anthony curtis’ lasvegasadvisor

November 2021 • Vol. 38 • Issue 11 $5

LasVegasAdvisorA N T H O N Y C U R T I S’

ILUMINATEBest show since the shutdown …

pg. 12

CHAIN REACTIONSupply chain

glitches hit Vegas … pg. 1

BUFFETS IN DANGER

Will food courts kick them to the

curb? … pg. 7

WSOP IN PROGRESS

Hellmuth does it again … pg. 15

99% IN A BARBest video poker

outside of the casinos … pg. 17

Local (702) Toll FreeCASINOSAliante Casino+Hotel+Spa ...................692-7777 ...... 877-477-7627Aria .......................................................590-7111 ...... 866-359-7757Arizona Charlie’s Boulder .....................951-5800 ...... 800-362-4040Arizona Charlie’s Decatur .....................258-5200 ...... 800-342-2695Bally’s ...................................................739-4111 ...... 877-603-4390Bellagio .................................................693-7111 ...... 888-987-7111Binion’s .................................................382-1600 ...... 800-937-6537Boulder Station .....................................432-7777 ...... 800-683-7777Caesars Palace.....................................731-7110 ...... 866-227-5938California ..............................................385-1222 ...... 800-634-6505Cannery ................................................507-5700 ...... 866-999-4899Casino Royale (Best Western Plus) ......737-3500 ...... 800-854-7666Circa .....................................................247-2258 ...... 833-247-2258Circus Circus ........................................734-0410 ...... 800-634-3450Cosmopolitan .......................................698-7000 ...... 877-551-7778Downtown Grand .................................719-5100 ...... 855-384-7263El Cortez ...............................................385-5200 ...... 800-634-6703Ellis Island (Super 8) .............................733-8901 ...... 800-800-8000Encore ..................................................770-7100 ...... 877-321-9966Excalibur ...............................................597-7777 ...... 800-937-7777Flamingo ...............................................733-3111 ...... 800-732-2111Four Queens .........................................385-4011 ...... 800-634-6045Fremont ................................................385-3232 ...... 800-634-6460Gold Coast ...........................................367-7111 ...... 800-331-5334Golden Gate .........................................385-1906 ...... 800-426-1906Golden Nugget .....................................385-7111 ...... 844-468-4438Green Valley Ranch ..............................617-7777 ...... 866-782-9487Harrah’s ................................................369-5000 ...... 800-392-9002LINQ, The .............................................731-3311 ...... 866-328-1888Longhorn (Super 8) ...............................435-9170 ...... 800-800-8000Luxor ....................................................262-4000 ...... 800-288-1000M Resort ...............................................797-1000 ...... 877-673-7678Mandalay Bay .......................................632-7777 ...... 877-632-7800MGM Grand ..........................................891-1111 ...... 800-929-1111Mirage...................................................791-7111 ...... 800-627-6667New York-New York .............................740-6969 ...... 800-693-6763NoMad ..................................................730-7000 ...... 888-706-6623Orleans .................................................365-7111 ...... 800-675-3267OYO ......................................................739-9000 ...... 866-584-6687Palace Station ......................................367-2411 ...... 800-634-3101Palazzo .................................................607-7777 ...... 866-263-3001Paris......................................................946-7000 ...... 888-266-5687Park MGM ............................................730-7777 ...... 800-311-8999Planet Hollywood .................................785-5555 ...... 866-919-7472Plaza .....................................................386-2110 ...... 800-634-6575Rampart ...............................................507-5900 ...... 877-869-8777

Red Rock Resort ..................................797-7777 ...... 866-767-7773Rio ........................................................252-7777 ...... 888-746-7482Resorts World .......................................676-7000 ...... 800-774-1500Sahara Las Vegas .................................761-7000 ...... 855-761-7757Sam’s Town ..........................................456-7777 ...... 800-634-6371Santa Fe Station ...................................658-4900 ...... 866-767-7771Silver Sevens ........................................733-7000 ...... 800-640-9777Silverton................................................263-7777 ...... 800-588-7711South Point ...........................................796-7111 ...... 866-791-7626Suncoast ..............................................636-7111 ...... 877-677-7111Sunset Station ......................................547-7777 ...... 888-786-7389The Cromwell .......................................777-3777 ...... 844-426-2766the D .....................................................388-2400 ...... 800-274-5825The STRAT ............................................380-7777 ...... 800-998-6937Treasure Island (TI) ...............................894-7111 ...... 800-944-7444Tropicana..............................................739-2222 ...... 800-634-4000Tuscany ................................................893-8933 ...... 877-887-2261Vdara ....................................................590-2767 ...... 866-745-7767Venetian ................................................414-1000 ...... 877-883-6423Waldorf Astoria .....................................590-8888 ...... 800-925-3673Westin Lake Las Vegas ........................567-6000Westin Las Vegas .................................836-5900 ...... 800-937-8461Westgate Las Vegas .............................732-5111 ...... 800-732-7117Wild Wild West (Days Inn) ....................740-0000 ...... 800-777-1514Wildfire..................................................648-3801Wynn Las Vegas ...................................770-7000 ...... 866-770-7077

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DINING, INCLUDING “LOCAL CORNER,” DRINKS,

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NOVEMBER 2021 $5A N T H O N Y C U R T I S ’

LasVegasAdvisor

Chain ReactionHave you been watching the news? The whole world is having problems

with the supply chain: Congestion and blockages in the production and delivery of goods mean that businesses can’t get products fast enough to meet demand. What does that have to do with Las Vegas? Potentially a lot.

