Let’s call the Vegas News this week the calm before the storm. It was a relatively quiet week in Las Vegas aside from the Palms Casino Resort drama (details on that shortly). The Global Gaming Expo (G2E) is in just over a week. Casino operators and gaming manufacturers will have lots of news for us around the gaming conference.
Casino operators will report third-quarter earnings reports in the weeks following G2E. There should only a couple of major developments. MGM Resorts should finally confirm some of the rumored real estate deals we’ve heard about for months. Caesars Entertainment and/or Eldorado Resorts might have some new information about the merger.
There could be info from other casino operators but the two mentioned above might have the most impactful news. Time will tell but there isn’t much happening right now.
I’ll keep analysis and commentary to a minimum since this is a relatively slow news week in Las Vegas. I also locked my key in my car this morning and I might be a little cranky for being a dummy.
Let’s dive into the news with another tease of a new slot machine that will debut at G2E next week.
Walking Dead III Slot Machine
Zombies are undead and so are some slot machine themes. Aristocrat will debut another new Walking Dead slot machine at G2E. Based on the video below, the game looks similar to other existing slot machine games. I expect to hear about more new games this week.
Palms Drama
Drama is not my thing but there’s something happening at Palms Casino Resort that I’m keeping an eye on. John Gray, the Vice President and General Manager of Palms just resigned. Additionally, four different entertainment executives have left the company in the past year. You may remember that we shared a Quick Hit last week in Vegas News that big-name DJ’s – Marshmello and Skrillex – no longer have deals with KAOS at Palms.
According to various outlets, Gray is leaving Palms since the $690 million renovations are finished. Evidently, he’s still in touch with the owners of Palms (and Station Casinos) about possibly working together in the future. Sounds like PR spin to me but that’s based on nothing but my experience and instinct.
Something Doesn’t Jibe
I don’t know what’s happening with Station Casinos but something doesn’t jibe with everything happening at Palms. I think Red Rock Resorts’ (AKA Station Casinos) earnings report will have some interesting information. Even if the company doesn’t share anything about the drama there might be some information revealed that ties everything together.
Follow Vital Vegas on twitter for updates on the drama. He loves drama almost as much as Captain Morgan. I’ll report back when there’s official news that ties things together.
Related: Tim Ho Wan is now open at Palms. This is the final venue that was scheduled to open after the makeover at Palms. Read more here.
LVB Out, Diablo’s In At The Mirage
LVB was a perfectly adequate burger joint at The Mirage. The reasonably priced burgers were never amazing but they always hit the spot. Well, it looks like MGM Resorts found someone to pay rent so they don’t have to operate the restaurant.
Diablo’s Cantina will take over the burger shop space in December. You may remember Diablo’s Cantina from the multi-level bar and restaurant at Monte Carlo. More recently, they’ve opened at Luxor. This will be a new location for the same mediocre tacos.
You can read more about the new Diablo’s Cantina at The Mirage here.
Extended Quick Hits – Vegas News
I’ll share a few more thoughts than usual with the Quick Hits this week. There’s always something that’s interesting to someone. Your mileage may vary on the rest of the Vegas News this week.
- Whiskey Licker Up opened at Binion’s this week. Vital Vegas says they nailed something. He has pretty pictures and a video in case you’re curious about the new venue. Read and see more here.
- MGM Resorts reached an agreement for a lawsuit stemming from the shooting on October 1, 2017. You can read the press release here.
- The Area 15 retail complex will have Axe throwing when it opens next year. Read more here if you’re curious about a local retail complex.
- The Raiders purchased more land for parking. You love parking almost as much as fees. Read more here.
- Magic Mike is moving from the Hard Rock to Sahara. Remember, Sahara charges a fee if you want a waitress to bring you a drink. Not sure if that will be the case when dudes are swinging their junk around. We’ll learn about that soon. Read about the move here.
- Shepard Fairey is all over Vegas. The artist has a mural on one of the towers at the Plaza. He recently made an appearance at Off The Record inside Park MGM. He dropped some beats and painted a Queen mural for the event. I remember when it was a privilege to have him design a t-shirt for a band I worked with during a previous life. Anyway, read about his latest Vegas exploits here.
- T-Mobile Arena was the 9th highest-grossing arena in the world according to Billboard. I expect to hear more about this from MGM Resorts on its next earnings call. Read more here.
- Boxing is still a thing in Vegas. These fights still bring in high rollers. Deontay Wilder and Luis “King Kong” Ortiz will have a rematch on Nov. 23 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Read more here.
- “Hamilton” returns to Las Vegas in January 2020. Read more here.
- The newspaper says skill-based slots are still a thing. I thought this was from 2016, but I was wrong. It’s new. Read more here.
- Raiding The Rock Vault is moving to Rio All-Suite Hotel. It’s amazing that such a popular show keeps moving. Read more here.
- Hogs & Heifers has been evicted. Read more about the drama here.
- Rod Stewart is back! He’ll have more shows at Caesars Palace Las Vegas next year. Read the press release for dates and ticket information here.
- The first cannabis lounge is open in Las Vegas. Read more for detail about the downtown smoking room here.
- I feel like this was shared a while ago, but I’ll share it again just in case. Virgin Hotels Las Vegas will demolish the Hard Rock Cafe outside of the hotel. Read more here.
- When cassingles were a thing, I owned three of them. Chris Issak’s “Wicked Game” was one of those cassingles. He’s doing a couple of holiday shows at Wynn in December. 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. 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)
