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Home , Aztec Inn, Bacchanal Buffet, Circa Sports, Durango Station, Eastside Cannery, Fiesta Henderson

ANTHONY CURTIS’ LasVegasAdvisor June 2021 • Vol. 38 • Issue 6 $5

27 SHOW ROCKS VIRGIN LV First review in 15 months … pg. 11

PANDEMIC RESET Are the taking advantage? … pg. 1

THE PASS New joint in Henderson is worth a look … pgs. 6, 13, 14, 16 BACCHANAL BUFFET Boss of buffets lets you scoop your own… pg. 7

VIDEO POKER POP QUIZ Critique strategy, win prizes… pg. 17 CASINOS Local (702) Toll Free

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COUPONOMY by Anthony Curtis The Pandemic Reset

Masks are off. Plexiglass is down. Customers are tripping over them- selves to come back. The casinos are posting record numbers. Vegas is rocking! That’s a good thing, right? Maybe. Let’s take a closer look. Las Vegas is opening up. Fast. People are coming back. Faster. The casinos are seeing an amazing influx of business. The problem is, it’s hap- pening so quickly that they haven’t been able to staff up properly and ser- vice glitches are everywhere. But here’s the good news (for them)—no one seems to care. Pent-up demand. Pent-up demand. Pent-up demand. It’s real! Everyone’s just happy to be jammin’ in Vegas again. Raise prices? Easy call. Raise table minimums? Why not? Cut back on comps and promos? Give it a shot. All of a sudden, the casino honchos look at their pie charts and lo and behold! Revenue is down, but profits are up. Way up! “Really?” they wonder. “Can we really make more money by charging more and giving back less?” Sad but true: They can at the moment. To steal a phrase from Max Rubin’s Comp City, it’s hats-and-horns time for the casinos. Out of the darkness of the shutdown comes a shocking new mantra: “We don’t have to give away anything.” Trust me on this one. I’ve heard it voiced. Verba- tim. Call it the “pandemic reset.” Leaning on the shutdown provides the per- fect opportunity to shore up those balance sheets with takebacks. Don’t bring back the buffets. Do bring back paid parking. Eliminate the smaller showrooms. Raise prices MORE. Honestly, I thought it would go the other way—promotions galore to lure us back—but it hasn’t. Why not? Two reasons. First, everything can be blamed on the pandemic. Trust me on this one, too. Ask me why Arnold Snyder’s new book still isn’t out. Come on, it’s the pandemic (Radical Blackjack is at the printer now, I promise). Ask Caesars Entertainment why continued on next page Couponomy continued … they’ve eliminated the Laurel (formerly Diamond) Lounges and you’ll get the same answer. The second and more important reason is simply that they can. As I say, the customers are so thrilled to be back, they’ve hardly noticed. But they will. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: It’s all about what the market will bear. That’s capitalism 101 and I don’t blame anyone for getting the most that they can. But this course of action is not sustainable. The junkies who flocked back to the machines the minute the doors reopened will run out of money. The good middle-market customers who spend well both on and off the casino floor will run out of tolerance. Just as poker fish get tired of being eaten by the sharks, so, too, will the Vegas visitor tire of the diminished experience and excessive gouge. Then what? Right now, the casino bosses are just plain giddy and they’ll ride this new normal as long as they can. But eventually they’ll have to revert to the old normal. Comps and promos have been a part of the Las Vegas equa- tion since the beginning, not because of any casino largesse, but because they’re necessary to entice and entitle the customer. Competition in Las Vegas is no less fierce now than it was before the pandemic. Just as has always been the case, some casino will step out of line and take advantage of the promotional opportunities that accrue to “doing it the way it used to be.” You know, BP, “before pandemic.” Then others will be forced to follow. Hang in there. It’ll happen. It pretty much has to. In the meantime, don’t get me wrong—I’m talking about the situation in a macro sense and mostly as it applies to the biggest players. There’s still a lot to like about Las Vegas. That hasn’t changed. You just need to recognize who’s playing fair and who isn’t, then reward the good guys with your patronage. n

Resort Fees Reset

Want another example? Seems as good a time as any to raise resort fees, right? Yes, apparently. The following is a list of recent RF hikes. They’re not excessive, but it’s that nickel-and-dime mentality that’s gonna bite ’em all on the rear end sooner or later: The STRAT, +$1 ($37), Paris +$2 ($39), Planet Hollywood +$2 ($39), Sahara +$2 ($39.95), Plaza +$3 ($28), the D +$4.95 ($29.95), South Point +$7 ($21), Cromwell +$8 ($45), Tuscany +$10 ($39). n

