There will be fireworks every Saturday from June 6 through July 25. Most will be on the Strip with one night in downtown Las Vegas. There will also be July 4 fireworks at nine Strip casinos. Expect to hear more off-strip fireworks for Independence Day. Get the details here.
Las Vegas has a new commercial that unsurprisingly doesn’t feature gambling.
Last but not least, Las Vegas is having another summer sale. See the deals here.
Casino Earnings Break
There wasn’t too much news from the casino corporation earnings calls, so I figured I’d share quick hits that I found interesting.
- 1/3rd of MGM’s all-in deals have been purchased by first-time visitors. This is a key target for casinos as new visitors tend to spend more money than those returning.
- MGM’s Canada business was down 30%-40% last year.
- T-Mobile can become a temporary or permanent home for an NBA team. This was the first time I heard about the venue being used as a temporary home while another venue was under construction.
- Read the MGM Resorts earnings press release here.
- Station Casinos is in the early planning phase for the Durango Casino that will likely include more rooms, a spa, and meeting space.
- The company is also working on plans for two casinos. Don’t expect official info on any of this until next year.
- Read the Red Rock Resorts earnings press release here.
- Caesars Palace Augustus Tower renovations won’t be finished until 2027.
- Caesars is planning for more upgrades around the time the Hard Rock opens in late 2027 or early 2028. There were no specifics given.
- Read the Caesars earnings press release here.
- Wynn says Encore room renovations will begin in a few weeks.
- The casino is adding a restaurant called Cliff House Grill.
- Wynn Al Marjan Island’s opening will be delayed. Details to come.
- See the Wynn Resorts earnings presentation here.
- Boyd says the Orleans room renovations are on pace to be finished this year.
- The company says the gorgeous upgrade at Suncoast will continue into the third quarter. The Orleans will receive a similar makeover next year.
- Read the Boyd Gaming earnings press release here.
In Las Vegas-related non-casino earnings, Sphere finances are heading in the right direction. Revenue is up, and the operating income loss is shrinking. Profitability is getting closer. Read more here.
The company that owns People magazine is the biggest shareholder of MGM Resorts. A recent letter to investors makes it sound like they plan to take action on the investment. This could be a big deal for marketing and promotions. Get the scoop here.
The Review-Journal has a business website that looks like it’s just lifting content from the RJ on first glance. Check it out here.
Hard Rock topped off the Guitar Tower. Read more here.
I normally wouldn’t care that Hard Rock is hiring people, but I’m curious who will be on board for player development and gaming. See the job post here.
I was at this panel, and others like it, at G2E last year and shared the information. This is pretty much the Pareto Principle I learned about in college. This post is a useful reminder about who gets priority from casinos.
G2E posted the full panel and a handful of others here.
You can now double after splitting while playing blackjack at Paris. I’m not sure about other rules. See the tweet here.
Hyde’s contract with T-Mobile Arena ended and wasn’t renewed. Read more here.
The Eagles’ residency at the Sphere was extended again. Get the dates here.
Dolly Parton’s Caesars Palace residency was cancelled again. Read more here.
Resorts World has foodie events all summer. Read more here.
Resorts World dumped cashless gaming. Read more here.
Station Casinos is quietly testing out Apple Pay at its Seventy Six taverns. Read more here.
Heads up, chip collectors!
I’m not sure if I shared this last edition, but the Plaza is opening a new high-limit room. The twist is that it will have high-limit ETG’s. Read more here.
MGM Grand now has an adults-only bar/arcade. This is in an old restaurant space, not an updated Level Up as I suspected. $45 for 2 hours of booze and games isn’t terrible. Read more here.
The land across the street from Mandalay Bay that was going to be used for SkyVue was sold. Read more here.
The Foundation Room at Mandalay Bay is being replaced by a venue called Vinyl. Read the press release here.
Wynn is having a special wine dinner at SW Steakhouse. I haven’t heard much about the food here in a while. Drop a comment below if you’ve been in the past year. See the dinner details here.
A bunch of bands that should be playing free shows at the Fremont Street Experience are selling tickets to shows at Resorts World. Get the lineup here.
Bands playing at the pool at the Sahara, like the Gin Blossoms, are a step up from those at Resorts World. See the lineup here.
No news on the Las Vegas A’s front. Here’s a look at the past seven days of construction.
Big surprise – Wynn won a bunch of awards for great service. Read more here.
Mary J Blige added more shows for her Park MGM residency. Read more here.
Randy’s at Red Rock Casino is now open. Read too many words about a donut shop here.
March Madness just ended, but MGM is promoting college hoops at T-Mobile Arena on Thanksgiving Eve. Read more here.
Outside of Vegas: Caesars AC has a beach club. Read more here.
Lisa will be doing a residency at Caesars Palace. Anyma has a residency at the Sphere. This collab is one of the most popular songs in the world. I’m sharing it because I can’t imagine more than 2% of you are familiar with either.
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Marc grew up on the mean streets of the South Bronx. He's the rare combination of Yankees and Jets fan which explains his often contrarian point of view. He learned about gambling at a young age working down the street from a bookie who took action on anything from the mainstream sports to the last three digits of the purse for certain horse races. Yeah, that's a thing. Today Marc is a freelance writer and social media consultant which allows him to work anywhere there's a wifi signal. This allows him to work from the sportsbook at Red Rock Resort or the food court at The Venetian where you’ll find fast and free wifi. Writing about steak, booze, gambling and Las Vegas is a tough job but somebody has to do it.