December2019

Vol. 36Issue 12

$5

LasVegasAdvisorA N T H O N Y C U R T I S ’

THE FRONT YARD

Ellis Island ups its game … pg. 4

BARGAINS ON ROOMS

Travel portal cuts costs … pg. 1

VEGAS FOR THE HOLIDAYS

Casinos get into the spirit … pg. 9

ELV 2020Fab food guide has

17 new selections … pgs. 3, 4

NICKEL KENOThat progressive’s probably not high enough … pg. 11

Local (702)Toll Free NumbersCASINOS(800) (^844) (†855) (††866) (*877) (**888) Local Toll FreeAliante Casino+Hotel+Spa ........692-7777 ............477-7627*Aria ............................................590-7111 ............359-7757††

Arizona Charlie’s Boulder ..........951-5800 ............362-4040Arizona Charlie’s Decatur ..........258-5200 ............342-2695Bally’s ........................................739-4111 ............603-4390*Bellagio ......................................693-7111 ............987-7111**Binion’s ......................................382-1600 ............937-6537Boulder Station ..........................432-7777 ............683-7777Caesars Palace..........................731-7110 ............227-5938††

California ...................................385-1222 ............634-6505Cannery .....................................507-5700 ............999-4899††

Casino Royale ...........................737-3500 ............854-7666Circus Circus .............................734-0410 ............634-3450Cosmopolitan ............................698-7100 ............551-7772*Cromwell, The ...........................777-3777 ............426-2766^the D ..........................................388-2400 ............274-5825Downtown Grand ......................719-5100 ............384-7263†

Eastside Cannery ......................507-5700 ............999-4899††

El Cortez ....................................385-5200 ............634-6703Ellis Island ..................................733-8901 ............800-8000Encore .......................................770-7100 ............321-9966*Excalibur ....................................597-7777 ............937-7777Fiesta Henderson ......................558-7000 ............899-7770**Fiesta Rancho............................631-7000 ............731-7333Flamingo ....................................733-3111 ............732-2111Four Queens ..............................385-4011 ............634-6045Fremont .....................................385-3232 ............634-6182Gold Coast ................................367-7111 ............331-5334Golden Gate ..............................385-1906 ............426-1906Golden Nugget ..........................385-7111 ............468-4438^Green Valley Ranch ...................617-7777 ............782-9487††

Hard Rock Hotel ........................693-5000 ............473-7625Harrah’s .....................................369-5000 ............392-9002Klondike Sunset ........................826-3866LINQ, The ..............................................................328-1888††

Longhorn ...................................435-9170 ............800-8000Luxor .........................................262-4000 ............288-1000M Resort ....................................797-1000 ............673-7678*Main Street Station ....................387-1896 ............713-8933Mandalay Bay ............................632-7777 ............632-7800*Mandarin Oriental ......................590-8881 ............881-9578**MGM Grand ...............................891-1111 ............929-1111Mirage .......................................791-7111 ............627-6667New York-New York ..................740-6969 ............693-6763Orleans ......................................365-7111 ............675-3267Oyo ............................................739-9000 ............584-6687††

Palace Station ...........................367-2411 ............634-3101Palazzo ......................................607-7777 ............263-3001††

Palms .........................................942-7777 ............942-7770††

Paris ..........................................946-7000 ............266-5687**Park MGM .................................730-7777 ............311-8999Planet Hollywood ......................785-5555 ............919-7472††

Plaza ..........................................386-2110 ............634-6575Rampart ....................................507-5900 ............869-8777*

Red Rock Resort .......................797-7777 ............767-7773††

Rio .............................................252-7777 ............746-7482*Sahara Las Vegas ......................737-2111 ............761-7757†

Sam’s Town ...............................456-7777 ............634-6371Santa Fe Station ........................658-4900 ............767-7771††

Silver Sevens .............................733-7000 ............640-9777Silverton.....................................263-7777 ............588-7711Slots A Fun ................................734-0410 ............354-1232Stratosphere ..............................380-7777 ............998-6937South Point ................................796-7111 ............791-7626††

Suncoast ...................................636-7111 ............677-7111*Sunset Station ...........................547-7777 ............786-7389**Texas Station .............................631-1000 ............654-8888Treasure Island (TI) ....................894-7111 ............944-7444Tropicana...................................739-2222 ............634-4000Tuscany .....................................893-8933 ............887-2261*Vdara .........................................590-2767 ............745-7767††

Venetian .....................................414-1000 ............883-6423*Westin Lake Las Vegas .............567-6000 ............563-9792††

