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There are a few Leap Year promotions around town today. Leap Year babies drink free at Circa, the D, and Golden Gate rom 6 p.m. to midnight. They get a free leap off SkyJump at The STRAT and $29 in free-play at Downtown Grand. Promos for everyone today at Downtown Grand include a double payout on a $5 bet on 29 at roulette, a $5 bonus for being dealt a 2 and a 9 at blackjack, and some $29 dinner specials. Silverton is awarding 6X points on slots and 2X points on video poker. Sunset Klondike is drawing for $100 in free-play at the 29-minute mark of every hour through 7:29 p.m. Also look for Leap deals at restaurants and bars around town.
YouTube superstars Anthony and Andrew will do a "Leap Beer" livestream today for an hour from the Downtown Grand starting at 2 p.m. our time as a warmup for the ever-popular blackjack and video poker tournaments. Join the guys and whichever LVAers make it onto the screen for a rollicking good time, starting in a half-hour, right here on the LVA YouTube live channel.
Real-estate website CoStar.com reports that the Super Bowl in Las Vegas averaged “unprecedented” average daily room rates (ADR) and revenue per available room, a second metric used to measure hotel performance. The ADR at $768 for Saturday and Sunday of Super Bowl weekend was the highest ever recorded in the continental U.S. (Hawaii’s, apparently, has been higher at times). The ADR for the Super Bowl in Miami in 2020 boasted an ADR of $669, while last year’s in Phoenix was $552. Interestingly, the occupancy rate was only 82.5%, which might indicate that visitors here for the Big Game eschewed hotel rooms in favor of other accommodations (homestays, RV parks, friends, etc.). Supporting that contention, the ADR on the Strip was $962. Still, more than 413,000 room nights were occupied over the three days, the largest hotel demand ever for a Super Bowl weekend and nearly double the second largest (L.A., 2022). According to CoStar, “Las Vegas is the largest hotel market by room count in the U.S. with over 167,000 rooms. It has 27,000 more rooms than Orlando, the second-highest.
On the heels of the opening of Jersey Boys at the Orleans, the Smith Center for the Performing Arts has announced its list of Broadway shows coming this year and next. Productions include Mrs. Doubtfire, Company, The Cher Show, Back to The Future The Musical, Shrek The Musical, Kimberly Akimbo, The Wiz, Hamilton, and & Juliet. The press release notes that the 10 shows combined have won 33 Tony Awards, 18 Drama Desk Awards and five Laurence Olivier Awards. You can see the entire schedule at the Smith Center website.
Reservations are now required for the Wednesday and Thursday lobster buffet at the Palms. Make reservations on the Palms website. This is an important requirement; we’re told that walk-ups will not be seated. There's also been a change in the procedure for using the Member Rewards Online offer for a BOGO buffet. The details are available on the MRO voucher.
Our website was down for about 24 hours, due to a disruption at our hosting facility. We're back up as of this morning and expect no further problems. We apologize for any inconvenience.
The NFL has released its list of attendance statistics by team for the just-ended season and the Las Vegas Raiders have the dubious distinction of placing at number 32 out of 32 teams. At Allegiant Stadium, the Raiders averaged 62,190 attendees, second lowest; only the Chicago Bears were lower at 61,769. Highest at home were the Dallas Cowboys at 93,594, followed by the New York Giants (79,307), New York Jets (77,890), Green Bay Packers (77,8290), and Denver Broncos (76,388). Of course, the capacity of the home stadiums accounts for the lion's share of those numbers; the Jets and Giants both play at MetLife Stadium with a capacity of 82,500, while Lambeau Field in Green Bay has 81,441 and AT&T Stadium in Texas has 81,441. Interestingly, Arrowhead in Kansas City is the fourth largest stadium at 76,416, but the repeat Super Bowl champion's home attendance placed eighth (70,968). The Raiders, however, did much better on the road, attracting an average of 68,916 fans, 15th highest, but still placed last for both home and road games at 65,355. Chicago (65,381), the Arizona Cardinals (65,504), Indianapolis Colts (65,511), and Tennessee Titans (65,727) rounded out the bottom five.
A video on X shows a small pit at a newly remodeled Slots-A-Fun with a roulette and two blackjack tables, plus electronic craps. It also highlights new flooring, plenty of space between the latest slot machine models, and the bar and gift shop. If you'd like to see it, it's at this link. (And thanks as always to Canada Roy.) We'll check it out ourselves soon.
A $10 million production of the hit Broadway musical Jersey Boys, based on the story of Frankie Valli the Four Seasons, has opened at the 850-seat Showroom at the Orleans after a several-year absence from Las Vegas. (It last played at Paris.) The room is outfitted with a state-of-the-art Audioteknik sound system, so the acoustics should be crystal clear, and in such a small venue, there's not a bad seat in the house. It's the only production of the show in the U.S. and the Orleans Showroom's first-ever long-term residency. The show goes on Wed.-Mon. at 7:30 p.m. with a Saturday matinee at 3:30 p.m. Tickets start at $69.95 and if you're an LVA member you can get a discount here.
The long-rumored UFC fight at Sphere has a date: September 14, as part of Mexican Independence Day festivities. No other details were released in the announcement, which took place during the broadcast of UFC Mexico City Moreno vs. Royval 2 last night, but it's expected that between the venue and the celebrations, the main event for UFC 306 will be a big one.
