Anthony and Andrew continue their interview with Vital Vegas blogger Scott Roeben.
LAS VEGAS ADVISOR INTERVIEW – VITAL VEGAS PART 2
Regional Gambling Still Strong
Casinos in the commonwealth of Massachusetts eked out a 1.5% increase in gambling revenue last month. Encore Boston Harbor led with $60 million, flat with June 2024. MGM Springfield hopped four percent to $23 million, possibly helped by scads of headlines about jackpots in Springfield. (Well played, MGM publicity.) Plainridge Park gained 6%, finishing with $14.5 million.
Continue reading Regional Gambling Still StrongCrying Over Spilt Milk
The new tax law was signed on July 4, 2025. The gambling provisions have little effect on recreational gamblers but are career-endingly serious for professional gamblers. The Gambling with an Edge podcast with Russell Fox about this new tax law was posted July 16, and you can find it on YouTube or in several other places.
There are several possibilities that this law could be changed before January 1, 2026 — and we won’t know for some time if any of these possibilities will come in. While Richard Munchkin expressed optimism in the podcast about one of these avenues for changing the law coming to fruition before January 1, I’m less sanguine about it. I’m preparing for my gambling life as I know it to be over in a few months.
For those unaware of how punitive this new law is for professional gamblers, consider two recent years of mine. In both years my W-2Gs added up to about $6 million. I’m playing high denominations games with a small edge. In one year, my gambling score was -$150,000 and in the other, +$200,000. I have non-gambling income as well. I also record my gambling expenses, which I’m entitled to do as I file as a professional gambler.
In the first year, since I lost money gambling, I paid no taxes on the gambling part of my income. In the second year, I paid quite a bit. Nobody likes to pay taxes, certainly including me, but it’s the price we pay to live in this country.
Under the new law, I would only be able to deduce $5.4 million in gambling losses in each year. (W-2Gs are considered proven gambling wins by the IRS and you can deduct up to 90% of them as losses.) That means in both years (one I lost $150,000 and the other I won $200,000), I would owe taxes on $600,000 of phantom income, in addition to the taxes on my other income. Minus 90% of my gambling expenses, of course, but those came nowhere near $600,000.)
It won’t take many of these tax years to wipe me out completely.
Some people manage to avoid paying taxes by simply lying about how much they make. When you get W-2Gs, though, you can’t lie about them. They go to the IRS and your tax return should claim at least the total dollar amount on the W-2Gs as in on the IRS computers, or they will come after you. In the past, it was always safe to add a few hundred thousand dollars to the W-2G total (because they would all be written off), but starting next year, adding $200,000 to this total will increase the amount you have to pay taxes on by $20,000.
Playing single-line quarters and avoiding W-2Gs altogether is not something I’m interested in. I don’t gamble “for fun.” I gamble for profit and the profit you can make playing games this small are smaller than I wish to seek. I know some of my readers take this route, and I’m not putting them down in any respect, but it’s not the life I want for me.
I’m both planning on exploiting the games I find for the last five months of this year, and planning on what I’m going to do with the rest of my life. This second kind of planning is both more difficult and not as far along as my plans for the rest of this year. It may well include stopping writing this blog. Most of the blog-posts here are inspired by something happening in a casino. If I won’t be in casinos, I’ll simply run out of new things to say. I already repeat myself more than some of you like.
I’ve considered stiffing casinos on my way out the door on December 31, but have decided against it. While the gambling law might not change prior to 2026, there are also possibilities it could change in mid-2026 or later and I want to keep casino doors open to me should that happen. Stopping playing because of the tax law is easy for casino to understand. If they tolerated my action before, they will probably welcome me back. Taking front money and then not playing (so as to maximize my short-term profits on the way out the door) is much harder for casinos to forgive. So, I won’t do it.
One thing I won’t do is to lie around and cry over opportunities lost. I’ve had a longer and more successful gambling career than most, and if it ends in five months, so be it. I’ve saved enough to be set (unless the Doomsday Clock actually strikes twelve, which is definitely possible), so Bonnie and I will make the best of the time we have left together.
