It almost seems as if Las Vegas is reinventing itself seemingly more than ever. The last great recession in the U.S. was in 2008 and 2009. I remember eating breakfast at the cafe on the second floor of Showboat in Atlantic City when the stock market crashed in 2008. That economic crash was bad for many businesses but opened a whole new Las Vegas to me.
Since fewer high rollers were visiting Las Vegas hotel rates dropped to the point where I could see how big spenders spent time in this great city. Since then the economy has improved and prices have been slowly creeping back to normal. Las Vegas is back on the upswing.
Just about everything is more expensive every few months and casinos are expanding, upgrading, renovating and even being built from scratch. This week we learned that Binion’s is re-opening part of their shuttered hotel that closed in 2009. They will be opening 81 of the 350+ rooms that were once available.
Hotel Apache will occupy the casino’s second and third floors. The “boutique hotel” will have “vintage-style furnishings reminiscent of the original Hotel Apache that opened in 1932.” In a Facebook post, Binion’s also announced the expansion of the Whiskey Liquor bar. The new upstairs will have a rotating bar, mechanical bull, and food.
A press release says both will be open this summer. In case you’re not keeping track of downtown Las Vegas renovations and expansions we have the following coming in the next couple of years:
- 81 new rooms at Binion’s (summer)
- Gut renovation of some rooms at the Plaza (soon)
- 495 room hotel tower at Downtown Grand (mid-2020)
- 447 room expansion at the Fremont (TBD)
- 777 new rooms at Circa (Dec 2020)
At some point, The D and Main Street Station will have to refresh their rooms to keep up with the competition. All of the new room product in downtown Las Vegas will be good for anyone looking to stay in downtown Las Vegas. If there’s such high demand, the extra inventory could also keep prices relatively stable in the area.
Resort Fees Are Fun
Resort fees account for 20%-27% of the average daily room rate for Strip operators.
Related: Vegas Fees Gone Wild | MEGARESORT™©® NEEDS MORE MONEY!
MGM Resorts Quick Hits
Here are a few MGM Resorts notes you should know about from the week:
- MGM Grand and Mandalay Bay have a new elevator policy. I’m not sure it will do all that much to protect guests but I guess it can’t hurt. Read/see it here.
- Manzo at Eataly inside Park MGM opens this week. Read more here if you like beef.
- MGM Resorts has a new app. The press release reads like a new invention from 2015. Enjoy!
- Sbe now manages Citizens Kitchen & Bar, Kumi, Red Square at Mandalay Bay. Read more here.
- Bruno Mars announced 11 new shows as part of his residency at Park MGM. The shows will take place in April, May, and September. You can see the dates and more info about Bruno here.
Quick Hits
This isn’t a section for leftover news. Today, especially, includes lots of useful news, rumors, and data about Las Vegas. Don’t tell anyone, but I think this might be the best Quick Hits section of the year!
- The Nevada Gaming Control Board released the 2018 Nevada Gaming Abstract. This is one of my favorite gaming releases of the year. There’s a lot of interesting information about the casino and hotel business. It’s a very long document. If you don’t have time or patience you can read the press release.
- Tacos & Beer opened its new location in downtown Las Vegas. Read more here.
- Pitbull returns to Planet Hollywood this May. Read more here.
- The Golden Nugget might be for sale. They also no longer refund deposits on hotel rooms. Read more here and here.
- Caesars Entertainment is building a Bleacher Report Studio inside the Caesars Palace sports book. Read more here.
- Super Bowl handle in Nevada was down. Casino made almost 10 times more money as last year. Read more here.
- Ride the monorail and get discounts at Bally’s Grand Bazaar Shops. Read more here.
- Jimmy Kimmel Live is coming to Las Vegas in April. Sounds like a good way to promote his comedy club opening later this year at The Linq. Read more here.
- New TravelZork Article: Four Steps to MASTER Basic Strategy for Blackjack
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