Question of the Day - 20 June 2025

In a recent News item about the Beltway closing for road work, you called it Clark County 215. Really? I thought it was an interstate. 215 is certainly an interstate number and there are interstate signs that say I-215 in Henderson. Is it also known as Clark County 215 and if so, why?  

In Las Vegas, only the east side of the Beltway qualifies as an official interstate (I-215, as you note in the question). West of I-15, the Beltway is called Clark County (CC) 215, since it doesn’t conform (yet) to the standards of the Federal Highway Administration, which sets the regulations for the Interstate Highway System. CC 215 is called an “interim expressway”; once it’s completely upgraded to interstate status, CC 215 will almost certainly be designated I-215.

Interestingly, the 50-mile Beltway was planned, built, and paid for entirely by Clark County. It’s the first time in the history of the interstate system that a county built an interstate highway with no state or federal funding.

Any update on the name change for the NoMad Hotel? It was announced April of 2024, I believe.

That's correct: In April of last year, Hilton acquired the controlling interest in the Sydell Group, which owned the NoMad brand, among many other "luxury-lifestyle hotels" around the world. It marked Hilton's entry into this ultra-upscale market, but relevant to us was that only one NoMad hotel was excluded from the deal: the one at Park MGM. The press release indicated that the Las Vegas NoMad would "rebrand to a new flag in the coming months."

And that was the end of that. Since then, nearly 14 months ago, we've heard nothing about what might happen to the Park MGM NoMad hotel-within-a-hotel. It seems that not only doesn't the Las Vegas location fit with the rest of the NoMad (which stands for North of Madison Square Park, where the first NoMad Hotel is located) portfolio, but also with the rest of the Hilton's hotels in Las Vegas. So it remains an orphan. MGM Resorts is no doubt shopping the licensing for NoMad and when they close a deal, we'll let you know about it. Either that or they can rebrand it Hotel32, which it was called before NoMad. 

What kind of liquor is used in the free drinks given to players? It can't be top shelf and has anyone estimated how much a player spends while waiting for that "free" drink?

Second question first. If data exists on how much players spend while waiting for their drinks, we don't know of it and the casinos certainly aren't publicizing it. We doubt there is; a typical cocktail section in a large Strip casino consists of five to 10 tables. Each of those tables fits five to seven players, except roulette, which can fit six to eight players, and craps, which can fit 16. On a weekend night, it’ll likely take a waitress three rounds to serve everyone in her section and that's if things are going smoothly, which they rarely are. Even the bean counters likely (we don't have corroborating information) don't hold stopwatches on cocktail runners or the number of hands, spins, or rolls beetween drinks for players.

As for the alcohol itself, they're the standard lower-cost well liquors, the basic brands of vodka, gin, rum, tequila, whiskey, and sometimes liqueurs. The specific brands vary by casino, but they’re generally budget-friendly options like Barton’s, Fleischmann’s, or similar for vodka, gin, or whiskey. Some casinos may offer mid-tier call brands (Absolut vodka, Bacardi rum, Jose Cuervo tequila, or Jack Daniel’s whiskey), especially for higher-stakes players or at upscale casinos. These are less common for comped drinks, unless specifically requested by regulars. Premium or top-shelf liquors (Grey Goose, Patrón, or single-malt scotches) are generally served in high-limit rooms and VIP lounges.