To show support for the sovereignty of Ukraine, the "Welcome to Las Vegas" sign will change colors, starting at sunset tonight and running indefinitely, to the blue and yellow of the Ukrainian national flag.
We received this mini-trip report from a reader from southern California we thought we'd pass along as a cautionary tale about staying in hotel rooms at or near Circa. "My daughter invited several guests to attend her wedding at Nelson’s Landing [a ghost town on the Colorado River near Cottonwood Cove], staying three nights at the Golden Nugget in the Rush Tower, which is across from Circa. What a nightmare! The music from Circa's pool area was beyond any loudness we have ever heard and it continued until well into the early morning (3 a.m.). Calling the front desk at the Nugget to find out when it would end, they had no answers, though they did offer ear plugs! Had my daughter been warned or had an inkling, we wouldn’t have stayed there." Not only is the music loud at night, but it's intense during the day too. The most complaints we receive about Circa, including numerous negative comments on this site, concern the decibel level. A word to the wise about trying to sleep nearby.
The federal gas tax for a gallon of gasoline is 18.4¢; you pay that everywhere in the U.S. However, state taxes per gallon range from 15¢ in Alaska all the way down to 67¢ in California. According to AARP magazine, Nevada's gasoline tax is 50¢ per gallon, fifth highest in the nation, behind California, Illinois (65¢), Pennsylvania (59¢), and Indiana (52¢). Mississippi, Arizona, and New Mexico are tied for second lowest (19¢). AAA reports that the average gallon of gas in Las Vegas has just hit $4.
CeeLo Green, Naughty By Nature, Kid ‘N Play, J.J. Fad, and Thea Austin of Snap! will perform their songs at the Westgate May 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15, then again May 18, 19, 20, 21, and 22. The announcement says that the artists will play "randomly and sometimes collaboratively, accompanied by a live DJ and drummer." Tickets range from $29 to $139 and are on sale now.
There’s a problem at the Rio. As of this post, the Valley View parking garage has been closed off and police are stationed at casino entrances. No one’s talking, but the sports book is shut down and taped off, suggesting that there was a robbery attempt of the book. Visitors are being allowed to go in and out of the casino.
The Smith Center, Las Vegas' spectacular performing arts venue marked by its 170-foot-tall Carillon tower (with 47 bells), is now offering free tours one Monday a month. You must reserve tickets in advance, which you can do at TheSmithCenter.com. The March 21 tour is sold out, but you can book Monday April 26 and Monday May 23 by going to the calendar and scrolling down to those dates. It's a great opportunity to go behind the scenes at the locals venue at which more than 400 performances have taken place annually in the three theaters (2,050, 240, and 200 seats) since it opened in 2012, with the help of 57 million-dollar personal contributions from Las Vegans.
In fourth quarter 2021, Resorts World generated $170 million in revenue and EBITDA (a snapshot of short-term operational efficiency) of $23 million. The results are largely in line with 3Q21 revenue of $175 million and EBITDA of $27 million. It's not bad for the upscale resort-casino's first two quarters, but below consensus expectations of Asian analysts, who called RW's performance "a negative surprise." Management cited the mask mandate as one of the reasons for the slow start, but that hasn't stopped nearly every other major casino company from registering record profits. And it could be one explanation as to why self-parking is still free at Resorts World, when everything else is up there with the most expensive on the Strip.
In its first five weeks of legal sports betting up through the Super Bowl, New York sports books, both retail and remote, booked nearly $2.5 billion in wagers, including a whopping 25% of the entire nation’s mobile wagers on the Big Game. The books generated $154 million of gross gaming revenue and paid nearly $80 million in taxes. In the first four weeks, bettors created 1.76 million unique accounts and placed 187 million wagers. What's more, promotional giveaways by remote operators aren't reported by the state Gaming Commission. However, the sports books have to pay the 51% tax on the giveaways, while all the advertising also eats into the books' bottom lines. The New York Post reports, "One tally of online bookmakers’ profits shows they’ve very likely lost money – around $200 million – since launching in New York on Jan. 8." Acquisition costs are running on average $150 per new customer, which even the industry knows isn't sustainable. In its recent fourth-quarter earnings call, Caesars executives said, "You’ll see us dramatically curtail our traditional media spend, effective immediately. Our commercials will largely disappear from your screen.”
The Backstreet Boys will launch their "DNA World Tour 2022" with four shows at the Colosseum at Caesars on April 8, 9, 15, and 16.
The four shows are expected to sell out quickly, based on the demand for the band's "Larger Than Life" residency at Zappos Theater at Planet Hollywood in 2017 and 2018. Tickets go on sale to the public Monday at 10 a.m. PT.
In the new "Anthony and Andrew Show," the fellas discuss the end of the mask mandate and the record Super Bowl handle in Nevada. Then you can accompany them to the grand opening party of the English Hotel downtown (though the hotel itself doesn't open till next Thursday). Make sure you're sitting down when Anthony quotes the prices of rooms. But it's certainly a hotspot to start and we'll see if that lasts. There's a big Palms update and it involves ... yes! .. the buffet! The Palms buffet will be, most likely, the next to open in Las Vegas; Scotch 80 Prime, the gourmet room, will also return when the Palms reopens sometime this spring. The Rampart buffet, the new Cirque show Mad Apple, and the Jackpot of the Week round out the 12 minutes. You'll go, you'll see, you'll learn. Don't forget to like and subscribe.
We received a message on Instagram inquiring about the rooms at Silverton. We hadn't seen or heard anything about them, so we checked. Sure enough, the hotel rooms at the casino will be closed from April to July, due to a complete renovation of all 300 rooms that could last the whole four months.