Adventuredome at Circus Circus is opening its new $6 million SpongeBob SquarePants-themed "Crazy Carnival Ride" on Friday. It's a dark ride that, according to the press release, is "a hilariously entertaining interactive attraction that takes guests in a five-people vehicle on a hijinks-filled ride through Bikini Bottom, brought to life through vibrant sets, special effects, animatronics, and vivid integrated projections, fully submersing riders in the nautical nonsense of SpongeBob SquarePants." To experience this ride, and 20 more, plus games and 4D theater presentations, all-day wristbands cost $60 for visitors four feet and taller and $30 for shorter.
This week's YouTube is posted and it's a doozy. Anthony starts off by enumerating the U.S.' top 20 gambling destinations as measured by gross gaming revenue (the win) and the list contains lots of surprises. Then the guys cover an F1 update, some news about the Palms buffet coupon and the Rio's room coupon, some cool promos for Leap Day, and a few Downtown Grand tournament and dining stories. The Question of the Week involves a video poker misplay by Andrew, which launches a discussion on slot attendants' ability to view a machine's hand history, then leads into the story of how Anthony won a video poker machine in a promo (okay, it was decades ago, so the title of this item might be a bit of bait and switch; so sue us). Finally, the Jackpot of the Week is a big one! Don't miss any of it! Click the arrow and cruise.
Las Vegas-based slot maker Acres Manufacturing has rolled out its Player Budget application that comes with all of its machines. Player Budget aims to replace theoretical loss and actual loss, two metrics on which the casino industry has long relied, to determine both a player's value to the casino and the marketing offers the casino offers in return. The software monitors "hundreds of data points" to benchmark how much of their own money slot players expose to the casino, rather than the traditional methods that have a hard time distinguishing between the players' and the casino's money. According to Acres, "You can’t disguise your play, you can’t lie about it, you can’t trick the casino."
Bojangles Famous Chicken is a fried-chicken chain founded in Charlotte, North Carolina, in 1977; it now boasts 800 locations in 17 states from Pennsylvania to Texas. Last summer, it was announced that the brand would be bringing 20 locations to southern Nevada and the first two have been identified, both in the southwest valley: one at Decatur Blvd. at 215 and the other at the southeast corner of Rainbow Blvd. and Blue Diamond. Construction is expected to begin in the next four to six months and both could open as early as the end of this year.
Bojangles specializes in boned and boneless chicken, biscuit sandwiches, Southern sides (such as Cajun pintos and dirty rice), and its own brand of iced tea.
According to a story in the Guardian, nearly two in three bets made on this year's Super Bowl were placed "illegally," meaning with offshore sports books. Read the details in our Super Bowl blog, which seems to be a never-ending story.
"Live with Kelly (Ripa) and Mark (Cansuelos)," a talk show streamed on FuboTV, will be broadcast live this Monday and Tuesday from Fontainebleau. Guests will include Howie Mandel, REO Speedwagon, the cast of the Vegas show Rouge, and Sheryl Lee Ralph. Tickets are free and you can request them at the show's website.
A survey by HelpAdvisor, a website dedicated to helping people live happy and healthy lives, finds that Nevadans pay more at the supermarket than residents of any other state in the continental U.S., except California (for some reason, Alaska and Hawaii aren't included in the survey). Californians pay an average of $297.72 per week, followed by Nevadans at $294.76, Mississippians (yikes) $290.64, Washingtonians $287.67, and Floridians $287.27. Almost all food (other than a bit of beef) has to be imported by Nevada, which is why the Midwest states have the lowest average weekly grocery bills; Iowa and Wisconsin came in at the bottom at $227.32 and $221.46, respectively. Curiously, Las Vegas isn't among the top 14 most expensive cities, while California has three in the top five (Riverside, L.A., San Francisco); Miami is the most expensive at $327.89 and Detroit is least at $247.95. The data was distilled from the U.S. Census Bureau's Household Pulse Survey from November, the most recent available.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal has distilled airfares in and out of Reid International from a national survey of 6,000 air itineraries conducted by UpgradedPoints.com. The survey found that the shortest hops are the most crowded and the most expensive on a per-mile basis. For example, the busiest route, Vegas-L.A., handled an average of 7,000 daily flyers in 2023, paying an average one-way fare of $126.40, or 54 cents a mile; the fare rose by nearly 9% from a year ago. The second most popular was San Francisco: 5,900 daily passengers, $146.77, 35 cents a mile, 7.3% higher year over year. Speaking of short hops, the largest fare increase was to Reno, $169.97, 49 cents a mile, up nearly 20%. New York airports came in at third busiest, 4,385 passengers, $321.46, 14 cents a mile, up 4.1%. The lowest per-mile destination was Sanford International, a secondary airport in Orlando, at four cents per mile. Fares to a number of destinations were lower year over year: San Antonio $216.28, down 12.3%; Tampa $216.28, down 12.2%; Orlando $223.10, 9%; Washington, D.C. $293.91, 7%; Miami $236.74, 6.8%; San Diego $113.82, 2%; and Boston $320.74, down 1%.
The annual Rock 'n' Roll Marathon returns to Las Vegas this weekend and roads will be closed off on Saturday for the 5K race between 8 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. and on Sunday between 2:30 and 10:30 p.m. near the Strip for the 10k. If you're planning on being downtown on Saturday or around the Strip (from Toshiba Plaza at Park MGM all the way up to Charleston Blvd.) on Sunday afternoon and want to see the road-closure schedule and detours, click here.
