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Eggslut (Rio)

When Eggslut opened a decade ago at Cosmopolitan, it was an instant hit and according to what we’re hearing, the same is true at the Rio.

Eggslut is a breakfast and lunch place (7 a.m.-2 p.m. daily) that’s pretty much known for its breakfast sandwiches. A bacon or sausage, egg, and cheese sandwich is $11. There are also a scrambled-eggs version ($11) and an egg-salad sandwich ($9), but the bacon and sausage sandwiches are the draw. Eleven bucks for an egg sandwich is a bit steep, but these aren’t McMuffins—they come with fancy sauces on brioche buns. It’s counter service. Eat at the tables there or take out. The coffee is good and at $6, a better alternative than the nearby Starbucks.

The sandwiches are good, but you may have some questions about their appearance. This food looks strange.

The Yolks

The egg yolks aren’t yellow; they’re deep orange. It’s not a bad thing. An orange (or red) yolk is caused by a high concentration of carotenoids in a hen’s diet. There’s nothing wrong with them and, in fact, the eggs are considered high quality.

The Sausage

Stranger yet, the sausage is greenish. This is due to the turkey sausage being made with herbs, such as sage. It creates a greenish color that makes it look uncooked. It’s not, and the added ingredients are there to enhance the flavor.

The Bacon

No problem here, it’s bacon.

The Verdict

The place is busy, so there’ll probably be lines, but they move fairly fast. Everything is made fresh and an egg sandwich and coffee for $17 isn’t too bad considering the alternatives. The food tastes fine. Just don’t look at it.

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Mukgo Noiza

Excuse me? Mukgo Noiza is the name of a new restaurant in Chinatown. It’s a Korean phrase that means “eat and have fun.” The cuisine is described as Asian fusion. Hours are 10 a.m. to 2 a.m. daily.

The Food

The big selection of dishes includes karaage (Japanese-style fried chicken), ramen/wonton/udon soups, gyoza (Chinese dumplings), shishito peppers, seaweed salad, poke, stir fries, salt & pepper wings, fried tofu, kung pao dishes, and miso black cod. We tried garlic edamame ($7), pho tai ($17.95), and the house chow mein ($19.95).

All were excellent. Most impressive, though, was the pho. We try it everywhere and this is the best version we’ve had next to our favorite at Pho Vietnam—minimum cinnamon in the broth and beef served on the side as requested. The chow mein was loaded with beef, chicken, and shrimp.

The Price

As good as the food was, the prices were the main story. With a few exceptions, everything is under $20. But what makes this a play right now is that the restaurant is in a soft-opening phase and food is 30%-off. That’s a big discount. Our bill was $34.06.

The Verdict

We were surprised and impressed by Mukgo Noiza. It looks kinda cartoonish from the street and the name is somewhat intimidating (unless you know what it means), but it’s classy inside. The restaurant has just opened and there’s a lot of competition in Chinatown, so it has to be good, and it is, including the service. With such a vast menu, this is the kind of place that we’d typically go to more than once to try more things before reviewing, but that 30% discount is too good to sit on and we don’t know how long it will last. By the way, this is a karaoke joint in the evenings.

Yes, it was just one visit, but if future experiences are similar, this will be one of our top Chinatown recommendations.

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Strip erupts in March

After over a year of being down, down and down some more, the Las Vegas Strip snapped back to life in March. There was a stunning, 14.5% vault upward on the Strip, reaching $780 million. Nor was the good news confined to Las Vegas Boulevard South. Casinos in Downtown exploded 21%, achieving $103 million. And the Boulder Strip leapt 14.5% to $99 million. Not to be left out, miscellaneous Clark County was up 7% to $175 million. North Las Vegas did get left out, flat at $261.5 million and gamblers seem to have bypassed Vegas Lite Laughlin in favor of the real thing: It only gained a point, to $50.5 million.

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Steps from the Convention Center, Wind Down at Edge Steakhouse

The meat is the first thing to catch your eye.

You’ve just left the Las Vegas Convention Center after a long day—badge still around your neck, brain a little fried—and start heading back to the Westgate. More convention spaces. More ballrooms. Another long hallway.

Then you see it: a dry-aging room full of beef, right there behind the glass. It stops you for a second.

