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Home , Bacchanal Buffet, Downtown Grand, Elara (timeshare), Santa Fe Station, The Strat (Las Vegas)

ANTHONY CURTIS’ LasVegasAdvisor July 2021 • Vol. 38 • Issue 7 $5

RESORTS WORLD OPENS Big and friendly?… pgs. 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 13, 16 SUMMER ROOM RATES Decent, but higher than usual … pg. 2, 5 MORE BUFFETS Excalibur, , and Wynn join in … pg 6 VEGAS TEST KITCHEN Boss bagels and baniza … pg. 8

CANNABIS LOUNGES Buy it; smoke it … pg. 12 Local (702) Toll Free 2021 MEMBER Aliante ++Spa...... 692-7777...... 877-477-7627 Aria...... 590-7111...... 866-359-7757 Arizona Charlie’s Boulder...... 951-5800...... 800-362-4040 REWARDS Arizona Charlie’s Decatur...... 258-5200...... 800-342-2695 Bally’s...... 739-4111...... 877-603-4390 DINING, INCLUDING Bellagio...... 693-7111...... 888-987-7111 Binion’s...... 382-1600...... 800-937-6537 “LOCAL CORNER”, DRINKS, ...... 432-7777...... 800-683-7777 ...... 731-7110...... 866-227-5938 ATTRACTIONS, AND California...... 385-1222...... 800-634-6505 Cannery...... 507-5700...... 866-999-4899 GAMBLING Casino Royale (Best Western Plus)...... 737-3500...... 800-854-7666 Circa...... 247-2258...... 833-247-2258 Additional Member Rewards Online Circus Circus...... 734-0410...... 800-634-3450 Cosmopolitan...... 698-7000...... 877-551-7778 offers at LasVegasAdvisor.com. ...... 719-5100...... 855-384-7263 ...... 385-5200...... 800-634-6703 Ellis Island (Super 8)...... 733-8901...... 800-800-8000 *The 2021 LVA Member Rewards book is avail- Encore...... 770-7100...... 877-321-9966 Excalibur...... 597-7777...... 800-937-7777 able ONLY with a paid one-year membership to Flamingo...... 733-3111...... 800-732-2111 the Advisor newsletter. No exceptions. ...... 385-4011...... 800-634-6045 Fremont...... 385-3232...... 800-634-6460 Gold Coast...... 367-7111...... 800-331-5334 Golden Gate...... 385-1906...... 800-426-1906 Golden Nugget...... 385-7111...... 844-468-4438 ...... 617-7777...... 866-782-9487 MEMBERSHIP OPTIONS: Harrah’s...... 369-5000...... 800-392-9002 FULL MEMBERSHIP: Includes 12 monthly is- LINQ, The...... 731-3311...... 866-328-1888 Longhorn (Super 8)...... 435-9170...... 800-800-8000 sues of the Las Vegas Advisor newsletter, mailed Luxor...... 262-4000...... 800-288-1000 first-class; the LVA Member Rewards book*; ...... 797-1000...... 877-673-7678 plus 365 days of access to our website: ...... 632-7777...... 877-632-7800 MGM Grand...... 891-1111...... 800-929-1111 www.LasVegasAdvisor.com. Mirage...... 791-7111...... 800-627-6667 New York-New York...... 740-6969...... 800-693-6763 U.S. Membership $50: (Includes shipping of NoMad...... 730-7000...... 888-706-6623 newsletter. Member Rewards book is shipped Orleans...... 365-7111...... 800-675-3267 OYO...... 739-9000...... 866-584-6687 at an additional $3.50, or can be picked up at ...... 367-2411...... 800-634-3101 our office any day after the first business day of Palazzo...... 607-7777...... 866-263-3001 the year.) Paris...... 946-7000...... 888-266-5687 Park MGM...... 730-7777...... 800-311-8999 Canadian Membership $60us / Overseas ...... 785-5555...... 866-919-7472 Plaza...... 386-2110...... 800-634-6575 Membership $70us: (Includes shipping of Rampart ...... 507-5900...... 877-869-8777 newsletter. Member Rewards book is shipped Red Rock Resort...... 797-7777...... 866-767-7773 at an additional $5us to Canada, $7us to Over- Rio...... 252-7777...... 888-746-7482 seas, or can be picked up at our office any day Resorts World...... 676-7000...... 800-774-1500 ...... 761-7000...... 855-761-7757 after the first business day of the year.) Sam’s Town...... 456-7777...... 800-634-6371 ...... 658-4900...... 866-767-7771 ONLINE MEMBERSHIP $37us: Includes 365 ...... 733-7000...... 800-640-9777 www.LasVegasAdvisor.com Silverton...... 263-7777...... 800-588-7711 days of access to , South Point...... 796-7111...... 866-791-7626 and the LVA Member Rewards book.* (Member Suncoast...... 636-7111...... 877-677-7111 Rewards books can be picked up at the LVA of- Sunset Station...... 547-7777...... 888-786-7389 fice or shipped to your home via coupon service The Cromwell...... 777-3777...... 844-426-2766 the D...... 388-2400...... 800-274-5825 for $3.50 to a U.S. address; $5us to Canadian ...... 380-7777...... 800-998-6937 and $7us to Overseas addresses.) Treasure Island (TI)...... 894-7111...... 800-944-7444 Tropicana...... 739-2222...... 800-634-4000 SINGLE ISSUE: Call to order—$5us hard copy Tuscany...... 893-8933...... 877-887-2261 (First-class postage included. Current issue un- ...... 590-2767...... 866-745-7767 less otherwise specified. Member Rewards book Venetian...... 414-1000...... 877-883-6423 Waldorf Astoria...... 590-8888...... 800-925-3673 is not included.) Westin ...... 567-6000 * The LVA Member Rewards book is available ONLY ...... 836-5900...... 800-937-8461 ...... 732-5111...... 800-732-7117 with a paid one-year subscription to the Las Vegas Ad- visor Wild Wild West (Days Inn)...... 740-0000...... 800-777-1514 newsletter. No exceptions. Restricted to one per Wildfire...... 648-3801 person and two per household, per year. ...... 770-7000...... 866-770-7077 July 2021 $5 ANTHONY CURTIS’ LasVegasAdvisor

