Nevada's sports books recorded a handle of just under $600 million ($588.4 million, to be exact) in December, an increase of 3% over December 2019. The win was $40.6 million, up 11.7% year over year. The handle set an all-time record for sports betting for the month of December. For the year, the handle was $4.3 billion, down 18.4% from 2019, and the win of $263 million was down 20% year over year. By comparison, New Jersey handled just under $1 billion in sports bets in December, setting a record for any month. Betting via mobile apps accounted for a whopping 93% of the total. New Jersey's $6 billion sports betting handle in 2020, the state's third year of sports betting, broke Nevada's record of $5.3 billion set in 2019. New Jersey and Nevada were followed by Pennsylvania (with a $3.5 billion sports betting handle in 2020), Indiana ($1.8 billion), and Colorado ($1.2 billion).
The Beast by Todd English has opened at AREA15. It’s a 6,500-square-foot food hall that features fare ranging from cheeseburgers to chile-lime watermelon salad by the celebrity chef, formerly of Olives at Bellagio and other high-end restaurants on the Strip. English will also have a restaurant at the new Virgin Las Vegas when it opens.
The final cost of Allegiant Stadium came in at $1.944 billion, $25.1 million under budget. After adding in work done by third parties, the total cost was $1.99 billion — impressive when compared to L.A.’s Sofi Stadium, which came in at $2 billion over budget with a final cost of more than $5 billion. Allegiant is the second most expensive stadium in the NFL. You can take a free virtual tour of Allegiant by logging on to homie.com/raiders.
Users of Android phones in the U.S. will be able to access betting and gambling apps via Google's official app distribution service, Play Store, starting March 1. In states that allow igaming, sports betting, online lottery sales, and daily fantasy sports, residents will go direct, for the first time, through Google. Advertisements related to real-money gambling will also be allowed for the first time.
Vegas Test Kitchen has opened downtown. It’s a unique format that allows several chefs to work out of a “communal kitchen.” It was originally floated as a place for new chefs to perfect their game, but several who are there have impressive credentials and some run restaurants that are currently closed. If nothing else, there’s plenty of variety, including pizza, sushi, bagels, ramen, and even a Bulgarian specialty called baniza (stuffed pastries).
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority reports a little less than 1.25 million Sin City visitors in December, the lowest total since May, when the casinos were closed for the entire month. It capped a year of feeble visitation, with a grand total of 19 million, a plunge of 55% from 2019 and the lowest in 31 years. The last time it was that low was 1989, when the Mirage opened in November of that year.
December's beggarly visitor count wasn't a surprise, considering the departure of the National Finals Rodeo and the diminished Christmas-New Year's crowds.
Nearly six feet of snow, including eight inches in the last 72 hours and another 6-10 inches today, has fallen at Lee Canyon this year. The closest ski resort to Las Vegas, on the upper elevations of Mt. Charleston roughly 50 miles and 50 minutes from downtown, all three lifts are open and 15 of the 27 trails. Reservations are mandatory and limited; masks are required throughout the resort, even outside, though in the videos we've seen, enforcement appears to be lax.
There's only one, at South Point, but our intrepid social-media influencers took on the South Point Buffet and the eight-minute video is now posted for your vicarious Las Vegas AYCE fix. Anthony Curtis is in typically good form, discussing a subject he knows a little something about. He says he's eaten at "hundreds" of buffets, but we're sure he's being modest; over 40-plus years, it's certainly more than a thousand. And for the first time, you can see Andrew Hunt, the dashing man behind the camera. They cover the reservations process, mask and serving protocols, and sanitizer situation, food, prices and hours -- the whole "pandemic-buffet" experience -- and you can almost taste the offerings from the great food footage. Check it out and leave your comments!
The latest buffet casualty is the Golden Corral in Henderson. Las Vegas’ two Golden Corrals are among several non-casino buffets in Las Vegas that, same as the casino buffets, have been harmed by COVID restrictions. A second Golden Corral in the northeast part of town is open with a cafeteria-style (employee-served) format.
Al Mancini, a food writer for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, reports that Sixth + Mill Ristorante, Pizzeria and Bar will close next month and be replaced by a new Italian restaurant, BRERA Osteria, operated by the same company behind Sixth + Mill and Mateo's Ristorante Italiano at the Venetian, along with BRERA Ristorante in L.A. The name Brera is a nod to a neighborhood in Milan, Italy, which Al describes as "an artsy Bohemian district credited by some with popularizing the 'aperitivo hour' (Italian happy hour) nearly a century ago." Sixth + Mill is located in St. Mark's Square at the end of the Grand Canal Shoppes. The opening date for BRERA hasn't been announced.
The prospects for allowing online sports betting in New York continue to improve, with the potential to generate an estimated $20 billion handle. However, there’s concern that the state will run the concession exclusively, disallowing competition from multiple operators, a practice that has proven to truncate results in other markets, e.g., Montana, Oregon, and Rhode Island.
In his first quarterly conference call with investors, shareholder, and media since being named Chairman and CEO of Las Vegas Sands, Rob Goldstein said he had "very strong thoughts" in favor of online casino gambling and sports betting, two businesses that recently deceased founder and Chairman Sheldon Adelson vehemently opposed. Evidently, Sands executives are exploring "all aspects" of igaming. In light of the company's reported net loss of $1.69 billion in 2020, including a 60% decline in revenues at its Las Vegas properties, Goldstein's change in direction makes total sense. At the same time, he's optimistic about Las Vegas' recovery. “The customer demand for Las Vegas from 2022 to 2027 is unbelievable,” he said.
On January 27, 1951, the Atomic Energy Commission conducted its first aboveground test of an atom bomb on Frenchman's Flat at the Nevada Proving Grounds (now the Nevada National Security Site), roughly 65 miles northwest of downtown Las Vegas. The mushroom cloud from the explosion, the equivalent of 1,000 tons of TNT, was photographed from a casino rooftop; the iconic image has the Pioneer Club and Vegas Vic in the foreground with the cloud between them. The test went off only five weeks after President Harry Truman established the Test Site; 100 atmospheric tests and 921 below-ground tests were conducted at the Test Site through September 23, 1992, when the tests ended (though an underground test of the properties of plutonium was conducted on the site in 2012).
