The Cosmopolitan has announced this summer's schedule for its annual "Dive-In Movie" night on Mondays, starting May 20 and running through September 9. This is a great way to check out Cosmo's third-floor pool deck and catch a flick at the same time, especially on a hot summer night in the water. The doors open at 7 p.m., the movie starts at 8, and it's absolutely free if you have an Identity players card; otherwise, it's $15, $10 for locals. You can also reserve cabanas and daybeds, though lounge seating is free and first-come first-served. To make reservations and see the schedule, here's the link. If you're here for Labor Day weekend, seeing The Hangover on September 2 would be appropriate.
If you're considering retiring to southern Nevada, here's a quick top-10 list of benefits. We agree with all of them, though written by the Real Estate Guy, his take on affordable housing and large inventory is a bit overblown.
A slot player hit a jackpot of $1,357,950 playing Monopoly Money Grab at Reid International over the weekend, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported yesterday. No surprise: The winner chose to remain anonymous.
PopStroke Mini Golf's 14th location in five states opened this week on Las Vegas Blvd. across the Strip from Town Square just south of Mandalay Bay. The two 18-hole mini-golf courses each take 45-60 minutes to complete, depending on your number of players. The putter and TaylorMade golf balls are included in the day-pass price: $24 kids 3-12, $32 seniors, $40 adults; hours are 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily. The full-service restaurant opens at 11 a.m. and serves a breakfast burrito ($8), tenders ($12), wings ($15), burgers, sandwiches, and wraps ($14-$16), tacos ($16-$18), and salads ($16-$21). There's also an ice cream parlor, kids playground, Jumbotrons, and more.
Tales of the Cocktail Foundation, a non-profit platform that "accelerates the growth of the spirits industry through forward-thinking partnerships and mentorship programs," also sponsors a global cocktail competition and presents annual Spirited Awards, which recognize beverage professionals, products, establishments, and media throughout the world. Among the 11-state U.S. West regional top-10 honorees for 2024 are the Ski Lodge at Superfrico at the Cosmopolitan, winning a nod as one of the Best U.S. Hotel Bars. This is a hidden bar behind one of the many doors you confront as you enter Superfrico; a classic apres-ski-themed establishment, it's about as far away from the center Strip as you can be. Cleaver restaurant at 3900 Paradise Road received a Best U.S. Restaurant Bar award. Serving steak, seafood, and classic cocktails, Cleaver is a sister restaurant to Herbs & Rye, owned by famed bartender and restaurateur Nectaly Mendoza, that opened in 2022.
Dallas-born 58-year-old ventriloquist, impressionist, comedian, puppet master, and singer Terry Fator will headline a new show at the Strat beginning May 23. After winning Season 2 of "America's Got Talent" and headlining shows at the Mirage and New York-New York, Fator has been a fixture on the Strip since 2009. Tickets for "Terry Fator: One Man, a Hundred Voices, a Thousand Laughs!" go on sale Tuesday and will start at $59.
The long-awaited bridge over the Colorado between Laughlin in Nevada and Bullhead City in Arizona will open to traffic on June 7. The $60 million project was originally envisioned in the 1990s and construction began in 2021, but delays held up completion. The 724-foot-long bridge is one lane in each direction with a multi-use non-vehicle lane on the south side of the bridge for bikers, hikers, and runners. The third bridge over the river in the Laughlin area, it's roughly eight miles down river; a three-and-a-half-mile feeder road between the bridge and Needles Highway (near the Avi Casino-Resort) was also constructed, as well as a half-mile extension of Bullhead Parkway on the Arizona side. A somewhat undeveloped area, the bridge is expected to spur economic opportunities south of both towns.
Casino.org's Cory Levitan has been following the sale of goods and furnishings from the Tropicana by Ohio-based International Content Liquidations and now reports that ICL is selling not only the furniture, televisions, lighting fixtures, and art from the rooms and suites, but "anything you can physically remove from the premises in a 10-day period" for a lump sum between $1,500 and $3,500. Cory explains, "This means carpeting, plumbing fixtures, and pipes. Buyers are advised to bring a carpenter, plumber, and six-person demolition team — as well as a truck that’s at least 24 feet long — to get the most bang for their buck." If you're interested, make an appointment for a showing at 702-933-9540.
Eric Raskin, gambling journalist and author of our book The Moneymaker Effect -- The Inside Story of the Tournament that Forever Changed Poker, has a piece on CasinoReports.com about the changing odds on the presidential election on PredictIt.com, an "exchange" that allows you to bet against other gamblers on major world events. Though bookmakers aren't allowed to take wagers on elections, exchange betting on them is permitted in the U.S. Raskin reports that from early February through mid-March, the odds favored Trump over Biden. But as the former president's legal problems accelerated, things began to change. For the second half of March, the two candidates ran about even, until the beginning of April, when the odds switched, with Biden the favorite and Trump the underdog, "by gradually widening margins." As of April 15, Biden was a -112 favorite, while Trump was a +117 dog. In addition, overall, Democrats were favored at -133, while Republicans were down to +122. You can read Eric's report here and if you're interested in following the exchange odds or betting on the election, PredictIt.com is a good place to do it.