And, of course, I will hope the law gets changed soon. If it does, I plan to be ready to go in 2026 right where leave off on in 2025.
Via Via Food Hall at the Venetian
The newest Las Vegas food hall is also its most eclectic and lavish. Which is appropriate, we suppose, as it’s right at the end of the extravagant M.C. Escher-like tiled floor that extends from the front desk of the Venetian to the gambling. It’s on the right; emerging into the casino, you’ll see Turkey and the Wolf right there behind Venezia Fine Jewelry.
The only food outlet that might be familiar is All’Antico Vinaio, which has a location at the Uncommons mixed-use district across the street from the Durango. We reviewed All’Antico in the 4/24 issue of LVA just after it opened. Considered by some connoisseurs to be the best sandwich shop in the world, it’s now more conveniently located on the Strip, though there’s also that pesky parking fee if you’re not walking in.
B.S. Taqueria also has a local connection: The first fast-food Mexican counter of the same name opened at the Sundry food hall, also at Uncommons, but didn’t last long. The proprietor, Ray Garcia, also owns and runs ¡VIVA!, the upscale Mexican restaurant at Resorts World. (The B.S. stands for “Broken Spanish,” signifying Garcia’s infusing familiar Mexican flavors and dishes with a modern chef-driven twist, at least according to a story in the Los Angeles Times.)
The other four eateries and one bar at Via Via are all new to the area area. The most-anticipated opening was Howlin’ Ray’s, which serves Nashville-style hot chicken and opened in 2015 in a food truck in L.A.; it was so popular that the restaurant debuted less than a year later. This chicken has six degrees of heat, from Country (none) to Howlin’ (you can’t touch this 10++). We understand that that’s so hot, it’ll make your teeth bleed. And they love their photo taken.
Then there’s Turkey and the Wolf, the New Orleans sandwich shop with such sams as fried bologna and collared-green melt, along with a fried chicken pot pie. Adjacent is Molly’s Rise and Shine, serving breakfasts.
Ivan Ramen, the noodle counter, and Scarr’s Pizza will both be familiar to Manhattanites, where they’re acclaimed or so we understand from the hype. And the Death & Company bar also has locations in New York and Los Angeles, plus Denver, Washington, D.C., and Seattle.
All in all, if you happen to be in the area area and don’t have to pay pay for parking, Via Via is definitely worth checking out out for a curated culinary cruise of the country.
Bobby Vegas — Why I Came To Hate AI and Luv the Hack
“Hi, you’ve reached Orwellian Enterprises. Press six to be lost in an endless maze, seven if this drives you crazy.”
Used to be (in the good ol’ dayz), when I wound up in some company’s maddening phone tree, I could just keep hitting 0, eventually defaulting to a live, you know, human. But they figured it out and eliminated that option. Want proof? Try calling Verizon.
I also manage a number of websites that include BobbyVegas and KeepRaleighSquirrrely, etc., so I deal with web companies — a lot.
When Blue Domino eliminated live customer service, I eliminated Blue Domino and switched to GoDaddy. Go! Daddy!
Recently I encountered this worrying trend at two of my favorite places, the Plaza and Rio. And here’s another shoutout to Jonathan Jossel, president of the Plaza. Yo! JJ! Thank you! You dumped the AI girl on your phone system! My man! Back to old school is cool. Where humans rule!
Meanwhile, at the Rio, a very cheerful voice answers, “Hi! I’m Stacey! How can I help you?”
Being an OWG (Old White Guy) and an easy mark for the female persuasion, I hear a friendly voice, I assume it’s a human. Alas, after one or two questions, it’s clear Stacey is actually a GoogleBot.
When asked for a less-than-direct answer like, “I need to make a reservation using my LVA coupon, but I don’t have my Rewards number,” Stacey responds ever so cheerfully,
“Okay! I can help you with that!” then proceeds to do just the opposite.
My problem? I always have a question. AI’s problem? My query rarely fits auto response.
I recently read a critique of AI that it’s not “intelligent.” It’s just a ginormous database, scouring matching words like auto spell check … which also drives me crazy.