After being pressed into service to host some college football games this year, it looks like Sam Boyd Stadium will finally be put out to pasture. Due to a deal with the Las Vegas Raiders NFL team, the venue can no longer be used for sports or concerts, the latter of which the stadium has hosted many, as described in our book Rock Vegas. Future plans for the stadium or the parcel have not been determined, though there’s some speculation that it could eventually be used as the home of a Major League Soccer franchise.
Los Angeles-based Fuelster, an app-based gasoline-delivery service, has signed an agreement with MGM Resorts to allow fill-ups in the parking garages at 10 of its Strip properties. You leave your gas tank door open and within a two-hour window between 6 a.m. and 11 p.m. daily, your tank is filled. You'll pay a 50-cent-per-gallon premium for the service, but there's no delivery fee or tipping. Fuelster doesn't provide roadside service.
Steve Wynn has put a 2.7-acre 27,150-square-foot Beverly Hills mansion up for sale. Wynn, who purchased the property in 2015 for $48 million, is asking $110 million. According to the story in the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Wynn stays there infrequently and bought it as an investment, remodeling the interiors and sprucing up the landscaping. If you're interested in making an offer, it boasts a home theater, gym, wine room, elevator, tennis court, pool house, and quarters for staff and security. We figure that since he's asking $110 million, he'll bargain down to $100 mil; come in at $90 million and you can probably pick it up for the low nine figures.
A month ago, as new train cars on the roller coaster at New York-New York were being tested, one three-car train derailed and the test was immediately curtailed. The future of the thrill ride was in doubt, but evidently, the track is being repaired and signs at New York-New York indicate that the Big Apple coaster will reopen in early March. Good news. It's a great ride with a 180-degree heartline twist-and-dive maneuver and a 203-foot drop, all with bird's-eye views of the south Strip.
A winter storm across much of the western U.S. touched the edges of Las Vegas Valley last night, with accumulations of snow in some slightly elevated communities, such as western Summerlin and Centennial Hills. Kids were building snowmen and having snowball fights in the parks there and drivers were having trouble getting traction (no such thing as snow tires in this town). Flurries dusted the Strip and McCarran Airport, with no accumulations. But the mountains west of the city got dumped on. Red Rock Canyon was closed all yesterday due to the snow, I-15 west of Primm was closed for a period, and the Spring Mountains, where a Winter Storm Warning is in effect, are in the midst of receiving 12-18 inches from the storm. The system moves east today, followed by warmer temperatures; a new storm rolls in on Friday, with rain only.
According to BusinessInsider, Elon Musk, CEO of the company that's building the subterranean transportation system for the Las Vegas Convention Center, which could be expanded throughout the city, is planning a party to celebrate the opening of the project that will have a radioactive-fallout theme. Overlooking the macabre aspects of the theme, could Musk be implying that his tunnels might withstand a nearby nuclear explosion? He says that the party will take place "as soon as allowed."
As of yesterday, anyone 21 and older residing in the city limits of Las Vegas can get alcohol, including mixed drinks, delivered to their home addresses by restaurants and convenience stores. Hoping to boost sales at businesses hard hit by pandemic restrictions, the Las Vegas City Council expanded a law that allows supermarket deliveries of alcohol to include restaurants, minimarts, and third-party delivery companies, such as Uber Eats and DoorDash, to make the deliveries. Restaurants and delivery services are required to apply for a special a license to sell booze for off-premises consumption. No deliveries to casinos are permitted.
Gaming Today, a sports-betting and gambling newspaper that's been a staple of free reading material in sports books, card rooms, and at race tracks nationwide for nearly 50 years, has been sold again and the new owner has announced that the paper version will go out of print right after the Super Bowl. The online version will be retained and expanded and will "become the flagship sports betting site" of the buyer, i15 Media. Gaming Today was launched by Chuck DiRocco and his wife Eileen in 1976, right around the time that the first sports book opened in a casino. It was sold to local casino magnate Bill Paulos, co-founder of Cannery Casinos, in 2016. i15 Media, which "manages a large network of gambling-focused news and affiliate sites," according to the news release, paid an undisclosed price for Gaming Today.
The Kansas City Chiefs are -3.5 favorites over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The total is 57.5.
In today's AFC Championship, the Kansas City Chiefs are -3 favorites over the Buffalo Bills. The total is 54.
In today's NFC Championship the Green Bay Packers are -3 favorites over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The total is 53.
A feature story in The New York Times reports that long-time Las Vegan Robert Bigelow, 75-year-old owner of Budget Suites of America and Bigelow Aeronautics, is sponsoring a contest with nearly $1 million prizes "seeking the best available evidence of survival of consciousness" after bodily death. Three prizes -- $500,000 for first, $300,000 for second, and $150,000 for third place -- will be awarded on November 1, 2021. Entrants must be serious researchers of consciousness, with at least five years in the field and an affiliation with a professional group; evidence (up to 25,000 words) of the retention of awareness after death is due by August 1 and will be judged by a panel of experts. If you're interested in the details, the story is titled "Can Robert Bigelow (and the rest of us) survive death?" and can be found reprinted in today's Las Vegas Sun.
Move over, Bellagio: A 13-foot-tall and roughly 15-foot-long ox, with metallic gold horns, tail, nose, and hooves, and gold armor on her legs, is now on display at the Venetian. The ox, dubbed "Alessandra Heng," symbolized the Year of the Ox on the Chinese Zodiac, the 12-year cycle in which an animal represents each year. Alessandra the Ox is is surrounded by IChing coins displaying the symbols for prosperity, good health, and happiness. It can be seen in the Palazzo lobby, across from the LOVE installation.
Conor McGregor is a -325 favorite over Dustin Poirier in tonight’s UFC main event. In the other featured match, Dan Hooker is -165 over Michael Chandler.