The Venetian has announced that a new poker room will debut this summer. It will move from the casino floor to the second level of the Grand Canal Shoppes and close to the Palazzo's parking garage. The number of tables will increase from 35 to 50 in the 14,000-square- foot space, which the Venetian claims will be the largest poker room in Las Vegas. In addition, it will feature self-serve soda and coffee machines, its own restrooms, numerous TVs, USB and USB-C charging ports at every seat, and a side room dedicated to streaming, which will allow players "to coordinate a vlogging session," with the ability to stream cash games and tournament final tables. The current poker room will remain open until the new room is ready; no opening date or budget was announced.
The foremost practitioner of funk, George Clinton, will perform at the Pearl at the Palms on June 7 with his current Parliament-Funkadelic band. Clinton, now 82, is the singer, songwriter, producer, and bandleader who, along with James Brown and Sly Stone, helped develop funk music in the 1970s, marked by ostentatious fashion, psychedelic lyrics and jams, and humor. Clinton and 15 band members were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997 and in 2019, he and Parliament-Funkadelic were awarded Lifetime Achievement Grammys. The group is known for such hits as "Atomic Dog," "Last Dance," "It's All Love," and our favorite, "Do Fries Go with That Shake." Tickets start at $45 and go on sale on Friday at 10 a.m. PT.
Along with free drinks at Circa, the D, and Golden Gate for Leap Day babies, other promotions are showing up. Those born on February 29 will receive a free leap off SkyJump, the bungee-like free fall off the observation deck of the Strat. (Leap Day. Get it?) Other jumpers, paying full price, get a free cocktail from 108 Drinks. Downtown Grand has some creative deals: for 2/29 babies only, $29 in free play; for everyone, a $29 room special; 2-to1 payout on a $5 bet on number 29 at roulette; a $5 blackjack bonus for a dealt 2 and 9; a 29 selfie station; and some $29 food deals. Many bars and restaurants around town are offering drink and food specials; be sure to inquire if you're here on Leap Day.
Remember the Mega Millions jackpot of $1.58 billion hit on August 8 at a Publix supermarket in the Jacksonville, Florida, area, the third largest in U.S. history? It was claimed four and a half months later on the day after Christmas and the winner, a Florida LLC, opted for the $783.3 million lump-sum payout (before federal taxes; Florida doesn't suck a state tax out of lottery winnings). You probably didn't know that only two drawings and seven days later, Mega Millions was hit again for $36 million, also in Florida, also in the Jacksonville area, also at a Publix. That one, however, was never claimed and it expired last Thursday. Someone bought the winning ticket, failed to realize it, and forfeited a nearly $14 million lump sum. In the Sunshine State, 80% of unclaimed prize funds from expired tickets goes directly into the Educational Enhancement Trust Fund, while the other 20% goes back into the prize pool. It was the only unclaimed multi-state-lottery jackpot in 2023.
Here's an interesting one that's available at Circa, the D, and Golden Gate: If you were born on February 29 (and are 21 or older), all drinks at the three downtown casinos are free for you between 6 and 11:59 p.m. Other Leap Day promotions are starting to show and we'll cover them as they do.
The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit challenging the new county ordnance that prohibits stopping on pedestrian bridges over the Strip. The suit has been brought on behalf of a woman who uses a wheelchair. The prohibition doesn't exclude people in wheelchairs, on crutches, in braces, or who are limited by other mobility devices; thus, the suit accuses the county of targeting people with disabilities. The plaintiff, for example, "often stops unexpectedly, either because her arms are tired, her wheelchair is malfunctioning, or her path is blocked by other people." The suit was filed in federal court barely a month after the law was implemented and, as far as we know, is the first to challenge it.
Billboard’s 2024 list of the 26 Top Music Venues around the world includes two in Las Vegas: Resorts World Theatre and Sphere. Resorts World was cited as the Top Residency Venue, having sold 319,000 tickets in 2023 for 90 shows that grossed $45 million; it won the top spot for concert venues with less than 5,000 capacity, though the magazine noted that it has 900 more seats than the Colosseum at Caesars. Sphere was honored for its "Wow Factor": "Few venues have gained as much attention in a single year as Sphere," Billboard wrote glowingly.
Strike up the marching band and cue the cymbals and bass drums! Nearly three years after consumption lounges were legalized in Nevada, the first cannabis consumption lounge has been licensed by the state's Cannabis Compliance Board. The Smoke and Mirrors lounge, owned by Thrive Cannabis Marketplace, the largest independently owned cannabis business in Nevada, is scheduled to open to the public by the end of this month. Thrive has four locations in Las Vegas; Smoke and Mirrors will be at its Sammy Davis Jr. Drive venue directly across from Resorts World Drive. The lounge will offer "a range of products, including cannabis-infused cocktails, and will serve as a hub for artists and musicians to showcase their work." The lounge has a capacity of 100 people, with a 1,000-square-foot patio out front.
Zillow reported recently that "the average Las Vegas household" needs to earn $69,810 per year in order to afford to pay rent. That means roughly $33 per hour. Rents throughout the valley increased two percent in 2023, but 34% since the onset of the pandemic four years ago, and now average $1,745 a month. In 2021, Las Vegas households could afford rent on an annual wage of $52,020; Las Vegas registered the 15th highest increase of all major metro areas in that time. The highest increase in average rent, 20%, occurred in 2021 alone. Since then, rent increases have tapered off, thanks to a boom in apartment construction and a slowing economy.
