This was a very rare week in Las Vegas with little drama and little news. Def Leppard started their residency at Planet Hollywood. Mandalay Bay got weird with thousands of “metalheads” visiting for Psycho Las Vegas mingling with families and convention-goers in town for some kind of Human Growth Hormone (HGH) multi-level marketing (MLM) program.
Mandalay Bay was a scene, man. By the time you read this, I’ll probably be back at Mandalay Bay hanging out with a friend that happens to be in the middle of the madness.
Since there isn’t much major news, we’ll touch on one big topic, a less big topic but still interesting, and then expand Quick Hits as needed.
Virgin Hotels Las Vegas Update: Hard Rock Closing Most Of 2020
Plans for the conversion of the Hard Rock to become Virgin Hotels Las Vegas have been changing (you can see old Virgin Hotels Las Vegas updates here) ever since the initial announcement late March of 2018. Well, the latest update doesn’t change the timeline but will affect anyone planning to visit the Hard Rock next year.
Virgin Hotels Las Vegas was originally scheduled to open in 2019 but that was pushed back a couple of times. The good news is that the new casino-hotel is still on schedule to open in late 2020. The bad news is that Hard Rock will be closed longer than originally planned.
According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the property will close after the Super Bowl on February 4, 2020. The Hard Rock will remain closed for most of the year. Virgin Hotels Las Vegas will open in November or December 2020.
The most recent plan was to do construction while the property was open and close Hard Rock for four months for the heavy work. The real change here is that the Hard Rock will be closed longer than expected.
There are no more new details of the renovations. The image of a king hotel room below is the only interior rendering we’ve seen of Virgin Hotels Las Vegas.
Chip collectors: You have less than six months to grab a Hard Rock Las Vegas chip for your collection.
Cosmopolitan Giving Module Raises $5,000
A few weeks ago we let you know that the Cosmopolitan launched The Giving Module program at its ATM/Bill Breaker machines. 25,000 donations were made by gamblers during the first month of the program.
The press release says that more than $5,000 was donated to charity. Guests currently have the option to donate leftover change on slot machine tickets to The Shade Tree, Opportunity Village, Three Square Food Bank, and Team Rubicon.
The $5,000 donated was from guests giving spare change from slot machine tickets to charity. The average donation was only 20 cents. That’s a nice donation when you consider all of the two and five cent donations.
Quick Hits
Quick Hits takes us all over Las Vegas this week. It will even take us all the way to Atlantic City as we have another episode of “As Caesars Turns” to share.
- Earlier this month we told you about Bleutech Park that’s being planned for somewhere in Las Vegas. Details were sparse but we now know it will occupy more than 100 acres somewhere south of the South Point. Evidently, more information will be announced on August 26th. Read more here.
- You can now enjoy Go-Kart racing in downtown Las Vegas. See more here.
- The newspaper has another high-speed train update for ya! Read more here.
- The Terry Fator show at The Mirage will no longer have a live band after the month ends. Read more here.
- Ever want to participate in a game show? A new unnamed show is casting in Las Vegas. Read more here.
- Marriott International is introducing dynamic pricing for rewards. Don’t be surprised to see Las Vegas casino loyalty clubs implement this in the future. Read more here.
- Resorts World Catskills could be filing for bankruptcy. Despite the name of the casino, Genting/Resorts World isn’t the company with the financial problem. This is just an excuse to remind you that Resorts World Las Vegas broke ground in 2015. Read more about the New York casino here.
- This isn’t exactly news but the shows are approaching so consider this an ICYMI. Caesars Millan AKA Dog Whisperer will have shows at the MGM Grand’s David Copperfield Theater from September 12-18. Read more from the Dog Whisperer here.
- The Billboard Music Awards will return to MGM Grand in 2020. Read more here.
- Tyson Fury’s next boxing match will take place at T-Mobile Arena on September 14. Read more here.
- SLS announced complimentary fitness classes at Foxtail Pool. This could be useful if you’re the kind of person that needs to burn off the previous night in Vegas. Read more here.
- Ever need a stroller in Las Vegas? Well, there’s a new company renting them. Read more here.
- Crack Shack is now open at Park MGM. This is a fried chicken restaurant. I’ve enjoyed Bruxie and Shake Shake at The Park for a fried chicken sandwich in the area and don’t think I need to try. You might feel differently if you’re a fan of chefs from Food Network. Read more about Crack Shack here.
- “As Caesars Turns” hits Atlantic City. When the Eldorado merger with Caesars was announced it seemed like there would be some consolidation in properties and employees. Well, Eldorado didn’t have to make the first move in changing the corporate structure of Caesars in Atlantic City. The company let go of the president of its Atlantic City properties. Read the details here.
- Hop Nuts Brewing opened its new taproom in Tivoli Village in Summerlin. I look forward to checking it out. Read more here.
- This one is for the drivers. Project Neon is complete! The massive highway construction project was shutting down parts of the freeways all around town. I’ve learned a lot about how the local streets since this began. Now that it’s over, I may never return to the freeways. Read more here.
- Breaking News: Fewer people are taking the bus on the Vegas Strip. Read more here.
- Colin Cowherd from Fox radio and TV will be opening restaurants in sports books around the country. Read more here. Where will these restaurants be located? There are no details yet but Fox is releasing a sports betting app called Fox Bet through the Stars Group. The Stars Group app is live in New Jersey and they have access to sports books through a partnership with Pinnacle Gaming. The latter could give some information on where these restaurants will pop up.
- MGM Resorts is getting busy at the Las Vegas Festival Grounds next to Circus Circus. Another music festival – Intersect – was announced this week. Read more here and see the promo video below.
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