Online casino gambling and sports betting kicked off at noon yesterday in Michigan. Ten sites are now actively booking sports bets and hosting live-money casino games, from BetMGM at MGM Grand to WynnBet at the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians' Kewadin Casinos. FanDuel, DraftKings, William Hill, Golden Nugget, and four other providers are affiliated with brick-and-mortar casinos around the state. You don't have to live in Michigan to make bets; you just have to physically be there. Michigan is the fifth state to offer igaming, along with New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and West Virginia.
The Mega Millions jackpot, which hadn't been hit since September 15 and had climbed to an even billion dollars, was hit by one winner in Michigan in last night's drawing. The winning ticket for the third largest jackpot in U.S. history was purchased at a Kroger store in Novi, Michigan, a suburb about eight miles northwest of Detroit. The lump-sum payout will be $740 million.
Elio, the highly anticipated and touted Mexican fusion restaurant at Encore from the team that owns and operates the hugely successful Cosme and Atla restaurants in Manhattan and Pujol in Mexico City, has closed. It was originally scheduled to debut on March 19, at the very start of the shutdown, but finally opened in late June. It closed in November for an announced renovation, but never reopened. Possible friction among the three partners surfaced in December when one of them, the chef at Elio, "moved on." Finally, Wynn pulled the plug and closed the restaurant permanently. A replacement for Elio, the only Mexican restaurant at Wynn/Encore, hasn't been revealed.
A survey released yesterday revealed that three out of four business travelers are confident that Las Vegas "will be best prepared to safely host conventions starting in the second half of this year. Virginia-based market-research firm under contract to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority conducted the survey of 500 business travelers at the start of the year and found that 74% selected Las Vegas as a destination to which they'd be comfortable traveling sometime after July.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that Nevada is lagging behind every other state in the union, except Alabama, when it comes to the number of COVID-19 vaccinations that have been administered to its residents. Less than 4,000 shots per 100,000 residents have been administered, 3.7% of the population. In addition, Nevada is second to last in receiving doses of the vaccine, just ahead of South Carolina. Have you gotten yours yet? Are you or aren't you planning to do so? You can weigh in on the issue by voting in the current LVA poll.
In the Powerball drawing last night, a single ticket sold somewhere in Maryland hit all six numbers to take down the jackpot of $731.1 million. The lump-sum payout before taxes is $546.8 million. It's the fourth-largest jackpot in Powerball history, which now resets all the way back to $20 million (ho hum). The Mega Millions jackpot remains in play; the drawing tomorrow night will be for $970 million.
A federal circuit court yesterday threw out a Justice Department ruling from last year that, if upheld, could have quashed igaming, mobile sport betting, multi-state lottery sales, and other interstate gambling activities. The court affirmed an earlier district court's ruling that the 1961 Wire Act applies only to interstate sports betting, rejecting the much broader view cited in the 2018 opinion by the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel. Thus, this particular sword of Damocles, which has been hanging over the online-gambling industry for more than two years, has been permanently beaten into a plowshare.
After an unseasonably warm and dry first month of winter, winds will pick up, temperatures will drop, and rain or even snow will fall starting late Friday and continue for as long as a week. A high temperature of 45 is predicted for Monday and Tuesday, with the low dropping to 32 on Tuesday night. We could see some precipitation on Tuesday and Thursday. Temperatures are expected to remain in the 50s through the end of the month, rising into the low 60s just after Groundhog Day.
UNLV is officially "retiring" its long-time mascot, Hey Reb!, seven months after removing a campus statue of the mascot in the midst of national protests over the deaths of George Floyd and Breanna Taylor. UNLV also announced that it won't replace Hey Reb! with a new mascot. Thus far, the nickname of the university sports teams, the Rebels, will remain, but evidently, UNLV continues to evaluate its future. For the history of the nickname and mascot and a discussion on changing them, you can read our Question of the Day about it.
According to a story in this morning's Las Vegas Review-Journal, "hundreds" of lottery ticket buyers lined up at the Primm Valley Lotto Store, the closest lottery outlet to Las Vegas just across the state line in California. The line "snaked around the building" and through the parking lot. Lottery mania is sweeping the nation, with the Mega Millions jackpot at an estimated $970 million for Friday night's drawing and the Powerball jackpot at $730 million for tonight's drawing. The Mega Millions jackpot is its second-largest ever, as well as being the third largest in U.S. history.
In the waning hours of his presidency, Donald Trump commuted the sentence of famed sports bettor Billy Walters, who was convicted of insider trading and sentenced to five years in prison. Walters served two and a half years of his sentence (he was released due to coronavirus concerns, but was serving out the remainder of his sentence at home) and, according to the White House, has paid more than $40 million in fines, forfeitures, and restitution. Trump also pardoned Casey Urlacher, former mayor of a Chicago suburb and brother of Chicago Bears star Brian Urlacher, who was charged by the feds for helping run an illegal multimillion-dollar sports betting operation.
The 2021 Member Rewards Books are in. We're distributing them now at our office and loading envelopes for mailing.
We've seen many eulogies, encomiums, and retrospectives about Sheldon Adelson since he died last week, but one of the best has just been posted by Reno-based Ken Adams, a long-time observer and analyst of the international gaming industry. It's a clear-eyed, detailed, and engaging remembrance well worth the four or so minutes to read. You'll come away with a deeper insight into Adelson's life, character, and impact on the industry. You can read it at CDC Gaming Reports.
The property where the White Sands Motel hosted guests for just under 50 years has been put up for sale again, this time for $18 million. The 35-room motel has been closed since 2008 and is owned by the estate of the long-time owner, who died in 1992. The 1.1-acre parcel directly across the street from Luxor is fenced and boarded up, but was selling for $25 million in 2016 before it was taken off the market. The current $18 million is still steep, especially with Las Vegas continuing to reel from the effects of the pandemic. But hope springs eternal.
The Bellagio Conservatory and Botanical Gardens has unveiled its annual homage to the Chinese New Year. The Year of the Ox display features golden oxen, naturally, on a red footbridge across a pond with a covered rowboat and rower, plus several Chinese structures, trees and birds, fountains, and a full moon, acknowledging the Chinese lunar calendar. The display will remain until March 6, when it will be replaced with the spring extravaganza.
