Sh*t You May Have Missed While The Steve was Promoting Amazon Echo

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It’s Sh*t You May Have Missed for the week ending December 16th, 2016.

Hey, all! BigAzMarty here with this weeks news about town, Las Vegas!

1. More free parking domino’s fall. Due to the size of their limited parking structure, Cosmopolitan will be starting paid parking/valet. Read LV Sun here, and of course our coverage here.

2. For those of you that haven’t seen the free show that is Sam’s Town Mystic Falls Laser Show, here is the gallery of the Christmas themed version from LV Sun, see here.

3. Hard Rock Hotel and Casino has announced a Casino Tower remodel, read and see here. 55″ TVs Oh my, in a standard room? Unheard of.

4. OOOOPS, China is now limiting UnionPay ATM withdrawals to half the current limit in Macau. So Wynn, LVS, and MGM stocks are all taking a hit. Interesting video and article here from Bloomberg. I really think Resorts World and Alon (OUCH read below) will be having huge issues getting out of the financing stages since a lot of the normal construction financing tends to look at available capital and assets from the casino company in case of a failure and work stoppage (Ala 2009). Taking a 50% hit per ATM holder would not be good for any “guarantee” for construction funding for your division in Macau. Or maybe they might be just rounding the corner back to the US focus just to keep Macau afloat. There seems to be a lot of dirt lots and unfinished projects littering the North Strip across and north of Wynn/Encore.

5. The reason for the quick and unannounced demo of the Golden Palms now seems to be clearing up read here. There are new non-gaming hotels being built by a North Dakota billionaire, Gary Tharaldson, who is building up Dean Martin Drive with business friendly hotels. Hopefully, this will improve the area and get Red Rock Resorts moving on that Days Inn and Wild West Casino redo or sale of the truckstop/hotel/casino west of In ‘N Out there. As long as they have free parking and free shuttles to the strip/airport/convention center, I’m assuming those would be fantastic stays for Convention Center events once completed. Oh and off strip so perhaps no parking fee?

6. Downtown Grand was evacuated due to a small fire(ball) then declared safe and the bar is already open again, read newslv3.com here. Vital Vegas has the re-opened bar here. I’d say glad no customers were hurt, but the maintenance worker that was doing the torch work did have to go to the hospital, hope all goes well for him.

7. Sheldon Adelson after last week’s stock beatdown due to the Macau ATM limits lost $3B in book value for his stock, read LVSun here. Ouch…don’t know if that has any hit on the new stadium or the music arena out back of the Sands Expo Center either. Think what you could do with that scratch in 30 minutes.

8. Coffin door closes on Alon becoming a thing above fancy fence covering a dirt lot and a little building. Now Phil Ruffin or Wynn or maybe even the Stevens should purchase that space and build something fantastic. Read Vital Vegas here.

 

9. Speaking of Vital Vegas, he’s covered the opening on Harmon corner at the Walgreen’s center of the Taco Bell Cantina here. And to my surprise it’s packed, of course with a young crowd. Gotta eat cheap you know…and have frozen drinks. Maybe Demolition Man is right, and in the future, all restaurants will be Taco Bell….who knows for sure!!!!

10. Vital Vegas here also has some construction shots of the new Imbibe Bar at El Cortez; the surprise is the section lower where the El Cortez is “paying back” anyone that used the ATM for cash withdrawals. That free play might just cover the ATM fees. Just saying.

11. Vital Vegas here also has their podcast that covers the Green Door swingers club in a room by room tour. I hope that site has bleach hose-off areas for any furniture/floors/walls there. Has to be waterproof pleather I’m betting. Kinda Ewwww and I haven’t even listened to it….just thinking as I type. I thought the ’70’s were long gone…but back then it was always at someone’s house, and that house became the “swingers club.”

12. Vital Vegas is also on their twitter site covering some downtown stuff. The D construction, maybe the world’s biggest Keno Board (and it’s outside). Also, some floor redo’s to accommodate some fiber optic comm equipment as they start to merge the player’s clubs between all their casinos (Golden Gate, The D and one yet to be announced (old Las Vegas Club and nearby lots). The surprise is even American Coney Dog is getting some love with restaurant equipment upgrades and is closed for a bit (should be reopened by the time you read this according to the sign).

13. EDGE Vegas via Covers is discussing the new restaurants, and The Park Theater acts going into New Years as well as some New Years here. 300,000 people on the strip estimated for New Year’s Eve.

14. Wynn to install Amazon Echo in every room at Wynn and Encore read EDGE Vegas here. That’s a lot of Alexa requests, expect Wynn to next upgrade all Wi-Fi to 802.11ac to help cover the bandwidth in use at the property. Vital Vegas did have it mentioned on its Twitter site as well. You know as much as we like to rib Steve, he has some fantastic ideas. CUSTOM Amazon Echo with personal butler features is absolutely fantastic….why not extend that to room service, turn down service, request for maid service and such? Think of the possibilities!!!! And it might not be named Alexa either. Give it a male voice and name it Jeeves, fits the place perfectly.

15. EDGE Vegas also has a pretty good list of dates and people for the residencies in Las Vegas in 2017, read here. Let your trip planning begin.

16. EATER Vegas has renderings of the Level UP in MGM that is in the place where Rainforest Cafe used to be read here. All I can say is it looks like a mix of an arcade and a beach dive bar. And yes in every photo one person is throwing their hands up in the air like they just don’t care.

