$5

ANTHONY CURTIS’ October 2018 Vol. 35 LasVegasAdvisor Issue 10

ALL-NIGHT FEAST ’ best-value buffet gets better … pg. 4

WILD WILD WEST Online gambling good for LVAers … pg. 1

OPTIMUS PRIME Monster prime rib lurks just off the Strip … pg. 4

FOOTBALL PARTIES Not like they used to be, but not bad, either … pg. 8

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for sure I didn’t. But Caesars Entertainment CEO Mark COUPONOMY Frissora told investors at a conference that when the by Anthony Curtis company conducted a “free-parking test” at throughout August, there was “zero change,” it had “no impact,” and Caesars “just lost money,” so they discon- Return of the Wild Wild West tinued the test. Sorry, but this strikes me as funky on a couple of levels. Fifteen years ago, the Internet was the Wild Wild First, who knew anything about it? The article West of gambling. Competition was so fierce that the quoted a spokesperson who said the free parking was offshore casinos were in figurative hand-to-hand combat advertised on Caesars’ website and by third-party room for market share. That situation led to some slick deals sellers like Expedia. All I can say is it couldn’t have been between a few of the offshores and us that we, in turn, promoted too vigorously. We track parking develop- passed on to our members via intriguing correspond- ments extremely closely and cover policy changes ing offers. It was a win-win-win—the casinos built their widely (fee increases, parking experiments at the Wynn crucially needed customer bases, we received referral and Park MGM, etc.), and we didn’t hear a peep about fees, and customers willing to open offshore gambling free parking at the LINQ. We saw nothing advertised and accounts for small amounts got incentives from both no one contacted us about it, even though we promote the casinos and LVA that were worth far more than the room sales for CET via email blasts and on our web- amount they funded. site. Did Caesars really want people to know about this Then came the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforce- “test”? I’d wager they’d have seen plenty of difference if ment Act of 2006 (UIGEA) and that was the end of that. they had made customers aware. At least for a while. As we all know, the pendulum is Which brings me to the second level of funky. I’m swinging back, and in a big way. And this time around, having a real problem buying into the it-doesn’t-matter the government itself, by virtue of the SCOTUS sports conclusion. Flawed study aside, I’d sure like to see any betting decision, is behind the expansion of gambling, sample of customers who have a chance to bemoan ca- so there’s no more gray area. sino parking fees and don’t. We get lots of input on this We’ve been waiting 15 years for this and have begun subject and it’s 98% anti-paid parking. the process of entering into new marketing deals that Sorry, but I believe that this situation simply can’t will allow us to make the same types of offers described be spun. The Strip casinos have taken something away above. We’ve already signed our first agreement and with which the public’s not willing to part quietly and the expect to have the offer set in early October. The details sooner they make an amendment—a la Wynn Resorts— will be available any day now at LasVegasAdvisor.com the faster the damage will be undone. and I’ll explain it in full in the November LVA. For now, let me just say that if you live in New Jer- sey and are interested in being able to place a sports Pay for Water bet there, or if you’ve thought about giving daily fantasy sports a try, now’s the time to do it with the highest pos- sible return. The Wild Wild West is back. Maybe paying for parking’s not that bad after all. Now comes news that Dick’s Last Resort at Excalibur is charging 75¢ per glass for tap water. We searched More Smoke a little further and found a review on TripAdvisor from June 8 that confirms it—“and it tasted bad,” the reviewer wrote. Dick’s charges 75¢ for refills as well. Are they kid- Did you know that you could have parked for free at ding? Knowing this, who in the world would go there? the LINQ this summer? I’m guessing you didn’t. I know continued on next page

OCTOBER 2018 • LAS VEGAS ADVISOR • 1 Couponomy continued … Wheel Record Safe New Books At least for a while, Las Vegas figures to hold onto its claim for having the world’s tallest observation wheel. The 550-foot-tall High Roller was first threatened by the prospect of We have two new books just back from the printer. a 689-foot wheel in Dubai that hasn’t materialized. And now The first, Blackjack Attack—Playing the Pros’ Way by comes word that a planned 625-foot wheel in New York City Blackjack Hall of Fame member Don Schlesinger, isn’t has been indefinitely stalled and a decision on whether or not new. It’s been around for several years and is consid- to build it at all is being made. It’s apparently not so easy to ered a must-have desk reference by serious players. It build a big wheel. had been unavailable through mainstream sales markets until Huntington Press acquired the publishing rights and reprinted it with some minor updates. So what had been area, restaurant, and bar. Rates range from $299 for selling at a big premium in resale markets is now avail- a 406-square-foot room with a king bed to $479 for a able for less than the cover price. 690-square-foot room with two queens (add $37 resort Live Through This—An Anthology of Unnatural Di- fee). sasters, Stories and Essays by Las Vegas Writers is the Waldorf Astoria—The former Mandarin Oriental in ninth installment of the “Las Vegas Writes” project and CityCenter has officially changed its name to Waldorf the sixth that we’ve published. It’s a literary collection Astoria. Signage updates are currently underway with from several of Las Vegas’ top writers, each penning more detailed rebranding and renovation efforts to fol- stand-alone essays or stories based on the theme of low. surviving a natural disaster (think the Henderson PEP- Westin—The off-Strip 826-room Westin Hotel and CON explosion). It’s all Las Vegas related, making it juicy former casino has been sold again. The Westin has had reading for Vegasphiles. a long and circuitous ownership history since it closed Both books are available now with our special pub- as the Maxim in 2001. Most recently, it was bought by lisher’s discounts (see the wrap). n Fortress Investment Group in a 2016 foreclosure auc- tion, then flipped in this current deal to hotel-company Highgate for $196 million. No other details have been released. Lucky Dragon—The final act in the two-year Lucky NEWS Dragon saga appears to be underway. A bankruptcy judge approved a motion by the Lucky Dragon’s main creditor to shutter the nine-story hotel and sell the prop- Downtown Sports Books—Making sure that Las erty via a foreclosure auction. The hotel is expected to Vegas isn’t left behind in the sports betting frenzy, D close on October 2, nine months after the casino shut owner Derek Stevens has revealed plans for a three- down last January, with the auction possibly taking casino state-of-the-art sports book project downtown. place during the third or fourth week of this month. Sev- New sports book facilities will be built at the Golden eral buyers have shown an interest in the only Las Vegas Gate and the D and will serve as prototypes for a giant hotel-casino to be built from the ground up in 10 years. “stadium-style” sports book at the 18 Fremont casino Ivanpah Airport—Clark County Commissioners being built on the site of the former . That voted unanimously to revive a plan to build a new Las complex will feature the city’s largest viewing screen and Vegas Airport on 6,000 acres of federal land near Jean, include a studio that will host VSiN broadcasts. During on I-15 roughly 30 miles south of Las Vegas. The envi- the process, Stevens’ casinos will transition from William ronmental impact study approved by the commissioners Hill-operated books to an in-house operation headed could begin early next year and be completed by the by bookmaker Matthew Metcalf, who comes from Jay Kornegay’s stable at Westgate Las Vegas. The GG and LAS VEGAS 3665 Procyon Street • Las Vegas, NV 89103 (702) 252-0655 • (702) 252-0675 Fax D books are expected to be completed in the third quar- ADVISOR e-mail: [email protected] • Internet: LasVegasAdvisor.com ter of 2019. Publisher: Anthony Curtis Customer Service: Nicole Watchus Senior Editor: Deke Castleman Shipping & Receiving: Scotch Henderson NoMad—NoMad, the luxury boutique hotel that Accounting: John Leitner Contributing Writers: Jeffrey Compton, Bob occupies the top floors of Park MGM, is accepting res- Production Manager: Laurie Cabot Dancer, Stewart Ethier, Bob Fuss, Scot Krause, ervations starting October 12, the date of its soft open- Web Manager: Tanya Maynard Bradley Peterson, Blair Rodman, Jean Scott Research Assistant: Brenda Stewart Cover Image: ing. Along with its 293 rooms, NoMad (which stands Projects Coordinator: Lynne Loomis for North of Madison Square Park, a reference to the 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. POSTMASTER: Send address Manhattan neighborhood location of the New York No- changes to Las Vegas Advisor, 3665 Procyon St., Las Vegas, NV 89103. All information is current at press time. Listed offerings Mad) also features a high-limit casino, separate pool are subject to change at any time. Huntington Press ©2018