Phish, the 40-year-old group founded in Burlington, Vermont, opened its four-show mini-res at Sphere on Thursday night. Phish, the second concert series at the arena following U2's 40 shows, is the next best thing to seeing the old Grateful Dead; the jam band with four original members, inspired by the Dead's improvisational style, combines long instrumental breaks in rock, pop, folk, blues, bluegrass, reggae and other genres. The band also has a following as rabid as the Deadheads and has sold nearly 10 million albums. Unlike U2, in which all 40 shows were the same, Phish's for shows are all different; indeed, every show is different, with unique setlists and visuals, but no shows have been like these, backed by the planet's most epic screen. You can read about the creative process, see fabulous photos, and watch an eight-minute video of the band in action here.
If you're a fan of "CSI: Vegas," you're out of luck. The first and flagship "CSI" series, which premiered in October 2000, was set in Las Vegas and ran for 335 episodes over 15 seasons. "CSI: Vegas" was ranked among the 10 most-watched shows on television for 11 seasons in a row, spawned several other series ("CSI: Miami," CSI: New York," and "CSI: Cyber") that ran for nearly 800 total episodes, and launched CSI: The Experience, a traveling museum exhibit and interactive attraction at MGM Grand. In fall 2021, CBS revived "CSI: Vegas," which had another successful run of three seasons, but was just canceled. According to Deadline.com, the show was "a solid ratings performer," but "with the entire CBS schedule doing well this season and three new drama series joining in 2024-25, the network was faced with painful decisions, and 'CSI: Vegas' was the least watched CBS drama series this spring in both linear and multi-platform ratings." So it's a second retirement for the crime scene investigators in small-screen Vegas.
Brightline West, the high-speed train between southern California and Las Vegas that's been 25 years in the making and no one ever thought would come to fruition, is breaking ground in a major ceremony in south Vegas on Monday. Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, among a number of other federal, state, and local dignitaries and the founder and chairman of Brightline, will attend the groundbreaking at the site of the train station, just off Las Vegas Blvd. and Warm Springs. While surveying, soil sampling, and other prep work has been going on all year, this is the first formal event launching the line. Construction is expected to take four years, with a projected completion date of 2028 in time for the L.A. Summer Olympics, and the trip is expected to take two hours on trains traveling at up to 200 mph.
Also starting the playoffs today, the Edmonton Oilers are the +625 favorites to win the Stanley Cup. They’re followed by the Carolina Hurricanes at +650 and the Florida Panthers at +700. The longshots are the NY Islanders and the Washington Capitals, both at +6000. The Vegas Golden Knights are +1275.
With the playoffs starting today, the Boston Celtics are the +140 favorites to win the NBA championship. They’re followed by the Denver Nuggets at +290 and the Dallas Mavericks at +1400. The longshot is the Orlando Magic at +20000.
After an up and down season -- up at the start, down in the middle, and okay at the end -- the Vegas Golden Knights finished fourth in the Pacific Division with a record of 45-29 and 98 points. It's the sixth time in the expansion team's seven seasons that they've made the playoffs, though just by a hair this year; the VGK are the division's wild-card team. In the first round series, they play the Dallas Stars, which led the Central Division (52-21, 113). Game One is on Monday in Dallas. The odds on VGK to win the Stanley Cup will be posted in this space later today.
Wow! What an LVA Weekly YouTube update. Anthony starts out by running down the best bargain and value shows in Las Vegas, based on the Las Vegas Advisor ticket-price survey in this month's issue. Get a free look at what only subscribers can usually see and learn how you can save even more with our coupons. Then Anthony provides an inside view of the process of taping the "60 Minutes" show that he appeared on last Sunday; hint: out of 100 questions, three answers got air time. Then! Anthony won -- that's first place, kids -- the Downtown Grand's first major blackjack tournament, bagging the $2,500 top prize. Learn a tournament-strategy lesson and find out how much he tipped out. The Question of the Week is too cool to even describe; hint: it involves a Las Vegas Advisor 99-cent shrimp cocktail at a restaurant in Indiana! Finally, the Jackpot of the Week is also a doozy, hit by a long-time friend of LVA, Dennis Conrad, who was playing 20 coins in a dollar machine, held one to the royal, and popped the other four for $26,000! Yowser! And find out how much he tipped. This is one LVA video not to miss!
A small East Coast chain (five locations in New York City, one in Boston), Parm Famous Italian, will open on May 13 at Aria's food hall, Proper Eats. It will take the space formerly occupied by Shalom Y'all (which we tried and found decent in its concept, but specious in its execution). Touted as "Italian-American soul food," Parm is among the brands of Mario Carbone's Major Food Group, which is also responsible for Carbone at Aria and Sadelle's at Bellagio. As is common at food halls, the menu will be truncated from the ones at the other locations; it's been announced that this location will include meatballs ($8), chicken parm and a five-meat Italian sandwich ($16), and a pasta plate ($18).