Publisher: Anthony Curtis Researcher: Brenda Stewart Contributing Writers: Jeffrey Compton, Bob LAS Senior Editor: Deke Castleman Customer Service: Paula Machado Dancer, Stewart Ethier, Bob Fuss, Scot Krause, VEGAS Accounting: John Leitner Shipping/Receiving: Matt Wondolleck Bradley Peterson, Blair Rodman, Jean Scott ADVISOR Web Manager: Tanya Maynard Production: Alison Holka Cover: Huntington Press LAS VEGAS ADVISOR (ISSN 1064-167X USPS 008602) is published monthly and is available for $50 per year ($60 Canadian; $70 foreign purchasers) and $5 per single issue at 3665 Procyon St., Las Vegas, NV, 89103. Phone: (702) 252-0655 • Fax: (702) 252-0675 POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Las Vegas Advisor, 3665 Procyon St., Las Vegas, NV 89103. e-mail: [email protected] • Internet: LasVegasAdvisor.com. All information is current at press time. Listed offerings are subject to change at any time. Huntington Press©2021

2 • LAS VEGAS ADVISOR • JUNE 2021 Resorts World Opening

The biggest opening in years, and one of Las Vegas’ biggest ever, takes place when the $4.3 billion 3,500-room Resorts World throws open its doors on June 24, even if it is five years later than planned. By all accounts—and the visuals on the 100,000-square-foot LED screen on the hotel tower’s exterior—it will be nothing short of magnificent. These end-of-month openings make it difficult to put together a complete review for LVA in a few days, but we might be able to squeeze it in for the July issue. I can, however, give you one part of the review now with confidence: Resorts World will be ultra-high-end. But in the beginning, at least, it doesn’t cost anything to walk around and look. n

NEWS

Shutdown—In the April 2020 LVA, we led off News with the first description of the “Shutdown,” and have followed with updates in every issue since. This will be the last installment. It’s not necessarily because the COVID-19 crisis is over. It’s probably far from that. But Las Vegas’ return from the full shutdown is so far along that forward movements are now more the rule than the exception. All casinos are allowed to be at 100% capacity as of June 1. Distancing protocols and plexiglass dividers have been almost completely eliminated. Masks are no longer required for anyone who’s been vaccinated and the percentage of maskless customers in casinos and bars increases daily. Buffets are returning. Conventions are booking. Numbers are up big across the board. As expressed in Couponomy, things aren’t currently as they were, but Las Vegas is no longer in shutdown mode. Palms—The sale of the Palms by Red Rock Resorts to the San Man- uel Band of Mission Indians is now official. San Manuel paid $650 million for the Palms, less than the $690 million spent by Red Rock on a recent comprehensive renovation of the resort. However, the deal includes the condo tower. Red Rock Resorts is precluded from reopening the Palms, so it will remain shuttered for several more months until the sale closes. San Manuel has indicated that it has no plans to change the name. —Red Rock Resorts says it intends to resume work on a new resort on the west side of town at the junction of S. Durango Dr. and the 215 Beltway. The project, referred to as Durango Station, was originally planned to open in 2011. The new schedule calls for a groundbreaking in 2022; a completion date was not announced. Wynn Las Vegas—Wynn Las Vegas is implementing a $200 million room renovation. No details were disclosed, except that it will be a “full continued on next page

JUNE 2021 • LAS VEGAS ADVISOR • 3 News continued … remodel of the rooms.” Work is scheduled to begin in July and be com- pleted by 2022. MSG Sphere—A variety of factors, from rising commodity and labor costs to changes in design, have impacted the total-cost estimate for the 17,000-seat MSG Sphere entertainment complex, which now stands at $1.83 billion. The Sphere’s roof trusses, which weigh 100 tons apiece, have been installed and the ultimate shape of the dome is now discernible. The project is on track to be completed sometime in 2023. Monorail/Trams—Both the and the Strip trams have resumed service. After being out of commission for 14-plus months the monorail is operating on its pre-COVID (and pre-sale to the LVCVA) schedule: Monday 7 am to midnight, Tuesday-Thursday 7 am to 2 am, and Friday-Sunday, 7 am to 3 am. The fees to ride are unchanged: single ride $5, day pass $13, multi-day passes $23-$56. The three Strip trams—Trea- sure Island-Mirage, Bellagio-Park MGM, and Excalibur-Mandalay Bay—are currently running on decreased schedules from before the shutdown. Laughlin—A second bridge is being built over the Colorado River, connecting Laughlin to Bullhead City, Arizona. The $52.4 million project includes a 724-foot-long bridge and new approach roadways on both sides of the river. Construction will begin this year and take about two years to complete. The original bridge, built in 1987, has been crossed by more than 600 million people. Lake Tahoe—The Lakeside Inn at Stateline, , which never reopened after the shutdown, has been sold to Barton Healthcare System, a non-profit hospital and healthcare company that serves the Lake Tahoe basin. Barton paid $13.3 million for the 75-year-old property. It plans to tear down the old building and replace it with a new one to expand its medical facilities in Stateline. Indiana—Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana has opened in Gary. The $300 million resort, relocated and rebranded from the Majestic Star river- boat, has five restaurants, a 2,000-seat theater, and a casino with 1,600 machines and 80 table games. Statistics—Nevada’s statewide gambling win was up 72.7% in March compared to the same month last year. The Strip win was up 67.2% and downtown was up 63.4%. The statewide win total was $1.1 billion; it was the first month to exceed the $1 billion mark since February 2020 and every one of Nevada’s 20 reporting markets registered double- or triple-digit per- centage increases. Visitation was up 44.8%, with 2.2 million people coming to town. They were all vacationers, however, as convention attendance registerd 0 for the 12th consecutive month. The hotel occupancy rate was 13.5 percent- age points better than February at 55.5%. Weekends were at 77.7%, but reflecting the absence of conventioneers, weekdays were still low at 47.8%.