17. EATER Vegas already has info on Giordano’s at the Grand Bazaar Shops at Bally’s read here. If it is anything like the opening of Walburger’s you might as well wait 2-3 months before visiting as the lines for that were long.

18. EATER Vegas also has info on Virgil’s BBQ at the Linq Promenade, read here. I gotta try me some Texas Brisket around New Years. I have to admit where I live two BBQ award winners have opened BBQ places that I really enjoy so I will be able to tell the difference between good and fantastic brisket. If it is really good to fantastic, I may have found my favorite place to meat coma in Las Vegas that is walking distance and on the strip without having to “dress up” to get into.  Here is the menu for the New York location so enjoy. It may be slightly different, but I can’t select the Las Vegas one yet…darn those webslingers.

19. Those who bemoan a lack of movie theaters in downtown Las Vegas, rejoice as Eclipse Theaters had their ribbon cutting on the 8th. Read LV Sun here. Just be aware these are a little upscale and not like the regular theaters. Oh, and you have to be over the age of 21 to enter (serves alcohol).

20. Boy this is taking a lot longer than the Aliante purchase, Boyd’s is finalizing the purchase of the Cannery Casinos, read LV Sun via Vegas, Inc. here. The Eastside Cannery rooms have that distinct “Coast/Boyd” look especially in the bathrooms. This gives Boyd two properties on the Boulder Strip that are not even a block apart. Perhaps a skybridge between the two to avoid walking the streets in that area where the Sam’s Town RV Park is? And expand that strip/downtown shuttle to cover both properties, and you have a lot of “free parking” options off the strip and a way not to drive and pay for parking for just wanting to see what’s new on the strip/downtown.

21. For the Oontz minded here is the latest Industry Weekly info for your favorite Oontz master DJ’s read LV Sun via Las Vegas Weekly here.

22. Las Vegas Raiders might be a reality as NFL owners warm to the idea, read LV Sun here. This counters the work Oakland and Ronny Lott’s group is doing there because they really don’t have a stadium location yet and it’s getting close to construction time.

23. Raiding the Rock Vault lives, in a new home, Hard Rock Hotel/Casino in the Vinyl space. Read Kats via LVRJ here.

24. Also popping back into prime is Jeff Durham who will be performing at the Coliseum at Caesars Palace, we’d gotten the obligatory pre-purchase tickets email from Total Rewards, but Kats has the details via LVRJ here.

25. Robin has some history and info on Green Valley Ranch’s 15 Year Anniversary read LVRJ here. Key there is December is when their remodels are completed. The Deluxe King / Queen rooms are a nice size and have a nice bathroom setup. I think they have slightly reduced the old world charm it had when it first opened, but it’s still a very nice room for the basic level. On par with nicer rooms on the strip.

26. Robin also covers the past weekend’s Venetian’s Ultimo: Weekend of Excellence here. Check out the gallery as well…see how the 1% have dinner parties that last three days but funds from the event go to a charity for young chef’s so it’s all good.

27. Anthony Curtis via vegaseven.com has 41 casinos under $40 article for December here. I’m sure he’s excluding the end of the month because it’s crazy how much those rooms cost New Years weekend, I think I was looking at MLife for New York New York and some of their rooms are close to $400 on the 31st alone. Doesn’t help out that it falls on a weekend either when the room rates are the highest.

And with that, I’ll wrap up the around the web news for this week! Now over to our editor-in-chief and resident L.V. holiday display photo-shooting fanatic Michael Movestro for our stuff and more!

Now over to our editor-in-chief and L.V. holiday display photo-shooting fanatic Michael Movestro for our stuff and more!

Thanks, BigAzMarty! You gotta tell us how that brisket is; we expect pictures and an article, sir :) Yes, sad news about Alon indeed! Who would’ve thought that a limit on ATM transfers in China would cause issues on the strip? I have no faith that Resorts World will ever be more than its parking structure, officially. Hopefully, Lucky Dragon continues to do well!

Hey, folks! Well, we had quite the week here at Vegas Bright. I hope you all have enjoyed our Vegas for the Holidays 2016 series. It’s my absolute pleasure to take loads of pics of holiday happenings and share them with you. I always think of those who can’t make it in to town this year, and those who can no longer travel. So, if this series made you smile, then it was well worth it! Now, here’s the stories we brought you this week.

28. The week started off with the Vegas Bright Podcast Episode 26 where my wife joined me in the studio to talk about all the things we did on our December trip.

29. Michael James and friends dig in at The Steak House at Circus Circus.

 

30. Blonde4ever visits Second Street Grill at the Fremont Hotel.

31. I brought the story of Paid Parking/Valet Coming to Cosmopolitan in 2017.

Then, we brought on the holidays!

32. A look at the holiday scenery at LINQ Promenade.

33. A look at Wynn’s Wynnter Theme 2016.

34. A look at the holiday scenery of The Shops at Crystals.

35. A look at the Holiday scenery of Palazzo Waterfall Atrium.

36. A look at the Holiday scenery at Giardini Garden Store.

37. A look at the Holiday festivities at The Park.

38.A look at the Holiday scenery at Jean Philippe Patisserie.

And finally, this very article you’re reading now. Join us next week when we do Vegas Bright’s Best and Worst of 2016! A two-week series where we look back on Las Vegas in 2016.

[Photos: Michael Movestro, Isaac Brekken, Michael James, Cover: Adam Dachis at Lifehacker]