2 • LAS VEGAS ADVISOR • OCTOBER 2018 end of 2020. However, the airport would likely come Las Vegas’ Top Ten Values more like 5-7 years down the line. High-Speed Rail—Brightline, a privately owned 1. Steak Dinner • Ellis Island • 24 hours • $7.99 company with a growing rail operation in Florida, has 2. Buffet • Palace Station • Daily • $8.99-$14.99 acquired XPress West, the proposed high-speed rail line 3. Mac King • Harrah’s • Tues.–Sat. • $14.98 between Las Vegas and Victorville, California. The par- ticulars of the deal have not been disclosed, but due to 4. Hot Dog • South Point • Daily • $1.25 XPress West’s 13 years of work on the project, including 5. Shrimp Cocktail • Skyline • Daily • $1.99 the securing of federal approval and state permits for the 6. Beer • Stage Door • 24 hours • $1 185-mile right of way, Brightline has announced its in- 7. Prime Rib • Klondike Sunset • Daily • $5.55/$12.99 tention to begin building the $7 billion line next year, with 8. $1 Blackjack • Hooters • 24 hours • $1.20 a projected completion date of 2022. 9. Lunch Comp • Crown & Anchor • Daily • $20 buy-in Labor Talks—Margaritaville has come to terms 10. Football Contest • Boyd Casinos • Weekly • Free with the Culinary and Bartenders unions, leaving only Treasure Island on the Strip and the D and Golden Gate The Ellis Island steak dinner (#1) is served in the downtown without labor contracts. Immediately after the Café and requires that you print out two coupons from Margaritaville signing, a protest march with “thousands an EI kiosk, the second after playing at least $5 in any of hospitality workers” was organized downtown and it’s slot machine with your club card inserted, to get the likely that there will be more such efforts designed to put $7.99 price. The Feast Buffet at Palace Station (#2) is pressure on the three hold-outs. our choice for Las Vegas’ best buffet when consider- Canada—Edmonton’s Palace Casino has been ing a combination of quality and price, and it’s now renamed Starlight Casino. The resort has also been ex- available almost 24 hours a day with the addition of a panded and now has 650 slots, 32 table games, and a late-night option (see Dining). Get the listed prices by poker room. Part of the casino is an interactive space showing a Boarding Pass card. Get a ticket to the Mac called REPLAY that combines gambling and entertain- King Comedy Magic Show and a drink for $14.98 by ment components, e.g., DJs and a video wall. asking at the players club booth (#3). The hot dogs at Japan—As an indicator of the rabid interest in the South Point (#4) are sold from a cart in the sports book Japanese market, it’s reported that 12 casino companies from 10 am until they close down the cart around 5 pm. are pursuing licensing in Yokohama alone. This despite The shrimp cocktail at Skyline (#5) is served at the main the fact that Japan will approve only three licenses and bar. Michelob or Michelob Light in the bottle is $1 at Yokohama hasn’t even been designated one of the the Stage Door slot house on Flamingo, just east of the destinations yet. Caesers, MGM, and Wynn are among Strip (#6). Klondike Sunset serves two good prime rib those listed. specials in Sarah’s Kitchen—one for $12.99 beginning Statistics—Nevada’s statewide gambling win was at 11 am and another for $5.55 beginning at 3 pm (#7). down a small .2% in July compared to the same month Hooters’ $1-minimum blackjack game (#8) runs 24/7 in last year. The Strip win was down 5.8%, while down- the pit; naturals pay even money on bets of $1-$4. The town was up 8.2%. Reno’s run of 14 straight upticks Crown & Anchor bars’ lunch comp is back on the list was halted with a 1.4% decline. Visitor volume was this month at #9. It runs daily from 8 am to 2:30 pm at down for a second straight month, logging a 3.4% de- the east location and 11 am to 3 pm at the west, and cline. July airline traffic broke the all-time record set in is good for an appetizer until 6 pm on the east and 7 May with 4.42 million passengers, up 2.3% for a 17th pm on the west. As expected, there’s a slight margin consecutive year-over-year increase. n for error in this year’s “Pick the Pros” football contest, given that the number of entries allowed has been cut back. That was proven in Week 3 of the NFL, when the Sports Betting Scorecard winning card had one losing pick. You now get only one free entry, but we still love the excitement generated by this free contest (#10). Swipe your B Connected play- According to gaming research firm Eilers & Krejcik, ers card on a kiosk at Gold Coast, Suncoast, Orleans, New Jersey’s incipient sports book market “should” Sam’s Town, Aliante, Fremont, California, or Main surpass Nevada’s by 2021 and possibly earlier, if New Street Station for a shot at $30,000 every week. Must York’s market continues to stall. The report praised the submit picks before the kick-off of the week’s first Sun- Atlantic City casinos and New Jersey racetracks for day game. See Gambling for a complete update on this “making all the right moves” since sports betting be- year’s football contests. gan in New Jersey, where the population is almost five (Note: A price increase caused us to pull the Mar- times Nevada’s. Contributing is the fact that Atlantic City garitaville beer special from the list. Get the details in n continued on next page Entertainment).

OCTOBER 2018 • LAS VEGAS ADVISOR • 3 Sports Betting Scorecard continued … serves breakfast only, daily from 7 to 11 am for $16 weekdays and $21 weekends. The new Treasure Island buffet missed a second remains a significant tourist destination and 14 million deadline in September and is now expected to reopen people live within an hour’s drive of Meadowlands Race- this month. n track and Sports Book in the northern part of the state. As this issue went to press, a House subcommittee hearing was held to consider whether or not the federal Block 16 government should be involved in the oversight of sports betting. Several high-profile representatives from gam- bling companies, the professional sports leagues, and The new food court at the Cosmopolitan is open, government were scheduled to testify and state their with five of the six eateries operating. Cosmo is market- respective cases for what’s certain to be a lot of diverse ing Block 16 as “a culinary destination like no other on objectives. the Strip” and has eschewed the typical chains in favor Follow the progress of sports betting legalization of smaller regional imports. Hattie B’s Hot Chicken hails across the country via our new Sports Betting Map at from Nashville and serves spicy Southern food; Lardo is LasVegasAdvisor.com. The map provides an overview a sandwich shop from Portland, Oregon; Pok Pok Wing, of the current landscape, with links to key media stories also from Portland, is the Asian place; Las Vegas-based about developments as they occur. n Tekka Bar does sushi and sake; and District from New Orleans is all about donuts and desserts. Manhattan’s Ghost Donkey will open in the next month or so for Mex- ican and tequila. Block 16, on the second level, is named after the red-light district that was located a block off DINING Fremont Street in early Las Vegas, though we can only speculate as to the actual connection. n All-Night Feast Reviews Palace Station’s Feast has added a graveyard buf- fet. Running daily from midnight to 8 am, it’s the only Prime Rib (Ellis Island)—While the $7.99 steak din- all-nighter in Las Vegas and the first since the Palms ner gets all the glory, the Ellis Island Café serves good offered one briefly last year. The price is $10.99, and grub across the board and one of its specialties is prime only $8.99 with a Boarding Pass card. Palace Station rib. In fact, last month we ran a prime rib poll that at- now serves its best-in-class buffet (see Top Ten) all hours tracted nearly 1,000 votes and Ellis Island’s was the except 9 pm to midnight. n clear winner. There are two cuts, both served with soup or salad, green beans, and choice of potato. The king cut for $16.99 is at least a pound and is as good as any- More Buffet News thing you’ll find in its price range. For a spectacle, get the double cut for $26.99. The portion is huge—you’ll probably share it or take some out—but it’s also as high The price of the Bally’s Sterling Brunch has been quality-wise as we’ve found in a cut this big. How good raised again, this time by $10 to $105, making it the first is it? We have it on good authority that one night several Las Vegas buffet to crack the $100 mark. Pricey, yes, years ago, the but last we checked it included king crab legs, American nearby Lawry’s sturgeon caviar, and unlimited Perrier-Jouët Cham- ran out of prime pagne. rib and called EI On the other side of the coin, the prices of the week- to bail them out end brunch and dinner at Caesars Palace’s Bacchanal (which it did). If Buffet have been reduced by $10 to $49.99 and $59.99, the EI grade was respectively. good enough for The Tropicana’s woeful Savor Buffet (LVA 7/18) is Lawry’s …! While now open for brunch only, daily from 7 am to 1 pm for it might seem $22.95. Is this Savor’s last stop before going the way of almost sacrile- all previous Tropicana buffets? gious to eat at EI The Westgate’s Fresh Buffet has re-opened, but and not have the The double cut prime rib at Ellis Island