CNN Original Series will present a special on Las Vegas, "The Story of Sin City," on Sunday February 25 at 10 p.m. ET/PT. According to the press release, "Through interviews with notable entertainers like Paul Anka and Wayne Newton, former showgirls, journalists, and cultural historians, the city’s evolution into an entertainment mecca is unspooled, revealing the role Las Vegas played in the most important movements and moments shaping American culture as we know it today." It continues, "'The Story of Sin City' showcases the past 70 years of America’s cultural maturation through the lens of this unique city, featuring the entertainment acts, the visionary entrepreneurs, the infamous mafia figures, and the colorful political history that put it on the map." It's a four-part series that will stream live for pay-TV subscribers via CNN.com, CNN-connected TV, starting Feb. 25, then run on demand Feb. 26 and beyond. Click here for the trailer.
The West is a -2.5 favorite over the East in tonight's NBA All Star Game. The total is 353.5.
Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin are the co-favorites to win today’s Daytona 500 auto race at +975 (bet $100 to win $975), followed by Brad Keselowski at +1050. Defending champion Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. is +3100. Hamlin is seeking his fourth Daytona 500 win, which would tie him with Cale Yarborough for second on the race’s all-time win list behind Richard Petty’s seven.
The World Series of Poker will start this year on May 28. The 55th annual tournament, with 99 bracelet events, will be played at the Horseshoe and Paris. The Main Event will kick off on July 3; the four starting flights will end on July 6, with late registration available on July 7-8 through Level 7. The final table will be played on July 16-17. Last year, the Main Event attracted a record 10,043 players and the first-place prize paid $12.1 million, also a record. You can see the complete schedule here.
Alexander Volkanovski is a -135 favorite over Ilia Topuria in tonight’s UFC main event. In the other featured match, Robert Whittaker is -225 over Paulo Costa.
Reporters for the Las Vegas Review-Journal jumped into action following the stabbing death of fellow R-J journalist Jeff German outside his home in September 2022; working round the clock, reporters and editors at the newspaper "helped identify Clark County Public Administrator Robert Telles as a suspect in German’s murder, leading to Telles’ arrest less than a week after German’s killing," according to a story in this morning's R-J. The unfolding of the investigation, featuring interviews with R-J staffers and Telles (who continues to insist he's innocent) was shot in Las Vegas three months ago and will air tonight on "48 Hours" at 10 p.m. PT on CBS. Telles, who reportedly had a "spirited exchange" with the show's correspondent, Peter Van Sant, goes on trial March 18.
The $1,200 threshold for documenting jackpots via W-2Gs was instituted in 1977 and hasn't moved since. Modernizing the threshold has been a priority for the American Gaming Association and Nevada's congressional delegation for a decade. All of a sudden, there has been movement on the issue. A few days ago, it was announced that the IRS' own Advisory Council has issued an opinion that the threshold should be raised to $5,800, based on current accounting for inflation; the Council also suggested that the threshold could be increased again based on cost-of-living adjustments each year. So far, the IRS hasn't responded, but after 47 years, the issue seems to be starting to gather steam to head in a direction that would benefit the casino industry and its customers.
This week's LVA YouTube Weekly Update is up and dating. Anthony runs down the elements of the Super Bowl that intrigued him, including only the second overtime in the Big Game's history and a squeaker of an over/under; also, check out how his own bets did. Then he and Andrew get into the scene around town on Super Sunday, a discussion on the fast-rising resort fees and the "LVA antidote" to the hated add-ons, a $1 oyster deal, Bruno Mars' Pinky Ring bar and lounge at Bellagio, and the Jackpot of the Week that consists of the prettiest video poker visuals you might ever see all in one place. Don't miss this one!
A story in this morning's Review-Journal reports that, although the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority has a signed contract with the Las Vegas Grand Prix to run the race for the next three years (and pays a $6.5 million annual fee for the privilege), Clark County never signed a contract with the race company. According to the story, despite having to approve the majority of the plans and permits for the race to occur, "commissioners felt they were the last to know about several important aspects of the race’s setup before they were tasked to approve them. That included last-minute notifications of pending roadwork that affected traffic for months in and around the Strip." In addition, F1 spent $80 million on course improvements, then asked the county to pick up half the cost, but again, the county hasn't agreed to anything. The conclusion? Given the breadth and depth of dissatisfaction with last year's experience, the commissioners intend to take a long hard look at the race and its disruptions to life in the city.
Jennifer Lopez's first tour in five years will play T-Mobile Arena on July 20. JLo's “This Is Me … Now” tour will hit 30 cities in the U.S. and Canada over the summer. Pre-sales tickets go on sale Tuesday at 9 a.m. PT, while general-public tickets will be available a week from today at 10 a.m. PT at AXS.com.
Rising almost seven feet since January 1, the water level in Lake Mead is the highest it’s been since May 2021. Its current level, 1,075 feet (above sea level), is the threshold for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamations to declare an official water shortage. The water shortage isn't over, but the level is several feet higher than projected just last month. Precipitation in the lower Colorado River Basin is credited for the higher lake level, but the snowpack in the Upper Basin is currently 91% of normal, so experts are predicting that Mead will drop upwards of 19 feet by next November. The lake is currently 37% full.
Another phase of the endless construction around Tropicana Avenue and I-15 launches tomorrow at 9 p.m. The entire freeway will be closed between the Flamingo and Russell exits all weekend in order to demolish the south half of the Tropicana bridge over I-15; it reopens on Monday at 5 a.m. In addition, Tropicana Avenue is closed between New York-New York and Dean Martin Drive through Tuesday Feb. 20 at 5 a.m. If you're here, you'll be wise to give the whole area a wide berth, as traffic is ordinarily ferocious due to construction and it will be much worse this weekend. The bridge on Tropicana over the freeway is scheduled for completion in September, but the entire project still has around 18 months to go.
