Those with a Nevada driver's license now have free in-and-out privileges at the STRAT parking garage; they scan your ID at the entrance of the garage and the gate opens. No instructions are posted, but attendants are usually at both the entrance and exit -- because the situation is confusing. How so? The system doesn’t issue tickets, so they don’t have pay stations inside or outside the garage. There’s no barcode scanner at the exit gate (yet). Nevada residents show their driver's license to the attendant when they leave; the attendant opens the gate by touching a sensor with a card. Hotel guests also have free parking with their room key, but it’s unclear how they get into the garage before check-in and out after check-out. Apparently, the Strat Advantage Premium Parking program is still in effect. Visitors who park near the third-floor pedestrian bridge and elevators on the other floors have to scan the QR code posted near their parking spot with their smartphone and pay via credit or debit card. LVA correspondent extraordinaire, Peter B., tells us, "I have no idea how this is enforced and if it also applies to people who have free parking. Can they park anywhere or only at spots without a QR code?" Good questions. The whole Nevada-residents free-parking deal is a pivot from the original announcement about the introduction of paid parking at the property in late March, when anyone and everyone parking there had to pony up for the privilege. Did Golden Entertainment, essentially a locals casino company, see a dramatic enough drop in business at the STRAT to have to roll back everyone-pays policy? It's possible we'll get a peak in the second-quarter earnings report in August. Tru Rewards members whose status is Solid, Legit, or Epic also receive free parking, regardless of residency.
The world's most expensive single poker tournament is back in action after a five-year pause and will return to Las Vegas for the first time since 2016. The Big One for One Drop is a fundraiser for the Montreal-based One Drop Foundation, an international non-profit organization launched by Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberté that focuses on water initiatives around the world. The tournament has a $1 million buy-in, of which 6% will go to the charity this year, down from the 11.1% of previous years. The number of entrants has fluctuated from around 30 to 50, with the prize money ranging from $10 million (2018 with 27 players) to $18.3 million (2012 with 48 players). It will be held at the Wynn on December 18-20 during the World Poker Tour's World Championship Festival.
The 54th annual World Series of Poker kicked off yesterday for the second year on the Strip, this time officially at Horseshoe Las Vegas (it was still Bally’s when it was held there last year) and Paris. The $500-buy-in casino-employees tournament and the $25,000 High Roller six-handed event were the first two of 95 total gold-bracelet tournaments that will be played leading up to the Main Event that starts on July 17. Gunning to break attendance records, a $300-entry-fee tournament, the lowest in WSOP history, has been added and an all-out effort is being made to break the 2006 Main Event record of 8,773 players, with multiple satellites to win seats held in May. This year boasts the WSOP’s biggest-ever capacity (608 tables in more than 200,000 square feet of convention space). Key tournaments include the $300-buy-in “Gladiators of Poker,” with a $3 million guaranteed prize pool (6/7); $250K buy-in Super High Roller (6/16); Poker Players Championship (6/18); seniors event (6/21); Millionaire Maker (6/23); Colossus (6/30); and the Main Event (7/3-17). Once again, CBS Sports will broadcast the series highlights and PokerGO will stream the events daily.
The Vegas Golden Knights are -135 favorites over the Florida Panthers to win the NHL's Stanley Cup. Game 1 is Saturday in Las Vegas.
The Denver Nuggets are -420 favorites over the Miami Heat in the NBA Championship. Game 1 is Thursday in Denver.
After roaring out to a 3-0 lead against the Dallas Stars in the NHL Western Conference championship series, then losing two in a row, the Vegas Golden Knights crushed the Stars, shutting them out 6-0 in Dallas in Game Six, to earn the team's second trip to the Stanley Cup Finals. They'll face the Florida Panthers, who swept the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference championship series, at T-Mobile on Saturday. In their inaugural season in 2018, the VGK also went to the Finals, losing to Washington in five games. Only six players remain on the team from that miracle season, which you can read about in our book Vegas Golden Knights -- How a First-Year Expansion Team Healed Las Vegas and Shocked the Hockey World. The VGK are -130 favorites to beat the eight-seed Panthers.
It's been awhile since The Wall Street Journal has published anything related to Las Vegas, but a story in yesterday's edition has been getting a lot of play. If the title, "Why You're Losing More to Casinos," isn't clear enough, the first sentence adds some emphasis: "Casinos on the Vegas Strip are making it costlier to play and harder to win." The story notes that blackjack players on the Strip lost nearly $1 billion in 2022, the second-highest loss on record; the first was during the pre-recession boom of 2007. The smaller number of tables (down 20% from 2012), higher minimums, the lower payout on naturals, and other subtle changes that favor the house all point to "a broader effort to make Las Vegas more of an upscale destination." Caesars' CEO is quoted, "[We're] bringing in higher value customers and we’re already full. So [we’re] kicking out the lowest end. I see no reason that needs to stop or would stop.” Also cited is Vegas Advantage, which among other things conducts table-game surveys; they found that "more than two-thirds of blackjack tables on the Strip currently offer 6-5 payouts" and of the 278 roulette tables, 78 are triple zero. It's nothing that we don't already know, but for the WSJ to put it in black and white, with hard numbers, pretty much makes it official. (And thanks to Ken M. for sending the article.)
The Boston Celtics are -7.5 favorites over the Miami Heat in Game 7 of the of the NBA's Eastern Conference Finals. The total is 204.
As the Nevada Senate Committee on Finance and the Assembly Committee on Ways and Means meet this Memorial Day afternoon to consider the tax abatements proposed by the Oakland A's to help fund their stadium in Las Vegas, the negative coverage is growing higher and deeper. Sports Illustrated is reporting that "the stadium deal isn't site specific, meaning the A's could change the location of the ballpark -- again." In addition, SI writes, "Even without a site firmly selected, knowing how exactly it will be funded, who covers the overages, how this impacts local residents, and a slew of other pertinent questions, Nevada lawmakers are ready to hand over a deal." And further speculation is swirling around team owner John Fisher's hidden agenda of selling the team, thus either 1) moving and not having to pay California income tax or 2) continuing to play Las Vegas off a new stadium in Oakland, which would be much attractive to a buyer. Speaking of which, another SI story has it that the city of Oakland and the A's are "very close to a deal if the A's want to re-engage in negotiations." Meanwhile, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred, when asked about the situation, said that the A's "are settled on the MGM site." So either he knows something no one else does or he doesn't have any idea what's going on in Vegas. Then again, why pay any attention to the more and more ridiculous saga of a team with a 10 wins and 45 losses so far this year, with the over-under for the season at 30 wins? It's a question we ask ourselves frequently.
The Bellagio Conservatory and Botanical Garden's summer display launched in time for the holiday weekend. As always, it's a profusion of colorful flowers and greenery, complete with full-sized trees and whimsical forest beings, birds and butterflies, frogs, and more. It's open 24 hours a day and it's free.
