Sh*t You May Have Missed While Enthused on Flamingo Renovations

It’s Sh*t You May Have Missed for the week ending May 19th, 2017.

Hey, all! BigAZMarty here catching you up on the news about our favorite place, Las Vegas! First off some more 1st Quarter earnings that came while we were on hiatus, then the more current stuff.

1. Red Rock Resorts (owner of Stations Casinos) reported EPS of 30 cents. This is down compared to last year’s 64 cents in 2016. Read their 1st Quarter report here. They would have had a much better report except they had included a $10M or so Provision for Income Tax.

2. Golden Entertainment (PT’s Pub and Sierra Gold tavern chains in Las Vegas) beat estimates with a 23 cent EPS. Read LVRJ here. Good 1st quarter…I wonder how much the “parking” and “resort” fees is making locals realize that maybe these taverns have better payout and customer drink service?

3. Pinnacle Entertainment reported their 1st Quarter results with EPS of 28 cents, which is less than last years 1st quarter but was better than analyst estimates, so read LVRJ here. You might notice they are now starting to cater to the Asian demographic, while they have no casinos in Las Vegas, a lot of their properties are owned by the PENN Spin-Off REIT (Gaming and Leisure Properties). I think the opening up of regional gaming will open Asian gamers to start to see the US by different Casino locations, reverse to how the big Vegas chains use local gaming as a feeder to Las Vegas. Pinnacle is skipping Vegas for now (although I could really see Icahn’s Fontainebleau become a really nice Ameristar casino) so they are taking a slightly different approach a “see the rest of-of the US,” not Vegas only. If they have better pay tables (i.e 10/6 VP), better table odds (3/2 pays on BJ) and free parking and no resort fees…and can still provide that Vegas feel then why not try it? That’s the type of competition that will get Vegas back to normal.

4. Now for more recent items, WSOP has a new 4-year deal, while $$$s weren’t disclosed the LVRJ article here has the ESPN dates for this year to watch on a 30-minute delay. Some changes to format as the title says…November Nine late final format scrapped. July 8 – July 22 (with some gaps) gets the whole tourney on TV now.

5. Katy Perry announced a T-Mobile concert date for her upcoming Witness Tour, Jan. 20, 2018. She will have to fit this in with her new judge role on the new ABC version of American Idol. But the unique thing is if you get tickets you also get her new album, read details here on LVRJ.

6. Caesars Entertainment’s CGRP division (different company than CAC that did this just a bit ago for The Cromwell) has repriced a $2.4B Senior Loan, which reduces interest costs. Read TheStreet here. This is going to help them once the merger with CACQ and the CEOC merger is complete (estimated in October 2018). In other Caesars news the old Anthology Suites conversion to Caesars Suites is complete, see it here on the new website.

7. The SJP (Sarah Jessica Parker) store that opened with the MGM National Harbor will be opening this summer at the La Scarpa location in Bellagio this summer, read PR Newswire here. If you are a fan of La Scarpa get there quick as it will be shut down Mid-May and SJP will replace it.

8. The Cosmopolitan has now completely implemented it’s Paid Self Parking, and Paid Valet, read LVSun here. So that leaves just Wynn, Venetian/Palazzo, Casino Royale and SLS with free parking (although Wynn’s Valet is no longer free). P.S. Forum Shops still has free valet parking and Planet Hollywood Self Park is free due to their parking is owned by Miracle Mile Shops and not the Casino.

9. In other Cosmo news, Floors 71 – 75 are finished up in the Boulevard Tower, with The Reserve (6 figure gaming lounge) and the associated high roller penthouses completed, read LVRJ article here. Gem Item in the article….pneumatic tubes….thought those were a left over from drive-up banking and the pharmacy drive through….but a tube that has enough pressure to push up 71 floors…now that’s some pressure. Wish there was a gallery with room shots…now that would be reporting. Couldn’t be that Sheldon doesn’t want to do any “free” advertising for a competitor now, could it? Now if there were only an update on the MGM Purchase of Cosmo….been strangely silent lately on that.

10. MLife “offers” well, just aren’t living “UP” to their promised Complimentary room lengths. My wife has one that is for nice resorts “Up to 2 nights complimentary” and for lower budget resorts “Up to 3 nights complimentary.” For some reason the system is now putting in COMP on the day you leave and counting it as one of the nights, so for the nice resorts we’d only really get 1 COMP night and maybe the lower ones 2 (I think only Luxor and Excalibur had 2 nights COMP available). The weird thing is I shifted the stay dates later to try and grab that departure day COMP and it dropped it and moved the COMP to the new departure date. That makes no sense at all. You MLife members try it out and see what I mean….they need to seriously fix that soon as that COMP algorithm is just a little messed up….or is that one of the last Profit Plan items they generated?

11. MGM is now partnering up for automated check-in and check-out with StayNTouch read hotelnewsresource.com article here. No automation for me….you can’t $20 trick a machine…let alone your own smartphone.

