We’re back and better than ever after dealing with some kind of bug last week. Thankfully the illness left my system so I could enjoy a few days with friends visiting for an annual vacation. I’ll drop some things I noticed while out on the Vegas Strip where appropriate.
#NewVegas Promotions
When MGM Resorts and Caesars Entertainment reported earnings a few weeks ago we told you to expect new promotions aimed at leisure visitors. Well, that didn’t take long. The holiday season is bringing those deals to potential visitors.
Twitter has been abuzz all week with Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales that are discounting room rates and resort fees and parking fees. Vital Vegas was kind enough to gather some of the promotions for us.
These are just some of the offers from Las Vegas that are available for the holidays. Casinos on and off the Vegas Strip are waiving resort fees and parking charges while discounting rooms. It will be interesting to see how these deals affect the bottom line when the casino corporations report fourth-quarter earnings.
I would like to be surprised and see a slew of people take the casinos up on these offers. People have been complaining about the fees on Facebook and Twitter all year. Surely, they’ll show the casino operators that they love these discounts and will only visit when there are no fees.
I haven’t noticed many more people than normal taking up the casinos on these offers. We should hear results when casino corporations report earnings early next year.
Strange Las Vegas Ad Campaign
I think Chris from the Faces and Aces podcast brought this ad to my attention during the week. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority has an online ad campaign called “The Rant Club.” In addition to “I invited you” there’s a spot called “traffic.”
The LVCVA “want(s) you to cure your own inner rant by visiting its Las Vegas.” Maybe it’s me but this makes me not want to visit Las Vegas if this is what their marketing people think is funny. Then again maybe I’m just pining for the days of the Right Amount Of Wrong.
Planet 13 Is Now Open
A few weeks ago we gave you the heads up that the world’s largest marijuana dispensary was open. Planet 13 is being called a “Pot Superstore” by the LA Times. The tourists visiting wanted to check out a legal marijuana dispensary so we decided to check out the latest and greatest.
Planet 13 is definitely more than just a retail store to buy marijuana. The 40,000 square foot facility is massive and there are plans for multiple additions if approved by the government. The design is modern and similar to a more spacious Apple Store. The huge footprint allows for a lot of product to be displayed (even if there are duplicate showcases).
When you walk in there’s a touch-sensitive LCD display on the floor just after check-in. After this, you’ll pass a merchandise area before showing security the ticket that you’ve checked in and enter the large marijuana display and sales area.
The staff we interacted with are very knowledgeable and helpful for people that weren’t familiar with the product. Overall, the design and products (lots of edibles) make Planet 13 feel like more of a tourist destination than just a store that sells marijuana for Las Vegas residents. Regardless of their intended customer, locals get a 20% discount at Planet 13.
It’s a pretty cool place if you’re not familiar with the products and curious about legal marijuana.
Excess Granted At Cosmopolitan
High rollers get the best casino comps from their gambling money. However, not all big spenders are gamblers. These people sometimes don’t mind paying for a great experience. Well, the Cosmopolitan has a promotion just for these kinds of visitors to Las Vegas.
Their new $500,000 (that’s half a million dollars) Excess Granted package offers an experience most of us will never see. Hey, it can be split six ways so it’s not even $100k per person!
The package includes a private jet, a 70th-floor penthouse that can’t be booked, dining é, Momofuku, and others, a $50,000 shopping spree, VIP status at Marquee, an evening helicopter tour over the Vegas Strip and more. I’m not sure if this is a bargain but it sure sounds like a great time.
You can find more information about Excess Granted at the Cosmopolitan website.
Vegas Rumor Of The Week: Cosmopolitan not having sales discussion “At this time”
In May, Vital Vegas shared a rumor that all signs point to The Cosmopolitan being sold to Hard Rock International. This isn’t the first rumor about the property being sold and it might not be the last.
The Blackstone Group has said that they plan on selling the Cosmopolitan eventually. There aren’t many companies that will be able to fork over whatever the price tag ends up being and Hard Rock seems like a logical choice as they continue to expand.
This week the Cosmopolitan told Casino News Daily that “The rumors regarding the sale of The Cosmopolitan are false. At this time, there have been no discussions regarding the sale of the resort.”
The literal quote says that they are not having sales discussions during Thanksgiving week. Surprised? Me neither. There was not a flat-out denial of the original rumor which leads me to believe that they have previously had discussions regarding the sale of the resort.
Rumors aren’t news until they’re actually happening. I’m still on the side that says a sale will happen eventually. Time will tell who the buyer will be. In the meantime, I hope they keep making great improvements to this beautiful casino so that a new owner doesn’t have to change a thing.
Holiday Season In Las Vegas
Las Vegas loves the holidays! Casinos started putting up Christmas decorations before Thanksgiving. It rarely gets very cold in Las Vegas but there are plenty of wintery holiday activities. Here are a few wintery things to do in Las Vegas.
The Park and T-Mobile Arena will light their Christmas Tree on November 29th. Read more here.
You can go ice skating at Green Valley Ranch and Red Rock Casino. Read more here.
You can also go ice skating at the Cosmopolitan Boulevard Pool. Read more here.
Sam’s Town is all fancy for Christmas. Read more here.
Ethel M Chocolate Factory has a free fun cactus holiday lights display. Read more here.
Quick Hits
While it was a relatively quiet week of news from the casino operators there’s always a good amount of Vegas News. Here are some more news bites you may have missed in Las Vegas.
- Absinthe is adding dining and (more) drinking to the best show in Las Vegas. Read more here.
- Phil Mickelson beat Tiger Woods and won $9 million. Only in Vegas, baby! Read more here.
- Not sure why LAS has to change names but the newly elected dude thinks this is important. Read more here.
- Palms hired nightlife people from Wynn and MGM Resorts. Read more here.
- The monorail may get a new station at the MSG Sphere. Construction hasn’t started on the venue yet. Read more here.
- I stayed at Bally’s for a few nights this week. This hotel-casino used to be the MGM Grand. There was a major fire there 38 years ago. Read and see more here.
- Waze helped cut down traffic accidents in Las Vegas. Read more here.
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