Westin Las Vegas ......................836-5900 ............937-8461Westgate Las Vegas ..................732-5111 ............732-7117Wild Wild West (Days Inn) .........740-0000 ............777-1514Wildfire.......................................648-3801Wynn Las Vegas ........................770-7000 ............770-7077*

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December 2019 $5A N T H O N Y C U R T I S ’

continued on next page

LasVegasAdvisor

Travel Portal Enhances Holiday Room Discounting

Last month, the Las Vegas Convention and Visi-tors Authority rolled out a new ad campaign aimed at boosting visitation during Thanksgiving and Christmas. Thanksgiving doesn’t need that much help, but the period between the end of the National Finals Rodeo and Christmas always does. The campaign’s slogan is “Vegas Changes Everything” and it implies that dull holidays at home can be spiced up in Las Vegas. OK, maybe that resonates, but another message could eas-ily have been “Vegas Discounts Everything.” Of course, that’s always been the case between the holidays and nowhere are the discounts more evident than in room rates. Every year in mid-December, rates hit their lowest levels when visitation dwindles in the run-up to Christ-mas. As we do every December, we’ve conducted the AEOTYMRRRU—the “Annual End-Of-The-Year Monster Room-Rate Round-Up” to illustrate that fact.

This year brings something new to the survey. Over the past few months, we’ve worked on setting up a new low-rate booking avenue that we call the LVA Travel Por-tal. I’ll tell you more about it and how it compared with other room-booking sources in a bit, but first let’s look at the survey results.

This year’s total of 45 casinos quoting rates of less than $40 (47 if you count two casinos in Primm) is four fewer than 2018. The total below $30 is 29, five more than last year, and this year there were four casinos in the “Under $20 Club” (Circus Circus lowest at $12.61) compared to six last year.

Here’s the list.Under $20 Club: Circus Circus, Golden Gate, OYO,

Texas Station.Under $30 Club: Arizona Charlie’s Boulder, Bally’s,

Boulder Station, the D, Eastside Cannery, El Cortez, Ellis Island, Excalibur, Fiesta Henderson, Fiesta Rancho, Flamingo, Fremont, Gold Spike, LINQ, Longhorn, Luxor, Main Street Station, Plaza, Rio, Sahara, Silver Sevens,

Stratosphere, Tropicana, Tuscany, Westgate, Wild Wild West.

Under $40 Club: Arizona Charlie’s Decatur, Artisan, California, Downtown Grand, Four Queens, Gold Coast, Harrah’s, Hotel Apache, Orleans, Palace Station, Primm Valley, Sam’s Town, Santa Fe Station, Serene, Sunset Station, Whiskey Pete’s.

High End: Hard Rock $41, TI $42, Palms $45, NY-NY $47, Aliante $47, Mandalay Bay $48, MGM Grand $52, Golden Nugget $53, Mirage $55, Paris $56, Planet Hollywood $56, Palms Place $57, Red Rock Resort $59, Delano $59, Park MGM $69, Green Valley Ranch $72, Cromwell $85, MGM Signature $89, Caesars Palace $94, M Resort $95, Hilton Lake Las Vegas $97, Vdara $99, Cosmopolitan $103, Trump $109, Aria $119, JW Marriott $123, Palazzo $127, Venetian $127, Nobu $129, Bellagio $134, NoMad $134, Elara $139, Encore $169, Wynn $169, Waldorf Astoria $196, Four Seasons $200.

These are base rates, meaning they don’t include resort fees. Add in the RFs and things can change drastically. For example, OYO (formerly Hooters) has a $15.40 base rate, but also a $41.95 resort fee, for a total of $57.35. Still not bad for a room that’s just a stone’s throw from the Strip, but not as sweet as advertised. Circus Circus’ $12.61 base rate gets bumped up to $44.61 after RF and Golden Gate’s becomes $43. True under-$40 rates come in at Texas ($19 base + $19.99 RF = $38.99) and El Cortez ($20 + $17.95 = $37.95). Good old Four Queens beats ’em both by virtue of its no-resort fee policy and a $35 base rate. And the Longhorn out on Boulder Hwy. goes Four Queens 10¢ better to take lowest-total-rate honors at $27 + $7.90 = $34.90. You’ll find an up-to-date list of all resort fees at LasVegasAdvi-sor.com.