4 • LAS VEGAS ADVISOR • OCTOBER 2018 steak special, even we’ll forgive you for choosing the Monster ham steak at Norm’s Eggs Café prime rib.

Prime Rib Poll

The poll mentioned above drew 946 responses. Ellis Island led the way with 144 votes for 15% of the total, well ahead of second-place Market Street Café at the California, which pulled 93 votes for 10% overall. Other places that re- ceived more than 50 votes were (in order) Lawry’s The Prime Rib, Magnolia’s at Four Queens, Primarily Prime Rib at South Point, the Prime Rib Loft at Orleans, and Binion’s Steakhouse.

Flippin’ Good (Chicken Sandwich)—A new down- town option for a quick bite is Flippin’ Good Burgers, Chicken, Beer, located on E. Fremont St., just east of the casino corridor. Various versions of burgers and chicken Pokemole—Here’s another standout from one of sandwiches, served with fresh-cut fries, are priced from the top bar kitchens in town. The poke at the Sporting $10 to $12. The sandwiches are made from crispy fried Life Bar (LVA 1/15) is served in two halves of a hollowed- chicken breast and topped with lettuce, pickles, and a out avocado. The avocado is mixed in with spices and a choice of sauces, including some that bring the heat. We generous serving of fish, making a tasty poke-and-gua- rate this as a flippin’ good play if you get a hankerin’ for camole mix ($9.99). It’s not listed on the menu; however, some chicken on a bun after cruising the Fremont East they’ve been making it since the place opened and can bars. usually put it together if you ask. Use the Sporting Life Sand Dollar (Pizza)—You’ll now find fine pizza at the offer in your Member Rewards book to get it comped for Sand Dollar Lounge! Why is that news? Because when a $20 video poker buy-in. Anthony Curtis appeared on the TV show “Bar Rescue,” Local Oysters—The Oyster Bar at the Hard Rock one of the big challenges was devising a way to get food serves $1 oysters on Tuesdays. It’s a strong deal, but service in the bar, which didn’t have a kitchen. The Bar there are conditions. Most importantly, the offer is for Rescue solution was to cut a hole in the wall that was locals only, so you can’t get it without a Nevada ID. You shared at the time with a Vietnamese restaurant. That also have to buy a drink. Kind of a strange set of restric- didn’t work. The new owners’ solution was to build a tions, but at least thirsty locals can partake. n pizza kitchen in the area that used to be the executive office. Success. The small thin-crust pizzas that feed two are surprisingly good. Four options run from $10 Dining Notes for “The Incident” (cheese) to $15 for “Champagne & Reefer” (supreme), or you can build your own. The Sand Dollar is a pretty cool bar that seems to somehow sur- Slice Price—The price of a slice of cheese pizza at vive everything that’s thrown at it and is drawing some the front counter of downtown’s Pizza Rock has gone up notable crowds again. n 50¢ to $4.50. The slice is huge and the pizza is superb. Another Late-Nighter—The all-night buffet at Pal- ace Station isn’t the only late-night AYCE deal to show up this month. Ferraro’s Italian Restaurant & Wine Bar Specialties initiates Sotto le Stelle on October 6. Translated as “Un- der the Stars,” the every-second-Saturday event runs Big ham—A ham & eggs breakfast with a slice of from 11 pm to 3 am and features grilled meats, pastas, ham that practically covers the plate ranks up there with risottos, and vegetables served on the outdoor patio for shrimp cocktails and prime rib as one of those Las Ve- $25 along with drink discounts. gas food offerings that epitomize both excess and value. Tapas Lunch—Pamplona Cocktails & Tapas (LVA The most recent we’ve come across is the $10.95 break- 9/18) is now serving lunch beginning at 11 am daily. fast at Norm’s Eggs Café, where there’s no choice but Taco Bell Cantina 2—A second Taco Bell Cantina— to serve the humungous ham steak on a separate plate. following Las Vegas’ first at the Strip and Harmon— Eat your breakfast outside on the patio overlooking the has been announced for downtown. The two-story Strip (LVA 3/18), then get a box for the leftovers. continued on page 8