A friend recently used AI for a VP strategy query and literally got the wrong answer.
People, AI doesn’t THINK. It repeats what it finds. Right or wrong.
So I keep asking for a Rio AGENT and lo and behold … a human!
A note about using the LVA MRB coupon for an amazing 30% off the best rate and NRF (NO Resort Fee) saving $57 a night at the Rio: BE PATIENT. They always go, “Wow. Great rate. Let me check with my supervisor.”
Just chill. It’s worth the wait.
My five-night stay — Sunday through Thursday, king bed, Masquerade Tower (my fave, old school, great view of the Strip, and a tub!) was … Oh wait. In my last blog I claimed $135 for four nights. I lied. It was $122 for five nights. Oops. My bad.
I haven’t seen rates like that since the Stardust back in the day ($17 with $10 back and a $5 buffet coupon.)
Oh and one other thing. Why is it always Stacy or Tracy?
Why not KinkyRiotGrrl or UsedToBeASpearmintRhinoStripper? If you’re going to do Vegas AI, I mean, be Vegas. OK?
Better yet … delete!
LAS VEGAS ADVISOR INTERVIEW – VITAL VEGAS
This week Anthony and Andrew are joined by Vital Vegas blogger Scott Roeben.
Guy Fieri’s Flavortown AYCE Brunch
Located at the Horseshoe entrance to restaurant row right off the casino in the walkway to Paris, Flavortown is a large sports bar with at least a dozen small TV screens scattered around the walls, a big video wall with three screens, each larger than the one next to it, and a 28-seat egg-shaped bar in the center. Ordinarily, a celebrity-chef’s overpriced restaurant on the center Strip, even one showing sports all day and night, wouldn’t interest us. But Flavortown is currently promoting a unique deal that caught our attention.
It’s not a buffet, but it is an all-you-can-eat brunch served Mon.-Thurs. from 8 am to 2 pm. You mix and match off the menu and keep eating until you bust. The starting price is $19.99 for bacon and eggs, biscuits and gravy, French toast, Caesar and house salads, chili, and brisket mac ‘n cheese. You can add on avocado toast, a club sandwich, or chicken and waffles for $5 and steak and eggs (seven-ounce strip) for $10. It’s another $29.99 for bottomless mimosas, Bloody Marys, and margaritas.
Since you eat as much as you can, the diner next to us ordered three eggs instead of two with his steak and avocado toast, the latter two adding $15 for a total of $34.99. (In the photos, those are potatoes that look kind of like fried shrimp.)
At 11 a.m. on a Thursday, it was a half-hour wait for a table, but a few seats were open at the 28-seat bar, which has video poker machines in front of every other seat. (Careful, these are the worst pay schedules possible, 6/5 JoB and Bonus in all denominations from nickels to $5. And par for the course, people were playing.)
Initially, service was non-existent. Two bartenders split waiter duties and the guy next to us got a menu, ordered, and was served by the other bartender in the first 10 minutes, while our order wasn’t even taken for 15. Once it was, we waited another 15 minutes for the food — (bad) luck of the draw …
The eggs, which come without toast, and French toast arrived at the same time. It was all what you’d expect from a sports bar; the French toast was one inch-thick slice with a little bacon, a couple of hunks of caramelized banana, and good maple syrup.
When we arrived at 11, the place was packed and most people were ordering breakfast; by the time we left around noon, Flavortown had thinned out considerably and people were now ordering lunch. Typical for a sports bar, it’s big food, definitely quantity over quality. And though it’s nice to know you can eat eat eat, most appetites will be satisfied with just a couple of the offerings, either breakfast or lunch.
All in all, it’s a good gimmick and not a bad deal during the week at center Strip. With tax and a tip, we were out of there for $25.
Gjelina at the Venetian
Gjelina was a restaurant we’d been curious about since it was announced in 2023 and opened the day after Christmas last year.