COUPONOMY by Anthony Curtis Resorts World Opens

After lots of starts and stops, twists and turns, and general changing of directions, Resorts World finally opened on June 24. Am I impressed? Heck yeah I am. The place is a monster. But I seem to be in the minority in that feeling. I’ve talked to lots of people who are rating it on a scale of shrug to a full-out thumbs down. Why is that? One reason, and I agree with it, is that even after all this time, it seems like Resorts World opened before it was ready. A number of restaurants and entertainment components are still not open and the first few days were fairly glitchy, with systems going down all over the place. In the “most technologically advanced casino” ever created, we couldn’t use a credit card to buy two beers and the bartender couldn’t pull up the price (“gimme twelve and we’ll call it even”). But the bigger reason may be that because the expectations were so built up over such a long period of time, RW will have a difficult time living up to them. The big guy is always an easy target, but not for me. I wasn’t expecting Resorts World to surpass Wynn or Bellagio in opulence and it doesn’t. I didn’t expect good gambling rules or schedules and there aren’t. But I also wasn’t expecting to experience something that made me almost forget that I was on the and I did. It’s hard to explain, but Resorts World is oddly self-contained. By that I mean that it feels like you can probably find whatever you’re looking for somewhere inside, so there’s no urgency to get out. I found myself walking around and exploring the place more than I usually do. I also found it more approachable than I expected. That is, you can play 25¢ video poker at the bar and get a comped beer. If you’re hungry at 7 am, you can get a darned good breakfast sandwich for $10. The music is hip, but not ear-piercingly loud. There are USB portals everywhere to charge your phone. It’s not a bargain joint, but for a high- end Strip megaresort, it’s surprisingly friendly and welcoming. Of course, there’s a lot to learn about Resorts World and we’ll have much more to say about it next month. In the meantime, we’ve covered it continued on next page Couponomy continued … fairly in depth with blog posts at LasVegasAdvisor.com and a video on the LVA YouTube channel. It’s definitely worth checking out, and parking is free, at least for a little while longer. n July Room Rates

Last month, I warned about the “pandemic reset,” which is a general move toward higher pricing. Everywhere. More evidence of that is revealed in the results of our annual July room-rate survey. One of the best indica- tors of overall marketing strategies is the price of a room, so this year’s results tell a tale. Last year, with only 83 casinos in the survey, 48 had base rates of $50 or below. This year, with a survey count of 98, there are only 30. While not unexpected, it’s certainly sobering. Following are this year’s findings. All are base rates and do not include resort fees. For the first time in many surveys, there are no casinos in the “$20 and under” club, so that category isn’t included. The lowest base rate was $22 at Golden Gate. Note that these rates were available when we checked, but can change at any time—we can’t guarantee that you’ll get all of the listed prices. $30 and under—Circus Circus, Ellis Island, Golden Gate, OYO, Rio, Silver Sevens, The STRAT. $40 and under—Bally’s, El Cortez, Flamingo, Harrah’s, LINQ, Longhorn, , Palace Station, Serene, Tropicana. $50 and under—Downtown Grand, Excalibur, Artisan, Silverton, the D, Gold Coast, Plaza, Boulder Station, Binion’s, Wild Wild West, Primm Val- ley, Luxor, Tuscany. High End—Planet Hollywood $53, NY-NY $65, Golden Nugget $69, Park MGM $69, Treasure Island $76, Cromwell $81, Paris $82, MGM Grand $86, Signature at MGM $89, $99, Trump $101, Virgin $104, Green Valley Ranch $110, Hilton Lake LV $114, M Resort $115, Mirage $129, Resorts World $135, Circa $139, $146, NoMad $149, Red Rock $149, Vdara $159, Caesars Palace $162, Nobu $180, Venetian $192, Mandalay Bay $199, Palazzo $200, Encore $207, Wynn $207, Del- ano $229, Bellagio $275, Aria $279, Cosmopolitan $280, Four Seasons $295, Waldorf Astoria $295. The theme is consistent through to the high end, where almost every rate is up, some extraordinarily so. For example, is $64 per night more than last year and Caesars Palace is $68 more. That ain’t

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: 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 • JULY 2021 nothin’. The Venetian is +$80, Wynn and Encore are +$100, Cosmo is +$130, Mandalay Bay and Delano are +$160, Waldorf Astoria is +$172, and the “winner” is Aria going for a regal $180 more per night than last July. What’s worse, the resort fees have also increased at many of these places. How long will it last? As long as people are paying. As touched on last month, right now customers are so crazed to get out they’ll pay the freight no matter how high. That won’t last forever. But it’s definitely happening now. The news isn’t all bad. Bucking the trend, Park MGM and Signature at MGM are both $10 less than last year, plus there’s more help available with the LVA Luxury Travel program we wrote about in March, where those high rates at places like Bellagio and Cosmo come with $160-$175 in F&B cred- its, knocking the cost back into the decent category (get details at LasVegasAdvisor.com). And take another look at the list. There are still lots of options under $50. Even though a place like Circus Circus comes in at $61 per night after adding the RF, and Bally’s, Harrah’s, and wind up at $72, those are still good rates for staying on the Strip. And you can still stay for under $50 downtown ($49.95 after RF at El Cortez). n RFs and PP

