I hate to start the Vegas News on a sour note but longtime Las Vegas writer Norm Clarke passed away this week. He was a great writer with legitimate connections and insight. From what I’m told he was an even better person. Read more here.
On another somewhat sour note, the new spring display at the Bellagio Conservatory looks a little boring. See the below and read about it here.
The biggest news from the past couple of weeks might be that The Cromwell will become The Vanderpump Hotel next year. Get the details on the much-needed room renovations and more here.
The Cromwell rooms and casino floor are overdue for a renovation and Vanderpump’s design fits the existing French vibe. I usually hate corporate partnerships but this one makes sense. I’m curious to see if/when/where they move Giada’s restaurant elsewhere as part of the rebrand.
I say the TravelZork community is special pretty often. I truly believe that and am reminded about it every year around this time. According to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority’s 2024 Visitor Profile, only 12% of visitors had a complimentary room while another 7% received a discount casino rate.
Fewer than 20% of visitors to Las Vegas received a comp or discounted room last year. You may not be a 1 percenter but you’re probably a Vegas 20 percenter!
Like most surveys, the Visitor Profile uses a small sample size but is a decent approximation of how people spend their time and money in Las Vegas. You can see the full report here.
The survey shares plenty of interesting info such as how long people stay in Las Vegas, where they stay, and what they spend money on. The gambling section is always among my favorites because people spend way less time and money than anyone I know who loves and visits Las Vegas.
I was walking through the Grand Canal Shoppes at The Venetian for the first time in a while and was reminded that there are plenty of happy hour deals in the mall. The same is true for malls at Caesars Palace and Planet Hollywood.
Virgin is tier-matching its new Cherry Rewards players club until 9/1. You can see a slew of new rewards program promotions here.
There’s a new burger joint coming to Cosmopolitan. Read more here.
Resorts World is being fined $10 million. If you’re not familiar, you can get the story here.
You can find an educated opinion on the Resorts World Las Vegas saga here.
Fogo de Chão will be opening its first Vegas Strip location at The Venetian. Do you remember Samba at The Mirage? My stomach will never forget. Oy. Read more here.
The Las Vegas Grand Prix has more lower-priced tickets available for the race in November. Get the details here.
Don’t be surprised to see hotel rooms cleaned less often in the future. Read more here.
The Luxor buffet is closing at the end of the month. Read more here.
If you like buffets find a Las Vegas resident who does too and head to the Cosmopolitan for cheaper eats. Read more here.
The renovation of Prime at Bellagio is complete. See pics below and read more here.
I’ve been waiting for MGM Resorts to give more details on the Bellagio expansion during the past few earnings calls. It appears as though the plans are dead. Read more here.
Fontainebleau is hosting two WWE events during Wrestlemania week. Get the details here.
Rio now has 9/6 jacks or better video poker at the bars. See the tweet here.
Across the street, Palms now has $5 3/2 blackjack and Roll To Win Craps. See the tweet here.
Looks like Therapy is done in downtown Las Vegas. That’s too bad, it’s one of the better restaurants downtown. See the scoop here.
Reminder: Prices will continue to rise until (the collective) we stop spending money at the property charging the prices.
On a related note, I haven’t been to Harrah’s since we skipped out on the Gordon Ramsay restaurant that was charging more than $30 for a chicken caesar salad. We opted to spend $50 on two awful burger meals at Bobby Flay’s joint in the food hall.
Looks like the Harry Styles Sphere residency won’t be happening. Read more here.
I decided to see if Green Valley Ranch had any strange new optional fees on its website. Nothing new but a lot of options for late checkout. See the tweet here.
The French Bulldog is the most popular breed in Las Vegas (and a few other cities). Get the pooper scooper here.
I’m not sure what an “in-game slot machine activation” is but Westgate will be doing this at Las Vegas Aces games this year. Read more here.
Aces Of Comedy is now at MGM Grand and George Lopez, Felipe Esparza, Howie Mandel with Arsenio Hall, Ray Romano, and Jay Leno are performing this year. Get the specifics here.
I don’t think I’ve played darts since I was fresh out of college but I had a great time playing, drinking, and snacking at Flight Club in the Grand Canal Shoppes at The Venetian. Here are a few pics.
SkyBar at Waldorf Astoria got a makeover. It looks almost the same to me, but I haven’t been there since it was Mandarin Oriental. Check it out here.
The Venetian is hosting a Grateful Dead art and photography exhibition. Some of the artists will be on hand during the show. Read more here.
You can now get Wahlburger at the Resorts World’s dayclub. Read more here.
The Las Vegas tourism board paid the Sacramento A’s to advertise on their uniforms. Read more here.
Donny Osmond extended his residency at Harrah’s. Read more here.
The surprisingly popular Play Playground at Luxor is expanding to NashVegas. Read more here.
If you follow Las Vegas news you may keep tabs on UNLV sports. Did you know the school has a hockey team and that it won a championship this week? Get details here.
The Rio made Jeopardy! See the quick clip below.
Marc grew up on the mean streets of the South Bronx. He's the rare combination of Yankees and Jets fan which explains his often contrarian point of view. He learned about gambling at a young age working down the street from a bookie who took action on anything from the mainstream sports to the last three digits of the purse for certain horse races. Yeah, that's a thing. Today Marc is a freelance writer and social media consultant which allows him to work anywhere there's a wifi signal. This allows him to work from the sportsbook at Red Rock Resort or the food court at The Venetian where you’ll find fast and free wifi. Writing about steak, booze, gambling and Las Vegas is a tough job but somebody has to do it.
