Vegas News July 4, 2022

Vegas Summer Entertainment

Michael and I both had weeklong vacations with minimal work planned so we decided to drop a double issue of Vegas News after the holiday. I stayed in Las Vegas with a friend visiting and noticed more than a few things. One thing to keep an eye on is a lot of Vegas Summer Entertainment!

I’ll share some of that here and in the upcoming weeks. The world traveler, Mr. TravelZork, will probably share the good stuff from his trip on the socials.

Because chaos is fun, I’m going to mix the news from the past two weeks. This will be 100% all Quick Hits that will make the flow more entertaining. At least for me. Anyway, let’s get to it!

Las Vegas Quick Hits

• MGM Resorts is having a property-wide scavenger hunt until July 15. Read more here.
• Evidently, the casino without a sportsbook had problems at its sports bar. I’m surprised Money Baby at Virgin is still open but that’s another story. Read more here. Update: It closed.
• Caesars reports earnings on Aug. 2. Since they didn’t tease a casino sale for this quarter maybe they’ll announce it. Get info on the call here.
• It looks like MGM Resorts has hiked fines for smoking in its hotel rooms. From this Twitter thread, I see that fines are now $300 to $1,000 depending on the property. 
• I stayed at NoMad for a couple of nights last week and there was no sign about fining smokers. This was surprising as Park MGM is an entirely non-smoking property. I now question the validity of the fine signs but leave them in just in case.
• This article is about Derek Stevens being concerned about the economy. The thing that stood out to me is that he studies ATM withdrawals. It makes sense but isn’t something I’ve thought about before. The information is interesting if you’re curious about casino economics. Read more here.
• Las Vegas hotel room rates on the Vegas Strip are dipping. I haven’t noticed since I usually only look for busy weekends. I also haven’t paid for a room in a while so this could be a blind spot for me. Read more on the Las Vegas economy here.
• Caesars is currently updating a slew of sportsbooks. Here’s a very brief update on the news and rumors.
• The renovated Harrah’s sportsbook just reopened. It’s basically new seating. Read more here.
• The Paris Las Vegas sportsbook is being renovated right now. I expect something similar but am awaiting confirmation.
• The Bally’s sportsbook may not return. It appears as though it will be replaced by something similar to Dave & Busters when the property is rebranded as Horseshoe. You can find more unconfirmed info on the Caesars sportsbooks here. I’m waiting for more info on this as well.
• I’m surprised Caesars isn’t just making the Horseshoe sportsbook a Guy Fieri Flavortown sportsbook. That would probably make for a better food hall concept. Consider this a free idea, Caesars.

Quick Hits – Vegas Summer Entertainment
Billy Idol, Mayfair, Immersive Van Gogh, Brad Paisley

• Billy Idol is returning to The Cosmopolitan for a handful of shows in November. Read more here.
• Wakuda is now open at The Venetian. Technically, the new restaurant is at The Palazzo. Read more here.
• Mayfair Supper Club at Bellagio has a new show. Read more here.
• The unincorporated Clark County has new short-term rental (Airbnb) regulations. Read and see more here.
• I feel like M Resort has been teasing a new hotel tower since before Covid. I’ll believe it when I see it. Get the up-to-date info here.
• You can play coin-operated slot machines at Circus Circus. Read more here.
• The Immersive Van Gogh installation at Crystals Mall (next to Aria) has been extended through Jan. 2023. Read more here.
• I thought this was taken care of last year but this week Station Casinos was fined $80,000 due to issues with its sports betting software. Read more here.
• Caesars opened a huge sportsbook at Chase Field in Arizona. Yes, it’s a slow week so I’m sharing a bit more Vegas-adjacent news than usual. Read more here.
• Brad Paisley is doing two storyteller shows at Wynn in November. Read more here.
• If you want to hang out at the Palms pool during the week, find a friend from Las Vegas and it will be free. Read more here.
• You can also stay at Palms for free access to the pool complex. You can read a review of the Ivory room here.
• LAS reopened the Sunset Viewing area for the first time since 2020. Read more here.
• Legends Bay Casino in Sparks, NV received approval to open from the Nevada Gaming Commission. This will be the first home to a Circa Sports retail location in northern Nevada. Read the press release here.
• WSOP announced its 2022-2023 Circuit schedule of events around the country. Read more here.
• This won’t be available in Nevada anytime soon but it’s interesting to see that BetMGM will have an online casino that only has Wheel of Fortune slot machines. Read more here.

Quick Hits – Jigsaw Puzzle International Convention and MGM Parking News

• Las Vegas is home to so many random conventions that there’s something fun announced every couple of weeks. Today’s fun convention is the Jigsaw Puzzle International Convention taking place at the Las Vegas Convention Center beginning July 8. Read more here.
• The Day N Vegas festival was canceled because of low ticket sales. Read more here.
• The A’s are still unlikely to move to Las Vegas. Read and see more here. 
• You love reading about parking. It looks like MGM is raising rates next week. Read more here.
• Imagine Dragons has a new video with lots of Las Vegas.