet the Olympians, all the prejudgings and the finals and still take in the amazing restaurants, nightclubs, first-class entertainment, and the rest of that which makes Vegas famous. I mean, you’ve traveled all the way to Sin City! You can’t live in an Olympia bubble for four days with all that’s going on around you. It’s like going to New York and not eating pizza! Vegas is overkill, way too much to condense, overwhelming, actually. I can remember coming back home on a few occasions with what I thought was brain damage.

So, the first thing we all need to agree upon is that if you live any farther away from Vegas than a two-and-a-half-hour car ride, then you have to spend more than just Thursday through Sunday in town. I would say Wednesday to Wednesday. That gives you Wednesday and Thursday nights to do something “Vegas,” then you have men’s prejudging Friday night and Saturday night finals, you’ll party your face off Saturday night after the show, recover Sunday, and you still get Monday and Tuesday nights to dine out at a great Vegas restaurant, see out-of-town friends who are also in for the show and were otherwise too busy during the Olympia to do anything and savvy enough to have stayed on. You’ll even have time for one more monster buffet breakfast before you leave on Wednesday. This also gives you Thursday morning up until the press conference, and all day Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday to shop, sightsee, chill at the lounge pools, go see the Hoover Dam, fly over the Grand Canyon, bungee jump off the Stratosphere, whatever. You deserve it. The only place I see where you could possibly trim this is by arriving early enough on Thursday to make the press conference (12:00) and leaving on Tuesday. But that would be really pushing it. You need the week. Plan for it and go. You know it’s worth it.

Obviously, I’m giving you my optimal scenario here. The intent is to relax your schedule and build in some breathing room because, let’s face it, there’s no place like Vegas; there’s too much to do and the mystique of it all draws our kind into the fold like rednecks to a NASCAR event. The woeful excess of Vegas was tailor-made for the Olympia set. Certainly, there are other desirable locales around the world, but not for Vegas stuff. If you’re of the mindset that knows what I’m talking about, then you know what I’m talking about. Regardless, many of you are not going to be able to parlay your trip to the Olympia into a weeklong stint in Sin City. I know that. However long you can stay, it will be worth every drop of sweat, every penny and every hour waiting.

The Olympia’s growth is on the order of what happened after Jack planted his magic beans, especially in recent years. The promoters seem to have really sunk their teeth deep into our industry and are giving the fans a ton of value on top of awarding the competitors more money, opportunity, and notoriety than ever before. Indeed, this is a new era for the Olympia. The post-Weider era of bodybuilding is not only grander and more refined but has also grown to the point where we are wrapping up the 2015 season with an Olympia on steroids.

VIP tickets were sold out months ago. If you’re lucky enough to have gotten your hands on the coveted VIP or Platinum packages, then do as much of it as you possibly can. Just being able to get into Meet the Olympians an hour before the droves of commoners is a luxury worth the price. With or without the prestige, one thing we all must accept is the fact that Moses led fewer people out of the desert than the Olympia draws into it. Accept it, the crowds are going to be insane. All that means is that we have something in common with a lot of people whose passion draws them from all corners of the globe. It feels good to be part of an industry that attracts so many people. Imagine how you’d feel if no one showed up. The Super Bowl is packed, the World Series games are jammed, as is any world championship. The Olympia is no different. All it means is, don’t expect to do anything in a hurry. Expect to wait and expect to see some really unique sights, especially at the Expo. The Olympia is indeed crowded, but, as far as crowds go, you’d have to go to the AVN convention to one-up what you’ll see strutting around the Olympia Expo.

The Expo is where you’re going to spend all day Friday and Saturday. Not only are the vendor booths a major attraction, but apart from the men’s evening finals, men’s bodybuilding prejudging, the press conference and Meet the Olympians, everything is held at the convention center. “Everything” is an ambiguous term begging to be quantified. This year, in addition to men’s bodybuilding, men’s and women’s physique, figure, fitness and bikini, the Olympia is playing host to 17 other events, including model searches, a strongman challenge, Olympic wrestling, CrossFit, powerlifting, boxing, and a variety of martial arts, all of it included with your $30 Expo ticket. There’s a lot going on, and there’s no way to see all of it. Pick and choose wisely.

Where to stay? This has been a big, decade-long debate since the Olympia moved from the Mandalay Bay in 2005, where all the contest events and the Expo were contained under one luxurious roof. As you probably know, today the Expo is held at the Las Vegas Convention Center while, diagonally all the way across town, the hotel and finals venue are at the rather pedestrian Orleans Hotel. Okay, maybe “pedestrian” is a bit harsh; let’s just say the Orleans tends to play host to the oxygen tank-toting set, while the Mandalay made a much more suitable environment for the likes of us. Plus, you didn’t have to leave. The Mandalay had a killer casino, amazing pools, nightclubs, a mall, and several incredible restaurants, not to mention the Expo and the Olympia. And, it was conveniently located right across the street from the airport. It was absolutely the best place to host the Olympia. But, as with all things in life, nothing lasts forever. I will have to say, however, that over the course of the last decade, the Olympia promoters have done an absolutely outstanding job with what they have to work with. For their efforts alone, and a bit of sprucing up at the Orleans, where to stay is an easy choice today. If you’re going to take advantage of all the Olympia has to offer, then stay at the Orleans. It’s logistically the wisest thing to do, mainly because it eliminates the next biggest issue: getting around.