OCTOBER 2018 • LAS VEGAS ADVISOR • 5 ADVANCE PLANNER—HEADLINERS AND EVENTS

OCTOBER 10/19 • Café Tacvba • MBay • $39.50 10/28 • Tech N9ne 10/5-10/6 • Drake w/Migos 10/19 • Chase Atlantic Brooklyn Bowl • $32–$45 MGM Grand • $59.50–$194.50 Hard Rock • $11/$22 10/30 • DAWES 10/5-10/6 • Rise Festival • Moapa River 10/19 • Cork & Soul Brooklyn Bowl • $32.50–$49.50 Reservation • $69–$129 • $50/$250 10/30 • Mike Shinoda 10/5-10/7 • Robert Klein • South Point • $50–$60 10/19 • Emmure and Stick to Your Guns MBay • $29.50–$125 10/5-10/28 • Matt Goss • Mirage • $18–$88 Brooklyn Bowl • $15–$22 10/30-10/31 • Celine Dion 10/5-12/22 • Ray Romano & David Spade 10/19 • Mike Epps • Hard Rock • $39–$73 Caesars Palace • $51–$459 Mirage • $90–$120 10/19 • System of a Down 10/31 • Classic Cher 10/6 • Arch Allies • Aliante • $25–$35 T-Mobile • $69.50–$99.50 Park MGM • $68–$332 10/6 • Bella Donna 10/19-10/20 • Willie Nelson w/Lukas Nelson 10/31 • Motet • Brooklyn Bowl • $20/$25 Cannery • $19.95/$24.95 Cosmo • $20–$105 10/31-11/3 • Phish • MGM Grand • $72–$324 10/6 • Chelsea Wolfe, Russian Circles 10/20 • Anthony Jeselnik • Mirage • $51–$71 10/31-11/17 • Diana Ross • Wynn LV • $60–$301 Brooklyn Bowl • $22/$25 10/20 • Danity Kane 11/1 • Beartooth • MBay • $20 10/6 • Chief Keef • MBay • $20 Brooklyn Bowl • $30–$45 11/1-11/2 • Pink Talking Fish 10/6 • Lenny Kravitz • Cosmo • $54–$94 10/20 • Ginuwine • Santa Fe Station • $40 Hard Rock • $18–$41 10/6 • Peabo Bryson 10/20 • Jimmy Buffett & The Coral Reefer 11/1-11/17 • Barry Manilow Orleans • $39.95–$59.95 MGM Grand • $40–$212 Westgate LV • $39.75–$329.75 10/6 • Scrap Metal 10/20 • Martin Nievera • M Resort • $35–$65 11/2 • Herman’s Hermits Golden Nugget • $49–$129 10/20 • Motley Brews Festival Golden Nugget • $49–$139 10/6 • UFC 229 • T-Mobile • $500–$2,505 Downtown • $35–$80 11/2-11/3 • Amy Schumer & Friends 10/6-10/7 • Sebastian Maniscalco 10/20 • Murata vs Brant Cosmo • $59–$199 Caesars Palace • $39.50–$95 Park MGM • $25–$200 11/2-11/3 • Tim Allen • Mirage • $65.39–$87.19 10/6-12/2 • Frankie Scinta 10/20 • Oleta Adams • Aliante • $30–$50 11/2-11/4 • 3 Redneck Tenors South Point • $20–$30 10/20 • One More Night • Suncoast • $23 South Point • $25–$35 10/9 • Dashboard Confessional & All 10/20 • Rick Springfield • GVR • $29–$54 11/2-11/7 • Carlos Santana Time Low • MBay • $39.50–$65 10/20 • Tamia • MBay • $29.50 MBay • $99.50–$300 10/10 • Jonathan Davis of Korn 10/20 • ZHU • Palms • $49–$149 11/2-11/11 • Postmodern Jukebox MBay • $18/$20 10/21 • Dream Awards Mirage • $50–$70 10/10-10/20 • John Fogerty Suncoast • $29.95–$49.95 11/2-11/16 • Celine Dion Wynn LV • $59.50–$500 10/21 • LV NF Hope Concert Caesars Palace • $51–$459 10/10-10/20 • Reba, Brooks & Dunn Palazzo • $54–$230 11/2-11/17 • Backstreet Boys Caesars Palace • $59.50–$205 10/21 • Simple Minds • Palms • $35–$118 PH • $76.86–$684.60 10/11-12/1 • Paul Shaffer 10/22-10/23 • Dave Attell • Rio • $45 11/2-11/17 • Classic Cher Caesars Palace • $49–$149 10/24-10/31 • Backstreet Boys Park MGM • $68–$332 10/12 • Anjelah Johnson • TI • $55/$71 PH • $76.86–$684.60 11/2-11/27 • Matt Goss • Mirage • $18–$88 10/12 • Everclear 10/26 • AC2: Anderson Cooper & Andy 11/3 • Doug Benson • Rio • $25 Golden Nugget • $49–$178 Cohen • Caesars Palace • $63–$333 11/3 • Gorgon City 10/12 • Jesse Cook • Red Rock • $45–$125 10/26 • Chris Lane • MBay • $29–$45 LV Events Center • $32.11/$45.87 10/12 • Mayday Parade 10/26 • Lea Michele and Darren Criss 11/3 • Grandmaster Flash Hard Rock • $27/$45 Cosmo • $29–$79 Cannery • $15.50/$22.50 10/12-10/14 • Donny Edwards 10/26 • Leftover Salmon 11/3 • Nancy Ajram & Hussam Al South Point • $25–$35 Brooklyn Bowl • $25/$30 Rassam • Hard Rock • $45–$195 10/13 • 2018 Monster Energy Cup 10/26 • Night Ranger 11/3 • Paul Reiser • Aliante • $40–$50 • $41–$136 Golden Nugget • $24–$129 11/3-11/4 • Temptations • Orleans • $49–$69 10/13 • Britain’s Finest • Suncoast • $20 10/26 • Social Distortion 11/4 • Maxwell • Palms • $59–$189 10/13 • Ozzy Osbourne w/Stone Sour Brooklyn Bowl • $40–$60 11/6 • Andy Grammer • MBay • $25 MGM Grand • $39.50–$125 10/26 • Summer Salt • Hard Rock • $13/$26 11/7-11/11 • PBR 2018 World Finals 10/13 • Russell Peters • Palms • $39–$129 10/26-10/27 • Bill Maher • Mirage • $65–$87 T-Mobile • $45–$1,096 10/13 • Sting & Shaggy • Park MGM • $226 10/26-10/28 • Widespread Panic 11/8 • 3OH!3 & Emo Nite LA 10/13 • Warrant & Firehouse Park MGM • $59–$137 MBay • $20 Cannery • $19.95–$59.95 10/26-10/30 • Beginnings • South Point • $20–$30 11/8 • Soulection 10/14 • Alkaline Trio 10/26-11/17 • blink-182 • Palms • $59–$169 Brooklyn Bowl • $20/$25 Brooklyn Bowl • $25/$29 10/27 • Christina Aguilera 11/9 • GENERATION AXE 10/14 • Phora • Hard Rock • $25 Caesars Palace • $54–$256 Hard Rock • $40/$64 10/16 • Bullet For My Valentine 10/27 • Damned • MBay • $25 11/9 • Interrupters • Hard Rock • $18/$20 MBay • $35 10/27 • Phil Collins 11/9 • Plain White T’s 10/16 • SG Lewis • Hard Rock • $18/$32 MGM Grand • $54–$304 Brooklyn Bowl • $22/$25 10/17-10/31 • Lady Gaga Enigma 10/27 • Serpentine Fire: Earth, Wind & 11/9 • Whoopi Goldberg Park MGM • $82.57–$344.95 Fire Tribute • Suncoast • $14–$29 Treasure Island • $86/$98 10/18 • Throwing Shade 10/27 • Stryper & Autograph 11/9-11/10 • Starship w/Mickey Thomas Hard Rock • $18–$41 Cannery • $20–$60 Golden Nugget • $39–$109 10/19 • Buckinghams 10/27-10/28 • REO Speedwagon 11/9-11/11 • Johnny Cash Tribute Golden Nugget • $29–$119 Orleans • $69.95–$89.95 South Point • $25–$35

