Dateline: AUGUSTA, Georgia. The brunt of Hurricane Helene fell upon this city and disabled S&G HQ. As a consequence, we are without power through next Sunday and this is being written from the office of Mrs. S&G. Since our reactions to the federal, state and civic non-response to Helene are well-nigh unprintable, we shall skip to the heart of the matter …
Continue reading Las Vegas melts in August heat
This week Anthony and Andrew talk with Richard Munchkin about card counting, roulette, dice control, and more.
[Editor’s Note: This is a guest review from friend of LVA George Antanakos.]
The closing of Chinglish out at Charleston and Rampart did away with the best dumplings and dipping sauce in the city and sent me on a hunt for dim sum outside of Chinatown.
Enter Lucky House Seafood Restaurant. Located on Durango just south of Flamingo, it opened early this year and as soon as I walked in, I knew it was authentic: Several gorgeous golden-brown roasted ducks hang near the entrance. Also, it’s a great sign when I’m one of the only non-Asians in the place and it was busy on a random Wednesday at 2 p.m., not exactly prime time.
We ordered up the dim sum and tried a couple of other dishes. We found the truffle and regular siu mai ($6 and $7, respectively) above average, but couldn’t tell the difference, so the regular is the play. The true dim sum stars at Lucky House are the shrimp; the har gow and shrimp-and-chive dumplings were sublime.
We also ordered the “roasted pork” entrée, which is actually pork belly. If you like juicy fatty belly with perfectly crispy skin, this is the dish for you. The kung pao chicken was the big surprise. It’s usually a disappointment, even in Chinatown, but at Lucky House, I tried unsuccessfully to recall another kung pao that even came close. I’m not easily impressed, but this is a must-eat version.
The bill came to $78.03 with tax, but not tip.
All in all, Lucky House is an excellent option and a hidden gem, especially if you don’t want to fade the traffic and parking issues in Chinatown.
Cosmopolitan – The Wicked Spoon: Daily Brunch is now 8 a.m.-2 p.m. instead of 8 a.m.-3 p.m. for $47 on weekdays and $54 on weekends.
Circus Circus – Circus Buffet: This week’s buffet schedule is: Weekend Brunch is Saturday and Sunday, 7 a.m.-2 p.m. for $24.95. Weekend Dinner is Friday, 4:30 p.m.-10 p.m. for $27.
Palms – A.Y.C.E. Buffet: Released their upcoming themed nights and holiday events:
9th Island Night – Saturday, September 28, 2024
Latin Night – Saturday, October 26, 2024
Halloween – Thursday, October 31, 2024
Veteran’s Day – Monday, November 11, 2024
Thanksgiving – Thursday, November 28, 2024
National Finals Rodeo (NFR) – December 5-14, 2024
Christmas Eve and Christmas Day – Tuesday, December 24 and Wednesday, December 25, 2024
New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day – Tuesday, December 31, 2024 and Wednesday, January 1, 2025
As you may have noticed, there hasn’t been any S&G so far this week. That’s because an assignment for Orlando Magazine has taken us to Virginia for four days. We haven’t seen a lick of gambling but have viewed much else. Our base of operations momentarily is Lexington, “the Valhalla of the South.” They have long memories down here, although it’s become a pretty liberal place by now. But tradition dies hard at Virginia Military Institute, where “rats” are encouraged to rat out other rats, lest they be “boned” by “dykes.” (Yes, that’s all standard-issue VMI lingo.)
Continue reading On the road
Anime is a style of animation that originated in Japan and has become popular worldwide. “One Piece” is a long-running (1997) anime and manga (graphic-novel) series, one of the most popular in Japan. It chronicles the adventures of Monkey D. Luffy and his Straw Hat pirate crew as they search for the ultimate treasure known as One Piece. It combines elements of action, adventure, comedy, drama, and fantasy in various formats, including a TV series, movies, and video games.
“One Piece” opened its first U.S. fast-food cafe in Las Vegas in mid-May. It’s located in Chinatown at 5600 Spring Mountain Rd. (north side just west of Lindell). The U.S. fan base is huge, if the lines out the door, along the storefront, and around the corner were any indication. We finally got near the place after two months.
Even then, we waited in 112-degree heat with a dozen other people to get in the door, where the line continues. It took 35 minutes from the back of the line to the counter, then another five for the food.
It’s a two-store restaurant, with six four-tops in the front room; the 24 seats can accommodate the number of people waiting in line inside. In the second room are three high tables to stand at and 14 seats in two big booths.
Mostly, the second room is devoted to a wall-length “One Piece” mural and a half-wall selfie station. In all, around 38 can sit, 12 can stand. Everyone else, say “sayonara.”
The menu is fries ($5), beef skewers and pepper and egg friend rice ($10 each), tuna casserole, seafood fried rice, and beef curry ($16), burger and fries ($18), and the Mighty Meats platter ($30), along with a half-dozen desserts ($5.50-$25).
We ordered the beef skewers, a matcha mochi cookie (matcha is green-tea powder, mochi glutinous rice dough pounded into different shapes), and a yuzu (Asian lemon) lemonade ($6). It was … edible. The bill came to $23.30 with tax.
For that price, we could’ve gotten bigger, better, cheaper food at any of 10 other places within walking distance in Chinatown.
The food is more of an afterthought to the ambience, murals, and gathering of fans and, of course, the merchandise: T-shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies, beanies, caps, plush dolls, keychains, lanyards, stickers, pins, jigsaw puzzle, all in the expensive range ($12 for a pin to $80 for a hoodie). Both the merch and food were flying out the door.
If you’re a fan of the show or culture or have kids in tow who are, this is the only place in the country to get a vicarious experience of “One Piece.” Or if you really want to see what all the fuss is about, check it out. Otherwise, it’s a pass.