Walk a few more steps and you’ll see the entrance to Westgate’s Edge Steakhouse – its dark lounge quietly inviting you in.

Meet Mike

Step inside, and the first person you’re likely to meet is behind the bar. Mike Thompson is the veteran barman who welcomes exhausted conventioneers into this hidden gem of a steakhouse. As he asks your name, and your drink, the stress of the day begins to melt away.

Mike Thompson

“You can’t be robotic about it. You just genuinely got to love what you do,” barman Mike Thompson recently told the Food And Loathing podcast. “I love coming behind the stick every day.”

Thompson has been doing this for more than 30 years, including a decade at Edge, and he represents a style of Las Vegas bartender that’s becoming harder to find—part host, part historian, part connective tissue between strangers and regulars who may only pass through once a year.

“You’re only a stranger once,” Thompson is fond of saying.

It sounds simple, but it explains a lot. At a convention hotel, where guests cycle in and out by the thousands, Thompson has built something more personal. Names, faces, stories—they stick. And for a lot of visitors, that bar becomes the first place they can finally exhale.

You could easily stay there. The bar and lounge are fully capable of carrying the experience, whether you’re in for a quick drink, a few bites, or a full meal. But that’s only part of what’s happening here.

A Steakhouse That Goes Beyond the Expected

In the dining room, Executive Chef Dante Garcia is working from a different kind of playbook—one that respects the foundations of a classic steakhouse while quietly pushing beyond them.

“Some of my favorite things to do are take classics and put a twist on it… and still represent myself as a chef,” he says.

That approach shows up immediately. Dishes like foie gras, steak tartare, and crudo aren’t stripped down to their basics—they’re built out, layered, and visually striking, without losing the identity that makes them familiar in the first place.

Garcia’s background includes time at some of the Strip’s most high-profile kitchens. But at Edge, he’s operating with something not always available in those environments: autonomy.

“Here… I have 100% creative freedom… these are my dishes, and I’m in full control.”

It’s a distinction that matters. The result is a menu that feels personal without being experimental for the sake of it—grounded in steakhouse tradition, but informed by French technique and subtle global influence.

A Wine Program With Real Depth

That same sense of intention carries over to the wine list.

Wine Room at Edge

General Manager Richard Douglas has expanded the program significantly, building it into a collection that now exceeds 250 labels and has already earned recognition from Wine Spectator at a level many restaurants spend years chasing.

But the philosophy behind it is straightforward.

“If I don’t believe in it, it’s not on my list,” Douglas says.

That approach allows for range without sacrificing identity—whether guests are looking for something celebratory or simply a strong value pairing to go with a steak.

The Takeaway

Edge Steakhouse doesn’t announce itself the way some Strip restaurants do. It’s not built around celebrity, spectacle, or scene. Instead, it reveals itself in layers.

It’s not what you expected on the walk to the hotel. But it may be exactly what you needed.

Hear an entire episode of the Food and Loathing podcast recorded at Edge, with Thompson Garcia and Douglas: click here.

You can find a list of more Great Off-Strip Steakhouses, and a list of Great Strip Steakhouses on the Neon Feast dining guide and app.

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I Didn’t Mean to Upset Him

Bob Dancer

Years ago, Sam’s Town in Las Vegas had one $5 8/5 Bonus Poker progressive machine slightly to the right of the cashier on the main floor. On Thursdays they had a “Young at Heart” day where seniors would get benefits. I don’t remember what all was involved. Maybe a point multiplier and half-price meals, but I’m sure there was a senior drawing in the afternoon where your play on that day earned you drawing tickets. Ten seniors earned $500 apiece in the drawing.

Playing on a $5 machine for two or three hours usually meant I would be called in the drawing. The vast majority of seniors played for smaller stakes — including quarter Full Pay Deuces Wild — and few seniors earned nearly as many drawing tickets as I did. On occasion, one of the other seniors would come up to me and tell me in no uncertain terms that it was unfair of me to play the $5 machine on Thursdays. “The rest of us can’t compete with that. Go back to the Strip where you belong!” 

I didn’t argue with these players. I just listened to what they had to say. I understood the point, and there was the possibility that these same complainers would talk to casino management about my “unfair” presence. Since I was a winning player there, enough complaints and the casino might be motivated to “fix the problem” by removing the machine or removing my welcome. Neither of these solutions appealed to me. So, whenever I was drawn, I would skip playing for the next week or two. There’s a big difference between winning semi-regularly and winning all the time.