The city is busy with an estimated 335,000 people in for the Memorial Day weekend and the sports books will be jumping with NBA and NHL playoff action today. However, as has been the case during most holidays since the pandemic, related promos are sparse. The only casino promo we’ve seen is at South Point, where active and veteran military get a free buffet for two today. At Grimaldi’s Pizzerias, military gets 15% off.
Huf-N-Puf, Coco, and Lady Ace, the last Atlantic bottlenose dolphins that remained at the shuttered Dolphin Habitat at the Mirage, have been relocated to a sea sanctuary in St. Thomas in the Caribbean. The three female dolphins' new home is CoralWorld Ocean Park at the end of a spit in Water Bay on the northeast side of the main island; Las Vegas' three join CoralWorld's seven dolphins in captivity. Three other dolphins were moved in February to SeaWorld in San Diego. This ends the 30-year run of the Dolphin Habitat, which closed in November following the third dolphin death in less than six months. In all, 16 of the Mirage’s total 23 dolphins (70%) died, many well before reaching 20 years of age, when in the wild they live for an average of 30.
Resorts World's parent company, Malaysian-based Genting Berhad, released its earnings report for the first quarter on Friday, showing that it's Las Vegas property's revenue for the first three months of this year, $218 million, was 4% lower than the $227 million for fourth-quarter 2022. Executives noted in the earnings call that Resorts World will "focus on building its Las Vegas mass market and convention business." It's interesting to us that this luxury resort plans to go downscale, at least somewhat, to grow its business. In another sign of the times, Genting revealed that non-gaming revenue accounted for 75% of the total, leaving the other (mere) 25% to the casino. How does this bode for the luxury resort directly across the street slated to open this December? Time will tell. Meanwhile, Resorts World is apparently also revamping its player club system. As reported in VitalVegas, the rebranding of Genting Rewards will take place on June 1.
The date for the release of the third and final round of tickets for the Las Vegas Grand Prix has been announced for Friday June 9, starting at 10 a.m. PT. Anyone with an American Express card will have early access, 10 a.m. Wednesday June 7. Grandstand seats will be available, along with three special packages with three-day access to prime vantage point along the race track: Club Paris (at the outdoor restaurants, $5,500 per person); Club SI (Sports Illustrated at the Flamingo, $7,000); and Heineken House (South Koval Zone, $8,000).
The Boring Company website now claims that the Vegas Loop, when completed, will have a capacity to handle 90,000 passengers per hour. If it comes to fruition, that will be like moving everyone in a sold-out Allegiant Stadium through the system in an hour -- and having enough room left over to handle everyone in T-Mobile Arena and the Colosseum at Caesars to boot. Of course, this assumes that the Loop will stretch for 65 miles and have 69 stations when completed over the next 10 years or so, which is the current plan.
The deal proposed by the Oakland A's for the public portion of the funding of the team's $1.5 billion stadium was introduced to the Nevada Senate yesterday. It calls for a cap of $380 million, a full $120 million less than the original $500 sought by Oakland. The majority of the funding, $180 million would come from transferable tax credits sanctioned by the state, with $120 million (or more, depending on interest rates) in bonds issued by Clark County and the rest a 30-year exemption from property taxes. (Transferable tax credits are redeemed when taxes owed, such as payroll taxes, are either waived or sold to other businesses.) The Nevada Legislature has 10 days to pass the funding package. All the financial details are contained in a good article in The Nevada Independent, which has had the deep inside track on this whole situation since the beginning. There, you can also see a rendering of what the stadium would look like on the Tropicana property. To us, it looks like it takes up a lot more than the nine acres that have been bandied about and the low-rise buildings leading up to the front entrance are what would be left of the hotel-casino. Maybe. To further muddy the mud, it's being reported by several media outlets that the deal is not site specific; in other words, the A's could change the location for a third time. For a great look at the many behind-the-scenes possibilities, particularly in relation to team owner John Fisher, Sports Illustrated tells that tale.
A story in the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that restaurants with a view of the Strip are being bought out for at least two nights of the F1 race weekend in November. Bought out by whom? No one's saying. Just that no reservations are available at Buddy V's Ristorante at the Venetian, Giadia at the Cromwell, Eiffel Tower at Paris, Brezza at Resorts World, and Ocean Prime at Project 63, which isn't even open yet. As for the latter, "The $20 million rooftop steakhouse, which encompasses 17,000 square feet inside and out, has been rented all three days of F1, with guests paying millions for all-you-can-enjoy meals and prime watching at the 11th turn of the track," the R-J reports. Of the two dozen or so restaurants with views of the race, most wouldn't respond to the R-J's inquiries. "Why the reticence? Strip properties are famously closed-mouth; the CIA is leakier. Also, several industry insiders surmised that restaurants might not have completed buyouts, could still be deciding between a buyout versus a pricey ticketed gathering, or simply do not want to seem exclusionary (hilarious for an event drawing some of the most affluent people on the planet)."
In this week's vlog, Andrew celebrates the opening next week of Las Vegas' first "joint-friendly joint," the Lexi, where weed will be welcome. (Anthony will check it out with Andrew -- in a smokejumper's mask). They also discuss the closing of Planet Hollywood, the long-time restaurant at the Forum Shops at Caesars, and the just-announced details of the Circa football contests with an astounding $14 million guaranteed payout. Then they make room for Blair Rodman to squeeze between them in the studio and the fun starts. Blair's been around Las Vegas and gambling for as long as Anthony and they've been friends forever, which is evidenced by their easy rapport. Blair came to town in the '80s to be a poker pro and shares some great stories about the legendary Doyle Brunson, who passed away this week at the age of 89, and the other poker old-timers. Then a second new feature is introduced in the video: Question of the Week. The question is about Station Casinos' new promotion, NFT Charms. Let's just say neither Anthony nor Blair is overly impressed with the concept. Finally, the Jackpot of the Week features Anthony's first-ever sequential royal and Andrew's first-ever $1,000 royal. This is a classic; don't miss it!
Anthony Curtis will be a guest on the "Pushing the Limits" radio show today that's airing from the topless pool at Sapphire Gentlemen's Club. Aside from the location, this one should be interesting with comedian Kathleen Dunbar on at the same time. A.C. and K.D. have a friendly competition going in pass-the-puck promotions during VGK games, which is what led host Brian Shapiro to pair them today. Check it out on KSHP AM1400 at 12:30 p.m. PST.
With 18 to 24 months before the Tropicana is currently scheduled to close and, possibly, be imploded to make room for the Oakland A's stadium, a new poker room has been announced for the property. Las Vegas-based Maverick Gaming, which owns 22 casinos and cardrooms in Washington state, Colorado, and Nevada and is co-owned by poker pro Eric Persson, has partnered with the Trop to open the the entry-level room, with low limits ($1/$3 and $2/5), a low rake, and plenty of tournaments. The announcement also mentioned a broadcast studio to go along with the room, its opening date forthcoming. We can't help wondering what other new features the Tropicana will introduce as it gets ready to tear the joint down.