Gross gaming revenue for 2023 hit $67.5 billion, up 11% from 2022's total of $60.7 billion. At this rate, 2024 will surpass $70 billion; if it were a country, it would fall between the gross domestic products of Costa Rica and Uruguay. Pre-pandemic in 2019, the GGR set a record at $44.9 billion, then fell to $30.7 billion in the year of the shutdowns. In 2021, the industry rebounded to $52.9 billion. There are, of course, more casinos and slot machines outside of casinos around the country, but the main drivers of this expansion are sports betting and igaming. In 2023, 30 states offered legal sports betting, attracting a handle of $119 billion, resulting in $10.3 billion in revenue (a 9.6% hold); that was up from $93.8 billion and $7.6 billion (8.1%) from 25 states in 2022. Online casinos in six states generated $6.2 billion in win in 2023, up 26% from $4.9 billion in 2022 from the same six states.
In support of their 12th album, Pearl Jam will play two shows at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on May 16 and 18 as part of a 35-date worldwide tour. Pearl Jam was formed in Seattle in 1990 and is considered one of the most popular American rock and roll bands of that decade; the band has sold 100 million albums, 50 million in the U.S. alone. They also made a name for themselves by eschewing music videos and interviews, a stance from its early days in the grunge subculture. The ticket situation is a bit complicated; you can register at this link.
As part of a coordinated work stoppage, Lyft, Uber, and DoorDash drivers will be foregoing all ride requests to and from airports throughout the U.S. and UK for at least two hours today, between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. The drivers are drawing attention to their demands for an increase in salary and improved working conditions, led by an ad hoc union, Justice for App Workers. The group said in a statement, "We’re sick of working 80 hours/week just to make ends meet, being constantly scared for our safety, and worrying about being deactivated with the click of a button.” Drivers will have their apps activated, but will deny every single ride request that comes through and the walkout might continue past the appointed hours. Uber appears unimpressed; a spokesperson was quoted in USA Today, "Strikes rarely have any impact on trips, prices, or driver availability.” Lyft seemed a little more sympathetic, issuing a statement: "We are constantly working to improve the driver experience, which is why just this month we released a series of new offers and commitments aimed at increasing driver pay and transparency.”
According to GeoComply, the Vancouver-based geolocation-compliance company, more than 1.77 million new users signed up for legal online sports betting accounts in the two weeks prior to the Super Bowl. The total of 8.5 million active accounts in states where online sports betting is legal is a 15% increase over last year and accounted for an astounding 15,000 transactions per second (TPS) in the minutes before kickoff; it was not only the highest TPS ever recorded by GeoComply’s system, it doubled the peak number of transactions for last year's Big Game. And the increased volume wasn't specific to the Super Bowl; GeoComply's clients, which include DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, Caesars Sportsbook, Bet365, and 888 Holdings, added nearly 14 million new accounts since the beginning of the NFL season last September, a 28% increase over last season. The company’s platform uses more than 800 data points to confirm that players are located within the borders of a state where sports betting is legal before they place a bet.
With the next three Super Bowls lined up for New Orleans, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, the earliest the Big Game could return to Las Vegas is 2028. Read the rest of the story here.
In what's believed to be a world record, the Commerce Casino in southern California operated 153 EZ Baccarat tables on the night of the Lunar New Year -- and could have used 30 more to handle the crowds waiting to play. The 153 tables beat the previous record of 140, also set at the Commerce, last year on the Asian new year. Since 2024 is the Year of the Dragon, more people wanted to participate in the tradition of gambling; winning on the Lunar New Year is auspicious in the Asian tradition and EZ Baccarat, with no commission collected, is a favored game. The Commerce claims to be the largest baccarat casino in the Western Hemisphere with the most EZ Baccarat tables in the world.
To no one's surprise, Super Bowl LVIII set a new record for bets made in Nevada. Read all about it in our continuing blog on the Big Game.
Tom Brady has won seven Super Bowl rings, the most of any NFL player, and they've been on display at Fontainebleau for the past week in the runup to the Big Game. Brady announced on Friday that they'll stay in Las Vegas for good -- at Fbleau's planned Hall of Excellence, "a museum of curated one-of-a-kind sports memorabilia that will open later in 2024." Brady explained that the rings belong to everyone, from his coaches and teammates to all the fans who witnessed his journey, and they shouldn't be hidden in a closet or locked away in a safe. It's the first we've heard of the Hall of Excellence. Brady is also moving closer to his ownership stake in the Las Vegas Raiders. After the Raiders' valuation was increased to $5.8 billion at the behest of the NFL owners, Brady's group agreed to buy a 10% share, of which the former quarterback will own 7%. Final approval is expected at the NFL Annual League Meeting in Orlando March 24-27. It will mark his official retirement from football; players can't own equity in teams. Brady will start his new career next football season as an analyst for Fox Sports; Kevin Burkhardt will be his play-by-play broadcast partner.
Kansas City resident Paul Schaffer has been certified by Guinness World Records as owning the largest collection of casino chips in the world. A collector for 20 years, Schaffer has amassed 2,250 chips from different casinos, both contemporary and historical, common and rare. His first chip was given to him by his mother, who visited Las Vegas in the 1980s and brought him a $1 chip from the Silver Slipper. Later, on a 30th birthday trip to Las Vegas with his wife, he realized that collecting chips was a low-cost hobby: "Instead of buying some trinkets that I would throw away, I could keep a ($1) chip from every casino we visited.” Chip collecting is a popular pastime; the Casino Chip & Gaming Token Collectors Club, a.k.a. Casino Collectibles Association, has been holding annual meetings and conventions since 1988 and in Las Vegas since 1993. This year's will be held at South Point June 13-15. You can read the full story about Paul Schaffer and see photos of his collection on GuinnessWorldRecords.com.