We don't report on every incident on the Strip, which are fairly frequent, though much less than in early fall when Metropolitan Police launched Operation Persistent Pressure. But one occurred just after midnight this morning started in the Venetian casino. Four men got into a fight, which was broken up by security. Two groups of two were escorted off the property through separate doors. But when the four met up outside Palazzo, the fight continued. One man was shot. The gunman and his accomplice ran across the Strip to Treasure Island, where police grabbed them. In addition, there was a shooting around 2:30 a.m. Sunday morning in a parking lot at the Rio. These days more than ever, it's important to be aware of your surroundings, trust your instincts, and keep far away from any potential trouble -- and not just on the Strip, but everywhere.
In today's NFC playoff game, the New Orleans Saints are -2.5 favorites over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The total is 53.
In today's AFC playoff game, the Kansas City Chiefs are -8 favorites over the Cleveland Browns. The total is 56.
The Las Vegas Pinball Collectors Club, owners of the Pinball Hall of Fame, has started a GoFundMe page to raise $200,000 in order to complete its new building on the Strip. "The new building is now 96% finished, and we find that because of an almost total collapse of the tourist traffic in Las Vegas, we are going to fall short," the Club writes on the page. The Hall of Fame has to be out of its old building by May 6. They can't cut the payroll, since everyone who works there is a volunteer. They've sold "dozens of donated machines." They say, "We started this project on a shoestring and have been VERY frugal all along. We are very lucky that the COVID hasn't infected any of us, but it has WRECKED our finances. The loss in revenue due to closure for 12 weeks, having half our games turned off for social distancing, and a total lack of tourists is now over $500,000." We love the Pinball Hall of Fame, a unique attraction in Las Vegas, and would hate to see it fail. If you'd like to donate, here's the link to the GoFundMe page.
A story in yesterday's Las Vegas Sun profiled the all-beef Vienna hot dog sold from the cart near the sports book at Michael Gaughan's South Point. A perennial LVA Top Tenner, Gaughan started the tradition more than 40 years ago at the Barbary Coast, selling the dogs for 50 cents. That was it, just franks with mustard, relish, and onion add-ons at no extra charge -- no drinks, no chips, no nothing else. The price was raised to 75 cents, then $1.25 along the way, and South Point now sells more than 600 of them on a normal day -- nearly a quarter-million a year -- with 2,600 sold on last year's Super Bowl Sunday (there's a limit of three per person). Gaughan says the dogs cost him $1.10 each, so he makes 15 cents per sale. And here's a sneak preview from a new book we're working on by Chris Andrews, author of Then One Day and sports book director at South Point. "When Michael started selling the hot dogs at South Point, people loved them and the guy selling them made a fortune in tips. Almost everyone told him to keep the change of half a buck or at least tossed him a quarter. When Michael raised the price to $1.25, he didn’t want to make it an even dollar, because the guy working the cart wouldn’t make any tips."
In today's AFC playoff game, the Buffalo Bills are -2.5 favorites over the Baltimore Ravens. The total is 50.
In today's NFC playoff game, the Green Bay Packers are -7 favorites over the Los Angeles Rams. The total is 45.
Max Holloway is a -150 favorite over Calvin Kattar in today’s UFC main event. In the other featured match, Carlos Condit is -230 over Matt Brown. Today’s card is the first ever broadcast on ABC.
Eli Segall, the Las Vegas Review-Journal's real estate reporter, penned a story for today's paper about the difference in prices between the least and most expensive houses sold last year in the valley. The least expensive was a 480-square-foot one-bedroom one-bath 1940s' bungalow on a .15-acre lot: asking price $90,000; selling price $66,000, $137 a square foot. The most expensive was a 14,464-square foot six-bedroom nine bath mansion at the western edge of Summerlin built in 2009 on 1.65 acres; it sold for $14.5 million or $1,000 a square foot. Big spread between the biggest and smallest spread.
There was no grand-prize winner in last night's Mega Millions jackpot, which rose from $750 million to an estimated $850 million for Tuesday's drawing. Eight players hit the Match 5 for $1 million in seven different states, but none hit the sixth for the jackpot. The lump-sum payout now stands at roughly $630 million. Tonight's Powerball jackpot is for $640 million, with a cashout of roughly $480 million.
A 1.8-acre vacant lot at the major intersection closest to Allegiant Stadium (Polaris Avenue and Russell Road) has sold to an Arizona developer for $10.8 million. Scottsdale-based Diversified Partners plans to build and open a retro-designed In N Out Burger on the site. Diversified, which would develop the outlet and own the land, would be the landlord and collect rent; all In N Out locations are corporate owned.
The latest video on the Las Vegas Advisor YouTube channel takes this medium in another direction, but one that we're also planning to go with it. The previous videos were all updates on the coronavirus situation taped at the office. This one leaves the office to spotlight a great play on gasoline, often the best price in town, only a mile from the Strip. Spend three-plus minutes to see Anthony Curtis in action by clicking here.
The owner of the Las Vegas Raiders, Mark Davis, is buying the Las Vegas Aces WNBA team from MGM Resorts, pending approval by the WNBA Board of Governors. Davis is a frequent attendee at Aces games and bought 1,600 tickets for the 2019 season to distribute to Las Vegas public-school students. The Aces went to the WNBA Finals in the truncated 2020 season, losing to the Seattle Storm. More details will be forthcoming as the deal points are disclosed.
The Golden Gate issued a press release yesterday extolling its 115 years of history as a hotel-casino. The original building opened in 1906 as the Hotel Nevada; in the lobby was a small casino with roulette and poker tables. In 1931 when gambling was legalized in Nevada, the name of the hotel was changed to the Sal Sagev (Las Vegas spelled backwards). Technically, the Golden Gate didn't come alive until 1955, when a group of investors from San Francisco bought and renamed the property. However, 10 of the hotel rooms have been preserved in their original condition and there's a collection in the lobby of century-old artifacts. The release also made a cool comparison: Las Vegas' oldest hotel is now located right across the street from Las Vegas' newest, Circa.