The Plaza, known for its New Year's Eve and July 4th fireworks, is upping the ante with a weekly pyrotechnic display that will run through the summer. Citing downtown's party atmosphere and inspired by the long tradition at Disneyland, the "several minutes" worth of fireworks will take place at 9:15 every Friday between May 24 (Memorial Day weekend) and August 30 (Labor Day weekend). Of course, the shows will depend on the weather, but other than a monsoon squall, they should go off regularly without a hitch.
Most of our regular readers know the name Edward O. Thorp. In 1962 when he was 30 years old, he published Beat the Dealer, the book that launched tens of thousands of card-counting careers. It was also four years after he earned his PhD in mathematics from UCLA, then got a job at MIT that allowed him to use the most powerful computer of the day to establish the probabilities of winning at blackjack. While he was a professor of mathematics at New Mexico State and UC Irvine, he used his familiarity with probability and statistics to discover and exploit pricing anomalies in securities markets, set up his first hedge fund, and was on his way to making a fortune. As you can imagine, he's a hero hereabouts and has made a few appearances at the Blackjack Ball, where he's the superstar emeritus. Today, he's 91 and lives in Laguna Beach and in a rare interview on Bloomberg.com, he "shares what he’s learned about exercise, diet, and managing risk in all areas of life." The article is well worth the 10-minute read -- or even just a quick scroll to see photographs of how vital and ageless he is. And thanks, as usual, to Canada Roy for finding it and waiting out the paywall.
The 27th annual four-day Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly music festival at the Orleans starts today. It bills itself as the longest-running music festival in Las Vegas and the largest rockabilly event in the world. Upwards of 10,000 revelers from 20 countries are expected to attend, plus another 10,000 people for the Saturday Classic Car show. The weekend features 75 bands, 25 DJs, a burlesque showcase and competition, vintage fashion show, dance lessons and competition, tiki pool parties, vintage swimsuit contests, pin-up contest, tattoo lounge, bowling, record hops till 7 a.m., special meetups, and the enormous classic-car show with 800-1,000 vintage cars, all pre-1964. More than 120 vendors are also expected. Tickets are still available at $60-$195 for the four days or $40 for the car show and $50 for the bowling tournament.
The National Basketball Association has banned 24-year-old Toronto Raptors' center Jontay Porter after an investigation determined that he gambled on NBA games, which included betting on the Raptors to lose, disclosed confidential information to sports bettors, and influenced the outcome of a player proposition on himself. The investigation was launched after unnamed "licensed sports betting operators and an organization that monitors legal betting markets" flagged "unusual gambling patterns" based on Porter's play, or lack thereof, in a game on March 20 against the Sacramento Kings. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver called Porter's actions "a cardinal sin" and banned him from the game for life, the second time he's done so in his 10-year stint; the first was in 2014 when he banned L.A. Clippers owner Donald Sterling for racist remarks.
The list of the World's 50 Best Restaurants has been released every year since 2002, launched by the British magazine Restaurant and based on the opinions of 150 global dining experts. Today, the list is compiled from 1,080 culinary leading lights in a "structured and audited" voting process. The annual awards ceremony was held in London from 2003 to 2015 and 2022; it went on tour in 2016, starting in New York, with stops in Australia, Spain, Singapore, and France. This year, the list will be revealed on June 5 in Las Vegas and 50 Best Signature Sessions dining events will be held June 2-6 at restaurants around town, featuring "many of the greatest chefs on the planet." You can see the whole list and make reservations here. All dinners are open to the public and prices start at $150 (Sparrow & Wolf) and go up to and beyond $2,000 (for the seven-chef dinner at the Wynn's Lakeside).
Winner of four Grammy awards, the 40-year-old R&B group Boyz II Men will play four shows at the Chelsea at Cosmopolitan on Aug. 23, 24, 30, and 31, with singer-songwriter Robin Thicke opening. Tickets go on sale Saturday at 10 a.m. PT. And country singer-songwriter Sam Hunt will appear at Fontainebleau's BleauLive Theater on Oct. 25 and 26; tickets for Hunt will be available on Friday at 10 a.m.
We like how TravelMarketReport.com puts it: "In what may be the first instance of a Las Vegas casino-resort tower being transferred between two properties, Horseshoe Las Vegas’ Jubilee Tower has now become the Versailles Tower at Paris Las Vegas -- without actually moving an inch." All 756 rooms in the tower have been remodeled, the palette reflecting the colors of the French flag, while balconies will be added to some rooms and suites on the top floor. Guests can check in at either property; the lobby of the Horseshoe now has a satellite front desk. The pedestrian bridge connecting Horseshoe and Paris is under construction; it will go from the second floor of the tower and enter through Paris' north wall. Exterior decoration of the tower to unify it with the Parisian theme is also in the works. After the $100 million transition, you'll pay extra to stay in the improved Versailles Tower, of course. The Horseshoe now has 2,056 rooms, Paris 3,672.
Last Sunday, a gambler playing Dragon Link at the Mirage hit a jackpot for $1,176,880. That was the extent of the press release.