The original Parm Famous Italian casual eatery opened in Little Italy in Manhattan in 2011, a spinoff of the famed restaurant Carbone. The Las Vegas version of Carbone opened at Aria in late 2015, so it was a natural fit for Parm to occupy the space at Aria’s Proper Eats Food Hall that was vacated by the failed Shalom Y’All. Parm opened in May.
Parm is touted as “a great way to get a taste of Carbone’s acclaimed recipes if you can’t nab a reservation at the signature restaurant.” We could grab a reservation, but we aren’t anxious to pay $19 for broccoli, $20 for a bowl of minestrone, $36 for tortellini, $40 for clams, or $84 for veal parmesan.
Like all the outlets at Proper Eats (and the other Vegas food halls), the choices at Parm are limited. Appetizers include buffalo cucumbers ($7), meatballs ($10) and mozzarella sticks ($12). There’s one salad, a Caesar ($15). The pair of pasta dishes are spicy rotini and spaghetti and meatballs ($19) and the four sandwiches are a five-meat Italian combo, meatball parm, chicken parm, and roast beef (all $18).
None of the choices is particularly inspiring, at least to us. But to get even an inkling of the fare at Carbone and knowing that Parm has spread to six locations in New York, one in Boston, and all the way out to Las Vegas, we figured we’d give it a try.
We went for what’s described as the most popular and signature item, the chicken parm sandwich. It’s a breaded cutlet coated with tomato sauce and awash in melted cheese in a seeded Italian hero roll. Perhaps you can tell from the photo that we were underwhelmed at best. The cutlet was dry and tasteless, the sauce and cheese were average at best; what we liked most were the sesame seeds on the bun. Suffice it to say that we had trouble giving away the half-sandwich we didn’t want. To add insult to injury, the total bill, with tax and a $1.50 tip, came to $21.01. For that price, we could get a whole best-in-U.S. pie at Double Zero Pizza.
So this review is better spent reexamining the digital-ordering process on the Proper Eats kiosk screens in case you missed our original coverage (LVA May 2023). Here it is in photos.
In this latest Life Is a Gamble podcast, Munchkin talks with Elihu Feustel, is a professional gambler and former insurance lawyer for 10 years until he began sports betting full time. He was also an oddsmaker and consultant for Pinnacle Sports and has written and co-written a number of books about gambling and fantasy sports. He’s on the podcast to talk about his new book, Beyond The Odds. You can listen to the 50 minute interview here.
Presumably, the vast majority of my readers have a favorite video poker game. Or at least a “go to” video poker game that they play the most. If they didn’t, they wouldn’t spend their time reading a blog behind a paywall which primarily addresses video poker.
The reasons for knowing more than one game are multi-fold. In no particular order:
This isn’t your old-time Disneyland kid’s miniature golf by any stretch of the imagination. You won’t find drawbridges, windmills, castles, clown heads, or log tunnels at Las Vegas’ newest miniature-golf course, Pop Stroke. What you will find is a serious putters’ challenge, with all kinds of sand traps and roughs, contouring from gentle to wild with all kinds of banks, humps, turns, and waves, and different grades of synthetic surfaces. Which is appropriate for a mini-golf company in which Tiger Woods and Taylor Made Golf are partners.
Pop Stroke was founded all of six years ago and now has 16 locations in six states; the one at Town Square near the junction of I-15 and the 215 Beltway, which opened in April, is the only location in Nevada.
Pop Stroke features two 18-hole courses, one easier than the other. You can bring your own putter or pick one of Pop Strokes’ based on your height; the balls come in different colors and you get to keep the one you play with. You can download the app to keep score and order drinks from the three bars and food from the sports bar, which the staff delivers to you on the course. Shareables include chicken tenders, hummus platter, nachos, wings, and tuna tartare ($12-$21), while tacos, sandwiches, burgers, wraps, and steak are $13-$24.
There’s also an ice cream counter, with 25 flavors (1/2/3 scoops $6/$8/$10) and a variety of toppings ($1 each), plus floats and milkshakes ($9-$12).
An outdoor play area offers a couple of foosball tables, ping pong, and cornhole. There’s a warm-up green for practicing, but it’s not really necessary; admission is good for all day, so you can play as long as you like, hang around the game area or bar and start up again, or even leave and come back.
Being barely six months old, Pop Stroke’s palm trees are young and provide little shade. We were there during the heat wave in July when it was 115 out and it was sizzling out on the greens. But plenty of water, wet towels, fans, and misters are stationed around the property that help to keep things if not exactly cool, at least not roasting.
This place is very popular. There’s plenty of free parking, but the lot does get full. And depending on the size of the group/groups in front of yours, you might have to stand around and wait for everyone to take a turn. We saw a group of eight take 15 minutes on a hole.
We also watched couples and groups of three and four bypass them to the next hole. Since you can play all day, unless you’re intent on competing and the score really matters, anything basically goes. From our observations, groups of two to four seem to be the best size.
All in all, Pop Stroke puts a new spin, so to speak, on mini-golf and in clement weather or at night, it’s a very fun outdoor activity. It’s open 9 a.m. to midnight Sun.-Thurs., till 1 a.m. on Fri-Saturday. Summer pricing is Mon.-Thurs. $35, Fri,-Sat. $40 per person, locals $30/$35. Kids 3-12 are 40% off, seniors/military/twilight (two hours prior to closing) 20%. Special events happen almost every day: Mondays senior day, Tuesdays kids day, Wednesday college day, Thursday ladies night. And there’s a happy hour Mon.-Thurs. 3-6 p.m. with 50% off drinks and a discounted food menu.
