The transition of Borgata Black to Mlife Gold is of particular interest to me, since Borgata Rewards has three tiers in their loyalty program (Red – Black – Titanium) while Mlife has five tiers (Sapphire – Pearl – Gold – Platinum – Noir).

I usually go into the weekend with one or two pages of notes with the Las Vegas news. There are three pages of fun today. There’s a lot of information this week, so buckle up! I’ll try to keep everything short, sweet and easy to read.

With May, Atlantic City casinos make way for the unofficial start of the summer season on Memorial Day, but there are plenty of other events leading up to that last weekend.

I recently visited the newest restaurant in the Grand Canal Shoppes at The Venetian, Mercato della Pescheria. The restaurant is located in St. Mark’s square replacing upscale Italian restaurant Postrio. The layout of Mercato della Pescheria is similar to Postrio with an indoor and “outdoor” table configuration. The outdoor seats are inside the casino under the painted sky ceiling.

One of my favorite conversations is sweet spots in loyalty programs. Be it casino, hotel or airline programs it is always fun to imagine how one can reach top tier elite status with the least amount of spend. I was actually discussing CHEAP Hyatt Elite Status with my buddy John the other day, as it references to Hyatt Globalist status. Globalist (formerly Hyatt Diamond) is now the top published tier for Hyatt loyalty.

I thought that following up all of the news and rumors from last week is going to be difficult. There’s so much happening in Las Vegas that I actually had to break out a section because the article would have been impossible to read. I probably should have done that today, but I didn’t. There’s a lot happening in the Las Vegas sports world, so let’s start there.

All-Inclusive package deals like RIO ALL-SUITE TOTAL DEAL often leave one contemplating, is this actually a deal? Could this be “poor man’s” casino-RFB? The package includes your room, meals, drinks and access to VooDoo Rooftop Nightclub for two people.

How do you alter your play to receive the best casino offers possible based on your bankroll? As I stated in the previous installment, it’s done by the timing of your gaming sessions, which directly affects your Theo (your theoretical loss to the casino, which is the way that the casino calculates what you are worth to them.).

This week will be a bit different format for Vegas News. The article begins linking to another story because you love parking and jumps right into rumors. There was so much news last week that I’m just giving a bunch of quick hits for you to read directly from the sources.

The Cosmopolitan will begin charging for valet parking on April 18. Self-Parking fees will begin on May 16. Both visitors and hotel guests will be required to pay for parking. Las Vegas locals will have to pay as well. Here are the specifics:

When I moved to Las Vegas, I didn’t know much about the Jewish community. I didn’t expect to find Dr. Brown’s soda very often since it’s from the east coast. The day I explored the SUNCOAST HOTEL and CASINO was one of the happiest since I moved to Las Vegas. Low and behold the deli/restaurant had a few different Dr. Brown’s sodas in their refrigerator.

Hotel bar. The two words evoke the image of a darkly lit bar with disheveled businesspeople shaking the ice in their glasses as they dream of being home. But as hotel chains rapidly work to give properties and brands their own character while luring customers back from boutiques, that spirit is moving to the bar. Among the efforts, a feature that literally goes to the top: bee cultivation on the hotel roof.