The Vegas Golden Knights NHL hockey team plays its first game of the truncated 2021 season tonight at T-Mobile Arena (7 p.m. PT), taking on the Anaheim Ducks. For the occasion, the VGK have named the first captain in the team's four-year history. Stone, who'll wear a "C" on his jersey, was traded to the Knights by the Ottawa Senators two years ago; he's playing under an eight-year contract at $9.5 million per year, the VGK's most expensive salary.
A German news agency, dpa international, is reporting today that illusionist Siegfried Fischbacher died at his home in Las Vegas last night at age 81. The news agency said that Fischbacher’s sister, a nun who lives in Munich, confirmed his death. Sister Dolore told dpa that she spoke with her brother on the phone before he died. Just yesterday, it was reported that Siegfried had undergone a 12-hour surgery for pancreatic cancer. MGM Resorts International properties will celebrate Siegfried's legacy tonight by lighting up their marquees with a tribute from 5 to 6 p.m. Siegfried & Roy opened the Mirage and played there for 14 years.
With no winner of the Mega Millions $625 million jackpot in last night's drawing, combined with the frenzy of ticket buying, the new jackpot for Friday night's drawing will be an estimated $750 million -- the fifth-largest lottery jackpot in U.S. history. The Powerball jackpot for tonight's drawing is $550 million.
The Consumer Electronics Show is taking place virtually this week and one of the most interesting items to come out so far is the unveiling of the Illuminarium. Japan electronics company Panasonic has established a joint venture with Illuminarium Experiences to launch a "new experiential entertainment brand that creates immersive spectacles in custom-designed venues called Illuminariums." Panasonic will provide 4K projectors, displays, and camera solutions for the 30,000-square-foot Illuminariums' 360-degree immersive entertainment centers. Described as "virtual reality without the goggles," the immersive theaters are like "living museums," taking participants to out-of-reach places. The first Illuminarium, scheduled to open in Atlanta sometime this summer, will feature the initial show, "Wild: The World’s First Virtual Safari," showcasing exotic animals in their natural habitats. Miami and Las Vegas will open the next two Illuminariums, with 25 to 30 venues planned for the world's biggest destinations within the next five years.
Siegfried Fischbacher, 81, is "terminally ill" with pancreatic cancer. The German tabloid Bild reports that the star illusionist is recovering from a recent 12-hour operation to remove a malignant tumor. Siegfried's long-time partner in life and show business, Roy Horn, died in early May at age 75 from COVID-19.
Friday's Mega Millions drawing was the 33rd in a row without a jackpot winner. The grand prize rose from $520 million to around $600 million for this evening's drawing. This is the eighth time in U.S. lottery history that a jackpot has risen above $600 million; the $442.4 million lump-sum payout is the sixth-largest cashout jackpot in U.S. history. At the same time, Saturday night's Powerball drawing was also the 33rd in a row without a jackpot winner. The grand prize rose from $489.6 million to $550 million for Wednesday evening's drawing. This is the 13th-largest lottery jackpot in U.S. history and the ninth-largest in Powerball history. It's a rare alignment of the two multi-state lottery jackpots that, with Powerball's current lump sum of $411.4 million, together add up to just under $1 billion.
Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak announced last night that the current pause in economic activities in an effort to mitigate the pandemic will be extended until February 15. It was set to expire on Saturday. He said that it will take a month for state health officials to ascertain the effects of the Christmas/New Year's holiday crowds in Las Vegas, Reno, and border towns. The pause extension means that hospitality businesses such as bars, restaurants, and casinos remain limited to 25% capacity, while public and private gatherings are limited at 50 and 10 people, respectively. Sisolak also announced that frontline casino workers have been moved up the priority list for receiving the coronavirus vaccination. So far, Nevada has vaccinated 60,000 people from its stockpile of 170,000 doses.
Sheldon Adelson, who founded the Las Vegas Sands Corp., passed away last night from the effects of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a cancer that originates in the lymphatic system and creates a serious blood disorder. He'd suffered from it for the past several years. Adelson, whose father was a taxicab driver in Boston, rose to become of member of the top-20 richest people in the U.S. He's survived by his second wife Miriam (they would have celebrated their 30th anniversary this year), three children adopted with his first wife, and two stepchildren. For a detailed look into his life and business, read a retrospective by CDC Gaming Report's Executive Editor Howard Stutz.
In the college-football National Championship, Alabama is a -9.5 favorite over Ohio State. The total is 75.
The $300 million nine-year Centennial Bowl road-improvement project that launched in 2015 to connect US 95 to the 215 Bruce Woodbury Beltway in northwest Las Vegas begins its last leg of construction today. Upwards of 110,000 vehicles use that interchange every day for access to and from the northern suburbs and when it's completed in 2024, Centennial Bowl will be among the largest interchanges in Nevada, boasting 20 bridges over three road decks. One of those, the half-mile two-lane ramp that runs between US 95 northbound and 215 westbound, is the second longest in the state; it opened last August.
Las Vegas might have the highest unemployment rate out of 100 major metropolitan areas, but the 1% are in a real estate feeding frenzy. Buck Wargo, a real estate reporter for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, writes that in December in southern Nevada, 129 houses and condos sold for more than $1 million, breaking the previous record of 98, which was set the month before. For the year, 824 sales of $1 million or more went well above the record of 596 set in 2019. In the $1 millions, 2020's 597 sales were up from 2019's 340; in the $2 millions, there were 114 sales, compared to 71 in 2019; in the $3 millions, 49 compared to 42. And at $5 million and higher, December alone registered 13 sales, one more than in all of 2019; for the year, there were 32 at $5 million and higher. Roughly 50% of buyers seem to be coming from California. Wargo's article speculated on a number of reasons for the trend, but one thing is crystal clear -- as the following attests. When F. Scott Fitzgerald (supposedly) said to Ernest Hemingway, "The rich are different from you and me," Hemingway replied, "Yes. They've got more money."
