First is the Super Bowl, one of the greatest sports, cultural, and marketing spectacles ever.
Then there’s experiencing the Super Bowl in Vegas: sports betting to the moon, celebrities, whales, celebrity whales, best of the best getting down, awesome parties everywhere, prices through the roof.
Then there’s experiencing the Super Bowl, actually happening in Vegas, at Allegiant Stadium.
Continue reading Book the Super Bowl NOW
How impressive was the Las Vegas Strip‘s July performance? Pretty damned impressive, considering that it hit a best-ever record on only 1% higher visitation than last year and 4% less than in the halcyon year of 2019. Hotel occupany ran at 85% citywide, in a market whose inventory had increased 2% (151,718 rooms) since four years ago. The record was set without notable help from conventioneers, who were 17% fewer in number than last year and 46% fewer than in 2019. There were only 17 conventions in July against 23 in 2022. Room rates edged up 2%, whilst remaining well below 2019 levels. Not only were weekday occupancies strong (82%), weekend ones were 92.5%. Although road traffic at the Nevada/California border was off 5%, airline passenger loads rose 2%. All in all, a formula for success, although we’re keeping an eye on those drive-in numbers.
Continue reading Hot July in Vegas; GLPI’s Illinois big gulp; Mega-Jottings
Here’s a new bar bonus in an unlikely place.
On Mondays at El Dorado Cantina (8349 W. Sunset), there’s a play-$20-get-$20 at the bar. Why is that unlikely? Because El Dorado is a restaurant, part of a trio of El Dorados; its predecessors are located adjacent to the Sapphire gentlemen’s club and in the Tivoli shopping district. The Sunset El Dorado is different, however, as it was formerly a bar called No Regrets and the bar area has been retained with the restaurant added on.
Continue reading El Dorado Cantina — Two Bonuses and Good FoodLast month, we wrote about the $2-per-oyster happy hour in the Proper Eats food hall at Aria. At the conclusion of that review, we lamented the rising price of oysters, even in specials (what happened to the $1-oyster specials that were ubiquitous not so long ago?), and said we’d look around.
Continue reading Oysters (South Point)
Fueled by a record July at Reid International Airport, casinos on the Las Vegas Strip surged 8% in July, hitting $835 million. This was the highest single-month haul on the Strip ever, surpassing December 2022 by $20 million. Slot win ($420.5 million) was up 7.5% on an equal surge in coin-in. However, the luck of the house did not carry over to non-baccarat table games, which saw a 9% plunge in revenue, despite a heavier volume of wagering. Fortunately for the casinos, baccarat win rocketed over 40% to $56 million, even though betting was down 1%. The casinos recorded some of their best-ever hold at the game: 24%. Higher holds were also exclusively responsible for an upsurge in locals-derived revenue, up 6% despite 1% lower wagering.
Continue reading Nevada’s mixed forecast; The mystery of the Playboy chips
We gamblers and advantage players. We’re complicated.
We’re smart, obsessive, and we make great stories. The greatest of all was Kerry Packer.
I know it’s ironic: A coupon scuffler let’s-get-it-for-free guy like me is fascinated by the biggest whale of all time. Sure, it’s goofy, but the question remains, what can we learn from them?
When Packer’s father died in 1974, Kerry inherited a $100 million Australian media and casino empire. He was apparently dyslexic, a poor student in some ways and clearly brilliant in others.
Continue reading A Whale of a StoryI had a conversation with a strong player, and he posed a series of ethical questions. He estimated that if I asked this question in a crowd of people, at least 75% of players would claim they would do the right thing in each situation. But if nobody else were around, less than 50% would actually do the right thing.
I’m not sure about his percentages, but they sound approximately right, more or less. So, let’s look at the questions.
Continue reading What Would You Do?
Those of you who still follow us on Twitter, er, X may recall that we promised to share the next Casino Life Editor’s Note with you. Since it’s virtually the only Casino Life content that’s not hyperlinked to the Web, here it is:
It’s noxious. It’s antisocial. And it’s unhealthy. It’s cigar and cigarette smoke in casinos. And it’s got to go.
While I can’t speak for Europe and Asia, here in America less than 13 percent of the population smokes. Although these people are in a very small minority of consumers, the casino industry bends over for them as though they were the only players who mattered. Because of them you have to choke on noxious tobacco fumes every time you cross a casino floor. Nor can you ‘vote with your feet’ because neither the casino across the street nor the one in the next town caters to non-smokers.
Continue reading In case you missed it …
Reviewed in the August 2017 Las Vegas Advisor
We finally did it.
We ordered — and ate—the sautéed grasshoppers (chapulines in Spanish, since they come from certain areas of Mexico) at El Dorado Cantina. That’s what we’re about here, folks. We do it, so you don’t have to.
Continue reading El Dorado Cantina — Chapulines? Meh
What do to when there’s no news story that simply dominates the headlines? Bust out an extra-large serving of “Jottings,” of course! For instance, Resorts World Las Vegas should turn it around in the latter half of this year, even if it’s merely the beneficiary of a rising tide lifting all boats in Sin City. Following a disappointing 2Q23 profit statement, owner Genting is projected to do better on the strength of the Las Vegas Grand Prix. But so will everybody else. By the same token, Resorts World Sentosa is expected to improve as visitation to Singapore, already impressive, continues to ramp upward … “Impeccable” is what Louisiana‘s top gaming regulator calls Cordish Cos. prior to its pending licensure in the Pelican State. We agree and Diamond Jacks owner Foundation Gaming must be pretty confident, too. It’s scrapped the riverboat casino and torn down the unprepossessing hotel, anticipating approval of owner-to-be Cordish. The latter intends to spend $250 million building a land-based casino, of which the state still has too few … Speaking of Cordish, the first of its intended casino sites in North Carolina cleared rezoning last week, despite loud public opposition. As the casino-legalization debate drags on in the Lege, opponents want to take it to a vote of the people. Given that polling shows as much as 55% support, casino detractors are playing a risky gambit …
Continue reading Mega-Jottings for a Monday