Cathédrale, the Las Vegas location of a Manhattan restaurant in the Moxy Hotel on 11th Street between Third and Park avenues in the East Village, has opened off the main lobby at Aria. A long tunnel leads to the dim 266-seat room with a memorable ceiling and open-hearth kitchen. The food is called French-Mediterranean, covering Spain, the south of France, Italy, and Greece. The menu has appetizers from $19 for lettuce-radish salad to $37 for the potato-chip omelet with caviar. The cheeseburger is $35 (yikes!) and entrees start at $33 for zucchini and quinoa (woo!) and $50 for the black-truffle fettuccine and run as high as $64 for lamb chops and $84 for the 22-ounce rib eye. Let us know how you like the place.
The numbers are in and EDC, which ended on Sunday night, hosted 520,000 entrants. This doesn't represent the number of individual attendees, but those who entered the festival all three nights. The festival put on 230 acts on nine stages. Fifty people were arrested, 19 for felonies (charges not described); roughly 1,300 Metro police officers were assigned to the festival, 400 per night; the state police also had a presence. Around 1,000 items wound up in the EDC lost and found, including 122 wallets, 172 phones, 25 backpacks, 337 credit cards, and 11 pair of sunglasses.
No, not the hotel-casino owned by Caesars, but the long-running restaurant in the Forum Shops at Caesars, which closed yesterday at 3 p.m. It opened in 1994 shortly after the Forum Shops did and we remember it well. At the time, it was the biggest restaurant opening of the Planet Hollywood chain (which launched in 1991) and was highly hyped here, due to investor-partners Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Sylvester Stallone, dozens of celebrity endorsements, and all the movie memorabilia. We ate there and in our review called it "diner-quality food, but lots of it." The company went bankrupt in the '90s and the restaurant chain has shrunk now to the three that remain in the U.S.: L.A., Orlando, and New York.
The Little Church of the West opened on May 22, 1943, when it sat in the midst of Frontier Village next to the Last Frontier, second resort on the incipient Las Vegas Strip, which had debuted six months earlier in October 1942. Since then, this venerable wedding chapel has moved three times and is now located on the west side of the Strip at Russell Road, just north of the Pinball Hall of Fame. It has hosted a reported 250,000 weddings over its lifetime and was bought by the current owner in 1983. Happy Anniversary!
Starting tonight, the Buffet at Bellagio will open for dinner on Wednesdays and Thursdays for the first time since the pandemic shutdown. Previously, it was open Fri.-Sun. only. Wednesdays will be Italian-specialty nights, with pistachio-crusted lamb, Fiorentina-style prime rib, osso buco, and rosemary brisket and will cost the same as the weekend dinners, $69.99. Non-specialty Thursdays will run $66.99. The hours will be the same as the weekend dinner, 5 to 9 p.m.
Memorial weekend has arrived after the storm called EDC has passed.
Carousel Bar, the round bar under the dome in the porte cochere of the Plaza, has opened. It has a merry-go-round theme with colorful horses adorning the light posts. The Carousel is part of a larger upgrade of the Plaza that includes Pinkbox Donuts, a smoke-free casino annex, and an outdoor patio attached to Oscar's Steakhouse on the second floor. The official grand opening for Carousel and Pinkbox will be June 10.
The new video on Las Vegas history, decade by decade, has just been released by the Commission for the Las Vegas Centennial. The City of Las Vegas: The Fifties is the fifth in the series; one is released in conjunction with Las Vegas' birthday, May 15, every year. All episodes are produced by Boyd Gaming's production company. The Fifties covers the decade that started with "Las Vegas riding high, but change was coming." The Test Site and the veritable atomic explosion of tourism, the rapid development of the Las Vegas Strip, the Mob, the Wedding Capital of the World, all the movies celebrating the scene, even women dealers -- like the other four videos, The Fifties is a meaty 75 minutes. See it here.
For anyone with plans to visit the office or even call in, we had to close at 2:30 today, due to a total disruption of Internet access. We assume that the problem will be fixed sometime between now and 9 a.m. and we'll open as usual in the morning. Stay tuned to this space for updates if necessary.
On the heels of the Super Bowl party announced already by the Plaza, Circa across the street has released details for five different viewing events: Big Game Viewing Party, Big Game Bash, Biggest Big Game Bash, Big Game Watch Party, and Private Viewing Zones. If you're interested, you'll find all the details here.
For the first time in three years, Las Vegas Ballpark, home of the Oakland A's affiliate Las Vegas Aviators, did NOT win BallParkDigest.com's Best of the Ballparks competition for the Triple AAA level. Seeded #1 going into the March Madness-like bracket, Las Vegas received an automatic bye into the Sweet Sixteen, where the Ballpark defeated Fifth Third Field of Toledo (yes, "M*A*S*H" and Klinger fans, they're still the Mud Hens), before being upset in the Elite Eight by 8th-seeded Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark of Oklahoma City. OKC was defeated by Polar Park (Worcester) in the Championship Final. As the potential Las Vegas Athletics would almost certainly use the Las Vegas Ballpark as a temporary home while their own stadium is built, here's a look back to BallparkDigest.com's 2019 feature of our own Summerlin field of dreams, shortly after it opened. (And all the credit for this News item goes to Canada Roy!)
A casino in a tent will open and close today at Paradise and E. Desert Inn roads. This is a requirement of the owner of the parcel in question, Marriott International, to preserve its non-restricted gaming license connected to that site. The tent opened at 6 a.m. and will close at 2 p.m. to satisfy the eight-hour requirement. It's the 10th time in 17 years that the minimum 16 slot machines have been moved on and off the site and the Nevada Gaming Commission is getting impatient with Marriott to make a move; the commissioners told the company that the license process "can't go on indefinitely." For a look at the long and interesting history of that parcel, read our recent QoD about it.
Frankie Valli and his all-new Four Seasons band will play a 14-date residency at the Westgate, stretching over a period of a year. Valli is 89 and giving Tony Bennett a run for the oldest crooner to stop performing (Bennett, who'll be 97 in August, performed his last concert in 2021 at age 95). The dates are October 26 and 27, then January 12, 13, and 14; April 4, 5, and 6; July 4, 5, and 6; and October 24, 25, and 26. Tickets are on sale now (access them the Westgate's website) and start at $55.
Lexi, the cannabis-friendly hotel on W. Sahara near I-15, will open on June 2. Elevation Hotels & Resorts purchased the 64-room Artisan non-casino hotel early last year from the Siegel Group for $11.9 million, then invested another $3-plus million and renovated all the hotel rooms, along with the lobby, bar, lounge, and (toptional) pool. Marijuana consumption will be permitted throughout the fourth floor, which will be ventilated by a state-of-the-art air-filtration system. The new restaurant was reportedly planned to be a Cajun-inspired steakhouse, but we haven't seen details on that as yet. Elevation also owns the successful Clarendon Hotel in Phoenix, the weed-welcoming model it introduced several years ago in Phoenix. Lexi won't have a casino, of course; casinos are disallowed from having any relationship with marijuana.
TheRooftopGuide.com has a page on the 14 best rooftop bars in Las Vegas. This is a fine roundup for non-Vegas experts and it's worth a look if you like to drink with a view. (And thanks to Canada Roy for sending the link.)