That’s resort fees and paid parking. Resort fees were up by $5 this month at Palace Station ($34.99) and California and Fremont (both $23.99). The RF at Resorts World is $45. Parking fees are now back at Caesars properties, MGM properties, and Cosmopolitan. Formerly free, fees will soon be charged in the garage at Planet Hollywood and they could show up any day at Resorts World, which isn’t charging now, but has all the pay apparatus in place. You can stay up on the latest in PP and RFs at LasVegasAdvisor.com. n

NEWS

Resorts World—After multiple delays, the massive Resorts World Las Vegas opened to big crowds on June 24. The $4.3 billion 3,500-room resort features more than 40 food and beverage outlets, 70,000 square feet of retail space, an elevated pool complex, and a 117,000-square-foot casino. Several restaurants and nightclubs are yet to open and the 5,000- seat theater won’t debut until November. The resort is being touted for its high-tech amenities, including keyless hotel rooms that you open with your phone, digital-wallet purchasing throughout, and a cashless casino floor. It’s the first new property to open on the Strip since the Cosmopolitan in continued on next page

JULY 2021 • LAS VEGAS ADVISOR • 3 2010. Convention Center—Thirty-three months after breaking ground, the West Hall expansion of the Las Vegas Convention Center opened early last month for the World of Concrete convention, which attracted 10,000 attendees. The $2 billion 1.4-million-square-foot West Hall was actually completed in December 2020, meeting the original deadline for hosting the 2021 Consumer Electronics Show in early January, but wasn’t needed until World of Concrete. The West Hall occupies the property that was once the Riviera; its entrance is directly off the Strip. Las Vegas Loop—The $52.5 million Las Vegas Loop subterranean transportation system that runs under the Las Vegas Convention Center is now operating after taking only 18 months to build. While we’ve been referring to it as a “people mover” and “subway,” it’s really just two tunnels that are traversed by regular automobiles (specifically, Teslas) with human drivers and three or four passengers per car, but it’s still a unique form of (free) public transportation. As of now, it’s used only by conventioneers to get from one end to the other of the massive Las Vegas Convention Center, but it will soon have a link to Resorts World (many Resorts World directional signs already include arrows to the “Vegas Loop”) and other destinations are planned. White Cross Drugs—Work on a $20 million “overhaul” of the iconic White Cross Drugs building at the corner of and Oakey Boulevard near The STRAT is scheduled to begin in September. Upwards of 17,000 square feet of the 25,000-square-foot 1950s’ structure will be retained, with another 33,000 square feet added; the new building will house “bars, restaurants, and possibly some office tenants.” Lake Mead—According to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, the surface of Lake Mead has dropped to its lowest level since it was filled to 1,225.44 feet in the 1930s. Last month the Bureau put Mead at 1,071.61 feet, tying the record low set in 2016. But it will shatter that record, as water in the lake is expected to keep declining for the next four to five months. Statistics—’s statewide gambling win was up … wait for it … 28,255.9% in April compared to the same month last year. That’s a record! Of course, it’s because the casinos were closed in April 2020 and the win was just $3.7 million from online sports betting and poker. The April 2021 Powerhouse CC Play

We’re currently promoting an offer from Chase Sapphire for a credit card that has a lot of advantage-play value. The primary appeal is that when you charge $4,000 within three months, you get 100,000 points redeemable for $1,000 in cashback or $1,250 in travel credits (they can also be used for a 4-night stay over a weekend at Bellagio). That’s as juicy a premium as we’ve seen. There are other benefits and the yay-or-nay approval process is almost instantaneous. Check out the details in “The Travel Game” at LasVegasAdvisor.com. n

4 • LAS VEGAS ADVISOR • JULY 2021 TOP 10 VALUES 1. Resorts World • Las Vegas Strip • 24 hours • Free 2. Steak Dinner • Ellis Island • 24 hours • $7.99 For the third time this year, 3. Buffet • South Point • Daily • $9.95-$19.95 a new casino occupies the #1 4. Beer • Stage Door • 24 hours • $1 spot in the Top Ten. Resorts 5. Breakfast • Arizona Charlie’s • Daily • $5.99 World Las Vegas represents one 6. Hot Dog • South Point • Daily • $1.25 of the biggest openings ever in 7. Shrimp Cocktail • Skyline • 24 hours • $1.50 Las Vegas and there’s plenty to 8. $1 Blackjack • OYO • 24 hours • $1.20 see. We cover some of the key $2 Menu elements of the new joint in this 9. • Jake’s Bar • 24 hours • $2 Room Rates issue and will provide a com- 10. • El Cortez et al • $50 and up plete rundown next month. The Ellis Island complete steak dinner moves to #2 for this month only with it’s complete steak dinner. Served 24/7 in the Café, get the $7.99 price by playing at least $5 in any slot machine with your club card inserted, then downloading the required discount coupon from an EI kiosk. If you don’t 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 eight operating buffets in Las Vegas, the South Point buffet (#3) is the least expensive 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 (#4); a ¼-pound hot dog and a Bud is $3. The steak or ham & eggs at either Arizona Charlie’s (#5) 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 (#6) are sold from a cart in the sports book from 10 am until they close down the cart around 5 pm. The Skyline shrimp cocktail (#7) is served at the main bar. Oyo’s $1-minimum blackjack 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. Jake’s Bar at Eastern and Sahara has more than a dozen food selections for $2 each (#9)— and that includes tax—available all day to everyone, not just gamblers. Whereas our traditional summer room-rate survey usually produces rates worthy of the top spot on the list, this year’s rates just barely squeak in at #10. Check out the results of the survey in Couponomy. There are also some good bundled deals at the high-end resorts that you can access at LasVegasAdvisor.com. win was $1.4 billion, which is already ahead of pre-pandemic levels. Visitation was up 2,307.7%, but unlike the win, still lags in its rebound due to the continued absence of conventions—which reported 0 for the