At the Olympia, there are three kinds of getting around. The first and best is, of course, a limo. But, as most of us won’t be rolling in such style, we’re left to the other two, depending on where you’re staying. If you’re staying at the Orleans, then you’re already at the location for the press conference, Meet the Olympians, men’s prejudging, and finals. The only other place you have to go is the Convention Center, and there’s a never-ending stream of plush, air-conditioned motor coaches to take you to and from the Convention Center for free. If you stay someplace else, then you’ll be traveling by car, either with you at the wheel or a driver, as in cab driver. That means, if you stay any other hotel, on or off the strip, even the Hyatt at the Convention Center, you will be spending a small fortune on cabs and sitting in traffic. Also, the Olympia is held in September—in the desert, where daytime temperatures are routinely over 100. And, if Vegas has a shortage of anything, it’s cabs and shade. You can wait 15 or 20 minutes or more on a cab line outside a casino or the Convention Center. You’re going to sweat through everything you have on, and if you have your girl with you, her hair and makeup will melt. You want to have a miserable time? Drag your well-turned-out girl all over Vegas, disheveled by the heat the wind.

The best choice is the Orleans. It just is. I learned the hard way. Now, if you’re following my suggestion and spending the week, then check out of the Orleans on Sunday and into any of your choice of the swankest hotels in town for three nights. If you look online ahead of time, you can find screaming deals for midweek stays at some of Vegas’ finest hotels. It’s kind of like dividing your vacation in two.

At the end of the day, even if all you can squeeze out of reality is just the Thursday through Sunday Olympia-focused trip, you’re still going to have a trip to remember. There are very few places you can go in the world and be among so many of your own kind. There is no better level of competition, and there is no more exciting bodybuilding show to see. Sitting in the Orleans Arena, among other bodybuilders and fans of bodybuilding, watching the best bodybuilders in the world is probably the single most memorable experience you will have in our world and one of the most unique experiences you can have in the rest of the world.

Where to train. The sad state of evolution has brought down the famed Gold’s Gym that was on Flamingo and Sand Hill. Several other big gyms have met the same fate. But, if you really insist on training while you’re in Vegas, I think these three will cover all the bases:

Iron house
3255 St Rose Pkwy
You can’t get a bad workout here. If it were a little dirtier, it would be hardcore.

David Barton Gym
410 S Rampart Blvd
Clubby and cool. Out of the ordinary. Really modern post-industrial decor. Not hardcore, but interesting. And pretty well equipped.

And good ole LA Fitness
Two locations in Vegas:
7200 Montessouri St
6356 Spring Mountain Rd
Your basic “health club.” They’re all the same.

Top 5 steakhouses:
Bodybuilders love steak. Especially me. “Best steak” to me means that I’m going to get a perfectly grilled (Pittsburgh style), aged prime plus steak that I can’t get anywhere else, served impeccably and in a comfortable environment. Vegas restaurants are privy to the very top grades of imported and domestic beef. According to a food broker I know, even the hundred-year-old revered steakhouses in New York and Chicago get Vegas’ leftovers. The best of the best goes to Vegas. So, the best steak is the one that is a combination of the highest possible grade of beef and the most skilled hand in grilling it. In my opinion (yours may vary, but I’m a food snob), these five places are where I’ve had, by the criteria I mentioned, the “best steak.”

Nine Steakhouse at the Palms
Strip Steak at the Mandalay Bay
Del Frisco’s Steakhouse, 3925 Paradise Road
Vic and Anthony’s Steakhouse at the Golden Nugget
Delmonico Steakhouse at the Venetian

Top 3 Best Buffets:
To me, a Vegas buffet is more theater than dining. They’re world-famous, with one revered establishment trying to outdo the other. There is no possible way anyone can eat everything at a Vegas buffet. They are just too huge, too complex, too varied, and just … too much (like everything else). Any ranking casino from the Rio to the MGM has an absolutely outstanding, world-class, wretchedly excessive buffet. You really can’t go wrong. But, if you have the money and the taste buds for a large variety of truly exquisite flavors and presentations, then you will not find anywhere on Earth better than these three:

Buffet at the Bellagio
Buffet at the Wynn
Buffet at the Venetian

For more about the Olympia prize money and to see who's competing, click on the links above!