The mini-food court at Slots-A-Fun shut down toward the end of the summer. That area along the south wall of the casino has been boarded up. We haven't seen this anywhere else, but VegasChanges.com reports that "two sources" reveal a White Castle will replace Subway and Noble Roman's Pizza. "Nothing has been confirmed and no opening date has been announced," VegasChanges writes, but it makes sense to us. White Castle has been on a fairly aggressive expansion schedule in southern Nevada since the first one opened at Casino Royale in 2015; since then, they've opened one downtown (2017), out at Jean (2018), and on Paradise Road at Harmon (2019).
In today’s third NFL Wild Card Playoff game, the Pittsburgh Steelers are -5 favorites over the Cleveland Browns. The total is 47.5.
In today’s second NFL Wild Card Playoff game, the New Orleans Saints are -11 favorites over the Chicago Bears. The total is 48.
No reason was given, but French celebrity chef and Las Vegas local Hubert Keller is ending his association with MGM Resorts. Keller's two restaurants at Mandalay Bay, Fleur and Burger Bar, have been closed since the shutdown in March. Fleur will reopen under MGM management and MGM announced that it hopes Burger Bar will return "with a new hospitality partner." Keller opened the Burger Bar at MBay in 2004 with a $60 burger that we tried (and didn't care for).
In the first of three NFL Wild Card Playoff games today, the Baltimore Ravens are -3.5 favorites over the Tennessee Titans. The total is 54.5.
You can watch Anthony Curtis for five minutes in the third installment of the Las Vegas Advisor YouTube video series, now available for viewing. In it, he first addresses a question on everyone's mind: When will the buffets reopen? You might be surprised by the answer. He also talks about the Legends Club at the top of Circa, provides details about the $15.5 million Megabucks jackpot hit at Suncoast on Christmas Eve, and discusses the new literal world champion of poker, Argentinian Damian Salas, and the final-table heads-up match between him and Louisianan Joe Hebert. Catch it now and leave a comment if you care to (unlike this website, you don't have to be a Gold member to do so on YouTube).
In today’s third NFL Wild Card Playoff game, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are -10 favorites over the Washington Football Team. The total is 45.
In today’s second NFL Wild Card Playoff game, the Seattle Seahawks are -3 favorites over the Los Angeles Rams. The total is 42.
Tied elections have been resolved by coin flips, the casting of lots, and poker hands, but how about a game of mini-keno? The race for mayor of a small Texas town, Dickinson, was tied at 1,010 votes for each candidate (adding up to 2020; you can't make this stuff up). So Dickinson officials put two ping-pong balls in a top hat and picked one to determine the winning candidate. The winner also got to don the top hat.
Barry Manilow will return to the International Theater at the Westgate on June 10 for a series of five three-day shows through October. He'll perform June 10, 11, and 12, September 16, 17, 18, 23, 24, and 25, and October 21, 22, and 23. Those with tickets for the shows that were canceled last year will be contacted for rescheduling.
In the first of three NFL Wild Card Playoff games today, the Buffalo Bills are -6.5 favorites over the Indianapolis Colts. The total is 50.5.
Metropolitan police launched Operation Persistent Pressure on September 18 to combat the alarming rise in crime along the tourist corridor toward the end of the summer. In the next three months, 1,229 people were arrested on and around the Strip, more than half from out of state. One in three arrests were for major crimes, including aggravated assault, battery, armed robbery, and gun violations; disorderly conduct also accounted for a large number. A Metro spokesperson told the Las Vegas Review-Journal, “The spike in crime we saw in our tourist corridor was resolved to some extent. We made tremendous progress in dealing with the violent crime in our tourist corridor.”
Bob Dancer is featured in the current episode of the Risk of Ruin gambling podcast, called "Two Hustlers," which compares and contrasts our very own video poker pro with slot hustler Mickey Crimm. Crimm spends about half the year in Montana chasing down progressives and the other half traveling around the country taking on various promotions. The 50-minute podcast is definitely worth a listen.
The Plaza has unveiled its new Wheel of Fortune Slots Zone, a 2,900-square-foot space dedicated exclusively to Wheel of Fortune slots. The WoF Slots Zone hosts more than 40 Wheel of Fortune slots, including both new and classic themes in mechanical- and video-reel formats.
Did you know that Wheel of Fortune is the most successful slot theme of all time? Since the game’s 1996 debut, IGT has made more than 250 variations of the theme and distributed them in countries around the world. Wheel of Fortune slots have made more than 1,000 millionaires, totaling well over $3 billion in jackpot payouts.
Sheldon Adelson, chief executive officer and chairman of the board of Las Vegas Sands Corporation, is stepping down temporarily in a continuing battle against non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a form of blood cancer. Adelson, 87, was diagnosed two years ago and seemed to recover, but now needs further treatment. Rob Goldstein, long-time president and chief operating officer of Sands, will retain those positions and take on the CEO and chairman roles as well.
Las Vegan game-show whiz "Jeopardy" James Holzhauer is returning to the scene of his first big-money game-show appearance, "The Chase." Holzhauer won just under $60,000 on his "Chase" appearance in 2014 and has hoped for another shot ever since. The Game Show Network show, the U.S. version of a popular British game, starts up again this Thursday at 9 p.m. PT on ABC. Holzhauer is pitted against his "Jeopardy!" counterparts Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter. Jennings leads off the game this week, with Holzhauer expected to follow next Thursday December 14.
The line for the College Football National Championship opened with Alabama a -7 favorite over Ohio State. It went to -8.5 in some places and has come back to -8. The total is 74.5.
In a Gaming Control Board suitability hearing yesterday, a principal in Dreamscape Companies, the new owner of the Rio, testified that Dreamscape hopes to take over operation of the property "before 2023," depending, of course, on circumstances. (It's currently operated by Caesars in a leaseback arrangement.) An article by Las Vegas Review-Journal business reporter Richard Velotta quotes Dreamscape executive Eric Birnbaum as telling the Board that the Rio will undergo a "monster refresh," including a "re-examination" of the food and beverage product. He said that the Rio is neither a high-end nor low-end property; rather, he called it "approachable luxury," adding, "It’s a good experience at a price point that you don’t feel you’re getting taken advantage of.” The Control Board unanimously approved a preliminary finding of suitability for Birnbaum and fellow executive Thomas Ellis.