But it wasn’t these players who led to the title of today’s blog.

Next to the $5 8/5 Bonus Poker progressive machine was a $5 8/5 Double Double Bonus machine. Many times when I was playing on Thursdays, the same guy was playing the DDB machine. This is a 96.8% game when played well — which this guy didn’t. How much he ended up losing, I don’t know, but it must have been a lot. He was always glum — and totally untalkative. His silence may have been due to the fact that he was losing — or he might have just been a quiet guy.

One day I ended up hitting AAAA4 on my machine. On my machine, where kickers don’t matter, it was worth $2,000. On his machine, it would have been worth $10,000. I was pleased with the result, of course, but gloating would have been insensitive. He was probably losing that day and “needed” such a hand to catch up. 

He groaned audibly. Seeing the hand he needed on the machine next door doesn’t affect the odds on his machine, of course, but he seemed devastated. He probably figured that my hand had “used up” the aces with a kicker quota for the day because he cashed out and left the machine, and probably left the casino, before I was even paid. Usually he stayed for the drawing — where he was called with regularity but $500 didn’t come close to what earning the tickets cost him. 

He skipped the drawing that day, I think. At least, I didn’t see him. He must have been pretty upset. As was often the case when I played there. I got called that week at the drawing. I got enough evil eyes from some of the quarter players — but none from my fellow $5 player who wasn’t around.

Although I was glad I hit four aces — with or without a meaningless-to-me kicker — I didn’t draw that hand on purpose. As if I could. If I had the power to make aces with a kicker show up on my machine whenever I wanted, I assure you I’d be playing a different game for much higher stakes. But I can’t. Nor can any of us.

When I saw him again three weeks later, we were both playing our usual games. We didn’t discuss what happened “last time.” Or anything else for that matter. He was just his normal sullen self while I quietly played to earn drawing tickets.

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Good news for Churchill, Boyd & Penn

In a coup that did not take Wall Street completely by surprise, Churchill Downs revealed last week that it had obtained the IP rights to the financially troubled Preakness Stakes. This gives CHDN control over two of the three legs of the Triple Crown. For $85 million, Churchill Downs gets the Preakness and Black-Eyed Susan Stakes, as well as 2% of handle therefrom. The state of Maryland remains in control of the track, in which it plans to invest $400 million. “In short, CHDN will generate fees from the Preakness and Pimlico under new state operation, with little formal operating influence, although, given the state’s intended investment of $400M to reposition the track, we expect CHDN to be involved,” summarized Jefferies Equity Research analyst David Katz, noting the obvious synergistic benefits to owning both the Kentucky Derby (which continues to prosper) and the Preakness.

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Speakeasy Happy Hours in Las Vegas: The Secret’s Out (Kind Of) 🤫

Speakeasy Happy Hours Las Vegas

There’s a taco shop in Chinatown with a secret tunnel. A food court bar that’s disguised as a bathroom door. A pawn shop that definitely sells guitars and hides one of the best dining rooms on the Strip. Las Vegas has a quiet, winking parallel nightlife happening behind ordinary facades, and the best part? These top five come with a happy hour.

Las Vegas Advisor and Happy Hour Vegas tracked down five verified speakeasy happy hours across the valley. From the Strip to Chinatown so you can skip the guesswork and go straight to the good part. Here’s how to get in. 🗝️

👉 See all Las Vegas Speakeasy Happy Hours at Happy Hour Vegas →

🌮 Mas Por Favor — Chinatown

Happy Hour: Daily 3–6 PM | Mondays: All Day

It looks like a fast-casual taco shop. It is a fast-casual taco shop. But ask the cashier about “tonight’s delight” and you’ll be led through a tunnel to a speakeasy parlor in the back serving $5 margaritas, $8 specialty cocktails, and $4 tacos at happy hour. Yes, four dollars.

The deal: $5 margaritas · $8 cocktails · $4 tacos (happy hour) · Access via secret tunnel through the kitchen

Where: Chinatown, Las Vegas

👉 Full happy hour details at Happy Hour Vegas

🍸 Close Company — Via Via Food Hall (The Strip)

Sun–Thu 4 PM–Midnight | Fri–Sat 4 PM–2 AM

The entrance looks like a bathroom door or a service exit. You’re supposed to walk past it. Close Company is tucked inside the Via Via food hall at a major Strip resort, and it’s the creation of the team behind Death & Co — one of the most respected cocktail programs in the country. Somehow it’s sitting inside a food court, deliberately low-key.