Recently, an LVA contributor was in the Hooters bar at OYO and noticed that several of the draft beer handles were covered, indicating that the selections weren’t available. When he asked why so many were closed, he was told it was “a supply-chain issue”—the bar couldn’t get those beers. Then we heard it again—Crown & Anchor can’t get Crown, Miller’s Bar can’t get Miller (both real examples, by the way). Uh oh.

It’s not just booze at bars. We’re noticing restaurants cutting back their menus and hearing of missing bathroom products in hotel rooms. Some of it is work-staff related, but the supply-chain problem is also being more frequently invoked. It makes sense. Las Vegas is a goods-and-services town. People come here to consume both. More and more visitors are coming back and demand is high. Plus, restrictions for vaccinated interna-tional travelers have been eased, which should lead to a surge in visitation that could further exacerbate the problem.

How serious this becomes remains to be seen. It would be alarmist to paint it as a major problem at this point, but it’s certainly something to consider and another reason to temper expectations on your next trip. As much as the overall situation continues to improve, COVID’s knock-on effect is still a factor and figures to be for some time to come. n

Fee WatchHere’s some good news: For the first time in several months, not a sin-

gle resort fee has gone up. None went down, either. But some stabilization in what seemed like a path to runaway RF inflation is a welcome result.

COUPONOMY by Anthony Curtis

continued on next page

2 • LAS VEGAS ADVISOR • NOVEMBER 2021

Couponomy continued …

And another month has gone by without Resorts World activating a parking charge. I’d have lost the over/under bet on that. Let’s see how long this “trend” lasts.

Two New BooksTwo new books are back from the printer and shipping. The first is The

50 Greatest Stories in Poker History by Marton Magyar. It’s not a strategy book. It’s a collection of three- to five-page quick-read stories covering some of the most famous personalities, controversies, and epic confron-tations in the game’s colorful history. The stories traverse ground from the “Dead Man’s Hand” to the poker-playing computer Libratus and detail the exploits of Brunson, Moss, Unger, Negreanu, Hellmuth, Chan, Durr, Mon-eymaker, Moorman, Polk, and more. Some of the stories you’ll know of; others will be new and edifying.

The second is Love in the Dunes—Las Vegas Writers on Passion and Heartache. It’s the 11th installment (and 9th that we’ve published) of the “Las Vegas Writes” project, literary anthologies from Las Vegas’ top writ-ers. These are always fun reads for Vegas enthusiasts, because most sto-ries are set here and cite locations and situations that you might recognize. This edition will be of particular interest to LVAers, since one of the con-tributors is Bob Dancer. Of course, Dancer is a prolific writer of video poker how-to material, but he also has some creative chops. In his submission, titled “Queen of the Machines,” he writes about playing a Mother’s Day slot tournament with his elderly mother-in-law. Here’s an excerpt.

I go over the ground rules for the weekend. “I want to start playing at about 3 am, so I’m going to want to go to bed

after dinner. If you want to stay up more, I’ll set you up with a movie on the TV in your room. And I brought along the latest Danielle Steel books-on-tape novel for you.

“Shirley sent along some protein bars for the morning and we’ll get some water and coffee from the cocktail waitress at the machines. We’ll eat breakfast three or four hours after we start playing. That sound all right?”

This is fine with Virginia. She’s willing to agree to almost anything if she gets to play video poker.

I continue. “Remember, when it’s your turn to play, after the deal and you

LAS VEGAS ADVISOR (ISSN 1064-167X USPS 008602) is published monthly and is available for $50 per year ($60 Canadian; $70 foreign purchasers) and $5 per single issue at 3665 Procyon St., Las Vegas, NV, 89103. Phone: (702) 252-0655 • Fax: (702) 252-0675 POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Las Vegas Advisor, 3665 Procyon St., Las Vegas, NV 89103. e-mail: [email protected] • Internet: LasVegasAdvisor.com. All information is current at press time. Listed offerings are subject to change at any time. Huntington Press©2021

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Contributing Writers: Jeffrey Compton, BobDancer, Stewart Ethier, Bob Fuss, Scot Krause, Bradley Peterson, Blair Rodman, Jean ScottCover: The STRAT

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NOVEMBER 2021 • LAS VEGAS ADVISOR • 3

make the play you think is right, you must wait until I okay your play or cor-rect you. If you fail to do this, even once, you won’t be able to play anymore.” She could play by herself with her own money, of course, except she doesn’t have any.

Virginia nods. She accepts that I’m really firm about this. It isn’t that she’s a terrible player. She’s not. She gets most of the plays correct. But getting most right isn’t nearly good enough. We’re playing a $25 machine, which means $125 every hand. Unsupervised, Virginia would make more than $1,000 worth of mistakes every hour on a game that big. No thanks. We have a pretty big edge when I’m calling the shots, almost $200 an hour on average, but Virginia’s non-expertise could crush that edge and turn us into a big loser.

“I will go slow and wait for you,” she promises. “Playing on a machine that big is exciting. It’s like I died and have gone to heaven.”

