Bellagio – The Buffet at Bellagio: After this weekend Bellagio is removing their dinner buffet until further notice.
Circus Circus – Circus Buffet: This week’s buffet schedule is: Weekend Brunch is Saturday and Sunday, 7 a.m.-2 p.m. for $24.95. Weekend Dinner is Friday-Sunday, 4:30 p.m.-10 p.m. for $27.
Emmitt’s is named for its founder and major partner Emmitt Smith, the National Football League’s all-time leading rusher and touchdown scorer. This restaurant was a long time coming to the Fashion Show Mall. But it finally arrived in March and ever-curious, we stopped off during “social hour” (4-6 p.m. daily) to see what it’s all about.
The main challenge is finding the place. It’s at, but not in, the Fashion Show and no signs direct you there. Located in the very front of the mall, it borders the Strip sidewalk and you have to go outside to access it. (Follow the signs to Abercrombie and Fitch; from there, follow signs to Plaza/Las Vegas Blvd., then go out the door and down the stairs. The Blue parking lot in the garage underneath is closest.)
The restaurant seats 105, with a private back room for 36 and 10 tables on the front patio. Everything revolves around the central 22-seat bar and the nearby wine fridge holds 1,000 bottles. The menu is described as “new American classics with traditional steakhouse offerings and sushi,” but it seemed to us that sushi dominates the actual menu, which is different than the virtual one online, indicating more of a steakhouse. Also, lunch was announced and offered for a while, but discontinued. Social hour is advertised as 3-6, but Emmitt’s doesn’t open till 4.
And though the reviews are uniformly laudatory, when we were there on a Wednesday evening from 5:30 to 6:30, the place was empty, except for us and three other people at the bar.
We weren’t there for dinner, which is as expensive as you’d expect from a restaurant right on the Strip, just the social hour, during which the choices are a burger and fries ($11), hanger steak and fries, and a tuna and California roll with edamame ($22); seven draft beers, including Heineken, are $4 each and wine by the glass is half-price.
We tried the burger and were allowed to substitute a Caesar salad for the fries. Gracious, especially for a happy hour. The big fat patty, cooked to perfection, comes with lettuce, tomato, pickle, and caramelized onion on a toasted brioche bun — an excellent advertisement for the food at Emmitt’s and a great deal on its own. That, the salad, and the Heineken came to all of $17.34 with tax and we walked away satisfied and impressed.
Though the scene at Emmitt’s is somewhat sparse (a number of online reviews comment on the lack of patrons) and the changing menu and hours are a bit mystifying, when this place settles down and grows into itself, it should do well —if it lasts that long. While it’s there, the social hour is definitely worth doing.
At least two casinos in the Caesars system (in Cherokee, NC and Danville, VA — possibly others) offer next day bounce back for your slot and video poker play. I have not been to Danville, but I can describe the promotion in Cherokee.
Video poker players receive 0.75% next day bounce back while slot players receive double that. At least some “unprofitable” players receive a smaller percentage. To make it work for the casino, mailers and other offers have been reduced. Still, some of the mailer offers (spa credit, for example) are useless to some players, while “extra” free play is welcomed by all. If you want to go to the spa and no longer get as much spa credit, use the money derived from the next day free play and use it at the spa.
You earn your free play from 6 a.m. to 6 a.m., and it’s put on your card at noon. It’s good for 90 days. There are a few other “fine points” to the promotion, so if you go to one of these casinos, make sure you read the rules.
There’s always the question of when do you count this extra free play? Do you count it when you earn it or when you redeem it? While either methodology is defensible, personally, I count it when I redeem.
What I mean is I do most of my play there on $5 deuces wild. At the outset of my trip, I take a marker and get a supply of $2,500 TITO tickets. My score generally goes up and down, mostly down, until I hit four deuces ($5,000) or a royal ($20,000) when I get paid in tickets.
As I play, I put in these tickets and keep track of how many. Sometime after noon, I download the free play I’ve earned, but I don’t record that as money inserted. At the end of the day, I record my net win or loss. If I had $500 in free play (meaning I played about $67,000 coin-in the previous day), that money will end up as increasing my win or reducing my loss for the day. And, legally, this free play is as taxable as the results from playing the game.