12. Finally, some new Resorts World news that isn’t a rumor about them shutting down. They have announced the new President of Resorts World Las Vegas, and he’s a name that’s been known in gambling circles since the opening of the Mirage, Edward Farrell. Read KNPR here, and LVRJ here also notice that they are estimating cranes construction onsite within 90 days and doing casino podium and then tower work by 3rd Quarter. I am also assuming this is just Phase 1 as the room count is way like 1/3 the room count when all 3 phases are complete. We covered the trucks moving in large infrastructure pipes and electrical work this week here. Now, look at local news getting all kinds of access with the new RWLV President Ed here. Perhaps we need Robin to neg on the ex-Alon Property, Fontainebleau, All Net Arena and Resort properties as well if this is what happens after he says it’s going to stop. As for the new 2020 opening date, the redesign from the original plan took time as they are chucking the old Beijing look and going more Shanghai, read here. Oh, nooooo…..City Center Shanghai!!!!!

13. Dennis Hof was in a little trouble in Nye County (Area 51 Death Valley Cathouse) over several of the sex workers not having proper medical and current licensing at that location. Dennis has said it was a misunderstanding and seems that may be the case as KNPR reports that two of the charges have been dismissed and one remaining will be Violation of Failure to Comply with Signage Requirements, a $500 fine but if there are no further violations through 6 months, that fine will be dropped as well. Read here.

14. Vital Vegas has 14 downtown updates (including my favorite..treehouse transformers has been removed near Golden Gate Casino)…lots of info, pics, and video on newness everywhere. Read/View/Watch Drone Video here. I look at that Golden Gate expansion and think…I sure hope that cinder block was/is rebar reinforced, that’s a lot of steel girders sitting on that.

15. Vital Vegas also covers 11 specialty drinks to get you in that Vegas mood, although they aren’t near strong enough to be “panty” droppers, maybe after 5-6 of them, but then the reverse course velocity visit to the bathroom ensues and kills that mood quickly. Read here.

16. Vital Vegas also offers up a nice review on Cleo at SLS, I had no idea it was a middle eastern restaurant and due to that I made a big mistake, and in the future will have to rectify that. Read here. There is nothing like an excellent wagyu kebab on saffron rice. For some reason, I mistook it for an Egyptian restaurant (i.e. Cleo short for Cleopatra) and not a Middle Eastern restaurant that it is. Those flatbreads look really good and my wife would for sure snarf on the Roman Flatbread. There are links there to the SLS site where the menu is.

17. Something new that you can watch at your leisure, DTLV.TV!!! This is a half hour of Arts District and Downtown items you just might miss if you never venture out of the casino/resort. Episode 1 a lot of tidbits like a store called Mantiques that I will have to visit as it has several old analog audio equipment pieces in it (new/old Kenwood…OMG, that would match up nicely to my ESS AMT1’s nicely..using a 1977 vintage Onkyo to drive it now). More to come check the episode list here. I see Episode 2 is up already so I’ll have some catching up to do over the weekend.

18. Remember the IRS proposing lowering the jackpot to $600 (it’s at $1200 or more now) to be reported by the casino to the IRS? Well, Nevada lawmaker and US Rep Dina Titus has written a recommendation to the IRS to actually raise that to around $4,800 and add in inflation updates to accommodate the inflation rate since that rule was put in place in 1977. I’m all for it, and that would change a lot of the casino floor as well I am betting since a lot of the floor is designed around under that $1200 mark. Read LVSun here.

19. Craft beer in Las Vegas, yes and very much so, MarC of EDGE Vegas reports via COVERS here. Hofbrauhaus is listed there, if you remember The Man Show and the Fox, and knew he owned a Santa Monica bar named The Fox Inn you’d probably like Hofbrauhaus (see their site here). If you don’t know who the Fox was read the Wikipedia article here.

20. EATER Vegas reporting French Market Buffet is closing up for remodeling at The Orleans, De-theming continues for Boyd Gaming read here. Sad to see it get De-themed, it and Courtyard Cafe (renamed and remodeled earlier) were some of the hidden good affordable Chinese food in Las Vegas in the late 1990s when it opened.

21. MB Steak is now open at Hard Rock Casino Resort, read Eater Vegas here. See the link for the menu, one tidbit is MB does not stand for Morton Brothers, it’s My Brothers to keep the lawyers at bay from the original Morton’s chain that is now owned by Landry’s Restaurants (Owner/Chairman/CEO of this chain is none other than Tilman J. Fertitta (Landry’s also owns the Golden Nugget casinos as well).

22. With the spate of reducing hours at the casino resort cafes recently, Eater Vegas has compiled a nice list of the best 24-hour eateries in and around Las Vegas read here. I even forgot some like White Castles, and the Linq’s Hash House a Go Go. I’ll have to remember that next time we’re doing a late night crawl there.