About two hours into our play, Virginia holds the jack of clubs by itself. I tell her okay, and she draws four perfect cards. The ace of clubs, king of clubs, queen of clubs, and the ten of clubs. A royal flush.

A $100,000 royal flush! Drawing four perfect cards is a very rare achievement. And yet it happens

sometimes. When you least expect it. Many people get wild and crazy when they hit a big jackpot. Virginia just

sits there stupefied. She looks at me with her eyes wide open. I whisper quietly, “You did it!” For a while, she seems to struggle with her breathing a bit, but she’s fine.

Jackpots this size are pretty rare in this casino. When the word gets out, many people come over to congratulate me and I tell them that Virginia hit it. And so, they love on her. Tell her what a tremendous accomplishment it is. Tell her they’ve never hit one that big and it must be very exciting.

Virginia says, “Yes, it is.” The biggest one she’s hit before this was for $4,000. And there’s only been one of those. This is beyond her wildest dreams. She’s going to be talking about this one for a long time, even though she doesn’t get to keep the money.

Both books are back from the printer and ready to ship. See the wrap for the LVA offer. n

NEWSPalms—Information has finally surfaced regarding plans and scheduling

for the return of the Palms. The delay in opening has been due in part to the new owners, the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, going through the licensing process. That’s expected to be completed by the end of the



year, opening the door to open the doors as early as January. The resort will reopen as the Palms, though the name might change down the road. The sports book will be upgraded and most of the food-court vendors will remain. The Kaos nightclub will stay closed while the tribe considers what will occupy that space. Paid parking is definitely not in the vision, which is focused on turning the property into a “locals Strip casino.”

Fontainebleau—Marriott International has bowed out of the deal it announced over the summer to take the reins of the unfinished Fontaine-bleau. Marriott had planned to finish the building and open it with a name change to JW Marriott Las Vegas Boulevard, but the deal was apparently scuttled by complications related to the latest change in ownership. The Fontainebleau is back in the hands of the original owner, Jeffrey Soffer, who says he intends to finish it.

Dream—Maybe it’s not just a Dream after all. The $500 million Dream Las Vegas Hotel-Casino, announced back in February 2020, has been approved. Planned to have 20-stories and 500 rooms, the project had a long road to approval, due to its proximity to McCarran Airport, drawing the attention of the TSA, FBI, FAA, Homeland Security, Secret Service, Air Force, the airport, and the airlines themselves, all concerned about safety and security. Now that Dream is a reality, ground could be broken by next summer, with a completion date in 2024.

Convention Center Frontage—The Las Vegas Convention and Visi-tors Authority has sold 10 acres along the north Strip where the old Riviera used to stand. The parcel wound up being unused in the giant Convention Center expansion and was purchased by the biggest casino operator in Central and South America, who plans to build a new resort. No details or timetables for building have been released, but it may be a while, since the agreement doesn’t require completion until 2031.

Nobu—Caesars Palace has announced that Nobu, its 182-room bou-tique hotel-within-a-hotel, will undergo a “multimillion-dollar refresh” that will give it a more “residential and luxe” feel. No timeline has been announced for the project.

Atomic Golf—A major indoor “golf entertainment destination” has been announced in a partnership between The STRAT and Dallas-based Flite Golf and Entertainment. The $70-million Atomic Range will be built on an adjacent seven-acre parcel north of the casino. Plans call for a four-story 92,000-square-foot structure that will house more than 100 hitting bays, and include four bars, meeting spaces, and a 12,000-square-foot “Astrocade” (which sounds like a video-game emporium). Atomic golf is expected to open sometime in 2023.

Majestic—The developer of the 720-room Majestic Hotel, planned for Convention Center Drive across the street from the Las Vegas Convention

News continued …



The Ellis Island complete steak dinner remains in the #1 spot in the Top Ten. Served 24/7 in the Café, get the $7.99 price by play-ing 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 11 operating buffets in Las Vegas, the South Point buffet (#2) 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. The Skyline shrimp cocktail (#3) is served around the clock at the main bar. 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. Oyo’s $1-minimum blackjack game (#7) is dealt daily 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. Ellis Island’s prime rib tandem (#8) is our top recommen-dation for the best quality-to-price ratio on a complete prime rib dinner; available 24/7. New to the list is iLuminate at The STRAT (#9). The first show to crack the Top Ten since before the shutdown is a choreographic masterpiece at a price far below the going rate for a show of this caliber (see entertainment). While reported averages indicate that room rates are up, we’re heading into the time of year when rooms are discounted deeply and we’re routinely finding current rates in the $50-$70 range (with resort fees included), which is low enough to keep them in the #10 spot. If you want to stay at one of the primo joints, there are some good bundled deals at the top resorts that you can access at LasVegasAdvisor.com.

TOP 10 VALUES

Center, plans to break ground on the $850 million non-casino non-smok-ing hotel sometime in the first three months of 2022. Work was originally scheduled to begin in 2020, but the pandemic put the kibosh on that; the second launch date was supposed to have happened by now, but sup-ply-chain issues (see couponomy), along with the slow ramp up of conven-tions, have further deferred that date. However, the developer says that he still expects the Majestic to be completed in late 2024.