This year’s study involved 94 hotels, for which we canvassed multiple sources, including direct-to-casino booking, third-party reselling websites, the LVA codes, and the new LVA Travel Portal. All listed rates were avail-able at the time of our inquiries, but can change at any time—we can’t guarantee that you’ll get all of the listed prices. This year’s Golden Week—the period between the end of the National Finals Rodeo and Christmas—runs December 15-24. This is when you’ll find the best deals. Opportunities will also be available during the first

COUPONOMY by Anthony Curtis

2 • LAS VEGAS ADVISOR • DECEMBER 2019

LAS VEGAS ADVISOR (ISSN 1064-167X USPS 008602) is published monthly and is available for $50 per year ($60 Canadian; $70 foreign purchasers) and $5 per single issue at 3665 Procyon St., Las Vegas, NV, 89103. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Las Vegas Advisor, 3665 Procyon St., Las Vegas, NV 89103. All information is current at press time. Listed offerings are subject to change at any time. Huntington Press ©2019

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e-mail:editor@LasVegasAdvisor.com•Internet:LasVegasAdvisor.comPublisher: Anthony CurtisSenior Editor: Deke CastlemanAccounting: John LeitnerProduction Manager: Laurie CabotWeb Manager: Tanya Maynard Research Assistant: Brenda Stewart

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LAS VEGASADVISOR

week of December before the rodeo begins.As always, players club offers for gamblers will yield

the best results of all, so watch your mail and email. Scanning newspaper specials, surfing the Internet, and monitoring various social media for last-minute deals are also good strategies. Remember that this study was con-ducted in mid-November, so you can count on new bar-gain rates popping up between now and Christmas. n

Couponomy continued … The Travel Portal

Our job is to find deals and we’re always on the lookout for the next great play. One difficult area is rooms, because the one consistent go-to place to get the best deal doesn’t exist and never has. Different com-panies have different arrangements with different resell-ers, so there are rarely absolutes. For the past several years, we’ve published discount codes at LasVegas Advisor.com that definitely yield the lowest prices in many instances, but we’re always looking for better, and better may have arrived.

The new LVA Travel Portal has been developed in conjunction with a partner company that specializes in “distressed” inventory, meaning rooms that the hotels believe have a higher chance of going unsold. These room deals are not publicly available, nor accessible by OTAs like Expedia and Travelocity, which is why you need a membership (of sorts) to use it. LVA members have access automatically (your LVA login gets you into the portal). Non-members can gain portal access by signing up for our free-to-join “LVA Gold” club simply by providing a valid email address. The partner was willing to work with us, because it knows our audience travels a lot. And here’s a big bonus, Las Vegas is well-repre-sented in its inventory, but so is every other city in the world, and our agreement allows us to offer the portal for any destination, not just Vegas.

So how did it fare in the survey? The portal offered the best (or equal) rate in 27 instances. That’s almost 30%, a reasonably good first-time performance. But better yet was the magnitude of saving. The portal turned up the $12.61 base rate at Circus Circus, which was 21% below the next best rate. And bigger tickets provide bigger savings. A $23.79 rate saved $9.21 per night at Flamingo; a $133.64 rate saved $15.36 per at Bellagio; a $103.31 rate saved $19.69 per at Cosmo; and a $59.21 rate saved a remarkable $39.79 per night over the next best price at Delano, a 40% discount. Want more? Our existing discount codes came up best in 37 comparisons, with only two overlapping with the portal. Hence, LVA booking options were best in 62 instances, which is 66% of the time.

Although we used it for this survey, the LVA Travel Portal isn’t live yet. We’re still running tests, incorpo-

Rooms for NYE

Out of 94 casinos called on Nov. 26, 88 had rooms available for New Year’s Eve, compared to 79 out of 92 last year. The number of nights is the mini-mum required stay; the dollar amount is the total cost (resort fees are not included in the totals).

1 night: Railroad Pass $100, Longhorn $138, Royal Resort $159, Lucky Club $169, Arizona Char-lie’s Boulder $179, Cannery $180, Eastside Cannery $180, Silverton $189, Boulder Station $195, Gold Coast $205, Artisan $209, South Point $209, Arizona Charlie’s Decatur $219, Hilton Lake LV $239, Fiesta Rancho $246, Wild Wild West $249, Main Station $250, Palace Station $259, Westin Lake LV $259, JW Marriott $269, Westgate $269, Texas Station $270, Silver Sevens $280, Orleans $329, Tuscany $329, California $350, El Cortez $358, Ellis Island $368, OYO $391, Fremont $400, Sam’s Town $400, Sun-coast $400, GVR $470, Tropicana $493, Trump $499, M Resort $535, Four Seasons $554, Waldorf Astoria $1,000.