More evidence that the high-speed train between southern California and Las Vegas is gaining a head of steam was visible last night and will be again tonight between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. on a three-mile stretch of Interstate 15's center median near Sloan, just south of the city. Some short-term lane closures are possible, but none, according to published reports, are scheduled for this week. Engineers are doing geophysical testing and monitoring for seismic activity where the track will be laid. Surveying and soil sampling are also being conducted this week in daylight hours along the same stretch.
The Las Vegas Aviators Triple A baseball team has introduced an "alternate name." When the team plays its game this Saturday at Summerlin's Las Vegas Ballpark, they'll be in uniforms and caps with the name "Las Vegas Gamblers." The logo is black and gold with a pair of dice showing snake eyes, supposed to symbolize the year 1911 when Las Vegas was incorporated; the belt buckles and shoes feature elements of the Welcome to Las Vegas sign. What's it all about? In a word, merchandising; the new gear is for sale and is being advertised in all the stories about the one-game promotion. The alternate name isn't new, however. The Aviators are also known as “Reyes de Plata” (Silver Kings), and that merch is sold at Tuesday home games. (Actually, the Gamblers cap is kind of cool and you can see a photo of it here.)
The in-migration from next door continues unabated. According to Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles statistics based on driver's license surrenders, 158,000 Californians relocated to Nevada over the four-year period between 2020 and 2023. Californians also made up roughly 42% of the nearly 370,000 people who relocated from all states during that period. Millennials accounted for the highest percentage of migrants, which makes sense, since they also account for the highest percentage of the population, though Boomers are still arriving in droves, escaping the high-environment and cashing out their real estate equity to buy much less expensive properties in the Silver State. Long-term projections from the latest annual report by UNLV's Center for Business and Economic Research peg the 2024 influx to Clark County at 33,000, raising the population to 2.4 million. The county is expected to reach three million by 2050 and 3.4 million by 2080.
Johnathan Wright, the Las Vegas Review-Journal's food writer, has posted a list of four restaurants and a buffet that will serve Passover dishes for the holiday that begins a week from today. As you might expect, Siegel’s Bagelmania has the most complete meal, including matzo, matzo ball soup, brisket, latkes (more of a Hanukkah meal, but still), even tzimmes and harrosis. The others -- Bagel Cafe, Weiss Deli, and Honey Salt, along with the Rampart Market Place Buffet, are serving some combination of matzo ball soup, brisket and chicken, and macaroons. Tzimmes is a root-vegetable dish with prunes, raisins, and dried apricots, while harrosis combines apples, walnuts, and raisins, sweetened with honey and kosher wine. (Warning: Eating too much harrosis can give you harrosis of the liver.)
Boring Company bought a vacant lot in January for $7 million from Budget Rent A Car of Southern California at 4744 Paradise Road, on the east side of Paradise across from the Thomas & Mack Center, and late last week the tunnel firm broke ground for a new Las Vegas Loop station there; it will be the main hub for the university campus. Two tunnels, northbound and south, will run approximately two miles from the Las Vegas Convention Center's Silver parking lot on Paradise north of Desert Inn. Virgin is expected to have a station on that route; it's also anticipated that it will be extended another mile or so to the airport, where talks about a location are ongoing. Two new stations, one at Westgate, the other at Encore, will open "soon"; this tunnel will be the longest on the Loop, launching the full buildout to points all around the city.
In the highest-profile television appearance of his career, our own Anthony Curtis will be on "60 Minutes" tonight, commenting on the cyberattacks on MGM Resorts and Caesars Entertainment last fall. For his take on the experience, read today's Question of the Day.
According to the federal Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics, one out of five scheduled airline arrivals was delayed in 2023. (A flight is considered delayed if it arrives 15 or more minutes at the gate after the scheduled time.) Nearly seven million flights were scheduled last year, of which 5.4 million were on time (roughly 78%). Of all airports with more than 10,000 scheduled arrivals, Reid International ranked fifth for the most delays. Out of 191,000 arriving flights in 2023, one in four flight (25.5%) was delayed and 1.2% were canceled. Florida had the dubious distinction of six of the top 10 airports with the most delayed arrivals. San Juan, Puerto Rico, topped the list at nearly 33%, while Minneapolis/St. Paul had the least delays at just under 15%.
Going into today’s final round of the Masters golf tournament, one-stroke leader Scottie Scheffler is a -120 favorite to win. Collin Morikawa is +350, Max Homa is +800, and Ludvig Aberg is +900.
According to Newsweek, citing U.S. Census Bureau statistics, Nevadans pay the ninth-highest rent on average in the U.S. Compared to the national average of $1,300, up from $1,097 pre-pandemic in 2019, Nevadans pay $1,461, below New Yorkers (#8, $1,499) and just above Arizonans (#10, $1,450). The highest rents are paid by Californians at $1,870, then Hawaiins ($1,813 and Colorado ($1,636). The lowest is paid by West Virginians ($795), then North Dakotans ($863), South Dakotans ($866), and Mississippians ($873).