The first Gjelina, named for the owner’s grandmother, debuted in Venice Beach, California, in 2008 and since then has expanded into a diverse business, with Gjusta Bakery, GTA (take-out), Gjusta Goods (retail), Gjusta Grocer (market), Gjusta Flower Shop, and Gjelina Hotel. The restaurant in the Venetian is their third Gjelina; the other is on Bond Street in Lower Manhattan.
Gjelina touts its menu as “guided by conversations and long-standing relationships with southern California farmers, ranchers, fishermen, and co-ops.” The Las Vegas venue serves lunch, dinner, and a weekend brunch. The three menus are similar, though dinner has more vegetables, plus “plates” (entrees). Dinner features a raw bar and charcuterie ($10 for marinated olives up to $50 for a dozen oysters); four salads($20-$24) and a soup ($12); a dozen or so vegetable dishes, such as roasted oyster mushroom, Japanese sweet potato, and broccolini ($17-$23); and entrees, including beef tartare (the least expensive at $25), PEI black mussels, wood-roasted prawns, lamb chop, and rib eye (the most expensive at $89); and eight pizzas with gourmet cheeses and mushrooms, plus lamb sausage, chorizo, and guanciale (cured pork) for $21 to $28.
For lunch, the menu is essentially the same, with the same prices, though fewer raw-bar, salad, plate, veggie, and pizza selections. There are also four sandwiches. We went for lunch and tried an appetizer: the English pea and cipollini onion in a chickpeas miso butter sauce appetizer, which the waiter said was “really good.” And it was: barely cooked fresh peas and sweet onion in an outstanding sauce ($18).
Our lamb burger ($24) and blackened sea bass sandwich ($23) were fine as far as they went, though we estimated perhaps three minimal ounces of sea bass. Both came with “giardiniera” pickled vegetables, which, like the peas, were excellent.
All in all, however, the experience left us a little wanting. First, we were upsold an $8 bottle of spring water (one of those deals where the server ran through her spiel about drinks so fast that we didn’t hear that the “water” was for sale — or she didn’t mention it). Second, Gjelina is one of the few restaurants in Las Vegas that tacks on an autosuck 20% gratuity. It’s clearly stated on the menus and the servers made a point of communicating it as well. Still, we don’t like it for a number of reasons. Third, for a $100 lunch ($78 for food and drink, $15.60 “mandatory service charge,” and $6.53 tax), both of us were hungry an hour later. And fourth, due to circumstances, we valet parked at the Venetian, which cost another $45.
The verdict: yet another very expensive and less than satisfying couple of hours on the Strip.
Valet Parking at the Venetian
We hadn’t valet parked in Vegas in decades, but on our visit to Gjelina at the Venetian, we were accompanied by a disabled person, so we opted for the convenience.
There were no surprises. A big sign as you pull into the porte cochere says, “Valet Parking $40 a Day.” Self-parking is $20 anyway, so we bit the bullet; the extra $20 for the well being of our guest was certainly worth it.
You drop off your trusty steed in the usual fashion: pulling up to the valet area under the portico in front, giving up your key, and receiving a claim ticket. But when you come out to retrieve your car, you do so at the Valet Pick-Up Kiosk.
You follow the few simple instructions on the screen. First, you scan the QR code on your ticket.
Then the credit card screen comes up. The arrow points to the card reader, where you pay by swiping, inserting, or tapping.
The last screen tells you that your car is on its way. You don’t have to talk to anyone; no one is there to talk to anyway, since the one or two valet attendants are busy running cars from the garage to the portico. Ours took another 15 minutes to show up on a Wednesday afternoon around 2:30.
With the $5 tip, parking at Venetian added $45 to our lunch tab at Gjelina.
Smoking Gun; Motown Mayhem
We promised to stay on the case of the phantom rebranding of the Tropicana Atlantic City. Above you see the official evidence. There’s nothing sinister afoot. Caesars Entertainment simply got caught with its marketing pants down. It is a bit funny that the Roman Empire would change its Atlantic City letterhead but simply forget to rename the casino. Assuming that’s what was going on. And you know what happens to those who assume.
Continue reading Smoking Gun; Motown Mayhem