2 nights: Fiesta Henderson $276, Serene $318, Santa Fe $320, Hotel Apache $338, Excalibur $348, Aliante $357, Sahara $377, Golden Gate $378, Gold Spike Oasis $378, Sunset Station $400, Four Queens $418, the D $433, Hard Rock $440, Palms $448, Downtown Grand $458, Plaza $458, Rio $468, Palms Place $483, Stratosphere $494, Flamingo $500, Cir-cus Circus $505, Bally’s $528, Luxor $528, LINQ $538, TI $546, Harrah’s $568, Planet Hollywood $618, Paris $636, Golden Nugget $658, Park MGM $678, Red Rock $681, MGM Grand $708, Vdada $729, Mandalay Bay $738, Casino Royale $750, MGM Signature $798, Wynn $799, Palazzo $830, Venetian $830, Delano $838, Encore $899, Cromwell $938, Mirage $943, Cosmopolitan $1,015, Caesars Palace $1,098, Platinum $1,149, Bellagio $1,158, Aria $1,255, Nobu $1,571.

3 nights: New York-New York $1,110.Sold Out: Buffalo Bill’s, Elara, Nomad, Primm,

Westin, Whiskey Pete’s.

DECEMBER 2019 • LAS VEGAS ADVISOR • 3

rating best practices (like making sure resort fees are transparent in pricing), and perfecting the interface—this presentation is extremely easy to navigate. We expect to launch before the end of the year. n

ELV 2020

The 2020 edition of Eating Las Vegas—The 52 Essential Restaurants by John Curtas will be back from the printer any day now. Unlike last year’s book that was essentially a detailed update of 2018, this new edi-tion is completely redone. Seventeen new restaurants have been added to the “Essential 52” and many that were taken out are in a new section called “Close, but No Cigar”; the back-of-the-book has dozens of new rec-ommendations as well. John has also included a pithy essay on “The Future of Las Vegas Dining,” along with new sections on lunch and downtown restaurants, and his “Bottom 10” will have you rolling.

It makes a heck of a stocking stuffer for frequent (and even infrequent) Vegas visitors and locals. Read an excerpt in dining and check out the wrap for more details about ELV 2020 and our publisher’s discount. n

Holiday Catalog

Our holiday catalog is posted at LasVegasAdvisor.com, with lots of choices for holiday gifts and stocking stuffers to help alleviate some of your gift-giving chal-lenges. As always, many of our products are available for less than you’ll find from other sources. Order early to get your items by Christmas.

Here’s wishing everyone a fantastic holiday. n

NEWS

Resorts World—The grand opening of Resorts World Las Vegas has been pushed back from late 2020 to summer 2021. In addition, the price tag for the 3,500-room megaresort has increased by $300 million to $4.3 billion. Along with the delay comes changes in concept. Previously focal, the Asian theming will now be minimal, manifesting as a “luxury experience with Asian-inspired touches.” The resort will include a 5,000-seat theater for residencies and events, a 75,000-square-foot night-club and dayclub, and a 220,000-square-foot pool area. Ample unused space in the 88-acre property will be available for future expansion.

continued on next page

Las Vegas’ Top Ten Values 1. Room Rates •Four Queens et al•$35andup 2. Steak Dinner•Ellis Island•24hours•$7.99 3. Buffet•Palace Station•Daily•$9.99-$16.99 4. Mac King•Harrah’s•Tues.–Sat.•$14.98 5. Hot Dog•South Point•Daily•$1.25 6. Beer•Stage Door•24hours•$1 7. Shrimp Cocktail•Skyline•Daily•$2.25 8. Breakfast•Arizona Charlie’s•Daily•$5.99 9. $1 Blackjack•OYO•24hours•$1.20 10. Football Contest •Boyd Casinos•Weekly•Free