The Super Bowl is over. It's the Monday after Super Sunday, Super Bowl weekend, Super Bowl week, and the Super Bowl's month of preparations and disruptions. The surging swarms are now at Reid International, where the Transportation Security Administration expects to screen 115,000 travelers today. If it does, it will set a record for screenings in a single day. The TSA has reportedly been preparing for The Day After for months, bringing in additional staff from other airports to occupy every single security checkpoint and extra K9 crews to bolster security. An advisory has been issued for travelers to arrive no less than two hours early; cars are backed up on Tropicana waiting to turn onto the Paradise Road approach to the airport and the lines are only more ferocious the closer to the departure terminals and security checkpoints travelers get.
The San Francisco 49ers are -2 favorites over the Kansas City Chiefs in tonight's Super Bowl. The total is 47.
Get your phones ready to time the singing of the Super Bowl's National Anthem. The over/under on how long it will take Reba McIntire to sing it is 1:30.5. Get the details in our Super Bowl Blog.
Patrick Mahomes has reportedly promised his fellow teammates that if the Kansas City Chiefs win the Super Bowl, he'll bring them -- all 52 of them -- back to Las Vegas for the celebration party. On his dime, of course. Here's the scenario. The team bus pulls up across the street from the Horseshoe and magnanimous Mahomes, on the PA, says, "Fellas, welcome to the Stage Door. Dogs and beers are on me!" Or maybe he has Jean Scott make the announcement. Or maybe he spends a fraction of his $45 million annual salary on a real Dom Perignon-fueled Las Vegas party, like Mahomes, Kelce, and several other players did last year after beating the Eagles, at the Wynn.
Not much is happening as of this writing, but later today, the scene around Allegiant Stadium will be rammin' and jammin' and rockin' and rollin,' as the 65,000 attendees -- NFL brass and teams, high rollers and jetsetters, media, and plain old fans who're paying an average of $6,000 a ticket -- pack the stadium for Super Bowl LVIII. If you want to see it live and in action, you can go to the live webcam set up above Russell Road looking north at the stadium. Check out the billboards delineating the teams' home zones and all the popups in the parking lots. And thanks, as always and ever, to Canada Roy for the link.
Following the lead of MGM Resorts at Aria, Bellagio, Cosmopolitan, MGM Grand, and Vdara, Wynn Resorts has raised its resort fee $5 to $50, starting with reservations on February 24. In mid-January, MGM breached the $50 barrier that seemed impossible just a year ago, but Fontainebleau opened with a resort fee of $51.02 and Durango $50.85. Fifty-five dollars, anyone? You can see all the resort fees citywide on our Resort Fees pages.
A travel writer for the Wall Street Journal conducted an interesting experiment, "saying yes to every upgrade and VIP package" she was offered on a two-night trip, staying at Palazzo. She had parameters: The hotel's $4,000-a-night three-bedroom presidential suite upgrade and the $3,999 helicopter ride to the top of Valley of Fire State Park for yoga were out. But she spent an additional $245 for some beer, a souvenir T-shirt, and "premium seating" for the movie at Sphere, $190 for a reserved seat at the Aria sports book and $30 for a 20-minute neck and shoulder massage there, $75 for early check-in at Palazzo plus $57 per night for a city-view room, $80 for two seats with a Bellagio fountain view at the Eiffel Tower restaurant, $33 for the unlimited mimosas at Cosmo's Wicked Spoon Buffet, and some upgrades at Omega Mart and Area15. The total: an extra $976 for the trip. Thanks to Ken M. for the link and the "uncouponomy" neologism.
According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, 6,000-plus media representatives from 26 countries have been accredited to cover Super Bowl 58 and related events in Las Vegas. Read the rest here.
Due to damage to a bridge on I-15 at Apex, roughly 30 miles northeast of downtown (Exit 58), the freeway and Las Vegas Blvd. N. will be impacted starting February 18 and continuing through mid-April. Las Vegas Blvd. and the I-15 on and off ramps will be closed while the damage is repaired. Drivers will be redirected to the Speedway/I-15 interchange (Exit 64) and the I-15/US-93 Interchange.
Anthony and Andrew will be doing a Beer Friday today at 4 p.m. PT. Special guest Frank B, sports bettor extraordinaire, will be joining them to talk all things Super Bowl. Tune into the LVA YouTube channel to catch it live!
Though preparations for the Super Bowl have been going on "only" a month or so compared to the six-to-nine months for the Las Vegas Grand Prix, local residents are again feeling the pinch from all the commotion. If you want to read about it, by now you know where to find it.
From the original estimate of 300,000 Super Bowl fans flooding Las Vegas this weekend, the number rose a couple of weeks ago to 400,000 and a CBS News story this morning upped the ante again to a solid half-million visitors. Read the details at our Super Bowl blog.
