Casa Shenandoah closes; Culinary escalates tactics

Call it a day for another Wayne Newton business venture. Mr. Las Vegas is closing Casa Shenandoah to the public, no reason given (although a recent break-in might have influenced the decision). “It is the Applicant’s intent that the property revert back to a single family residential use,” said Newton lawyer Jay Brown. As for “Applicant,” he told John Katsilometes, “As of now, we are just taking a breather and deciding what we want to do in the future. We have not wanted to make any rush decisions.” What will become of the offsite theater, gift shop and shuttle area is anybody’s guess. Newton can get back to nursing a hand injury and resuming his on-again/off-again war with his neighbors, who have not taken to the influx of tourists very kindly.

* Add the Tropicana Las Vegas to the list of casinos that have reached a labor pact (still to be ratified) with the Culinary Union. As the dominoes topple, next on the list are Binion’s Gambling Hall, the Four Queens and Margaritaville. Negotiations at the latter and at The D must not be going well: “Informational picketing” has been scheduled for tomorrow, never a propitious sign. For reasons best known to themselves, Culinary management is promoting media attendance at the Margaritaville picketing but *not* at The D. Other casinos who the Culinary is now shouting out for not having signed contracts are SLS Las Vegas, Treasure Island, Westgate Las Vegas, the Downtown Grand, El Cortez, Fremont Hotel, Golden Gate, Golden Nugget and Main Street Station.

* Las Vegas brings out the crazy in drivers. Case in point, the speeding motorist in the white car who ran a red light at Sahara Avenue and the Las Vegas Strip, hit two vehicles and one pedestrian, then wiped out near Walgreens. It’s one more argument for why the Strip should be closed to all vehicles save RTC buses and taxicabs. (The taxi union wouldn’t mind that.)

* Treasure Bay Casino in Biloxi is feeling its oats. It’s purchased four acres for the expansion of surface parking and will add a parking garage to the east of the casino. All of this is prologue to a two-story enlargement of the casino (plus restaurants), a project expected to wind up late next year. Sports betting, meanwhile, is getting in on the ground floor — literally. Treasure Bay used to be known for its iconic pirate ship but said vessel was sent to Davey Jones’ Locker by Hurricane Katrina. The onshore version looks perfectly handsome and will doubtless be even better when the additions are complete. As for the post-Katrina era, it’s sobering to see how much of Biloxi has been completely eradicated.

* Historical racing has made it onto the November ballot in Idaho. Backers of the VLT-style gambling needed 56,192 and got more than double that. The initiative could mean new life for defunct Le Bois Park, which closed after the Idaho Legislature outlawed historical racing in 2015. VLT supporters have the backing of Gov. Butch Otter, who said, “Horse racing has a long and storied history in Idaho. It’s a big business and important to our state.” By current slot-machine standards, the instant-racing machines don’t look like much but you’ve got to start somewhere.

* More bad news for Boyd Gaming‘s Blue Chip casino: Four Winds Casino in South Bend is adding a poker room … provided it passes regulatory muster.