1. Steak Dinner • Ellis Island • 24 hours • $7.992. Buffet • South Point • Daily. • $9.95-$19.953. Shrimp Cocktail • Skyline • Daily • $1.504. Beer • Stage Door • 24 hours • $1 5. Breakfast • Arizona Charlie’s • Daily • $5.996. Hot Dog • South Point • Daily • $1.257. $1 Blackjack • OYO • Daily * $1.208. Prime Rib • Ellis Island • Daily • $19/$389. iLuminate • The STRAT • Tues.-Sun. • $43-$6410. Room Rates • El Cortez et al • $50 and up


News continued …

Wildfire Lake Mead—Wildfire Lake Mead, a Station Casino a few blocks from Boulder Highway on E. Lake Mead Parkway in Henderson, has closed temporarily for renovations and an expansion. Wildfire Lake Mead will get an all-new Station sports book, new slots and electronic table games, and a makeover and new menu at the Wild Grill. The casino is expected to reopen by the end of the year.

Lake Tahoe—A southern California real estate development company, EKN Group, has acquired the Tahoe Biltmore, the largest of three casinos in Crystal Bay at north Lake Tahoe, for $56.9 million. EKN intends to oper-ate the hotel-casino as it finalizes plans to redevelop the 15-acre site. The Biltmore opened in 1946; it celebrates its 75th anniversary this year. The hotel has 113 rooms, the casino 100 slots, a few table games, and a sports book.

Illinois—The candidates to build a casino in Chicago have been whit-tled down to two, both Native American operators: Alabama’s Porch Band of Creek Indians and Oklahoma’s Choctaw Nation. The final selection won’t be made until 2022.

Statistics—Nevada’s statewide gambling win was up 56.9% in August compared to the same month last year. The state’s $1.1 billion win marked the sixth consecutive month exceeding $1 billion. The Strip win was up 97.2% and downtown was up 80.5%. All reporting areas in the state were up double digits except Elko, and North and South Lake Tahoe. The win at the Tahoe casinos was affected by the summer fires in Northern California, but they still notched increases.

Visitation was up 95%, with just under 3 million coming to town. Con-vention attendance was reported as 0 for the 17th consecutive month. The string of hotel-occupancy increases was broken with a 6% decline from July to 72.8%, with 87.1% weekends and 67.8% weekdays.

Airline traffic was up 119% over last year, with 3.8 million travelers, but down from July’s 4.2 million. British Airways has resumed non-stop service between Las Vegas and London, taking advantage of the relaxed interna-tional-travel rules. n

Sports Betting ScorecardSports betting is now live in Connecticut, but still delayed in Louisiana,

where they say they’re poised to start any day now. New York continues to fumble in its attempts to initiate remote wagering. Florida is ensnarled in legal challenges and is shooting to start taking bets in late November. New Jersey became the first state to take more than $1 billion in wagers in a single month, reporting a $1.01 billion handle in September. Princess



Cruises has become the first cruise-ship company to offer onboard sports betting. Sports betting is allowed when the ships are in international waters or docked in countries that allow gambling.

Follow the progress of sports betting legalization across the country and track developments as they occur via our map at LasVegasAdvisor.com. n

DININGBuffet Update

No new buffets have opened, leaving the count at 11: Caesars Palace, Bellagio, Wynn, Excalibur, South Point, Cosmopolitan, MGM Grand, Luxor, Rampart, Circus Circus, and Main Street Station. The only significant change is at Circus Circus, where the buffet is now open on weekends only—brunch Sat. and Sun. from 7 am to 2 pm and dinner Sat. only from 4:30 to 10 pm, all meals $25.99. The reduction in availability at Circus is likely due to the opening of its food court (see “Openings/Closings”) and may be a harbinger of things to come.

Last month, we speculated that the Boulder Station buffet space might become the new location of the coffee shop, but word is it will be an exten-sion of the Boulder food court. The new Durango Station won’t have a buf-fet, but it will have a food court. At Resorts World, rather than a high-end buffet, they opted for a bigger and more creative food-court presence. The casinos collect rent on food-court spaces, so it’s a safer revenue stream with far less hassle. Not exciting, but practical, and becoming more and more likely based on what we’re seeing.

Look for Anthony Curtis being interviewed at the South Point for a piece on Las Vegas buffets on “CBS Mornings.” The air date has been announced and changed several times; we’ll post it in “Vegas News” at LasVegasAdvisor.com when we know it for sure. n

Free Parking for LunchParking is free at designated downtown street meters Monday through

Friday from 11 am to 1 pm. The meters are marked “Lunch Spot,” and are intended as an incentive for people to eat lunch downtown. There’s no way to check on whether you’re there for lunch or not, so it’s free parking for everyone, but it’s a thoughtful effort to promote the restaurants in the area. The program will run through December 31. n

https://www.lasvegasadvisor.com/gambling-with-an-edge/legal-sports-betting-us/

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Chickie’s & Pete’s at Sahara Chickie’s & Pete’s Crab House & Sports Bar has opened adjacent to

the Sahara sports book. They advertise that it was voted “ESPN’s num-ber-one sports bar in North America” and we’re not really sure what kind of vote that was, but it’s certainly a renowned hang in Philadelphia and this is its first outlet in the west. The big menu features bar-style seafood and Philly specials. From the latter, we tried the cheesesteak ($14) and a roast pork sandwich ($13) served the way we assume they do it in Philly, with red peppers, spinach, and broc-coli rabe. Not terrible. Not great. The sandwiches are big, though they don’t come with a side of any kind. Hence, we also got the obligatory ultimate crab fries ($15), which are topped with an impressive quantity of crabmeat.