A story in this morning's Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that the long-delayed All Net Resort and Arena project slated for the site of the former Wet 'N Wild waterpark has been funded. Reportedly, Texas-based venture-capital company Active Capital Holdings is investing approximately $4.2 billion of its own funds to build the arena, two hotels, a convention center, movie theater, and other amenities on the site, where initial excavation work took place in 2017, then stopped. Jackie Robinson, founder of All Net, said he expects to resume construction in early summer.
The Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Races, formerly known as the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon, will be held downtown this weekend for the first time. It's also the first time the race will be run since 2019. The full marathon, held annually around Las Vegas since 1967 and on the Strip between 2005 and 2019, was canceled due to lack of interest; instead, a 5K race will be held Saturday afternoon and a 10k and half-marathon Sunday afternoon. Road closures will impact downtown between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. both days, so if you're headed that way, leave extra time for detours.
The World Series of Poker will be played at Bally’s and Paris from May 31 through July 20. The 53rd WSOP will take over all the convention space at the two casinos, creating the largest tournament capacity in the event’s history, with more than 200,000 square feet and 600 poker tables. It will also feature the inaugural master of ceremonies, actor Vince Vaughn (of The Wedding Crashers, Dodgeball, Anchorman, and Hacksaw Ridge fame). The main cage will be at Paris; the TV stage will be in the Bally’s Event Center. This year’s Main Event is back to its traditional time frame around the July 4 holiday, beginning on Sunday July 3, with the final table played on Friday-Saturday July 15-16. The 2022 WSOP will also host a $5 million guaranteed prize pool over opening weekend dubbed “The Housewarming,” with a $500 buy-in. The price point for opening weekend has generated some of the largest field sizes in the history of poker. Last year’s “Reunion” event generated 12,973 entrants and organizers are expecting an even larger field as the tournament returns to its traditional summer schedule. CBS Sports will broadcast its second season of coverage with daily streaming on PokerGo. Produced exclusively by Poker Central, 18 different bracelet events will be televised with a minimum of 15 hours of coverage for the Main Event.
Yesterday afternoon, the $6.25 billion sale of the Venetian/Palazzo resort-casinos by Las Vegas Sands Corp. to Apollo Global Management, a private-equity firm that will operate the property, and VICI Properties, the real estate investment trust that will own it, closed. Apollo was approved to take over from Las Vegas Sands in two somewhat heated February hearings with regulators, who wanted the company to answer questions about its disastrous purchase of Caesars Entertainment in 2008 that ended eight years later in what Institutional Investor called a "Wall Street's billionaire brawl," and about Leon Black, co-founder of Apollo who is mired in a sex scandal. Apollo satisfied both the Gaming Control Board and Gaming Commission with its reassurances and the sale is signed and sealed. All Venetian executives, along with the property's 8,000 employees, are being retained, at least initially, so no immediate major changes to operations are anticipated.
Worldwide K-Pop sensation BTS will perform four shows at Allegiant Stadium on April 8, 9, 15, and 16. The South Korean boy band that debuted in 2013 performed four sold-out shows at SoFi stadium in Los Angeles at the end of last year, selling 214,000 tickets and grossing a cool $33.3 mil, the most made by a run of shows at a single venue since 2012; tickets sold out almost immediately. Fans can register for Allegiant tickets either by being/becoming a member of BTS’ Global Official Fanclub ARMY or by registering for Ticketmaster’s Verified Fan Pre-Sale, which runs through Saturday at 5 p.m., when tickets go on sale. Fans who can't get tickets can attend simulcast watch parties at the MGM Grand Garden Arena; the April 16 concert will be streamed live.
As promised, Cirque du Soleil yesterday announced its new show that opens at New York-New York on May 26. Mad Apple will be "a
cocktail of music, comedy, magic, and mayhem that puts NYC nightlife under the Las Vegas lights," which sounds to us like an old-fashioned Las Vegas variety revue, Cirque perhaps returning to the tried and true after its misstep with ill-fated R.U.N. Here's more: "Each act will reflect a different nocturnal side of New York, brought to life by underground stars, high-flying acrobats, street performers, up-and-coming entertainers, and the biggest musical hits to come out of the City." The show features comedian Brad Williams, marking the first time a standup comic will headline a Cirque production, along with freestyle rapper Chris Turner, musical director and lead vocalist Xharlie Black, and a cast of 39, all "creating an experience that will feel like a giant party from start to finish.”
LVA reader Gerard K. had a good idea: He sent an email yesterday to the Palms through the Contact Us tab on the website, inquiring as to whether or not the buffet would reopen with the rest of the hotel-casino. He received back the following message from Marie, a reservation agent at Palms Place. "Thank you for reaching out. The buffet will open when Palms Casino reopens in the spring." Assuming Marie has it right, that's great news for buffet aficionados and Palms fans. Many thanks to Gerard for enlightening us. And additional thanks, yet again, to Roy for sleuthing out the probability that Scotch 80 Prime, the ultra steakhouse at the old Palms, will also be returning. He found a link on the San Manuel Tribe's website advertising for a "scotch master" who will "work closely with the casino beverage and Scotch 80 Prime management teams and will be responsible for complete knowledge of the scotch/whiskey offerings and food pairings."
A lucky Utah man playing Ultimate Texas Hold ‘Em at Caesars Palace on Sunday wound up with a royal flush in clubs to hit the Mega Progressive Jackpot for $779,148.50. The player said he was a veteran at UTH and will use the winnings to pay off his house.