Perhaps the most popular bakery-small plates eatery in Chinatown will close on June 30. "Circumstances beyond our control" were cited in the announcement Tweet. Sweets Raku opened in 2013 on Spring Mountain Road near Decatur Blvd. and, along with its sister Asian restaurant Raku, was a perennial Essential 50 venue in our guide Eating Las Vegas.
Country superstar Garth Brooks, who opened his new residency at the Colosseum at Caesars on Thursday, has announced 18 more dates for performances next year. Fans who signed up, but were unable to purchase tickets for this year's shows, will have first access to tickets for the 2024 shows with a special Verified Fan presale. More information will be sent to eligible fans via email. The 2024 show dates are:
April 18, 20, 21, 25, 27, and 28; May 2, 4, and 5; June 26, 28, and 29; and July 3, 5, 6, 10, 12, and 13.
Going into the final round of golf's PGA Championship, Brooks Koepka is the +125 favorite to win. He’s followed by Viktor Hovland at +265 and Corey Conners at +460.
The odds for the Preakness Stakes make Kentucky Derby winner, Mage, the favorite at 8-5, followed by National Treasure at 5-2 and Blazing Sevens at 9-2. The long shots in the short field of seven are Coffeewithchris and Chase the Chaos at only 9-1. The Triple Crown is still in play, with Mage favored; he’s also the only horse in the field that ran in the Derby. Blazing Sevens is named for the owner’s favorite blackjack side bet.
Anthony and Andrew touch on the latest news about the Oakland A's deal to build a stadium at the Tropicana, the Downtown Rocks concert lineup that starts May 28, the Vegas Golden Knights going to the Western Conference championship series (currently the -135 favorite), and a LasVegasAdvisor.com website update. But the real fun starts when they banter about the Downtown Grand blackjack mini-tournament, where Andrew went on a sprint to overtake Anthony and make it to the final table. Tune in to find out how that ended up, as well as to hear about another really cool Jackpot of the Week and the winner's first royal ever.
The American Gaming Association reports that the industry set another revenue record in the first quarter of 2023 of $16.6 billion. It was the eighth consecutive quarter that gaming has registered a new record for revenue. Of the 35 commercial gaming markets nationwide, 18 set new records in the first quarter and only one, Mississippi, showed a loss from last year's Q1 total revenue. Igaming accounted for just under 25% of the $16.6 billion, its largest percentage on record. Sports betting, as well, took in a record $2.79 billion on a handle of $31.1 billion (a 10.3% hold).
EaterVegas reports that starting June 1, the iconic Peppermill restaurant-bar on the north Strip will remain open 24 hours on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. When it reopens Friday morning at 7 a.m. after closing on Thursday at 11 p.m., it won't close again until midnight Sunday. Monday through Thursday, the regular hours are 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. The Peppermill stopped 24-hour service just prior to the pandemic.
Conflicting accounts put the discrepancy in public funding to which the Nevada Legislature is so far willing to commit to public funding of an Oakland A's stadium at a low of $75 million (as reported in the Las Vegas Review-Journal this morning) and $200 million (as reported by the Nevada Independent on yesterday). Either way, it's enough money that the deadline for a deal, June 5 when the Legislature's biennial session ends, is looming larger and larger. The legislators seem not to like the A's flip-flopping on the stadium site, submitting a vague and ambiguous funding proposal, and the fact that the mayor of Oakland is still attempting to negotiate with the team's staying in her city. A special session of the legislature is always possible, but the appetite for that, right after the six-month convening, will be small.
An Ultimate Texas Hold ’em player at the Venetian on Sunday was dealt the queen and jack of spades and the community cards turned up the 10, king, and ace. Luckily, he'd placed the $5 side bet, making him eligible for the Millionaire Progressive jackpot, with which he won $2,699,320. It was the largest Millionaire Progressive jackpot since it was introduced.
Electric Daisy Carnival (EDC) Las Vegas returns to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway with an expected 525,000 attendees. Across nine stages of music, more than 230 artists make up the lineup. Check out more details on their official website (05/19-21)
Electric Daisy Carnival (EDC), one of the largest festivals in the world, invades Las Vegas for three days of music and controlled madness this weekend. Upwards of 150,000 celebrants will make their way to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway starting tomorrow morning through Sunday, then head out over the day or two afterwards. The traffic situation, already strained due to major construction on I-15 around Tropicana and the "Beast" F1 repaving project on the Strip, will further deteriorate. If you're here and driving somewhere or coming into town, especially if you're traversing the I-15/Trop area, be sure to leave extra time.
Scottie Scheffler is the favorite at +775 to win the PGA Championship golf tournament. He’s followed by Jon Rahm at +815, Xander Schauffle at +1400, and Rory McIlroy at +1450.
The F1 street conversion has now moved to Harmon Avenue, with work concentrated near the Harmon/Strip area, where the center medians are being removed. For no apparent reason, access to the Harmon flyover from the Strip is completely shut off, causing traffic in both directions to take lengthy detours. South Strip traffic is mildly affected. Avoid the area if you can. We’ll keep you up to date as the work affects other areas.
Golden Monkey Tiki Lounge has opened at Resorts World in the space that was formerly Genting Palace Lounge. It’s being touted as the first tiki bar on the Strip in more than 20 years, when the Venetian closed Taboo Cove.
Las Vegas Review-Journal entertainment columnist John Katsilometes reports that Tivoli Gardens, the restaurant founded by Liberace next to his museum at 1775 East Tropicana, is being resurrected after closing in 1986, then reopening as Carluccio’s Tivoli Gardens. Carluccio’s was a mere shadow of the original and it closed in 2011 shortly after the museum did. Now, the owner of Pancho’s Vegan Cantina has taken over the vacant space, which is next door, with plans to bring the room back to its former glory. Tomorrow will be the 40th anniversary of the grand opening of Tivoli Gardens in 1983 and Kats writes that date of the next grand opening will be announced in a month or so.
Bally's Corp., which owns the Tropicana, informed Trop employees on Monday that the hotel-casino will close within an 18- to 24-month window. The notice stated that the closure is "in preparation for a renovation" and called the new Trop an "integrated casino-hotel and resort and baseball park." At this point at least, it appears that the Trop won't disappear for good, but will be incorporated into an overall redesign of the property, which will, barring unforeseen circumstances, include the Las Vegas A's stadium.
Estiatorio Milos, the fancy indoor-outdoor Mediterranean restaurant at the Cosmopolitan, closed in 2020 to reopen at the Venetian and the space has remained empty ever since. But starting sometime this fall, French-Italian LPM, with locations in London, Miami, and Dubai, will take it over with a 250-seat restaurant. The Miami menu features hors d'oeuvres from tapenade ($9) and Chilean sea bass croquettes ($19) to classic escargots ($28) and tuna tartare ($42); entrees such as pasta ($25), gnocchi ($27), snapper and baby chicken ($43), and a grilled rib eye ($95), with sides ($12); and desserts starting at $14 for a selection of sorbets and going up to $18 for crème brûlée. LPM will offer patio seating, very fancy cocktails, and a wine menu featuring Riviera rosé.