One thing’s for sure, this is a cool place to watch a game. The bar is ringed with TVs and it’s not popular enough yet that you can’t get a seat. In fact, we went for the Sunday-night game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Las Vegas Raiders fully expecting that we’d have to wait, but were able to walk right in. n

Venetian GastropubOne of the many restaurants inside the Grand Canal Shoppes at the

Venetian is the Royal Britannia Pub. Cool, a Brit pub among the Vene-tian’s Italian joints. It sure looks the part—that is, until you scan the menu and realize that almost nothing on it is British. No pies. No Scotch egg. No mushy peas. Fish & chips is it. The bartender said it best: “This isn’t an English pub; it’s an American bar.” Fair enough, and as long as that’s understood going in, the place ain’t bad. We tried the fish & chips ($18.50), chicken wings ($14.95 for 8

Dining continued …

Crabfries at Chickie’s & Pete’s

Fish & chips at Royal Britannia Pub


wings), and pickle chips ($8.95), rating all better than average, though no bargain on price. All in all, with the TVs tuned to sports, decent food, and a daily happy hour (see entertainment), it’s a cozy place to escape the hub-bub of the Venetian. n

Tres CazuelasFinding good restaurants outside of the casinos is one of our primary

objectives and this one is a gem. Cazuela is Spanish for casserole or stew and Tres Cazuelas opened with an emphasis on this dish for lunch. Now it serves dinner only (except for Sunday brunch) and the stew is nowhere to be found. Instead, this is a legitimate fine-dining option featuring “artisanal Latin food” and suffice it to say that Tex-Mex it ain’t.

Entrées include Spanish preparations of steaks, chicken, and fish, mostly priced in the $20s, or mix it up with a paella. They’re all good, but the tapas route is the way to go. Patatas bravas, anchovies on garlic toast, lamb chop Moruna, blue cheese mussels, Portuguese cataplana (seafood mix), and the best Iberico dates we’ve ever had are $6 to $18. One of our favorite dishes is the steak tartar & tuetano (marrow served in a bone that will have your dog loving you for days) for $22. Even with a couple of $9 sangrias, a party of two is easily out for under $100 before tip.

Along with the excellent food and ambience (there’s usually live music) are lots of specials. Tuesday is “Fresh Catch” day, often featuring branzino or Dover sole. On Wednesdays, bring your own wine with no corkage fee. Thursdays feature a complimentary wine tasting with dinner. You almost

have to make reservations (702-370-0751), although it’s gotten a bit easier to walk up since they put up a dining tent outside, especially if you arrive early or late. Tres Cazuelas is open Tues.-Sat. from 4 to 9 pm (10 pm on Fri. & Sat.) and Sun. from 10 am to 3 pm for brunch. There’s also a daily happy hour (see entertainment). Parlay with some live music at the Sand Dollar Lounge (see next). n

Pizza at Sand DollarAs mentioned, reservations are important at Tres Cazuelas, but some-


Steak tartar & tuetano at Tres Cazuelas


times you find yourself just rolling up and taking a chance. It’s usually worth a try, but if it doesn’t turn out, there’s back-up. Next door to Tres Cazuelas is the Sand Dollar Lounge. You could pop in just to see one of their live blues bands or somewhat frequent special guests (Pauly Shore and The Crustys recently took the stage), but you can also grab one of their personal pizzas. There are six creative choices from $11 to $16 and these are good flatbread-style pies cooked on the spot. n

Taco Special at Taquito StreetOf the many taco specials in Vegas, this one from a strangely located

Mexican restaurant in the Pacific Asian Plaza at 5115 Spring Mountain Road is up there near the top. On Tuesdays, get four tacos for $5. The choices are chicken, asada steak, and al pastor. You can mix and match any way you want, but the asada and pastor are best. It’s an excellent deal, and that’s without the free chips and salsa that come with it, along with squirt bottles that dispense differ-ent hot sauces. There’s also a $6 nachos special on Wednesdays and 2-for-1 burritos on Thursdays. n

Dining NotesThe $2 menu at Jake’s Bar is now a $3 menu. It’s still a deal, but no

longer Top Ten-worthy. The price of the Friday-night steak special is unchanged at $12.

The Venetian has added “plant-based” menus at several of its restau-rants. A press release indicates that new vegan offerings are available at Brera Osteria, Black Tap Craft Burgers & Beer, Bouchon, Majordomo Meat & Fish, Matteo’s Ristorante Italiano, and Truth & Tonic Wellness Cafe.

A first-ever Martha Stewart restaurant is coming to Las Vegas. The as-yet-unnamed restaurant will be located at Paris and is scheduled to open sometime next year.

Dining continued …

Four for $5 on Tuesdays


Last month, we reported the closing of Osaka in the Sum-merlin area. Taking over the space will be a second Slater’s 50/50 hamburger joint (LVA 5/19) early next year.