According to the Clark County Clerk, today, 2/22/22, and a "Twosday" no less, is expected to be one of the top five days for weddings in Las Vegas history. More than 3,000 couples will be tying the knot on the palindrome date; it probably won't beat the record of around 4,500 wedding set on 7/7/07, but it could approach the second most popular date, 11/11/11, which accounted for nearly 3,500. It's also possible that the long-anticipated five-millionth marriage license will be issued today.
Medina Spirit's first-place finish in last year's Kentucky Derby was overturned yesterday by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, which declared Mandaloun the winner. Medina Spirit tested positive after the race for a steroid that's banned on race day and is now the second horse in the 147-year history of the Derby to be disqualified due to a controlled substance; the first was Dancer’s Image in 1968. The Racing Commission also suspended Medina Spirit's controversial trainer, Bob Baffert, for 90 days and slapped him with a $7,500 fine. Tragically, in early December, Medina Spirit died following a training run; a necropsy was unable to determine a definitive cause of death, though it's been reported that the race horse sustained a fatal heart attack.
Art collective Meow Wolf's art installation at Area15, Omega Mart, opened almost exactly a year ago and has been doing a booming business ever since, recently celebrating its millionth paid admission ($49 adult, $45 child). According to press reports, Omega Mart has sold 4,555 Tattoo Chicken T-shirts, more than 3,000 Daikon Pals plush toys, 18,552 Happle Juice cocktails at Datamosh, Omega Mart’s bar, and "$5 grillion" in total meat sales from the deli counter. Opening Omega Mart in February 2021 was a "monumental undertaking" that involved 325 artists and collaborators over the course of three years.
Sometime in May or June, the Los Angeles-based vegan restaurant Crossroads Kitchen will open at Resorts World. When it does, it will be the first vegan fine-dining restaurant on the Strip, serving the likes of artichoke oysters topped with kelp caviar, roasted truffle potatoes, beet tartare, stuffed zucchini blossoms, and house-made pasta. A second Resorts World location, CB/Crossroads Burgers, will purvey vegan burgers, sausage, fries, and milkshakes. Crossroads' founder Tal Ronnen is no stranger to Vegas; he worked with the Wynn's culinary team a decade ago to introduce vegan options on all the Wynn's menus. He's also the author of two vegan cookbooks, was Oprah Winfrey's personal chef, and catered Ellen DeGeneres' 2008 wedding.
Stand-up comic, actor, and founder of the digital comedy production company and network Laugh Out Loud Kevin Hart will do four shows at the Cosmopolitan at 7 and 10 p.m. on July 2 and July 3. Tickets are on sale now and even though they start at $399 and rise to $1,250, they're going fast. Note that the use of phones will not be permitted in the performance space; phones will be secured in pouches that can be opened only at the end of the event.
Team LeBron is a -6 favorite over Team Durant in tonight's NBA All Star Game. The total is 325.5.
Megastar Justin Bieber's concert at T-Mobile tonight has been postponed until June 28. The reason? COVID! What else? COVID is still the reason for everything. A member of the "Justice World Tour" tested positive and that's all, folks. Tickets will be honored at the June performance, though anyone who wants a refund can get one from the point of sale.
In what will be only a theatrical release (no streaming), the movie Elvis will debut on June 24. As Presley, it stars 30-year-old TV heartthrob Austin Butler who does all his own singing (after a year of voice coaching); none other than Tom Hanks plays Elvis' manager, Col. Tom Parker, and Australian actress Olivia DeJonge plays Priscilla. The movie spans the 20-year period of Presley’s life as he hit stratospheric success and a hitherto unheard of level of fame, including the Las Vegas period. You can check out the initial trailer here and if you're like us, after the 3:16, all you'll be able to say is, "Wow."
Starting on May 20, Swoop Airlines, an ultra-low cost carrier (and a subsidiary of Westjet, Canada's second-largest airline), will begin twice-weekly service to Las Vegas from Toronto's Pearson International (Fridays and Mondays). A month later on June 20, Swoop will add Saturdays to the schedule. One-way fares from Toronto will be C$109 (US$ 86) and back to Toronto C$75 (US$59). Swoop will also start service from Hamilton International (an hour south of Toronto) on June 23 on Thursday and Sundays (C$99/US$78 inbound, C$67/US$53 outbound). Thanks to LVA correspondent extraordinaire (and Canadian) Roy for the tip.
In the first four days of online sports betting in Louisiana, state residents bet $40.5 million on their devices. The number of unique players making remote wagers was the equivalent of 3.6% of the state's adult population. By comparison, New York's equivalent during its opening few days per capita was 3.4%, according to GeoComply, the geolocation security company. Louisiana betting was artificially inflated by aggressive promoting, including hundreds of dollars of free and matching bets at the six mobile apps, along with former Louisiana State University football stars Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase going to the Super Bowl. That's why the apps sustained a loss of nearly $9 million during the period. NOLA.com reported that up to 90% of the promotional sides and totals were on the Bengals and props involving Joe Burrow. Minus the promotional losses, the books would have posted a $2.7 million win. Still, it shows that the Bayou State will do well with sports betting.
If you were intending to go to the venerable Peppermill coffee shop on the north Strip this weekend, cancel the plans. The Peppermill had to close due to "still having issues with our breaker box" (in other words, there's an electrical problem with the restaurant's circuit-breaker panel). The Peppermill hopes to reopen late tomorrow, but it would be best to call before heading there to make sure.
According to Rent.com statistics, the cost of renting a one-bedroom apartment in Las Vegas has risen from $1,100 a year ago to between $1,200 and $1,700 today. Upwards of 50% of Las Vegas residents rent their homes and rents are rising as record-breaking prices for houses, combined with interest rates creeping up, are forcing potential buyers out of the market and putting upward pressure on rents.
