Hot Vegas

The 2024 presidential election just gets weirder and weirder ... 'cause a statue of Donald Trump is towering over Las Vegas -- depicting the former prez in his birthday suit.

The art piece depicting the former POTUS was erected -- no pun intended -- just outside Las Vegas ... towering over Interstate 15 on the way to Utah. We've had to blur the pics a bit here, but you get the basic idea -- the prez wears no clothes.

Sources with direct knowledge tell us the statue stands 43-feet-tall and bears the name "Crooked and Obscene" ... a reference, we're told, to the controversial nature of both the man and the statue itself.

Dave Stewart grew up in Oakland and is one of the greatest players to ever put on an Athletics uniform ... and now the World Series MVP is opening on his organization bolting the bay for Las Vegas.

"I've kind of had time to prepare myself for [the last game in Oakland], but it doesn't really hit you until the actual moment," Stewart told TMZ Sports.

"At the ballpark, I was fine. Before I went to the ballpark, I was quite frankly a mess. I couldn't figure out what the heck was going on with me. At the time, the emotion, I mean, there were some tears."

The Wu-Tang Clan is back together and back for more with their booming Las Vegas residency this weekend -- and a healthy consensus of the legendary rap pack is picking their classic "Triumph" track as the marquee attraction!!!

TMZ Hip Hop linked with Cappadonna, Ghostface Killah and Inspectah Deck this week in between their rehearsals for “Wu-Tang Clan: The Saga Continues…The Las Vegas Residency” at The Theater at Virgin Hotels.

All 3 MCs agreed "Triumph" holds a special place in their hearts -- and the residency setlist. Deck's opening "bomb atomically" verse has been hailed as one of the greatest in hip hop history.

Diddy might think he's slick with the wild amount of baby oil the feds say he stashed, but experts in the sex industry say he's stocked up on the wrong substance ... and he's doing the dirty all wrong!

ICYMI ... the 14-page indictment against Diddy claims law enforcement recovered more than 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant, as well as other sexy supplies, in the raids on his Miami and Beverly Hills homes.

That news doesn't sit well with several Vegas-area brothels -- they tell us people should not use baby oil as a lube, 'cause it's bad for vaginal health and can warp condoms.

Merab Dvalishvili had himself quite the weekend ... he defeated Sean O'Malley for the UFC Bantamweight championship, and celebrated the win deep into the night at a Sin City hotspot!

We're told the 33-year-old Georgian hit up XS Nightclub inside Wynn Las Vegas around 1:30 AM ... rolling up to the joint with around 70 people to celebrate the massive moment -- and of course was showing off his new hardware!

MD received a welcome worthy of a champ -- he was greeted with illuminated LED marquees, massive photos, and an LED drumline as confetti flew in the air.

The UFC did not disappoint with the first-ever sporting event at The Sphere in Vegas ... and Jeff Bezos' fiancée, Lauren Sánchez, was right there chronicling the whole amazing night.

Lots of celebs hit up UFC 306, including Chris Brown, Taylor Lewan, Andrew Schulz, Bob Iger and Shannon Sharpe.

Of course, Jeff and Lauren sat cage-side -- seats were SUPER expensive, but they scraped up enough dough -- as she pulled out her cell phone and sprayed the venue with video for her followers.

Brian Ortega is one of the twenty fighters who will scrap on the UFC's one and ONLY Noche event at the Sphere ... something the veteran MMA star describes as an "honor."

"Bro, it's another level. We get to fight on a historic event by a promotion that's already known for making history. So it's an honor to be chosen to go in there, a featured fight and kind of kick off the night for both co-main and main event," T-City told TMZ Sports earlier this week, just days before his clash with 29-year-old Diego Lopes.

Remember, Ortega, 33, and Lopes were supposed to fight in June at UFC 303 ... but the fight was scrapped the same day the men were due in the Octagon after Brian, who was coming off a win over Yair Rodriguez, got sick and couldn't fight.

Dana White and the UFC are hosting one of their most ambitious cards ever at the Sphere on Saturday -- and that's saying something for a guy who built an entire "Fight Island" -- an event the UFC honcho tells us wouldn't be happening without Tom Brady!

White joined Babcock on TMZ Sports TV show (airs nightly on FS1) this week ... where he revealed TB12 was the inspo behind the first-ever Sphere sporting event.

"I went to the Sphere with Tom Brady. He invited me to come to U2 with him. Had Brady not invited me, I wouldn't even have been to the Sphere yet. It's almost like this was meant to be," the UFC CEO said of the mega event.