6 • LAS VEGAS ADVISOR • OCTOBER 2018 ADVANCE PLANNER—HEADLINERS AND EVENTS

11/10 • Goo Goo Dolls 12/1 • Andrea Bocelli SHOW NOTES Hard Rock • $27–$55 MGM Grand • $82–$418.25 11/10 • NF • Cosmo • $35–$65 12/1 • Fortunate Youth • Murray Sawchuck opens in the Laugh 11/10 • Paula Abdul • Red Rock • $30–$90 Brooklyn Bowl • $20/$25 Factory at the Tropicana on October 3; 11/10 • Queen Nation • Cannery • $20/$23 12/1 • Gabriel Iglesias tickets are $29.95-$49.95. 11/10 • Underoath Mirage • $70–$100 Brooklyn Bowl • $29.50–$40 12/1 • Justin Timberlake • Smiley Joe Wiley & Friends Comedy 11/15 • Grammy Awards T-Mobile • $60–$280 Show opens at Hooters on Oct. 3; ticket MGM Grand • $87–$545 12/2 • Hoobastank prices have not been announced. 11/16 • Billy F. Gibbons Brooklyn Bowl • $27/$30 Brooklyn Bowl • $38.50–$275 12/5-12/15 • Reba, Brooks & Dunn • Little Miss Nasty opens at Hooters on 11/16 • Great White w/Slaughter Caesars Palace • $59.50–$205 Oct. 5; tickets are $58.66-$114.25. Golden Nugget • $59–$129 12/6 • Brockhampton • Peti and Taller: The Hooligans of Magic 11/16 • IMomSoHard Cosmo • $29.50–$69 opens at Hooters on Oct. 12; ticket prices Treasure Island • $52/$81 12/6 • Jo Dee Messina 11/16 • Led Zepagain • Cannery • $20/$23 Golden Nugget • $39–$109 have not been announced. 11/16 • Ozuna • MBay • $49–$129 12/6-12/15 • 2018 National Finals Rodeo • Motown Extreme opens at Hooters on 11/16 • Thrice • MBay • $27 T&M • $70–$420 Oct. 17; tickets are $70.60/$92.40. 11/16-11/18 • Stayn’ Alive • South Point • $30–$40 12/6-12/15 • Rodney Carrington 11/17 • 98° • GVR • $27.50–$57.50 MGM Grand • $59.99–$89.99 • FRIENDS! The Musical Parody opens 11/17 • Gerald Albright • Aliante • $35–$65 12/7 • 6lack • Palms • $36.65–$78.85 at the D on Oct. 18; tickets are $72.26- 11/17 • Ghost • Hard Rock • $32/$37 12/7 • Chad Prather $106.96. 11/17 • LV Soul Festival • T&M • $44–$150 Treasure Island • $39/$54 • Ticket prices for The Eddie Griffin Experi- 11/17 • Mick Adams & The Stones 12/7 • Tanya Tucker Cannery • $20/$23 Golden Nugget • $59–$149 ence at SLS have been decreased from 11/17-11/18 • Great American Comic Con 12/7-12/8 • Gary Allen $81.21-$135.71 to $59.41-$103.01. LV Convention Center • $20–$40 Hard Rock • $39.50–$125 • Ticket prices for Anthony Cools at 11/18 • A Perfect Circle 12/7-12/8 • George Strait Paris have been decreased from $60.10- Cosmo • $39–$129 T-Mobile • $50–$225 $143.37 to $46.71-$87.82. 11/18 • Dermot Kennedy 12/7-12/15 • Ron White • Mirage • $68–$88 Hard Rock • $18/$32 12/8 • John Michael Montgomery • Ticket prices for Marc Savard—Comedy 11/18 • Lil Xan • MBay • $25–$75 Golden Nugget • $49–$129 Hypnosis in the V Theater at Planet 11/19-11/20 • MGM Resorts Main Event 12/8 • Lani Misalucha Christmas Hollywood have been decreased from T-Mobile • $25–$199 Orleans • $68.81–$105.50 $62.12/$73.02 to $40.32-$62.12. 11/20 • The Orb • Brooklyn Bowl • $22/$25 12/9 • Charlie Daniels Band 11/21-12/2 • Rod Stewart Golden Nugget • $59–$179 • David Goldrake Imaginarium has closed at Caesars Palace • $49–$250 12/9 • Peace Frog • Suncoast • $19.95 the Tropicana. 11/23 • Cedric, Griffin, D.L. Hughley, and 12/9 • Squirrel Nut Zippers • SOUNDTRACK: Your Songs. Our Stories. Lopez • MBay • $39.50–$120 Brooklyn Bowl • $25–$40 11/23 • Eric Burdon & The Animals 12/10 • Koo Koo Kanga Roo The Show has closed at the Westgate. Golden Nugget • $69–$179 Hard Rock • $12/$25 11/23-11/25 • Chubby Checker 12/10 • Tracy Lawrence South Point • $45–$55 Golden Nugget • $49–$129 11/24 • Good Charlotte • Palms • $35–$86 12/11 • Pam Tillis and Lorrie Morgan 11/24 • Nicki Minaj & Future Golden Nugget • $49–$129 MGM Grand • $56–$182 12/12 • John Prine 11/26 • Metallica • T-Mobile • $75–$145 Westgate LV • $49–$99 11/30 • Baby Bash 12/12 • Lonestar Brooklyn Bowl • $35–$50 Golden Nugget • $39–$129 11/30 • BJ Thomas 12/12 • White Panda Golden Nugget • $29–$109 Brooklyn Bowl • $20–$85 11/30 • Fleetwood Mac 12/13 • Colt Ford T-Mobile • $69.50–$229.50 Golden Nugget • $39–$129 11/30 • Gabriel Iglesias 12/13 • San Holo Mirage • $70–$100 Brooklyn Bowl • $37.05–$47.90 11/30 • Jim Gaffigan 12/14 • Jamey Johnson Caesars Palace • $55–$99.50 Golden Nugget • $79–$229 11/30 • Steven Wright 12/14 • Little Steven & the Disciples of Soul Treasure Island • $55.54/$71.89 MBay • $35 11/30 • UFC • Palms • $435/$508 12/15 • Drag Queen Christmas 11/30-12/1 • Nine Inch Nails MBay • $38/$53 Hard Rock • $79.50 12/15 • Kane Brown • Park MGM • $38–$87 11/30-12/2 • Gary Puckett and The Union Gap See inside wrap for “Weather,” South Point • $30–$40 “Room Rates,” and “Key Dates.”

OCTOBER 2018 • LAS VEGAS ADVISOR • 7 Dining Notes continued … games. Additionally, on Sundays Bud products are $1 at all the casino bars. Other good casino options for Monday night include 6,000-square-foot restaurant will occupy the space that Gold Coast, Ellis Island, Rampart, Sam’s Town, and the was formerly the El Portal Theatre, with plans to blend Triple Seven Brewpub at Main Street Station. The big the historic El Portal sign into the design. The opening is viewing spots on Sundays are the Westgate showroom scheduled for 2019. and the outdoor Events Center Chick-fil-A on the Strip—A Chick-fil-A is planned behind the D. for Planet Hollywood, making it the first at a casino loca- Sam’s Town didn’t bring the free hot dog and beer tion. The opening date has not been announced, but this back, but the games are shown in Roxy’s and they sell is the sixth C-f-A in Las Vegas that’s either open or be- $1.50 dogs that you can top with onions, tomatoes, rel- ing built. True to the chain’s policy, the Planet Hollywood ish, black olives, jalapenos, and cheese. Not all of the location will be closed on Sundays. Station casinos are selling hot dogs this year, but we Flav Returns—Flavor Flav is returning (again) with a found carts with $2 dogs at Boulder and Sunset (nothing new restaurant called Flavor Flav’s and Vinnys Chicken at Palace). Ellis Island has the best deal on wings, at five & Pizza in Henderson. Flav has had a coupla go-rounds for $3 (60¢ apiece). with his chicken concept in Las Vegas. Maybe setting up The best food deal in Henderson is the answer. n of all, though, is at the Wildfires, where you can get five Openings/Closings sliders for $5 during all pro and college games, and these Greek Sneek, the latest from the Morton Group, has sliders are almost opened at MGM Grand. regular-burger size. Mordeo Boutique Wine Bar has opened at 5420 W. The best beer deals Spring Mountain. It’s run by the group that also operates we saw, along with District One Kitchen & Bar and Le Pho. South Point, are $3 Blue Ribbon Fried Chicken has closed in Downtown n for domestics and Summerlin. Big sliders at Wildfire $4 for imports at all Station and Boyd properties, $2 at Rampart, and $1 (when you buy a bucket) at Hooters. ENTERTAINMENT The situation is similar in the topless clubs, where most of the MNF deals are diminished from years past, but are still pretty good. Once again, the clear leader Football Parties is Sapphire, where the $22 admission comes with two drinks (with premium choices) and a buffet that includes chicken, sliced pork, hot dogs, a small salad bar, and We’ve made the point over the past few years that an assortment of donuts. There’s also non-stop merch the days of the big competitive citywide Monday (and giveaways and $1 lap dances at halftime. Thursday) Night Football gatherings are over and this Treasures still has a buffet during the game, but it’s year brings another confirmation. But while the big par- been reduced to pizza, hot dogs, pretzels, nachos, and a ties are mostly gone, people still go to casinos and few salads. Beer and well drinks are $1 from 4 to 6 pm, bars to watch the games and good deals are out there. then buckets of five beers are $12 ($2.40 per). There’s Here’s a rundown of what we found over the first three no reason at all to go to Hustler anymore, as last year’s weekends of this year, primarily for Monday Night Foot- free PBR is now $5. Not so Dejà Vu, where they’ve ball, but with some Thursdays and Sundays sprinkled in. brought back last year’s excellent bar deal: Pay $20 at The one constant is the big MNF party at South the door and get a full open bar till midnight, plus free Point. Nothing’s changed here. Admission is free, with tacos. The deal is available to both locals and visitors $1 dogs and popcorn, $5 wings, and $2 beers. Several as long as you get there via your own transportation (no screens show the action and everyone is into the game. cabs, rideshares, or casino limos). Pleasant surprises There are cash drawings each quarter ($1,000 total), so were Cheatah’s (buy a drink and get free pizza and you have a free shot at leaving with more money than wings), Spearmint Rhino ($5 drinks and free hamburg- you came in with. The party is held in the showroom, ers), and Play it Again Sam (free hot dogs and nachos). which also hosts parties for the Thursday and Sunday Girl Collection, Sophia’s, and the new Scores were all