A survey by Deputy.com, a purveyor of team-scheduling software, found that overall, Nevadans spend the least amount of time in meetings than anywhere in the nation. Deputy determined that Nevadans average 2.28 hours per week in meetings; this compared to the average 8.39 hours that residents of Georgia devote to meetings on a weekly basis, highest in the U.S. The survey also concluded that 25% of Americans would rather sit in traffic than go to a work meeting and 58% would rather go to a doctor's appointment. (They didn't ask about dentists.)
Terrible's, the remaining hotel-casino in Jean, Nevada, 30 miles south of Las Vegas, never reopened after the pandemic shutdown in 2020 and it looks like it never will. Yesterday, the Clark County Commission voted in favor of plans submitted by Reno-based Tolles Development Company to build a huge warehouse-and-distribution complex on the property. Tolles hopes to close on the purchase of the 140 acres from the Herbst family in the next several months, then break ground on the 1.9-million-square-foot development in 12-18 months. Tolles says it's not planning to tear down the 811-room hotel tower until "a couple of years into the development."
Rumored for several months, especially on the heels of his 20 sold-out performances last year, mega rapper Usher will do another residency at Dolby Live at Park MGM this summer and fall. The 23 shows will start at 9 p.m. on July 15, 16, 20, 22, 23, 27, 29, and 30; August 26, 27, and 31; September 3, 4, 9, and 10; and October 14, 15, 19, 21, 22, 26, 28, and 29. An interesting tidbit: The press releases states, "The show will be custom-designed to make the audience feel as if they are part of the performance." Tickets go on sale to the public tomorrow at 10 a.m. PT and start at $79, plus taxes and fees.
This week's video with Anthony and Andrew is a fast-moving 10-minute episode that covers some details about the lifting of the mask mandate (most employees are still masked, most customers aren't), the Super Bowl final score and how the sports books got middled by bettors who took the Bengals with the points and the Rams on the money line, the result of the National Anthem prop, a new Cirque show, Anthony's appearance with Arnold Snyder at the World Game Protection Conference that's going on now in Las Vegas, and even a bonus story about when Anthony was dating the casino manager of Green Valley Ranch. If you want to see how much information Anthony can stuff into 10 minutes (like he's been doing for decades into 10 pages of the Las Vegas Advisor), this is the video for you!
The San Manuel Band of Mission Indians is holding seven hiring events and career fairs at various locations around the city, including a culinary academy, a dealer school, the Palms Place tower, and a drive-thru in front of the Palms itself, between February 24 and March 10. The schedule suggests that the property will reopen "sometime this spring," as announced, perhaps as early as late April or early May.
SpeedVegas Motorsports Park, a racetrack located a few miles south of M Resort at the Sloan Road exit off I-15, has added "Vegas Off-Road" to its menu of rally cars and monster trucks. Guests drive custom-built high-performance Baja race trucks on the only off-road track experience in Las Vegas, a 1.4-mile course with nine challenging turns, three huge jumps (up to 10 feet of air), ramps, and high-speed sections. If you don't want to drive, you can ride along as a passenger with a pro-racer in the driver's seat. Packages start at $299 for five laps.
According to figures released yesterday by the American Gaming Association, commercial (non-tribal) casinos nationwide recorded $53 billion in earnings last year, breaking the previous record of $43.6 billion, set in 2019, by 21%. Sports betting generated a $57.2 billion handle, 165% more than 2020, and a $4.29 billion win, a 177% increase year over year and a 7.5 hold percentage. Igaming, bolstered by launches in Michigan (January 2020) and Connecticut (October) also set a record for revenue at $3.7 billion. Revenue records were set in 23 of the 34 casino jurisdictions, with Nevada at $13.4 billion, Pennsylvania $4.8 billion, and New Jersey $4.7 billion leading the way. Tribal revenues won’t be released for several months, but the AGA stated that it too should have a strong showing for 2021.
Thirty years ago yesterday, Foxwoods Resort Casino opened on the Mashantucket Pequot's reservation in Ledyard, Connecticut. It was the culmination of a two-decade-long struggle for the Pequots to be recognized by the federal government, open a bingo parlor, negotiate a compact with the state of Connecticut, and launch a casino. Today, Foxwoods spans a mile and a half from one end to the other and hosts six separate casinos with 3,500 slots and 250 table games, three hotels, nearly three dozen restaurants, two theaters, two spas, five event spaces, 80-store outlet mall, golf course, zip line and go-kart track, and an 85,000-square-foot museum. It's widely considered the second largest casino in the world, after the Venetian Macau. Foxwoods has paid Connecticut more than $4 billion in slot taxes since it opened. And it's not resting on its sizable laurels; a new high-stakes bingo hall opens this spring, a 75,000-square-foot Expo Center opens this fall, an RV park is proposed, and yesterday, Foxwoods announced another expansion that includes a fourth hotel, the Great Wolf Lodge, along with an indoor water park and family entertainment center. Construction is scheduled to begin in June, with completion expected sometime in 2024.
A new Cirque du Soleil show is opening "this spring" at New York-New York. The press release states that details will be disclosed at a press conference a week from today. According to Scott Roeben of VitalVegas.com, the new show will be called Mad Apple, which makes sense for the New York-themed hotel-casino; Cirque also trademarked the name last June to cover merchandise. The new show will replace Zumanity, which closed at New York-New York just before the shutdown and never reopened.
