‘Grimm’ reaper; Marathon ordeal; Last call for queries

Las Vegas made the Sunday funny pages this week. One could get all irate about Mike Peters‘ dig at gambling and the Strip. However, if he wanted to equate casinos with fleapits, he could have chosen more wisely than he did. I mean, who doesn’t like making jokes about Circus Circus and Imperial Palace? One could argue that Peters’ selection — Wynn Las Vegas, Bellagio, MGM Grand, Caesars Palace and Flamingo Las Vegas — testifies to their brand equity. And, that being the case, why is Caesars Entertainment effacing as much as possible of the Flamingo brand rather than capitalizing upon it? For certain markets — Florida being an obvious one — it more sense than stamping “Horseshoe” on every new property.

Getting the runs. If you want to make money in Las Vegas, you can’t go wrong by selling filtered water. To say our local H2O is “hard” is something of an understatement. It practically leaves bruises. So three kicks in the pants seat to whoever had the bright idea of serving unfiltered water to runners in the recent Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon. Isn’t participating in one of those long-distance ordeals — and paying $179 for the privilege painful enough without untoward gastric events?

Time’s a wastin’. Best hurry up and get those questions in f0r Isle of Capri Casinos CEO Virginia McDowell. Has anybody out there stayed at an Isle property lately and had concerns they’d like to air? Or did you visit one back in the bad old days and are wondering if it’s safe to return? For that matter, what are Isle’s intentions with regard to the Vegas market? Ask now or forever hold thy peace.