Much of the news in the past couple of weeks has been around the business side and the future of Las Vegas. That’s not entirely the case this week. There was a good amount of news that will directly affect upcoming visits to Las Vegas. Some of the news is immediate and some will let you know about openings in the near future.
Topgolf
There is rarely a piece of news in Las Vegas that isn’t met with some kind of cynicism or snarkiness. Last year I finally found something coming to Las Vegas that was universally loved. Topgolf is a nationwide chain of golf driving ranges that offers a variety of games. Locations around the country also have dining and food choices that make this a unique experience than just a place to hit golf balls.
I was intrigued about Topgolf last year when they broke ground on their flagship location at MGM Grand. The concept on the Vegas Strip sounded interesting and I received nothing but positive feedback since first writing about it. This is rare and my expectations were higher than I initially thought they’d be when I visited the new location. My expectations were blown away.
Topgolf Las Vegas is much more and better than I imagined. The 108 bays to play golf games on four levels are just half of what Topgolf Las Vegas has to offer. There are 5 bars, a concert venue, bar games like foosball, massive TV’s, a sports betting window, video poker, 2 pools, cabanas and more. As I found out from non-sports fans, you don’t have to be like golf to have fun at Topgolf.
Here’s a slideshow of almost 100 pictures I took at the Topgolf media event. Topgolf Las Vegas is something to explore whether you like golf, sports or just like hanging out at a bar.
Sports Betting News
College Football
The South Point and Golden Nugget sports books are the first two locations in Las Vegas offering college football wagers. Both casinos are offering point spreads for specific “games of the year” for the upcoming season that’s less than 100 days away. The Golden Nugget even has team win totals available to wager on. I’m just getting into baseball season but maybe it’s time to get ready for football season.
Olympic Games
Meanwhile, sports book operator William Hill (SLS, The D and over 100 more locations) just increased the number of events you can wager on for the upcoming Summer Olympics. This is the first time in years that you’ll be able to wager on the Olympics in Las Vegas. Remember to get your wagers in early if you’re interested in betting on the Olympics. Rio is 4 hours ahead of Las Vegas and some of the events may not be shown live on TV so you may not see a reminder while watching the games.
CG Technology
Sports book operator CG Technology (Cosmopolitan, The Venetian, etc.) is under scrutiny for underpaying bettors who made round robin parlays. This is a serious enough problem that their license may be revoked. You can read more about it from the Las Vegas Sun.
CG Technology is also under fire for accepting wagers on UFC fights after they were actually finished. This is a strange problem for a sports book. It’s okay to ask yourself “what the hecks goin on out here!”
Restaurant News
Beauty and Essex
Beauty and Essex opened this week at the Cosmopolitan. The highly anticipated restaurant from Tao has you enter through a pawn shop environment and into a lounge before actually reaching the place where you’ll dine. The experience at Beauty and Essex seems fitting for a unique hotel like the Cosmopolitan.
Morimoto
After years of rumors that Masaharu Morimoto will be opening a restaurant at The Mirage, he’ll finally be opening a restaurant in Las Vegas. The Iron Chef star will finally be opening a restaurant at MGM Grand in the fall. The restaurant doesn’t have a name or menu yet but you can expect to see some kind of menu that’s focused on Japanese cuisine.
Robert Irvine
Another Food Network star will be opening a restaurant across the street from MGM Grand. Robert Irvine from Restaurant: Impossible will open his fist Las Vegas restaurant at the Tropicana. The dining concept hasn’t been revealed yet but early the gossip is that the restaurant will be something along the lines of an English Pub. This makes sense as that kind of restaurant should appeal to people visiting the sports book next door.
Best Time To Book Flights To Las Vegas
This week Vegas.com released a map of the best times around the country to book a flight to Las Vegas. I’ll dive deeper into the research and numbers behind the map next week.
In other interesting Vegas travel news, Fish (the twitter travel sensation #TNI) brought Las Vegas Trip Club to the attention of TravelZork. Definitely something to pursue a bit deeper.
I’m curious, does this reflect what you see when you book flights? Leave a comment with your thoughts.
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