The online review site, Yelp.com, created a list of the Top Places for Pizza in the U.S., based on the all-time total number and ratings of reviews. The four Las Vegas pizza places that made the list are: 29: Marsigliano's Pizzeria, 8125 W. Sahara Avenue; 40: Lucino's Pizza, 3421 E. Tropicana Avenue; 75: Evel Pie, 508 Fremont Street (one of our favorites); and 92: Old School Pizzeria, 2040 E. Craig Road. A pie place in Reno, Smiling with Hope Pizza, was ranked at number three. Smiling is as popular for its ethics as its New York-style thin-crust pizza; it doesn't work with third-party delivery services (which can compromise quality) and hires and trains people with disabilities.
Preliminary (unaudited) numbers released by the Nevada Gaming Control Board yesterday indicate that the state's sports books took in a record number of Super Bowl bets, breaking the previous record by 12%. The statewide handle came in at $179.8 million, beating the record of $158.5 set in 2018. The win, however, wasn't as large as expected: $15.4 million, a hold percentage of 8.6%. Still, it was the fourth-highest Super Bowl win in 32 years.
In 2010, a 5.5-mile shared-use (hikers and non-motorized bikers) path connecting the visitor center at Red Rock Canyon to Sky Vista Drive at the western edge of Summerlin was proposed by the local nonprofit Save Red Rock after Don Albietz, an avid bike rider and Metro police officer, was hit and killed riding his bike on State Road 159 (the extension of Charleston Blvd., which runs out to Red Rock Canyon) five years earlier. Exactly two years ago, Clark County commissioners approved the proposed trail. At the time, the project was estimated to cost around $15 million, with funds coming from the Federal Highway Administration, the Nevada Department of Transportation, and Clark County. No timeline was released. Six months later, an additional $11.4 million in funding was earmarked for a 5.2-mile extension all the way to Blue Diamond Road. Construction was expected to begin in 2025 and take a year to complete. Now, it appears that work on the trail will begin this year, though the price tag has risen to $100 million. The project will be divided into five phases, with Phase 1, the trail from Summerlin to the visitor center, and Phase 5, which will connect to Blue Diamond, already funded and the first to be built. Phases 2, 3, and 4 will follow; when the entire trail is completed by 2025, it will cover more than 20 miles.
To better cater to participants in the Wedding Capital of the World, the Clark County clerk has launched a new website celebrating the the number-one wedding destination in the world. It's quite the image website, showcasing the variety of wedding venues and locations, along with a number of featured couples; you can also access applications for all the official documents involving marriage. Any day now, Clark County will issue its five-millionth marriage license, kicking off a series of year-long special events and promotions.
The sports books cleaned up yesterday when the Super Bowl ended 23-20 in favor of the Los Angeles Rams. According to the bookies interviewed by the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the public bet on the Rams to cover, the Bengals to win, and the total to go over. When the Rams didn't cover the 4½-point spread, the Bengals lost, and the total fell under the 48½, the game gave the sports books a rare Super Bowl trifecta. Boyd's sports book director said that the vast majority of parlays were with the over, giving the house a win there too. Station's sports book director called it the "biggest Super Bowl win ever" for the casino company. For a look at the sports books' crazy annual Super Bowl roller coaster ride, don't miss our recent title Then One Year, on sale now for 25% off the retail price.
The Los Angeles Rams are -4.5 favorites over the Cincinnati Bengals in tonight's Super Bowl. The total is 48.5.
Get your phones ready to time the singing of the Super Bowl's National Anthem. The over/under on how long it will take Mickey Guyton to sing it is 1:35. This bet is available only at offshore books, with several time variations at different odds. Get more details on this bet from our YouTube video.
A long story at Bloomberg.com from Tuesday reports that more than 100 million Americans "now live in places where they can legally wager on the Super Bowl." And since most can access gambling apps remotely, they can bet on "a nacho platter of options," including thousands of props and in-game plays. Meanwhile, the NFL "expects to reap $1 billion a year from its deals with sports betting companies by the end of the decade" and the apps threaten to "upend the traditional broadcast and pay-cable markets and become the primary way people watch games." The story also covers the NFL's long history of vehemently opposing sports betting, app-powering data providers, the self-regulation of the industry, game-fixing, even a gambling story involving famed running back George Gipp. It's worth a read.
Israel Adesanya is a -290 favorite over Robert Whittaker in tonight’s UFC main event. In the other featured match, Derrick Lewis is -185 over Tai Tuivasa.
A post on USBets.com details a blackjack losing streak of 25 hands in a row playing online at DraftKings -- with a screenshot of the tracking information to prove it. To put that into perspective, the writer cites a Martingale system of doubling up bets on losses: "Starting with a dollar on hand number one, by the time I had to pony up for the 26th hand — which I pushed before losing three more hands — it would’ve meant a bet of around $16.8 million." Anthony Curtis is interviewed extensively in the post and has some interesting things to say about sustaining major gambling losses, including a seminal one of his own.
Move over Illinois and Louisiana. According to a database compiled by two researchers at the University of Missouri that compared states for "public corruption at the state level, focusing on state legislators, high-ranking executive-branch officials, and supreme court justices and tracking bribery, influence peddling, and theft of public funds, among other charges," New York has the worst record in the nation and that doesn't even include the resignation of the governor last year (sexual harassment). In fact, the researchers concluded that New York has led the states in corruption cases since at least 1986. So it perhaps comes as no surprise that the Albany Times-Union has uncovered 15 reports from various state inspectors general "detailing misconduct among employees of the Gaming Commission and two state horse racing funds" that included "a range of alleged improper activities by Gaming Commission staffers who regulate horse racing, including gambling on the job, workplace sexual harassment, and withholding money from racing participants." Inspectors general also identified "improprieties at two funds that hold races and offer financial awards for horses bred in New York," employees who improperly sought pay from a racetrack operator, and one who ran a fantasy sports website. All, every single one, of the reports were labeled "Confidential" by the administration of disgraced governor Andrew Cuomo and never, until now, made public.
