MGM Resorts International and Southwest Airlines have formed a partnership linking their customer rewards programs. Members of Southwest’s Rapid Rewards and MGM’s M life programs now can accrue points toward free flights and VIP hotel stays from both companies.
The Culinary Union has launched a new website to warn travelers about possible labor disputes in Las Vegas. VegasTravelAlert.org allows Las Vegas-bound visitors to sign up for email alerts about potential strikes as resort leaders work to ink new contracts with the Culinary, which represents more than 60,000 workers.
Promoted from executive vice president of global development, Michael Evans is now in charge of developing and operating resorts under the brands Bellagio, MGM Grand and Skylofts.
Chronic Tacos, a popular Mexican food joint out of California, has opened a restaurant at the Palms. Known for serving gigantic portions of authentic Mexican food crafted from age-old recipes, the new Chronic Tacos is next to Earl of Sandwich and Brenden Theaters in the Palms.
The best poker players don't share much at the table. At most, maybe a joke or jab to lighten the mood. So it was a treat when a trio of World Series of Poker veterans sat down to talk about the game and their lives during the 15th International Gambling and Risk Taking Conference this week at Caesars Palace.
A recent Internet survey found Las Vegas-bound visitors who booked their trips on Expedia.com spend an average of $1,600 over a three-day vacation. That’s a lot of dough, considering more than 39 million people visited Southern Nevada last year.
In an interview with the Sun and VEGAS INC, CityCenter President Bobby Baldwin discusses how his business acumen was shaped by the knowledge he gleaned in becoming one of the world's top poker players.
They used math to beat casinos for a living. Their exploits have been immortalized on the silver screen — in films like "21" — and before that between bindings on the best-seller list. Educated at the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the MIT Card Counting Team hauled millions of dollars out of casinos from coast to coast throughout the '80s and '90s. Now, the team is long gone, but a few of its former members made an appearance at the 15th International Gambling and Risk Taking Conference at Caesars Palace this week to look back at their time counting cards for big cash.
It’s a question that’s loomed over the gambling industry since Internet gaming became a reality: In a battle between brick-and-mortar casinos and online casinos, who wins?
In the scorching heat of the Mojave, stumbling upon a tropical beach might seem like a mirage. But in Las Vegas, it seems anything is possible. A neon beacon of luxury and excess, this desert city features several manmade sand beaches, some decorated with tropical flowers and dotted with towering palms.
A new Firefly Tapas Kitchen & Bar is opening on Paradise Road today. John Simmons, the restaurant’s embattled owner, plans to open the doors at 4 p.m. at the new restaurant at 3824 Paradise Road. The opening follows a major salmonella outbreak last month that sickened 294 people from 27 states and two foreign countries who ate at the Firefly’s old Paradise Road location a few doors down.
Caesars is preparing to launch a fully functional WSOP.com during the World Series of Poker to perhaps become the second website in Nevada to roll out real-money poker tables. And if all goes as planned, WSOP.com will go live before the July 6 Main Event.
The largest gaming conference on the planet is coming back to Las Vegas. It’s the 15th International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking, and it’s slated to start Monday at Caesars Palace.
The wine angels of Charlie Palmer’s Aureole restaurant at Mandalay Bay have a new costume. After 14 years of wearing sleek, black jumpsuits to retrieve wine bottles on zip lines from the restaurant’s 44-foot wine tower, two wine server’s now have flashy red, orange and black outfits.
Ladies and gentlemen, start your gaming engines: Bally Technology’s new NASCAR slot machine will make its Las Vegas debut at several Boyd Gaming properties on Friday.
Health officials say cooked chorizo collected from the Firefly Tapas Kitchen & Bar on Paradise Road has tested positive for salmonella. The discovery comes after a salmonella outbreak last month that sickened at least 294 people from 27 states and two foreign countries who ate at the popular off-Strip restaurant, according to a report released by the Southern Nevada Health District today.
John Simmons, the embattled owner of Firefly Tapas Restaurant & Bar, has hired a new public relations firm to represent his restaurant. The Ferraro Group on Wednesday announced it would replace Purdue Marion & Associates.
Greg Stevens saw opportunity 475 feet below the Golden Gate Hotel & Casino. That’s where the engineer and co-owner of the 107-year-old Fremont property decided to draw the heating and cooling power needed to keep beer and slush drinks cold at the casino’s OneBar.
Caesars Entertainment has appointed a new president of hospitality. Tom Arasi comes to the role after a stint with Las Vegas Sands. His responsibilities include food and beverage, hotels, nightclubs and nightlife in Las Vegas.
After two years of battling the Culinary while fighting to legalize the sport in New York, the UFC’s counter jab comes in the form of a critical website aimed at exposing the union’s “smear campaign,” the company said.
The Culinary Union is preparing for the worst. Thousands of its members gathered at Cashman Field on Monday to vote on an increase in dues to plump up the Local 226 strike fund. The votes come just two weeks before union contracts expire along the Strip.