A commentary by long-time Las Vegas columnist, observer, and author (including three of our books) John L. Smith gives his unique perspective on the Oakland A's herky-jerky journey to Las Vegas. Here's the lead sentence: "The Oakland Athletics’ Kings of Chaos Comedy Tour continued its head-scratching Las Vegas run this week. I think the joke’s on us." In his always-incisive and sardonic style, John L. goes on to include a few rim shots and gags, along with his serious reporting, on this curious state of affairs. You can spend a few entertaining minutes here.
Doyle "Texas Dolly" Brunson, considered by many to be the Godfather of Poker, died yesterday in a Las Vegas hospital at the age of 89. Brunson was always a fierce competitor, starting as an athlete, then turning his attention to poker, playing for decades in illegal games all over the country, before finally gravitating to Las Vegas where there was major action and it was legal. He won the World Series of Poker Main Event two years in a row, 1976 and 1977, and his 10 WSOP gold bracelets are the second only to Phil Hellmuth's 16. Brunson was also the author of the 1978 poker classic Super System, which more than 20 years later remains a number-one bestseller on Amazon.
Now in its 16th year, Las Vegas Restaurant Week will be held from June 6 to 16 (it's actually a 12-day event). It's held in June every year and encourages Las Vegans and visitors to dine out for a good meal, at a good value, for a good cause. The city’s finest restaurants offer special three-course prix fixe menus, donating a portion of proceeds to Three Square Food Bank. Since 2007, millions of meals have been provided for those in need through Restaurant Week. The list is restaurants continues to grow and this year is epic; from Al Solito Posto (in Tivoli Village) to WSKY Bar & Grill at Inspirada, you can see all 200 restaurants, including the menus and prices, and make reservations here.
The Dallas Stars are -200 favorites over the Seattle Kraken in Game 7 of their second-round NHL playoff series. The total is 6.
While all states except for Illinois have released their March casino and sports-betting numbers, Arizona finally released theirs for February. The sports-betting handle and revenue figures were eagerly anticipated in Las Vegas, given that Arziona hosted the Super Bowl in February and Las Vegas is hosting next year's. Arizona's February handle was $609.3 million, making it the only state in the top 10 whose handle increased over January, when most of the Super Bowl betting took place. New York was number one with a $1.5 billion handle in February, down 18% from January's $1.8 billion. Number-10 Michigan's handle was down 27% to $357 million in February from $491 million month on month. Arizona's hold, however, was only $35.4 million or 5.8% of the handle, placing it near the bottom of the revenue list (26th out of the 29 states booking Super Bowl wagers). Some analysts predict that Nevada's handle will far surpass $1 billion in January and February 2024 in the runup to the Big Game at Allegiant Stadium.
On August 11, Circa will launch the Sports Gambling Hall of Fame (SGHF), which will be located within the sports book at the downtown hotel-casino. There will be 10 charter inductees, five alive and five otherwise. The initial three inductees will be Frank “Lefty” Rosenthal, Roxy Roxborough, and Billy Walters, with the remaining seven to be announced at later dates. The induction will take place at a special ceremony during BetBash, a professional sports-bettor networking conference. The rules and regs for the SGHF were created and voted on by an advisory board consisting of 16 members, all of whom have spent much of their lives in the sports betting industry; a 75% approval rating is needed for an individual’s induction to pass. The Sports Gambling Hall of Fame is not to be confused with the Sports Betting Hall of Fame, which was created in 2016 by SBC Events, the London-based organizer of some of the largest international conferences and trade shows in the gaming and sports betting industries.
The Boston Celtics are -6.5 favorites over the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 7 of their second-round NBA playoff series. The total is 201.
Five years ago on May 14, 2018, the Supremes overturned Nevada's monopoly on sports betting, a.k.a. the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA). By a vote of 7-2, the high-court justices declared PASPA unconstitutional, based on the Tenth Amendment (states' rights): The Constitution doesn't give the federal government, explicitly or implicitly, the authority to regulate gambling. This opened what turned out to be the floodgates of such a torrent of sports betting throughout the nation that even the most optimistic opponents of PASPA are still surprised by it. In just five years, 70% of the states have legalized sports betting, each marching according to its own regulations and tax structure. For a good roundup of the state of sports betting today, read this story on CDC Gaming Reports. And for a peek at what this year's inductees into the Sports Betting Hall of Fame remember about the repeal, read this one.
In late January, a Washington state law firm filed a class-action antitrust lawsuit alleging that MGM Resorts, Caesars Entertainment, Treasure Island, and Wynn "artificially inflate the prices of hotel rooms above competitive levels." Now, a similar suit has been filed against Caesars Entertainment, MGM Resorts, and Hard Rock for illegally jacking up room rates in Atlantic City in violation of U.S. antitrust law. The suit, filed by two New Jersey residents, places Florida-based hospitality-tech company Cendyn Group LLC and its pricing platform at the heart of the alleged conspiracy. The suit alleges that such market factors as increased demand and rising costs can't account for the uniform rise in room rates since 2018 and that the accused hotels "misrepresented to guests through omissions, half-truths, and misrepresentations how they determined room rates." Atlantic City room rates have increased "substantially," while occupancy rates decreased, over the past four years.
Jailton Almeida is a -550 favorite over Jairzinho Rozenstruik in today’s UFC main event. In the other featured match, Johnny Walker is -130 over Anthony Smith.
The entire schedule of National Football League games was released Thursday evening and one in particular got our attention. The hometown Raiders will face the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs on Christmas Day in Kansas City, starting at 10 a.m. our time. This will be the third time the Raiders will play on Christmas; of the 27 Christmas Day NFL games, the Raiders played the Chiefs once before (2004) and the Philadelphia Eagles (2017). Lifetime against the Chiefs, the Raiders are 53-70-2. The Raiders will play the following teams at Allegiant Stadium this season: Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Chargers, Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, New England Patriots, New York Giants, New York Jets, and Pittsburgh Steelers. On the road, they'll play: Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Chargers, Buffalo Bills, Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, Indianapolis Colts, and Miami Dolphins.
In a good omen for Lake Mead, upriver reservoir Lake Powell is rising at a rate of approximately a foot every day. Currently at 3,534 feet surface elevation, Powell is 166 feet below full pool, but has risen 13 feet since its low-water mark on April 13. Thanks to the ferociously wet winter in the Upper Colorado River Basin, the Bureau of Reclamation is projecting that Lake Powell will rise 70 feet this year, the most in nearly 20 years.
What's the latest with the Oakland A's never-ending soap opera? How's the traffic on the Strip with all the F1 pavement work going on? When is the Fontainebleau opening? Is one of Las Vegas' best buffets making a comeback? Can you really see dozens of shows in Las Vegas and thousands throughout the country for $25 ticket prices? And do longshot mechanical horse-race bets ever pay off? Learn the answers to all of these burning questions and more right here with the white arrow in the red box.