MGM Resorts International is hiring more than 400 employees positions for the pool season. An online fair is being held Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. for positions including lifeguards, pool attendants and receptionists, cabana hosts, security, and retail. Many of the jobs will begin in February and run though early November. Applicants will be interviewed and hired during the video event. On the other side of the employment spectrum, M Resort in Henderson laid off 159 employees on Monday, due to "ongoing operating restrictions and low business volumes."
If you pre-ordered our new book, Joe's Dash -- From Million Dollar Drug Busts to Multi-Million Dollar Collections for the Las Vegas Casinos, you'll have it soon. If you haven't ordered it, you'll definitely want to click on the link and take a look. Casino security and debt collecting are hidden aspects of the gambling business. In Joe’s Dash, they’re revealed for the first time ever, as Joe Dorsey's amazing career is illuminated. It began in the Navy on the flight deck of an aircraft carrier, continued in the Coast Guard with high-risk search-and-rescue missions in violent ocean storms, then moved though the ranks of the San Diego Police Department to detective in the Narcotics Task Force. Those were just the preliminaries to working as an agent for the Gaming Control Board investigating the backgrounds of unscrupulous junket reps and notorious mobsters, then as the director of security and surveillance at several major casinos. Finally, his decades of experience led to Joe's pioneering previously unbroken ground as a casino debt collector -- turning the District Attorney into the official collection agent of the Las Vegas casinos and recovering millions from gamblers in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia who’d thought they’d finally beaten the casinos. We’re offering Joe's Dash for $17.96 (regular price $19.95), which includes shipping to U.S. addresses. It's also available on Amazon and will soon be on bookstore shelves across the country.
The roughly 56,000 wedding licenses the Clark County Marriage Bureau issued in 2020 amounted to 17,000 less than in 2019, a decline of 23%. Not bad, compared to some of the other metrics, such as gross gambling revenue, down 56%, and convention attendance, down 100%. What's more, the worst of the drop happened during the 78-day shutdown; licenses and weddings have come back strong ever since, with October registering a 10% increase year over year. Reportedly, many couples who had to cancel their weddings at home have "eloped" to Vegas to tie the knot and the chapels are stepping up with health and safety packages. A Chapel of Love, for example, is offering outdoor ceremonies at the Welcome sign, out in the desert, and in small towns around the city.
As is unfortunately typical in crisis times, Las Vegas has again earned the dubious distinction of having the highest unemployment rate among the nation's metro areas with more than one million in population. Yesterday's report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics puts Las Vegas at the top of the list with 11.5% of employees out of work in November. Vegas was followed by New Orleans (9.8%), Los Angeles (9.6%), New York (9.5%), and Houston (8.9%). Birmingham, Minneapolis, Nashville, Salt Lake City, and St. Louis had the lowest unemployment, all less than 4.3%.
Chick-fil-A will open its 10th franchise in Las Vegas in Summerlin on Thursday. The new location is at the corner of W. Charleston and Fort Apache. It will be open 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday, but only for mobile orders and curbside pickup. The newest Chick-Fil-A in town joins more than 2,600 other locations in 47 states, Washington, D.C., and Canada.
The 31 living members of Caesars Entertainment's Poker Hall of Fame selected Huckleberry “Huck” Seed out of 10 nominees to be inducted as the 60th member of the HoF. The six-foot-seven Montana native, who will turn 52 this month, won the World Series of Poker’s Main Event in 1996 at age 27; his career includes 53 cashes and four bracelets from the WSOP and other tournament winnings of $7.5 million.
A local developer has announced that ground will be broken for the 45-story Majestic Las Vegas sometime in July. The non-gaming 720-room hotel is planned for 305 Convention Center Drive, former site of the Clarion Hotel, which was imploded in 2015. The $850 million business hotel will feature select restaurants, entertainment, a spa, and 35 corporate suites on the 620-foot-tall tower’s top 10 floors, selling for $10 million to $100 million. The project was originally scheduled to launch in 2020, but was delayed by the pandemic; it's now expected to open sometime in 2024.
DeVonta Smith is the solid favorite to win college football’s Heisman Trophy tonight at -835. Mac Jones is +400, Trevor Lawrence is +1300, and Kyle Trask is +5000. If Smith wins, he’ll be only the third wide receiver to win the award and the first since 1991 when Desmond Howard won.
In April we reported that the target for opening casinos in Japan could be pushed back to 2026. Now that sounds optimistic. The new official timetable cited by the Japanese government is “the second half of the decade.” The second half of which decade wasn’t specified.
The first Sunday of the year was the last Sunday of the regular NFL schedule and today, the sports books are moving on from their worst result of the season. The public loves to bet the favorites and yesterday, in 14 of the 16 games played, the favorites prevailed. The books paid out on straight money-line bets all day long, but when the Las Vegas Raiders made a two-point conversion to beat the Denver Broncos by one point at the end of the 15th game of the day, the vast majority of money-line parlays were winners as well. The Raiders ended the season at 8-8 and didn't qualify for the playoffs.
Argentine attorney Damian Salas outlasted Louisiana poker pro Joe Hebert to win the overall World Series of Poker championship yesterday in the international heads-up contest at the Rio. The final final table was delayed while 45-year-old Salas made his way to the U.S.; he had to change his flight plans three times due to COVID protocols. Then, at one point, he was down 9-1 in chips to Hebert, before clawing his way back to win the bracelet, $1 million, and the championship in the six-hour 173-hand playoff. It was Salas' second appearance at a final table; he placed seventh in the 2017 WSOP.
The Washington Football Team is a -6.5 favorite over the Philadelphia Eagles in tonight's Sunday Night Football game. The total is 43.
The National Indian Gaming Commission has released fiscal year 2019 gross gaming revenue numbers, which totaled a record $34.6 billion, a 2.5% increase over 2018. Revenues are based on reports from 245 federally recognized tribes operating 522 casinos across 29 states.