8 • LAS VEGAS ADVISOR • OCTOBER 2018 closed. Get updates on MNF promos at all the gentle- Bob Stupak and has gone through several incarnations man’s clubs at ToplessVegasOnline.com. over the past 20 years. Of course, lots of local bars run specials. The best PT-Bird’s—The three T-Bird’s Lounges in Las Vegas way to play those is to check ’em out when a team they have been acquired by the PT’s bar chain. It’s not clear follow is playing. You can determine that with the listing if the bars will continue as T-Bird’s, a known brand after of “Team Bars” in Gambling. n 28 years of operation, or be converted to one of the PT’s labels. In Smash Bar at the Hard Rock, a Pacifico is $8. In Quarter Beer Omaha Bar at the Plaza, a Jameson is $8 and a draft Modelo is $6. At the Atomic, an Altbier or Solid Gold beer is $7 and a PBR is $6. At Sporting Life Bar, a draft You may have noticed the absence of the Fla- Stella Artois is $7 and a well tequila or a draft PBR is $4. mingo’s 5¢ beer deal in this month’s Top Ten. That’s At Flippin’ Good Chicken, Burgers, Beer, a Bud is $6.44. because the beers are now 25¢. Our policy has always In Stage Bar at Silver Sevens, a Bud is $4.50. In Elbow been to take a deal off the list when the price is raised Creek bar at Arizona Charlie’s Decatur, a Bud is $3.50. and that’s what we did. But 12-ounce beers for two bits At Magoo’s S. Buffalo, a Bud is $3. is still a dope deal, especially on the Strip, and it will Openings/Closings—NoMad Bar opens at Park likely be re-listed next month. The deal runs daily from 5 MGM on October 12. to 6 pm in the Margaritaville Casino area’s Five O’Clock Inn Zone W. Flamingo is now a Red Dragon. Somewhere Bar. It should be noted that the 5¢ price Loose Caboose W. Flamingo is now a Magoo’s. n was maintained for almost two years when the over/ under was more like two weeks. If you bet the over, cash your ticket. n Entertainment Notes

Bars and Happy Hours Dion Departing—Celine Dion has announced that the final show in her second residency at the Colos- seum at Caesars Palace will take place on June 8, 2019. Cosmo HH—STK at the Cosmopolitan has a late- Celine’s Las Vegas residency has spanned 15 years, night happy hour Sun.-Thurs. from 10 pm till close, with logging 1,089 shows to date; she’s performed for audi- $6 beer, $10 wine and well drinks, and small bites from ences that total 4.5 million. There are 28 performances $8 to $12. left: Oct. 30-31; Nov. 2-3, 6-7, 9-10, 13-14, 16-17; Dec. Park MGM HH—Juniper Cocktail Lounge at Park 28-29, 31; Jan. 2, 4-5, 8, 11, 15-16, 19-20; Feb. 26-27; MGM has a happy hour daily from 5 to 8 pm, with $8 March 1-2, 5-6, 8-9, 12-13, 15-16; May 14-15, 17-18, wine and premium cocktails and $5 craft beers. 21-22, 24-25, 28-29, 31; June 1, 4-5, 7-8. Silver Sevens HH—Silver Sevens has happy hours More Mac—Mac King has signed on for another at its bars daily from 3 to 5 pm and 9 pm to midnight, five years at Harrah’s. He’s been performing at the resort with $2 beer, shots, and margaritas. for 19 years and has been our pick for Las Vegas’ best Twin Peaks HH—Twin Peaks has a happy hour show value (see Top Ten) for almost as long. Mon.-Thurs. from 3 to 6 pm, with $4-$6 beer, $5 well Strip Zip—The Strip’s first permanent zipline will drinks, and half-off appetizers. open on November 9. Riders on the FLY LINQ Zipline Marché Bacchus HH—Marche Bacchus has a hap- will launch from a 114-foot-tall tower, then zip above py hour 4 to 6 pm weekdays and 4 to 8 weekends, with the LINQ’s promenade for 1,000 feet at speeds up to 35 $9 specialty cocktails and appetizers. miles per hour, landing at the base of the High Roller ob- Tommy Bahama Rewards—Tommy Bahama Res- servation wheel. FLY LINQ will be open 24 hours a day. taurant & Bar at has launched a rewards Tickets for seated zippers will be $25 daytime and $30 club with $10 off any food order upon joining and $25 off after dark; Superman-style tickets will be $35/$40. every $250 spent. EDC Dates—The 2019 Electric Daisy Carnival will Plaza Bar—The former horseshoe-shaped sports run May 17-19. Tickets for one of the largest events book bar at the Plaza has been downsized to a single in Las Vegas, which attracted 400,000 participants to bar facing the book, with the rest of the space turned the this year, are available into a slots area. at edclasvegas.com. Thunderbird—The Thunderbird Lounge has re- Pinball HoF—The nonprofit Las Vegas Pinball opened at the Thunderbird Hotel on Las Vegas Blvd. Collectors Club, owner of the Pinball Hall of Fame, across from the Stratosphere. It’s being marketed as a has purchased a 1.76-acre property on Las Vegas retro-bar at the venue that was once owned by the late continued on next page

OCTOBER 2018 • LAS VEGAS ADVISOR • 9 Entertainment Notes continued … much as expected at the Westgate. The SuperContest drew a record 3,123 entries, but it was only a 13.6% in- crease over last year. The $5K-entry SuperContest Gold Blvd. just south of Russell Road across from the Bali did better percentage-wise, attracting 128 players for a Hai Golf Club, for $4.6 million. The Club is planning a healthy 36.2% jump. The $500 William Hill College Pick 27,000-square-foot pinball-shaped building in order to ’Em had a 13.4% jump in its third year, increasing from expand from 250 machines in its current location on E. 231 to 262 entries. The biggest move came from the Tropicana to more than 1,000 machines, 800 of which retooled Golden Nugget contest. With a new name and are in storage. The Hall of Fame also hopes to attract the entry fee halved to $1,000, entries jumped from 93 more out-of-towners to its vintage quarter games. In to 308, an increase of 231%. Station’s Last Man Stand- response to when the construction on the new building ing College contest had 2,776 entries (+.8%), while Last might commence, the owner of the Hall of Fame said, “I Man Standing Pro drew 4,564 and was the only one to have no idea.” have fewer than last year (-.7%). See the Advance Planner for dates, prices, and addi- No-Shows—How does the saying go—“more money tional show updates. n than sense”? After paying $1,500 to play, 19 players in the Westgate SuperContest didn’t submit picks in Week 1. That doesn’t eliminate them and a comeback isn’t out of the question, but starting in an 0-5 hole doesn’t make it easy. Even more amazing, in the $5,000 Super- GAMBLING Contest Gold, two players were no-shows. First prize for the SuperContest is $1.4 million with a total of 100 places paid. The single winner of SuperContest Gold will Contest Updates take home $640,000. The winners of each will also get a Super Bowl-style ring. n

