Preamble
Many roads will be closed in Las Vegas today for the Rock N Roll Marathon. Here’s a list of locations and times each road will be closed. Plan accordingly, even if you’re walking or planning to take a taxi, uber or lyft somewhere. It’s cool to see the Vegas Strip closed, but it’s not very convenient.
Sunday News
You might have heard that there was a presidential election this week. There will be a new President next year and some people are happy while others are sad. I’m less concerned with the politics than the gambling. Go figure.
This was a record-breaking year for a US presidential election around the world – but not in the country where the election was actually held. Sports books outside of the US saw record amounts of money wagered on who would become the next President. Some gamblers won bigly as Donald Trump was a long shot for much of the time.
Unfortunately, betting on elections isn’t legal in the US right now. You can read about it at Five Thirty Eight. Personally, I think this will be the last US presidential election that you won’t be able to bet on in America. The Nevada Gaming Commission has been allowing new forms of wagering fairly often over the past year. If the next presidential election can bring in as much revenue to Nevada as a Super Bowl, you can bet that they’ll figure out a way to make this legal. (Be sure to check out the TravelZork series on betting on the election.)
There has been legislation that now allows wagering on some sports-based voting awards like the Heisman Trophy. In theory, wagering on elections isn’t much different than wagering on awards. If gambling on non-sports awards becomes legal you could see the Oscar’s, Grammy’s, etc. as the first non-sports events to wager on in a Las Vegas sports book.
Recreational Use Of Marijuana Approved In Nevada
I’m pretty sure there are many people happy to learn that Nevada was among 3 states (California and Massachusetts are the others) that approved the recreational use of marijuana. It’s not legal in casinos and I don’t smoke, so this is of little interest to me at the moment. The Las Vegas Sun has all the details about when and where you can buy and/or smoke.
MGM Resorts Upcharging For Drinks After Short Pouring
By now you’ve heard about MGM Resorts drink monitoring systems that are installed at some of their casino bars. You may have forgotten that they’re also short pouring spirits and cocktails with only 1.25 ounces instead of the standard 1.5 ounces. While visiting The Mirage last week I learned that you can upgrade your spirits to a 2-ounce pour for an extra $4 per drink.
The cost of my Macallan (12) would have gone from $16 to about $21 after taxes if I’d taken the option. Chalk this up to another #PGP (Profit Growth Plan) victory for MGM Resorts. They’ve downsized the drinks so that they can make this upcharge seem more reasonable. This probably wouldn’t have been seen as a bad deal if the pour was 0.5 ounces. Since the pour is 0.75 ounces maybe the $4 charge can be seen as a value.
MGM Resorts Announces Partnership with Art Basel in Miami Beach
Despite the extra fees and upcharges at every turn, it’s not so easy to say that MGM Resorts is only a money hungry corporation looking to fleece customers. They’re constantly improving their properties and partnerships to give people a new reason to visit.
Thanks to a partnership with Art Basel, you’ll see art pieces from Nick Cave, Isa Genzken, David Hockney, Jenny Holzer, Maya Lin, Richard Long, Henry Moore, Claes Oldenburg, Pablo Picasso, Robert Rauschenberg, Nancy Rubins, Frank Stella, James Turrell and Andy Warhol at various casinos in Las Vegas. You can find more information on MGM Resorts Art & Culture here.
Lucky Dragon Installs Massive Glass Dragon Sculpture
The Asian Themed casino-hotel opens in a few weeks and just installed the centerpiece of the casino floor. This 1.25-ton glass dragon sculpture is surrounded by glass orbs and suspended above the casino’s center bar. The dragon plays to the casinos Asian theme and is designed to bring luck and good fortune to guests below.
The photo above gives the first decent look at the small casino. There will be 50 or so gaming tables surrounding the bar and the slot machines will be off to the side. This sounds similar to the original design of the Hard Rock casino. Lucky Dragon is a casino being built for a specific niche of casino visitor. That person isn’t me and I’m super curious to check it out.
About Those Gaming Taxes In Nevada
New York state is about to surpass Nevada in gaming tax revenue according to the American Gaming Association and Las Vegas Review-Journal. I’m not sure what that means in the overall scheme of things but I’m sure it means something. I just want to share because I find this interesting. It might surprise you to know that Pennsylvania generates more tax revenue than any state.
Landry’s Buys Strip House, Dos Caminos And More
Just over a month ago in Vegas News I mentioned that the Golden Nugget 24 K Select players club was going national. You can now redeem points at Landry’s restaurants around the country. It’s always nice to be able to use or earn players club points when you’re back home. The Landry’s restaurant chain is about to expand.
Tilman Fertitta (Landry’s and Golden Nugget) is buying New York restaurant operator BR Guest, the parent of Dos Caminos and Strip House restaurants among others. It will be interesting to see how these chains fit into the Golden Nugget/Landry’s partnership. You can read more about the deal which will close in a few weeks.
Heavy Metal Returns And Rock Leaves Las Vegas
It looks as though the Rock in Rio music festival will not be returning to the MGM Resorts festival grounds as planned. Johnny Kats from the Las Vegas Review-Journal has more information.
Meanwhile, the under-the-mainstream-radar Psycho Las Vegas will be returning next year. The heavy metal festival packed the Hard Rock earlier this year and will be back between August 17-21, 2017. The Las Vegas Weekly has more information.
Rumor Of The Week: Fun Stuff Coming To The Roof Of Neonopolis
The owners of Neonopolis on Fremont Street in downtown Las Vegas have big plans for the mall despite the fact that they can’t fill the mall with tenants. The local CBS affiliate in Las Vegas is reporting that the owners would like to add a roller coaster and wave pool on the roof of Neonopolis in the upcoming years. File under, “I’ll believe it when I see it.” You can see the full report on Las Vegas Now.
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