Room rates are #1 this month due to the tradi-tional deep discounting in December. This year’s tally checks in with 47 casinos offering rooms for less than $40 (base rate). Check out the results in couponomy and read about the new LVA Travel Portal that contrib-uted to several of the best finds. The Ellis Island steak dinner (#2) is served 24/7 in the Café, get the $7.99 price by playing at least $5 in any slot machine with your club card inserted, then downloading the required discount coupon from an EI kiosk. If you don’t want to play, you can get it for $9.99 ($3 off the listed price) just by downloading a coupon from the kiosk that’s available to everyone with a club card. Check out the new Front Yard entertainment venue while you’re there (see news). The Feast Buffet at Palace Station (#3) is our choice for Las Vegas’ best buffet when consider-ing the combination of quality and price; get the listed prices by showing a Boarding Pass card. Get a ticket to the Mac King Comedy Magic Show and a drink for $14.98 by asking at the players club booth (#4). The hot dogs at South Point (#5) are sold from a cart in the sports book from 10 am until they close down the cart around 5 pm. Michelob and Michelob Light are $1 at the Stage Door slot house on Flamingo, just east of the Strip (#6); a ¼-pound hot dog and a Michelob is $3. The Skyline shrimp cocktail (#7) is available 24/7 at the main bar. The steak or ham & eggs at either Arizona Charlie’s (#8) is served in the Sourdough Cafés for $5.99 when you show your club card, available 24 hours at Decatur and 6 am-mid. weekdays and 24 hours weekends at Boulder. OYO’s $1-minimum blackjack game (#9) runs 24/7 in the pit; naturals pay even money on bets of $1-$4. The $1.20 listed cost is your expected loss for one hour of play at these stakes. You have one more month to play the free “Pick the Pros” football contest (#10). Swipe your B Connected players card on a kiosk at Gold Coast, Suncoast, Orleans, Sam’s Town, Aliante, Fremont, California, or Main Street Station for a shot at $30,000 every week. Must submit picks before the kick-off of the week’s first Sunday game.

4 • LAS VEGAS ADVISOR • DECEMBER 2019

The Drew—If you’re looking for confirmation that The Drew (formerly Fontainebleau) is for real, you may have it in the naming of Bobby Baldwin as CEO. The long-time Las Vegas casino executive and former World Series of Poker Main Event Champion is emerging from a short retirement to oversee the completion of the proj-ect. The announcement of Baldwin’s appointment was accompanied by a new completion date for the Drew, which is now scheduled to open in 2022. (See entertain-ment for more on Baldwin.)

Ellis Island—Announced in July 2017, the Front Yard at Ellis Island will finally open on December 6. The two-story indoor-outdoor beer garden and restaurant fill the entire “front yard” of the casino; it’s temperature-controlled, with big picture windows overlooking the Strip from the upper level (retractable shades can block the sun and heat); a bar with video poker and another just for drinking; numerous TV screens, including one that’s 18 feet wide; and a display of constantly chang-ing exterior colors. It has its own kitchen for sports bar food and the beer will be served direct from Ellis Island’s microbrewery. Get a gander on this issue’s cover.

Palms—KAOS, the nightclub/dayclub that opened in March as part of the nearly $700 million renovation and upgrading of the Palms, closed unexpectedly in early November. Palms management says it will “reassess the programming and use of the pool area,” where KAOS was located.

Virgin/Hard Rock—The conversion from the Hard Rock to Virgin Las Vegas has begun with the demolition of the Hard Rock Café, which opened in 1990 and has stood in front of the Hard Rock casino since it debuted in 1995. The café has been closed since 2016.

Viva Vision—Downtown’s Viva Vision canopy has completed the $32 million upgrade it began six months ago, installing the new LED panels that will make the screen seven times brighter, with four times more reso-lution, than the old screen. The new high-res graphics will be unveiled on New Year’s Eve.

Indiana—Horseshoe Southern Indiana will change its name to Caesars Southern Indiana when it opens its new land-based casino this month after a $90 million renovation. It originally opened as a riverboat casino in 1998.

Washington—The $370 million Emerald Queen Casino is scheduled to open this month near Tacoma. It will be one of Washington’s largest casino resorts, with a 310,000-square-foot casino, a 2,000-seat events center, and a hotel in the works. The original Emerald Queen was a riverboat in Mississippi that was purchased by the Puyallup Tribe in 1996 and sailed to Washington where it operated until 2004.

Statistics—Nevada’s statewide gambling win was

News continued … up 6.8% in September compared to the same month last year. The Strip win was up 7.0%, while downtown logged a big 19.9% increase. It was the fourth consecu-tive month of increases for the state and after starting the year with five consecutive declines, the year-to-date number is back in positive territory at +1.4%.

Visitor volume was up .5%, making four consecu-tive months of increases. Convention traffic remained a strong contributor, up 4.9%.

Airline traffic was up 6.8% for a 12th straight month of increases. The year-to-date count is +3.4%. n

Sports Betting Scorecard

Colorado has become the 19th state to legal-ize sports betting, resulting from a surprisingly close 51%-49% vote. Beginning in May 2020, Colorado’s 33 casinos will be allowed to offer in-person and online wagering.

