Four Queens in downtown Las Vegas is bringing back its popular Silver Strike slots and we’ve got the exclusive details. The 12 cherished slot machines will once again be available for play on Sep. 19, 2024.

The machines with a cult-like following are unique because the bonus symbol gets you a special keepsake token. You can cash the Silver Strike coin in for $10 (sometimes $40), but what’s the fun in that? That’s like eating at a restaurant without taking a photo of your food first. What kind of freak even does that?

The Silver Strike machines were removed from the casino floor at Four Queens a few months back, causing a minor freak-out by ardent loyalists, but the machines are being consolidated and when they return, they’ll have a whole new set of token designs (see photos below). Cue the elation from Silver Strike nerds, a designation we happily embrace because we are one.

While the Silver Strike machines at Four Queens have been MIA, the only other Silver Strike machines downtown were at Plaza.

Silver Strike machines were used in private tournaments at Four Queens, but were not accessible by the public.

How popular are these machines? There’s a group called the Silver Strikers Club that follows any Silver Strike news with rabidity.

Here’s a video of what makes Silver Strike machines so special. Drum roll, please.

Yes, you can still win old-school money on these machines, but the tokens are a fun perk and simply unlike any other modern slot machine. When you win a Silver Strike token, it feels like you’re really winning something.

Previously, the Silver Strike machines at Four Queens occupied two banks and were scattered in a couple of other places on the casino floor. Yes, it’s weird we can tell you exactly where they were. Hey, you have things you obsess over. Like feet stepping on soft fruits and vegetables. Who’s the weirdo now?

Now, the machines will be in one place, near the hotel’s registration desk, not far from the valet entrance.

Public service announcement: Please don’t hog the machines if others are waiting. It’s like those dumbasses who play two coin machines at once at Circus Circus. Don’t get us started.

Hey, lady, leave some Silver Strikes for the rest of us! Told it’s taken four hours to accumulate this many tokens. @4QueensLV (h/t @seventensuited) pic.twitter.com/RsENhG6L45

— Vital Vegas (@VitalVegas) January 28, 2022

As we said, Silver Strike machines have an enthusiastic following, with collectors sometimes camping out when new token designs are released.

For the Silver Strike relaunch, the Four Queens team (spearheaded by the casino’s Director of Slots Shaun Webster) have come up with a whole new set of tokens based upon playing card suits. Here’s a first look.

The whole Silver Strike token subculture is fascinating, and as such we do not fully understand it.

Basically, there are “clears” (referring to the plastic cases the tokens come in, we took the tokens out of their “capsules” for our photos) containing the standard Silver Strike token. There are also “red” and “blue” tokens, with seasonal, limited-edition designs (like for Halloween). Then there are the tokens valued at $40. The new tokens feature a popular Four Queens restaurant, Chicago Brewing Co.

Silver Strike token collectors don’t just play to get a token, they play to get entire sets of tokens. As mentioned, some token winners turn these collectibles in for cash, but that sort of defeats the whole purpose of them being collectible. Naturally, Four Queens loves when collectors collect. It’s akin to a player taking a $10 or $40 TITO voucher home. It’s called “breakage.”

Four Queens goes through a shocking number of Silver Strike tokens. For the relaunch, the casino ordered 48,000 tokens. We always assumed most people won the tokens but turned them in for cash. We were mistaken. That supply of tokens lasts just 2-3 months.

Silver Strike tokens are produced by Sunshine Mint in Las Vegas-adjacent Henderson, Nevada.

Why don’t more casinos have Silver Strike machines? Because they’re sort of a pain in the ass, honestly. (The same reason you don’t see many coin slots left in Las Vegas casinos.) The machines are expensive to maintain and refill, and not many casinos are up for fronting $500,000 for an order of tokens.

Do Silver Strikes make as much for Four Queens as these new-fangled penny slots? Of course not, but they make much more than we thought.

No, Silver Strike tokens don’t have a lot of actual silver in them anymore, but don’t be a buzzkill.

There’s a whole regulatory process involved with Silver Strike tokens, technically, “Silver Premium Tokens.” Silver Strike coins are treated like other gambling “tokens” used in casinos, like table games chips.

There are a slew of regulations around chips and tokens. If you are ever suffering from sleeplessness, you can read the regulations. They are a hoot.

Four Queens submits its designs to Gaming, then when those are approved, Sunshine Mint makes samples to submit to Gaming, and at any point regulators can reject the designs. In one instance, the design was approved, but when the coins were produced, they made it look like the woman depicted on the token as, well, cold, if you get our drift. Back to the drawing board. Apparently, Silver Strike tokens can’t depict nipples. Some “fun facts” are more fun than others. You’re welcome.

Here’s the official version of what we just told you: “If, after receiving and reviewing the items and information described by this regulation, the Chair is satisfied that the proposed chips, tokens and related information conform to the requirements of this regulation, the Chair shall notify the licensee or the manufacturer authorized by the licensee to produce the chips or tokens in writing and shall request, and the licensee or the manufacturer shall provide a sample of the proposed chips or tokens in final, manufactured form. If the Chair is satisfied that the sample conforms with the requirements of this regulation and with the information submitted with the licensee’s application, the Chair shall approve the proposed chips or tokens and notify the licensee in writing. As a condition of approval of chips or tokens issued for use at the licensee’s race book, sports pool, or specific table or counter game, the Chair may prohibit the licensee from using the chips or tokens other than at the book, pool, or specific game. The Board may retain the sample chips and tokens submitted pursuant to this subsection.”

No mention of nipples! We’re seeing a loophole here, Four Queens. Just saying.

In addition, this part: “The Board may retain the sample chips and tokens submitted…” We’re thinking somebody at the Nevada Gaming Control Board is a Silver Strike token collector.

When the new unified Silver Strike area is unveiled at Four Queens (a lone machine will be by the casino cage), casino staff will distribute some sweet branded hats and attire to celebrate the occasion. Four Queens has also created a brochure that will share the finer points of the Silver Strike lifestyle, much like the one available at Main Street Station to help guests locate its many antiques and curiosities.