After suspending most flights to the U.S. between mid-March and early September, Korean Air has been slowly reinstituting its service to North American cities: nine in the U.S. and two in Canada. Two cities are conspicuous by their absence: Honolulu and Las Vegas. It's not a mystery why; both are leisure destinations that generally don't involve "essential travel." Given Korea's strict travel protocols, including a 14-day quarantine on returning to the country, vacations in Hawaii and southern Nevada don't make much sense. So McCarran's international-arrival numbers aren't getting a boost in early 2021 from one of the world's top 20 airlines; McCarran's international passengers count was down 80% in 2020.
Between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. on New Year's Eve, Nevada state police stopped 379 vehicles, issued 61 citations, and arrested 48 impaired drivers. Metro police made 36 arrests on the Strip and Fremont Street during roughly the same period, 10 for felonies and 26 for misdemeanors.
In today's Orange Bowl, Texas A&M is a -9.5 favorite over North Carolina. The total is 65.
This morning, the UK’s Daily Telegraph provides a look into the lifestyles of -- and possible deal-making between of two of the world's billionaires and biggest casino magnates. Sheldon Adelson and James Packer were aboard their respective superyachts somewhere in the French West Indies (near Guadeloupe and Martinique). Though Packer's fortune is estimated at a mere $3.4 billion and Adelson's is $40 billion, Packer's yacht is worth $200 million, while Adelson's is listed at a mere $70 million. Tenders were spotted shuttling between the ships, leading to speculation that Adelson might be interested in buying out Packer's 37% in Crown Casinos. Adelson seems to have an appetite for international gambling companies these days and Crown, embroiled in a number of scandals, including rigging slot machines, money laundering, illegal junket relationships, even welcoming international war criminals, among others, might be selling his remaining stake at a deep enough discount for the chairman of Las Vegas Sands.
In today's Fiesta Bowl, Iowa State is a -5.5 favorite over Oregon. The total is 57.5.
For the month of December, Macau reported just under $1 billion in gross gaming revenue ($979 million). It was 2020's best monthly result, easily eclipsing the second best, October's $910 million. That said, the GGR for the year was a mere $7.57 billion, a nearly 80% plunge from 2019's total $36.6 billion. Amazingly, Macau hasn't reported a single new case of the coronavirus since June, but that's because travel into Macau remains strictly limited. It's the first time the Macau casinos hadn't topped $10 billion in annual revenue since 2006.
In today's Outback Bowl, Indiana is a -7.5 favorite over Mississippi. The total is 67.5.
In today's Gator Bowl, Kentucky is a -3.5 favorite over North Carolina State. The total is 50.5.
Though the Metropolitan Police Department hasn't released its estimate of the crowd size on the Strip on New Year's Eve, we've been hearing "thousands" more than "tens of thousands," which is still a far cry from the hundreds of thousands in a normal year. And an eyewitness report from our own intrepid Conrad Stanley seems to confirm the coronavirus-subdued turnout. "I have never seen a greater police-to-reveler ratio in Las Vegas," Conrad tells us. "Many were walking around with auto/semi-auto weapons." That, presumably, was due to the strange bombing in Nashville on Christmas Day.
Here's the rest of Conrad's mini trip report. "I took the bus down Spring Mountain. It ran for free from 6 p.m. till 9 a.m. on New Year's Day to discourage drinking and driving. Flatbed tractor-trailers and RTC buses had the Strip blocked off at Spring Mountain. (They weren't taking any chances of a vehicle getting through.) As you reported, the busiest area seemed to be between Caesars and Aria. I was at the epicenter with my back to Paris looking across at Bellagio. There wasn't even a countdown clock on the Paris marquee. We all relied on hearing the countdown from the DJ at Beer Park on his microphone. At midnight, a smattering of confetti shot up from Beer Park's outside deck. That was it. Then everyone went inside." Of course, Conrad adds, "I was enjoying a 24-ounce Miller High Life as the clock struck twelve. Still only $2.49 plus tax at the Paris gift shop."
In today's Cotton Bowl, the second of two semi-final games in the college-football National Championship playoffs, Clemson is a -7 favorite over Ohio State. The total is 68.5.
The last surviving sister of the singing trio the McGuire Sisters died Tuesday morning at home in Las Vegas of natural causes. She was 89. Phyllis was a long-time resident of Las Vegas' original upscale neighborhood, the Scotch Eighties, around Rancho Circle. She was also known for two notable boyfriends, Chicago mob boss Sam Giancana and Bob Stupak. The HBO movie Sugartime was based on her relationship with Giancana. She was married once for four years in the '50s and she didn't have any children.
In today's Rose Bowl, the first of two semi-final games in the college-football National Championship playoffs, Alabama is a -19 favorite over Notre Dame. The total is 65.5.
The normal range of high and low temperatures over the first month of the year is narrow, with average highs starting out at 56 degrees and rising to 60 and lows at 38, then going up to 41. But the record highs and lows tell a different tale. The record high for the month is 77 (1/26/1975), while the record low is 8 (1/13/1963 and 1/25/1937). Average January precipitation is a bit more than a half-inch; last year saw zero rain or snow.
In today's Citrus Bowl, Northwestern is a -4 favorite over Auburn. The total is 45.
In today's Peach Bowl, Georgia is a -9.5 favorite over Cincinnati. The total is 53.5.
As expected, fewer celebrants gathered on the Strip last night than usual, but how many less has yet to be estimated. By any metric, it was a far larger crowd than health and government authorities wanted to see, especially by comparison with Times Square in Manhattan, where police prevented anyone from gathering. Here, people were packed shoulder to shoulder from Caesars to Aria. (And yes, from the photos, it appears that most weren't masked.) Downtown was a different story. After the Fremont Street Experience essentially canceled its $25 non-party party yesterday afternoon by limiting attendance to wristbanded downtown-hotel guests, a handful of people wandered unencumbered until gathering at Main Street at midnight to watch the Plaza fireworks display. Police made only 26 arrests, mostly for misdemeanors, and 11 people were transported from the Strip to the hospital for “relatively minor” problems (intoxication).