Vegas News August 16, 2020
No major Vegas COVID-19 update again this week. It hasn’t gone anywhere, and casinos remain under the same protocol. Read this if you’re curious about the local bar situation. Layoffs seem like they’re about to hit some non-gaming hotels too. You can always visit the Nevada Independent for Nevada COVID data. Perhaps, our most significant news is that Mirage is ready to open.
Let’s jump into the Vegas News!
Mirage Ready To Open
Will Reopen August 27th
The big news for many this week is that The Mirage, home base for Vegas Vacation, will be reopening on Aug. 27. The Mirage is ready to open with the same safety plan as other MGM Resorts properties.
Park MGM is now the only MGM Resorts property in Las Vegas that remains closed. Bill Hornbuckle mentioned The Mirage and Park MGM should both open by the end of the year during the company’s second-quarter earnings call. We’ll take a guess on when Park MGM will reopen shortly. But first…
Park MGM Still Not Open
During the call, Hornbuckle also mentioned that the company was reopening properties for two reasons. The first reason to open a property is that it could be profitable the minute it reopens. The second reason is to keep its brand recognition alive. These are both very important for Park MGM
Park MGM has little brand awareness since it’s the newest MGM Resorts brand in Las Vegas. The casino next to New York-New York and T-Mobile Arena does its best business when there are events at the Park Theater or T-Mobile. Both venues are closed so that won’t draw people to the property. I’m not sure Eataly is in a rush to reopen with limited seating.
No Date – Gatherings Larger Than 50
There still isn’t a date set in stone when gatherings larger than 50 people will be legally allowed. Poor Mrs. Nevada. Wynn Resorts mentioned this when the company decided to permanently close La Reve.
T-Mobile Arena Selling Tickets For Events In November
Wynn may have been premature closing La Reve for that reason. Then again, maybe MGM Resorts is premature booking a college basketball tournament in November. The MGM Resorts Main Event is scheduled for November 20-22 next to Park MGM at T-Mobile Arena.
Who Is Participating – MGM Resorts Main Event
Louisville, Arkansas, University of San Francisco, Colorado State are scheduled to participate in the event and tickets are available at the T-Mobile Arena website. The booking page says, “Social distancing may be in place during your visit. Applicable health and safety guidelines will be sent to all ticket holders prior to the event.”
The Professional Bull Riders (PBR) World Final
Another interesting thing to note is that this isn’t the first event scheduled for T-Mobile Arena in November. The Professional Bull Riders (PBR) World Final is set to take place at T-Mobile Arena from Nov. 4-8. This event doesn’t have the social distancing disclaimer, but available tickets are fairly spread out through the venue and can only be purchased in pairs at a minimum.
Potential Park MGM Reopening Date
Last year, my birthday coincided with the PBR. There was no parking available at Park MGM so I was instructed to park at Aria so I could have a tasty steak dinner at Bavette’s back at Park MGM.
The walk from Aria to Park MGM was quick since the garage is pretty close to Park MGM. It actually took longer to loop around and get a space. The casino at Park MGM was as busy as I’ve ever seen that night. Using personal experience, I’m going to guess that Park MGM will reopen before Halloween weekend.
Halloween Weekend
Halloween weekend precedes the PBR event by a few days and, in previous years, has been a sneaky fun time to be in Las Vegas. Opening Park MGM on Monday before Halloween will give employees time to get used to new protocols. Of course, who knows what’s going to happen in two days, let alone two months. Take this with a grain of salt…it’s just a guess.
Quick Hits
Quick Hits will be a little longer than usual this week. There’s plenty more Vegas News to share, in addition to “Mirage Ready to Open.” I also have a few more thoughts on some of the articles than usual.
- IAC now owns 12% of MGM Resorts. The olds (like me) might remember this company as the people that brought Ask Jeeves to mainstream America. This deal should advance MGM Resorts’ online gaming presence and online marketing initiatives. Read more here.
- The coin shortage in America must be real. The D Las Vegas is giving away “I Helped Save Sigma Derby” hats and shirts in exchange for pounds of quarters. Read more here.
- A big topic of discussion on TZ Live this week was about casinos focusing on high margin players. It looks like Buck over at Gaming Today has a similar takeaway from recent casino earnings calls. Read more here.
- Construction is underway on The Sphere at The Venetian once again. Read more here.
- Circa Sports is doing a free room promotion if you sign up for their football contests. Read more here.
- So many people love the drama behind the closure of KAOS at Palms. Kaskade was making $214,000 per show. When the club closed he had 37 shows remaining on his deal. He would have made $7.95 million more from those shows. Read more here. In case you missed it last week there’s no timeline on if or when Station Casinos will reopen Palms Casino Resort.
- AWWWW YEAH! Target opens on the Vegas Strip today! You can see some pics here.
- The Las Vegas Convention Center expansion is still on target to open in December. Read more here.
- Another Boring update: Resorts World received approval for a boring stop on the boring people mover from the previously mentioned convention center. Read more here.
- Earlier this week it looked as though the opening of Virgin Hotels Las Vegas would be pushed back. However, that doesn’t seem to be the case as Hilton has removed the 2021 opening date from its website. This doesn’t mean there won’t be a delay but it’s where we are today. See some tweets here.
- William Hill is started to take over Caesars Las Vegas sportsbooks this week. Expect an official announcement in a few days. It appears as though the company will receive approval to buy CG Technology. Final approval is expected to come later this month. I’m told William Hill will begin operating the sportsbooks at the Cosmopolitan, The Venetian, etc. on Sept. 1. Read more here.
- Chew & Chug looks either amazing or awful. I’m thinking the latter but look forward to someone actually trying it and sending feedback. Read more here.
- Nevada sportsbooks could lose $50 million if the college football season is canceled. Read more here.
- Looking for something different to do in Las Vegas? Check this out.
- The poker room at Harrah’s is closed for good. Read more here.