Exciting news, coming VERY SOON!🤫#FourQueens #SilverStrike pic.twitter.com/JBPMT2QvG8

— Four Queens Hotel & Casino (@4QueensLV) September 18, 2024

Why is the return of the Silver Strike slots at Four Queens such a big deal? Well, for the people who love these machines, it’s like asking why Sigma Derby at The D is a big deal or why single zero roulette is a big deal at Plaza or why the Bellagio fountains are a big deal or why Lion’s Share was a big deal at MGM Grand for many years. It’s one of those “if you know, you know” things.

If you’ve never played Silver Strike, now is a great time to do so. Slot machines can get a little repetitive, but Silver Strike machines change things up, and the $10 tokens tend to be easy to get. (The machine plays like other reel slots as well, of course, so lots of other wins are up for grabs as you look for the Silver Strike symbol.) Our over-under on hitting the bonus is 20 spins. For us, it often happens within 5-10 spins. Then again, we have extraordinary good luck. Have you ever seen how thick and lustrous our hair is? We didn’t even need to travel to Turkey for a hair transplant. Or Türkiye. Whatever the kids are calling it now.

Big thanks to Four Queens for letting us share their news first, and we can’t wait to win some (or possibly all) of these new Silver Strike tokens soon. We’re keeping all the tokens this time, though. We heard some Silver Strike collectors bequeath their collections to their heirs in their last will and testament.

We do not use the term “fanatics” or “cult” lightly!

The post Beloved Silver Strike Slot Machines Return to Four Queens appeared first on Vital Vegas.

A classic downtown casino, El Cortez, announced back in May 2024 it will pump $20 million into a number of new enhancements.

Now, we’re getting a look at these spaces, including a new high limit lounge, two new bars and a new restaurant, Hot Noods.

If we sound giddy, it’s because we’re giddy. Renderings are the next best thing to foot rubs and chicken parm. Separately. The Venn diagram of foot rubs and chicken parm should never, ever overlap. On to the renderings!

Construction of the new offerings is already underway, and should be completed in February of 2025.

A good portion of the El Cortez casino floor is walled off, which is disorienting, but no pain no gain.

We spent 15 minutes trying to come up with a different way of saying “no pain, no gain,” but all we got was “no hurt, no dessert” and “no burn, no return” and “no whine, no shine.” Which explains why idioms are idioms and one shouldn’t try and reinvent the wheel.

Speaking of restrooms, we have never seen this other than at El Cortez.

How bad is the casino urinal aim problem? @ElCortezLV has installed drains. pic.twitter.com/XQGWzD4flh

— Vital Vegas (@VitalVegas) September 14, 2024

Let’s move on to something less awkward, shan’t we?

The sexiest El Cortez rendering is for a new roulette-inspired bar. It will replace the reliable, but not particularly sexy, Ike’s Bar. Ike’s Bar has been around since 2017, further evidence we have been doing this Las Vegas blog far too long.

Dreamy, and we trust there will only be one zero.

Here’s another angle.

Also impressive is a new bar they’re referring to as “Show Bar.”

Show Bar will have a 20-foot video screen, as well as a stage for live music (despite our best efforts).

A new high limit slot area will have about 50 machines, along with a bar and the perfunctory TV screens for people who can’t be away from sports for five minutes or their head will explode.

As mentioned, the casino refresh will also include a new restaurant, Hot Noods by Chinglish.

Chinglish Cantonese Wine Bar and Kosher Chinglish closed in June 2024 in Summerlin, about 10 minutes west of The Strip. Chinglish is family-owned, from Kitty Heck and Ken Heck, and chef Po Fai Lam and Anna Lam (Kitty Lam’s parents). The restaurants were popular, but didn’t pencil out in their Boca Park locations.

Large swaths of El Cortez are being given some love.

The expansion is being led by McCarthy Building Companies, Ike Gaming, Jive Architecture and Kenneth Ussenko Design, an interior design firm.

El Cortez is a throwback to a different era. It’s grittier than most Las Vegas casinos, and they are trying to keep their longtime regulars happy while keeping up with the expectations of younger and potentially higher-end customers. That balance is not easy. Just ask Station Casinos. They tried it at Palms and neither type of customer was particularly happy with the evolution of the resort. The nightclub/dayclub kids hated the olds, and the olds hated them back. It was Kaos. Station Casinos ended up selling Palms to the San Manuel tribe just to make the bleeding stop.

El Cortez seems to understand its existing appeal to loyal customers (many of whom are value-driven grinders who love coin machines from the 1980s), so the trick is to, as an El Cortez news release puts it, “ensure each of the new spaces embraces the iconic elegance of the property while adding a splash of modern details and energy to take the experience into the next generation.” Like a shark, casinos die if they don’t move forward. Which is a ridiculous myth, by the way. Not all idioms get it right, people are just too lazy to come up with better ones.

Anyway, building a bridge between the past and future is no small feat. We were going to say “no mean feat,” but our fellow youths would make a WTF face and stop reading our story to post a dance video on TikTok, so we’re going with “small feat.”

During our most recent visit, the unique mix of old and new customers (as well as tourists and locals) at El Cortez was evident. The casino was absolutely packed (made to feel even more crowded given a third of El Cortez is behind construction walls now), and the energy of new blood was undeniable.

Younger, table games players (many bar-hopping in the Fremont East district) were taking advantage of the low table minimums and beer carts in the table games pit. Seasoned locals were in the video poker room, with a sound, flavor and fragrance all its own.

If you ever yearned to see why casinos dropped coin-operated slot machines, look no further than El Cortez. Coin machines are a pain in the ass, with bags of 2,000 quarters ($500) weighing 25 pounds, and dollar coin bags ($600) weighing 30 pounds. It’s a non-stop cavalcade of lugging and loading and jamming and mechanical repairs. El Cortez offers these machines because their customers love them, plain and simple.

As we’ve seen at other casinos, El Cortez is not only sprucing the place up, but adding spaces (like the high limit room) for “aspirational” customers, or customers that may not exist for them quite yet in large numbers.

