As I mentioned last week in Sunday News, we’re in a slow news period in Las Vegas. I expect things to heat up in a week or so but there isn’t anything too serious happening. This might be a little shorter than you’re used to.
In The Casino
Slot machines
When the news in Las Vegas kicks into high gear again, during and after the Global Gaming Expo (G2E), it will begin with the casino news we all thirst for. I actually have a scoop on some of the news that you’ll see coming out of G2E. Aristocrat Gaming and Scientific Technology revealed the majority of the new slot machine themes that they’ll have on display at the expo.
- The Bachelor
- The Godfather
- Johnny Cash
- My Cousin Vinnie
- National Lampoon’s Vacation
- Sharknado
- The Simpsons (debuted last year)
- Spiderman
- (New) Willy Wonka
- Tim McGraw
- Tetris
There will be other entertainment related themed slot machines revealed at G2E. I saw The Simpsons slot machine last year and was floored by the technology involved with the game. I can’t wait for this to hit casinos so other people can see it. Other than The Simpsons, I’m not all that excited by the other themes. Having said that, I can’t wait until the first time I hear “Ring of Fire” in the casino.
Roulette
Last week The Venetian started dealing a 000 roulette game. This is another gaming downgrade for low rollers at “The V” who already face bad video poker paytables and 6:5 blackjack for anyone playing less than $25 per hand. The house edge for the new roulette game is 7.69%. Traditional 00 roulette has a house edge of 5.26% and (single zero) European roulette has a house edge of 2.7%. You can read more about the new roulette game here.
Sports Book
You may remember that I mentioned that Caesars Palace was now charging $75 or $300 to reserve seats in their sports book to watch football last week on Sunday News. Originally, the $75 package came with 5 drinks. Well, it now comes with 3 drinks. I also learned that Diamond and Seven Stars Total Rewards members will have to pay for these seats. The seats were previously complimentary for the members of the top two tiers of Total Rewards. You can ask a host to help defray this cost if you’re spending money at Caesars Palace or Total Rewards casinos. This tweet tells me that you can redeem 80,000 points for each seat too.
Non-Casino Sports
NASCAR Week & Con-Ag 2017
Heads up if you’re planning on attending the 2017 NASCAR race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. ConExpo-Con/Agg 2017 takes place during the week leading up to the race. This will be one of the busiest conferences of the year with more than 100,000 people in town. Many attendees will be staying the weekend and going to the race. The combination of NASCAR and ConExpo-Con/Agg is already leading to higher hotel room rates in March. This will also lead to less hotel room availability for complimentary rooms. You might want to reserve rooms sooner than later if you’re even thinking of coming to Las Vegas for the race. Always check the cancellation policy of the hotel before booking this far in advance.
Las Vegas Raiders Are Still A Long Way From Reality
Football fans cheered for the news that the Las Vegas Raiders are one step closer to becoming a reality. However, it’s one step. The recommendation is for the stadium to be built (read more at the Las Vegas Review-Journal ). Now it must be approved by Governor Brian Sandoval before the Raiders can approach the NFL to move. Sandoval will mull over the proposal before there’s a special session to either approve the project or decline the project. A date for the special session hasn’t been set yet. Hang in there, we still have a little while before the Las Vegas Raiders are a reality.
UFC Coming To Palms
The Pearl at Palms will host a UFC fight on December 3. This might not have been too big of a deal in the past. However, this will be the first time a Station Casino hosts a UFC fight since the Fertitta brothers (Owners of Red Rock Resorts/Station Casinos/Palms) sold the UFC. This could also be the first UFC fight that Station Casinos accepts wagers on. I’m waiting on a date on when and if they’ll be begin taking UFC wagers.
More News
Neon Boneyard Gets Better
Last week the Neon Museum received a grant for $25,000. The money will be used to preserve many of the existing artifacts you’ll find at the museum. While announcing the approval of this grant, the Neon Museum also said that guests will now be able to take self-guided tours of the North Gallery. The new tours begin September 19. Many of the tours are selling out in advance so you might want to visit neonmuseum.org to make reservations in advance.
Rumors
Squashed Rumor Of The Week?: “The Tournament of Kings” Will Close
Last week we told you that the hot rumor from Vital Vegas was that “The Tournament of Kings” show at Excalibur would be closing. Well, MGM Resorts International tells Las Vegas CBS affiliate 8 News Now that the show isn’t going anywhere. I believe the rumor will be true sometime in the future. I’m blaming Scott from Vital Vegas if MGM Resorts doesn’t announce renovations to Excalibur on their next earnings call.
Rumor Of The Week: Adele Residency In Las Vegas
There have been rumors about Adele doing a Las Vegas residency for years. The rumors are heating up again with news that Adele is giving up touring for the next 10 years to raise her son. Previous rumors have had her residency taking place at the Cosmopolitan and the Park Theater at Monte Carlo (soon to be Park MGM). Where there’s smoke there’s fire…right? Maybe? Rumors are fun!
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