4 • LAS VEGAS ADVISOR • JUNE 2021 TOP 10 VALUES 1. Steak Dinner • Ellis Island • 24 hours • $7.99 2. Buffet • South Point • Daily. • $9.95-$19.95 The Ellis Island complete 3. Beer • Stage Door • 24 hours • $1 steak dinner returns to the #1 4. Breakfast • Arizona Charlie’s • Daily • $5.99 spot in the Top Ten. Served 5. Hot Dog • South Point • Daily • $1.25 24/7 in the Café, get the $7.99 6. Prime Rib • Ellis Island • Daily • $16.99/26.99 price by playing at least $5 in 7. Shrimp Cocktail • Skyline • Daily • $1.50 any slot machine with your club 8. $1 Blackjack • OYO • Daily • $1.20¢ card inserted, then downloading $2 Menu the required discount coupon 9. • Jake’s Bar • Daily • $2 Room Rates from an EI kiosk. If you don’t 10. • Four Queens et al • $49 and up want to play, you can get it for $9.99 ($3 off the listed price) just by downloading a coupon from the kiosk that’s available to everyone with a club card. Of the now five oper- ating buffets in Las Vegas, the South Point buffet (#2) is the least expen- sive by far. Breakfast, which includes unlimited bloody Marys, is the best deal; show a club card to get the $9.95 price. Budweiser and Michelob Light in the bottle are $1 at the Stage Door slot house on Flamingo, just east of the Strip (#3); a ¼-pound hot dog and a Bud is $3. The steak or ham & eggs at either Arizona Charlie’s (#4) is served in the Sourdough Cafés for $5.99 when you show your club card, available 24 hours at Decatur and 6 am-mid. weekdays and 24 hours weekends at Boulder. The hot dogs at South Point (#5) are sold from a cart in the sports book from 10 am until they close down the cart around 5 pm. Ellis Island’s potent prime rib tandem (#6) is available 24/7. You won’t get a better prime deal for the price anywhere in town and the humungous dou- ble cut stands up to anything you’ll find at twice the price. The Skyline shrimp cocktail (#7) returns from its Covid vacation with a better product and a cheaper price; get the details in Dining). Oyo’s $1-minimum black- jack game (#8) runs 24/7 in the pit; naturals pay even money on bets of $1-$4. The $1.20 listed cost is your expected loss for one hour of play at these stakes. A first-timer on the list is the $2 menu at Jake’s Bar (#9). Along with this excellent food value, Jake’s has other good deals that you’ll read about throughout this issue. While it may sound contradictory to what’s discussed in Couponomy, rooms continue to be priced to sell. The lack of conventions is the main reason, and that may change soon, but for now, room rates hold down the #10 spot on the list. There are also some amazing bundled deals at the high-end resorts that you can access at LasVegasAdvisor.com. Airline traffic was up 25%, with 2.6 million travelers in March. More routes are opening up and Southwest Airlines is initiating non-stop service to Hawaii this month. Southwest started flying to Hawaii from Las Vegas in January 2019, but all flights were routed through airports in California. n continued on next page

JUNE 2021 • LAS VEGAS ADVISOR • 5 News continued … Scorecard

Add Florida to the list of states with legal sports wagering after the signing of an amended compact with the Seminole Indians. According to the deal, the Seminoles will be allowed to conduct in-person and online sports betting beginning in October. Follow the progress of sports betting legalization across the country and track developments as they occur via our map at LasVegasAdvisor. com. n Wynn Settles Tip Lawsuit

Wynn Resorts has settled its longstanding tip-sharing dispute with a $5.6 million payment to current and former table-game dealers at Wynn and Encore. The legal saga stretched over more than 15 years and involved two federal lawsuits. It all stemmed from a policy implemented by Steve Wynn in 2006 that cut pit managers into a share of the dealers’ tips, the only casino company on the Strip ever to do so. The dealers in their lawsuits estimated that it cost them upwards of $50 million in lost tip income. After fees and other adjustments, about $4,000 will go to each of the 1,000 or so dealers who qualify for payments. n

DINING

The Pass Dining

There are two restaurants at The Pass—Emilia’s Café and Ristorante Italiano. We haven’t eaten at either, but sister casino Railroad Pass has always offered good food value and there’s a similar look on the menus at these two restaurants. Two specials being advertised are a $2.99 full breakfast from 4 to 8 am and steak or ham & eggs for $5.99 from 11 pm to 7 am. n