Alex Pereira is a -140 favorite over Jamahal Hill in tonight’s UFC main event. In the other featured match, Weili Zhang is -500 over Xiaonan Yan. The UFC 300 pay-per-view event is packed with 12 current or former champions in action.
Anthony and Andrew cover a lot of ground in this week's LVA Weekly YouTube Update, starting with the announced implosion of the Tropicana in October, which launches a discussion on the many implosions that have taken place in Vegas over the decades. Then they talk about the Beatles LOVE closing at the Mirage, Ellis Island expanding again, Anthony on "60 Minutes" tomorrow, and the Downtown Grand's first blackjack major tournament (today). The Jackpot of the Week is amazing; this player's first time at a video poker machine, what she called a "practice session," and she's dealt a royal, a beautiful hand in hearts and a 650,000-to-1 event. That leads to an interlude concerning how much to tip the bartender on a royal, a question we get all the time. Check it out!
Thirty (out of 32) states reported sports betting numbers for Super Bowl February. They're up there. The handle was $9.8 billion, $2.3 billion more than February 2023 at $7.5 billion; the win was $770.3 million for a 7.8% hold compared to a $595.5 million win (7.9%) in February 2023 (Arizona and Illinois) take upwards of two months to report). By handle, the top five states were: New York at $1.78 billion, New Jersey $1.4 billion, Nevada $712.6 million, Ohio $666.8 million, and Pennsylvania $661.7 million. By win, the top five were New York $131.3 million, New Jersey $91.8 million, Ohio $66.3 million, Massachusetts $53.8 million, and Pennsylvania $50.4 million. February, thanks to the Super Bowl, Chinese New Year, and leap day (adding a theoretical 3%) was also a big month for Las Vegas: Hotel occupancy was 83.9% compared to 82.2% in 2023, the average daily room rate was $248.35 a night, up a significant $29% over the $176.64 in 2023, and a total of 3,801,100 room nights were occupied compared to 3,492,000 a year ago.
Due to "extraordinary demand," eight more dates have been added for the "Mariah Carey: The Celebration of Mimi" residency at Dolby Live at Park MGM. On top of the previously announced eight shows in April that kick off tonight, the new dates are: July 26, 27, and 31; and August 2, 3, 7, 9, and 10. Tickets for those shows will go on sale to the public next Friday at Ticketmaster.com.
Taking a page from the Cosmopolitan's playbook, Fontainebleau will host its inaugural poolside-movie series this spring and summer. Presented weekly on Sunday nights (doors open at 7 p.m., movies start at 8) at the six-acre Oasis Pool Deck on Level 3, admission is free for hotel guests and only $5 for the public. You can also rent daybeds ($75) and cabanas ($150-$300). Some good movies are on the schedule, including Barbie on May 26, Finding Nemo/June 16, Top Gun: Maverick/July 7; Jerry Maguire/July 28, Black Panther/Aug. 4, and Grease/Sept. 1. For the full schedule and reservations, go to Fbleau's page. This has been a fun event for many years at Cosmo and for $5, it's a great way to experience the "lavish" Oasis Pool.
Little Ellis Island is getting bigger again. Only five years since opening the major Front Yard addition, the casino will be enlarged by 6,500 square feet that will stretch, like Front Yard, out to the sidewalk, with a sports book and back-of-the-house audiovisual area, a new south service entrance, and rooftop access. Much of the expansion will take the place of the shuttered micro-brewery that was demolished a few weeks ago. The project is expected to be completed early next year.
Fans of the Grateful Dead and purveyors of Dead regalia, paraphernalia, memorabilia, and art will gather, as they have for decades, near the concert venue when Dead & Co. play Sphere for 24 shows in May, June, and July. Known as Shakedown Street after the Grateful Dead song and album of the same name, the bazaar and meetup will take place at Tuscany every show day from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Tuscany is a good choice, barely a mile from the closest entrances to Sphere. For those of you who'd like to take in the scene (and it is one) or avoid it at all costs, here are the concert dates again: May 16, 17, 18, 24, 25, 26, 30, and 31; June 1, 6, 7, 8, 13, 14, 15, 20, 21, and 22; and July 4, 5, 6, 11, 12, and 13.
To an Emerson College poll conducted last week, 52% of Las Vegans responded in the negative when questioned about public funds going toward the Oakland A's baseball stadium, planned for the Tropicana. Only 32% supported the idea, with 16% opposed. Those results were revealed at a hearing on Tuesday before the Nevada Supreme Court, which is weighing a lawsuit brought by the team against Schools Over Stadiums, a schoolteacher political-action committee that wants to launch a petition to place a referendum on the issue on the ballot in November. The A's and its lobbyists are opposing the petition, which doesn't include the entire Senate Bill 1 approving the $380 million in tax credits and bonds to help finance the stadium. A lower-court judge sided with the team, the PAC appealed, and the matter is now in the hands of the state Supreme Court. Deadlines loom; in order to qualify for the ballot, the PAC must collect 100,000 signatures by June 26.
