Hot Vegas

Jake E. Lee, famous for being Ozzy Osbourne's guitarist, says he's lucky to still be alive after being shot 3 times in Las Vegas ... and he says he was dodging bullets on the street.

The musician just broke his silence on Tuesday's shooting ... he says he was hit by 3 bullets and the cops found 15 shell casings at the scene, which he says means the shooter emptied their clip at him.

Jake says he was walking his dog Coco near his home when the shots rang out ... and he says he started dodging bullets ... but was hit in the forearm, foot and back.

50 Cent is officially heading to Sin City for his first-ever residency, and he’s cashing in big time for the gig ... TMZ has learned.

Vegas sources familiar with the situation tell TMZ ... the rap mogul has locked down a massive $15 million deal for a series of 6 shows at PH Live inside Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino.

We're told the residency, which will be one of the largest hip hop residency's ever, will kick off in December, with one of the performances being an exclusive New Year’s Eve celebration presented by 50 Cent’s own Sire Spirits brand.

Lisa Vanderpump has expanded her real estate portfolio to include a new multi-million-dollar home in Sin City ... TMZ has learned.

Sources familiar with the situation tell TMZ ... LVP dropped around $5 million on the new pad in the Vegas area last week. We're told she toured the property just days after returning from filming Season 2 of Hulu's "Vanderpump Villa" in Europe, and closed on the house 3 days later.

The luxurious new pad sits on a golf course and features a massive pool with breathtaking desert views. Our sources tell us Lisa’s already settled in and has the place decorated to her taste.

McDonald's is going cluckin' crazy in Sin City ... taking over the Las Vegas Sphere with an advertisement for its new Chicken Big Mac -- and, reportedly paying a huge tab to do so.

The fast-food franchise is advertising its "winner-winner chicken dinner" new sandwich on the outside of the iconic Sphere in Vegas ... with a close-up of the delectable snack turning slowly around the outside of the multi-billion-dollar arena.

Watch the video ... that mouth-watering OG Big Mac spins before transforming into its chicken version -- visible basically anywhere in Las Vegas, in an effort to get people to rush to their nearest Mickey D's for a bit of bird.

The Tropicana, a famed Las Vegas Strip hotel and casino, ended its nearly 70-year run with a showstopping display ... courtesy of fireworks, drones and 2,000 pounds of explosives.

Check it out ... before the huge amount of explosives were detonated, the famed resort thanked Sin City for its many years, setting off colorful fireworks and putting on a drone presentation -- made up of 555 drones creating a casino chip design that featured the Tropicana logo.

As the light show came to a close, the Tropicana stood tall for a few moments -- before crumbling to the ground in less than 30 seconds ... bringing with it the hotel's iconic history of Louis Armstrong and Frank Sinatra performances, Folies Bergère shows, and more.

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.