23. Going to be in Las Vegas and staying downtown near The Plaza or Downtown Grand and don’t want to get your car out of the garage to go shopping at Las Vegas Premium Outlets North? Or maybe want to see the Arts District or Pawn Plaza without the hassle of paying the valet to get your car? Starting in mid-June there will be a new shuttle route for a 6-month test that will loop around most of downtown’s most visited areas. Read LVSun here. I hope they make it permanent as that would cut down a lot of car time in the area.

24. And finally just announced, Caesars is going to renovate about 1,270 rooms at the Flamingo at a cost of $90M, read PRNewswire here. Not sure if that is the FAB rooms or not…bathroom render doesn’t look right for the footprint of the Go Rooms. It kinda has that Fab Room look to it. Room remodels start in August of this year and should be completed by 2nd Quarter 2018…the first remodeled rooms will come online in Nov. 2017. Time wise I believe the FAB rooms are slightly newer than the Go Rooms but they certainly did not go over that well…everyone wants a Go Room. So the rumor floating around that they were going to knock a tower down and rebuild new for a Margaritaville dedicated tower doesn’t seem to be panning out just yet.

And that’s it for this week’s news in Las Vegas!

Now, (to hopefully) our musically refreshed and album mastered Maestro and Editor-In-Chief, Michael Movestro with our stuff!

Thanks, BigAZMarty! Yes, the album is mastered and the mastering engineer was a pleasure to work with. I’m pleasantly putting together videos for youtube (nothing fancy, just track/artist with some effects and the songs of course). The album is off to distribution and it should be on iTunes, Spotify, Amazon Mp3 and a bunch of other places soon. Not that I’m plugging the album or anything…ok, I am. More to come when it’s all ready.

Hey, peeps! Here are the articles we brought you this week on VegasBright!

25. From Michael Movestro: Our Eye in The Sky heads down for a closer look at the new Circus Circus Waterslide.

26. From Michael Movestro: Sewage and Electrical being installed as Resorts World underground construction continues.

27. From Blonde4ever: Part 6 of her October 2016 Trip Report.

28. From Michael James: His experience of Louie Anderson Presents: After The Show.

29. From Sammasseur: Men are hard at work as ticket sales go live and an opening date looms nearer for Men of the Strip.

30. From Sammasseur: Bodybuilder/celebri-chef Robert Irvine readies his restaurant for a summer debut.

31. From BigAZMarty: 90% of this atrticle you’re reading right now..Sh*t You May Have Missed.

[Cover Image: Caesars Entertainment via PRNewswire]

9 thoughts on “Sh*t You May Have Missed While Enthused on Flamingo Renovations

  1. The Flamingo has a room count of 3,626 rooms. The last tower was built in 1990. The Go Rooms were done in 2006 approximately 1000 ish rooms. In Dec 2011 CET announced they were remodeling 2300 rooms including suites, but I think that number was eventually reduced due to lower then expected revenues. The 75th anniversary in in 2021, so most likely this 1,270 rooms getting touched are the worst of the worst. The 2011 refurbishment skipped the bathrooms. I expect we will see a phased in approach where they focus on one or two towers, and we still have an offering of Fab, Go Room, and whatever they brand these rooms.

  2. Glad to have you back. Here are a few updates of my own.

    There small, but worth a mention.

    The Grand Canyon Experience Souvenir shop on the strip has closed,and is being gutted. It’s a big space, there could be something interesting going into the spot. Also down the road a bit, The strip mall housing Fat burger, has opened a nice little food court called the Boulevard Food Court. They are making improvements to what used to be a parking lot in front of it as well. Can’t say what’s going there, I suspect a much need landscaping update.

    1. The Grand Canyon experience is moving to the Grand Bazaar Shops which solves a lot of problems for GBS.

  3. Regarding #10, the mlife offers were acting wonky for me earlier this week but they seem to be working correctly now. I can book the full 3-night comp offers.

  4. thanks for this update, this site is awesome! really appreciate you putting the effort in!

  5. Regarding M-Life offers – I ended up calling and had no trouble with my offer, but trying online was not working at all. It would give me the 2 comp nights fine, but the other 2 were at rack rate instead of the promised $85 (This was ARIA).

  6. Bonus Update:

    I went for my weekly walk down the Strip, and discovered a massive amount of construction behind the Monte Carlo. While not it’s not news MGM is updating the property, the amount of construction back there was surprising. The entire backside of first several floors have been removed, holes for pools are in, and few smaller buildings are being constructed. You can see this clearly from the Monte Carlo Tram Station. I may be able to get some photos next week if interested. It’s worth a peek if you like this sort of thing.

    1. Hey Matt, do me a solid and go to contact us and email us? Thanks!

  7. Per #2: Part of it can be attributed to the rebound in the Las Vegas economy. As a local, you don’t say “Should we go to PT’s or Bally’s?” Having said that, Station Casinos will benefit from the combination of the nickel-and-diming on The Strip as well as Uber increasing people’s willingness to get off-strip. If Palms is 2/3 the price of Flamingo for an equivalent room, plus non-Strip gaming hold and food/drink prices, word will get out.

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