Drink Las Vegas Adds Ticketed Events Across Four MGM Resorts

Drink Las Vegas has opened a detailed ticketed program for its first four day festival, scheduled for September 24 to 27, 2026. The new event spreads chef dinners, cocktail sessions, tastings, seminars, and late night programs across Bellagio, ARIA Resort and Casino, The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, and Park MGM.

The practical change is that travelers can now compare specific events instead of planning around a general festival announcement. As of July 13, the official calendar shows entry prices from 95 dollars to 2,500 dollars, several sold out gatherings, firm venue assignments, and a strict rule limiting every event to guests age 21 or older.

The published schedule turns the festival into a bookable trip

The official Drink Las Vegas event calendar now names programs by day, price, host, room, and resort. That level of detail matters because the festival is not one admission gate or one continuous tasting floor, and a traveler must buy access to individual experiences or select passes.

Thursday begins with a mix of brand programming and seated dining. Options include a spirit aged steak and cocktail dinner at The Cosmopolitan, an Opus One wine table at ARIA, a zodiac inspired dinner at ARIA, and an opening night tasting hosted by Jean Georges Vongerichten with Shaquille O’Neal at the ARIA Yucca Pool.

Friday expands into daytime panels, lunches, dinner programs, a James Beard Foundation tasting, and a late night Park MGM party hosted by Roy Choi. The schedule places events in distinct restaurants and meeting spaces, so booking two sessions on the same day also requires checking the property and the time between them.

Saturday carries the largest cluster of choices, from an 11 AM wine seminar at Bellagio to a 1,000 dollar Opus One table and a 2,500 dollar Hundred Acre wine dinner at ARIA. The day ends with tasting and cocktail programs, while Sunday closes with seminars and lunches at Bellagio and The Cosmopolitan.

Prices vary more than a normal festival pass

Many seminars and panels start at 95 dollars, making them the lowest listed entry point on the current calendar. Brand experiences begin around 150 dollars, several cocktail sessions start near 195 dollars, and the major walkaround tastings commonly begin at 250 dollars before any taxes or checkout fees.

Seated lunches and dinners often start between 195 dollars and 350 dollars. The premium wine tables move into a different price tier, with Opus One listed from 1,000 dollars and the Hundred Acre dinner listed from 2,500 dollars, so travelers should not treat the festival as one uniformly priced attraction.

The range also changes the value of a weekend plan. A guest interested mainly in education can build around one or two lower priced seminars, while a traveler focused on celebrity chefs or rare wines may spend more on one meal than another visitor spends across several sessions.

Some limited access gatherings are already marked sold out, including the welcome party and after party listings on Thursday and the closing party on Saturday. That does not mean the whole weekend is unavailable, but it shows why travelers should confirm the exact event status before making a nonrefundable purchase.

Four resorts make location part of the ticket decision

Bellagio hosts programs in spaces such as Jasmine, Spago, The Vault, Sadelle’s, and The Mayfair Supper Club. ARIA uses locations including Iris, Carbone, Blossom, Jean Georges Steakhouse, Gymkhana, and the Yucca Pool, while The Cosmopolitan and Park MGM carry their own meal, panel, and nightlife sessions.

That distribution creates variety, but it also means a traveler should read the venue line before buying. Two events can share a festival date without being close enough for a rushed connection, especially when a seated meal ends near the start of a tasting or a late session at another property.

The festival FAQ says the complimentary ARIA Express Tram serves Bellagio, Vdara, The Shops at Crystals, ARIA, and Park MGM from 8 AM to 2 AM, with trains expected every six to eight minutes. The Cosmopolitan is not listed as a tram stop, so some itineraries may still require walking or another local transfer.

Visitors flying into the city can use Deep Arrival’s guide to getting from Las Vegas airport to the Strip for the arrival leg. The festival itself is concentrated in one central resort corridor, which makes a nearby stay more useful than treating all Las Vegas hotels as equally convenient.

The strict rules deserve attention before checkout

Drink Las Vegas requires every attendee to be at least 21 years old and says no one younger will be admitted, including infants in carriers or strollers. Guests also need valid identification, and the festival warns that entry can be denied when security cannot verify age.

Tickets are nonrefundable according to the current FAQ. That condition raises the importance of checking the date, time, venue, dietary fit, and travel schedule before purchase, because the official policy does not describe a general change of mind refund path after a buyer commits.

Small personal bags are allowed only within a nine inch by five inch by two inch limit. Clear bags, fanny packs, and crossbody bags can qualify when they stay within those dimensions, but the festival says oversized or otherwise unapproved bags will not be admitted into event spaces.

The organizer also says it cannot guarantee accommodation for dietary restrictions. Seated event buyers can state restrictions during checkout, but that opportunity should not be read as a promise that every menu can be changed, particularly for tightly structured tasting dinners.

Independent reporting confirms the four resort format

Travel Weekly reported on July 11 that more than 30 MGM venues will participate from September 24 to 27. Its report independently confirms the four resort footprint, the mix of chef dinners and tasting events, and that tickets and VIP passes are on sale.

The publication also names a broad group of participating chefs and mixologists, including Wolfgang Puck, Masaharu Morimoto, Tom Colicchio, Michael Mina, Roy Choi, and Christine Kim. The official calendar supplies the load bearing booking details, while the independent report supports the scale and first edition status of the event.

This is therefore more than a generic Las Vegas food roundup. It is a dated new festival with a published booking choice, named resort locations, different price tiers, limited capacity, and operating rules that can materially change how a visitor builds a September trip.

How to choose a useful event combination

Start with the kind of experience rather than the celebrity name. Panels and seminars suit visitors who want a shorter educational session, walkaround tastings provide broader sampling, and seated meals create a longer commitment that can dominate an afternoon or evening.

Next, compare the resort and start time. Keeping consecutive sessions at one property or along the ARIA Express route reduces transfer risk, while a plan that moves between Bellagio, The Cosmopolitan, and Park MGM needs more buffer than the map may initially suggest.

Finally, add the full cost before purchasing. The listed starting price may not represent every ticket tier, and a festival day can also include lodging, transport, regular meals, and the opportunity cost of leaving time between nonrefundable events.