MGM Resorts International made headlines around the world by selling 11 master-works by Pablo Picasso at auc-tion for a $109 million payday. The reason we’re reporting this in dining is that the paintings had been displayed at Bella-gio’s Picasso restaurant. No word yet on whether they’ll be replaced by Dogs Playing Poker. n

Openings/ClosingsCircus Circus has opened its new food court located in a space that

used to be part of the buffet. The food court has a Pick Up Stix, Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, Einstein Bros. Bagels, and a Dairy Queen.

Napal Baji has opened on W. Spring Mtn. Rd. in Chinatown. This is an interesting concept—a Korean izakaya, meaning Korean pub grub. The restaurant is ’80s-themed and the name apparently translates as “bell-bot-tom pants.”

Xiao Long Dumplings has opened in the Chinatown Plaza in the spot that was formerly Harbor Palace Seafood.

A second location of Makenzie River Pizza, Grill & Pub has opened at the Silver Knights hockey arena in Henderson.

Larrea opens on Nov. 13 at Panorama Towers in the space that was formerly the Blind Pig.

Come-and-go chef Carla Pellegrino’s new Mediterranean restaurant, Dough House, is scheduled to open Nov. 4 at 5875 S. Rainbow. One of Pellegrino’s notable previous positions was as a chef at Rao’s.

Speaking of Rao’s, after 15 years of operation at Caesars Palace, the restaurant will close November 28. A replacement hasn’t been named, but there are rumors that another New York City dining institution, Peter Luger Steak House out of Brooklyn, is a possibility. We’ll take that trade.

Hecho en Vegas Mexican Grill & Cantina has closed at MGM Grand. n

https://www.lasvegasadvisor.com/newsletter/May-2019/

https://www.lasvegasadvisor.com/newsletter/May-2019/


ENTERTAINMENTReview

iLuminateThe STRAT

Mon., Wed.-Sat. 10 pm, Sun. 2 pm, Dark Tues.$64.31-$129.71

What a great show! We don’t begin many reviews with a statement like that, but iLuminate at The STRAT is one of the best shows we’ve seen in quite a while. No, we’re not putting it in the class of the Cirque spectacu-lars, but for a mid-level production that’s easy to get to and relatively inex-pensive, it’s as good as it gets in the Entertainment Capital of the World.

This isn’t a variety show with a comedian and a juggler. It’s strictly music and dance. That wouldn’t make it nine times out of ten, but iLumi-nate is different. The stage is completely dark and the dancers and props are outfitted with LEDs. Lots of ’em, positioned in all different places; sep-arate switches turn the lights on and off with pinpoint timing to create the effects (see cover). On several occasions, the dancers are airborne and you assume they’re being hoisted by straps and pulleys, but they’re not. They’re being lifted, carried, twisted, thrown, and flown by other cast mem-bers in black cloth who are all but invisible in the dark. It’s a choreographic tour de force.

There’s no theme, or at least none that we could discern, but it doesn’t matter; you don’t get bored through the 75-minute show as one stir-ring routine after another plays to recognizable pop hits like “Believer,” “Maniac,” “Lady Marmalade,” “Footloose,” “Jump Around,” and “Whoomp! (There It Is)”. The older crowd might not get completely into these cur-rent-day hits—no Sinatra happenin’ here—but the audience when we were there was fully absorbed. Best of the best was a leaning, bending, moon-walking rendition of Michael Jackson’s “Smooth Criminal” and the finale is a dance-in-the-aisles party. “America’s Got Talent” named iLuminate the “Best New Act in America” and it’s right here in Vegas playing five nights a week and one afternoon.

In addition to the entertainment value, there’s more to recommend. As alluded to, it’s easy to get to, a consideration that can’t be overstated—parking is free in the garage with easy access to the casino. The showroom isn’t huge, so you can go for the cheap seats without penalty. In fact, there’s a case to be made that sitting farther away works better for this show. As for price, $64.31 is a bargain these days and there are deals out there. The best we found was from Groupon, with a bottom-line price of $43 (a direct link is available at LasVegasAdvisor.com). We haven’t had a


show in the Top Ten since Mac King left Harrah’s. We do now. n

Bars and Happy HoursThe Royal Britannia Pub at the Venetian has a daily happy hour from 4

to 6 pm, with half-price drinks. There’re no discounts on food, but the drink deal includes everything on the bar, so you’re getting premium beers and call-brand shots for under $10.

Tuscany Gardens at Tuscany has a daily happy hour from 5 to 7 pm, with drinks and appetizers starting at $5.

OYO’s poolside bar has $5 pitchers of margaritas or mojitos daily from 5 to 7 pm. Sounds good, but the “pitcher” is a 24-ounce cup. Not terrible, but only about 30% of advertised.

Tres Cazuelas has a happy hour Tues.-Fri. from 4 to 6 pm, with $3 spe-cialty drinks, $6 wine, and $6 tapas (including some mentioned in dining).

The new PKWY Tavern at W. Flamingo and Decatur has happy hours Mon.-Fri. from 3 to 6 pm and Sun.-Thurs. from midnight to 3 am, with $3 beer, wine, and well drinks and $3-$6 appetizers. Among several promo-tions running during its grand-opening celebration Nov. 1-7, appetizers are half-price and there’s a drawing to win free beer for a year. See gambling for information about PKWY’s very un-bar-like video poker schedules.