After skipping last year because of the pandemic, the South Point will host its free Super Bowl betting seminar tonight. “Big Game Betting & Beers” will start at 6 p.m. in the showroom and feature prominent bookmakers Chris Andrews, Vinny Magliulo, and Jimmy Vaccaro, with drink specials available during the show.
The South Point is dealing -105 for the Super Bowl, meaning you have to bet only $105 to win $100, as opposed to the standard $110/$100. The ad says “straight bets only” with the Rams -4. It’s not clear if the deal applies to the total, which is 48.5. This is the only reduced-juice betting promo we've seen so far, although William Hill put up a rare +100 (no juice either way) on the coin flip.
People magazine has a story about a Las Vegas-based company, Love Cloud, that's offering admission into the Mile High Club. Just in time for Valentine's Day, for a mere $995 per couple, Love Cloud flies you and your paramour for 45 minutes on one of its two planes to do what you will in a plane compartment outfitted with twin mattresses (and red satin sheets, of course). After the flight, the company presents you with a "commemorative membership card signed by your pilot." For $1,095, you get to remain aloft (in more ways than one) for a full hour, $1,495 for 90 minutes. For another $300, Love Cloud throws in round-trip transportation, Champagne, a dozen long stemmed roses, and chocolates. If your inclinations run toward three- and foursomes, it's $200 extra per person. You can also get married (another $1,200) and have dinner ($400). "Only a curtain separates the main cabin from the cockpit, though the pilot wears noise-canceling headphones." (At least in a limo, the driver has a rearview mirror.) If you do it, let us know how it goes. With video. And thanks to LVA correspondent extraordinaire Roy, who rightly observes that Love Cloud won't make the LVA Top Ten. You can see photos of the plane (and book your flight) at the website.
Anthony and Andrew make their weekly appearance on the LVA YouTube channel, discussing -- what else? -- the Super Bowl. They focus on the National Anthem prop bet, with some historical data to back it up, and the parties, which are everywhere (and we're keeping an up-to-the-minute list here). Then they touch on Mattress Mack's Super Bowl bet, buffets, the case of the missing jackpot and the Gaming Control Board, and the mask mandate, which has been lifted since the video was taped. See it and hear it all by clicking on the video.
Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak just ended the state’s mask mandate. Effective immediately, masks are no longer called for in any indoor public spaces throughout the Silver State. That said, a federal mask mandate still applies on public transportation, including buses and airplanes and at all airports.
Celebrity chef Martin Yan, a James Beard Award winner and Emmy Award winning star of American Public Television's "Yan Can Cook," is opening an Asian restaurant at Bally's (soon to be the Horseshoe). Yan has hosted more than 3,000 "You Can Cook" shows and been featured on many many more. His M.Y. Asia restaurant will serve a "bold but approachable" seasonal menu of Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, and Thai cuisine centered around live seafood. M.Y. Asia will open sometime this year.
After being shuttered for nearly two years, LIGHT Nightclub at Mandalay Bay will celebrate its grand reopening this weekend with performances by Haitian-American rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor Wyclef Jean on Friday and American singer and songwriter Sam Hunt on Saturday. LIGHT is known for its massive LED screens, world-class sound system, and wall-to-wall bodies. General admission tickets are $20 (women) and $30 (men), with tables running between $500 and $3,000.
The long-delayed North American tour by the British Invasion band The Who is scheduled again and two of the four original members, Roger Daltry and Pete Townshend, will be joined onstage by The Who's "touring orchestra," consisting of drummer Zak Starkey (Ringo's son), guitarist-vocalist Simon Townshend (Pete’s brother), and a bass and two keyboards, plus backup signers, strings, and even a conductor. The band will play its classic hits on November 4 and 5 at Dolby Live at Park MGM. Tickets are on sale now, starting at $135 and rising quickly to $1,050.
A Pahrump brothel has been put up for sale. The 10,000-square-foot Love Ranch, with its 15 "master suites," 2,500-square-foot bar, two new kitchens, two mobile homes on the property, a limo, and an advertising truck, has been listed at $1.2 million. The Love Ranch made the news in 2018 when Dennis Hof, who owned it and several other Nevada brothels, was found dead there. If you're interested in the Love Ranch, bring cash; for obvious reasons, no offers with mortgage contingencies will be considered.
And the beat goes on. According to Las Vegas Realtors, the median price of an existing single-family home in January rose to $435,000, breaking the previous record, set in December, of $425,000. In January 2021, the median was $345,000 (it's up 26% year over year). And if you bought a house right at the nadir exactly 10 years ago (January 2012), it's worth nearly four times what it was then; the median price during the worst of the Great Recession in Las Vegas was $118,000.
"Legendary Divas," the latest incarnation of the Legends in Concert show at the Tropicana that features all women performers impersonating Celine Dion, Cher, Lady Gaga, and Adele, plus long-time Las Vegas female impersonator Frank Marino, is offering free admission to anyone who bought tickets to the postponed Adele and Celine shows. Simply provide proof of purchase and receive free tickets to any available show through September 5. Cool promo.