Three More Buffets

Make it five. Last month saw the reopening of the Bacchanal Buffet at Caesars Palace, the MGM Grand buffet, and the Circus Circus buffet. They join South Point and the Cosmopolitan to make five operating casino buffets in Las Vegas. The Bacchanal Buffet is open Thursday-Monday for dinner only for $64.99 (see review). The MGM Grand Buffet is also limited to Thursday-Monday, but only for breakfast and lunch ($25.99) Monday, Thursday, and Friday and brunch ($29.99) Saturday and Sunday. Circus Circus has even less availability, serving Saturday-Monday for brunch

6 • LAS VEGAS ADVISOR • JUNE 2021 ($23.99) and dinner ($25.99). The big news is that the Bacchanal reopened with a full self-serve for- mat, the first to do so since the re-emergence from the pandemic. Tongs and spoons are used with no cleaning or switching out between custom- ers. Diners are allowed to walk around and retrieve food without wearing masks. We don’t know yet what the formats are at MGM and Circus, but the Cosmopolitan has reportedly switched back to self-service, as well. We expect to see more buffet reopenings this month, but the question is where. According to a JP Morgan analyst, bosses have made it clear that “money-losing buffets are not coming back [to Station properties],” and on the heels of the Bacchanal opening, the head of Cae- sars Entertainment reportedly stated that “only one or two” other buffets would reopen company-wide. We listed 58 buffets in Las Vegas pre-pan- demic. Based on what we’re hearing, 15-20 seems like a reasonable expectation by the end of the year. n Bacchanal Buffet (Caesars Palace)

The hype has been huge for the return of the Bacchanal Buffet, an easy contender for the most lavish buffet in town prior to the pandemic and currently firmly at the top of that list, with Cosmo’s Wicked Spoon serving brunch only and the other gourmet buffets still on the sidelines. The big new room has a purported “100 new dishes, including Laotion, Filipino, and Indonesian fare, along with roving dim sum carts.” We can’t say for sure that all that was present (we did see a single dim sum cart, but the only thing on it was wagyu hot dogs), though it doesn’t really matter. This buffet is a spectacle, with food of all types everywhere—Asian (Chinese, Japanese, Korean), Italian, Mediterranean, Mexican/Southwest, Latin, and seafood galore. Build your own charcuterie plate, load up on several sushi selections, or graze the small plates, soups, salads, and vegetables (steamed, roasted, and pureed). The star of the incredible display of meats is a whole suckling pig, but there’s also carved-to-order prime rib, tri-tip, brisket, and American wagyu steamship, along with lamb T-bone, duck, and various presentations of chicken and fish. Of course, there’s a dedi- cated dessert island with cakes, pies, berries, gelato, crème brûlée, can- died apples, tarts, and almost 30 more selections. We liked the prosciutto and cheeses, the Chinese roast duck, shishito peppers, the best sushi you’re likely to find in a buffet—tuna, salmon, and shrimp nigiri, along with a selection of cut rolls—and the stunning seafood selection, which can almost justify the cost all by itself. The selection is so vast (more than 220 dishes) that choosing actually becomes a dilemma, but that’s part of the experience. continued on next page

JUNE 2021 • LAS VEGAS ADVISOR • 7 Dining continued …

Since you’re probably not gonna do this more than once per trip, you don’t want to make a mistake, so here’s the big you-wouldn’t-know-it- without-being-told tip (which is why we try these things). Everyone lines up at the hot crab legs station, where they literally cover your plate with crab legs and claws. It looks awesome and everyone dreams about gorging on hot crab legs with drawn butter at a buffet. The problem is, this isn’t big meaty king crab, it’s scrawny snow crab. Even though the supply is replenished Seafood plate minus hot crab legs constantly, the crab quickly becomes dried out and tasteless. A far superior play is to skip the hot-crab line and load up on a combination of the cold crab legs and Jonah crab claws (similar to stone crab), while throwing in a few cold lobster claws for good measure. Add some shrimp, clams, oysters, mussels, and scallops and you’ll be getting the best of this impressive seafood bar (with much easier access). Getting in is a formidable challenge. Even at $64.99 per person, the room was jammed (so expect that price to go up). If you show up cold, you might get excited because the lines are small, but they’re made up of peo- ple who already have reservations. Without one, you’ll have to scan a QR code and get on a waiting list that we hear can be hours long. Reservations can be made at opentable.com and to ensure your spot, you’ll have to reserve well ahead—we’re talking up to a couple weeks. If you’re flexible, we’re told that near-term openings pop up on OpenTable, so keep checking. n

Skyline Shrimp Cocktail

The Skyline’s best-in-town shrimp cocktail was put on ice during the pandemic, but it’s back and it’s one of the few deals that’s come back better than it was. Served 24/7 at the bar and in the restaurant, the price has been dropped from $2.25 to $1.50. That’s a pretty big deal, but the cocktail is also better than it was. Previously patterned after the Golden Gate’s famous shrimp cocktail—a Fisherman’s

Wharf-style with baby shrimp—the new version has Shrimp cocktail at Skyline

8 • LAS VEGAS ADVISOR • JUNE 2021 medium-sized shrimp with the tails on. There were 10 in our serving, filling up the plastic tulip glass with almost no filler at the bottom. It’s served with cocktail sauce on the side and crackers (ask the bartender for a lemon). Grab a Bud for $3.50 or get it comped while playing some quarter 9/6 Jacks or Better at the bar. n