Last month saw action toward legalization in two key states: Florida and California. A bill was filed by a state senator in Florida, while 18 California Native American tribes endorsed a statewide ballot referendum to legalize betting at casinos and racetracks. Both states figure to be a ways away from the finish line, but it’s a start.

Follow the progress of sports betting legalization across the country and track developments as they occur via our blog and map at LasVegasAdvisor.com. n

DINING

Eating Las Vegas

Hatsumi

Editor’s Note: This review comes from Eating Las Vegas 2020. Hatsumi is one of 17 restaurants new to the list of the “52 Essential Restaurants.”

You’ll notice three things about Hatsumi as you ap-proach it: 1) the strange slightly forbidding neighborhood; 2) the walled-off fortress that encases it; and 3) its nonde-script entrance. None of these gives you a clue that a sensa-tional robatayaki/yakitori restaurant (operated by a bunch of gaijin, no less) lies within. Take the plunge, pilgrim, be-cause excellent eats beckon at Ferguson’s Motel—the Down-town Project’s latest uber-cool real estate venture—courtesy of Dan Krohmer, one of our most successful local chefs.

Once you enter the restaurant, things start to make sense. The skinny room is situated sideways, with the open

DECEMBER 2019 • LAS VEGAS ADVISOR • 5

continued on page 8

Late-Night Buffet Folds

Another graveyard buffet has bitten the dust. It lasted a year, but Palace Station’s Late-Night Feast was discontinued last month, once again leaving Las Vegas without a 24-hour buffet option. Why don’t these all-night buffets stick? One reason is that many potential late-night diners are out on the Strip, having spent the night partying in the clubs, and making their way to an off-Strip location isn’t convenient. At the same time, locals have plenty of options in Chinatown restaurants and bars with 24-hour kitchens that are closer to home.

In other buffet news the price of the all-day pass for the Orleans’ Medley Buffet has been raised by $1 to $34 ($38 on Fridays). The price of the Wynn Las Vegas din-ner buffet has been lowered by $5 to $44.99. n

Original Lotus Returns

Lotus of Siam says it will reopen its original loca-tion in Commercial Center on East Sahara this month. That restaurant closed in September 2017 after heavy rains collapsed the roof and a new location opened three months later on E. Flamingo. The original Lotus will serve lunch and dinner on weekdays and dinner only on weekends. The Flamingo location will remain open, and a third Lotus is planned for a new strip mall, the Bend, at W. Sunset and Durango; no opening date has been announced for that location. n

Serrano Lunch Special

Similar to the lunch special in Estiatorio Milos at the neighboring Cosmopolitan, Julian Serrano Tapas at Aria has its own power-lunch offering. The Serrano deal is $29 for a 29-minute three-course experience, meaning that all three dishes will be served in less than a half-hour. There are three choices for each course: chicken croquetas, gazpacho andaluz, or ensalada mixta for the first course; black rice risotto, tuna cones, or tostada manchega for the second; and gambas (sautéed shrimp), Cuban sandwich (Kurobuta pork, ham, and Swiss cheese), or albondigas (prime rib meatballs) for the third. If you’re still hungry (you probably won’t be), you can add a dessert for $6. Our party of four got a good sampling, with favorites being the salad (with arti-choke and egg), the risotto (with calamari and shrimp), the Cuban, and the albondigas meatballs.

The room is beautiful and the service is as fast as advertised. Fast enough, in fact, that you might be able to get back to your car within Aria’s one-hour free-park-

kitchen and bar a couple of steps from the doorway. To the left and right are comfortable booths, and what at first seems odd quickly becomes surprisingly comfy and welcoming.

Krohmer’s other restaurant, Other Mama, is all about seafood and he’s received much local acclaim for his unique spin on sushi, crudo, and all things swimming. With Hatsumi, he’s ditched the fish yanagi (knife) for a barnyard yaki (grill) in order to marinate, skewer, and quickly cook a host of bite-size Japanese delicacies, the sort of quickly con-sumed food you find underneath train tracks all over Tokyo.

Before you get to those skewers, however, you should first head straight to the okonomiyaki, a savory cabbage pancake spiked with shrimp and bacon that pushes all the right umami buttons. Then proceed to the breaded and deep-fried eggplant katsu, which will have even eggplant haters reflexively grabbing for second bites. Both of these come under the “Plates” section of the menu and are meant to be shared, as are the gyoza (underneath the crispy lat-ticework cover that’s all the rage), beef tataki salad (swim-ming in ponzu), and lomi lomi (ocean trout, also swimming in the chili-enhanced citrus-soy sauce). Less acidic, but equally satisfying, are the poached chicken salad, nicely dressed with mild miso vinaigrette and full of big chunks of cashews, and asparagus chawanmushi, a baked, grainy, white tofu custard that tastes better than it looks. If it’s avail-able, get the crispy quail breast stuffed with ground pork and flecked with veggies. Unless you’re a tofu lover, skip the house-made stuff—the bland leading the bland. You’re better off with the pickled vegetables; they’re a lot tastier and a treat unto themselves.