Blue Ox Tavern on W. Sahara has daily happy hours from 3 to 6 pm and 11 pm to 2 am, with $3 beer, wine, and well drinks and half-off appetizers.

A new Distill opens Nov. 15 at Rainbow and I-215.In Royal Britannia Pub at the Venetian, Sauza Tres Generaciones tequila

is $17.34 and a draft Stella Artois is $11.92. At Chickie’s & Pete’s a draft Stella is $8.67. At PKWY Tavern Decatur, a Bud is $7. At Taquito Street, a Pacifico is $6.49. At Moondoggies Bar & Grill, a 20-ounce draft PBR is $5.25. At Flowing Tide, a Bud is $4.50. n

Entertainment NotesCéline Cancels—Céline Dion, who had been scheduled to launch her

new show at Resorts World Nov. 5, has postponed the opening due to medical issues. A new opening date has not been announced and tickets are being refunded.

Dolby Live—The former Park Theater at Park MGM has been renamed Dolby Live, reflecting the venue’s retrofitting with a high-tech Dolby Atmos surround-sound system. It will be used primarily for live concerts, but also e-sports and other events held at the theater.

Comedy Club Moving—MGM Grand’s “Brad Garrett Comedy Club” gets a new home this month when it moves from the basement to a 210-



seat room in The District (near the food court) at MGM Grand.Virgin Open Mic—Virgin Hotels Las Vegas runs an open mic night on

Wednesdays at 8 pm. It’s held in the Shag Room and the best perfor-mance each week wins a 1-night stay at the resort. Quarterly grand-prize winners get a paid performance in the Shag Room and a 2-night stay.

DiscoShow—An agreement between Caesars Entertainment and Absinthe producer, Spiegelworld, to create three new shows that will play in Las Vegas, Atlantic City, and New Orleans will lead to a new production called DiscoShow, scheduled to open at the LINQ late next year.

RW Art Tour—Resorts World has introduced a self-guided tour that explores the property’s artworks. Of course, being Resorts World, it’s high-tech (you need a mobile phone with a QR code reader). Scan the code on a piece of art to get information on origins, the artists, and other details. The tour is free.

Weed Lounges Pending—Nevada’s cannabis consumption lounges were allowed to launch as of October 1; however, you still can’t visit one. Although several are planned, none have opened yet and the first lounge isn’t expected until early next year. Nevada is now one of seven states that allow consumption lounges.

AREA15 Thrill Ride—A 13-story thrill ride can be seen rising in the AREA15 parking lot. When completed this year, riders will be strapped into a 16-seat gondola for a 360-degree ascent to 131 feet for panoramic views of the valley. The ride, called “Rise—An Elevated Bar Experience,” will last seven minutes and cost $18, or $26 for a drink-and-ride package that allows riders to take along their beverage of choice from the bar at the base.

Cosmo Skating Rink—The Ice Rink at Boulevard Pool opens at the Cos-mopolitan on Nov. 16 and runs through Jan. 2 for its 10th year of operation. The 4,200-square-foot rooftop skating rink made of real ice will host public skates and a number of special events, including holiday-classic films on the marquee. All-day access is $30 ($20 with NV ID).

Magical Forest—The Magical Forest at Opportunity Village, a 30-year fundraising tradition and one of the biggest holiday events in Las Vegas, will open on Nov. 26 after missing last year due to the pandemic. The two-acre park features hundreds of trees decorated with more than a million holiday lights, gingerbread houses, a carousel, miniature golf, midway games, nightly entertainment, and, of course, visits from Santa. Tickets are $22 at the door and every dollar goes toward programs and services for adults with disabilities. Opportunity Village has been serving the Las Vegas disabled community since 1954.

Big Smoke—Cigar Aficionado’s “Big Smoke” Las Vegas runs Nov. 5-6

Entertainment continued …


at the Mirage. Proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test required to attend. n

GAMBLINGWSOP in Progress

The 2021 World Series of Poker is underway at the Rio. It’s certainly lost some impact compared to previous years, but the tournaments are running and records are being set. Most notable, Phil Hellmuth won his 16th gold bracelet, widening the distance between himself and Doyle Brunson, Johnny Chan, and Phil Ivey, each with 10. While almost all of Hellmuth’s wins have come in no-limit hold ’em, this one was no-limit 2-7 lowball draw. A couple days later, Hellmuth almost won his 17th, finishing second in the Dealer’s Choice event to Adam Friedman, who won his 4th bracelet and became the first player ever to win the same event three times in row. Hellmuth has also tallied a fourth, fifth, and sixth already in this meet. Other winners include Josh Arieh, Michael Addamo, and Bradley Ruben, each winning their 3rd bracelet; John Monnette and Farzad Bonyadi, each win-ning their fourth; and Brian Rast winning his 5th. Anthony Zinno is the only double winner so far.

The WSOP released some attendance figures, showing participation is down by about a third from the last live series in 2019. The biggest drop was in the $1,500 Monster Stack event, down 42%, from 6,035 in 2019 to 3,520 this year; the $1,500 Millionaire Maker was down 40% percent (from 8,809 to 5,326); still, it was the biggest field so far. Second biggest was the $600-buy-in Deepstack, which drew 4,527. By comparison, the $500 buy-in BIG 50 holds the live buy-in record with 28,371 entrants in 2019. The no-limit hold ‘em tournaments are down an average of 35%. The non-NLHE tournaments are better attended, down 25%-28%. Things could pick up with several of the biggest tournaments remaining to be played. Also, two flights have been added for the Main Event, mostly in anticipation of more foreign players showing up after the easing of international travel restrictions (see couponomy).