continued on next page

JULY 2021 • LAS VEGAS ADVISOR • 5 News continued … 13th consecutive month—and the slow return of foreign travel. The hotel occupancy rate continues to improve, rising to 65.6%, with 83.5% week- ends and 57.9% weekdays. Airline traffic was up 1,806.5%, with 2.9 million travelers in April. Low- cost carrier Frontier Airlines is adding new direct routes this month to Bur- bank, Phoenix, and Denver, with introductory fares as low as $19. n Sports Betting Scorecard

Bills have passed legalizing sports betting in Louisiana and Nebraska. Online sports betting has been approved in Connecticut (see Gambling). Ohio appears close to legalization and Arizona is on track to start taking wagers by football season. Meanwhile, Nevada fell to third place in the April comparison of sports betting handle ($454.4 million), trailing New Jer- sey ($747.9 million) and now Pennsylvania ($479.4 million). Follow the progress of sports betting legalization across the country and track developments as they occur via our map at LasVegasAdvisor.com. n

DINING

Buffet Update

Last month the buffet count was five. Before the end of this month, it will be eight. The buffets at Wynn, Excalibur, and Bellagio reopen this month, joining South Point, Cosmopolitan, Caesars Palace, MGM Grand, and Circus Circus. The Wynn is a re-reopening. It was the first to come back after the shutdown, but the waiter-served format didn’t work and it closed again in early September. There’s been no confirmation that it’s reverted to the traditional self-serve format, but that’s almost a given. As of now, the buffet will be served Thursday through Monday only, from 8 to 10 am for breakfast ($38.99), 10 am to 3 pm for brunch ($45.99), and 3 to 9 pm for dinner ($64.99). Saturday and Sunday brunch will run from 10 am to 3 pm ($48.99). Excalibur is serving brunch only, Thursday through Monday from 8 am to 3 pm. It’s $24.99 Thursday, Friday, and Monday and $29.99 Saturday and Sunday. It was announced at press time that the Bellagio Buffet will reopen on July 16. Like Excalibur, it’ll be brunch only, from 7 am to 3 pm seven days a week, Mon.-Thurs. ($39) and Fri.-Sun. ($49). Since the meals served are

6 • LAS VEGAS ADVISOR • JULY 2021 different, we can’t make a proper value comparison, but the price points at Bellagio are much more enticing than those at Wynn and Caesars. The Bacchanal Buffet at Caesars Palace is now open seven days a week. It still offers dinner only from 4 to 10 pm, but for $10 more than last month at $74.99. Yeoww! Who didn’t know that was coming? Who’s next? Last month, Boyd Gaming joined Station in stating that it won’t bring back its buffets. Caesars Entertainment has indicated the same, despite the strong response to the Bacchanal. It’s looking more and more like the lower-end buffets will be last to return, and then only when an operator sees a marketing opportunity in making that move. It will happen. n Dollar Dogs at Slots A Fun

Last summer, Slots A Fun advertised $1 hot dogs and $1 beer, but neither was ever available. We wrote it up as “The Dog & Beer Promo that Isn’t.” Now they are. Both are served at the bar, which is usually open from 4 pm to midnight on weekdays, and most of the day on weekends. The dog is a bit puny and the beer is Busch Light poured from a pitcher kept in the bar fridge (ours was lukewarm and flat). So it’s not quite a culinary powerhouse, but it’s $2 total. You Hot dog and beer at Slots A Fun can walk there from Resorts World. n Vegas Test Kitchen

Showing up in foodie cities, “test kitchens” provide a single space for established chefs to test-market new menu items and up-and-comers to introduce their offerings. Vegas Test Kitchen opened last December at 1020 Fremont St., next door to Fergusons Downtown. It serves several sta- ple items Thursday-Sunday, hosts meatless Mondays for the vegan crowd, puts on chef mini-residencies and one-off dinners, and runs special events, such as a comedy club, on weekend evenings. Since the featured foods are provided by different chefs, we assumed this was a food-court format, but it’s not. It’s a sit-down restaurant where you order from a menu (virtual, see pg.8). Morning choices tend to be bagels and pies. The bagels can be ordered alone or as breakfast sand- wiches to eat there or take out. It varies. Mornings sometimes have ban- iza, a sweet or savory Bulgarian pastry. It’s fluid. Later in the day, you’ll find pizza, sushi, Asian noodle soups, and whatever else is currently being served up. It shifts. Then there are pop-up events, with guest chefs continued on next page

