Question of the Day - 18 July 2017

The Ellis Island steak special always included a beer or root beer, but I don’t see it mentioned in the Top Ten. Does the Ellis Island special still come with a drink?

No. It hasn’t for a few years. The filet-cut sirloin does still come with soup or salad, choice of potato, and green beans and is served 24/7 for $7.99. To get that price, you have to print out two coupons from an EI kiosk, the second after playing at least $5 in any slot machine with your club card inserted.

I understand (sort of) the "whys" of resort fees, but not so much the amounts. I'm paying $39/day at a Strip casino and got to thinking, is that the highest being charged? Is there a list ranking the lowest to the highest?

Yes to both. According to our research, $39 is the highest resort fee charged in Las Vegas — at Aria, Bellagio, and Vdara. All the resort fees are listed on this website; you’ll find them in the drop-down menu under Stay, or you can go direct via this link. You’ll also find an explanation of the fees and a link to the industry rationale for them.

In reference to the Max Casino at the Westin, does the Westin operate the casino or someone else for them? If the Westin operates it do you think they will give up their license or have the trailers come back every two years to keep it from expiring?

No to both. The Westin subcontracted out the casino to an independent operator, so Starwoods, which owns Westin, doesn’t have a gambling license for the property it’ll need to maintain to keep it from expiring. We understand that the small sports book (operated by William Hill) will remain, as will a few bartop slots (managed by a slot-route operator).

Are there any special events scheduled for Labor Day weekend on the Strip?

Yes. There’ll be lots of pool parties, free concerts, barbecues and meal deals, beer festivals, and the like — but exactly what, where, and when, we won’t know until mid-August. The casinos don’t plan these things too far in advance and it takes them some time after that to get the word out. But we’ll do a round-up a week beforehand; check VegasWithAnEdge.com around August 25.

I was wondering if casino pools ever close if the temperatures reach a certain level? Recently, the temps were very high, and the lifeguards and cocktail servers risk sunburn or heat stroke. 

We’re impressed with your compassion for Vegas pool personnel, but we’ve never heard of a pool here shutting down because it was too hot. Hotel employees who work outdoors in the summer tend to be a hardy bunch, who no doubt know when they’re starting to feel the effects of the heat and can sit down, duck under a mister, or do what they need to do.

Since I'm retired and the hotel rates in Downtown Las Vegas are a lot less than those on the Strip, I can spend more than a few weeks a year there. Is there any possibility of an extended stay hotel or timeshare condo being built on, or close to, Fremont Street in the near future?

We think not in the near future. Though some building is going on out in the residential neighborhoods, little is happening on the Strip or downtown. The last timeshare built in Las Vegas was the Wyndham Desert Blue, which is down the street from us and we can see from our office; it opened in March 2015 after many incarnations and years of stalled construction. As for extended-stay motels or hotels, the city is glutted with them and motels are being torn down in old town to make room for other things; the closest you’ll get is the Siegel Suites on Charleston at 4^th Street, about 10 blocks from Fremont Street.

Can you please clear something up for us? The Monte Carlo social media pages continue to post pictures promoting the pool areas of other affiliated resorts, and the follow-up comments often have references as to the timeline for the opening of the new Park MGM pool area. I thought their redesign no longer included any pool area at all. Is this just wishful thinking by the uninformed, or was the decision reversed and now some sort of new pool is planned?

Maybe we missed something, but we never heard that the new Park MGM was planned without a pool. Monte Carlo guests can use sister-properties’ pool areas, since the Monte Carlo pool was shut down last October. In fact, we understand that the existing pool area will be “restructured,” a new pool will be built on the roof of a separate low-rise, and NoMad will have its own pool area, similar to the Four Seasons and Mandalay Bay. These days, pools are far too important a source of revenue, to say nothing of a guest amenity with temperatures over 100 four months running, for a megaresort to open without one.