The Main Event begins November 4 and runs through November 16. n

Gambling NotesParis Jackpot—A player at Paris hit a Mississippi Stud progressive jack-

pot for $834,091. She’d been playing for only five minutes when she was dealt a king and jack of hearts with the three community cards the ace,



queen, and 10 of hearts.Smoke Free Tables—A reader reports that all table games at Sam’s

Town are now smoke free.Nickel Line—The Westgate is dealing a 5¢ line on World Series games.

The reduction of the spread between the prices on each team to win low-ers the house edge to about 1% (it moves depending on the size of the favorite). Nickel lines in baseball used to be more common, but now typi-cally range from 10¢ to 20¢.

Virgin Contest—Add Virgin to the list of casinos with free-to-play kiosk-based football contests. Pick the winner of the featured game of the week to be eligible to win $500 in slot free-play. We haven’t played, but assume there’s a drawing to pick the winners—not much value, but a free-roll.

Plaza Play—The Plaza is running a contest with $50,000 in prize money for which entries are earned for play. It concludes on November 20, when there will be a drawing to pick 50 winners with a first prize of $20,000. This has been a year-long contest, so there are likely players well ahead in num-ber of entries, but it hasn’t been heavily promoted and since it’s a drawing, you have a chance if you’re in it. Regardless, it’s added value and the Plaza has good video poker schedules, including 9/6 Bonus Poker Deluxe and 9/6 Jacks or Better. Make sure you’re playing a schedule that awards club points; some with high returns (some over 100%) don’t.

SBNC 2—DraftKings is running the second Sports Betting National Championship November 5-7. The entry fee is $10,000, $5,000 of which is used for live betting. The first SBNC was held in 2019 and you had to be in New Jersey to play. This year, you can play from several states in which DK operates. There’s still time to get in—that is, if you can navigate the ridiculously complicated registration process. We’ll report on the outcome next month. n

Video Poker Lost and FoundLast month’s report on Main Street Station turns out to have been

more complete than we thought. The online database vpFREE2 lists a Tri-ple Deuces Wild game paying 10 for 5-of-a-kind and 8 for a straight flush (99.92%) that we didn’t find, but otherwise our listings were correct.

You can play 99%+ games at the Venetian, including 9/6 Jacks or Bet-ter (99.54%), as long as you don’t mind $25-$100 denoms. For 25¢ play-ers, the Venetian is a wasteland, with 7/5 JoB (96.15%) the best you’ll find and most quarter schedules returning 94% and 95%. These games are worth a quick play for a comped drink; then move on.

The new PKWY Tavern at 4930 W. Flamingo opened with some of the best bar video poker we’ve seen in years. The best game is 9/6 Bonus

Gambling continued …


WEATHERNOVEMBER

DECEMBER

JANUARYMean 45° Avg. Max. 59° Avg. Min. 28°Cool and dry. Days are crisp, but pleasant. Cold evenings.Pools: ClosedAttire: Sweater and jacket - desert winters are cold.

Mean 56° Avg. Max. 66° Avg. Min. 46°Temperatures drop dramatically this month. Crisp days, cold nights.Pools: Closed.Attire: Bring something warm especially for the evenings.

KEY datesNOVEMBER

DECEMBER

JANUARY

Mean 48° Avg. Max. 57° Avg. Min. 39°Evening temperatures dip into the 30s and even into the 20s. The sun makes an occasional showing.Pools: ClosedAttire: Desert or not, it’s wintertime and it’s cold. Dress warmly.

Poker Deluxe (99.64%) at 25¢-$2. There’s also 8/5 Bonus Poker (99.17%) and 9/6 Double Double Bonus (98.98%). Same as the other PKWYs in town, there’s a play-$20-get-$10 promo Mon.-Fri. from 7 to 10 am.

The Dollar General stores that have gaming rooms run good promos. In October it was play-$50-get-$50 on Fridays and Sundays, but the days may change in November. Last month, we wrote that Dollar General has five stores in Las Vegas. There are more than five, but only five have machines. They’re located at 5675 S. Rainbow, 3700 E. Charleston, 2905 S. Maryland Pkwy., 3485 E. Lake Mead, and 2224 S. Nellis Boulevard.

The Molly’s lose-$20-get-$20 promo runs on Wednesdays and Sundays in November.

Jacksons is extending its play-$200-get-$50 deal through November. The offer is good 8 am to 8 pm on Sundays only; must have four previous visits to get free-play.

Both Crown & Anchor bars have a new gambler’s lunch deal. Play $200 through a machine and get lunch from a menu that includes appetizers and most sandwiches. You can’t get the British pies or fish & chips, but you can get the awesome chicken fingers. Not a great deal, but better than paying retail, especially when you throw in the beers.

Check out Bob Dancer’s Tuesday blog and his Thursday “Gambling With an Edge” podcast with Richard Munchkin, both at LasVegasAdvisor.com. n

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