JULY 2021 • LAS VEGAS ADVISOR • 7 Dining continued … swooping in to show off their specialties—e.g., a recent cev- iche series. The best way to monitor timing and availability of the offerings is to check the “calendar” at vegastestkitchen. com. We were there at 11 am on a Saturday, so we tried two bagels, one with a fried egg and cheese, the other with lox and capers. The bagels come from the chef at the acclaimed Rooster Boy Café, so they, and the sandwiches ($8-$10), are excellent. Our tab for two with Breakfast bagel at Vegas Test Kitchen tax and tip came to $25. Be forewarned: The menu and payment system are touchless. There’s no paper menu and you need a QR scanner on your phone (and know how to use it) to call up the current selections. If you don’t have a scanner, the hostess—who could be the gracious owner, Jolene Mannina, queen of the local foodie scene—can show you the menu on the “house phone” (but then you’ll feel like a Luddite). Also, there’s no point-of-sale system; you pay with a credit card (via a bank app on your phone), Apple Pay, or a similar platform. There’s a workaround for this too, but you should go in prepared for a high-tech experience. All in all, you’ll feel like you’re on the cutting edge of the Las Vegas foodie scene here and except for when the place hosts special events, there should be plenty of free parking on the street. n Pizza Picks

Continuing our foray into the exploding pizza scene, we revisited three New York-style veterans. First, we went back to the little pizza counter we liked when it first opened (LVA 3/14): Pin-Up Pizza, located in front of the Miracle Mile Shops. Back then, it stood out by serving the biggest slice on the Strip for $4.75. At the same time, Secret Pizza across the street at Cosmopolitan was getting $4.50 for a regular-size slice. Today, a slice at Pin-Up is roughly the same size, but half the quality and nearly double the price at $8.95. Our bill for a slice of cheese and a 12-ounce soda with tax came to $15.15. Ouch! Meanwhile, a slice of cheese at Secret Pizza is $5.25, just 75¢ more than seven years ago, and better. A slice of cheese and soda there, including tax, comes to $9.25. Then we drove out to Red Rock Resort for some Side Piece pizza, which recently moved from the

8 • LAS VEGAS ADVISOR • JULY 2021 Palms to Red Rock’s food court. Not only is it the same superlative pizza as before, but the prices are also the same: cheese ($4) up to meat lovers ($7); you can also get salads, garlic knots, and stromboli. Our slice and soda came to just over $7—the cheapest and best of our past favorites. n Las Vegas-Style Barbecue

Similar to pizza, barbecue is burgeoning in Las Vegas. The best “smoke shops” serve only a few items—brisket, ribs, pulled pork, sausage, chicken/turkey and coleslaw, potato salad, beans, and corn bread—and they’re mostly the same, with some regional variations. Unlike Texas, the Carolinas, Memphis, and Kansas City, Vegas doesn’t have its own brand of barbecue, but this month we’re reviewing two restaurants—one that touts “Las Vegas-style” and one that actually delivers it, but not in the way you think. Jessie Rae’s advertises Las Vegas-style, but it’s merely a description of its own (Texas) approach. For a 24-seat hole in the wall in an industrial part of town at 5611 S. Valley View and Russell, this is outstanding ’cue and the full tables and line out the door are proof that the brisket is delicious, the ribs melt in your mouth, the sides are as good as any, and what they call the “God sauce” is deep and rich (you can skip the chicken). The prices are good; we got the three-meat platter with one side and potato salad a la carte and the tab came to $26 before tax and tip. It’s been serving the same food at this location since 2015—you can’t go wrong here. Then there’s Benny’s Smokin’ BBQ and Brews at Binion’s. The restau- rant has taken over Benny’s Bullpen bar in the back of the original wing across from the registration desk. The menu is limited to brisket, baby back ribs, and chicken and all dinners come with slaw, baked beans, a half- cob of corn, and a corn muffin. It’s not first-rate bbq like Jessie Rae’s, but we’d give it a solid B; the chicken is as tender and smoky as the ribs and the brisket is serviceable. The big get here: Binion’s has never skimped on quantity and these dinners continue that tradition with a vengeance. Trans- lation: you get a heap of food. Really, the prices are loss-leader caliber: the full rack of ribs $18.99, half-rack $14.99, half-rack and half-chicken $16.99, and brisket $12.99 (we ate the leftovers for three days). Best of all, show a players card and take $2 off every meal ordered. We got the brisket and ribs-chicken combo, which equates to trying everything they serve, and the bill came to the same (as Jessie Rae’s) $26 before tax and tip. Good quality, enormous quantity, giveaway prices, and a players club discount— that’s what we call real Las Vegas-style. n

Rum Runner Specials

The Rum Runner on E. Tropicana has always had good food coming continued on next page

JULY 2021 • LAS VEGAS ADVISOR • 9 Dining continued … out of the adjacent Badger Café. We’ve writ- ten about the build-your-own burger deal and that’s still a good play, but the latest are the $7.99 daily specials served from 10 am to 10 pm. A different special each day comes with choice of soup or salad. Beginning on Monday, it’s fettuccini Alfredo, lasagna, sirloin tips and noodles, spaghetti, fish & chips, pot roast, and teriyaki chicken. Our favorite so far is the sirloin tips, which you can combine with the bar’s Wednesday Sirloin tips at Rum Runner play-$100-get-$20 video poker promotion. n Dining Notes