The deal: $10 specialty cocktails for hotel guests and locals. The password? Ask nicely at the door.

Where: Via Via Food Hall, Strip (ask staff for current location details)

👉 Full happy hour details at Happy Hour Vegas

💋 Beauty & Essex — The Cosmopolitan

Mon–Thu 5–7 PM (Bar Only)

Walk through a working pawn shop — vintage guitars, jewelry, all of it — push through the hidden door at the back, and step into one of the most visually stunning dining rooms on the Strip. Beauty & Essex hides behind a pawn shop facade inside The Cosmopolitan, and the reveal never gets old.

The deal: $10 cocktails, wines, and light bites · Buy-one-get-one specialty cocktails · Grilled cheese and tomato soup dumplings ($10) are the must-order

Where: The Cosmopolitan, Las Vegas Strip

👉 Full happy hour details at Happy Hour Vegas

👾 Cabinet of Curiosities (+ The Lock) — Downtown Las Vegas

Happy Hour: Daily 1–4 PM | Reverse Happy Hour: 10 PM–Close

This one goes two levels deep. Cabinet of Curiosities is a gothic lounge filled with oddities — scan the QR codes on the display cases to learn what each object actually is (or allegedly is). Somewhere inside is a vault door. Pick up the phone next to it. If someone answers, you’re in.

Inside The Lock: Prohibition-era cocktails, dim lighting, period decor, and a bartender who builds your second drink around a questionnaire about your preferences. There is a speakeasy inside the speakeasy. That’s the thing.

The deal: $13 THE NOLA (Gin Fizz) · Daily happy hour 1–4 PM · Reverse happy hour 10 PM to close

Where: Downtown Las Vegas

🗝️ A speakeasy inside a speakeasy. Only in Vegas — and there are two more on this list. Get finds like this in your inbox every week → Free signup here

👉 Full happy hour details at Happy Hour Vegas

🍦 CC Speakeasy — Downtown Arts District

Tue–Thu 5 PM–1 AM | Fri–Sat 3 PM–1 AM | Sun 3 PM–Midnight

Craft Creamery looks like an everyday ice cream shop in the Arts District. Ask nicely and you’ll be guided through a faux freezer door to CC Speakeasy — a hidden cocktail parlor with deep green walls, midcentury modern furniture, and a mural of Salma Hayek’s scene-stealing moment in From Dusk Till Dawn. The cover story is ice cream. The payoff is a full cocktail bar and a kitchen worth staying for.

The deal: $15 Brown Derby · $10 Ice Cream Flight · $16 Chicken & Waffles · The only speakeasy on this list where the cover story is dessert

Where: Downtown Arts District, Las Vegas

👉 Full happy hour details at Happy Hour Vegas

Five Speakeasies. All Verified. All Worth It.

These aren’t gimmicks — they’re real bars with real happy hour deals that happen to require a bit of insider knowledge to find. That’s the point. Las Vegas rewards people who know where to look, and now you do.

👉 Browse the full Las Vegas Advisor Happy Hours directory for updated menus, hours, and prices across 500+ verified happy hours.

Want verified Las Vegas happy hour deals in your inbox every week?

The Happy Hour Vegas newsletter is free. No fluff, no filler. Just curated deals, updated menus, and new finds from the team tracking 500+ happy hours across the valley. New issues every week.

👉 Subscribe free to the Happy Hour Vegas newsletter

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MGM on the Spot; Ups and Downs

Millionaires make unlikely vehicles for sympathy. But realtor and sports agent Dwight Manley has our ear. He’s currently fighting an uphill battle against MGM Resorts International, which separated him from $3.5 million back in 2021. Although Manley is only suing for $75K or so (walking-around money for $16 million CEO Bill Hornbuckle) and has paid most of his debt to Leo the Lion, MGM is digging in its heels. It’s tried to have the case tossed, but the judge found that there was sufficient evidence of potential wrongdoing to proceed to trial. And these are matters which need to be hashed out in a courtroom.

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