This Vegas News post is always a week in the making. We gather information every day until the news is submitted for posting. In fact, as I was about to edit this I received a new bit of information that I’ll share below. By the time you’re reading this, there will probably more news for next week popping up. We have a packed week so let’s get to it!
Resorts World And The Drew Openings Pushed Back
The news this week started out slowly but escalated each day. On Tuesday I tagged a blog post that said Resorts World was pushed back from 2019 to 2020. That information was already out of date by the time the post was published.
According to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority’s Construction Bulletin, Resorts World Las Vegas now has a completion time frame of “calendar year 2021.”
The Construction Bulletin has a rundown of major projects being built in Las Vegas until 2022. Even though nobody has seen actual construction begin, the report still has The Drew on the books. Unfortunately, the completion date for this casino has been pushed back to 2022.
Here are some other construction projects being planned for Las Vegas for the next few years:
- Venetian Pool renovations will be complete by May 2019.
- Kind Heaven is still on schedule to be open by August 2019.
- Caesars Forum (conference center) is on schedule to open in Spring 2020.
- Las Vegas Raiders practice facility and headquarters are on schedule to open in Spring 2020 in Henderson.
- Las Vegas Stadium construction is on schedule to finish by July 2020.
- Fremont Casino expansion should be finished sometime in 2021.
You can read the full list of Las Vegas construction projects being planned here.
New 18 Fremont Renderings Now. Official Name Coming Soon
Derek and Greg Stevens will be announcing the real name of 18 Fremont on January 10th. I read that the tagline “A New Mark On Downtown” might be some kind of hint. My mom would appreciate that they spell MarC correctly if the casino is named after me.
During the week TheRyanHess shared some renderings from an EB5 website for Indian nationals. The website has some useful information if you’re curious about the EB5 visa program. The new renderings reveal a few things so let’s take a look.
The Most Interesting Rendering
The most interesting rendering shows off the pool deck along with the height and location of the hotel tower. The hotel will be located away from the Fremont Street Experience and should be quieter than hotels that are right next to the stages and mall of casinos.
The pool deck will be situated above the Fremont Street Experience and appears to have six small pools and cabanas.
There will be a new gateway arch to downtown Las Vegas. I believe this is at the corner of Ogden and Main. Drop a comment below if I’m envisioning this wrong. It looks pretty sharp.
There will be an entrance to 18 Fremont next to the 1st Street stage at the Fremont Street Experience. If the construction follows the renderings it appears as though there will be a bar along Fremont Street like Stevens’ other properties.
The iconic Las Vegas Club baseball player across the street from the Plaza will be replaced with a curved LCD monitor. It makes sense to have this but it’s underwhelming.
I look forward to learning more about the property in early January.
Las Vegas Convention Center
While we’re looking at renderings here’s a sweet video rendering of the expansion of the Las Vegas Convention Center. It’s not a new video but it’s new to me.
Marquee Rewards Will Be MyChoice Next Year
Almost a year ago Penn National Gaming announced it was purchasing Pinnacle Entertainment. This December they’ve announced that they will be combining players clubs in the new year.
Penn National Gaming customers (M Resort and Tropicana in Las Vegas) will migrate from Marquee Rewards to Pinnacle’s MyChoice players club. The combined players club will be one of the largest in the country with more than 35 locations (some locations are racetracks or racinos). Merging the players clubs will give Pinnacle customers a new players club link to Las Vegas.
According to the MyChoice website, both programs will have the same tier point earning and benefits beginning in January 2019. Marquee Rewards card levels will be matched and given the corresponding MyChoice card in the middle of 2019.
There’s not much more information on the website but you can see it here.
Best Hotel Rewards Programs
According to WalletHub these are the five best hotel rewards programs . I’ve added their Las Vegas casino partners because that’s what really matters.
- Wyndham Rewards (Caesars Entertainment)
- Best Western Rewards (Casino Royale)
- Radisson Rewards
- Marriott Rewards (Cosmopolitan)
- Choice Privileges (Downtown Grand)
You may remember that Wyndham Rewards and Caesars Entertainment started a partnership last year. You can see the current details of the partnership here.
The WalletHub blog post is full of information. The post is long with lots of comparisons, charts, and graphs. The research could be useful if you travel often for work and want to use rewards in Las Vegas.
Welcome The Las Vegas Aviators
Just before editing the news this week I saw the new name for the Las Vegas 51’s. You can see the introduction video in this tweet.
Quick Hits
Here’s a boatload of more news in and around Las Vegas.
- Bond is closed at the Cosmopolitan. Barbershop Cuts & Cocktails is replacing it. Eater Vegas has some info here.
- Treasure Island owner, Phil Ruffin, purchased Casino Miami in Florida. The casino has gaming machines, Jai Ali, and simulcast betting. No word if the players clubs will be connected between casinos. Read more here.
- This interview with Caesars Entertainment’s CIO, Les Ottolenghi, doesn’t share any news but is an interesting read if you’re into IT. Read the interview here.
- I only had a chance to skim this huge document about sports and entertainment in Southern Nevada (Las Vegas). Read all 60 pages here.
- Reba, Brooks & Dunn added a bunch of shows to their residency at Caesars Palace. Read more here.
- This morning I received a promotional email from Mlife that states: “The new Points + Cash redemption method makes it easy to use your World of Hyatt points by combining them with cash to redeem reward nights at participating Mlife Rewards Destinations.” Read more here.
- Horsies now have a home in downtown Las Vegas. Core Arena is now open at the Plaza. Read more here.
- Curious where people took Lyft to in Las Vegas? Check out the Lyfties here.
- There’s going to be a hotel next to Las Vegas Ballpark at Downtown Summerlin. Read more here.
- Arizona State plays Fresno State in the Las Vegas Bowl on December 15. Read more here.
- The Las Vegas Lights are having fun. Read more here.
- Gwen Stefani added 21 shows to her residency at Planet Hollywood. Read more here.
- There’s a new restaurant opening at the Stratosphere. Read more here.
- This Caesars Guide To Gaming with Orson Welles is spectacular. Enjoy all 29 minutes!
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