All three New York City casino proposals were tapped in the penultimate round of selection for Empire State benediction. That means Genting Group, Bally’s Corp. and Hard Rock International each grasped the brass ring. Now comes the hard part: Finding financing. We’re talking about an aggregate $18 billion in casino capitalization—not money that’s going to be found under Steve Cohen‘s couch cushions. Oh, and there’s one major hiccup for Genting.
Continue reading NYC: Everybody Wins?
In September we wrote that the new Durango Social Club would have a five-course-tasting-menu format, with dinners prepared by owner/chef Dan Krohmer, an excellent chef who also owns Other Mama. As it turns out, that wasn’t the plan. The concept now seems to be a changing line-up of chefs and events, ranging from a smashburger pop-up with $8 burgers to a chef residency called “Lilli by Chef Tyler Vorce” for $125. We missed the smashburgers, which we were told were terrific, but got the whole seven-course treatment with Lilli in this experimental dining experience at 3655 S. Durango Drive.
When you reserve online, you can choose to eat at a table or at the “chef’s counter” if available. We opted for the counter, where we got to talk with Chef Vorce. He grew up in Maine and worked at several high-end restaurants, but his main feather is a five-year run at the vaunted French Laundry in Napa, where he worked under chefs Thomas Keller and David Breeden. Vorce chats with the customers while he prepares the dishes. He told us he’s scouting a move to Las Vegas; hence, this test-run residency. Unless you want privacy, the counter is the way to go.
There’s only one way to do this, and that’s to walk you through it the way we did it. There’s a wine pairing add-on for $75, which one in our party did, and part of that is a choice of cocktail to start. We had a martini.
First Course — Porcini Mushroom Bouillon
Second Course — Red Sea Bream, with radish, pear, and lemon verbena
Third Course — California Black Cod, with parsnips, tarragon, and grapefruit sabayon
Fourth Course — Violet Artichokes, with butter beans and smoked paprika
Fifth Course — Liberty Duck Breast, with quince, maitake mushrooms, and red walnut sauce
Sixth Course — Lamb Saddle, with stewed plums, sweet carrots, and preserved lemon sauce
Seventh Course — Fennel Pollen Pavlova, with satsumas and Nevada pine nuts
It’s a tasting menu, so portions are small, but the cooks know what they’re doing and you won’t leave hungry. Keeping in mind that this is LVA and we’re pretty much powered by hot dogs, shrimp cocktail, and prime rib specials, we felt there was a bit too much fruit going on (count the grapefruit, satsumas, and quinces above). For example, the stewed plums and sweet carrots kinda got in the way of the lamb, but flavor pairing is what gourmet dining is often about. As would be expected, different dishes were preferred by different diners and that makes for an interesting dining experience. We also opted for an add-on caviar dollop that we split between two and it was added to the sea bream. Caviar is costly ($45), but it made for one of the best pairings. It was the birthday of one in our party, which is the reason for the candle on the dessert.
This was a treat, albeit an expensive one. After the wine and caviar add-ons, a side cocktail, an 18% mandatory gratuity, and tax, the bill came in at $450. But along with a memorable meal, it was an unordinary experience, which is what Krohmer is aiming for with this effort. The meal described here will be offered on Saturdays and Sundays through December 28, then there will be new events at different price points. Monitor the schedule here and pick one that you like.
A “traditional breakfast” for $39? That’s what you pay these days at a fufu joint like Tableau at Wynn Las Vegas. We had an opportunity to grab breakfast there and we took it—comped, of course. Yeah, $39 for a bacon & eggs breakfast will make you shudder, even though this one comes with three eggs, potatoes, toast, pastries, juice, and coffee. But what you’re really paying for the setting, the cache, the prestige of doing brekkie at the Wynn.
There’s a separate menu of fresh-squeezed juices. If you’re gonna do juice, a first-timer’s gotta go with the flight of three—Orange Zest, Purify, and Red Deliciousness—for $14. Orange Zest isn’t orange juice. It’s a mixture of orange, carrot, ginger, Asian pear, and nectar. Purify is honeydew, green apple, kale, spinach, cayenne pepper, organic agave, and celery. Red Delicioiusness is fuji apples, bell pepper, pomegranate, beet, and lime. Here they are (we don’t think we need to label them).