EI Pizza

It’s somewhat amazing what a prominent pizza culture Las Vegas can boast, with just about every regional version you can think of and deals everywhere. Last month we compared Cosmopolitan’s Secret Pizza and Virgin’s , which led us to consider a big pizza round-up. But that would take up the entire Dining section, so we’re gonna do it in install- ments, with a pizza piece in every issue for a while. One of Las Vegas’ longest-running and best pizza shops is Metro Pizza. Metro has multiple locations around town, including a satellite at Ellis Island, where on Thursdays, slices and whole pies are 2-for-1 all day. That’s just $1.48 per slice for good New York-style cheese. n

Heritage Steak (Mirage)

We’re big fans of Tom Coliccio’s Crafts- teak at MGM Grand, but we weren’t nearly as impressed with his Heritage Steak at . Coliccio is known for offering an amazing selection of vegetables at his steakhouses and Craftsteak has one of the best steak tartares in Vegas. Heritage has a standard vegetable list and the $21 tar- tare is odd (overwhelmed by a topping of shoestring potatoes). More important, we were genuinely surprised by what seemed a lot smaller than the advertised 18 ounces for a $64 bone-in ribeye. The meal wasn’t Steak tartare at Hertage terrible by any stretch, but it’s not one we’d recommend spending your one $64-steak allotment on. n

The Steakhouse (Circus Circus)

Comparatively (with Heritage), this was a better meal, but it wasn’t particularly noteworthy, either. Maybe it’s just a pandemic hangover (the menus both here and at Heritage were truncated). We had the $69 bone-in ribeye and it was bigger and better than Heritage’s. You still have

JUNE 2021 • LAS VEGAS ADVISOR • 9 Dining continued … the option of The Steakhouse’s famous black-bean soup, served with a bowl of chopped onions and a shot of brandy in place of a salad and we can recommend that, if only for the novelty. Some rate this as the best steakhouse in Vegas. We don’t concur, but it’s certainly not a miss. n

Black bean soup with a shot of brandy Jake’s $2 Menu

There are several reasons that we put Jake’s Bar (2301 S. Eastern Ave.) in the Top Ten, but the main reason is its $2 menu. Served 24/7, the menu has more than a dozen $2 selections, including (artificial) crab cocktail, ham & cheese sandwich, meatloaf & mashed potatoes, sweet & sour shrimp & rice, and baked chicken wings. We’ve tried several and it takes

T-Bone special at Jake’s only two or three to make a meal. Better yet, on Fridays from 5 to 9 pm, an excellent 16-ounce T-Bone special comes with salad, baked potato, and corn on the cob for $12. This one’s on a par with the Thursday and Sunday steak special at Mr. D’s (LVA 3/21) and it’s $2 less. All of these deals are available to everyone, not just players. n

Chicken Wings (Lamoon)

Located in a former Dairy Queen at 6125 Spring Mtn. Rd., Lamoon serves a small selection of Thai dishes that include curries, salads, and soups. But the must-try here is the Fly to the Moon chicken wings. We don’t elaborate on chicken wings unless they’re really different, and these are. There’s a choice of yuzu honey or spicy tom yum sauces. We went with the spicy. They have a dry crispy coating, not messy like most, because the spice is more of a rub. It’s a com- bination of lemon and the spices used Chicken wings at Lamoon

10 • LAS VEGAS ADVISOR • JUNE 2021 in tom yum soup—not hot spicy, but it has a pop. There’re only four to an order for $7, but they’re also big wings. We tried a red curry and the pok pok salad (choice of papaya or corn) that were decent, but it’s the wings that will bring us back. n

Openings/Closings

Kassi Beach House, specializing in Italian coastal cuisine, has opened at Virgin Las Vegas. Side Piece Pizza has opened at Red Rock Resort, replacing Villa Italian Kitchen in the food court. Side Piece debuted at the Palms, where it served nothing but pizza, but the new counter at Red Rock will offer a more exten- sive menu of sandwiches, salads, and pasta. The breakfast-cereal restaurant Cereal Killerz Kitchen has opened an outlet in the at Planet Hollywood. Soulbelly BBQ has opened in the downtown Arts District. This one comes with a lot of hype surrounding celebrity-chef/owner Bruce Kalman. A third location of the L.A. hot dog restaurant Dirt Dog has opened downtown at . n

ENTERTAINMENT Review

27—A Musical Adventure Virgin Las Vegas Wed.-Sun. 8 pm, Dark Mon./Tues. $72.05/$93.68/$136.94

This is our first show review since March 2020. Wow! The rock-star-impersonator production 27—A Musical Adventure is playing at Virgin Las Vegas. The cast performs the music of six sing- er-songwriters who died at age 27: Robert Johnson, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain, and Amy Winehouse. Of course, they play the best-ofs, including “Crossroad” by Johnson (yep, he wrote and first performed the Clapton classic in 1936), “Purple Haze” by Hendrix, “Me and Bobby McGee” by Joplin, and “Rehab” by Winehouse. The per- formers are backed by a powerhouse five-piece band headed by a Viper Room (L.A.) alumnus. It’s a fast-moving 90 minutes with few lags or weak spots. The Kurt Cobain portrayal is the high point, with rousing renditions of some of Nirvana’s best. Then there’s a cool finale with all six performers on stage with the band to jam to “Sweet Home Chicago” (another John- continued on next page

