Earlier this week I was able to tour the construction site for the property that will eventually become Circa Resort & Casino. I’m normally not a fan of hard hat tours unless the project is about to open. For reference, the last hard hat tour I did was for The Linq promenade before it opened in 2014. I typically prefer to know the property is going actually open instead of visiting every media event I can visit. For sure, this is part of everything happening in Las Vegas this week.

The Circa construction scene was impressive for a few reasons. I’ll highlight two that stand out to me. So far, the project is on budget and on schedule. That’s much more than we can say for just about every casino project in Las Vegas since the Cosmopolitan. 

Staying on budget should mean that the construction team can operate effectively and efficiently to get Circa finished so it can open on time. Derek Stevens is still planning to open his newest casino (he owns The D and Golden Gate as well) sometime in December next year. I wouldn’t be surprised if it opens on the early side of December if you’re looking to block off time. 

My major takeaway from the construction site is that the project is coming together as the renderings show. Again, few casinos can say the same thing. You can see what the new Resorts World Las Vegas renderings look like here and compare to the original rendering here. It’s quite a difference.

Back to Circa, the sports book and pool deck look like they’ll be very similar to the original awesome renderings. You can see construction and rendering comparisons here.

New construction in Las Vegas is only a big deal if it actually finishes and the project opens. It appears as though Circa is happening and the partial results look like we’ll have a winner. Next up for Circa: In January, I’ll find out who will be serving me coffee when I spend my random afternoons working at the new casino. Let’s get into the actual news happening in and around Las Vegas.

Quick Hits – Everything Happening In Las Vegas

Vegas News this week will be mostly Quick Hits. As usual, there’s a lot of news from the week to share. Unlike most weeks, there isn’t a need for too much additional information or opinion.

I’ll keep things brief and mostly to the point and just let you get the info from the source instead of putting much of a spin on things.  Now onto everything happening in Las Vegas.

Quick Hits

• Mayfair Supper Club at Bellagio is going to have some serious entertainment to enjoy while eating and drinking. The fun will start at Happy Hour which they’re calling “Cavi-Hour.” Much like Hyde, this should be a nice place to grab a drink and watch the Bellagio Fountains before eating dinner here or elsewhere. Read the press release about the three nightly acts and the two weekend features on entertainment here.
• Resorts World Las Vegas is planning to generate 75% of its revenue from non-gaming parts of the casino. Most casinos on the Vegas Strip operate with a similar goal so I’m not sure this is as big of a deal as they think it is. Read more here.
• The NFL will be holding its 2020 Draft in Las Vegas from April 23-25. As rumored for a while now, the main stage will be next to Caesars Forum. The free NFL Draft Experience will be in the same area. Read more about NFL Draft events here.
• Let’s stay in the same area. The Flamingo is getting a new steakhouse and a new food court. I think we knew this already but Eater has some details about the new dining options. Unfortunately, this doesn’t include information about a new Diamond Lounge (Laurel Lounge sounds dumb and isn’t descriptive of who can enter). Read more here.
• Consider this a “Hold The Date” message since only a few events have been revealed. The World Series of Poker will return to Rio All-Suite Hotel next year from May 26 – July 15. You can see the entire press release with more info here. 
• @vitalvegas shared a pic of the backside of a pile of poo in downtown Las Vegas. Now we have more information about the poo. Read more here.
• Treasure Island will become a Radisson property next year. Read about it here. These non-casino reward programs are a great way to get complimentary or discounted rooms in Las Vegas. Earlier this week LVA Travel posted the best national/international hotel rewards programs for Las Vegas. Read that here.
• Get your bi-weekly TRAIN update here!
• MGM Resorts properties in Las Vegas are now dog-friendly…but it will cost ya! The price to bring your pup is $50-$175 per day, per dog depending on the property. There’s a bunch more information here.
• The Showcase Mall next to MGM Grand is looking for new retail outlets. For some reason, people seem to enjoy shopping at chain stores when visiting Las Vegas. Read more here.
• 4 Queens is proud that they don’t have resort fees. However, they might have the worst blackjack game in Las Vegas. Read more here.
• The Las Vegas Bowl between Washington and Boise State is on Saturday. This will be the last year its held at Boyd Stadium. Next year it will move to Allegiant Stadium with a new conference affiliation. Read more here.
• Delmonico at The Venetian will re-open on Christmas Eve. This used to be one of my favorite steakhouses in Las Vegas but it wasn’t great on my last visit. Hopefully, this change is more than just decor. Read more here.
• Fergusons Motel in downtown Las Vegas has re-opened as a retail and dining space. Coffee drinkers might want to check out Mothership Coffee Roasters. Read and see more here.
• Shortly after posting the rumor of the week about a Beyonce residency in Las Vegas, her team shot down the idea. Read more here.
• Las Vegas Motor Speedway announced its 2020 schedule. Read about it here.
• Last week I mentioned how much fun my friends had at the Aerosmith show at Park MGM. This week the band announced they’ll be touring Europe in June and July so you might want to catch them before they leave Las Vegas. Read more about the European tour here.
• Caesars used to send way too much snail mail. Now it sends more useless email than any other casino operator. Read about it here.
• I haven’t looked forward to a new restaurant opening in a while but I think I’ll be at Major Domo at The Venetian shortly after it opens on December 30. Read more here.
• Last and least, Bleacher Report is doing an online game show at the Caesars Palace Las Vegas sports book. Read the press release here.

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