Galaxy Gaming CEO 'was evasive and, in some instances, intentionally dishonest'
Friday, May 17, 2013
Galaxy Gaming, a Las Vegas manufacturer of casino table games, has been deemed unsuitable to do business in California by a judge, a recommendation that could call into question the company’s Nevada gaming license.
The Terrible’s cowboy is taking the next horse and buggy right outta town. The Affinity Gaming casino has a new name: The Silver Sevens Hotel & Casino.
CityCenter never had it easy. MGM Resorts International announced plans to build the $4 billion development in 2004 during the height of Las Vegas' boom.
Baccarat players have a new pit to play in. The Golden Nugget has opened a baccarat pit downtown, located just past the casino’s Rush Tower lobby and valet entrance.
Station Casinos has opened a new 400-seat bingo hall at Green Valley Ranch Resort. Action begins at 9 a.m. and runs on the odd hours until 11 p.m., offering eight sessions a day. Of the 400 seats, 312 are dedicated to nonsmokers and 88 are located in a smoking section separated by glass. Hall games include Super Jumbo Bingo Progressive, which can dole out six-figure jackpots. Every session features cash balls, giving players the chance to wins thousands of dollars if their number is called.
Bill Wadleigh, a transplant from the video game industry and head of development at Bally Technologies, has found himself moving closer and closer to his roots these days. Bally and many other slot machine makers are beginning to bridge the gap between traditional spin slots and immersive video games. “From a technological standpoint, on a slot machine, it’s pretty insane,” Wadleigh said. “Insane in a good way.” The most immersive slot machines, such as NASCAR, have gone beyond simple player-character interaction.
Ryan Rodacker doesn’t want a chair. The professional eater from Portland prefers to stand and wait for the beast to lurch out of the kitchen. Plus, any pro will tell you it’s easier to slay beasts standing up. It’s Thursday afternoon at Windy City Beefs-N-Pizza in Las Vegas, and Rodacker — a 36-year-old 200-pounder known in some circles as “Max Carnage” — psyches himself up by thinking about the busy week he just put in.
The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas has reported a $24.7 million first-quarter loss, according to a Friday filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Health officials say 200 people from 20 states and two foreign countries got sick from Salmonella, likely after eating at Firefly Tapas Kitchen & Bar on Paradise Road two weeks ago.
All the slides are up and running at the forthcoming Wet ‘n’ Wild Las Vegas. As the park’s Memorial Day opening approaches, landscapers have been carving out the finishing touches on the grounds of the Summerlin park.
Las Vegas is a city of excess and expense — especially when it comes to drinks. Popular haunts hide some of the most rare and pricey drinks in the world.
When Bill Marler’s phone rings, he usually has a pretty good idea of what the callers want to talk about: food poisoning. Over the last two decades, Marler has built a reputation securing settlements for victims in contaminated food cases.
The U.S. casino industry captured $37.3 billion in gaming revenues in 2012, a 4.8 percent increase from 2011. hat growth rate is largest since the recession swept through the industry in 2008, according to the American Gaming Association.
As Nevada focuses on recovering from the collapsed real estate market and a sweeping recession that hemorrhaged jobs and rocketed the unemployment rate to a record level, it’s easy to question the state and strength of unions here. But organized labor appears to be stronger here than anywhere else.
The D Las Vegas has teamed up with a new hotel chain. The downtown casino on Thursday announced a partnership with Lexington by Vantage, a Florida-based hotel company.
Health District officials say more than 80 people have now reported getting sick after eating at a popular Las Vegas restaurant. The outbreak happened at the Firefly restaurant on Paradise Road, where authorities on Friday ordered management to close.
If you’ve ever sat at a bar, you’ve likely heard people ask, “What’s on tap?” Ask the bartenders at Caesars Palace, and you’ll hear a menu full of more than craft beer. The resort now sells wine on tap.
The race to roll out the first legal, real-money poker website in the United States is over — and it ended in Nevada. Station Casinos on Tuesday launched a 30-day trial of UltimatePoker.com, which allows in-state gamblers to play online poker from computers or mobile devices. “It’s a new day in online gaming,” Ultimate Poker Chairman and Founder Tom Breitling said. “Nevada is first, and Nevada should be proud.”
Families looking forward to splashing around Henderson's Cowabunga Bay Water Park this summer will have to wait. The water park won't open until Spring 2014.
At the Las Vegas Sands Expo Center this week, machines reigned supreme. Vending machines, that is — and not the standard ones that dispense cookies and sodas. These machines delivered a diverse array of items, from pizza to pasta to makeup. More than 200 vendors displayed their goods for more than 5,000 visitors at the National Automatic Merchandising Association Vending and Coffee Oneshow, which started Wednesday and ends Friday.
Above Marvin Lipschultz’s desk hangs a reminder of what the 3.5 acres of land below him could have been. It’s an artist’s rendering of an aqua blue 41-story hotel called One Trop. Lipschultz looks at it daily from his small guest room office at the long-shuttered Golden Palm Hotel. Now, after a half-decade of waiting for a second chance to strike, the grizzled real estate mogul is ready to try again, albeit on a much smaller scale. Lipschultz plans to reopen the Golden Palm as a restaurant and karaoke bar.