Tamares Group has been up to its usual shenanigans, using the Plaza Hotel as a stalking horse. The latter slapped a quickie eviction notice on the Beauty Bar, citing multiple incidents involving repeated calls to Las Vegas Metro 
as the cause. “The notice also says that the tenant allowed lewd activity and disorder, along with disturbances that interfered with the quiet enjoyment of the neighboring tenets,” reported KTNV-TV. Bar owner Roxie Amoroso flew in to deal with Tamares. “I immediately presented my fully-executed lease documents on a lease that I renegotiated with them,” she told KTNV. She’s not going down without a fight against Tamares, “We’re open, we’ve been open, we’re not closing, we’re not closing anytime soon and we intend on staying the Beauty Bar for as long as the Las Vegas community will have us,” Amoroso. Let’s hope the Sin City community has her back.
* Global Gaming Business reports that Carl Icahn has a 45-day window to appoint a Caesars Entertainment CEO more to his liking and that he has chosen Anthony Rodio. This will mean extricating Rodio from his current position as CEO of Affinity Gaming, although I’m sure he will find it a tempting offer. Meanwhile, the understandably distracted Caesars has until April 22 to get in its bid for the Hellinkon casino site in Greece.
* In a really bad move, MGM Growth Properties is taking the “Hard Rock” out of Hard Rock Rocksino in Ohio. The racing has 
flourished under the Hard Rock brand, leading all other Ohio casinos wire to wire, even without table games. MGM is clearly experiencing brand envy, as there is no other logical explanation for why it would tamper with a winning formula. Hard Rock management will be turfed out in favor of MGM newbies. About the only think to like about this arrangement is that the musical acts provided by Live Nation will keep playing the venue. “We love sports at MGM,” added incoming President Chris Kelley. “We would certainly love to participate in that if it is legalized in Ohio.” Well it’s not, so just cool your jets. And, yes, the lion is looking backward for a reason.
* Station Casinos is getting some ink in the British press for what is being touted as the most expensive hotel suite in the world, at the Palms, nominally costing $200,000 a night. However, since it’s solely for the use of high rollers, I am 101% certain it will be comped, as will access to KAOS Nightclub, the Pearl and other Palms amenities. The company is being “tight-lipped” about the cost (c’mon Lori Nelson, give the Brits a break) although this is not the sort of 
expensive bauble that casinos build with an eye toward the bottom line, which why clearly no expense was spared on the Empathy Suite.
Showcasing the artworks of Damien Hirst, the two-story suite has a cantilevered pool and a 13-seat curved bar created by the artist and filled with medical waste. (Ugh!) You can entertain as many as 52 people, some of whom will admire the “Here for a Good Time, Not a Long Time (2018) piece, two vitrines, one containing a marlin skeleton, the other a taxidermy marlin.” The suite is a small Hirst gallery, containing six of his artworks. Of more interest to gamblers, it also comes with a $10,000 line of credit–not your average casino amenity. Hirst’s decorative style is a little busy for our eyes but color us impressed all the same.
* The Department of Justice has given states an additional 60 days to toe the line on its new interpretation of the Federal Wire Act. It’s already getting pushback in the courts from New Hampshire and New Jersey is threatening to join the fray if the DOJ doesn’t back down.
* Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R), who may challenge Donald Trump for the Republican nomination, is making support for sports betting one of the planks in his platform. We like him already.
I do not get the re-branding of the Hard Rock Racino at all. But good luck to them.