Due, apparently, to enormous pent-up demand for U2's first concerts in more than four years, another eight shows have been added to their growing residency at the new Sphere. "U2:UV Achtung Baby Live At Sphere" will now continue through early December: 1, 2, 6, 8, 9, 13, 15, and 16. Ticket requests for the new shows from all U2.com subscribers start today; sales begin next Friday,
Sphere Entertainment has announced a new higher number for the total construction cost of the Sphere, which is now coming in at $2.3 billion. That's more than a 5% hike from the previous cap of $2.18 billion. Sphere Entertainment explained the rise in the most general terms, that it reflects "the overall complexity of the project." Thus far, the company has spent $2.08 billion, or a little more than 91% of the total cost, on the way to opening on September 29.
When Garth Brooks launches his "Garth Brooks Plus One" residency on May 18 at the Colosseum at Caesars, a strict no-phone policy will be enforced. Showgoers will be required to lock their phones in a Yondr pouch that will be unlocked only as they exit the theater; a special phone-use area will be available for emergencies. Anyone caught using a phone in the theater will be 86'd. Other acts have played to no-phone audiences (Dylan is famous for it and Prince was adamant about it), as the devices create a barrier between the artists and the audience, though it's obviously not popular with fans who pay a lot of money for concerts. Brooks will provide professional photos via a QR code that will be presented to concertgoers when they enter the theater.
For those who like to plan really early, you can book a viewing party, plus room, either a la carte or as a package at the Plaza downtown. The party itself will take place in the ballroom and start at 1:30 for the 3:30 game at Allegiant Stadium (no time-change challenges); the early-bird price of $141.47 (including fees and taxes) gets you a sports-food buffet, buckets of beer, and big-screen projection. And for a look at how much rooms will be going for that weekend, a two-night stay at the Plaza will cost upwards of $600 (including resort fee and taxes), though with the room, two tickets to the viewing party are $120 (a $265 saving). You can choose your seats on the seating chart, which consists of 152 total eight-top tables, so you'll enjoy the game with 1,200 of your not-closest friends. You can see what that will look like on the ticket page. And you can expect variations on the theme, at much higher prices, at casinos all over town. The Plaza is just the first look.
Here's an early advertisement for Fontainebleau that gives you a good look at its position as a luxe property ("A New Era of Luxury in Las Vegas") and the interiors. It's a minute 42 seconds and it's a little unclear what's Fontainebleau Las Vegas and Fontainebleau Miami (or plain B roll footage, like of the pool), but either way, you can tell how fancy this joint is going to be. (And thanks as always to Canada Roy for the link.)
North America’s second-annual 50 Best Bars list ranked Herbs and Rye, the swanky 14-year-old American-Italian restaurant and cocktail bar on W. Sahara at Valley View (great late-night play, closing at 3 a.m., closed Sundays), at number 27. H&R moved up one spot from last year's list, which seems significant, given that the competition includes all bars in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean. Four of the top 10 are in New York City, two in Mexico City, and one each in New Orleans, Chicago, Miami, and Los Angeles. The bars are selected by more than 200 experts and Herbs and Rye is the only bar in a famous drinking town to make the cut, with the list covering a major gob of Earth.
It appears that the Oakland A's "binding" agreement with Red Rock Resorts for 49 acres where the Wild Wild West once stood is unbound and that the A's are now pursuing a deal to buy nine acres of the 34-acre Tropicana from Bally's for their 35,000-seat stadium. It is, reportedly, a move toward reducing the public funding for the project from $500 million to $395 million. Sources close to the deal say that Bally's will demolish the Trop for the stadium. Bally's leases the Trop from Gaming and Leisure Properties, so the A's wouldn't incur any land-acquisition costs (perhaps indicating that the Wild Wild West site was going for $105 million). Still, ss the end of the Nevada legislative session approaches (June 5), the Oakland A's have yet to submit a proposal or pro forma for the bill the legislature needs to pass in less than 30 days to create a special tax district around the stadium to pay off public bonds for construction and the next legislature doesn't meet until 2025.
If it's true, it'll be the biggest news in the Las Vegas buffet scene since the pandemic shutdown. There's nothing specific, but rumblings are afoot that M Resort will be bringing back its immensely popular and eminently affordable Studio B Buffet. It would be an excellent move on M's part, given the pent-up buffet demand that's yet to be fulfilled by Las Vegas casinos. Perhaps the new Sunday brunch buffet at Anthony's Prime Steak & Seafood at the M foretells the Studio B. It's served Sundays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. for $99. With lobster tail, beef Wellington, roast lamb, snow crab, and salmon, it's not quite Sterling Brunch quality, but we'll check it out soon to see if it comes close.
The F1 street conversion has now moved to the corner of the Strip and Flamingo, with work taking place in front of Bellagio. Traveling south on the Strip in that area is challenging. Traveling east on Flamingo is a nightmare. Avoid it at all costs. We’ll try to keep you up to date as the work affects other areas.
Despite the field of 18 horses instead of the usual 20, which tends to reduce betting pools, the handle on this year's Kentucky Derby, $180.2 million, broke last year's record of $168.8 million by nearly 7%. The straight-pool total was $89.2 million, also a record, while betting in the win, place, and show pools was up $13.8 million or 18%; trifecta and superfecta pools declined 2.1% and 7.3%, respectively. The record betting reflected that this was the first year FanDuel customers could bet directly on the Derby. Five horses were scratched from the field Saturday morning, including late favorite Forte; the last time five horses were scratched from the Derby was in 1936. Mage, a 15-1 longshot, won the race by a length, but it was almost anticlimactic, given the unprecedented seven racehorses that died at Churchill Downs in the week leading up to the race, two of them in races on Saturday.
How many Grands Prix can the U.S. support? So far, the answer is two, but that might change, given that the Miami race apparently suffered from the Las Vegas' race later this year. Formula 1 is a distinctly upscale spectator sport, many fans can afford only one a year, and it seems that a number of them opted out of the Miami race, which took place on Sunday, in favor of Las Vegas. The official attendance count hasn't been released, but in contrast to Las Vegas tickets, which have sold out within hours of being offered, organizers were discounting available tickets up to 40% before the Miami race. It's also possible that even well-heeled fans were balking at the high ticket prices, which received fairly vocal criticism in the run-up to the race. Last year, the Miami race was the highlight of the F1 season and sold out quickly; we'll see what happens next year.
BeerInfo.com cites a study by The Beer Institute that compares the consumption of beer state by state as measured by the number of residents. Nevada ranks sixth per capita at 35.8 gallons, exactly 10 gallons less than the number-one state, North Dakota, followed by New Hampshire (43.9 gallons), Montana (41), South Dakota (38.9), and Wisconsin (36.2). Utah consumes the least (20.2), with Connecticut (22.1), New Jersey and New York (22.4), and Maryland (24.2) rounding out the bottom five. The national average is 28.2 gallons per person per year or about 10 ounces per day, roughly one six pack every week of the year. It's unclear how the averages were calculated, so we can't tell if Nevada's 50 million annual visitors skew the metrics for the state.
