Sh*t You May Have Missed… Like Fontainebleau Becoming The Drew Las Vegas

Hey all, BigAZMarty here with this week’s news about our favorite place, Las Vegas! [Editors Note: Marius Sorensen, You are welcome!]

Madison Square Gardens (MSG) via USA Today here is previewing that the Music Arena out back of the Sands Convention Center will be like nothing else in existence and will use beamforming technology for the sound from a custom sound emitter panel dedicated to specific sections of seating, it’s very cool looking and although the building is a modification of the geodesic dome (add more to make it a sphere like Epcot Centers Spaceship Earth sphere) and see stuff from the 60’s and 70’s via Wikipedia here.  I’m sure Building Commission will have some issue with the dome.  For example, emergency exits, if translucent massive costs in summer for air conditioning, FAA may have some issues with the inside being lit up like a glowing globe as a distraction to pilots although same could have been said for High Roller not that far away.  I would like to see it done personally as it brings back memories of those inflatable domes where you’d sit in bean bags and look up at a laser show on the inside of the dome and listen to Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd in the late ’70’s early ’80’s.  Seating will have to be rethought if the projection on the dome is over 180 degrees of viewing, possibly reclining seats in a zero gravity chair?

After all the Wynn happenings last week I missed that PENN Gaming reported their Q4 earnings, a loss of $3.40 a share.  Although having record revenues of $769M they chose to take some income tax provision for a loss of $498M.  Still, Year-end was still in the black over all of 2017 with a Diluted Earnings per Share of $5.39.  Read their report on BusinessWire here. Remember also that they are purchasing Pinnacle and are selling several of the properties to Boyd.  This will probably not show Y-O-Y evenly in 2018 and will eventually even out in 2019 to see how each region is doing.

As reported by us here, Fontainebleau / Project Blue is getting what should be its final name, The Drew.  However at Vital Vegas, he goes into why it will be called The Drew, the primary owner had a son that died of an overdose while in rehab and his name was Drew.  So unlike my comments in our article, this is a family name and a way to remember someone.  Would still be cool to dual purpose it with the LA League.  Also remember that the JW Marriott out near Summerlin has a casino on the property but I believe it is not managed by Marriott, so I don’t know how they will delineate the standard practice of COMP’s for rooms and restaurants managed by Marriott if they are different management companies for ideal slot club rewards/whale rewards.  However opening in late 2020 now that is exciting.  Hopefully, they will just be re-imagining the 8.5-acre pool complex to not require a new set of pool shells be poured, that may cause issues (Riviera had built a rooftop pool but it leaked and couldn’t be fixed so it was abandoned).  Pending any major financial upheavals, 2020 to 2023 seems to be a nexus of good things for North Strip and Las Vegas in general.

After the Culinary Union is trying to have the new owner of the SLS be re-reviewed, another announcement comes from that Alex Merulo’s group may also purchase the Lucky Dragon read here.

EDGe Vegas via MarC at TravelVegas here has all the status of the renovations going on at Ellis Island Casino and Hotel.  Whew! that’s a lot of work happening but I work with people that have been there and love it for the old Vegas feel without the Fremont Street zoo feeling.  Funny thing is most of them fall into the Millennials class and it’s like I say…cheap food, cheap drinks and lots of cheap fun without too much attitude will make any place enjoyable for a generation that is just now starting to get into disposable income status. By the way that also works for ANY Generation, think about that Corporate Penny Pinchers.  If you remember Holy Cow think of that with a casino, restaurants, and hotel attached kinda the same vibe.

EDGe Vegas (again MarC) via travelvegas here has all the new convention space coming to town for MGM Properties.  Remember Hotel Properties are doing this to get more business travelers into the room as they tend to pay full rack rate with a quantity discount, so if you are looking for a time where those conventions aren’t going to cause your Slot Club Rewards room rate to come up off COMP, look at the Convention Calendar he’s linked to in the article.

Bally’s newly re-named Resort Tower (former Indigo Tower) room remodels are starting to show up on the Bally’s Hotel Room Type Site with Photo’s so look and it’s not far off of the same furnishings that were done to the Jubilee Tower back a bit ago.  Take a look and check the “Highlights” on any of the Resort named rooms that has a photo for details here.  If you like to take a risk, get a base “Indigo” room and try the $20 trick (money between license and credit card hand to a Human Hotel Clerk at Check-In and ask if there are any “Complimentary Room Upgrades” before they do anything.  At 450 Sq Feet their base rooms are some of the largest in Las Vegas for an “affordable” Caesars property but hopefully, you will get into one of the new Resort Rooms if they are available.  If it was up to me since they’ve since locked down the sliding glass doors to the outside I’d just reskin both towers with double paned Blue Glass and it would look so much nicer.  Oh and borrow that mural artist from The Plaza or maybe bring in Robert Wyland and paint those hotel ends that look like lifeless slabs of concrete.

The Palms sign is coming down in favor of new digital signage, read LV Sun here (use incognito mode Chrome or private in Firefox to bypass paywall).  Let’s hope Red Rock Resorts is donating the neon signage to Neon Museum.

More info and a slideshow from LVSun on the $5M Tuscany Suite remodel here.  Oh and remember while Tuscany has its own casino, Ellis Island is just around the corner on Koval.  Get some Growlers or Root Beer and bring back to your Tuscany Suite.