The machines I play on are $1, $2, and $5 denominations, where the return on the game is highest on the $5 games. While I was playing a $5 game one day, I was next to a player playing $1 7-5 Bonus Poker. I heard him recount his score to his wife.
He said, “I started with $1,000 of my own money, and had $50 in free play from yesterday’s play which I downloaded. I earned 1,000 Tier Credits ($10,000 coin-in), so I’ll get another $75 tomorrow. Since I cashed out for $950, I really made $25 today. Let’s celebrate at the bar!”
This player was counting his free play twice in his mind. He counted yesterday’s $50 in free play and today’s $75 in the same session. Tomorrow, he’ll count today’s $75 again. It’s a mind game. The thing is, he only gets the $75 once.
Relatively few of you will play at these particular casinos, but this same principle happens at other casinos as well. In August, South Point is offering free spins Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, where you will earn free play up to $100, for playing $500 in slots or $1,500 in video poker.
The day I’m writing this, playing on both Bonnie’s and my card, I earned a total of $140 in free play that’s redeemable until the end of the month. I could redeem it immediately, but there’s no need. I’ll be back in two days to play the promotion again and use the $140 as “ammunition” for my play next time. My results of that will then be recorded.
As of today, I don’t know the exact ending date for redeeming this promo. I’ll earn some free play on August 30, and am not planning on playing again until Tuesday, September 3, which is usually when my regular Tuesday-Thursday free play will be available (Sometimes there’s a different pickup schedule but I won’t know that until I receive the September mailer.) I’ll check the rules before then to see if the free play from the August spins will still be on my card when I pick up my first September free play. If the free play will still be there then, I’ll wait. If not, I’ll redeem it on August 30.
Another local casino in Vegas (Four Queens/Binion’s, which use the same card) gives you $160 for earning 1,200 points during the month. They regularly have variations of this promotion where you earn some amount of free play, comps, and/or gifts of some sort. I count the money when I redeem it.
Taxes aside, even if you’re playing recreationally, it’s good to know how you are doing. Fooling yourself into thinking you’re winning more (or losing less) by counting this kind of promotion twice gives you an erroneous picture of the profit or cost of your gambling.
At the same time, this is a clever way for a casino to run a promotion. Even when the rules of the promotion are perfectly clear, this makes it easy for players to think they’re getting more than they actually are.
Better late than never, Nevada Gaming Control Board. The watchdog group is making up for lost time with regard to renegade casino Resorts World Las Vegas. Earlier this month is slammed Resorts World and parent Genting Group with a 31-page complaint for having “failed to fulfill its responsibilities as the holder of a privileged Nevada gaming license.” Genting, in turn, had been taking a see-no-evil stance towards its Las Vegas offspring, claiming that it acts entirely of its own volition. We’ll see now if that attitude washes.
Continue reading Get lost, Genting
Nathan Burton Comedy Magic has been around the Vegas block a time or two. Burton’s show first opened at the Aladdin in 2006, then moved to the Flamingo in 2008 (we reviewed it in the July 2008 LVA) and the Saxe Theater at the Miracle Mile Shops in 2012. Last year, Burton landed at a new theater in the Flyover motion-simulator building on the south Strip across from Park MGM and we finally satisfied our curiosity about the new venue and old show.
The Nathan Burton Theater is literally two steps in from the south Strip sidewalk. Crowd control at the entrance to the theater is rough; stanchions define two short lines for 30 people, while 175 are waiting to get into this popular afternoon performance. The other interesting thing is that the ushers are all dolled-up in Vegas showgirl costumes; as soon as the performance starts, you realize they also are the showgirls!
The theater is 5,000 square feet and seats 189, with four TV size video screens in the audience and a 30- by 18-foot video wall at the back of the stage.
In our review 16 years ago, we wrote, “Burton’s show is mostly small-box magic, displaying a lot of the bits you’ve probably seen before. Consequently, our first impression was ‘nothing special.’