All but one of the major fee-based football contests experienced increased participation this year and several The Dirty Promo free weekly contests are running each week. Following is a summary. Live contests—Now that the season is underway, Picture this. You’re playing a promotion at a bar the only contests worth playing are the free ones with where a football (or basketball, hockey puck, etc.) gets weekly prizes. Those include Boyd’s Pick the Pros (see passed to the video poker player who hits the most re- Top Ten), Rampart’s Red Zone to Riches and Beat the cent 4-of-a-kind. Whoever has the football at the end of Bookie, and Arizona Charlie’s/Stratosphere’s Pick ’em the quarter or game gets a bonus of cash or freeplay. Right, along with the smaller kiosk contests at Ellis Is- With less than one minute left, you have the football and land, Hard Rock, Longhorn, and Klondike Sunset. You’ll bam! Someone hits a quad on the other side of the bar. also find weekly bar contests at O’Aces Decatur and The bartender comes over, takes your football (and your Jackpot Joanie’s locations. payday), and leaves you frantically trying to hit again in Contest parlay—The drop to one entry this year (it 20 seconds of football time. Bad luck, right? Probably was three last year) in the Pick the Pros contest means not. there’s a much better chance to win without having a “Pass the Football” promotions such as this are perfect card, and this has already happened. On week fantastic in theory—they’re fun for the players and three of the NFL, which featured multiple upsets (includ- can greatly stimulate action for the bar. Unfortunately, ing the 17-point-favorite Minnesota Vikings losing to they’re the most abused promotions in town. And be- the Buffalo Bills), the winning record was 14-1 and two cause some of the prizes paid are substantial, few are players shared the prize. In previous years, entries with exempt from the scammers who feed off them. one loss had no chance. But the downside is a reduction Here’s how it works. After hitting a quad, the scam- in entertainment value with only one card to play. If you mer sits on it. If another player hits after him, it doesn’t want more action, you can also play the Pick ’em Right matter, because he announces his 4-of-a-kind seconds contest, which allows three free entries. With both Char- before the end, leaving no time for anyone to come back lie’s casinos and offering Pick ’em Right and and scoop him. almost all the Boyd properties offering Pick the Pros, it’s What can you do about it? Unfortunately, trying to relatively easy to play both and have four entries to fol- dispute this can lead to all sorts of conflicts, so it’s prob- low. ably best to simply avoid these promotions altogether. Participation particulars—Football contest participa- But if you do play, there are two approaches. tion was up almost everywhere this year, but not by as One is to fight fire with fire and sit on a quad your-

10 • LAS VEGAS ADVISOR • OCTOBER 2018 self. But now you’re scamming, too. And if the compe- who knows, maybe you’ll be playing in a place where tition escalates, you can get stuck in a nasty game of everyone is honest and cash. chicken at the end to see who holds out the longest. (Note: A more detailed analysis of this promotion will The second approach is to simply watch the compe- be posted this month in the “Gambling With An Edge” tition. There are varying degrees of this, but at the lowest blog at LasVegasAdvisor.com.) n level, after hitting a 4-of-a-kind, circle the bar, checking the screens of dormant players before announcing. This may or may not work, since a made hand can be hidden B Unconnected by switching to another game. But even those who do this often stop playing (or play noticeably more slowly) once they’ve hit, signaling that something’s fishy. But Since unveiling its new B Connected players club what now? Bringing the bartender into it can get he-said rules last month, Boyd has dealt with a flood of com- she-said messy and you’re back to square one in a big plaints from unhappy customers. The changes are myr- argument. iad and complicated, but the main areas of contention Can the bartenders police this? Yes, to some de- are that comp points aren’t awarded at the lowest (Ruby) gree. But most are too busy, not paying attention, or level and that video poker players earn points at only actually in on the deal. And there’s nothing they can do half the previous rate, making it very difficult to advance if a player hides it well. The only way this promotion will up the levels. Casual players aren’t affected much, but ever be fully on the level is to internally monitor the time frequent players are. If you’ve been a serious player in that a hand is hit. We’ve heard of this being considered, the Boyd system and would like a comprehensive ex- but it’s too complicated for most bars to undertake. planation of the changes, the most detailed information If you run into a pass-the-football promo, the best we’ve seen is in Jean Scott’s “Frugal Vegas” blog, which n way to play it is with no expectations. If you win the foot- you can access at LasVegasAdvisor.com. ball and get it stolen late, at least you’ve hit a quad. And continued on next page

2018 Football Team Meetings Here’s this year’s list of local Timbers (W. Azure Dr.), Joey’s; Good Timez Billiards, Crown & bars that support a specific NFL Bears—Brando’s, Rosati’s (N. Rain- Anchor (E. Tropicana); Rams—Pan- team. Every Sunday and on Monday bow), Shuck’s (N. Durango), Windy cho’s Mexican Restaurant, Timber’s and Thursday nights during football City Beefs N Pizza, Bar Code Burger (N. Rancho); Ravens—Crab Corner season, the following places fill up Bar, Joe’s Bar; Bills—Johnny (S. Rainbow); Redskins—Steiner’s with former residents of, or current Mac’s, Moon Doggies, Stake Out, (N. Buffalo); Saints—Lola’s Louisi- visitors from, the teams’ home- Time-Out Sports Bar & Grill, Town ana Kitchen (two: N. Town Center towns. Many offer food and drink Center Lounge; Broncos—Black Dr. & W. Charleston); Seahawks— specials that sometimes include Mountain Grill, Four-Mile-Bar, Jake’s Crown & Anchor (Spring Mountain), cuisine from back home. The com- Bar; Browns—Boulevard Bar & Grill, Scooter’s, Timber’s (W. Horizon bination of lots of people rooting for Giuseppe’s, Kopper Keg West, Tap Ridge); Steelers—Noreen’s, Tim- the same team and everyone being House; Cardinals—Timbers (W. bers (two: Novat & N Durango); from the same place makes for a Cheyenne); Chiefs—Blue Diamond Vikings—Blue Ox Central, Blue Ox super-charged atmosphere in most Saloon; Cowboys—Mr. D’s, Mint Tavern, Blue Ox East. cases. In fact, these are often the Tavern, Shooters, E-String; Dol- No new teams have been best venues for viewing the games phins—Tommy Rockers; Eagles— added to or dropped from the list (when that bar’s team is playing), Madison Bar, Torrey Pines Pub; this year, meaning 10 teams are even if you aren’t from that city. Giants—Johnny Fontaine’s; Lions - still without a bar: Bengals, Buc- The list that follows has 63 op- Crowbar; Packers—Big Dog’s Draft caneers, Chargers, Colts, Falcons, tions that cover 22 of the 32 NFL House, Jackson’s, Rum Runner Jaguars, Jets, Panthers, Texans, teams. The Packers lead the way (three: Boulder Highway, Tropicana, and Titans. with eight bars following them. The & E. ), The Plate Bar & This is an evolving list that we Raiders and Bears are next with six Grill, Timber’s (two: E Lake Mead & keep current at LasVegasAdvisor. each. Tommy Rockers is the first Sunset Rd); Patriots— com, where you’ll find an interac- bar to follow two teams, adding the Tavern, Three Angry Wives Pub; tive map that allows you to better Raiders this year while continuing to Raiders—Tommy Rockers, Legends determine where they are through- follow the Dolphins. Sports Bar & Grill, Lucy’s Bar & Grill, out the city and in relation to one 49ers—Hi Score Bar & Arcade, BJ’s Cocktail Lounge (Decatur), another.