Remember, this is the casino where there are signs on the slot machines that say, “Complimentary beverages available when actively wagering a minimum of 40 cents.” We are not making this up.

Grinders are demanding and fickle, too much change and they’ll bolt. As El Cortez unveils these new venues, it will truly be able say it has “something for everyone.”

Well, maybe not everyone. El Cortez is a 21-plus resort now, for which its owner Kenny Epstein and his management team are to be commended.

You can bet we’ll be poking our head into El Cortez as these renovations move forward.

El Cortez is a truly one-of-a-kind holdover from another time and vibe. Anyone who gripes that “old Vegas” is gone hasn’t been to El Cortez. With its expansion, the downtown casino will continue to honor its colorful past (Bugsy Siegel as a co-owner back in the day) while integrating more contemporary panache.

You know, panache. Drip. Rizz. Mod.

Sorry, Mr. Epstein, we have to try and keep up with our fellow youths and their bussin’ argot.

The post El Cortez Drops Sexy Casino Renovation Renderings appeared first on Vital Vegas.

The 2023 Las Vegas Visitor Profile Study is out.

As always, the survey from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority provides interesting (if not always scientific) insights into the nature of Las Vegas visitors.

Yes, this survey is reliably unreliable, but it’s all we’ve got, so just go with it. Oh, and in case you were wondering, our band in high school was called The Fruitless Nougats.

To save you a metric ass-ton of time, we’ve extracted 25 useless items from the survey, making it easy for you to mansplain Las Vegas to everyone at your next dinner party. Just kidding, since the pandemic, people don’t host dinner parties. Well, we haven’t been invited to any. Wait a damn minute. If you’ve been having dinner parties without us, you are no longer invited to read our blog. Good luck finding 69 jokes in the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Anyway, the survey!

First, some housekeeping related to the survey’s methodology. “Through 2021 the report was based on ongoing intercept surveys of travelers to Las Vegas. Beginning in 2022 an online component was added to reach a broader cross-section of visitors to Las Vegas.”

According to the LVCVA, 5,411 interviews were conducted over the course of 2023, online and off. That might not sound like a lot given there were about 39 million visitors in 2023, but it’s considered statistically representative of all those visitors.

The LVCVA’s primary audience for its survey is casinos, their bosses, although the LVCVA is paid for by room taxes, so we taxpayers are their bosses, technically.

Let’s go, as the kids say. Actually, the “Let’s go!” (sometimes including an f-bomb) trend is so annoying, isn’t it? It’s replaced “Winner, winner, chicken dinner” in Las Vegas casinos. This should’ve been in the survey: “Can you seriously not come up with something more creative to shout when the dealer busts?” Please do better, everyone.

1. First time visitor numbers were down from 2022 to 2023. Sixteen percent of visitors were virgins, compared to 24% in 2022 and 20% in 2021. There goes our theory the LVCVA tweaks the numbers to make them look better.

2. The average number of visits to Las Vegas is 2.2 times a year. A .2 visit is one where you arrive, get deathly ill from drinking and sleep the entire rest of your visit.

3. People who visit Las Vegas more often than the average are more active in social media. That’s because whatever batshit crazy things happen in Las Vegas, they’re nowhere near the level of crazy in social media.

4. Just 8% of Las Vegas visitors say they visit to gamble. Then again, 48% visit for “vacation/pleasure.” Same difference. Nearly as many people (75% of repondents) say they visit Las Vegas for conventions as come to gamble. Weirdos.

5. Half the people who said they visited Las Vegas for a special occasion were here to get shit-faced and wear a sash saying, “It’s my birthday!” to help beg for free drinks from strangers and bartenders.

6. More than half of Las Vegas visitors arrived via ground transportation, up from 49% in 2022.

7. The survey says 1% of visitors used limos to get around town during their trip, and 1% used the Vegas Loop (the underground Tesla transportation system from Elon Musk). We’ll take the under on that one. It only goes to Resorts World at the moment. We told you this report is reliably unreliable. We suspect Russian interference.

8. About 54% of Las Vegas visitors went downtown during their stay. Please get your mind out of the gutter, this is a very serious subject. That number is down from 58% in 2022.

9. Unfortunately for downtown Las Vegas, Gen Z is the age demo most likely to visit downtown (64% of downtown visitors), the group with the least amount of disposable income. (24% of Gen Z visitors stayed in a room with four or more occupants.) These folks love experiences, though, and downtown is definitely that.

10. About 54% of downtown visitors went down for the Fremont Street Experience, that’s up from 50% the year before. This question is always a bit wonky, as it’s unclear what respondents mean by the Fremont Street Experience. Are they talking about the video screen? The live music? The people-watching? The street party? Is that all lumped under Fremont Street Experience?

11. Just 2% of survey respondents said the reason they didn’t visit downtown was because they didn’t want to take their children there. Just 2%. WTF is wrong with people? Fremont Street is no place for children. Why? Because Las Vegas is no place for children. Don’t get us started.

12. Now, you’ve done it! A whopping 16% of people say they brought someone in their party under 21. Translation: Kids. It was 16% in 2022 and 21% in 2021. We were interviewed about all this on CNBC a while back. In 2019, just 5% of those surveyed brought their kids, it was 6% in 2018. Yes, there are more things for children to do in Las Vegas than ever, but that doesn’t mean people have to do them.

13. Phew, 79% of visitors gambled during their stay. Somebody has to make it so residents don’t have to pay state income tax.

14. The average gambling budget of Las Vegas visitors was $787.54. In 2018, it was $527.05. We blame F1.

15. Visitors went to an average of 3.7 casinos during their stay (the .7 is Ellis Island, it’s wee) and gambled at an average of 1.8 casinos.

16. Average nightly room rates in 2023 hit a new high of $171.98. Well, “high” is relative, especially if you have stayed in a hotel in any other major city in the world. Let’s keep it real. Even with paid parking and nuisance fees, Las Vegas is still a relatively great value.