High-End Returning—One lagging sector of the recovery has been the high-end restaurants. While several came back early, many others didn’t reopen right away. Among the big-name restaurants recently announcing their returns are Joël Robuchon and L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon at MGM Grand, Nomad at Park MGM, and Aureole, Fleur, and Border Grill at MBay. Prime Increase—The price of prime rib is up at Ellis Island. It’ll cost you $2 more for the regular cut, which is now $18.99 and the double has jumped from $32 to $38 (there was an earlier increase we missed from $27 to $32). It looks bad, but expect the rising wholesale cost of everything, including beef, to affect prices everywhere. Taco Increase—The price of tacos on Tuesdays at Mr. D’s has been raised from $1 to $1.50. The taco special had been running on Mondays also, but is now back to Tuesdays only. Lotus Closes Again—A sign says it’s just temporary, but the original Lotus of Siam in Commercial Center on E. Sahara has closed due to “staff- ing issues.” The second location at 620 E. Flamingo remains open. $100 Burger—Slater’s 50/50 offers a $100 hamburger called the “whale burger.” It’s one pound of wagyu beef, a fried lobster tail, “gold-dusted” (huh?) bacon strips, truffle cheese, arugula, bacon jam, and roasted gar- lic aioli on a “gold-dusted” (double huh?) brioche bun. That’s not quite enough gold dusting to add up to $100 worth, so it’s served with a bottle of Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label Brut Champagne. Top Dogs—The argument that the $1.25 hot dogs sold from a cart in the South Point sports book is one of Las Vegas’ best dining deals got some major support with the release of some impressive sales data. South Point sells more than 600 of them on a normal day—nearly a quarter-mil- lion a year. The dogs come with all the fixin’s, including kraut. There’s a

10 • LAS VEGAS ADVISOR • JULY 2021 limit of three per person. MINDFREAK Diner—Criss Angel, the star of MINDFREAK at Planet Hollywood, is opening a restaurant in Overton, a small town about 60 miles north of Las Vegas. Cablp—Criss Angel’s Breakfast, Lunch & Pizza (yes, that spelling is correct; pronounced Ca-blip) will also convert into “The Magic Room,” featuring entertainment from Angel and others in the magic community. n Openings/Closings

Delilah opens at Wynn Las Vegas on July 14, more than two years after being announced. It’s the Wynn’s answer to Bellagio’s Mayfair Supper Club, with live bands and DJs performing while you eat dinner and after. The Burger Lounge at Aria is now Posh Burger. Siegel’s Bagelmania has closed on Twain and opened in its new loca- tion at the LV Convention Center. The Tuesday Bagel Day discount has been discontinued. Smoke & Sizzle has closed in the Caesars Palace food court. n

ENTERTAINMENT

Fireworks for the Fourth

Get ready for a Las Vegas Fourth of July fireworks celebration like none before it. At 11 pm on the 4th, a coordinated pyrotechnic spectacular will simultaneously launch from the rooftops of Aria, Planet Hollywood, Cae- sars Palace, Treasure Island, Venetian, Resorts World, and The STRAT. It will be the first time that a New Year’s Eve-style display is presented on Independence Day, possibly in part to celebrate independence from COVID protocols. And it won’t be just the Strip. Other July 4th fireworks displays will be launched from the Plaza downtown (the culmination of three nights of fireworks to celebrate its 50th anniversary), Red Rock, Green Valley Ranch, and Lake Las Vegas. Fireworks shows will also be presented in Boulder City, Mesquite, and Laughlin. n Dive-in Movies

On Monday nights throughout the summer, the Cosmopolitan hosts movies at the Boulevard Pool. Amazingly for a high-end Strip casino, it’s free just for being a member of the players club. Show your card at the mini-box office on the third floor, get your ticket, and take the escalator up to the fourth level, right above center Strip. The digital marquee that proj- continued on next page

JULY 2021 • LAS VEGAS ADVISOR • 11 Entertainment continued …

ects the movies towers over the south end of the pool. The doors open at 7 pm and the movie starts promptly at 8. People put lounge chairs in the shallow end of the pool, right under the screen, to watch with their feet and hands in the water. On the north end, the seating area rises six levels up from the pool, with plenty of lounge chairs. Even 10 min- utes before the movie started, people were still claiming lounge chairs on the upper levels. Though the movie format fills only about a third of the marquee, you can easily see the screen even as far back as the fourth and fifth lev- els and the audio is strong. Daybeds Dive-In Movies at the Cosmopolitan pool ($75-$100) and cabanas ($160) are available with reservations. Popcorn is $5, chips and salsa $10, and it jumps up to $18 for sliders; bottled Bud is $10, cocktails $17. Towels are available. Children can attend and plenty were there, running around and playing in the pool. Age 2 and under are free (didn’t see those), and there might be some additional charges for older kids, topping out at $15 for non-hotel guests. We had fun (the movie was Jumanji). It’s a cool (literally and figu- ratively) scene, it’s free, and on the fourth floor overlooking the Strip, you really know you’re in Vegas. n Cannabis Lounges

While the sale of recreational marijuana in Las Vegas has been legal for

Spoon Bender

On July 16, Alain Nu, star of Alain Nu—The Man Who Knows, will “attempt to mysteriously bend 100+ spoons using the power of his mind and his audience’s collective minds.” OK, nothing too strange about that. What is different, though, is that Nu recruited Anthony Curtis to count the spoons. So Anthony will be at to validate the number. We’ve made a deal for 50%-off tickets for LVA members, which should come in at about $25. If you’re interested in attending (the show starts at 5 pm) and hanging out with A.C. and some of the LVA staff afterward, go to LasVegasAdvisor.com to get the details on the discount. n

12 • LAS VEGAS ADVISOR • JULY 2021 four years, the problem has been finding a place to consume it, as its use in public was not allowed. That’s soon to end after the governor signed a bill that authorizes Nevada’s Cannabis Compliance Board to license and regulate consumption lounges throughout the state. Two types of lounges have been approved: facilities that are attached or directly adjacent to an existing dispensary and separate and independent venues. Twenty licenses will be issued after the law goes into effect on October 1. How- ever, it could take another month or two after that for the first lounges to show up. n Bars and Happy Hours