OCTOBER 2018 • LAS VEGAS ADVISOR • 11 Gambling continued … Similar to the situation at Jackpot (LVA 7/18), Giuseppe’s at 6065 S. Durango has 7/5 BP on its multi- line games only. Giuseppe’s also does matchplay pro- Gambling Notes motions, including $20 on Tuesdays if you’ve played $500 the week before. That’s a marginal play, but you AZ Chaz Decatur—Two developments of note at can also get $20 in matchplay if you dress in a team jer- Arizona Charlie’s Decatur are the opening of an upgrad- sey for Thursday Night Football. ed sports book (new TVs and a digital odds board) and Dean’s Place is another bar that doesn’t allow sin- the closing of the adjacent poker room. gle-coin play. If you hit the “bet 1 coin” button once, it Ellis Island—The table games pit has been moved registers two coins. to the west side of the casino, near the main bar. No Bob Dancer video poker classes are currently Bingo—Station Casinos is holding the “$625,000 scheduled. They’re expected to resume next year. In Big Bingo Weekend” Oct. 20-23, with events running at the meantime, be sure to check out Bob’s weekly Tues- several of its properties. The entry fee to play all events is day blog post and the Thursday “Gambling with an $250 and comes with lunch and two free dinner buffets. Edge” podcast, with Bob and Richard Munchkin, both at Go to stationcasinosbingo.com for complete details. LasVegasAdvisor.com. n Mississippi Lottery—Mississippi has passed a law authorizing a lottery. Officials say it will take a year before it goes live, at which time there will be only five states without lotteries, including Nevada. FanDuel Pays—After first refusing to pay $82,000 FAST TRACK on a winning sports ticket in New Jersey because the bet was made on a “mistake line,” FanDuel reversed its decision and paid the customer. Additionally, FD added Dolphin Named—The new dolphin that was born $1,000 to the accounts of 82 randomly chosen players last month at ’s Siegfried & Roy’s Secret Gar- to sweeten the PR effect. It’s the first high-profile gaff for den and Dolphin Habitat has been named Karli. It’s a a sports book in one of the newly legal wagering juris- nod to four of Las Vegas’ sports teams–Knights, Aces, dictions. Rebels, and Lights, with the “I” thrown in ’cause it’s a Supreme Gambler?—As if there weren’t enough girl. Wonder if the Raiders are miffed for not getting the obstacles in the way of his hoped-for appointment, Su- “R.” preme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh was questioned Wynn Tops Pay List—In what’s likely to be his last at length about the possibility of his having a gambling turn at the top, Steve Wynn led the list of highest-paid problem due to an email he wrote in 2001 that included casino executives in 2017, with $34.5 million in total the line “… blowing still another game of dice.” Kavana- compensation. He was followed by Sheldon Adelson ugh denied ever having gambling debts and said he’s ($26.1 million), CET boss Mark Frissora ($23.9 million), never sought treatment for gambling addiction. So the MRI’s Jim Murren ($14.6 million), and Boyd’s Keith dude shot some . Lighten up, boys. n Smith ($8.6 million). The Face of Liberty—The artist who designed New York-New York’s Statue of Liberty replica was awarded Video Poker Lost and Found a $3.6 million judgment for copyright infringement after the face of the statue was used on a stamp of which 4.9 million were sold. The U.S. Postal Service didn’t realize Wildfire Valley View has added royal flush progres- they’d used an image that incorporated modifications to sives to its quarter and dollar 7/5 Bonus Poker games reflect the face of the artist’s mother-in-law. Unrelated to (98.01% at reset). When we visited the quarter progres- the legal issue, the statue at NY-NY has a small plaque sive was at $1,753, yielding a return of 99.67% with per- placed in memory of the same woman on its crown. fect play. 51s Affililate with A’s—The Las Vegas 51s Triple A SLS Las Vegas continues to confound with its baseball team has announced a new two-year player- direction. After being acquired by an operator with development agreement with the Oakland Athletics. The Reno roots, we expected good things in video poker. 51s’ 36-year run at ended last month; the However, according to the online database vpFREE2, team’s new stadium, the , will open the current best game for dollars is 8/5 BP (98.17%) in Summerlin at the start of the 2019-2020 season and and the best for quarters is 9/6 Double Double Bonus coincide with the inaugural season of the Oakland A’s (98.98%). This place should be offering better. affiliation. Ichabod’s has upgraded its Bonus Poker to 7/5 G2E—This year’s Global Gaming Expo, the indus- (98.01%). try’s biggest tradeshow, runs October 8-11. n

12 • LAS VEGAS ADVISOR • OCTOBER 2018 NOVEMBER NOVEMBER 6-10 Supply Side West—14,700 WEEKDAY WEEKEND 8-11 Rock ‘n’ Roll LV Health & Fitness—66,500 El Cortez • $32 Wild Wild West • $65 15-17 Mecum Collector Car Auctions—15,000 Four Queens • $39 El Cortez • $66 23-25 Motor Trend Int’l Auto Show—17,000 Silver Sevens • $40 Plaza • $78 Circus Circus • $55 Downtown Grand • $85 Downtown Grand • $55 Circus Circus • $86 JANUARY Hooters • $58 Westgate LV • $98 Hard Rock • $78 Mirage • $129 8-11 CES 2019—175,000 Paris • $96 Palms • $141 22-25 Int’l Surface Event 2019—25,000 Green Valley Resort • $109 Hard Rock • $143 22-25 World of Concrete 2019—60,000 22-25 Shooting, Hunting & Outdoor 2019—61,000 DECEMBER KEY WEEKDAY WEEKEND El Cortez • $35 El Cortez • $45 FEBRUARY Four Queens • $39 Silver Sevens • $60 19-21 Int’l Builders Show—60,000 Wild Wild West • $45 Plaza • $70 19-21 Kitchen & Bath—33,000 DATES Circus Circus • $54 Hooters • $64 Sam’s Town • $55 Circus Circus • $69 OCTOBER Downtown Grand • $56 Excalibur • $70 Mean 67° Avg. Max. 81° Avg. Min. 53° Pools: Open Hard Rock • $78 Hard Rock • $93 Balmy days, cool evenings toward the end of the month. Mirage • $92 Mirage • $104 Paris • $106 Paris • $116 Attire: Short sleeves during the day, light jacket for evenings. NOVEMBER JANUARY

ROOM WEEKDAY WEEKEND Mean 53° Avg. Max. 65° Avg. Min. 40° Pools: Closed Four Queens • $39 Silver Sevens • $66 Temperatures drop dramatically this month. Crisp days, cold Silver Sevens • $46 El Cortez • $74 nights. El Cortez • $50 AZ C. Decatur • $76 Attire: Bring something warm, especially for evenings. Circus Circus • $56 Circus Circus • $73 Downtown Grand • $56 Excalibur • $73 DECEMBER Silverton • $56 Hooters • $74 Mean 46° Avg. Max. 58° Avg. Min. 33° Pools: Closed Hard Rock • $78 Hard Rock • $108 Evening temperatures dip into the 30s and even into the 20s. Paris • $102 Mirage • $135 Mirage • $104 Paris • $146 The sun makes an occasional apperance. RATES

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