Deriving inspiration for its name from the lucky number in Chinese culture, Eight Lounge has debuted at Resorts World. The 7,000-square-foot lounge has eight discreet spaces, including five smoking areas, a 2,200-square-foot smoker’s terrace that overlooks the Strip, and a temperature-controlled walk-in humidor with 48 private lockers and glass cases displaying more than 150 cigar brands priced from $18 to $5,000. The bar, as you might imagine, serves premium liquor, such as single-barrel bourbon, decades-old single malt, and Japanese whiskey, along with gourmet small plates from the nearby Brezza Italian restaurant.
On Saturday, Prufrock-1, the Boring Company's tunneling machine, popped its head out of the ground at the site of Resorts World's Las Vegas Loop station. The event signaled the completed connection between the Las Vegas Convention Center and Resorts World under the Strip to start what could eventually be a Las Vegas subway system from the airport and Allegiant Stadium up the Strip and all the way to downtown. Prufrock is designed to “porpoise”: It launches from the surface, excavates a tunnel, then re-emerges upon completion. This allows the drill to begin tunneling within 48 hours of arrival onsite and eliminates the need to excavate expensive pits to launch and retrieve the machine. Here's a video of the auspicious moment of emergence. It's pretty cool.
Frontier and Spirit, the two largest ultra-low-cost domestic airlines, are merging. The $6.6 billion deal will create the U.S.'s fifth-largest airline. Frontier will be the majority owner with 51.5% of the company; Spirit will own the rest. The deal is expected to close in the second half of this year, pending regulatory and shareholder approval, after which the airline's name, headquarters location, and presumably the color of the jets will be announced. Combined, Frontier and Spirit fly into Las Vegas from more nearly 30 airports around the country.
In its fourth-quarter earnings call last week, Station Casino executives gave its continuing no-answer to the question of the reopening of Fiesta Henderson and Rancho and Texas Station. The CFO said that they evaluate the potential for reopening the shuttered properties on a regular basis. He added, "I think we've made it clear that we're only going to reopen these properties if we're confident we can deliver incremental value to the overall portfolio." In other words, none of your business.
In an LVA "Into the Wild" video, our intrepid exploring duo do a video tour of Circa, the newest and hottest property in downtown Las Vegas. It's a 26-minute full walk-through, from the extraordinary Mega Bar to a discussion on the MRB two-fer coupon at Circa. If you haven't been to Circa yet, this is the next best thing.
Jim "Mattress Mack" McIngvale's $4,534,000 bet at Caesars Sportsbook is being called "the single biggest mobile wager of all time." Mack took the money line at +170 and will win $7,707,800 if the Cincinnati Bengals beat the L.A. Rams in the Super Bowl. You can get a little insight into Mack's sports betting M.O. by tuning into this week's LVA YouTube Weekly Update; Anthony Curtis, who works with Mack on structuring these behemoth bets, discusses why he does it.
In today’s NFL Pro Bowl Game, the AFC is a -2 favorite over the NFC. The total is 64.5.
The mask mandate here is now in its eighth month; Nevada is one of nine states that still have some sort of mandate for wearing masks indoors. According to a story in the Las Vegas Review-Journal, "no discussions" have taken place between the governor's office and state health officials about ending the mandate anytime soon. Metrics are receding daily, but are still higher, by up to 10 times, than the threshold for eliminating masks altogether: The seven-day positivity rate was at 550 per 100,000 on Friday, whereas the mandate marker is 50 per 100,000.
In today's championship game of the NHL All-Star Tournament the Central Division is a -130 favorite over the Metropolitan Division. The total is 11.5.
So a slot player hit a $230,000 progressive jackpot at Treasure Island on January 8. But there was a problem. According to a press release from the Nevada Gaming Control Board, "The slot machine experienced a communication malfunction that prevented the player and casino personnel from realizing that a progressive jackpot had been won. By the time an extensive review of the slot machine and the communications technology was completed, confirming the jackpot had been won, the player had returned home to Arizona." But when the jackpot was confirmed, the GCB "initiated an extensive investigation, conducted by multiple agents of the Board’s Enforcement Division, to obtain the identity of the patron. The investigation included the review of multiple hours of surveillance footage across multiple gaming properties, numerous witness interviews, a study of electronic purchase records, and the analysis of rideshare data obtained from the Nevada Transportation Authority and a rideshare company. When the GCB successfully identified the player, they notified him and he returned to Treasure Island to collect his jackpot." The press release concludes, “The Nevada Gaming Control Board is charged with ... ensuring that the public trust in the gaming industry remains strong. (Control Board agents) spent countless hours over two weeks to ensure that a patron was awarded winnings owed to him.”
In its first 22 days of mobile sports betting, more money was bet on sports in New York than in New Jersey in its best full month. And by a major margin. Between January 9, when mobile sports betting was launched, and the last day of the month, the Empire State topped the Garden State by taking $1.635 billion worth of sports bets, more than $300 million more than the record $1.3 billion booked in New Jersey in October 2021. And look out below: WynnBET began taking bets yesterday and BallyBet hasn't started yet. Interestingly, $1.62 billion was bet remotely, while $15 million was taken in by the four Native casinos with sports books. We'll see how New Jersey books did in January when those numbers are released next week, but for now, in its first three weeks, New York breezed past New Jersey, where sports betting has been allowed since June 2018.
The NHL's All-Star Game is being played this afternoon (3 p.m., televised on ABC and ESPN+) at T-Mobile Arena. The NFL Pro Bowl is being played tomorrow afternoon (3 p.m., ESPN) at Allegiant Stadium. It's the first time two all-star games have been hosted by the same city in the same weekend. And it's the first time an all-star game for either league has been played in Las Vegas. In 2007, the NBA all-star game was played here.