17. The average number of days (4.3) and nights (3.3) stayed in Las Vegas was down a smidge from 2022 (4.4 and 3.4, respectively). We blame it on children. And possibly F1. But mostly children. Just the sheer smell alone would make people want to bail on a hotel room. It takes housekeeping longer to get rid of the kid smell than weed smell. Why isn’t that in the visitor survey?

18. Visitors surveyed said their food and beverage budget was $564.73, up from $519.23 in 2022. The average budget was $314.96 in 2018. Hence all the whining.

19. Just 26% of visitors saw a show during their trip, a staggering drop since 2018 (when 58% of visitors said they saw a show). This shift has changed the Las Vegas entertainment scene dramatically. Residencies, sports and Sphere are grabbing all the entertainment dollars now. And “Absinthe,” but pretty much those other things.

20. Blah, blah, something sports.

21. Despite the complaining about Las Vegas we hear day in and day out in social media, the survey from the LVCVA says 97% of visitors were either very satisfied or somewhat satisfied with their visit. The rest were trick-rolled.

22. Of those surveyed, 84% said they’re extremely or very likely to return to Las Vegas in the future.

23. Las Vegas visitors in 2023 were 64% married, which basically means on vacation they slip off their wedding rings.

24. The average age of a Las Vegas visitor was 43.8, compared to 45.1 in 2018 and 46.2 in 2019. Oddly, the average stripper age in Las Vegas has remained exactly the same.

25. In 2013, of those Las Vegs visitors surveyed, 61% were white, 14% were African-American, 9% were Asian, 13% were Hispanic and 3% were people who thought they were white but after sending saliva to Ancestry.com learned, “OMFG, I’m Micronesian!”

That’s it. We’re winded.

If you’d like to get more granular, you can see the full report, the entire kit and caboodle, on the LVCVA Web site.

Yes, fellow youths, kits (collections) and caboodles (bundles) were once common in our society. You would almost never see a kit without a caboodle, actually. “Kit and caboodle” means “shebang.”

We were going to make a Ricky Martin joke, then realized “She Bangs” was released in 2000, so many of our fellow youths weren’t even born yet.

Whole enchilada? Is that politically incorrect? We’re pretty sure “lock stock and barrel” is.

Anyway, we hope you have enjoyed this rambling exercise in writing a story when there’s no big news happening in Las Vegas right now.

We would love to hear what questions you’d like included in the next Las Vegas Visitor Profile Study. Here are some we’d love to see.

“Did you bring any special toys to Las Vegas?”

“Did your hotel housekeeper make any towel animals? If so, did you realize due to union rules, that cost the hotel $1,250?”

“Did you emotionally break down when you heard the Mirage volcano was going away?”

“War, what is it good for?”

“Did you visit downtown and what were the things you can’t unsee?”

“During your Las Vegas visit, how many times did some asshat blow smoke in your face?”

Enjoy this world premiere of a song we made for you. We can't stop singing it and hope you do not have the same experience, probably. pic.twitter.com/f0BKdxYJWj

— Vital Vegas (@VitalVegas) September 7, 2024

“At any point during your stay, did you watch a dinosaur perform magic? Also, did you realize at the time how much Piff hates being called a dinosaur rather than a dragon?”

“What irksome fee did you discover on your restaurant tab?”

“Did you attend any magic shows? If so, where did David Copperfield touch you?”

“What is the deal with escalators in Las Vegas?”

“Did you actually think that beautiful woman was talking to you in the lobby bar because you’re interesting?”

“During your stay, were you ever stung on the testicles by a scorpion and do you have an ambulance-chasing lawyer yet?”

“Remember when every casino had a comedy-hypnosis show? Does anyone really miss them all that much?”

“How big a second mortgage did you need to pay your hotel minibar tab?”

“At any point during your stay, did you strike up a conversation with a slot machine? Not that anyone would do that, especially not us, we are a survey, but still.”

“Did you enjoy your hotel room, or did you get one with a view of air conditioning vents and mating pigeons?”

“Are you one of those people who, every time a slot machine is down, assumes it was a Russian hack and what brand of aluminum foil is your favorite?”

“If you stayed in Las Vegas during the summer, on a scale of 0-4, what stage is your melanoma?”

“Jerry’s Nugget. How is that dump even allowed to exist?”

“How many times did you look at the butts of scantily-clad women pressuring tourists for tips before your wife noticed? Also, can you substantiate your answer with photos? Which you could e-mail us if that’s not too much trouble?”

“Did you notice casino gift shops don’t have prices on the items and why don’t you like surprises?”

“How many times during your visit did you swear you will never gamble again, right before gambling again?”

“If you’re visiting from a foreign country, did you use your adorable accent during your stay or have a meter-long slushy drink? Because they’re usually called yard-longs, in case that weren’t obvious?”

“On a related note, does it bother you we didn’t find this survey stat until we started writing these questions? The international visitor segment (12%) continued to recover, growing from 9% last year and well ahead of the pandemic low of 3% in 2021.”

“Did you know prostitutes sometimes perform sexual acts in hotel ice machine rooms because they don’t have cameras? Allegedly?”

“Did you do any exercise-related activities during your stay and if so, what is wrong with you?”

“What kind of things do you blame on F1?”

Well, that was certainly a fun comedic device, wasn’t it?

Actually, we’d love to see this annual Las Vegas survey infused with more provocative questions.

Let’s f-bomb go, LVCVA!

The post 25 Fruitless Nougats From the New Las Vegas Visitor Profile Survey appeared first on Vital Vegas.

That casino cafe you never went to is closing.

Avenue Cafe, possibly with an accent mark over the “e,” at MGM Grand will close permanently after business on Nov. 17, 2024.

According to a news release, “The venue will transition into a new food and beverage concept with an anticipated opening in February 2025.”

That’s pretty much the whole story. Granted, we probably should’ve put “story” in quotation marks.

It’s worth noting the adjacent Starbucks has closed. Well, possibly “worth noting.” Slow news day.

While we don’t know what’s next for the Avenue Cafe space, you can rest assured it will be interactive and immersive.

Here’s a photo of Avenue Cafe at MGM Grand for posterity.