More players selected in this year's NFL Draft went to high school in Las Vegas than any other jurisdiction in the nation. And one Las Vegas high school was the only one to send three players. An NFL press release indicates that 243 high schools saw 259 of their football players selected in the seven rounds of the draft, which took place last week in Kansas City. Las Vegas' own Bishop Gorman accounted for the three players, while a second Vegas school, Desert Pines, claimed two, along with 13 other schools nationwide. Faith Lutheran and Liberty sent one each; Faith Lutheran's Dalton Kincaid was a first-round draft pick. It should be noted that none of the players is going directly from high school to the NFL; they were all selected from their college teams. Six-four tight end Kincaid, for example, was selected by the Buffalo Bills after playing college ball in San Diego and Utah. To be eligible for the draft, a player must be "three years removed" from high school.
Lee Canyon Ski Resort will close for the season this Sunday May 14. This year's ski season has been extended several times, thanks to record snowfall in the Spring Mountains over the winter (260 inches, beating the previous record of 255 set in 2005). It's the latest date skiing and snowboarding have taken place at Lee Canyon since the resort opened in 1968.
"Stranger Things" is an uber popular science fiction-horror-mystery series on Netflix that's now going into its fifth and final season. It involves a group of youngsters in Indiana in the 1980s who "witness supernatural forces and secret government exploits and, searching for answers, unravel a series of extraordinary mysteries." A retail store owned by Netflix that's based on the show is opening at the Showcase Mall on Friday May 26, where fans can interact with some "iconic locations," such the Palace Arcade, Vecna's attic, Starcourt Mall and Joyce Byers' home. The store will be open Monday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday till 8 p.m.
Live Nation's $25 Concert Week, which it sponsors every year, is on hand. The concert promoter is offering tickets to more than 3,800 shows throughout the U.S. and Canada for $25, which includes fees, but not taxes. The applicable shows will be posted for sale on Live Nation's website starting on Wednesday and continuing through Tuesday May 16, first-come first-served. In Las Vegas, $25 shows are expected to be available at the three arenas, plus the theaters at Caesars, Park MGM, Planet Hollywood, Palms, Venetian, Cosmo, and Flamingo, and the House of Blues and Brooklyn Bowl.
The Clark County Commission has approved plans from The Boring Company to extend the Vegas Loop by 25 miles and 18 new stations. The subterranean transportation system will grow to 65 miles of tunnels and 69 stations, including several at UNLV, Chinatown, Town Square, and Blue Diamond Road (where the Oak View hotel-casino and arena are planned). Sample fares have been revealed: from Reid International to the Las Vegas Convention Center $10 and from the Convention Center to downtown $6. And TBC isn't finished envisioning expansions; further stations could encompass El Cortez, Palace Station, Symphony Park, World Market Center, and Las Vegas Premium Outlets.
Aljamain Sterling and Henry Cejudo are pick’ em in tonight’s UFC main event. In the other featured match, Gilbert Burns is -155 over Belal Muhammad.
The current odds for the Kentucky Derby make Angel of Empire the favorite at 7-2, followed by Tapit Trice at 9-2 and Derma Sotogake at 8-1. The long shots are Jace’s Road and King Russell at 31-1. Five horses, including the morning-favorite, Forte, were scratched.
Here we go again. Traffic woes on I-15 arising from work at the Tropicana interchange will be compounded over the next week by two complete closures of the freeway. From 9 p.m. on Monday May 8 to 5 a.m. on May 9, I-15 northbound will be closed to all traffic between Blue Diamond and the 215 Beltway; then, between between 9 p.m. on Monday May 15 and 5 a.m. May 16, I-15 will be closed at the Russell Road exit. Ten dynamic driver-assisting message boards will be installed during the closures between Blue Diamond and Russell roads. Detours off and back on to the freeway will be clearly marked, but expect delays.
Las Vegas had two restaurants in Yelp’s list of “Top 100 Burgers in America.” Gordon Ramsay Burger at Planet Hollywood occupied the #4 spot and Veggy Street, with locations in Summerlin and Henderson, was at #54. We’ve had the Ramsay burger (LVA 1/14) and it’s excellent. We haven’t tried Veggy Street, which serves plant-based burgers.
The 149th Kentucky Derby, the race that's often referred to as "the most exciting two minutes in sports," will be run today just before 4 p.m. Pacific Time. NBC will begin its coverage at 9 a.m. PT, broadcasting the early races leading up to the Triple Crown contest. Upwards of 150,000 people are expected to see the race in person at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky; nearly $300 million will be wagered on the race (compared to the $275 million handle last year). Interestingly, tickets are quite reasonable, considering the magnitude of the event, starting at $69, between 25% and 15 times less the cost of high-end Kentucky Derby hats, which 90% of female spectators wear. We've seen estimates that more than a half-million cans of beer and 150,000 hot dogs will be eaten by spectators. (Our headline refers to a couplet in the classic 1971 Rolling Stones tune, "Dead Flowers" that this event always brings to mind: "Well, when you're sitting back in your rose-pink Cadillac/Making bets on Kentucky Derby Day ..." The rest of that verse concerns guitarist Keith Richards' epic journey as a junkie, so we'll leave it at that.)
The Las Vegas Lights will open their sixth season tonight at 7:30 at Cashman Field and will celebrate Cinco de Mayo in the process, with live singing and dancing acts, special promotions and food and beverage specials. The Lights take on the Charleston (SC) Battery in the first home game of the seasons. Tickets start at a reasonable $20 and are available at the lasvegaslightsfc.com.
Daeho Kalbijjim, a Korean restaurant out of San Francisco, opens this month in the Sahara Pavilion South complex (2620 S. Decatur). Also opening in the same shopping center next year is the first Nevada location of the Korean grocery store chain H-Mart.
We posted this week's video update early, due to last week's circumstances, which ironically included the one-millionth view of our channel. All of that out of the way, Anthony and Andrew have a nice long discussion about the Mirage/Hard Rock's just-announced plan to go local, attempting to attract notoriously Strip-shy Las Vegans down to the Boulevard through the back door with lots of specials, including free parking. Then they're off on some talk about the pool season, which you won't want to miss; Anthony reveals the time that he went topless! The HOV lanes open up, several significant restaurants shut down, and the Jackpot of the Week is three royals in one trip by a video poker player who obviously knows exactly what she's doing. Click, sit back, listen, and smile.
A story on NevadaIndependent.com reports that Dreamscape, the owner of the Rio, is in the conceptual phase of a "landscaped pedestrian skybridge" over Interstate 15 to connect the Rio to the Strip at the back of Caesars Palace. The article compares the pedestrian bridge to the High Line in New York City, where Dreamscape is based, that extends one and a half miles from Gansevoort Street in the Chelsea District of Lower Manhattan up to 34th Street near Hudson Yards, all on an elevated track that used to be part of the New York Central Railroad. According to the Independent, it was part of the incentive package that Dreamscape offered the Oakland A's to build their stadium in the Rio's parking lot and it could survive as part of Dreamscape's plans to renovate the Rio over the coming years.
