We had our resident Jewish scholar, the Wizard of Oyz, tackle this one. Here's his report.
I doubted that any casinos in Las Vegas would be holding seders, the ritual dinner celebrated on the first two nights of Passover, which begins this evening.
In the first place, casinos rarely, if ever, sponsor religious ceremonies, though they do host them on occasion in their ballrooms, using their banquet departments. For example, Atlantis Hotel-Casino in Reno hosts a large seder every year that's put on by Temple Sinai, Reno's reform Jewish congregation. It's open to the public, but reservations must be made through the temple, not through the casino. All Atlantis does is provide the room, food, and service. Sinai's rabbi leads the seder.
Secondly, it's not necessary for a rabbi to lead the service. Private seders are held in Jewish households all over the world. However, there's a fair amount of ritual at seders, such as special place settings (the Passover plate and Elijah's wine cup); blessings and readings from the Hagaddah (the seder prayer book); and singing Passover songs. In addition, special foods are served: matzo, haroseth (apple, crushed nuts, cinnamon, and honey), moror (grated horseradish), kosher wine, and others. So it's not like the casino can just cook up a big turkey dinner to serve in the coffee shop like on Thanksgiving, or a big ham dinner (to be sure!) for Christmas or Easter.
Still, we placed several phone calls last week, just to make certain. We called the Venetian, Rio, Bellagio, MGM Grand, and Mandalay Bay. At the Venetian, the PBX operator didn't know what a seder is; Food & Beverage said there was nothing scheduled. At the Rio, the PBX operator had no idea what a seder is; Food & Beverage said they don't schedule seders because they have no kosher kitchens, but that guests can arrange something if they have a large group of people. The operators at Bellagio, Mandalay Bay, and MGM Grand knew what a seder is, though Food & Beverage said that none are scheduled.
We also called the Chabad of Southern Nevada; our contact there had "no knowledge" of any casinos holding seders. All the kosher restaurants in Las Vegas, we were told, will be closed for Passover.
It's probably too late to start making arrangements for seders being held tonight or tomorrow night in Las Vegas, though you might find an open spot somewhere -- there are 20 or so synagogues in Las Vegas to check with. When we called on April 4, the Chabad of Southern Nevada was still taking reservations for the second seder, April 13. For future reference, you should make seder reservations as far in advance as possible. Go to www.jewishvegas.com/Synagogue.html for a list of the synagogues in Las Vegas.
L'chaim!