Avenue Cafe wasn’t really on anyone’s radar, and the restaurant only operated for breakfast and lunch, daily from 7:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

For those of us who are normal, Avenue Cafe was never open when we were. Who in their right mind gets up at 7:00 a.m.? And who eats breakfast? Unless it’s French toast at midnight. You know, like normal people.

Casino cafes are supposed to be open 24/7. That’s what they do. Or did. Thanks for ruining everything, pandemic.

Since this story is a little thin on details, we asked A.I. to design a new cafe for MGM Grand.

It’s unclear if A.I. understands what dice look like, but even humans get pips wrong a lot.

We are sure MGM Resorts will whip up something much less colorful and whimsical for its new restaurant. We’d love to see something with a “wow” factor, but without the quotation marks.

The post Avenue Cafe to Close at MGM Grand, Adjacent Starbucks Shutters appeared first on Vital Vegas.

As we were the first to report, Rio has been adjusting its staffing levels since taking over operations from Caesars Entertainment.

Back in August, Rio let go of about 30 manager level executives.

Now, as many as 50 additional staff have been let go from the public areas department. The public areas department (PAD) is responsible for the cleanliness and maintenance of public spaces like the casino floor, lobby, hallways, restrooms and elevators.

We inquired about the layoffs, and Rio responded with a statement mirroring the one it shared in response to our story about staff reductions in August: “We proactively expanded our workforce while taking over operations from Caesars Entertainment in Q4 2023. As the resort undergoes extensive construction and remodeling, we now have a better understanding of the staffing levels Rio needs to provide guest service and operational efficiency. We deeply appreciate the unwavering commitment and diligence of all our team members and extend our heartfelt gratitude to those directly affected by the adjustments.”

Rio has been transparent about its staffing “adjustments” (nudge required), but won’t get into details about the exact number of people let go or their specific positions or departments.

The bottom line is business levels aren’t what they were expected to be at Rio and tough business decisions are being made accordingly.

While the optics aren’t great, Rio seems to be moving in the right direction overall.

The owner, Dreamscape, has put its money where its resort is, with an ongoing renovation that has given the off-Strip Rio a much-needed refresh.

The reality is there are challenges nobody knows if Rio can overcome (location being top of the list), and recovering from years of brand damage and neglect by the resort’s former operator hasn’t been easy. Among its many challenges, Rio has to deal with years of bad reviews online, somehow distinguishing its new incarnation from its years-long decline.

The improvements at Rio are hard to ignore, especially when set to the banger we made with A.I.

We’re a big fan of Rio and its recent efforts, so it pains us to share news of staff reductions, but if we didn’t, what scoop would the Las Vegas Review-Journal have to steal without attribution? No, really, they’re shameless. Here’s the story the unethical nitwits at the RJ published after we broke the news. They even had the balls to imply elements of our story were inaccurate, despite the information having been confirmed by the Rio. We aren’t dealing with MENSA members here.

Anyway, layoffs are painful for everyone involved, but are sometimes necessary to improve profitability, especially when financial goals aren’t being met. Labor is often the biggest expense in a company, casino or otherwise, so staffing can take a hit.

Combined with the executive layoffs reported previously (30 managers, plus 50 in maintenance and public areas recently), Rio has let go of an estimated 8% of its workforce since taking over from Caesars Entertainment.

Our heart goes out to the individuals affected, and here’s hoping running a tighter ship will give Rio a fighting chance to make its promised comeback.

The post Rio Hotel & Casino Lays Off Dozens More Staff appeared first on Vital Vegas.

The Black Eyed Peas have announced a 15-date Las Vegas residency, “Black Eyed Peas: 3008 The Las Vegas Residency.”

The residency kicks off Feb. 15, 2025 at PH Live at Planet Hollywood (formerly Bakkt, formerly Zappos). First, it’s way too early to talk about a residency in 2025. Second, Black Eyed Peas is Fergieless.

That said, it’s a slow news day and we have thoughts, so let’s get to the boom-boom and possibly pow.

The Black Eyed Peas are, or were, awesome.

The group has a bunch of Grammy awards, multi-platinum records and the highest percentage of members with affectatious names in the music industry.

The band line-up is: Will.i.am (sometimes written in the even more pretentious lower case, will.i.am), Apl.de.Ap and Taboo.

Trust us, it’s as painful to type as it is to read.

Here are the show dates for Black Eyed Peas: February 15, 16, 19, 21, 22, 2025; March 21, 22, 26, 28, 29, 2025; May 24, 25, 28, 30, 31, 2025.

Black Eyed Peas has a ton of hits (80 million records sold), including “Rock That Body,” “Meet Me Halfway,” “Let’s Get It Started,” “Where Is The Love?,” “I Gotta Feeling,” “Imma Be” and “Boom Boom Pow.”

The “3008” in the residency title is a reference to a line in “Boom Boom Pow” stating “I’m so 3008, you’re so 2000 and late.”

Oh, and we can’t forget “My Humps.” For our fellow youths, “cakes” were once called “humps,” and you could get love drunk off of them.

It’s best to not look too closely at Black Eyed Peas lyrics, as that has been known to kill more brain cells than watching Fox News.

The height of the group’s popularity was the mid-2000s, or a quarter century ago.

The last time the Black Eyed Peas made headlines, it was for their disastrous live performance at the Super Bowl.

The 2011 Super Bowl was a glaring reminder Black Eyed Peas isn’t really populated with talented vocalists or rappers. They’re a studio phenomenon. Their beats are def and all that, but a studio allows for endless sweetening and tweaking and auto-tuning.

Which is why it’s so awkward they’re doing a Las Vegas residency.

Making the situation even worse, or better, is as stated previously, lead “singer” Fergie isn’t in the group anymore.

What does all this mean? It means while the Black Eyed Peas show might be visually stunning, fans are likely to get a “press play” DJ-style show of pre-recorded music and lots of “Las Vegas make some noise!” from the performers.

Do fans care? Probably not. Celine fans loved her lip-synced song at the Paris Olympics. Most performers mouth to backing tracks now.

