Vegas News August 31, 2022

MGM Rewards At Cosmo (It Begins!)

I made two visits to the Cosmopolitan in the past week. The first visit was to grab a cup of coffee with someone stopping by for a quick visit. Who am I to say no to 8 am coffee?!

That was a fun day on a personal level. After coffee, we played a few slot machines and I had a nice non-taxable, yet sizable win on my favorite slot at the property.

MGM Rewards at Cosmo? I also popped into the sportsbook a few days prior to a scheduled visit to see if rumors that BetMGM was taking bets prior to the public changeover were true. The rumor was true.

BetMGM Sportsbook is now at Cosmopolitan

The Cosmopolitan sportsbook was already a BetMGM sportsbook on Saturday morning. On Monday, MGM officially debuted the new sportsbook to the public. Carrot Top was on hand to place a wager as part of the media celebration.

Carrot Top bet the Raiders to win the Super Bowl @BetMGM sportsbook @Cosmopolitan_LV pic.twitter.com/SGuKvVV7zs

— Marc (@MeltzVegas) August 22, 2022

Sportsbooks celebrate openings with former athletes around the country. Carrot Top seems to be on point for Las Vegas. He bet $50 on the Las Vegas Raiders to win the Super Bowl at 40-1 odds.

The first MGM Resorts branding inside of the Cosmopolitan is this sportsbook. I’ll share a couple of nuggets today but you can read the full article with more details here.

Earn MGM Rewards At BetMGM Sportsbook 

As we’ve mentioned before the Cosmopolitan will keep its Identity Rewards program for the time being. MGM Rewards will not be a part of the property until some time next year (likely summer) — except for one location.

Bettors can earn MGM Rewards points by placing wagers inside the BetMGM sportsbook at the Cosmopolitan. The rest of the casino will still use the Identity Rewards card until the changeover next year.

The Cosmopolitan Sportsbook

The physical space of the sportsbook will remain the same. The video poker bar will still use the same drink ticketing system.

Any changes to the Cosmopolitan sportsbook will happen after football season. At this time, all MGM branding at the Cosmopolitan will remain inside the sportsbook area. 

Your Cosmopolitan experience should remain the same or similar inside and outside the sportsbook as many employees are still at the property.

Let’s get to the rest of the news in and around Las Vegas.

• Billboard has a long read about putting together the production of Las Vegas residencies. The lead is about Usher but it touches on a slew of current and former shows. Read it here. 
• The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority has an overview of things to do during Labor Day Weekend. Read it here.
• Bally’s is almost no more. The name is kind of off the building. The Horseshoe Las Vegas logo should appear soon. See the pic here.
• Nobody should be surprised by the news that more slot machine tickets are going uncashed in Las Vegas. Last year there were $22 million in tickets that were not cashed. For the curious, the state collects 75% of the money from uncashed slot tickets. The casinos keep the rest. Read more here.
• The PBR Rock Bar at the Miracle Mile Shops/Planet Hollywood is closing. Read more here.
• It would not be a surprise if Cabo Wabo closes too. The two restaurants have seemingly been tied together since opening. Read more here.
• Stripsteak at Mandalay Bay is one of my favorite steakhouses on the Vegas Strip. It’s closing for a remodel. Read more here.
• The Vegas Strip resort corridor isn’t expanding just because new casinos are being added to Las Vegas Blvd south of Mandalay Bay. Regardless “experts” say it is. Read more here.
• FanDuel was approved for a retail Nevada gaming license. The first FanDuel sportsbook will open at the Fremont early next year. There will not be a FanDuel app in Nevada. Read more here.
• Forget Halloween and Thanksgiving. It’s time for Christmas! Learn about Immersive Nutcracker here.
• 777 couples have been wed at the Taco Bell Cantina on the Vegas Strip. That number seems too on the nose to be accurate, but it’s fun so let’s go with it. Read more about that and some metaverse taco bell weddings here. 
• Tickets to see the Las Vegas Raiders are in high demand once again. The team ranks fourth in demand of all NFL teams according to StubHub. The New Year’s Day game against the San Fransisco 49ers is the eighth most in-demand game. Read more here.
• IAC now owns 16.5% of the stock available for MGM Resorts. Read more here.
• I get questions about water every day. I’m more of a casino and booze person but I share what I see so here ya go. The Orleans does a lot to conserve water. Watch and read more here.