Circus Circus – Circus Buffet: This weekend’s Breakfast Buffet is Sat & Sun, 7 a.m.-2 p.m. for $32.95 and dinner’s Fri & Sat, 4:30 p.m.-10 p.m. for $40.95.
Buffet Update – November 2025
Author: LVA
Beso
At least three years ago, we had a review in the hopper for BG Bistro on Tropicana. Good salads, stuffed mushrooms, fish, and especially lamb chops. Then it moved to 4435 S. Buffalo and changed its name to Beso.
The Food
The cuisine is now described as “Mediterranean and Eastern European,” but the root nationality is Bulgarian. The selection is vast, including dishes such as cevapi (beef and pork in bread), mititei (sausage), and uviatch (stuffed pork). We haven’t tried them. These we have: blue cheese mushrooms ($15), chicken livers ($14), arugula salad ($14), and branzino ($35). Excellent. The salad selection is one of the best we’ve seen. Along with the arugula are Greek, shopska, and vitamin salad—beets, carrots, apple, and walnuts in a honey citrus dressing—among others, all $13-$17. The lamb chops are served with potatoes and vegetables for $28; you won’t find them this good at this price in many, if any, places.
We can’t list everything on the menu; check it out here.
Then there are daily white-paper specials, off of which we got this lamb shank for $14.
Breakfast
This is new. It starts at 8 a.m. and it’s a good option for a weekend brunch. We had a veggie omelet, salmon Benedict, and ham & cheese crepe. The whole thing came out to $53 and we took the crepes home.
Ambience
While BG Bistro was kinda down and dirty, with Eastern European expats hanging out at the patio tables, Beso is more refined. You can sit at the bar and start a conversation or get a table of your own. It’s comfortable.
The Verdict
This is a good restaurant with a lot of food choices. And as you can see from the examples or by clicking through to the menu, it’s very well priced. You have to travel about seven miles west from the Strip, but if you’re looking for something different and reasonable, this fills the bill. Did we mention those lamb chops?
Burger Special (Ellis Island)
As Ellis Island moves closer to the conclusion of its expansion disruption, it continues to hatch new deals, including daily specials for $10.99 and graveyard specials for $4.99-$8.99. Most intriguing to us is a 24/7 burger & fries for $5.99. This is the Station Casinos deal that’s in the Top Ten. How do they match up?
The EI burger is outstanding, probably closer to a half-pound than a quarter. Dress it up with lettuce, tomato, pickle, and whatever additional condiments you want that are right there on the table. It comes with a heap of fries. Big meal.
The Steak Special
Since there were two of us, one tried the steak special that we’ve been getting a few complaints about. Here it is, and the photo doesn’t include the salad that comes with it. The steak was perfectly cooked and our carnivore traded his fries for our vegetarian’s steak. What could be better?
The Verdict
So which is better, EI or SC? We really do like the Station burger, but Ellis Island’s is better. Why, then, does Station remain in the Top Ten? The main reason is availability. Both are 24/7, but you can get the Station burger at several different places. And it’s a small point, but Station’s is a cheeseburger and cheese is a $1.25 upcharge at Ellis.
As for that steak special, we agree that you can get a better steak in SW at the Wynn. But you can get 10 steaks at Ellis Island, with the sides, for the same price? Sorry, but we’re discounting the dissenters on this one.
Ellis Island continues to rock. The bill for both meals was $17.32.
Golden Gate Open Bar
In one of the more creative promos in some time, the Golden Gate offers an open bar every day from 6 to 7 p.m. They call it “The Night Starts Here” and it’s intended to ease the transition from live tables and dancing dealers to electronic table games. As such, the deal includes free-play for those new games. Here are the details.
Drinks
You can get beer, wine, and well drinks. No top-shelf pours, but beer in the bottle. We got a cold Bud.
Crowds
It’s been busy the two times we checked, but the promo is new and it remains to be seen if the crowds persist. The center bar goes from being crowded to suddenly having gaps where you can pop in to order a drink. While it would seem like an opportunity that the downtown “street people” might relish, there was none of that when we visited (possibly because of the next point).
ID
You must show ID to even get into the casino, at least during the promo. This now makes Golden Gate and Circa the only Las Vegas casinos that card customers at the door.
Wristbands
Once you’re inside, go to the players club booth to be processed. This entails showing your ID again and a Circa group players card (they’ll sign you up if you don’t have one). The wristband clears you to get the free drinks. You’ll also be given an envelope with a free-play voucher inside. If you’ve parked in the Golden Gate parking lot where you get two free hours with validation, you should get the ticket validated while you’re at the booth.
Free-Play
The amount of free-play reportedly varies between $5 and $1,000, but expect $5. That’s what we got. This is interesting, because the FP vouchers state that they can be redeemed at the cage (read the second sentence in the rules). They can’t. You have to play them and you have to do so before 7:14 pm (yes, 14 minutes) the same day. No problem, except ours wasn’t accepted by several of the new games on the floor. It worked at the bar.
Overall, this is a cool promotion. Credit is due the booth personnel, who work fast to process the line, which was steady, but not overwhelming during our observation. Get a few drinks and shoot your free-play for a good start to your evening.
Buffet Update – October 2025
Circus Circus – Circus Buffet: This week’s Breakfast Buffet is Sat & Sun, 7 a.m.-2 p.m. for $32.95 and dinner’s Fri & Sat, 4:30 p.m.-10 p.m. for $34.95
Cosmopolitan – Wicked Spoon: No changes to the buffet. Local Wednesday is still offered for $38 with valid NV I.D. but no longer offers additional club discount.