It remains to be seen if Black Eyed Peas can fill the seats at PH Live at Planet Hollywood.

There’s no denying shows are evolving more into experiences. The recently-opened “DiscoShow” at Linq isn’t even really a show, per se. It’s a disco dance party. No plot, no subtext, no chairs, just the dancing off of asses for 70 minutes.

The Black Eyed Peas certainly have enough bangers to keep audiences dancing through their shows. You may purchase a ticket for a seat, but don’t expect to use it, as everyone in front of you will be standing up the entire time. We’ll opt for their greatest hits at home on our sweet, sweet headphones. We fully own up to being 2000 and late.

The post Black Eyed Peas Announce Vegas Residency, Nobody’s Sure Why appeared first on Vital Vegas.

We have droned on endlessly about the “dice pip problem” for years now. The “problem” has now become an epidemic, extending even to the world of golf.

What is the problem? Often, when dice are depicted, designers screw up the pips (the spots). The opposite sides of dice always add up to seven. That means numbers that add up to seven can’t be side-by-side. It’s an unforgiveable mistake.

Recently, two major golf ball manufacturers have released botched dice pips, Callaway and TaylorMade. This simply cannot stand.

TaylorMade debuted in 1979. The company’s early success was due to its metal drivers, one of which should be used to remind whoever designed their new golf balls to always, always check the dice pips.

From the description of these golf balls, you can tell TaylorMade is trying hard to tap into the excitement of craps: “You won’t have to rely on a lucky roll when you put the TP5 and TP5x pix Dice golf balls in your bag. TP5 is the softest five-layer ball on Tour, and TP5x is the fastest—it’s also now 1/2-club longer.”

The balls are part of a casino-themed set. Honestly, it doesn’t matter what flair is included, you botch the balls, you’re dead to us. Despite the fact we don’t golf and wouldn’t know a dimple from a divot.

That’s not the point. The point is we need to have things to be indignant about, and dice pips is one of those things.

Examples of pip fails are everywhere, but it just seems worse coming from big companies who should know better.

Next pip gaffe culprit: Callaway.

Callaway is one of the premier golf ball makers in the world, yet finds itself in a FUBAR sand trap with its “Supersoft Casino Golf Balls.”

Not only did Callaway screw up its dice pips, it managed to get both its dice wrong. That’s some world-class screw-uppery right there.

You can check out more dice pip fails in our archives, or just look around for dice and you’re bound to see some blatant blunders.

Dice pip fails are everywhere.

Butt ink pip fail in “The Cooler.” The five and two can’t be side-by-side (opposite sides of the dice should equal seven). William H. Macy seems undeterred. pic.twitter.com/IcefBaxmqn

— Vital Vegas (@VitalVegas) August 19, 2022

A note to our fellow youths: Fails used to be called “mistakes,” and before that, they were called “boners.” No, really. Please note our self-restraint, despite the fact “ball boners” just rolls off the tongue, so to speak. It’s call maturity.

What happens when pip fails are called out? Usually, nothing. In some cases, though, businesses listen and rectify their transgressions.

It’s official, @OleRed has won our heart. Between last night and this morning, they fixed the pip. (h/t @JamesInLasVegas) https://t.co/bI9IVw773w pic.twitter.com/aV2OSnL5u9

— Vital Vegas (@VitalVegas) January 17, 2024

We’re always happy to get pip fails you discover, as we are not omniscient, despite all the evidence to the contrary.

It is incumbent upon all of us to keep a watchful eye on this insidious pip fail parasite as it continues to spread. Remain watchful, publicly ridicule the transgressors whenever possible and hopefully we can detect and isolate such inexcusable lapses until a cure can be found.

The post Golf Ball Makers Infected by Dice Pip Fail Virus appeared first on Vital Vegas.

Palms has named its new General Manager, Steve Thayer. It’s Stephen, if you’re nasty.

Thayer moves into the position vacated by Cynthia Kiser Murphey.

Everything’s all nicey-nice on the surface with these changes, but please, it’s Las Vegas.

Steve Thayer was unceremoniously fired as G.M. and V.P. of Strat by Golden Entertainment in June 2024. Of course, we broke the story.

That’s the same month Cynthia Kiser Murphey announced she was “stepping down” at Palms. Of course, we broke the story.

Starting to see a pattern here? Not with these executive moves, our breaking every Las Vegas story, ever. Please stay focused.

Anyhoo, not everything has to be about us, probably.

Steve Thayer takes the reins of Palms on Sep. 16, 2024.

Thayer has been in the casino and hospitality industry for decades. He was with Caesars Entertainment for 15 years at casinos in Las Vegas and Atlantic City (motto: “Exactly like Las Vegas, except for the pretty much everything”), as well as Wyndham International, which doesn’t have casinos, so why even put that on a resume if you ask us?

Palms is owned and operated by the San Manuel tribe. Working with or for a Native American tribe is, well, different.

The news of Thayer’s new gig was announced via news release from the San Manuel Gaming and Hospitality Authority (SMGHA). This cabal (technically, a “governmental instrumentality”) was created so tribal leaders wouldn’t get the same scrutiny other casino operators are subjected to. Nothing to see here!

Palms and Strat have a lot of similarities, so Thayer should be in his element. Both casinos cater to a mix of tourists and locals, for starters.

Expectations are modest for Palms, for the most part. The resort makes about $30 million EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) a year, modest by Strip standards.

Palms was a way of the tribe dipping its toes into the Las Vegas market and to give its southern California players a perk. The tribe’s California casino, which prints money, was rebranded from San Manuel Casino to Yaamava’ Resort & Casino, just to make life interesting for their marketing team. And don’t get us started about that random-ass apostrophe. What purpose does that apostrophe serve other than trying to annoy bloggers? It is a prank? Payback for that whole colonial genocide thing? Tribal casinos are exempt from U.S. taxes. So, bygones!

Oh, go cancel yourself, you big baby.

Actually, Yaamava, with or without the apostrophe is very popular and was recently voted the best casino not in Las Vegas. Which is like saying you’re the best Pope outside of the Vatican. All other Popes are invalid. Since we’re already canceled, we can say anything we want.