We didn’t order the traditional breakfast. There are too many intriguing choices to do that. Selections include lemon ricotta pancakes, with blueberry butter and Vermont maple syrup for $28; Belgian waffle, with marinated strawberries and lemon Chantilly ($29), and the obligatory caviar & soft boiled eggs ($78). We opted for lox & bagel, with scallion cream cheese, pickled onion, capers, cucumber, and egg mimosa for $32. Our dining partner, a Tableau regular, simply ordered some things that came to mind that he wanted, same as you’d do if you were in your own house with your own chef—“three eggs scrambled soft, a croissant, coffee with almond milk on the side.” We didn’t see eggs a la carte or almond milk on the menu. The waiter just nodded, then brought it out. Sweet!
Was it the best bagel & lox we’ve ever had? No, but it was good. And a couple of those juices were an interesting foray into flavor pairing. But as alluded to above, this is more about scene than cuisine. If you get a comp Tableau, take it. If you fancy a splurge, do it. If you want to impress the woman you met at the club last night, this will do the trick. Breakfast for two was $100+ with tip. As they say, when in Wynn!
Derek Stevens, along with his mostly silent brother, Greg, owns Circa, the D, and Golden Gate casinos in downtown Las Vegas. The three properties share a slot club and the same ONE player’s card may be used at all three properties.
Circa checks everyone’s ID every time using a hand-held device about the size of a cell phone. I assume they capture the information on your Driver’s License in the process, but I don’t know that for a fact. The D checks your ID on weekend nights — but not always all three doors. The Golden Gate, by far the smallest of the three properties, rarely has anybody checking your ID as you enter.
Sometimes the checking is done by regular security officers. Sometimes the checking is done by what appear to be temporary employees.
Strangely, on a midweek day in mid-November, a man in a tuxedo was checking IDs at Golden Gate. I produced mine and he asked if I was there for the promotion. I read mailers fairly closely and was pretty sure that no mid-week promotion was advertised for that casino, so I asked, “What promotion?”
He told me that if I sign up for a card at the players’ club, I’d receive guaranteed free play for some amount between $5 and $1,000. I told him I already had a card, and he replied that all I had to do was to show the card and I’d get the free play.
Free money is always good.
On the way to the machines I wanted to check, I glanced over at the players’ club. There was a line of about 25 people and it wasn’t moving very fast. I didn’t see how many booth attendants were servicing the front of the line, but clearly not enough to make the line move very fast.
I figured it would take me 30-45 minutes to get to the front of the line. If I knew I was going to get $200 or more, such a wait would be tolerable. While I don’t know the distribution of the free play amounts for this particular promotion, historically in Las Vegas it goes something like 50% of the time it’s $5, 25% of the time it’s $10, 23% of the time it’s $20 or $25, and 2% of the time it’s higher than that. If those percentages held true for this promotion, my EV for standing in line for a long time was less than $10.
When I first moved to Las Vegas and was scrounging to make enough money to be able to stay, I would have stood in line. Not anymore. Today I have a bankroll, and my earning power is more than $10 per 30-45 minutes. So, I passed up the line and checked the machines I wanted to check.
Perhaps I should modify my “Free money is always good” statement to something like, “No money is totally free. Whether it’s good to get depends on what you have to do to obtain it. Correctly evaluating this is part of what makes a gambler successful or not.”
Also, please note that in no way am I criticizing the Golden Gate for their promotion. Clearly a lot of people were capitalizing on it and I would have done the same 30 years ago. It’s just that for me at this time in my life, no thank you.
This year’s rate check was conducted on Dec. 1 and turned up 84 casinos that have rooms available for New Year’s Eve, compared to 86 last year. The number of nights is the minimum required stay; the dollar amount is the total cost; resort fees aren’t included.
1 night: Primm $35, Westgate $100, Longhorn $108, Cannery $111, Sam’s Town $139, Railroad Pass $145, Westin Lake $152, Hotel Jefe $159, Skyline $175, Suncoast $179, Hilton Lake $180, Golden Gate $189, Az. Charlie – Boulder $198, Silver Sevens $214, Circus Circus $219, Boulder Station $229, Oasis at Gold Spike $229, Santa Fe $229, South Point $245, The Lexi $250, Four Queens $255, The D $269, Westin $278, Sunset Station $289, Gold Coast $293, Az. Charlie – Decatur $298, El Cortez $299, Hotel Apache $305, Orleans $308, Tuscany $329, Palace Station $339, Strat $349, English Hotel $352, M Resort $369, Serene $378, Sahara $403, California $418, JW Marriott $424, Aliante $426, Downtown Grand $443, Casino Royale $446, Virgin $559, Mandalay $599, Four Seasons $610, Red Rock $644, Ahern $649, Planet Hollywood $680, Trump $799, Fontainebleau $800.
