One of the many benefits of living in Las Vegas is the ability to explore the different casinos whenever the mood strikes. Visiting and exploring casinos isn’t the same thing.
Visiting a casino to eat, drink, gamble or work happens a few times a week for me. Exploring a casino takes more time since there’s just a lot of looking around to see what’s happening.
Rampart Casino And J.W. Marriott
This week I explored Rampart Casino and J.W. Marriott for the second time since moving to Las Vegas. I’ve visited a few times but those trips are usually in and out. The casino is in Summerlin and caters to the oldest crowd of the three casinos in the area (Suncoast and Red Rock are the others). Rampart Casino has made a few upgrades in the past year and I was curious to see how they are.
The most interesting thing I found was the gardens (pic above) between the J.W. Marriott and Rampart Casino. During the five to 10 minute stroll I saw streams, a koi pond, waterfalls, grass, trees, seating areas, an herb garden, and a gazebo. It’s gorgeous and something I never expected to see at a casino.
While exploring the property I learned that there are two hotel towers to the J.W. Marriott. Both connect to Rampart casino but they’re very separate. The main hotel tower is home to the Hawthorn Grill and their awesome Happy Hour. The Palm Tower is the new tower I found and is home to a bevy of new suites. I was given a tour of the “Aviator” suite which is beautiful. The golf course view with Red Rock Canyon behind it is fantastic.
The purpose of this exploratory trip was to see if the recent changes make the property somewhere I should visit more often. The answer is yes. While the casino feels old and smokey, everything else feels clean and comfortable. The sportsbook is a gem and will make a great place to work during the week since it’s smoke-free, has its own wifi and isn’t very busy in the morning.
Exploring Vegas is fun!
Resorts World Broke Ground On May 5, 2015
For the umpteenth time, the local media is reporting that construction is underway at Resorts World. There are supposedly 800 people working and 22 floors have been poured in one tower. Another 25 have been poured in another tower. While I never see work happening when driving by, it looks like there might be some progress.
Hopefully, construction on Resorts World is really underway. The initial plans were exciting but the start/stop of construction since the groundbreaking has taken away the excitement. Resorts World says construction will be complete by the end of 2020. Maybe it’s time to start paying attention again. You can read and see more here.
Lyftin’ Around Vegas
This week Lyft released the most popular destinations for their passengers in Las Vegas from May to July. It’s no surprise that more people take Lyft to McCarran Airport than any other location in Las Vegas. However, some of the locations on and off the Vegas Strip might not be so expected.
Overall top destinations in Las Vegas after McCarran Airport from May-July were:
- The Venetian
- Caesars Palace Las Vegas
- MGM Grand
- The Cosmopolitan
- Luxor
- Bellagio
- Planet Hollywood
- Mandalay Bay
- Topgolf
The top non-Strip destinations were:
- Westgate Resort & Casino
- Palms Casino Resort
- The Orleans Hotel & Casino
- Golden Nugget
- Las Vegas Premium North Outlets
- Reef Dispensaries
- Red Rock Casino Resort & Spa
- Fremont Street Experience
Does any of this surprise you?
New Boss At Nevada Taxi Authority
Scott Whittemore has a long road ahead to improve the taxi authority. The things we deal with are only part of his problems. According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the taxi authority spends $300 to collect a $100 fine. How is that even possible?
It also seems as if there was no penalty or it was very minimal for drivers that were fined. Whittemore says that drivers who don’t pay fines will be suspended. So, drivers were fined but nothing happened if they didn’t pay? How is that even possible?
It’s going to take a lot of work to get the taxi authority in order. If that happens maybe taxis will once again be competition for Lyft and Uber for many of us. Competition between all of the companies should be good for the customer. Time will tell if there’s a future for the taxis in Las Vegas.
Main Street Station Beer At 5 Boyd Casinos
Main Street Station has had a brewery on site for many years. Until recently, this was the only Boyd Casino where you could get beer from the 777 Restaurant and Brewery. Well, that’s changed and you can find 777 at bars in four other casinos. In addition to Main Street Station, you can find 777 beers at the following locations:
- The Orleans – Bailiwick
- Suncoast – 90 Ninety
- California, Fremont – All casino bars
More beer is always a good thing.
Reno Slots Are The Best
Casino Center just revealed their 25th annual loosest slot awards. Once again Reno slot machines pay more back a higher percentage to players than anywhere else in the country. The Off-Strip casinos in Las Vegas came in second to Reno for loosest slots in America with a 94.48% payout. Off-Strip casinos include Palms, Hard Rock, M Resort, Red Rock, etc. Downtown and Boulder Strip are separate parts of Las Vegas.
You can read the full report here.
Quick Hits
It’s time for your favorite part of the news. Here are some quick notes with links if you’d like more information.
- Airport passenger traffic was up 2.8% in June over the same period last year. Read more here.
- Capital Cities is playing a concert for the Rock n Roll Marathon. Read more here.
- MGM Resorts made a big deal that should improve sports betting for their customers around the country. Read more here.
- Primal Water: An Exhibition of Japanese Contemporary Art is now open at Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art. Read more here.
- The newspaper says there could be a new casino across from Mandalay Bay even though there are no plans. Read more here.
- There are more renderings and information about what Kind Heaven might be when it opens at The Linq. Read more here.
- Can it really be the world’s largest baccarat tournament without baccarat_guy? Read more here.
- I Love The ’90s – The Vegas Show opens at Paris Las Vegas in October. Tickets start at $70 to see Salt N Pepa and Rob Base. Kid N Play has signed on to do shows also. Read more here.
- Le Thai on Fremont Street is closed for construction and will open in 6-8 weeks. I’m looking forward to more seats when they reopen. Read more here.
Want direct access to casino news, casino reviews, narratives, loyalty programs and video poker?
Visit our casino/Vegas section directly at CasinoZork.
Please join the thousands of people who read TravelZork every month! Sign up here for one email per week updates.
(Email is sent weekly on Monday afternoon Eastern Time, and includes our popular weekly Vegas news series)