You can tell these USA Today polls are legit, because Palms was voted best Las Vegas casino. There are lots of ways to define “best,” and it’s very subjective, but there is literally no definition where Palms is the best casino in Las Vegas, all due respect. It’s a perfectly fine resort. It’s just not the best of anything. The USA Today description for Palms says, “Palms Casino Resort is known for serving as the setting of MTV’s 2002 season of ‘The Real World,’ as well as a conga line of celebrities who like to party.” When you’re known for being on a TV show nearly a quarter century ago, it’s probably time to shake things up a bit.

Recently, Palms has been overshadowed by the massive investment being made across the street at Rio.

We used to love Palms, but then they started using all lower case in their Tweets, so we started feuding and we blocked them and they blocked us back, so it’s a whole thing.

Palms has a long and glorious history which we aren’t going to get into here because we are very busy scheduling a tour to promote our new hit song.

Enjoy this world premiere of a song we made for you. We can't stop singing it and hope you do not have the same experience, probably. pic.twitter.com/f0BKdxYJWj

— Vital Vegas (@VitalVegas) September 7, 2024

Palms has managed to avoid drama since the tribe bought the place from Station Casinos in 2021. We broke that story, too.

There was lots of Palms drama prior to 2021, including the epic trainwreck that was Kaos. There’s a documentary in the works about it (broke it), but it’s taking forever to air.

Prior to Station Casinos selling Palms, they launched an ad campaign touting a massive overhaul to the off-Strip casino. The tagline was, “From Dust to Gold.” We fixed it.

What does a change in leadership at a casino mean to average folks like you and we? Not much, typically.

From what we know of Steve Thayer, he’s a good guy. Newly married, beloved by staff, affable and unpretentious.

Now, if he can just address the sentence case thing in Palms’ Tweets. No pressure.

The post Palms Names New G.M., Former Strat G.M. and V.P. Steve Thayer appeared first on Vital Vegas.

A proposed development project set for a portion of the former Riviera casino site has been approved by the Clark County Zoning Commission. And it’s weird. Which is ground we covered in our headline. Please pay attention.

The “mixed-use” project covers 10 acres (please remember that fun fact for later) and will presumably have a 750-room hotel tower, a condominium building with 425 units, a domed entertainment venue and an amusement ride where people dangle 439 feet in the air.

And that’s not even the weird part.

Don’t just breeze by the Margaritaville sign. Rendering placeholder or done deal? Hold that thought until we get to the thrill ride with a pina colada on top.

Here’s what nobody is talking about: Back in June 2024, it was reported Fontainebleau was set to buy half of this very same 10-acre site from developers Brett Torino and Paul Kanavos, the folks behind Harmon Corner and 63 at The Shops at Crystals.

As we were the first to share, sources said Fontainebleau would use the five acres for high roller accommodations (presumably feeling its suites weren’t drawing foreign whales as hoped). At the time of the announcement, we doubled over in pain, stating publicly we thought the move was batshit crazy and throwing good money after bad given the dire financial situation at Fontainebleau.

Glossed over by our top-notch local media (“Fontainebleau is considering buying”), it appears the Fontainebleau deal isn’t happening. Which is not particularly surprising if you know anything about how bad things are at Fontainebleau. To put it diplomatically, Fontainebleau buying five acres for $112.5 million when it’s losing tens of millions every month would be akin to trying to put out a dumpster fire with buckets of bacon grease.

So, the Torino and Kanavos project (it doesn’t have a name, per se, but the entity involved is “65SLVB”) approved by the Clark County Zoning Commission covers the full 10 acres.

Even without the Fontainebleau boondoggle element, it’s still fairly weird.

Primarily, there’s no casino. Any project without a casino is dead to us.

Beyond that, who the hell builds condominiums on The Strip? It’s not 2005. Yes, condo prices recently hit an all-time high in Las Vegas, but this doesn’t really fit our narrative, so moving on.

One of the more distinctive elements of the approved 65SLVB project is a thrill ride.

You laugh, but Stratosphere probably makes more from its amusement rides than its casino.

The crack reporters at the Las Vegas Review-Journal write, “Developers did not describe the amusement ride or whether it would be a thrill ride or an observation tower.” Oy. Did they take two seconds to look at the plans? It’s a thrill ride.

When you zoom in on the plans, riders will sit in “coconut shell themed swings.” Told you it’s weird, you don’t listen.

These flying swing rides (also known as swing carousels or swingers) are popular at amusement parks and county fairs, but they tend to be 20-30 feet up, not more than 400 feet. The tower is 477 feet tall.

We had to let A.I. take a stab at it.

Worth noting in the drawings, the swing ride has a “Pina Colada Themed Spire.” The base of the attraction is labeled “Pineapple Themed.” That’s a lot of tropical fruit theming. This seems to support the idea Margaritaville could be returning to the Las Vegas Strip? The popular restaurant closed at Flamingo, but the company suggested the brand would be back. Given the lack of foot traffic, it would be a disaster, so it may just be wishful thinking on the part of the developers.

Next up, the 65SLVB project will have a domed performance venue that will have 3,310 seats. In the plans, it’s described as a “3D Ortho Theater.” The theater sits on the eastern part of the site, the part Fontainebleau was reportedly buying.

“Ortho,” of course, comes from the Greek meaning “erect.” So, we’re thinking that should’ve been the name of the thrill ride tower.

No, you grow up.

The structure looks like a slightly deflated mini-Sphere.

The plans show two proposed pedestrian bridges across Elvis Presley Blvd. (the road that runs between Fontainebleau and the project site), which would make the site more accessible to the “theater” and “thrill ride” and “condominiums.” Yes, we’re putting everything in quotation marks. Fontainebleau guests would also have an “easier time” getting to the “Las Vegas Convention Center.” If you don’t like how we use quotation marks, gets your own blog. “Seriously.”

Which all leads us to the inevitable question: Is any of this actually happening?

