Vegas News June 20, 2022

The Plaza Hotel Casino Making Changes

The Plaza is making some changes to the historic downtown Las Vegas casino. The biggest modification to the property will take place before anyone walks into the casino. Plus Vegas NFT; and the rest of the news.

The former porte-cochere will become the Carousel Bar. The entire area will have sitting room for about 100 people. 

For me, the big news here is that the outdoor bar will have eight video poker machines. Hopefully, the Plaza continues to listen to its customers and has good paytables on these machines.

A Pinkbox donut shop will slide into the space that’s currently Studio 71. There will be a massive pink 3D doughnut with sprinkles at the entrance to the donut shop. 

The Studio 71 Instagram-friendly space will move into the new Brian Christopher Slots area. The new smoke-free slot machine space is away from the main casino floor and will hold 80 machines. The rest of the casino will still allow smoking. More on this later.

As previously announced, there will be outdoor seating for Oscar’s Steakhouse. This space will conveniently occupy the roof space created by building the new Brian Christopher Slots area. 

You can see more information and renderings here.

This announcement was framed as changing Main Street. While it touches on that road, there is more to come for Main Street. Plans should soon be revealed for the retail and dining offerings next door to the Plaza at the closed Greyhound Station.

A Vintage Casino Changes With The Times

It’s great to see a vintage casino change with the times. The renderings are interesting, to say the least. Many people seem to like the new look. 

The changes sound good to me. The shimmering lights will remain above the Carousel Bar so the space will still be connected to the history of the property. 

The updates to the Plaza should be completed before the year is over. I can’t wait to check out the additions. I’ll wait until I see everything in person before I form an opinion.

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

Las Vegas Quick Hits

• Sting added a handful of shows to his Caesars Palace Las Vegas residency in April 2023. Read more here.
• It looks like July 4 fireworks on the Vegas Strip will only take place above Caesars Palace Las Vegas. Read more here.
• Boring update: Boring Company was approved to run the Vegas Loop car service to downtown Las Vegas. Read more here.
• Someday the Boring tunnel will open at Resorts World. In the meantime, there are six more shows for the Luke Bryan residency. Read more here.
• I missed the shenanigans last week but was able to meet up with Mr. TravelZork for a tasty lunch at Wally’s inside Resorts World.
• I definitely lagged behind trying to take pictures of every elephant we walked by. Read about the cute Elephant Parade here.

A few pics of some of the elephants @ResortsWorldLV 🐘 pic.twitter.com/CbPt2cT3f0

— Marc (@MeltzVegas) June 15, 2022

• Tilman Fertitta, the owner of the Golden Nugget, purchased land on the Vegas Strip in April. The deal closed this week. Fertitta still hasn’t offered information on what he plans to do with the land. Read more here. 
• Gabriel (Fluffy) Iglesias added a show at The Mirage this September. Read more here.
• There’s more Adele Drama that is resulting in nothing useful. Read more here if you have 45 seconds to waste.
• The OVG hotel-casino-arena being discussed for the south of Mandalay Bay on Las Vegas Blvd. added some employees. Read more here.
• I’m usually cynical about new projects that don’t make sense to me but the involvement of Irving Azoff makes gives me pause in mocking the reality of this OVG project. Read more about Azoff here.

Quick Hits – Vegas NFT ??? Vegas Vickie NFT Collection

• Circa has a Vegas Vickie NFT collection. Find out more information on this straight from the source here.
• The D is giving away Sigma Derby t-shirts on select dates through August. See the info sheet here.
• It appears as if Cirque du Soliel performers will be wearing masks again. See the memo here.
• The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority has 75 years of vintage Vegas pictures. Read more here and check out the website here.
• The Golden State Warriors celebrated winning the NBA championship at Resorts World. Read more here.
• It looks as though Circa replaced the security guards by the hotel elevators with plastic doors. See the pic here.
• Las Vegas’ first digital art museum, PERCEPTION Las Vegas, is now open on the north end of the Vegas Strip. Read more here. Visit the website for up-to-date info here.
• The number four and five activities in the US according to TripAdvisor users are technically in Las Vegas. Sadly, the activities in the desert didn’t make the worldwide list. Read more here. 
• Tickets for the Shriners Open golf event are now available. Find more information here.
• Las Vegas isn’t holding a World Cup game in 2026. If you’re wondering why you should read this.
• It seems like casinos not allowing smoking is no longer bad for the bottom line outside of Las Vegas. Read more here. 
• If a smoke-free property was exceptional for business in Las Vegas we’d probably hear more from MGM Resorts touting Park MGM as the only smoke-free casino on the Vegas Strip.
• Similarly, if being smoke-free was a Vegas-ready trend, the Plaza might have banned smoking on the entire casino floor and not just an 80 slot machine room away from the rest of the gambling. 
• In 2021, Brian Christopher (of Plaza slot room fame mentioned above) said he will “frequent only smoke-free casinos commencing 2023.” The Plaza found a workaround by building a new smoke-free room for the Brian Christopher Slot section. This should suffice since Christopher nor his followers will have to deal with the smoke in the rest of the casino. Read more here.
• If the tide is turning regarding smoking elsewhere in the country it will eventually happen in Las Vegas. Personally, I can’t wait.
• Other than a very occasional cigar I don’t smoke. I have a strong distaste for cigarette smoke in particular. However, smoking doesn’t bother me enough to stay out of casinos. I’ll just leave a machine or table if someone’s smoke is just too much.