Stadia Bar has opened at Caesars Palace next to the food court. It’s described as providing a “next-level sports-viewing experience,” whatever that means. Ellis Island is extending the dates for its pop-up tiki bar in the Front Yard. Originally scheduled to run only until July 4, it will now operate through August 1. Rhumbar at the Mirage will close on July 25. It’s one of the longer-run- ning cigar bars in town, having opened in early 2009. It will be replaced with a $2.3 million “ultra-lounge” (remember those?). Brera Osteria in the at the Venetian has a high- end apertivo hour daily from 3 to 5 pm, with appetizers from $6 (olives) to $16 (beef tartare). The Underground bar at the has a happy hour Sun.- Thurs. from 5 to 7 pm, with $2-off beer, wine by the glass, and craft cock- tails. Blume Kitchen & Cocktails has a happy hour daily from 4 to 6 pm, with $5 draft beer and half-price wine and appetizers. Located in Henderson, Blume is an emerging celebrity hang. The Gold Mine in Henderson has happy hours daily from 2 to 6 pm and midnight to 10 am, with $2 beer and $3 well drinks. Emporium Arcade Bar at AREA15 offers free play on its Killer Queen arcade game on Tuesdays from 4 pm to midnight. In Casa Calavera at Virgin, a margarita is $17, a draft Modelo is $9, and a Tecate is $7. At Bonito Michoacan, a margarita is $13. In Gatsby’s at Resorts World, a Bud is $8.67. At Rum Runner E. Tropicana, a house Cab- ernet is $6, a Heineken is $5.50, and a Bud is $4. At Sticks Tavern, a Bud is $3. n

Entertainment Notes

Star Power—Justin Bieber will play one show at the Encore Theater on continued on next page

JULY 2021 • LAS VEGAS ADVISOR • 13 Entertainment continued …

July 9. Guns N’ Roses will be the first rock band to play for one show on August 27. “Keith Urban Live – Las Vegas” resumes its run in the Colosseum at Caesars Palace in September and “Rod Stewart: The Hits” returns to the Colosseum in October. Just announced, Sammy Hagar will begin a residency at The STRAT in October. Shania Twain “Let’s Go” will play a 14-show residency at Planet Hollywood starting in Decem- ber. Mac Moves—Mac King, whose afternoon comedy-magic show at Harrah’s has run for 22 years and is the longest continuous residency on the Strip, has moved to Excalibur. The new show plays at 1 and 3 pm, the same two times as it did at Harrah’s. Tickets start at $44.95; it doesn’t look like the discount special that ran for years at Harrah’s is being offered (we’re looking into it). Butts Booted—After being on display since 1997, the famous bronze statue of the Crazy Girls’ derrières that graced the front of the Riviera, then Planet Hollywood’s Sin City Showroom, has been put out to pasture. The statue was removed after Crazy Girls became a victim of Caesars’ closing of several smaller showrooms last month. It’s not known if the show, or the statue, will get a new home. Crazy Girls has performed since 1987. The butts are said to have been rubbed by more than a million visitors. Natch! Bellagio Summer Display—The new floral display at the Bellagio Con- servatory and Botanical Garden features nearly 28,000 flowers and 1,500 plants, a 30-foot-tall treehouse, five tree frogs, a phoenix in full flight, a 12-foot-long leopard, a nine-foot-tall ibis, and a baby crocodile. The sum- mer display runs through August 28 and is free to view Downtown Rocks—The “Downtown Rocks” free concert series runs on select weekends through November 6. Featured bands performing on the Experience stages include Dokken, 3 Doors Down, Seether, and George Thorogood. NHL All-Star Game—T-Mobile Arena will be the site of the 2022 NHL All-Star game. The date of the game hasn’t been announced. Lights Soccer—The Las Vegas Lights United Soccer League team has opened its season. Playing at , every match has some sort of promotion, including two free tickets for buying $50 in groceries from La Bonita Supermarkets. Regular tickets are just $10. Downtown Movies—Downtown’s former Eclipse Theater is now Art Haus. Similar to Eclipse, Art Haus offers first-run movies accompanied by dinner and drinks for those who want it. Vegas Flick—The zombie-themed Army of the Dead is now playing in theaters and on Netflix. It’s the latest feature-length film to use Las Vegas as its setting, although it’s portrayal is the “bombed-out dystopian ruins of Vegas” in order to accommodate the movie’s theme. n

14 • LAS VEGAS ADVISOR • JULY 2021 GAMBLING SuperContest Dumps the Drag

Competition is powerful! In an obvious response to the success of the Circa football contests, the Westgate will no longer drag 8% from the SuperContest prize pool. Football-handicapping contests traditionally pay back 100% of entry fees. However, in 2016, the SuperContest began raking 8% of the money collected as an “administrative fee,” turning its contest into a 92%-equity proposition. Why did they do it? Because they could. It was the most prestigious contest in the world and everyone wanted to play. But that was then. In just two years, Circa, which pays back 100% of collected entry fees, has supplanted Westgate as host of the premier football contest, prompting this reaction from Westgate. The SuperContest has also lowered its entry fee from $1,500 to $1,000 and retooled the payout schedule to pay more places through a series of in-season mini-contests. Circa, meanwhile, is pressing its advantage by raising its guaranteed prizes to a total of $10 million—$6 million for the Survivor contest and $4 million for Circa Millions III. It’s the biggest guarantee ever for a football contest. We’ll have a full football-contest preview in the September LVA. $10 Million Poker Guarantee