Well, it’s still mostly box illusions, maybe a dozen of those in all, plus some mind-reading, a levitation, and tricks involving a transparent straight jacket, audience cell phones, playing and bingo cards, confetti, a couple of fast switcheroos, and an audience member’s drink in a bag disappearing (beer bottle in our show).
The invisible-deck-of-cards segment is cute and the bingo bit is very funny — we’ve never saw an audience go so crazy and we were watching closely, having spotted this outcome from a mile away. The other cool routine involved mind-reading a six-year-old.
Overall, however, the comedy can’t compare to Mac King (now at Excalibur) or even Adam London (in his very small show at the Orleans), but the nonstop onslaught of tricks has a madcap feel to them and don’t blink or you’ll miss one or two. We can say that Nathan Burton works up a righteous sweat. This is definitely a family-friendly show (70 minutes) and there were lots of kids in the nearly sold-out crowd on a Tuesday afternoon.
We opted for the second least expensive section and sat in Row K, right in the middle of the room. Those seats were fine, though the base price of $28 quickly rose to $45.51 with a $7.56 service fee and $9.95 processing fee. The cheapest seats in the back might be a bit far away. Show your ticket at the Flyover box office and get a 30% discount to that attraction.
In this weeks video Anthony and Andrew talk about Vegas becoming Hollywood 2.0, buffet rumors, where to get the best Italian food in Vegas, and more.
This post is syndicated by the Las Vegas Advisor for the 888 casino group. Anthony Curtis comments on the 888 article introduced and linked to on this page.
AC says:
Are video poker hands dealt randomly? A debate over this comes up from time to time, due to the true meaning of “random.” The cards video poker players receive are determined by a “random number generator” (RNG), but purists point out that true randomness cannot be created by a computer algorithm. The argument can go on, but the reality is that the video poker machines you play in Nevada, and presumably in any legal and licensed casino in the U.S. (and mostly beyond), are random enough, given the game’s procedural objective. This article correctly makes that point, while also imparting bonus information many players want to know (even though it doesn’t affect their outcomes) about how the cards are dealt on a video poker machine.
This article was written by Jerry Stich in association with 888Casino.
I doubt many video poker players even consider this question. They head to the casino (or play online) hoping their luck will bring them riches – or at least buy them some decent time playing their favorite video poker game.
Serious video poker players – those who learn and practice perfect video poker playing strategy for the specific game and pay table they will play are betting on the game being random. Each line of playing strategy assumes that video poker games are random. If the game is not random, the strategy is flawed and perhaps worthless.
So, what is the truth? Are video poker machines actually random? Will playing strategy based on a random game have the desired results? This article addresses these topics.
“Class” with a capital K. That’s what the Adelson family brings to Big Gaming. They’re the casino equivalent of that embarrassing, nouveau riche uncle who shows up wearing a loud, polyester leisure suit, smoking a noxious cigar and waving a wad of greenbacks. That’s certainly been their heavy-handed approach to the state of Texas, which continues to resist these garish blandishments. So crass is Las Vegas Sands‘ siege of Texans that it’s almost enough to make one sympathetic to the mossbacks and prudes who oppose Sands.
Continue reading Lone Star stupidity
Do you use a points earning credit card? My flights are free.
I’m currently staying at the Downtown Grand. My casino rate (50% off) runs $50-$100 per day total, including reduced resort fee, parking, and Gallery Tower upgrade.
Downtown Grand invited me to a $10K slot tournament with currently 120 players (200 are expected) paying to 30 places, so one in four wins so far (current EV $83+). The cost was $20 for the first entry, with additional entries earned for 60 points or $120 coin-in at video poker. I plan on having three. Most VP was downgraded, but I hear they still have a progressive at Furnace bar. We’ll see.
Others may be happy with Uber, etc., if staying on Fremont or the Strip. Myself, I run around a lot, visiting 15 to 18 casinos with fullpay video poker: M, South Point, Palace Station, Gold Coast, downtown, and the Rainbow in Henderson. I might stop at Boulder Station for the $1.99 shrimp cocktail.