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Scottie Scheffler is the favorite at 5-1 to win golf's Masters tournament. He’s followed by Rory McIlroy at 11-1 and Xander Schauffele at 12-1. Tiger Woods is 120-1.
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The median price of single-family houses in southern Nevada continued its climb in March, increasing by $5,000 over February and heading toward the record. It's now at $465,000, nearly 10% higher than March 2023 and $17,000 less than the record set in May 2022 at $482,000. The median price for condos and townhomes, however, fell $500 to $282,500, up nearly 9% year over year and only $4,500 less than the record of $287,000 set in August 2022. Sales of houses dropped 12% from March 2023 and listings without an offer were down 21%, indicating that buyers are still priced out of the market, both by asking prices and interest rates. In addition, 26% of sales were paid in cash, a sign that investors are scooping up as many houses as they can.
Cirque du Soleil announced yesterday that its long-running show, The Beatles Love, will close on July 7. The statement said that 11.5 million people have seen the show and that Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, the two surviving Beatles, have appeared on occasion together over the 18-year run at the Mirage. The show's 26-song soundtrack has earned two Grammy Awards; it was remastered by Giles Martin, son of the Beatles' original producer George Martin, from 130 tracks. Today, the cast includes 11 original members. Upwards of 11,000 costume pieces appear nightly, including 250 pair of shoes and 225 wigs. In the final scene, set to "All You Need Is Love," audiences have been showered with 13-plus tons of confetti. In a side note, you can read our Question of the Day about how long the show would last after Hard Rock took over the Mirage. We predicted it wouldn't be around for too long beyond the announced extension through the end of 2023. Many many people, both publicly and privately, disagreed with us, sometimes vehemently. Just sayin.' Tickets for the final shows in July will go on sale in the coming weeks.
Earth Wind & Fire likes to play Vegas. The band, which has 23 albums, eight number-one hits (including our favorite, "That's the Way of the World"), and is considered among the most innovative and commercially successful musical acts in history, appeared at the Venetian for six sold-out shows in 2018, another six in 2019, seven in 2022, and nine in 2023. They'll do another seven shows this fall: Oct. 9, 11, 12, 13, 16, 18 and 19. Various presales started today at 10 a.m.; tickets for the general public, starting at $60, go on sale on Friday.
American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer Missy Elliott will headline a tour this summer for the first time in her 30-plus-year career. She started performing as a member of the R&B girl group Sista in the 1990s; since then, she's earned four Grammys, was the first woman rapper to be inducted into the Songwriters and Rock and Roll Halls of Fame, and was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She's also sold 40 million albums, making her the best-selling female rapper. She's famously been averse to touring; her “Out of This World: The Missy Elliott Experience Tour,” which appears to have a sci-fi theme if the costumes are any indication, will begin in Vancouver, B.C., on July 4 and wrap up Aug. 22 in Illinois. Along the way, she'll stop at T-Mobile on Saturday July 13. The tour also features long-term collaborators Busta Rhymes, Ciara, and Timbaland. Tickets go on sale Friday at AXS.com and are expected to go fast.
The marathon-gambling folks at VegasAdvantage.com set an unofficial record by visiting 93 casinos in 24 hours and more important, collected TITO vouchers at every one as time-stamped proof. Along the way, they noticed that the vouchers from a few casinos expire in 30 days. Whoa. Most still give you 180 days to collect your cash, but one (Westgate) gives you 120, while three (Downtown Grand, OYO, and Klondike Sunset) expire in 90. A couple of dozen, including Wynn, Strat, Plaza, Ellis Island, and El Cortez, run out in 60, while Treasure Island, Rampart, and Ojos Locos expire in 30. Traditionally, casinos have been flexible with TITO expiration dates, but it's not a given. And speaking of given, given the way things are going around here, we wouldn't be at all surprised to see more TITO termination periods shorten and redemption policies tighten. Just a word to the wise not to allow too much moss to grow on your vouchers. You can see the whole list and check out VegasAdvantage here.
Connecticut is a -7 favorite over Purdue in the NCAA Basketball Championship game. The total is 144.
Go X, a San Francisco-based "micro-mobility" company, has placed 100 e-scooters at various locations around the county. Via an app, riders can rent the scooters at eight locations and must return them to one of them; if they don't, they can be fined $100. The cost is $1 to unlock the scooter and 88 cents a minute. GoX uses geo-fencing technology in certain areas to reduce speeds from a maximum of 15 mph down to five and to shut off the scooter entirely in restricted areas. The company hopes to increase the fleet to 1,000 scooters by the end of the year. The eight business where you can rent them are: Howard Johnson by Wyndham, Nirvana Hotel, Vegas Slingshot Rentals #1 and #2, Old Havana Cigars Lounge, Lock Down Escape Room, Strip View Café, and XO MINI MART.
