Vegas News May 2, 2021
A Lot Going On In Vegas
Brace yourself. This will be one of the longest Vegas News articles in a few years. I even dumped a few items to keep this somewhat manageable. Still, this will be a quick read since the majority of info comes via quick hits.
Everyone Visiting Or Planning To Visit
The world is healing, and everyone is now visiting or planning to visit Las Vegas. Just about every person I know who visits Las Vegas is either planning a trip or already here. By the time you read this, I’ll be hanging out with one of my east coast jabronis. This will be his first visit since late 2019. My summer vacation friend also just planned a trip for later this month. I can’t wait for pool time at Cosmopolitan.
It seems like everyone I know online and offline are ready for some Vegas fun. Beginning yesterday occupancy limits in Clark County are now 80%. You’ll still be required to wear a mask inside unless eating or drinking. You can read more about current restrictions here. The plan for Clark County is here.
Mask Talk
Masks seem to be semi-optional in the casinos. As I mentioned a few weeks ago, there are plenty of people just walking around with bottles of water and a chin diaper so they don’t have to cover their mouths. That’s just a heads up if that’s something that concerns you. By the time this is posted, Michael (baccarat_guy) will probably have some intel on how the vibe inside the casinos.
Watch For June 1st
The next date earmarked for changes is June 1. Things could be altered before but that’s the scoop for now. Let’s get to the Vegas News!
Las Vegas Quick Hits
Las Vegas Quick Hits
There’s Vegas news from all over town. Let’s start with a vacant part of land people have asked me about a lot this year since it’s been part of my view from the terrace suites at half of my visits to the Cosmopolitan.
- MGM Resorts sold the tiny plot of land originally home to Harmon Hotel next to Crystals mall and across from the Cosmopolitan. You can read about that mess here. The rendering looks like we’ll have another Harmon Corner. Yawn. Read more about the new shopping area here.
- Vital Vegas says Red Rock Resorts (Station Casinos) has sold Palms. I’ve heard the same from a source. Expect an official announcement sometime this week before the company reports earnings on Tuesday.
- He says the buyer will be a casino operator on the west coast. My source says it will be a casino operator on the east coast. We’ll find out soon enough. You can read about San Manuel buying Palms here.
- While discussing the Palms sale, I wondered aloud if that would give the company enough cash to get started on the long-teased Durango Station. You can read about that here if you’re not familiar.
- Bruno Mars residency dates for the Park Theater at Park MGM were announced this week. The shows are sold out as usual. This just happened a little quicker than usual. The pent-up demand you hear about often is real and lots of shows are selling out quickly. You probably know that since you read this column every week. You can read about Bruno’s return here.
- Apollo Global Management purchased the assets of The Venetian and Sands Convention Center. VICI owns the land. Neither company is a casino operator. VICI will be the landlord no matter who operates the property. Apollo is an asset manager that looks to increase business in the assets it owns then sell the investment for profit. That seems to be the plan with The Venetian down the line. Read more here.
- Don’t get too worked up about Apollo’s plans on flipping The Venetian assets. Blackstone purchased the Cosmopolitan in 2014 with plans to flip it. They even made this slick video in 2018 to help sell the property. Blackstone still owns the Cosmopolitan. Don’t expect another sale of The Venetian might not happen anytime soon.
- Steve found a video of the Wynn room renovations. I’m sure they’ll look beautiful in person but the room looks cramped in these images. Check it out here.
- Speaking of new hotel rooms, Michael (baccarat_guy) was able to tour Resorts World Las Vegas and has some pictures of the rooms that will be available when the casino opens in June.
RESORTS WORLD LAS VEGAS – Conrad Hotel Room RESORTS WORLD LAS VEGAS – Conrad Hotel Tub RESORTS WORLD LAS VEGAS – Hilton Suite Living Room RESORTS WORLD LAS VEGAS – Conrad Hotel Door RESORTS WORLD LAS VEGAS – Hilton and Conrad Hotel Overview
- MGM Resorts reported earnings this week. Of note, the company says the first quarter had the “best quarterly operating results in Las Vegas since reopening.” Read the specific here.
- Every month this year has seen room occupancy increase for MGM Resorts properties. It appears as though the company expects occupancy to continue increasing this year. The company expects prices to return to pre-COVID levels by early next year.
- Speaking of next year, the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) will return to an in-person event in Las Vegas in January 2022. Read more here.
- Boyd Gaming reported earnings this week as well. Read about it here.
- The casino corporations have shared over the past year they’ve learned how to become more profitable with fewer offerings. Now, they have to figure out how to keep the profit margins up with more people visiting and venues opening. I can’t imagine this will be good for casino visitors.
- Boyd barely mentioned Main Street Station but it looks like they’ll address starting flights from Hawaii and reopening Main Street Station in 3-6 months. The two are tied together as Main Street Station is often the overflow property for Boyd guest from Hawaii that would normally stay at the California.
- Fire up the rumor mill again, MLB is discussing Las Vegas as a potential city for an expansion team. Read more here.
- Tao purchased Hakkasan this week. I learned one thing from this deal. Tao is owned by Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp. Read more here.
- Evidently, Tao is planning on expanding in Las Vegas even though it operates most night and day clubs and a slew of restaurants. Read more here.
- The announcement came just as Hakkasan was planning a job fair in Las Vegas. Read more here.
- Almost every bar, restaurant, casino in Las Vegas – casino and freestanding – is hiring if you’re looking for a gig.
- We still don’t have plans for what The Joint will become at Virgin. However, we have a hint at a smaller show being planned for the property. Read more here.
- If you’re looking to play live poker in Las Vegas this summer, check out this Wynn Millions tournament here.
- Aristocrat teamed up with the Las Vegas Aviators. When the team hits a home run you’ll hear a stampede of buffaloes from the slot machine. Sadly, it won’t just yell BUFFALOOOOOOO! Read more here.
- Dive in movies is back at the Cosmopolitan. Read more here.
- Bobby Flay Burger is now open at the Caesars Palace food court. Read more here.
- Hey, The Strat is 25! It feels way older even with the recent renovations.
- Speaking of The Strat, evidently, the tent show, Celestia, isn’t returning. Read more here.
- Red Rock Casino is doing a popup Vegas Golden Knights bar. Read more here.
- The Circa Sports location at Pass Casino in Henderson is now open. Read more here.
- Wynn signed Alesso as a resident DJ. Read more here.
- There’s a new pool experience at The Venetian. It doesn’t look or sound different but I don’t frequent that pool. Read the press release here.
- Last year, Las Vegas casino press and social media decided to start sharing slot machine wins that are large and very large. Get ready for a ton more of this as people return to Las Vegas. I won’t be sharing this often. Read about one of the 100,000 from the past week here.
- Behind possible trains from California, Las Vegas getting a pro soccer team is the second most popular topic for Las Vegas newspapers. Read more here.
- We got some bridges coming to the north end of the Vegas Strip. Read more here. One of these bridges was supposed to connect Wynn to Wynn West. Never forget.
- Resorts World will be using the video screen outside of the hotel as a billboard. This is cool for people who love being smacked in the face with ads. Read more here.
- Santana is back at the House of Blues inside Mandalay Bay. Read more here.
- Caesars is donating more than $3 million of your parking fees. Read more here.
- The Boring tunnel will debut at the concrete conference. Read more at Pit and Quarry.
- There’s a new Las Vegas ad. This might have been made by a different boring company.