MGM is opening up it’s MGM Cotai in Macau finally after several construction postponements, Read LVSun here and check out the gallery.  Eventually, this will kick in further profits into MGM’s cash bucket, hopefully, to do something exciting in Las Vegas other than remodels and de-theming.

Info on the 2018 Vegas Uncork’d festival via LVSun here, lots of this will be at Caesars Palace as Giada and Ramsey are two of the chefs involved this year and both have new restaurants at Caesars Palace.  If you are in town May 10th – 13th this would be something to try if you are a foodie.

In fun news that ends well, Las Vegas had it’s version of a Bull Run accidentally see at LVRJ here.  Good thing that wasn’t on the Strip as an animal this large could do some damage on the Strip or Downtown.  The bull was captured and is in Animal Control’s hands to hopefully be returned to the owner.

Las Vegas Lights FC are enjoying Cashman Field for their soccer games as their first pre-season games started over the last weekend, read LVRJ here.

LVCVA approved a request by City of Las Vegas for funds to the tune of $9.5M for a floor to ceiling redo of the Fremont Street Experience, these funds are part of a $28.5M redo of the video tech and audio.  Read LVRJ here.

Las Vegas Ballpark for the 51’s Ball Club in Summerlin is having its groundbreaking ceremony on Feb 23rd.  Read LVRJ here, the Ballpark should be ready in time for the 2019 season and the 51’s will move to here as they are sharing Cashman Field with the Las Vegas Lights FC Soccer Club if I remember.

If you think that Steve Wynn stepping down is going to “clear up” the Wynn Resorts, Inc. problems well read this Bloomberg article here and see what’s coming up shortly in the legal war between Steve, Wynn Resorts and Elaine Wynn and Okada’s US holding company.  Sounds like a power play for company control will have heavy costs.  Oh and read this from the Okada camp from LVRJ here about an undelivered promised loan from Wynn Resorts to Okada’s company.

If you were doing Valentine’s this past week in Las Vegas you might know of a couple of these 17 decadent desserts care of Eater Vegas, the list, and map here.  Surprisingly the desserts at Gordon Ramsey’s Burger are fairly remarkable but we still have yet to make it upstairs at PH to Strip House for that #1 – The 24 layer cake.

LVSun asks a real estate expert what they expect near the new Raiders Stadium in the near future and the response is something like San Diego’s Gaslight District.  Read at Vegas Inc. here.  That might be interesting but at over 100 degrees, it’s doubtful you’ll see a lot of foot traffic unless you have full ice cold air you can feel as you walk by on your way to a 140-degree car in late summer or pre-season.  However, by Nov/Dec it will be cool enough to get business like this going.

Eater Vegas has Eureka! is now open at Downtown’s Emergency Arts building and a nice gallery of photo’s for you to enjoy as well here.

Vegasseven has the seven ways to ring in Chinese New Years this week here.  Reminder the Bellagio Conservatory will be changing to its spring display starting March 3rd.

The Green Fairy of Absinthe has 5 Sexy Essentials, it’s funny and sexy and well NSFW, read vegasseven here.  Holy cow never thought of how many pasties that a burlesque star would need to go through, so 7,000 in 7 years or about 1,000 a year.  Just have one thing to say to that, OUCH.  She should have stock in Palmer’s Cocoa Butter.

Vincent Rotolo has landed on his feet by honoring his Grandma and creating Good Pie.  Read vegasseven here on how the split from Evel Pie happened and how he took Good Pie to heart. Now there is a Good Pie vs. Evel Pie competition that’s funny and cool.  The new place is at Pawn Plaza.

Watch the LasVegasNow report here for what is in store for the Symphony Park area across the railroad tracks from The Plaza in Downtown Las Vegas.  Also, remember that Derek Stevens owns that odd shaped piece of land across the railroad tracks from the parking lot between The Plaza and Main Street Station and it is zoned for a casino (the only plot in Symphony Park that is zoned that way).  I speculate it may be part of his “Grandissimo” plan.

Finally, a woman won over $110K playing Bingo at Rampart Casino per 13news here.  She elected to stay anonymous. Congratulations mystery lady winner!!!

That’s it for the news around town this week… and now over to our Editor-in-Chief, LasVegasJunkie, for our stuff and more.

Gracias, BigAZMarty! Another busy week…

1. Kelly Lamrock shares his royal shave experience at The Art of Shaving inside the Grand Canal Shoppes. 
2. Fontainebleau to become The Drew
3. Author For a Day Challenge: Favorite Las Vegas Memory and Why
4. Kelly Lamrock finds a hidden food gem in LVB Burgers and Bar at The Mirage. 
5. LasVegasJunkie returns with the Las Vegas Junkie Podcast Episode 13… the official-unofficial Vegas Bright Podcast. 
6. Scott Klapman returns with photo-series regarding a subject we’ve all wondered… Who the hell is behind the masks of all the characters under the Fremont Street Experience canopy?

That’s all Folks!

[Photo Cred. LasVegasJunkie]

BigAzMarty

A computer professional who has worked at several types of positions with several different businesses and still learning and changing.
Introduced properly to Las Vegas and Laughlin by the spouse and have been going ever since 1990.
A frequent visitor from not to far away where it’s almost always 10 degrees warmer than Vegas.