The Las Vegas Advisor's Weekly YouTube Update launched in mid-December 2020. So it took less than two and a half years for the popular videos to surpassed the milestone of a million views, which it did a few days ago. Congrats to Anthony and Andrew for hitting on the right combination of vlog elements (after some behind-the-scenes trial and error) and a big thanks to all the viewers without whom this breakthrough wouldn't have been possible.
A couple of weeks ago, the National Football League suspended five pro-football players for violating the league’s anti-gambling policy. Three of the five bet on NFL games and were banned indefinitely; they can petition to be reinstated by the league after the end of next season. The other two were suspended for six games for betting from an NFL facility on other sporting events. The New York Times reported, "The league released no specifics about the bets placed by these players or how the violations were uncovered, but said its investigation did not turn up evidence that any inside information was used or that any game was compromised in any way.” Okay, but how were the violations uncovered? According to a post on NBCSports.com, the NFL Players Association sent an email to all players' agents warning them that the "suspensions arose from players using mobile apps on their phones, either while at work or while traveling with their teams." In other words, a sports-betting platform (FanDuel was the only one mentioned in the post) or platforms alerted the league that the five players were violating the NFL Gambling Policy. The post concludes, "It’s obvious that the NFL is catching players who gamble in violation of league policy not by any high-end sleuthing activities, but by having the proof fall into its lap, thanks to one or more sports-book partners."
Laguna Pool House & Kitchen has reopened at Palms Place. It’s located in the sixth-floor space that looks out onto the pool area and operated briefly before the pandemic shutdown.
When rapper LL Cool J headlines a star-studded show at MGM Grand Garden Arena on September 2, he will be in the midst of his first arena tour since the height of his career in the early 1990s. The 55-year-old LL (which stands for "Lady Love") will be the main attraction of The F.O.R.C.E. Live Tour, which will celebrate the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, start on June 25 in Boston, and end on September 3 in L.A. Appearing with LL at all 24 shows will be The Roots, DJ Jazzy Jeff, and DJ Z-Trip; a number of acts, including Queen Latifah, Salt-N-Pepa, De La Soul, Rick Ross, Rakim, Common, MC Lyte, Method Man & Redman, Big Boi, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Ice T, Juvenile, Doug E. Fresh, Slick Rick, Goodie Mob, Jadakiss, and more, will rotate in and out of the lineup. Tickets are available now on StubHub.
A year ago, the old-new owners of Fontainebleau (the project was reacquired in 2021 by the original developer, who went bankrupt during the Great Recession) announced their intention to complete the long-delayed and much-traded property by the end of this year and on Monday, it became official. No date has been set yet (it's still seven-eight months away), but Fontainebleau Las Vegas announced that the megaresort will indeed open before the calendar rolls around into 2024, sometime in December. We imagine the owners and contractor are shooting for as early in the month as possible, in order to be through with the shakedown cruise before accommodating the massive holiday crowds. Too bad they can't open a month earlier in time for the Grand Prix.
It's come to light, so to speak, that Vegas Vic, the 70-plus-year-old neon sign that sits atop the former Pioneer Club and has been the symbol of downtown Las Vegas for decades with his cowboy hat, red bandana, and perpetual cigarette, hasn't been illuminated for several months. The city has issued a citation for being in violation of the municipal sign code -- to wit, it must be fully illuminated from at least one hour before dusk until one hour after dawn." The owner of the sign, an Atlantic City-based real estate business, has yet to respond to the correction notice. (And thanks to Canada Roy for the headline!)
According to a story in the Nevada Independent, the owners of the Rio offered the Oakland A's 22 acres of its 90 acres of parking lots for its 35,000-seat stadium. Total asking price: one dollar. The team management turned it down in favor of paying a speculated price of $149,999,999 more. The article indicates that the A's really wanted the Las Vegas Festival Grounds at the corner of Sahara and the Strip, but that the owner, Phil Ruffin, "cut off discussions that had been ongoing for several months" for no stated reason. "The team finalized the agreement with Red Rock Resorts because of time constraints in getting the tax-incentive package in front of the Nevada Legislature." Taxes proposed so far would be borne by consumers, namely, sales tax and other fees at the stadium and within a potential stadium district. In addition, the story reports that the A's will probably "keep the gaming entitlements on the former Wild Wild West property, meaning taverns and restaurants that are part of the district could offer restricted gaming — 15 or fewer slot machines — through a slot route operation" and slot revenue could help pay for the A's home field.
The price of the 49-acre portion of the 100-acre former Wild Wild West site that the Oakland A's are buying from Red Rock Resorts (dba Station Casinos) for their $1.5 billion 30,000- to 35,000-seat MLB stadium hasn't been revealed, but a story on the Nevada Independent's website speculates on the number. Based on other recent land sales, one analyst pegged the price at $150 million. Based on the initial jump of Red Rock's stock price to within 45 cents of its 52-week high, the analyst doubled his estimate to $300 million. Quite a range -- but given that Red Rock is publicly traded, the company is required to disclose the price of the land when the deal closes. One thing's for sure: Red Rock benefits not just from the funds it will receive from the sale, but also in innumerable ways from the potential development of the other 50 acres it still owns next to the stadium site.
The New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils are pick ’em in Game 7 of their first-round NHL playoff series. The total is 5.5.
The Clark County Commission has approved plans to redo one of the Horseshoe hotel towers by adding a Paris-style facade to match its next-door neighbor. The front Jubilee Tower of the Horseshoe will be transformed into the Versailles Tower, which will, apparently, become part of Paris, leaving the Horseshoe's back Resort Tower to carry on with the Horseshoe theme. The $100 million project will also renovate the front-tower rooms, attach 5-foot by 11-foot balconies to select rooms, and add a skybridge to connect the Versailles Tower to Paris. Assuming that the 765 rooms of the Jubilee Tower are transferred to Paris, the Horseshoe will wind up with approximately 2,050 rooms and Paris with 3,680. The interior renovations are scheduled for completion by the end of this year, with the facade and pedestrian bridge in the first quarter of 2024.
The Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant, which has been operating at the corner of Paradise and Flamingo roads since 1996, locked its doors last night at 10 p.m. for the last time. Reportedly, the landlord raised the rent so high that staying in business was unworkable.
May starts out pretty warm, with a normal high temperature of 83 and a low of 61 on the first day of the month, then climbs steadily to a high of 94 and a low of 71 on the last. The record high temps, however, are causing us to sweat just writing them down: 109 in 2003, 108 seven times (including May 3, 4, and 5, setting three other record highs on May 1, 2, and 6), and 107 four. The record lows start at 38 (May 3, 1942) and go up to 50 (May 26, 1980, and May 28, 1971). The high temperature has never hit 100 in April; the first time the thermometer broke into triple digits was on May 1 in that hot hot year of 1947 when it hit 102. Typically, about a quarter-inch of rain falls in May, tied with October for the third lowest month of precipitation.