Vegas’ newest low-roller joint; Is the Lion extinct?; Another classy Sands moment

Move over, Longhorn and Vegas Club. The spirit of Nevada Palace (R.I.P.) hath descended upon the Palms. If recent sackings of Bunny dealers portended a sea change at the former George Maloof property, during my latest visit I practically collided with giant, cardboard signs advertising things like 99¢ midday margaritas and all-you-can-eat specials. Getting a table at Garduño’s, no problem in earlier times, took the better part of half an hour. “Reservations” was the proffered excuse (on a slowish Thursday night) but the rows of empty tables suggested that short-staffing was the likelier cause.

Having applied a less-than-Midas touch to M Resort and the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, bounced-around Palms prexy Joe Magliarditi is promising bigger and better things for his current property. But, at the moment, “strategy” sounds more like “desperation.” That bold, new look has the appearance of scrimping, saving and ginning up cash flow ASAP. Affordability is always welcome, but don’t tell me you’re an upscale property and give me grind-joint treatment.

Magliarditi serves at the behest of the Palms’ vulture, er, venture-capital owner, Texas Pacific Group — which has done such wonderful things for Caesars Entertainment. However, any damage he inflicts upon the Palms brand will bounce off the obscure executive and stick to the high-profile Maloof. The latter would do well by his reputation to sell his remaining 2% stake and let the Palms meet its fate without him.

An icon defanged. It’s old news now but still a damn shame that MGM Grand is exterminating its lion habitat (presumably to make room for a bigger, shinier, douchebag magnet in lieu of adjacent and decrepit Studio 54). Despite rumors to the contrary, the company had denied that the big cats were on the way out, suggesting this was either a very recent decision or Jim Murren likes to leave his media-relations staff with egg on their faces. Given that the Green Monster will now be lion-less, the question presents itself: Why retain Leo as the property’s icon, whether on the logo or in giant, metal form out front? Having ditched its “Mirage” brand equity, perhaps Murren should complete the bland-ification process by taking “MGM” off the company name. Plain old “Resorts International” has so much better a ring to it, don’t you think?

Speaking of nightclubs, their dearth — while regrettable for those who like to frequent them — could hardly be characterized as a “dire need.” That’s language which should be reserved for situations like famine, or the aftermath of an earthquake or tsunami. However, Vision Entertainment Group founder Jerry Deifer did not hesitate to trundle out apocalyptic verbiage in order to tout the opening of Vision Bar at Sands Bethlehem. True, Sands B. has been a bit light on amenities in its early years. And I’m sure Deifer didn’t mean to give area residents the finger when his company promised the “most sophisticated crowd the Lehigh Valley has ever seen,” a bovine reduction of the area’s past to so much chopped liver.

Seriously, it’s this sort of lese-majesté attitude that gives Las Vegas casino operators a bad name when the enter other markets — did Deifer get hoof-in-mouth disease from casual contact with the eternally gauche Sheldon Adelson? (The AARP set is steered away from Vision Bar and toward the casino floor’s Molten lounge, by the way.) But the best part of the whole rollout has to be the promise of “indulgent small plates,” which any Las Vegan knows translates into English as “double-digit prices for microscopic portions of food.”

Come to think of it, those all-you-can-eat/drink specials at the Palms sound better by the minute.