It was a slog, spending an hour on multiple travel sites (even U-Haul!), finally getting a reservation direct from Dollar for under $50 a day. From where it started, I ended up saving about $150, so that was worth an hour for sure.
I’m signed up for Rakuten cashback, which pays 3% on this rez and of course Dollar and airline points, plus the points earned on my credit card for a triple stack! It all ends up worth about $50.
I’ll be returning to the Pinky Ring, Bruno Mars’ lounge at Bellagio, for two nights. I expect to see Bruno and my friends in the band. They’re also playing several nights at Dolby. I’m also expecting a surprise “lady” guest to be with Bruno, as he dropped a song with her last week and she’s been with Bruno at the Pinky Ring. I give it 55% or better.
Lots of Bruno Mars superfans are in town for his Dolby shows, so it’s VERY VERY EXPENSIVE and very booked to hang at the Pinky Ring — starting at $2,000 for a table. Owww. But I can walk in on my host open invite. And I booked an early-evening table for $50! I won’t have a table after 8 p.m., so I’ll do SRO hanging at the bar (you can too), which is fine, as I dance all night. I just need a place to set my drink down and I almost always find a place to hang with the band or some guest or hosts let me have a seat.
It’s a tough job being the unofficial house dancer. Someone’s got to break open the dance floor.
I’ll also be going to the opening of Speigelworld’s brand new Discoshow. Yes, I love disco (along with funk, R & B, pop, Latin, and rock n roll) and that will be a hoot. The Friday night show is $69 (Saturday $99). Dance dance dance.
My week in Vegas: out of pocket for air, hotel, and rental car before any winnings is … $980.
Living my best life. Keep on dancing.
Hawaiian cuisine, such as it is, is getting good.
When we reviewed Zippy’s, we weren’t particularly complimentary, especially considering the irrational exuberance over the place. But 808 Café was a vast improvement, so when we read a highly positive review of Ai Pono on a San Francisco news site, we took notice.
Ai Pono (“Good Eats” or “Eat Right” in Hawaiian) Café is one of the sit-down eateries at the Eat Your Heart Out food hall at Durango.
It’s the brainchild of Hawaiian-born and -raised Las Vegan Gene Villiatora, a 30-year local who’s cooked at numerous restaurants around town and had a mostly successful run on “Top Chef: New York”; he opened the first Ai Pono in Orange County, California, in 2019.
The word is out about Durango’s Ai Pono. We were there at 4:30 on a Saturday, figuring to beat the dinner rush. No such luck. We waited a few minutes to order, but behind us, nine people were in line.
The menu is amusing, with names like Mento Bento, Dim Sum and Den Sum, Crackhead chicken (“everyone keeps coming back for seconds in one sitting”), and Ham Buggah steak. Most dishes are a major carb fest, with two scoops of rice and one of macaroni salad, along with some Asian slaw.
But the proteins and sauces are the stars of the show. The Crackhead chicken ($17) is sauteed in Ai Pono’s “secret batter” and topped with a coconut-garlic miso glaze. You’ll also find guava-chili chicken, Japanese chicken in a katsu sauce, and Korean chicken in a truffle sauce ($17 each), pork chops in a spicy garlic barbecue glaze ($18), mahi mahi in a garlic-butter-white-wine sauce ($18), and Korean short rib ($20). You can also get bowls ($14-$16), sampler plates ($20-$23), and add-ons such as kim chee, lumpia, potstickers, and lollipop shrimp ($5-$10).
We sampled the garlic shrimp in a cilantro-citrus-chili sauce, which comes with a fried egg on the rice, and the OG beef, hibachi-style slices of striploin marinated in “black-magic” teriyaki (both $19). Each ushered the Zippy-style Hawaiian plate lunch into a whole other dimension— a very good thing. Our bill, including a pickled-mango lemonade (delicious), came to a reasonable $48.77 (including tax, not tip).
The verdict: This is the kind of menu that, beyond our reviewer responsibilities, tempts us to go back and try everything else that looks so good. Villiatora claims that Ai Pono is on its way to becoming the standard of Hawaii fast-casual and street food and it might just succeed.