Like a lot of casino companies these days, Boyd Gaming set a record for revenue in 2021, earning $3.4 billion; it was 50% more than the previous revenue record set in 2019. As a result, in part, the company is investing $50 million in upgrading its 66-year-old Fremont downtown. The main change will be an expansion of the casino, partly by incorporating the buffet space; the keno lounge has already closed for good. On its fourth-quarter earnings calls, Boyd executives also mentioned an upgrade to the Fremont's food and beverage program. A little investment at the Fremont is long overdue and we won't miss the buffet.
Station Casinos' newest locals property is officially under construction. All the permits were approved last month and ground has been broken on Durango Station, the $750 million hotel-casino on a 71-acre site in southwest Las Vegas at the 215 Beltway and Durango Drive. It will take 18 to 24 months to complete, so it will open in fall 2023 or early winter 2024, with 200 or so hotel rooms, 2,000 slots, 46 table games, a sports book, and four restaurants. Red Rock Resorts, parent company of Station Casinos, recorded "the highest fourth-quarter and full-year net revenue in the company's history," the CFO reported in Red Rock's fourth-quarter earnings call with analysts and media.
The Vegas Golden Knights 5-2 victory over the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday night was the team's 200th win in their franchise history. Winning their first 200 in 337 games (a 59.3 win percentage) is the fastest that any expansion team has hit the 200 mark in NHL history.
Overshadowed by the NFL Pro Bowl that takes place on Sunday, the NHL All-Star Game will be played at T-Mobile Arena this Saturday night. The NHL All-Star Skills contests will mostly take place at T-Mobile on Saturday, but will also spill over onto the Strip. The "Fountain Face-Off" competition will take place in the middle of the Bellagio lake, where players will shoot pucks at five targets through the water spray and wind. A portion of the center Strip itself will be shut down briefly for the "21 in '22" competition, in which players will shoot at a huge deck of cards, trying to get as close to a natural blackjack as they can without busting.
The new LVA YouTube video with Anthony and Andrew is live. Hear them discuss the Big Game (a.k.a. Super Bowl) and the current lines, prop-bet situation (of which all the pro sports bettors are in town to take advantage), and parties; they also give an inside glimpse at Mattress Mack and his humongous sports bets (which are "breaking ground" as they're tied to retail promotions). The Adele situation, the latest jackpot (with a little lesson in progressive video poker machine), the mask update, and of course beer are all touched on. Check it out, subscribe if you haven't, and leave your comments, which we love.
According to Nevada Gaming Control Board numbers released yesterday, blackjack is still the most popular table game in the casino. Of the record $13.4 billion won by Nevada's gaming industry in 2021, the state's 1,958 blackjack tables accounted for $1.13 billion, just under 10% of the total, with a hold of 14.1%. The second-most popular table game is roulette; the state's 424 tables won $428 million with a hold of 19.87%. Statewide, the 1,035 nickel slots won $42.4 million with a hold of 5.31%. Penny slots are the most abundant, at nearly 50,000 in the state; they accounted for $3.76 billion (28% of the total win) and held 9.85% of the handle.
Encore Boston Harbor reopened its poker room yesterday for the first time since the pandemic shutdown in 2020. It was eagerly anticipated by local players, but they encountered a couple of surprises when they got there. The first was 12 tables, only 60 less than pre-COVID. The second was a stratospheric rake: 10% up to $10 per hand, including all low-limit games. Yow! By comparison, the rake at Foxwoods is half that at its $1/$2 and $2/$5 tables. PokerNews.com reported that local poker pro Chase Bianchi, who made it to the final table at last year's WSOP Main Event, called it "Operation Nuke Poker."
An entirely retooled Legends in Concert returns to the Legends in Concert theater at the Tropicana this evening. The show, “Legendary Divas,” consists of all women performers, impersonating Celine Dion, Cher, Lady Gaga, and Adele. Female impersonator Frank Marino, perennial star of his own Divas Las Vegas show, will serve as the host and perform as Joan Rivers, so it's kind of a two-fer. Legends will go on at 7:30 Wednesday through Monday; tickets range from $70 to $115, plus taxes and fees.
The Lunar New Year started yesterday and plenty is happening in Las Vegas to mark the Year of the Tiger, whose celebration runs for 15 days in China, ending with the Spring Lantern Festival. Get all the details on events at a dozen casinos, shopping malls and districts, even a water park in our VegasWithAnEdge post about it.
The line on the Super Bowl made a move yesterday afternoon at Caesars Sportsbook when a sports bettor put down a straight $522,500 wager to win $475,000 on LA at -4 and the line moved to -4½. Reportedly, very soon afterwards, another bettor slapped down $110,000 on the Cincinnati Bengals at +4½.
Starting today, the MGM M life players club is now called MGM Rewards. The press release says, "The reimagined loyalty rewards program offers significantly enhanced benefits for its millions of members worldwide." However, tier credits have been seriously reduced. With M life, you earned 25 tier credits for every dollar spent at MGM Resorts properties in Las Vegas (and eight elsewhere); now, you'll earn four tier credits for every dollar spent at all MRI properties worldwide.
The normal range of high and low temperatures throughout February in Las Vegas provides for comfortable outdoor experiences, with highs in the 60s and lows in the 40s; the averages are 63 and 41 degrees. The record highs and lows, however, can veer wildly in either direction. The record high for the month is a sweltering (for February) 87, set on the 26th in 1986, while the record low is a chilling (even for February) 16, reached on the 7th (1989). February typically sees the most precipitation of any month of the year, .7 of an inch.