The popular Texas-based Whataburger chain opened its first Las Vegas location yesterday at noon on the Strip in front of the Waldorf Astoria at City Center in the space formerly occupied by Bobby's Burger Palace. The first Whataburger opened in Corpus Christi in 1950 and now has upwards of 1,000 locations in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, and the South; the Waldorf location marks the chain's 15th state. Actually, several Whataburgers opened here starting in the 1970s, but slowly disappeared. According to the press release, the restaurant will be open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner from an expansive menu that includes Whataburgers, Breakfast On A Bun, Dr. Pepper Shakes, and a special Vegas burger. The two-story restaurant also houses Parry's Pizzeria & Taphouse, which also opened yesterday. Parry's is another chain that launched in 2007 in Colorado and now boasts 23 locations in the Southwest. It serves "massive" NY-style slices from 14 pies, 10 styles of never-frozen wings cooked to order, strombolis, "Italian nachos," cocktails, and 120 beer taps, with several local breweries represented. The loft lounge apparently has amazing views.
If you have a ticket, go to Allegiant Stadium and ask an usher to show you to your seat (careful of those steep stairs). Of course, most won’t have that option and will be looking for a good place to go to watch. We're now posting the parties and events on our Super Bowl blog, which you can see here.
The celebrity jazz bar in the center of the Bellagio casino that's hosted by Bruno Mars will open on Monday February 12 in the space formerly occupied by Lily's Bar and Lounge. Mars' long-time backup band, the Hooligans, will appear nightly at the new space, dubbed the Pinky Ring, for the first two weeks. The hours will be Sun.-Thurs. 5 p.m.-2 a.m. and Fri.- Sat. until 3 a.m. Reservations are suggested.
The Big Game is bigger than ever here in Las Vegas. To get more details about the Big Game, check out our blog for all the insider information:
If you have a couple hours to spare to get through traffic, catch one of the headliners:
Monday's storm broke the record for the day for the amount of rain on February 5. Reid International recorded .37 inches of precipitation, beating the record of .33 set 76 years ago (1948). Of course, rain totals were much higher around the valley, with a few flash floods reported and numerous flight delays at the airport. The fast-moving storm cleared out almost as quickly as it blew in and the rest of the week looks dry, partly cloudy through Saturday, and a beautiful sunny day, with temps in the 50s, for Super Bowl Sunday.
Eater Vegas is reporting that Emmitt Vegas, the massive steakhouse at the Fashion Show Mall announced three years ago, will open on Monday February 26. The 30,000-square foot restaurant, in the space formerly occupied by the Sugar Factory, is named for former Dallas Cowboy running back Emmitt Smith. It's several stories and overlooks the Strip. Eater writes, "During a preview event in September 2022, Smith shared his plans for the space, which included a first floor reserved for fine dining, a lunch and cigar-centric Player’s Lounge that would double as Club 22 at night, and a 16,000-square-foot indoor-outdoor deck for live music and viewing parties." We'll see what it actually looks like when it finally opens. Why the long delay? A "legal drama," as Eater describes it and if you like, you can read the story here.
Pop superstar Mariah Carey will perform an eight-show mini-residency at Dolby Live at Park MGM on April 12, 13, 17, 19, 20, 24, 26, and 27. The show, “The Celebration of Mimi Live in Las Vegas,” will consist mostly of songs from Carey's smash 2005 album The Emancipation of Mimi, which sold 10 million copies; Carey will also cover other hits from her career. The presale begins Thursday at 10 a.m. PT at Ticketmaster (code: ENERGY) and general-public tickets will be available starting Saturday at 10 a.m.
The $1.3 billion estimated to be bet on the Super Bowl via legal channels is positively stunted compared to the total projection for betting via all channels. You can read the full story on our Super Bowl blog page.
In its first full quarter of earnings, Sphere Entertainment grossed $167.8 million, which broke down into $92.9 million for 191 “Postcard from Earth” showings, $55.2 million for U2 concert tickets and Formula One spend, and $17.5 million in advertising on the exosphere and licensing fees for luxury suites. One thing that stands out is that “Postcard from Earth” is grossing $1 million per showing; with 10,000 available seats for the movie and an average price of $100 per ticket, the arena appears to be selling out every performance. Because earnings are combined with Sphere's sister company MSG Network, the profit picture is a little harder to decipher, but it looks to us like Sphere earned a net profit (adjusted operating income) for the quarter of $14.1 million. Not bad for its first quarterly report. Following the end of U2's residency, Phish and Dead & Co. will perform at Sphere and the company is hinting that late-night EDM concerts are in the works.
When Aussie pop star Kylie Minogue's “Padam Padam” won a Grammy last night for the "Best Pop Dance Recording," the first award in the new category, she became the only performer currently doing a Las Vegas residency to win a 2024 Grammy. It was her second Grammy, coming 20 years after the first, for "Best Dance Recording" for "Come Into My World." Minogue's 20-date residency at the Voltaire Theater at the Venetian continues in March, April, and May.
The Culinary Union signed its penultimate contract early this morning with the Downtown Grand, averting a strike planned for 5 a.m. That leaves a single property without an agreement, but the union is giving Virgin extra time while negotiations continue and in anticipation of "a resolution in a few weeks."
This week's YouTube was delayed a couple of days, but it was worth waiting for. Anthony and Andrew talk about the imminent closing of the Tropicana and the still up-in-the-air move of the Oakland A's to Las Vegas, the Culinary Union situation, the Super Bowl excitement, including where do you go if you're here to get in on the party, redeeming the LVA Palms A.Y.C.E. coupon, especially for the $65 lobster buffet, and a new show on the Discovery channel that Anthony stumbled on and is enthusiastic about. The Question of the Week concerns how to get started at video poker and the Jackpot of the Week is "small but mighty," a nickel royal on an LVA coupon at the Rainbow Casino in Henderson. Tune in!