The skewers, lots of them, are grilled carefully over binchotan charcoal and glazed with sweet soy. The perfect bar food. For all of its Asian food bona fides, Las Vegas hasn’t had a pure yakitori restaurant (specializing in grilling chicken parts) until now. Heart, liver, thigh, skin, meatball, you name it, if it’s edible, they’ll thread it on a skewer and deliver a compact package of succulent morsels to your table, on point and perfect.

Krohmer’s menu is striking in its insistence on hewing closely to the izakaya template. How he carefully articulates the flavors of Japan, without compromise, is something to behold. What you wash it all down with will involve either a cocktail, beer, or sake. (The wine list is practically non-ex-istent, just like in Japan.) The selection of sakes is impressive and priced for all budgets. Bottles are offered in both 300 ml and 720 ml sizes, making light imbibing a breeze if you’re a party of one or two. Nothing goes better with this food.

As for dessert, Japanese restaurants are to sweets what French restaurants are to sushi. Skip it and have another sake.

Get This—Gyoza; beef tataki; lomi lomi; crispy quail; eggplant katsu; okonomiyaki; asparagus chawanmushi; pork belly with turnip kimchi; skewers, skewers and more skewers, especially: miso chicken breast, skin, heart, meat-ball, thigh, and liver; pork belly, beef tongue; veal sweet-breads, lamb leg, beef filet, okra, eggplant, quail. n

6 • LAS VEGAS ADVISOR • DECEMBER 2019

ADVANCE PLANNER—HEADLINERS AND EVENTSDECEMBER 12/1 • JeffDunham CaesarsPalace•$46–$8312/1–12/4 •Aerosmith ParkMGM•$68–$82112/4–12/5 •OldDominion HardRock•$29.5012/4–12/14 •DwightYoakam WynnLV•$59.50–$17512/4–12/14 •RebaBrooks&Dunn CaesarsPalace•$55–$18912/5 • JimGaffigan WynnLV•$59.50–$129.5012/5 •TerriClark•GN•$39–$9912/5–12/14 •NationalFinalsRodeo T&M•$7312/5–12/14 •RodneyCarrington MGMGrand•$59.99–$89.9912/6 •BillEngvall•TI•$65/$8112/6 •ClayWalker•GN•$69–$17912/6 •WadeBowen&Am.Aquarium BrooklynBowl•$24/$2912/6 •NotSoSilentNight Cosmo•$29–$7912/6 •TanyaTucker•GN•$59–$14912/6–12/7 •GaryAllan HardRock•$39.50–$11012/6–12/7 •GeorgeStrait T-Mobile•$50–$55012/6–12/7 • IntersectMusicFestival•MGM FestivalGrounds•$259–$84912/6–12/8 • JasonAldean ParkMGM•$115–$29512/6–12/14 •RonWhite•Mirage•$68–$8812/6–12/18 •ShaniaTwain PlanetHollywood•$70–$28912/6–12/22 •ShinLim•Mirage•$70–$24012/7 •Albumpalooza SantaFeStation•$1912/7 •AndreaBocelli MGMGrand•$82–$418.2512/7 • JohnMichaelMontgomery GoldenNugget•$49–$13912/7 •PeaceFrog:DoorsTribute Cannery•$19/$2212/7 •TheHU•BrooklynBowl•$20/$2512/8 •CharlieDanielsBand GoldenNugget•$59–$17912/8 •GregoryAlanIsakov BrooklynBowl•$31/$3612/9 •MarkShunock•Palms•$2012/9 •RonnieMilsap GoldenNugget•$39–$12912/10 •TracyLawrence GoldenNugget•$59–$17912/11 •ModestMouse BrooklynBowl•$58.75–$89.7512/11 •PamTillisandLorrieMorgan GoldenNugget•$49–$13912/12 •CodyJohnson HardRock•$25–$100