Our default state tends to be one of skepticism, given how many Las Vegas projects are announced but never actually happen. While this project has whimsical elements, it’s basically retail and rooms. The parties involved have a track record with retail, so the only real obstacle is financing.

“Only.”

Torino and Kanavos paid $125 million for the 10 acre site, so they have some resources. Nobody’s mentioned how much this project will ultimately cost, or where the money’s coming from, but that’s never stopped people from announcing things or submitting renderings or getting things approved by county commissioners. (See also the Sacramento A’s.)

County Commissioner Tick Segerblom is very excited for the project to proceed. Oh, right, he’s the one who was very excited for All Net Resort & Arena to be completed. For a decade. Before the project finally died for having zero financing. Just saying.

We don’t know enough about Brett Torino and Paul Kanavos to assess the likelihood of this project being completed. We rarely regret saying “not happening,” but we’re always ready for a surprise.

If the cheerleaders think this project is indicative of some sort of “north Strip renaissance,” though, they’re drupes.

That’ll teach you to skim our stories.

Update (9/8/24): Las Vegas Locally dug up another rendering of the proposed project. Again, this is just a zoning approval, so it’s not bound to specifics like whether a ride has coconut swings or is a giant flip-flop.

The post Project Approved for Former Riviera Site and It’s Weird appeared first on Vital Vegas.

F1 took a lot of heat for its first race in Las Vegas, but the organization listened and appears to be taking corrective action for its next installment.

The 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix runs Nov. 21 through Nov 23.

The fact we’re already in September and work on F1’s track is just beginning is a sign of dramatic progress, as last year’s car crash of an event had already been going on for six months by this time. Bygones, right?

A big change since last year’s boundless idiocy involves communication. It’s unclear if better communication could’ve helped salvage last year’s disaster, but it wouldn’t have hurt.

This time around, F1 is reaching out to media outlets to let them know about “key differentiators” from last year’s event.

Here are some of the key changes since 2023:

Reduced timeline for track preparation from nine months to three months.
No circuit paving, only patchwork paving repair.
Most of the work will be conducted overnight, working counter clock-wise around the circuit starting at Harmon and Las Vegas Blvd.
The Flamingo vehicular bridge is reduced from four lanes to two, maintaining access to businesses.
A resort employee mobility program, funded by the LVCVA, will provide “park and ride” programs for resort/casino property employees along the circuit.
An interactive dual-language website will assist residents as they navigate the roadways in the circuit area.

These changes are a big deal, as traffic snarls were a big driver of F1 hate last year.

The Web site in question can be accessed through F1’s main Las Vegas Grand Prix site, or just go directly via this handy link to the “WTF1 is Happening” site. They aren’t calling it that for some reason.

F1 is again providing updates via text (F1 to 31996) and via a new Twitter account.

Bless their hearts, they’re trying.

There’s no denying F1 has really gotten granular in its planning to be better able to communicate what’s happening, where and when to the public, including locals trying to get to and from their casino jobs on The Strip.

Don’t try to read this .pdf, download it. This is for illustrative and snarky caption purposes only.

Does knowing about traffic disruptions help avoid them (and the associated road rage)? Sort of. It depends upon where you’re trying to go. We are a frequent guest of Ellis Island casino. Our conclusion is “you can’t get there from here.” Ellis Island is actually suing F1 for last year’s disruptions to its business.

“Bygones” sounds great, but it remains to be seen if the changes to F1’s race will have the intended impact.

The Las Vegas Grand Prix was great for a small handful of casinos last year, but many more were crushed. (Caused, in part, by people like us informing the public of the mess race preparations were causing. It gave the impression the entirety of Las Vegas was affected by the roadwork, which it wasn’t.)

Also brutalized were shows in Las Vegas, to the tune of millions of dollars in losses. Restaurants, especially along the race route, also lost millions. It’s unclear how better communications will help those businesses, but a shortened timeline is certainly welcomed.

Then again, it’s still three months of disruption for a three-day race.

F1, in effect, set the bar so low last year, any improvement seems like a blessing. Well played.

Room rates are elevated compared to prior years around this time, but are way down since last year’s event (probably because F1 ticket sales have been soft, ditto room bookings).

Downtown casinos were hit hard by last year’s F1 race, so they are collectively offering counter-programming: The Neon City Festival. Yes, we broke the news about the festival. Do you know this blog at all?

The Neon City Festival is free and happens Nov. 22-24, 2024, right on top of F1. They aren’t calling it counter-programming, of course, but “additive.” Hey, downtown has a PR machine, too.

There’s a lot of PR spin happening at the moment. It’s interesting to hear from F1 representatives, as they have a fascinating internal dialogue going on. Sort of an alternate reality. Our bullshit meter always spikes when we hear the word “learnings.”

The fact is F1 (along with the rest of Las Vegas) got a wake-up call in 2023. The event has its fans, but not enough to fill up Las Vegas. To avoid a full-on riot (downtown casinos were reportedly prepared to come out publicly against hosting the event in Las Vegas, for example), everyone’s playing nice and trying to make the most of an awkward relationship.

F1 is like any other big event in Las Vegas. It should’ve been folded gently into the batter before whisking. F1 isn’t really the star of the show. Vegas is. And you could barely even tell the Las Vegas Grand Prix was happening in Las Vegas from the televised race.

Three months of WTF is still a lot to deal with, but kudos to F1 for moving in the right direction with a do-over. It’s a much less expensive proposition than what was threatened by public officials and Las Vegas businesses, “F1 and done.”

Update (9/4/24): Mere minutes after the publication of our story, it’s being reported two additional businesses have filed suit against F1 and Clark County: Battista’s Hole in the Wall and Stage Door. The businesses say the Las Vegas Grand Prix owes them compensation for “wrongful interference with business rights.” If you’re suffering from insomnia, read the Complaint here.

Update (9/5/24): Following the PR rehab playbook, F1 donated $100,000 to local charities.

Update (9/5/24): Ellis Island took a hit in its lawsuit against F1. Conclusion: Wearing a robe doesn’t make you swift.

The post F1 Does Course Correction for 2024 Race appeared first on Vital Vegas.