Vegas News January 30, 2022

Vegas 2022 – Off To A Strange Start

This year has gotten off to a strange start. There’s been a lot of starting and stopping with the spread of Covid-19. This year the virus is slowing the supply chain, getting people sick, and just causing general chaos as companies figure out how to deal with everything.

Las Vegas is trying to get back to normal but it’s not quite there yet. Yes, this is annoying but the things we love about Las Vegas are still there – mostly. 

Vegas – Manage Expectations

The majority of Las Vegas is operating fine. Just manage expectations and stay patient while restaurants continue to shuffle hours, shows hit pause and workers everywhere deal with understaffing. Despite all of these issues, I’ve had good times in casinos and local businesses.

Case in point, I made it to Carversteak at Resorts World this week. The food was fantastic starting with the Caesar Salad. The only downside is that the restaurant was so busy (no open tables) that the waiter seemed rushed. You can see a few pics here.

We’re going to dive right into the quick hits this week since there are so many things to share. We’ll start with something fun this week.

Las Vegas Quick Hits

Enjoy this fun drone video of Las Vegas from the NFL. Skip the video if you easily feel motion sickness. 

Neat. pic.twitter.com/gZWaMVU8HR

— Marc (@MeltzVegas) January 19, 2022

• Hard Rock mentioned that it was considering removing the volcano at The Mirage when the company announced it was buying operations of the casino. Now the Hard Rock has confirmed that it will tear down the volcano as part of renovations.
• The website for The Mirage says the volcano fires up at 7 pm, 8 pm, 9 pm, 10 pm, and 11 pm daily. There’s still time to check out the volcano if it’s operating. 
• Caesars is rebranding Bally’s as Horseshoe. The company is also renovating the inside and outside of the property. Rooms won’t be touched because they were recently updated. You can see specifics here.
• Imploding the Trop?! It’s possible. The Tropicana could become the all new Bally’s. Everything is on the table! Read more about the potential implosion here.
• Somehow Adele couldn’t put together production for her Caesars Palace Las Vegas residency and all shows are canceled. Read more here. See her statement below:

All dates will be rescheduled
More info coming soon
💔 pic.twitter.com/k0A4lXhW5l

— Adele (@Adele) January 20, 2022

• This line from Stiffs & Georges made me chuckle. “If Caesars CEO Tom Reeg were trying to make us nostalgic for Gary Loveman, he can congratulate himself on a mission accomplished.” Read more about the Adele cancelation and understand the context of the quote here.
• Speaking of canceled residencies, Celine Dion canceled all of her tour dates in addition to her shows at Resorts World because of her health issues. Read more here.
• Adele is out and Urban is in for a few more shows at Caesars Palace. Read more here.
• Speaking of more shows, Kay Perry added a bunch more shows to her Resorts World Las Vegas residency this spring and summer. Read more here.
• This isn’t confirmed but it looks like Las Vegas may finally be getting a Formula 1 race. Read more here.
• It looks like Red Bull put together a quick video of what a race could look like. I would love to see cars zooming through Aria’s valet at 200 MPH. 

Formula 1 is working on a deal that could bring a night race to The Las Vegas Strip as early as next year, per @A_S12.

That would be the 3rd US race:
• Austin, Texas
• Miami, Florida
• Las Vegas, Nevada

The demand for F1 in America is only getting stronger. pic.twitter.com/jeCDevAxKs

— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) January 28, 2022

• Look for more cashless gaming options in Las Vegas with the approval of new remote funding regulations. Look for this at Resorts World and Boyd Gaming properties first. Read more here. 
• IGT received approval for its cashless wallet in Nevada. Expect to hear more about which casinos will use this soon. Read more here.
• 2021 was a big year for Nevada in gaming. Read more here.
• Here’s a useful find from Scott @vitalvegas. Looks like The Linq is only pouring 0.75 ounces of spirits in mixed drinks. Stick to beer and wine if you’re looking for a buzz.
• The When We Were Young music festival sold out in less than a day even though the Twitter masses doubted $250+ tickets for a show would sell at all. Another show was added last week. Read more here. That show sold out and a third show was added. Read more here.
• Rumor of last week: Virgin will start charging a resort fee. Read more here.
• Confirmation of last week: See details on Virgin’s resort fee here.
• SHOT Show took place last week. This is typically one of the busiest conventions of the year in Las Vegas. 40,000 were in attendance this year. Read some thoughts about the expo here.
• Silk Sonic (Bruno Mars and Anderson Paak) residency at Park MGM starts in Feb. Read more here. Enjoy a jam below.

• Circa paid out $11 million in prize money to six football contest winners. Read more here.
• It looks like Las Vegas will soon have an MLS team. Read more here.
• Resorts World has Lunar New Year plans. Read more here. 
• MGM has Lunar New Year plans for a few properties. Read more here. 
• 9 of the 10 most booked restaurants in Las Vegas on Open Table are Caesars’ properties. Read more here. This isn’t too surprising as some casinos (MGM, Wynn, Cosmopolitan, Resorts World) are using other platforms for reservations.
• Ghostbar will return to Palms when it reopens. Read more here.
• Yesco sign company will have a display at Nevada Humanities in February and online forever. Read more here.
• As rumored last week, the Grammy’s will take place in Las Vegas this year. Read more here.
• Read 21 fun facts about Penn & Teller here.
• Punk Rock Bowling is out for May. See the Twitter update here. Hopefully, they reschedule for later in the year. I enjoyed seeing people in town for the show last September.
• Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekend is back in April Read more here.
• That tiger magic show won’t be happening. Read more here.
• America’s Got Talent show at Luxor added an illusionist. Read more here.
• Oakland is moving forward with plans to keep the A’s. The deal isn’t done but there’s progress to keep the team out of Las Vegas. Read more here.
• There’s a new magic show at Bally’s. Read more here.
• Wynn Resorts is planning to build an integrated casino resort where you probably won’t be able to use Wynn Rewards points. Read more here.
• Las Vegas Sands reported earnings. There’s almost nothing related to Las Vegas as usual and this will probably be the last time we share this. See next Quick Hit to understand why. Read more here.
• It appears as though the transfer of ownership of The Venetian is on the next Nevada Gaming Commission Agenda. If they recommend the sale, it should be approved by the board before February is over. See the agenda here.
• A new arena is opening in Henderson this spring and will host a college basketball tournament. Read more here.
• Speaking of a college basketball tournament, MGM Rewards members get early access to buy Pac 12 tournament tickets at T-Mobile Arena early. File under: Using another Caesars Rewards tactic. More info here.
• Zouk at Resorts World announced its 2022 residency lineup. You may recognize a few names. See more here.
• I didn’t realize that people were unaware of a great photo spot at Bellagio so tweeted about it. I’m sharing again here in case anyone missed it. Just walk out of the lobby and through the valet area towards the fountains. This is a great place for a pic of the fountains with the Vegas Strip in the background. I took a pic of the porte-cochere walking out of Bellagio a couple of weeks ago because I think it’s beautiful and know it leads to a great place.