South Point – Garden Buffet: All buffet prices went up by $1-$5. Breakfast Mon-Fri, 7 a.m.-10 a.m. including two bloody marys is now $19.95. Lunch Mon-Fri, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. is now $26.95. Prime Rib & Champagne Brunch Sat & Sun, 8 a.m.-3 p.m. including two mimosas is now $37.95. Prime Rib Dinner Sat-Thurs, 4 p.m.-9 p.m. is now $37.95 and Seafood Dinner on Fri, 3 p.m.-9 p.m. is now $57.95.
Golden Gate — Before and After
LVA correspondent Michael B sent in these two photos, the first of the Golden Gate’s casino rammin’ and jammin’ with live table games and dancing dealers, the second, uh, without. He snapped the Before photo on Sunday evening after Derek Stevens’s speech commemorating the Golden Gate’s long history and announcing the new marketing campaign that includes free drinks every night from 6 to 7 p.m. (if you can get close to the bar) and generous free play for the machines. (He also noted that you can redeem your Golden Gate chips at the D and Circa and there’s “no rush” to do so.) The After photo was taken on Monday night after the joint was cleared out.
And yes, electronic table games will soon be installed, but, well … we leave it to you to draw your own conclusions about the direction (disappearing dealers) of the Golden Gate, Las Vegas, and the gambling biz.
Before
After
Jack Binion’s Steak (Horseshoe Las Vegas)
Have you heard, Vegas has gotten expensive. Yeah, it has. And it’s almost never more obvious than in the latest/greatest gourmet steakhouses. Honestly, we don’t do these anymore, unless it’s an absolute must-review or it’s a comp. This was the latter.
The Prices
The least expensive steak on the menu is the 14-ounce NY strip for $90.99, although a 12-ounce prime rib is only $80.99. A wedge salad is $18.99. A side of creamed spinach is $19.99. A glass of house red is $20.99. A Heineken is $12.99. Sheesh. And what’s with this .99 business? Do they really think $90.99 looks better than $91?
The Food
It’s good, but shouldn’t it be? We did the “cheapo” NY Strip, a salad, and a couple sides. We’ve had better, and for $10 less per item. Actually, there was one standout: the “Bloody Mary Shaken & Stirred” wedge salad. Had to try it and darned if it didn’t taste like a Bloody Mary wedge.
The Verdict
Good enough, but too darned expensive. There’s just no way to recommend a $326 meal for two when it’s coming out of pocket. Heck, we could have walked to Ellis Island.
Village Pubs (Daily Specials)
We talk a lot about the Café at Ellis Island, because it has some of the best food and food deals in town. But we don’t make the point often enough that you can get that same quality and pricing in more than a dozen 24-hour bars all around the Las Vegas area. The 15 or so Village Pubs are owned by Ellis Island boss Gary Ellis and if you eat at one, you pretty much can’t go wrong. The menus are vast and even include the steak special that tops the TOP TEN (though it’s $18.99), but there’s an easy defined strategy of simply going with the daily specials. We tested it.
The Sunday Special
We usually target our days, with pot roast Tuesdays and prime rib Saturdays being at the top of our list. But on this Sunday we were hungry and within walking distance of the Village Pub at 10900 S. Eastern Ave., a perfect time to try our theory. There were two of us and we decided to go with whatever that day’s special was: roast turkey for $14.99. We’ve done this before and knew enough to order just one. It’s turkey & gravy, stuffing, mashed potatoes, a gardens’s worth of steamed vegetables, and some cranberry sauce.
Oh yeah, it also comes with a salad and the Village Pubs salads are among the freshest and best going.
We split it all and barely finished at that.
Locations
As stated, these bars are all over the valley. Did we say 15? There are 16. Here’s the list
Beer
Ellis Island has its own brewery, so you can get EI brews. It’s also a gaming bar, so you can get EI brews comped, though there’s nothing special about the paytables that are governed by the Gambler’s Bonus system.
The Verdict
The theory is sound: If you don’t know what you want, go with the specials for outstanding quality and value. Except in rare circumstances, one special is enough for two to share and single diners will have take-home lunch. The bars are conveniently located everywhere except near the Strip, and you have Ellis Island for that. This is a solid play, available from 11 a.m. on.
Buffet Update – September 2025
All buffets are subject to an increased price on September 1st for Labor Day.
Circus Circus – Circus Buffet: This week’s Breakfast Buffet is Sat & Sun, 7 a.m.-2 p.m. for $29.95 and dinner’s Fri-Sun, 4:30 p.m.-10 p.m. for $34.95.
Rampart – Market Place Buffet: No changes to the buffet. They are offering 2 for 1 Buffet every Tuesdays in September for Rampart Rewards Members. Click the link here to read more details.
Casino Collectibles Show
This year’s was the 32nd annual Casino Collectibles Convention. The show is open to everyone, free at certain times, and we’ve been meaning to attend since it arrived in Las Vegas, debuting at the Aladdin in 1993; for five years prior to that, it was an adjunct to the American Numismatic Association Convention. We finally made it to South Point in June and took lots of photos.
The convention runs for four days and includes such special events as celebrity meet and greets, a silent auction, raffles, educational seminars, ladies luncheon, members-only tradeshow, and banquet.
But the heart of the event is the show floor, where all the action takes place between buyers and sellers.
This room on the second floor of the South Point meeting wing is the promised land for collectors of casino memorabilia: casino chips, poker chips, commemorative chips, antique chips, plaques, and silver strikes, along with playing cards, players cards, dice, matchbooks, ashtrays, postcards, hotel-room keys, and soap, even shoe-shine cloths. We also saw interesting table-game layouts, movie posters, T-shirts, caps, and educational exhibits.
The show returns to South Point next year June 18-20.