Tickets for Las Vegas Aces home games are going fast. Interest in the back-to-back WNBA champion team is at an all-time high, evidenced by the March sellout of seasons tickets, the first WNBA team to achieve that milestone. Now, the Aces report that single-game tickets for five home games at Michelob ULTRA Arena at Mandalay Bay have been sold out as well: May 14, the first home game of the season against Phoenix, along with May 25/Indiana, June 15/New York, July 2/Indiana, and July 4/Washington. The July 2 game is being moved to T-Mobile and those tickets go on sale Wednesday. A second game, so far, has been scheduled for T-Mobile against Chicago on Sept. 3. Go Aces!
Across the Tracks: A Las Vegas Westside Story is a documentary, released in February, that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and the Plaza. It tells the story of Las Vegas' Black community, from the 1940s through to the present. Footage, photos, interviews with old-timers, and a killer soundtrack all combine for an unusual view of an overlooked slice of Las Vegas history. You can see a 10-minute trailer here. It should be available on streaming services soon. And thanks to Canada Roy for the link.
South Carolina is a -7 favorite over Iowa in today's NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship game. The total is 159.5.
An Oregon lottery player hit the Powerball jackpot in last night's drawing for $1.33 billion, the fourth-largest Powerball jackpot ever and the eighth largest in the U.S. The lump sum is $621 million. The last Powerball jackpot, $842.4 million, was hit on New Year's Day on a single ticket sold in Michigan.
Unless you've just emerged from Rip Van Winkle Cave, you know that the total eclipse of the sun will take place tomorrow late morning in a narrow swath from central Texas to northern Maine. Here in southern Nevada, we'll get a partial: Exactly half of the sun will be blocked by the moon between 10:12 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., with the peak eclipse at 11:20. But save your eclipse glasses for the next one. Las Vegas will be within the path of totality on November 20, 2207, only 183 years away! Or you can head up to Reno, which will experience a total on August 12, 2045.
Connecticut is a -10 favorite over Alabama in today's second Final Four game of the NCAA Basketball Tournament. The total is 160.
Purdue is a -9.5 favorite over North Carolina State in today's first Final Four game of the NCAA Basketball Tournament. The total is 147.
Brendan Allen is a -230 favorite over Chris Curtis in tonight’s UFC main event. In the other featured match, Alexander Hernandez is -200 over Damon Jackson.
In this week's YouTube, Anthony and Andrew were at the Tropicana on its last night in existence and describe -- and show -- the scene; A.C. had a unique experience with a Heineken. Then they discuss the LVA's annual show-ticket price survey; find out which Las Vegas show has the highest ($265) and lowest ($22.75) ticket prices. The passing of an old friend of Anthony's, who gave him his first book on card counting, leads into a long segment on the skills necessary to become a professional gambler. The mini blackjack tournaments at Downtown Grand have been canceled and a bigger tournament scheduled, one Las Vegas chef is a finalist for the James Beard Best Chef Southwest award, and the Jackpot of the Week was hit at the DTG by a fan of this show. Way to go!
Iowa is a -3.5 favorite over Connecticut in today's second Final Four game of the Women's NCAA Basketball Tournament. The total is 162.5.
South Carolina is a -12 favorite over North Carolina State in today's first Final Four game of the Women's NCAA Basketball Tournament. The total is 140.
The president of Controlled Demolition, Inc., the company that has imploded many Las Vegas hotel towers over the years, has confirmed that it will be bringing down the Tropicana as well. The prez "confirmed to 8NewsNow.com that CDI has received a written confirmation that we will be imploding the Tropicana structures later this year.” No other details were revealed; he said, “There's a lot of ground to cover before we can provide specific information.” The last hotel CDI imploded was the Riviera over the course of two events in June and August 2016.
As part of its epic $350 million makeover, the Rio has revamped the lighting scheme on the exterior of the three hotel towers. The red and blue horizontals are the same as they've always been, but according to the press release, three miles of LEDs now cover the facade. In addition, they put on an "ever-evolving light show," using the exteriors as a "blank canvas" for the shows, no two of which will ever be the same. We're not sure if there's a regular schedule or if the lights change at random, but we'll certainly know soon; we have a direct view of the Rio from the front windows of our office.
The finalists for the 2024 James Beard Awards have been announced and of the six semi-finalists from southern Nevada, only one made the cut: Steve Kestler of Aroma Latin American Cocina in Henderson (N. Green Valley Parkway and Sunset) is the finalist for Best Chef: Southwest. Kestler, who opened the eight-table Aroma in 2021, has worked at Bazaar Meat (Sahara), Edo Gastro Tapas & Wine (Chinatown), and Bouchon Bistro (Venetian). The Aroma menu is limited to a handful of dishes for lunch and dinner: three taco plates ($6), guacamole ($15), breakfast skillet ($22), and empanadas, enchiladas, short ribs, and churrasco ($12-$28). Kestler's competition is from chefs in Phoenix, Oklahoma City, Albuquerque, and Santa Fe.
Hilton has acquired the controlling interest in the Sydell Group, which owns the NoMad brand, among many other "luxury-lifestyle hotels" around the world. It marks Hilton's entry into this ultra-upscale market, but relevant to us is that only one NoMad hotel is excluded from the deal: the one at Park MGM. The press release indicates that the Las Vegas NoMad "will rebrand to a new flag in the coming months."