2 nights: Treasure Island $427, Plaza $504, Excalibur $589, Harrah’s $599, Golden Nugget $618, Luxor $619, Palms Place $624, Palms $644, Resorts World $650, Circa $688, Rio $706, Horseshoe $733, Linq $748, Flamingo $751, Elara $815, MGM Grand $878, NYNY $878, GVR $888, MGM Signature $908, Cromwell $942, Aria $997, Delano $998, Park MGM $1018, Durango $1088, Paris $1129, Venetian $1278, Vdara $1298, Palazzo $1308, Waldorf Astoria $1351, Caesars $1555, Cosmopolitan $1670, Nobu $1991, Bellagio $1998.
3 nights: Encore $1797 and Wynn $4114.
Sold Out or N/A: Ellis Island, Fremont, Main Street, NoMad, OYO, Platinum, and Silverton.
Resort Fees are not included in totals.
Welcome to the Las Vegas Savings blog.
Ever since Gambling with an Edge came to an end, I wanted to create a spot where I could list cost-savings ideas for Las Vegas travel, while readers can contribute their own cost-savings ideas. Anything that saves you time or money when traveling to Las Vegas is what this page and the accompanying blog are all about.
The Las Vegas Savings Tips page with the table has money-saving tips in chart form. Various sites list potential savings tips and I will reference some of them there. But in my travels to Las Vegas over the years (an average of five a year for the past 35 years), I’ve learned some things that I haven’t always seen in print and I’m sure you have ideas as well.
There will be more extended discussions and descriptions of the listings in the table in this blog.
I look forward to your ideas and suggestions.
Las Vegas may be famous for its celebrity chefs and marquee dining rooms, but some of the most exciting food in this city is coming from locals chefs building community at their off-strip kitchens.
Here are a few of the chefs and restaurants that are making waves in the Vegas food scene today. And the best part? You don’t need a reservation weeks out or a high-roller budget to try them. You can experience their craft at happy hour. 🍽️🍸
Ellie Parker, the 25-year-old Executive Chef of Main St. Provisions in the Las Vegas Arts District and a top 10 chef on season 24 of Hell’s Kitchen. Try the slider-of-the-day or the filet mignon tartare with a dirty martini dip for only $8 each. Mon- Fri 4:30-6 PM and 4-6 PM on weekends. Main St. Provisions Happy Hour Menu & info here.
Chef Joe Valdez is known for creating traditional Nona-inspired Italian cuisine with modern inspirations. Try Chef Joe’s traditional spaghetti and meatballs or spicy shrimp with artichokes with a modern Vegas vibe for only $10 each. Basilico Happy Hour 4-6 PM daily with $9 cocktails, $7 wines and more.
From learning the disciplines of sushi and kaiseki in Japan to being on tour with Vans Warped and Coachella, Chef Dan Krohmer’s Other Mama on the west side has earned an impressive number of accolades over the last decade including one of the best sushi happy hours in Vegas. Try the $5 spicy tuna and cucumber hand roll or Japanese fried chicken ($8) with a signature and very original cocktail ($8). Other Mama Happy Hour Daily 5-6PM.
James Beard nominated chef Bruce Kalman has built a career on bold flavors, craftsmanship, and an uncompromising respect for ingredients. Chef Bruce became nationally recognized through Top Chef, Chopped, Beat Bobby Flay, and as a finalist on BBQ Brawl. Make your way to the Arts District to try Chef Bruce’s pulled pork cornbread sliders ($5) at Soul belly BBQ happy hour Tuesday to Friday from 2-5 PM and a reverse Happy Hour on Friday and Saturday from 9-10 PM.
Chef Paco’s move from Mexican favorites on The Strip to authentic Mexican at Alebrijes Downtown did not go unnoticed. There are many words to describe Chef Paco’s kitchen at Alebrijes including artful, original, inspirational and it’s all available on the $10 happy hour menu…with $7 fresh margaritas of course!. Alebrijes happy hour on Fremont Street daily 4-6 PM and 10 PM-12 AM.
Discover more Las Vegas Happy Hours and Chef driven dining in Las Vegas.
As Season 24 of Hell’s Kitchen heats up, Las Vegas has its own hometown contender in the national spotlight: Ellie Parker, the 25-year-old Executive Chef of Main St. Provisions in the Las Vegas Arts District. Representing Nevada in the show’s first-ever Battle of the States, Parker has already survived into the Top 9, impressing Gordon Ramsay and viewers with a blend of technical skill, raw competitiveness, and an unmistakably Vegas-honed work ethic.
But long before she stepped onto a soundstage, Parker told The Food and Loathing Podcast that her path into kitchens began at age 12, when she applied to Northwest Career and Technical Academy’s culinary program.
“I discovered my love for cooking just watching the Food Network as a kid,” she recalled.
