The Perfect Scratch

How to play The Perfect Scratch

Through July, the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority (LVCVA) reported that visitor volume has rebounded only 0.5%. 2026 followed a difficult 2025, where visitation crashed 7.5%.

Far fewer travelers are arriving in the casino town by air this year. Harry Reid International Airport reported 30.2 million passengers through July—a 6.9% drop from the same period in 2025—with international traffic down nearly 9%.

The LVCVA and Harry Reid International Airport have not yet released their August reports. Truist Securities analyst Barry Jonas isn’t expecting a major rally.

What is The Perfect Scratch?

This is the marquee upgrade. In 2025, it was enough for physical monkeys to appear to fly off the screen and over your head. But more than 3.6 million people have already seen that stupid pet trick. The first-gen monkeys were 16-foot helium inflatables steered by drone operators. Their only motion, besides drifting forward, was wing-flapping. They floated more than they performed.

The new monkeys are animatronic. As shown in the video, they’re capable of moving their faces and bodies in menacing ways as they pass overhead during the witch’s attack. They also seem to be hanging from an overhead line, though the Sphere has not officially described the new flight system.

Smell is the quietest upgrade but may be the most powerful. (Scent anchors memories more strongly than any other sense.) The new Oz adds more scents timed to scene changes. Expect the room to smell different when Kansas gives way to Oz, when the orchard turns hostile, and when the poppy field knocks everyone out.

How to play The Perfect Scratch

Carrot Top’s Friday and Saturday (Sept. 19) shows at Luxor’s Atrium Showroom were canceled. The residency is dark on Sundays.

The Florida native—known on his driver’s license as Scott Thompson—was facing legal troubles, according to news reports.

Carrot Top’s legal team told TMZ that the comedian was the target of an extortion attempt in the weeks leading up to his suicide attempt, according to a Sept. 3 court filing obtained by the entertainment website. His attorney alleges that Brian Evans threatened to leak a sex tape involving the 61‑year‑old performer into the court docket unless he received a $500,000 payout.