The 12th Great Vegas Festival of Beer will take place 2-7 p.m. on Saturday, sprawling across 200,000 square feet of a “city streets meet green grass” venue at the Downtown Las Vegas Events Center. The event will feature hundreds of craft beers, ciders, and other libations from 60 different breweries, including local favorites Big Dog’s, CraftHaus, Mojave, and Neon Desert, along with dozens of chefs and mixologists and VIP experiences. Tickets are $50-$130.
We sure don't, but in case anyone else cares, the Oakland A's have announced that starting next season, the team will move to Sutter Health Park, the Minor League mini stadium in Sacramento, which they'll share with the San Francisco Giants' Triple A team the Rivercats, while awaiting their new home to be built in Las Vegas. Sutter Health has a 10,600-seat capacity, so with average attendance of less than 7,000, the A's are in no danger of filling the place, even assuming the few remaining fans make the 90-mile trek to Sacramento. The Rivercats are owned by a friend of Fisher's, who also owns the NBA's Sacramento Kings; according to Sacramento TV news, the friend's "goal is to bring big league baseball to California's capital city and he sees the A's -- even on a temporary basis -- as a three-year audition for the city to get on the short list for MLB expansion. The other consideration is for Sacramento to position itself as a viable option if the Athletics' deal in Las Vegas falls through." The deal calls for the A's to play at Sutter Health for three seasons.
Esquire.com has a decent list of the top 50 things to do in Las Vegas that cost less than $50. We especially like numbers 1, the High Roller observation wheel; 9, the Neon Museum; 11, the Eiffel Tower observation deck; 27, the Arte Museum; 30, top of the Strat; 40, the A.Y.C.E. buffet at the Palms (other than the lobster, which is more than $50); 41, the Paradox Museum; 43, Crust & Roux; and 50, a stay at the Golden Gate. We're not in accord with some others, which we'll leave out for now. You can run through the whole list here.
Adele's shows originally scheduled for March that were postponed due to illness have been rescheduled. The new dates are Oct. 25 and 26, and Nov. 1, 2, 8, 9, 15, 16, 22, and 23 (the latter two over F1 weekend). Those holding tickets for the dates that were postponed will receive an email with the new date.
A slot player in for Easter weekend from Hawaii making $10 bets hit a Wheel of Fortune jackpot for $1,172,262 at the California (naturally!) last Saturday. The Cal is a home away from home for visitors from the Hawaiian islands.
Harry Reid International set a record for the number of passengers passing through in February at 4.33 million. It was a 3.8% increase over February 2023, which set a record at the time. In addition, for the first two months of 2024, the number of passengers transiting the airport is up 1.4% year over year; 2023 set a whole-year record. The Super Bowl, increasing convention business, and a continuing rebound in international travel were credited for the record number of passengers.
A series of good-sized snowstorms in the upper Colorado River Basin in late February and March delivered good news for the summer melt and Lake Mead. Yesterday is the traditional peak of snow in the Basin and the measurements indicate that the snowpack is 11% above normal for April 1 and the snow water equivalent is 4% higher. It comes as something of a surprise for hydrologists, who weren't expecting a good water year after last year's epic dump (ending up nearly 170% higher than average). More snowstorms are predicted for the region throughout this week in the higher elevations of the Colorado headwaters, with a wintry mix of snow and rain at lower elevations, both more good news for the coming runoff into Lakes Powell and Mead.
The next Super Bingo tournament at the Plaza runs April 8-10. Bingo-only entry is $160 and it’s BOGO entry for Nevada residents; the four-night bingo-hotel package is $300 (no resort fee). All players receive one 6-on paper pack for both days, two daubers, free drinks via an open bar at all sessions, two box lunches, and $10 in slot free-play.
Circa Sports has opened its new sports book at Silverton. It’s Circa’s seventh Nevada sports book, joining those at Tuscany, the D, Golden Gate, The Pass, Legends Bay in Sparks, and the flagship at Circa.
On a Yelp list of the Top 100 Seafood Spots 2024, Bajamar Seafood & Tacos (LVA 6/18) was ranked #2. Also on the list from Las Vegas: Other Mama (30), Water Grill (41), Legends Oyster Bar & Grill (60), Palace Station Oyster Bar (69), Mariscos Playa Escondida (70), and Cevicheria El Diamante (82). Bajamar Seafood & Tacos also made a recent TastingTable.com list of the best taco places.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports this morning that only one bar at the Tropicana will remain open tonight to serve a lot of people expected to show up for the closing of the hotel-casino. Trago Lounge, the long-time Tropicana Lounge whose name was changed to some outcry in 2019 and the main bar as you walk in the main entrance, won't be in operation, leaving only Chill'm off the casino floor. A big party of 60-80 entertainers and casino employees has long been planned for the Trago, so they'll have to go to Chill'm, where another group is also holding a shindig. Where does that leave the hordes saying goodbye to the Tropicana? High and dry.