As it does every year, South Point is dealing reduced juice for the Super Bowl. Get the details in our Super Bowl blog.
What's the Super Bowl BQ? Who will win? How much will be bet? Who'll be MVP? How will it impact Las Vegas in the coming months? Nope. None of the above. For the answer, check out our Super Bowl blog.
The Golden Nugget has averted a strike by signing a five-year contract with the Culinary Union. That leaves the Downtown Grand and Virgin as the last two properties vulnerable to the walkout deadline of tomorrow morning at 5 a.m. Negotiations continue today and through the night, it necessary. Agreements with 25 other hotel-casinos have been finalized since early November.
Over the past couple of days, the Culinary Union agreed to tentative five-year contracts with Binion’s and Four Queens, and Fremont and Main Street Station, accounting for upwards of 1,000 workers. The union has also secured agreements with Circus Circus, Sahara, Strat, Circa, and El Cortez. That leaves the 2,000 workers at the Golden Nugget, Downtown Grand, and Virgin as the last hotel-casinos without tentative contracts as the strike deadline of Monday morning approaches. Though negotiations continue with the three properties, pickets are outside the Golden Nugget and Downtown Grand through 9 p.m. tonight.
More than a foot of snow fell Thursday up at Mt. Charleston and locals celebrated the arrival of winter. Another storm system will be passing through starting late Sunday and continuing for the next couple of days, with a full half-inch predicted for Monday and showers on Tuesday. The rest of Super Bowl looks dry, with high temperatures in the mid-50s and lows in the high 30s.
It's official. The Grateful Dead spinoff band, Dead & Company, will play a 24-show residency at Sphere May 16 through July 13. "The Grateful Dead were always about transformative experiences and now, as our legacy evolves and we continue to shape-shift into several different forms at once, it’s great that that part of the tradition continues, with Dead & Company taking up residence in a transformative venue,” writes Bill Kreutzmann, long-time drummer for both bands. You can sign up for the presale here; general admission tickets go on sale starting Friday at 10 a.m. PT. Tickets range from $145 to $395 and prices include taxes and fees; see the seating chart at the Dead & Company website. Here are the dates: May 16, 17, 18, 24, 25, 26, 30, and 31; June 1, 6, 7, 8, 13, 14, 15, 20, 21, and 22; and July 4, 5, 6, 11, 12, and 13.
Believe it or not, a second major sporting event will be taking place in Las Vegas Thursday through Saturday before Super Sunday. LIV Golf, the tour established in 2021 to rival the PGA, will hold its first-ever tournament in the U.S. Feb. 8-10 at the Las Vegas Country Club. The historic course was established in 1967 and was home to the daily golf excursions of Dean Martin in the Rat Pack era; it was also the site of an iconic scene in the movie Casino (involving a small FBI surveillance plane landing in a water trap on the course). The LIV event, obviously timed to take advantage of the combined fans of golf, Las Vegas, and football, will showcase 14 major champions, including Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau, and marks the new season of the LIV tour.
Up until today, estimates for the number of people deluging Las Vegas for Super Bowl weekend have been between 300,000 and 350,000. But in this morning's edition of USA Today, that number seems to have risen to 450,000. Read the full story on our Super Bowl blog page.
Harry Reid International Airport's 57.6 million travelers in 2023 beat the previous record of 52.6 million set in 2022. Also last year, 11 of the 12 months set individual records and October handled the all-time monthly record of 5.4 million passengers. The number of international passengers totaled 3.2 million, breaking the three million mark for the first time since 2019, pre-pandemic. Southwest was, as always, the leading carrier, handling 20.8 million passengers throughout the year, more than one out of three of the total, followed by Spirit's 8.4 million. Canada's Westjet led the pack in international flights with 805,000.
The normal range of high and low temperatures throughout February in Las Vegas provides for comfortable outdoor experiences, with highs in the 60s and lows in the 40s; the averages are 63 and 41 degrees. The record highs and lows, however, can veer wildly in either direction. The record high for the month is a sweltering (for February) 87, set on the 26th in 1986, while the record low is a chilling (even for February) 16, reached on the 7th (1989). February typically sees the most precipitation of any month of the year, .7 of an inch; last year it rained .67 of an inch during the month.
Fox 11 in Los Angeles took a look at room rates and ticket prices for the Super Bowl and if you thought Formula 1 prices were elevated, wait'll you see these -- by visiting our Super Bowl blog page. Warning: Best to be sitting down when you look at them.
Spiegelworld's Discoshow, in the works for nearly five years, will debut at the Linq on July 27. According to media accounts, the 70-minute Discoshow will "party like it's 1979" and that's literally: There won't be any seats or even a traditional stage in the theater and "you get to hang out with the performers and feel the love” of the classic-disco soundtrack, including “Le Freak,” “Good Times,” “We Are Family,” “Disco Inferno,” and “Everybody Dance.” The showroom bar will be called 99 Prince, a legendary New York address in the disco scene; upstairs will be the Glitterloft and Diner Ross (get it?) "where New York diner classics spin into disco-bistro-chic" (in other words, a Spiegelworld restaurant along the lines of Superfrico at the Cosmo). Tickets for the shows, Wed.-Sun at 7 and 9:30 p.m., go on sale Saturday at 10 a.m. PT and will start at $99, including taxes. 99 Prince will be open Wed.-Sun. noon till close; Diner Ross will serve dinner on show days starting at 5 p.m. (reservations recommended).