Parker graduated high school at the top of her culinary class, went on to study Hospitality at UNLV, and cooked in a string of Strip restaurants — including The Venetian, MB Steak, La Cave, ONE Steakhouse, and The Bedford by Martha Stewart — before finding her home at Main St. Provisions.
After joining MSP in 2022 under Chef Patrick Munster, she rose from line cook to Executive Sous Chef. When Munster left for the Fontainebleau, Parker stepped into the Executive Chef role in early 2025 — a full year ahead of her personal goal. It also made her the first woman to run the kitchen at Main St. Provisions, following in the footsteps of chefs Justin Kingsley Hall, Adrian Garcia, and Munster. With owner Kim Owens maintaining continuity on the restaurant’s identity, Parker has helped shepherd MSP’s evolution into a neighborhood favorite known for steakhouse-driven New American cooking blended with eclectic, seasonal creativity.
Season 24 premiered in September with a new twist: 50 semi-finalists from across the country fought for 20 spots, each assigned to represent their home state. Ramsay split the kitchen into men vs. women on Day One — a dynamic Parker said she was ready for after years as a woman in a male-dominated field.
“I’ve watched the show since season one,” she said. “This is what he’s always done. But I had never worked with all women before in a kitchen… it was very unique.”
The early episodes also highlighted the emotional rollercoaster of living in an isolated production bubble. “It is very isolating,” she explained. “No phones, no smart watches… nothing. But it kept my head in the game.”
Pre-Season Reflections: ‘The Opportunity of a Lifetime’
When Parker spoke to Food and Loathing shortly before the season premiered, the excitement — and nerves — were clear.
“It’s the weirdest feeling in the world,” she said. “Everyone says they want to be on TV… it’s the opportunity of a lifetime, and I can’t wait for everyone to see what I lived through.”
She also revealed how she was cast: Hell’s Kitchen reached out directly through Main St. Provisions’ social media, not the other way around.
“I couldn’t believe it at first… little me? Why me?” she said. “But now I think it’s the greatest thing that’s ever happened to me.”
When Parker joined Food and Loathing again after Episode 9 — the last to air before Thanksgiving — she had just made it into the Top 9.
“I didn’t even think I was going to make it this far,” she admitted. “But I’m glad I have.”
The show’s interpersonal tensions, she said, are very real.
“It was like 70% Real Housewives and 30% cooking,” she joked. “At the time, it was true dislike [for certain contestants], real disdain.”
But even in the drama, there were bonds — such as her friendship with vegan chef Carrie Marie, whose elimination hit hard.
On the cooking side, some challenges pushed her far outside her comfort zone. A recent French-cuisine task was “very difficult,” she said, because “I’ve never worked with French cuisine… and there were no thermometers, no clocks. You’re cooking proteins blind.”
Parker was careful not to reveal any true spoilers, but she hinted that upcoming episodes introduce ingredients and tasks she had “never worked with before,” and that at least one major challenge — involving multi-tier baking — was far outside her wheelhouse. (“I am not a baker,” she laughed.)
She also confirmed she would love to win the show’s grand prize: a Head Chef position at Foxwoods Resort Casino. While she loves Las Vegas, she said she’d welcome the chance to broaden her horizons, even joking about discovering last call for the first time during her time in Connecticut.
Hell’s Kitchen: Battle of the States airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. on FOX (returning December. 4 after the holiday break). Full episodes stream on Hulu the following day.
For more on Ellie Parker, you can hear her conversations on
The Food and Loathing Podcast (links below will be embedded in final draft):
And learn more about Main St. Provisions at:
https://www.neonfeast.com/listing/22020337-main-st-provisions
Visit Main St. Provisions at 1214 S. Main St. in the Arts District
Happy Thanksgiving, dear readers. We, of course, are primarily thankful for you. And Big Gaming is thankful too … not for us but for baccarat, which saved its bacon last month on the Las Vegas Strip. Visitation sank 4.5% but Strip casino revenue jumped 8%, driven in large part by a 69% catapult in baccarat winnings. (Things might have been worse still had convention attendance not spiked 8%, even though room rates still sagged 6%.) The house cleaned up at high-roller-friendly baccarat and at the tables in general (vaulting 25%) but not at the slots, which slipped 2% despite 3% higher coin-in. Table wagering was up 5% and baccarat players bet 9% bigger. Bottom line, fewer people may be coming to Sin City but the ones who do are betting more—and losing it, too.
Continue reading Strip Gets Rescued
This week, Anthony and Andrew are joined by Al Mancini of “Neon Feast” and Andrew Morgan of “Happy Hour Vegas”