Joey Chestnut and his longtime nemesis Takeru Kobayashi went head-to-head in a hot dog eating contest for the first time in 15 years ... with Joey winning in a landslide and setting a record in the process.

The rivals matched up Monday on 'Unfinished Beef,' a Netflix special live from Las Vegas, and stuffed their faces full of wieners and buns ... with a huge crowd cheering them on.

Joey cruised to victory ... leading all the way. When the 10-minute timer expired, Joey's total sat at 83 hot dogs ... compared to a final tally of 66 for Kobayahsi.

Lil Baby loudly berated cops during his arrest in Vegas for possession of an illegal weapon, and the whole thing was caught on video.

An eyewitness tells TMZ, a squadron of cops rolled into the Encore Las Vegas Monday night and came out with the rapper in handcuffs.

As Vegas Metro PD officers were patting the rapper down near a police vehicle behind the hotel, Lil Baby shouted he has a license for the gun, and implored officers to let him go.

6:36 AM PT -- Lil Baby's attorneys, Drew Findling and David Chesnoff, tell TMZ ... "To be clear, Dominique Jones has a valid Georgia Carrying a Concealed Weapon (CCW) Permit. On his behalf we are actively investigating the facts and circumstances surrounding his arrest in Las Vegas."

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ -- Lil Baby was seen at the Encore in Vegas in the club, and was seen on video being passed a gun. After cops arrived and investigated ... he was arrested for carrying a concealed firearm without a permit.

Nevada does not recognize Carry Concealed Weapon permits issued in Georgia.

Lil Baby landed behind bars Monday in Las Vegas ... 'cause he got busted for possessing an illegal weapon.

The rapper (real name: Dominique Jones) was arrested Monday night for carrying a concealed weapon without a permit – a felony – and hauled off to the Clark County Detention Center, where he was being held on $5,000 bail.

Janet Jackson is officially back to wow fans in Las Vegas ... and now we know exactly when the superstar will return to Sin City for a new residency.

As we previously reported ... JJ was in the final stages of signing a residency deal with Resorts World ... and the plan was for the show to kick off in December.

Now we know the deal is solid ... with Janet sharing via social media the residency will kick off New Year's week -- specifically Dec. 30 ... with tickets going on sale Aug. 28.

The Kid LAROI hit up the mecca of partying for his 21st birthday celebration ... celebrating the milestone at a famous nightclub in Sin City.

The "NIGHTS LIKE THIS" singer turned 21 Saturday, so naturally he was in Las Vegas ... ordering a round of shots 30 minutes into his big day.

LAROI hit up XS Nightclub inside Wynn Las Vegas around 12:30 AM with a 10-person entourage ... his crew sucked down tequila shots and he sipped on his drink of choice -- an Aperol Spritz. Those first legal beverages hit different!!!

A huge police union in Las Vegas is beefing with the NFL over one of its new credentialing policies ... and if the matter doesn't get sorted out soon -- it could mean big headaches are on the horizon for the Raiders.

According to Steve Grammas -- the president of the Las Vegas Police Protective Association -- Roger Goodell's org. has implemented a new series of protocols for police members working games this season ... and Grammas says he's got issues with them.

Specifically, Grammas says The Shield wants cops to submit biometric data -- including a picture of themselves -- on an app in order to gain clearance to do their jobs in specific parts of Allegiant Stadium.

Ne-Yo's not only unlocked his brand new Las Vegas residency ... he can unlock the whole damn city now, after the mayor's surprise gift ahead of the R&B megastar's first show in his hometown!

LV Mayor Carolyn Goodman shocked Ne-Yo two songs into his Human Love Rebellion residency ... coming onstage to present him with a Key to the City, leaving him speechless in his leopard-print playa suit.

Ne-Yo has long credited his upbringing at the Las Vegas Academy of Arts for molding him into the Grammy Award-winning, multi-platinum musician he is today ... and this proclamation thanked him for always giving back.

Kamala Harris has been drawing major musical acts to her campaign events ... and now she can add one more to the list -- DJ D-Nice.

The Harris for President Campaign tells TMZ ... DJ D-Nice will perform at Harris' rally this Saturday in Vegas. We're told both the VP and her Democratic running mate, Governor Tim Walz, will take the stage.

D-Nice will be serving up tunes and hyping the crowd during the event. There aren't many people better on the 1s and 2s ... you'll recall, D-Nice's "Club Quarantine" DJ sets on Instagram Live became a massive hit during the pandemic, sometimes drawing more than 100K people at a time.