Category: Las Vegas Advisor

Posted on by — 1 Comment

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.

Posted on by — Leave a comment

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.

Posted on by — 4 Comments

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

Posted on by — 2 Comments

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.

Posted on by — Leave a comment

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.

Posted on by — Leave a comment

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.

Posted on by — 1 Comment

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.

Posted on by — 2 Comments

Flower Child

We first bumped into Flower Child, completely by accident, on a trip to Phoenix. We liked it so much that we got to wondering if it was a chain and if so, where else it might be located. Imagine our surprise when we found one in Las Vegas, out at the corner of Rampart and W. Charleston. It’s become one of our go-to eateries for healthy, simple, and soul-satisfying meals at surprisingly inexpensive prices. Flower Child’s parent company, Fox Restaurant Concepts, also owns and operates the Henry brand, with a location at the Cosmopolitan.

Phoenix’s four locations all have walk-up to-go windows, but Las Vegas’ doesn’t enjoy the convenience. You can order online or through the app and pick up inside; otherwise, you stand at the cash register to order and pay and the process sometimes takes awhile. If the line gets too long, a second register opens, which moves things along.

Otherwise, Flower Child is well run. Once you order, you take a number and a server finds you when your food is ready, usually in a matter of minutes, which is impressive, since everything is made to order.

the back enclosed patio at Flower Child
couldn’t resist posting a photo of our reviewer’s wife

The menu features six kinds of salads ($11-$15), seven bowls, such as Peruvian braised beef, chicken yakisoba, and chicken kabobs ($12-$17), and wraps (grass-fed steak, black-bean falafel, bbq chicken) for $11-$13. But the best deal, at least according to us, is the selection of build-your-own entrees. With these, you specify your protein, starting with tofu ($13) and including chicken ($14) and salmon, shrimp, and steak ($16 each), then add two sides, such as sesame noodles, mac n cheese, three kinds of potatoes, quinoa, cauliflower risotto, grilled asparagus with white beans, and roasted broccolini.

avocado turkey Cobb salad
chicken, mashed, asparagus

We got the chicken, asparagus, and mashed potatoes and a turkey and avocado Cobb salad. Along with a lemon olive-oil muffin, the total bill came to $43.46 with tax. We had two full meals left over and they were just as good as when they came out of the kitchen.

Flower Child is a special place, especially for a chain, and we recommend it highly.

Posted on by — 1 Comment

Via Via Food Hall at the Venetian

The newest Las Vegas food hall is also its most eclectic and lavish. Which is appropriate, we suppose, as it’s right at the end of the extravagant M.C. Escher-like tiled floor that extends from the front desk of the Venetian to the gambling. It’s on the right; emerging into the casino, you’ll see Turkey and the Wolf right there behind Venezia Fine Jewelry.

The only food outlet that might be familiar is All’Antico Vinaio, which has a location at the Uncommons mixed-use district across the street from the Durango. We reviewed All’Antico in the 4/24 issue of LVA just after it opened. Considered by some connoisseurs to be the best sandwich shop in the world, it’s now more conveniently located on the Strip, though there’s also that pesky parking fee if you’re not walking in.

B.S. Taqueria also has a local connection: The first fast-food Mexican counter of the same name opened at the Sundry food hall, also at Uncommons, but didn’t last long. The proprietor, Ray Garcia, also owns and runs ¡VIVA!, the upscale Mexican restaurant at Resorts World. (The B.S. stands for “Broken Spanish,” signifying Garcia’s infusing familiar Mexican flavors and dishes with a modern chef-driven twist, at least according to a story in the Los Angeles Times.)

The other four eateries and one bar at Via Via are all new to the area area. The most-anticipated opening was Howlin’ Ray’s, which serves Nashville-style hot chicken and opened in 2015 in a food truck in L.A.; it was so popular that the restaurant debuted less than a year later. This chicken has six degrees of heat, from Country (none) to Howlin’ (you can’t touch this 10++). We understand that that’s so hot, it’ll make your teeth bleed. And they love their photo taken.

Then there’s Turkey and the Wolf, the New Orleans sandwich shop with such sams as fried bologna and collared-green melt, along with a fried chicken pot pie. Adjacent is Molly’s Rise and Shine, serving breakfasts.

Ivan Ramen, the noodle counter, and Scarr’s Pizza will both be familiar to Manhattanites, where they’re acclaimed or so we understand from the hype. And the Death & Company bar also has locations in New York and Los Angeles, plus Denver, Washington, D.C., and Seattle.

All in all, if you happen to be in the area area and don’t have to pay pay for parking, Via Via is definitely worth checking out out for a curated culinary cruise of the country.