JUNE 2021 • LAS VEGAS ADVISOR • 11 Entertainment continued … son-via-Clapton classic). Fun! Part of the appeal is the intimacy of the venue, 24 Oxford (it was Vinyl at the Hard Rock). It has a capacity of only 650 (and that includes general-ad- mission standing on the floor for concerts), so you’re up close and this room is an acoustic wonder. Consequently, even our seats in the wings weren’t terrible, though it’s better to sit more toward the center if you have a choice. There’s a bar in the back of the room; beers are $10. Tickets start at $72.05 after taxes, which feels a bit high, but show pricing all over town will likely be feeling itself out and adjusting in the near term. For now, it’s a good night out for $150 per couple, and if you find a deal for less, it’s defi- nitely a play. n Caesars Closing Shows

In a move somewhat akin to some companies’ discontinuing their buf- fets, Caesars Entertainment is pulling the plug on several of its shows. In reality, the move is designed to close some of its smaller venues, most notable among them Caesars Palace’s famous Cleopatra’s Barge, where Wayne Newton last performed. Same for other small venues at several casinos, marking the end, at least for now, of Anthony Cools Experi- ence, Friends! The Musical Parody, and Sex Tips for Straight Women from a Gay Man (Paris); Tenors of Rock and Crazy Girls (Planet Hollywood); X Rocks (Bally’s); The Bronx Wanderers and John Caparulo’s Mad Cap Com- edy (Harrah’s); and Chippendales (Rio). Another layer to this story involves CET charging the shows to cover the costs of moving out, but doing that was too creepy, even for them; in the end, Caesars backed off and picked up those expenses. n Bars and Happy Hours

The just-opened Kassi Beach House at Virgin runs “Kassi House Party” on Wednesdays, with half-off pastas and select drinks. Klondike Sunset has a happy hour daily from 3 to 6 pm, with a pitcher of beer and wings or a pitcher of margaritas and chips & salsa for $5. G.O.A.T. bar has unlimited domestic beer and well drinks during Golden Knights games. This will run as long as the VGK are alive in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Ellis Island is transforming part of its Front Yard venue into a tiki bar. Beginning June 3, the second floor will become The Island at Ellis, serv- ing tropical themed food and drinks. The tiki format will run daily, but only through July 4.

12 • LAS VEGAS ADVISOR • JUNE 2021 The Pass has two bars—the Silver Bar is in the center of the casino and The Pass Bar is located near the sports book. Along with the excellent food specials at Jake’s Bar (see Dining), draft Busch is $2 and it has what might be the only 25¢ pool table in town. Cashout Bar at 1651 Palm St. has free pizza on Saturdays and a good video poker sign-up bonus (see Gambling). More interesting is that it was the site of the original PT’s Pub when it opened in 1982. PT’s is now Neva- da’s dominant bar chain, with nearly 70 locations throughout the state, though Cashout is no longer one of them. In Andiamo at the D, a glass of Riserva Chianti is $18.39. At Sierra Gold Jones, a Tito’s is $13.75 and a Heineken is $9. At Chianti, a Tiamo Chianti or a Margarita is $11.90 and a Peroni is $7.03. In the Front Yard at Ellis Island, a brunch Bloody Mary is $10.84. In Meow Wolf Datamosh Bar, a Big Dogs Lager or Craft Haus Coffee Stout is $10. In View Lounge at The STRAT, a Heineken is $9.21. In Su Casa at Silverton, a Sapporo is $6.50. At Giuseppe’s Bar & Grille, a tequila sunrise is $6.50 and a Heineken is $6. At Sporting Life—Home Field, a Heineken is $5.50 and a Miller Lite is $5. At Miz Lola’s Pizzeria & Grill Flamingo, a draft Stella Artois is $5. At Griff’s, a Heineken is $4.75. At The Dive Bar, a Bud or a Coors Light is $4. n Entertainment Notes

Shin Lim Residency—Shin Lim, winner of “America’s ” in 2018, has inked a long-term deal with MGM Resorts for a residency at the Mirage. Lim essentially takes over the spot long held by , now at New York-New York. Raiders Tickets—According to big online ticket reseller, Vivid Seats, tickets for Las Vegas Raiders home games are the hottest sellers on the resale market. Out of the top ten most in-demand NFL games, the games at are the most expensive, including four of the top five, which are reselling for $654-$944. Stadium Nightclub—Wynn Resorts is creating a high-end nightclub within Allegiant Stadium. The 11,000-square-foot Wynn Field Club enter- tainment venue will be situated across the entire length of the north end zone and feature two DJ booths, bottle service, and a “state-of-the-art audio-visual package” consisting of 42 televisions, a 9’ x 35’ LED screen, and a 45,000-watt sound system, all adding up to a Las Vegas-style field- level party. Draft Day—The dates have been set for the NFL draft 2022 that will be held in Las Vegas. The event will run April 28-30, coming on the heels of the Pro Bowl being played at Allegiant Stadium on February 6. The draft is expected to be a huge event that will draw similarly to New Year’s Eve and Super Bowl weekends. It was scheduled to be in Las Vegas in 2020, but was canceled due to the pandemic. n