If Circa can do it, so can Wynn. A $10 million prize pool is guaranteed for the $10K buy-in Main Event of the Wynn Millions poker tournament that’s currently under way. It’s thought to be the largest guarantee ever for a poker tournament in Las Vegas and equal to the largest ever anywhere. There’ve been $10 million tournaments outside of Las Vegas and the has bigger prize pools, but they’re usually based on the number of entrants without a guaranteed payout. Unlike football contests, taking money out of the pool is common in poker and the Wynn is dragging 6% from the tournament. Are you 6% better than the average player and willing to bet $10K on it? That’s a “yes” for the elite and a “no” for the rest of us—tournament-equity-analysis 101. Hellmuth Beats Negreanu

Make it 0-4 for Daniel Negreanu in high-stakes heads-up poker matches. Following his loss to Doug Polk, Negreanu reacted to criticism from Phil Hellmuth by challenging him to a $50,000 match. At one point, Negreanu led that meeting $95K-$5K, but Hellmuth turned it around to win. Negreanu exercised his right for a rematch and promptly lost again,

continued on next page

JULY 2021 • LAS VEGAS ADVISOR • 15 Gambling continued … this time for $100K. A second-rematch provision was exercised and, you guessed it, Hellmuth won it for $200K, making it a clean sweep for a total win of $350K. These types of contests are high-variance events, meaning a better player can lose several over the short run. That said, it’s been a rough run for “Kid Poker.” These heads-up challenges seem to be currently in vogue, but they’re not new. Our soon-to-be-released book, tentatively titled The 50 Greatest Stories in Poker History, chronicles some earlier big-money challenges that shine a light on the volatility of this type of heads-up freeze-out. Gambling Notes

Jackpots—A player at Harrah’s hit a Mega Progressive jackpot for $1.3 million playing Three Card Poker. A player at the Venetian won $1.2 million on the Millionaire Progressive playing Ultimate Texas Hold ’Em. Dice Development—A new hybrid electronic and dealer-managed crap game has been rolled out at Harrah’s. The Roll to Win table uses the same footprint as a traditional table, but the layout is computerized, while individ- ual player stations accept cash and provide tickets, so no physical chips are needed. The new format is being touted for several reasons, including making it easier for beginners to learn the game, attracting younger players from the computer generation, reducing overhead to run the game, and enhancing health safety. CT Online—Connecticut has become the sixth state to legalize online casinos and the seventh with online poker. Both will be offered solely by the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes after the details of providing service are worked out. 6-5 OK in MA—The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has ruled that Bay State casinos aren’t breaking gaming laws by paying 6-5, rather than 3-2, on natural blackjacks. The court noted that the 6-5 payouts were displayed prominently at the tables, so players “understood the rules and the stakes.” We’re down with that decision. Video Poker Lost and Found

We’ll cover the Resorts World gambling picture next month, but we always check out the video poker as soon as possible and we’ll confirm and update in the August issue. As expected, there’s not much in the way of good schedules at RW. The best we saw for any denom in the main casino was 6/5 Bonus Poker (96.87%), including quarter games at the bars. The online database vpFREE2 reports some better schedules in the Crockfords high-limit room, including Airport Deuces (98.91%), 9/6 Dou- ble Double Bonus (98.98%), 9/7/5 Double Bonus (99.11%), and 8/5 BP

16 • LAS VEGAS ADVISOR • JULY 2021 (99.17%), all from $1 to $25. The Four Queens and Binion’s are running the same good bonus-points promotion they ran last summer. Through August 31, get $10 for every 100 points earned up to a maximum of $400 in free-play. The bonus is paid on top of normal cashback and comp rates. See LVA 7/20 for full details. Previous reports that the quarter 8/5 BP progressives in the Vue Bar at the D don’t award club points were incorrect. The card readers don’t dis- play a countdown, but points are earned at .1%. Club points at The Pass can be redeemed for cash at a maximum of $50 per day. A cap like this is rare, but not unprecedented. Club Fortune is the only other casino we know of that’s done it, but the Gambler’s Bonus system has capped point redemption for years to thwart abuse. Old Town Tavern at 3850 E. Rd. deals 7/5 BP (98.01%) and has a play $20-get-$10 sign-up bonus. Gold Mine Tavern at 23 S. Water St. in Henderson has a play-$20- get-$10 sign-up bonus. The best game is 6/5 BP. Bob Dancer’s video poker classes are not being renewed at South Point. There are currently no plans for a new venue. Bob continues to write his Tuesday blog and host the Thursday “Gambling With an Edge” podcast with Richard Munchkin, both at LasVegasAdvisor.com. WEATHER KEY dates 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 - MAGIC 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. SEPTEMBER SEPTEMBER Mean 76° Avg. Max. 96° Avg. Min. 57° 1-2 - White Label World Expo Warm sunny days, mild evenings. It doesn’t get any 6-9 - Western Veterinary Annual Conference better than this. 13-15 - MINExpo International Pools: Open 27-30 - Int. Wireless Communications Expo Attire: No need for jackets or sweaters 27-29 - Pack Expo 28-30 - LV Souvenir & Resort Gift Show

JULY 2021 • LAS VEGAS ADVISOR • 17 Prsrt First-Class Mail US Postage Paid Las Vegas NV 3665 Procyon St. Las Vegas, NV • 89103 Permit No 447 Las Vegas Advisor

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