I went to Super Bowl parties hosted by Shaq, Gronk, and Guy Fieri, and they couldn't have been more different (2024)

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The weekend kicked off with Shaq's Fun House, an annual Super Bowl party hosted by Shaquille O'Neal.

O'Neal launched Shaq's Fun House —described as "part carnival, part music festival" —in 2018.

This year's edition was held at XS nightclub in the Wynn Las Vegas hotel on Friday and featured performances from Lil Wayne, Diplo, and O'Neal himself (aka DJ Diesel).

The stars came out in full force to party with the NBA legend.

Among the celebrities at Shaq's Fun House were Ciara and Russell Wilson, Guy Fieri, Nick and Vanessa Lachey, Casey Affleck, Flavor Flav, Fat Joe, and the Chainsmokers.

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But only the VIP party was being held indoors.

XS is more than 40,000 square feet and has both a massive indoor and outdoor space. I was excitedly regaling my boyfriend with stories about how much I loved the club — one of my favorites in Vegas — as we walked into the party.

But we quickly realized that, on this night at least, our access was extremely limited. While the celebrities and VIPs were partying inside the club, everyone who had bought a general-admission ticket could explore only the outdoor areas of the venue.

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GA ticketholders braved 44-degree temperatures as they partied.

Many attendees were huddled under heat lamps while others wore robes decorated with cherries, which I learned had been handed out for free at the beginning of the night.

A group of guys —dubbed "the bros in robes" —told me they had paid $150 each for GA and had been at the party since 10 p.m.

"Are you freezing cold?" I asked.

"Not anymore!" they yelled.

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Some aspects of Shaq's Fun House felt more like a commercial than a carnival.

There appeared to be more sponsor booths than carnival activities at Shaq's Fun House. I spotted a few games throughout, as well as some very cool stilt walkers and jugglers, but the event didn't really feel like an over-the-top carnival. And how do you not go over the top in a place like Sin City?

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A DJ set by O'Neal's son was a surprising highlight.

I've long known about O'Neal's DJ alter ego, but I had no idea his son Myles was also a DJ. He threw down a house-heavy set that my boyfriend and I both loved even though we could barely see the DJ booth, which was facing the crowd inside XS.

As we enjoyed the music, I began speaking to fans, many of whom had come to the party because of their love for Shaq. An older couple behind me happily danced together, and I wondered how long they had been married.

"We met five minutes ago," they told me.

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But the mood of the crowd around us began to sour as DJ Irie took the mic to introduce O'Neal.

"If you love ginger sauce, make some goddamn noise," DJ Irie yelled, for reasons I'm still trying to figure out.

The crowd continued to wait for O'Neal's set to begin, but DJ Irie instead began talking about Safety Shot and Pluto TV —two of the night's sponsors.

"Someone turn the mic off!" a person behind me yelled.

"What are we watching?" another asked.

Overall, it was a bit of a bummer that Shaq's Fun House had such markedly different experiences for GA and VIP.

While GA ticket prices started at $99, most attendees I spoke with said they had paid $150 — and I think that's just too high of a price point for an outdoor winter party with zero views of the stage.

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Next up was Gronk Beach, which was held the Saturday before the Super Bowl.

Gronk Beach, which started in 2020, is Rob Gronkowski's annual Super Bowl pre-party. This year's edition was held at Encore Beach Club and featured performances from Flo Rida, Afrojack, Dante, and DJ Irie.

Gronkowski was joined by his family, including his four brothers, at the party, along with celebrities such as Keegan-Michael Key, Joey Fatone, and a few "Bachelor" contestants.

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GA tickets for Gronk Beach were cheaper than Shaq's Fun House and came with more access.

High rollers, football fanatics, and Swifites intermingled at Gronk Beach, where GA tickets started at $75. One Vegas regular I spoke to was going to his 17th Super Bowl and had spent $12,000 on a table that day, while a Gen Z girl I met on the dance floor had no idea who Gronk was before she bought a GA ticket to the event.

The VIP cabanas were spread out across the day club, and only the center of the dance floor was gated off to allow for more bottle-service tables. I could still get close to the stage to watch the performances (including a shirtless dance from Gronkowski's brother Chris).

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The best part of Gronk Beach was the surprise performance from Flo Rida.

No millennial can resist screaming the lyrics to "Low" and "Club Can't Handle Me," and Gronk Beach was no different.

The energy was goofy and fun as drunk strangers poured each other shots and fist-pumped to Afrojack's big-room EDM hits. This definitely felt like a classic Vegas pool party, albeit with jeans and jerseys.

Read more about my experience at Gronk Beach 2024 here.

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Last but not least was Guy Fieri's Flavortown Tailgate on Super Bowl Sunday.

After helping host the Players Tailgate before the 2022 Los Angeles Super Bowl (which I went to and had an absolute blast), Fieri launched his own Flavortown Tailgate for the 2023 Phoenix game and brought it back again this year to celebrate his fans in Vegas.

Fans were able to register for free tickets or opt for a variety of price options.

Attendees could purchase a $50 guaranteed-entry ticket, a $120 ticket offering 13 tasting vouchers, a $450 VIP ticket that came with food and an open bar, or VIP tables starting at $5,000.

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The Flavortown Tailgate featured food from more than 20 different restaurants.

Many of the restaurants included in the Flavortown Tailgate had been featured on Fieri's show "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives" and were all local to Las Vegas, which I thought was a really lovely touch.

There was a huge variety of cuisines and options from the spots, which included Naked City Pizza, Forte Tapas Bar and Bistro, NoButcher, Fat Choy, and Letty's de Leticia's Cocina. The birria tacos I sampled from Letty's were a major highlight of the day.

The VIP section had booths offering some famous Fieri dishes.

There was "Guy's awesome pretzel," which paid homage to his childhood pretzel-cart business, chicken tenders with a sauce bar from his Chicken Guy franchise, and the Motley Que barbecue slider, among others.

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Every dish I had at the tailgate was absolutely delicious.

My boyfriend and I sampled six different dishes at the Flavortown Tailgate, and we loved everything we ate.

Our favorite was the melt-in-your-mouth Motley Que slider, which was tender and topped with delicious pickled onions and a bourbon barbecue sauce. And Fieri's cheeseburger was among the best I've had in recent memory, thanks to its ridiculously juicy patty.

We washed everything down with some refreshing margaritas from Santo, Fieri's tequila brand.

Fieri kicked off the tailgate with some celebrity friends.

The Mayor of Flavortown had a football-throwing contest with the NFL legend Eli Manning before inviting Gordon Ramsay to the stage, who reminded everyone to drink water.

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And the atmosphere was lively and casual all day.

Even with 20,000 fans in attendance, there was still plenty of room in both the GA and VIP areas. And with so many different food options available, the lines were never long. There was also a booth to buy cowboy hats (all priced at $65) and plenty of games and activities for kids.

People sat at big tables on top of hay barrels covered with colorful blankets, which helped initiate conversations among strangers. One table we sat at cheered when they found out my boyfriend was from Boston, declaring it the East Coast table.

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The party vibe ramped up as Diplo's set began.

Fieri introduced Diplo as "my other brother from another mother" as he held a cigar in one hand and a bottle of tequila in another, which he later gave away to a lucky fan at the front of the crowd.

He then started a dance-off, inviting 20 people to come up onstage and compete for a free cruise. Contestants included a breakdancer from Boston and a guy wearing a fur coat and blue Mickey Mouse Crocs.

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As Diplo's set neared the end, my boyfriend and I headed out to catch the Super Bowl.

Our tummies were full, and our feet were killing us, but our hearts were content. It had truly been a wild Super Bowl weekend in Vegas.