JUNE 2021 • LAS VEGAS ADVISOR • 13 GAMBLING The Pass Gambling

The big change in the casino at The Pass is the return of table games, which had been absent from the former Eldorado since 2015. Now black- jack, craps, and roulette tables are back on the floor. The blackjack games are 6 decks, dealer hits soft 17, double down allowed after split, and naturals pay 3-2 for a .6% casino edge against basic strategy. Craps offers 3X/4X/5X odds. Roulette is double-zero. Mini- nums on a Sunday afternoon were $10 on blackjack, $5 on craps, and $2 on roulette. There are no other pit games, no live keno, and no poker. There’s also a satellite Circa sports book. The players club is called Player’s Junction, same as at Railroad Pass, but as of now the systems are separate, so you have to get a new card. There are some daily specials for video poker players (see “VPL&F”). n WSOP 2021

The has announced this year’s dates for returning to a live format. The WSOP will take place Sept. 30 through Nov. 23, with the Main Event expected to run Nov. 4-17. Specific COVID-19 protocols and other related 2021 tournament policies will be reviewed with gaming regulators in the lead-up to the event. WSOP Europe is planned for Nov. 19 through Dec. 8 at King’s Casino in Rozvadov, Czech Republic. It doesn’t appear that the winners of the U.S. and European tournaments will meet as they did last year. The WSOP online tournament will begin July 1. All dates are tentative, pending COVID assessments. One more point of interest: The WSOP will partner with the CBS Sports Network to air 51 hours of tournament coverage, parting ways with ESPN after a decades-long affiliation. n Summer Poker Alternatives

No WSOP in June? No problem. Wynn Resorts has announced a World Series of Poker-like tournament that will take place around the same time that the WSOP is traditionally held. The Wynn Signature Series began May 27 and will run through July 12; it will feature more than 30 poker tourna- ments with a total prize pool of $16 million-plus, including five events with at least $1 million in prize money. The main event is the Wynn Millions, a $10,000-buy-in tournament scheduled for June 25 to July 2 with a guar- anteed prize pool of $10 million. The Wynn is obviously betting on more than 1,000 players signing up to cover the prize pool in the poker vacuum

14 • LAS VEGAS ADVISOR • JUNE 2021 created by the WSOP delay. The Venetian is also helping to fill that vacuum with another round of its Deep Stack Championship Series that runs from May into August, featuring three tournaments with at least $2 million in prizes and the $5,000-buy-in WPT event with $3 million guaranteed. n Keno Survivor

We hold our breath as we wait to see what does and doesn’t come back. But one returnee is the long-running 95¢ keno progressive at the Fremont. We’ve written about this several times over many years (begin- ning in 1993). Here are the relevant details. It’s a 5-spot catch-all that progresses $25 every day until it’s hit. If the jackpot is $1,475 or higher, you have an advantage (100.17% return) and the edge will grow by about 1.7% each day as $25 is added. The progressive caps at $5,000; though we’ve never seen or heard of it getting there, if it ever does, the return will be 339.42%. Walk through the Fremont and check it out; the progressive’s current level is posted in the keno lounge. n Harvard Sides with Ivey

The Harvard Journal of Sports and Entertainment Law has published an article by a contract lawyer who concludes that Phil Ivey and his partner “Kelly” Cheung Yin Sun did not, in fact, cheat Borgata with the edge-sort- ing play that earned them nearly $10 million in 2012. “Not even close,” states Nanci Carr, an assistant professor of business law at California State University, Northridge. “What’s really inexcusable from the casino perspective was that Phil Ivey said, ‘I want these types of cards, and I want an automatic shuffler, and this kind of dealer,’ and the casino said ‘OK.’ Why do you think Phil was asking for these things? Of course, he thought it would give him some sort of advantage. It’s not like he had a secret device in his pocket. He came right out and said I want these three things, and they said OK.” Finally, some common sense has been infused into the argument from an outside source. Ivey and Kelly lost the lawsuit brought by Bor- gata to reclaim the millions they won. However, all along, top gambling experts have backed the Ivey/Sun position, much for the reasons stated by Carr. An entire chapter of our new book Radical Blackjack (see the wrap) discusses edge-sorting, both in the Ivey/Sun case and in its black- jack application. A movie on the saga, The Baccarat Machine, has been in pre-production for a year. n Gambling Notes

Jackpots—It was a second consecutive month of big slot wins. A $2.9 million jackpot was hit on a Wheel of Fortune machine at the Venetian. A continued on next page

