The past two weeks have given me the best of both worlds in Las Vegas.
You may remember that I took most of the first week of July off to enjoy life as a tourist on the Vegas Strip. This week I got back to life as a local and enjoyed inexpensive niceties that included a $4 breakfast at Red Rock Casino, $5 high ABV craft beer(s) in Spring Valley and a $10 pasty in the Arts District of downtown Las Vegas.
Las Vegas is an amazing place to visit and it’s a great place to live! Time for the news in Las Vegas!
W Las Vegas Out at SLS, Starwood Remains
The W Las Vegas at SLS Las Vegas will cease to exist on July 20th. SLS will remain part of the Tribute Portfolio which is still part of the Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) program. According to the W Las Vegas website, “Reservations for dates on or after July 20, 2018, will continue to be eligible for Starwood Preferred Guest/Marriott Rewards membership benefits, award redemption, and accrual.”
Looks Like Grand Sahara Will Replace SLS Las Vegas
It appears as though parting with the W Las Vegas will be the beginning of the future of SLS Las Vegas. According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Grand Sahara is the name of the property on court documents. Christopher Abraham of the Meruelo Group told the newspaper “We have not determined the name of the new property. It was a working name at the time that the plans were written up several months ago.”
The name change to Grand Sahara has been rumored since the purchase of SLS Las Vegas. Grand ties into Grand Sierra, the other casino in Reno owned by the Meruelo Group. Sahara ties into the history of the property once known simply as the Sahara. The name change shouldn’t be a surprise when it happens. The items to be curious about are when, how and where they’ll renovate the property.
The Meruelo Group probably shouldn’t change the name of the property until they’ve actually converted the casino-hotel into something new. With rumors of the name change already happening we should start hearing more about updates to the property. I look forward to seeing what exactly the new owners have in store for SLS/Grand Sahara.
Jerry Lewis On Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee
Last week’s Vegas News post was full of videos so I left this one out because it’s timeless. Jerry Lewis is the guest on the last episode of the new season of Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee with Jerry Seinfeld on Netflix. They talk in Lewis’ house in Las Vegas for awhile then take a drive to an Omelet House featured in the promo below. It’s worth the 25 minutes if you have Netflix.
Golden Gate Adding Sports Book (and slot machines)
Last week Vital Vegas shared some information and pictures about renovations happening at the Golden Gate. I was going to share the information in Quick Hits but forgot. At the time of the initial blog post, the renovations seemed to be rearranging the casino to fit more slot machines. It turns out there’s a bit more to this renovation.
Golden Gate will be getting a sports book!
Not only will the casino have a new sportsbook, but they will be taking their own bets. Eventually, William Hill will no longer be the sportsbook operator at The D and Golden Gate casinos. The Stevens Group will also operate the sportsbook at 18 Fremont when that opens. Derek Stevens has been promising sports fans (like Scott from Vital Vegas) a great sportsbook experience in the new casino.
The new sports book and sports book operator will be a welcome site for gamblers looking for another betting option in downtown Las Vegas. You can read more about the sports book and sports book operation here.
Robots Are Taking Over Las Vegas!
Vdara now has a couple robots to bring goodies from the cafe. The best feature with these robots is that they’ll deliver whatever you need in about 10 minutes. Getting dressed and walking to and from the cafe would probably take about 5 minutes so they’re not saving too much time.
However, the delivery time is quicker than any call to room service that I’ve ever made. Sounds like a perfect delivery system for that first cup of coffee in the morning. Vdara has more information and the press release here.
Quick Hits
Everything about Las Vegas is interesting. However, not all news needs to be dissected. Here’s even more Vegas news to fill your day with joy!
- Wynn now has an FAQ page for anyone with questions on their new almost free for everyone parking. Read more here.
- Ex-NBA player Charles Oakley was arrested for cheating while playing blackjack at the Cosmopolitan. Read more here.
- Here’s your monthly Monorail extension story. Surprise – it’s not happening. Read about it here.
- The Caesars Entertainment shell game continues. The sale of the Octavius Tower to VICI (their REIT) went through this week. Read more here.
- By the time you read this post there will be a new World Series Of Poker champion! Congrats!
- Wayne Newton’s Casa de Shenandoah is no longer open to the public. Sad trombone. Read and see more here.
- Backstreet Boys are ending their residency at Planet Hollywood. Don’t fret, they have shows scheduled through April 2019. Read more here.
- Free Pizza Rock…Free Shots…And Bingo! Read more about new Station Casinos Bingo promotions here. https://www.vegasnews.com/176175/station-casinos-upcoming-themed-bingo-nights-throughout-the-las-vegas-valley.html
- You can see some pictures of the hotel room renovations at Palms here.
- 200,000 people visited the Neon Museum last year. That’s a record. They’re also offering new tours. Read more here.
- The Nitro Circus residency production show we told you about last week is happening at Bally’s. Read more here.
- The Las Vegas location for Del Frisco’s is the second best I’ve had from the chain of steakhouses. The New York City location is the best I’ve had. They’re renovating the restaurant on Paradise. Read more here.
- Heavy metal pizza anyone? Read more here.
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