We assume you're referring to the Margaritaville casino-within-a-casino at Las Vegas' Flamingo hotel, in which case the "5 o'Clock Somewhere" singer is involved to the point of owning the joint and having successfully passed the rigorous, costly, and intrusive (both financially and personally) process of obtaining a Nevada casino license. Buffett was present for the casino's grand opening on October 14, 2011, which was -- naturally -- celebrated by pouring the largest-ever margarita (as verified by the Guinness Book of World Records). Click to see coverage and photos courtesy of the Las Vegas Sun.
While the singer has since returned to Sin City for an official concert at MGM Grand Garden Arena in October of last year, he hasn't -- to the best of our knowledge -- been back to the Flamingo, although the event calendar in Las Vegas continues to be populated by periodic "Parrothead" parties and special events.
Two months after Buffett won approval to collect casino revenues in Nevada, he was granted certification by the Mississippi Gaming Commission for his new Biloxi casino, which he opened with business partner John Cohlan, after a previous affiliation with Caesars Entertainment fell apart during the recession, amid the gaming giant's ongoing debt woes. The Margaritaville maestro and Gulf Coast native was not there for the grand opening, although we understand that he was very much involved in the planning, construction, and licensing phases and visited the site just prior to its debut "because I'm excited to see the place," he said after the successful licensing meeting.
Buffett was present in Atlantic City in July 2012 to announce the Buffet-branded $35 million Margaritaville bar/restaurant/casino/entertainment complex that debuted at Resorts earlier this year. We're not sure if he's an investor with a financial stake, or is merely franchising his brand (he does not have a New Jersey gaming license, so he's definitely not part of the casino), but while he was out of the country for the official opening last may, the singer was there on the LandShark Beach earlier this month to play a free concert to help boost morale (and coffers) in the wake of the devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy.
Buffett's newest casino venture, Margaritaville Bossier City, is due to debut any day now and the July 3 concert the singer is hosting to celebrate the grand opening sold out in a matter of hours. He was there for the groundbreaking in February of last year and this will be the largest of the three Buffett-branded casinos he now owns.
So, while you're not likely to find the leader of the Parrot Heads sitting next to you at the blackjack table at his Strip casino (we read that he did sit down, but didn't play a single hand, when his Flamingo gaming parlor opened), he does seem to be a celebrity whose involvement amounts to significantly more than simply lending his name to the venues under his Margaritaville brand, particularly the ones in which he's a sole or significant investor.