JUNE 2021 • LAS VEGAS ADVISOR • 15 Gambling continued … $1.25 million jackpot was hit on a Wheel of Fortune machine at the West- gate. A $1.2 million jackpot was hit on a Buffalo slot at the D. The Westgate win was by a woman from Idaho who was traveling to Texas and made a spur-of-the-moment decision to stop in Las Vegas. Good decision! Hockey Slots—A Vegas Golden Knights-branded slot machine has been installed at South Point. The big slot—eight feet wide and eight feet tall— occupies the space of three regular machines and is located near the oys- ter bar. Developed by the slot maker AGS, it’s the first of what’s expected to be a series of NHL-themed games. Speedy Signers—A new system called Jackpot Xpress is on a 30- to 180-day field trial at Caesars Palace. It’s designed to speed up the paper- work involved with jackpots that require IRS reporting. Derby Numbers—The total amount wagered on the entire card of the Kentucky Derby was $233 million, the second highest ever, behind 2019’s $250.9 million. The Derby race itself generated $155.4 million in wagers. A reported crowd of 51,838 attended the event. It was the largest recorded crowd count since the pandemic began, but still small compared to the 150,000 that attended in 2019. n Video Poker Lost and Found

As reported last month, The Pass has some 8/5 Bonus Poker (99.17%) and 9/6 Double Double Bonus (98.98%) on the floor. Daily bonus-point accelerators include 6X points all day on Wednesdays and Sundays; a 100-coin bonus is awarded for 4-to-a-royal on Tuesdays. The royal bonus is for a designated single suit only, so the value is diminished, but with the .125% players club, any of these bonuses raises the return on the 8/5 BP games to the 100% range. According to the online database vpFREE2, the best game anywhere in The STRAT is 7/5 BP (98.01%). You’re better off walking across the street to the diminutive , where you can play Airport Deuces (98.91%) or 8/5 BP paying 30 for all quads (98.48%), both from 1¢ to $1. Jake’s Bar has a play-$20-get-$20 sign-up bonus, to go with its excel- lent food deals (see Dining). The 6/5 BP (96.87%) is enhanced by 24/7 wheel-spin bonuses for quad 5s-Ks, which raises the return to better than 98%. You also get drawing tickets when you get four to a royal or a quick quad (3-of-a-kind and two cards adding up to 4-of-a-kind, e.g., 66642), which raises the return slightly more. Cashout Bar (see Entertainment). has a play-$20-get-$20 sign-up bonus. It’s located near Jake’s, so you can parlay the two. The best game is straight 6/5 BP. The new Henderson bar Sticks has standard bar schedules, with 6/5 BP

16 • LAS VEGAS ADVISOR • JUNE 2021 the highest return, but there’s a good food-comp policy. Buy in for $100 or more and (at bartender’s discretion) order off a comped menu that includes chicken wings, poutine, and fried potato salad. Bob Dancer’s free video poker classes are expected to resume at South Point this summer. Until then, be sure to check out Bob’s weekly Tuesday blog and the Thursday “Gambling With an Edge” podcast, with Bob and Richard Munchkin, both at LasVegasAdvisor.com. n Video Poker Pop Quiz

If you haven’t checked the LVA YouTube Channel yet, maybe we can persuade you with prizes. Among several videos in our “In the Wild Series,” two have been quizzes on video poker strategy in which we ask viewers to watch a quick 35 hands, pick out the errors, and email them to us. Those who identify the misplayed hands correctly get into a drawing for prizes that include comped chicken fingers from Crown & Anchor, video poker products, and LVA memberships. It’s fun, you’ll learn some things, and the field isn’t huge, so your prize equity is good. Go to youtube.com/c/lasvegasadvisorshow and subscribe to get notifi- cations when we post future quizzes. WEATHER KEY dates JUNE JUNE Mean 82° Avg. Max. 102° Avg. Min. 61° 4-7 - International Vision Expo West - 30,000 The first of the hot dry months. Welcome to the desert. 4-7 - JCK Jewelry Show - 30,000 Pools: Open 8-10 - World of Concrete - 60,000 Attire: Minimal 20-21 - Int. Esthetics Cosmetics & Spa - 25,000 22-24 - International Pizza Expo - 12,000 27-29 - Cosmoprof North America - 40,000 29-30 - NightClub and Bar Show - 40,000 JULY JULY Mean 87° Avg. Max. 107° Avg. Min. 67° 19-21 - Int. Security Conference ISC West - 30,000 Dry, sauna-like heat. Sun worshipers enjoy 85% 20-23 - Woodworking & Furnishing Fair - 18,500 sunny days. 25-29 - LV Market Summer - 50,000 Pools: Open Attire: The skimpier the better. If it’s not mandatory, don’t wear it! AUGUST AUGUST Mean 85° Avg. Max. 104° Avg. Min. 66° 9-11 - Marketplace - 75,000 A very hot and wet month. Desert electrical storms are 10-12 - International Roofing Expo - 10,000 spectacular but can cause dangerous floods on and 10-12 - Licensing International Expo - 10,000 around the strip. 16-19 - SuperZoo West - 10,000 Pools: Open 22-25 - ASD Market Week - 10,000 Attire: Summer cool, bathing suits.

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