12/12 •RayWylieHubbard GoldenNugget•$29–$10912/13 •ChadPrather TreasureIsland•$39/$5412/13 • JameyJohnson GoldenNugget•$79–$22912/13 •KoeWetzel•HardRock•$20/$3512/13–12/14•AndersOsborne BrooklynBowl•$2012/14 •Carpenter’sChristmas Suncoast•$19–$3212/14 •DanBandHolidayShow MBay•$15–$5012/14 •KieferSutherland RedRockResort•$49/$7912/14 •KipMooreandMidland Cosmo•$49/$5912/14 • LedZepagain•Cannery•$19/$2212/14 •UFC245 T-Mobile•$125–$65012/15 •ArianaGrande MGMGrand•$59.95–$279.9512/15 •Carpenter’sChristmas Orleans•$20–$3312/15 •ThieveryCorporation BrooklynBowl•$35–$5512/17–12/31•PaulaAbdul FlamingoLV•$69–$19912/19–12/22•TonyOrlando’sChristmasShow SouthPoint•$50–$6012/20 •DizzyWright&Rittz BrooklynBowl•$22/$2512/20 •TheGrassRoots GoldenNugget•$39–$12912/20–12/21•ChrisIsaak WynnLV•$49.50–$12512/20–12/21•PeterWhiteChristmas Aliante•$40–$7512/21 •BillBurr•Cosmo•$49–$15912/21 •Bleachers•MBay•$30–$6012/21 •December63 Cannery•$25/$3512/21 •MartinNieveraandPops Fernandez•MResort•$33–$10812/21 •Wanted•GVR•$1912/27 •NightRanger•GN•$59–$16912/27–12/29•Kenny“Babyface”Edmonds Mirage•$40–$6112/27–12/31•ChristinaAguilera PlanetHollywood•$60–$22612/27–12/31• Journey CaesarsPalace•$91–$55012/28 •BeeGeesGold:Tribute Suncoast•$19/$2212/28 •BigBadVoodooDaddy Orleans•$30–$5012/28 • JayLeno•Mirage•$65–$8712/28–12/30•BrianNewman NoMadLV•$63–$12712/28–12/30• LadyGagaEnigma ParkMGM•$230–$900

12/30–12/31•Maroon5•MBay•$79–$23012/31 •Absolute•Suncoast•$34–$5912/31 •ConFunkShun Orleans•$50/$7012/31 •DougStanhope•Plaza•$9912/31 •DSB•Cannery•$35–$7512/31 • LadyGagaJazz&Piano ParkMGM•$307–$50512/31 •RhythmNation&DJTwin Aliante•$35–$8512/31 •StickFigure BrooklynBowl•$50.50–$8012/31 •ThirdEyeBlind MBay•$157–$475JANUARY 1/1–1/4 •PaulaAbdul FlamingoLV•$69–$1991/3 • JackRussell’sGreatWhite GoldenNugget•$29–$991/3 •KennyCetera’sChicago Experience•GVR•$191/4 •QueenNation:QueenTribute GVR•$191/8–1/11 •DavidLeeRoth MBay•$63–$1291/9–1/11 •TimMeadows•Plaza•$25/$501/10 •GaryPuckettandTheUnionGap GoldenNugget•$39–$1291/10–1/12 •MyMother’sItalian… SouthPoint•$30–$401/10–1/18 •KeithUrban CaesarsPalace•$79–$2491/11 • JoyceManor•HardRock•$211/11 •KingJamesBrown Cannery•$19.95/$24.951/11 •Petty&TheHeartshakers: Tribute•Suncoast•$19–$241/14 •RexOrangeCounty BrooklynBowl•$35/$401/16–1/31 •DionneWarwick CaesarsPalace•$125–$1501/17 •Ambrosia•GN•$29–$1091/17–1/18 •FrankieMoreno SouthPoint•$20–$301/17–1/18 •RayRomano&DavidSpade Mirage•$87–$1261/17–1/19 •Kenny“Babyface”Edmonds Mirage•$40–$611/18 • LittleRiverBand Orleans•$50–$601/18 •The5th Dimension Cannery•$29.95/$39.951/18 •TheLongRun:EaglesTribute Suncoast•$19–$241/18 •TiffanyHaddish ParkMGM•$45–$1371/18 •WillDowning SantaFeStation•$36–$561/19 •ChrisTucker WynnLV•$59.95–$139.951/19 •Styx•Palms•$45–$229

DECEMBER 2019 • LAS VEGAS ADVISOR • 7

1/22–1/31 •CarlosSantana MBay•$99–$3731/24 •DiaNacionalDeLaBanda T-Mobile•$39–$4391/24 •RaphaelSaadiq BrooklynBowl•$35–$1751/24 •TheCowsills•GN•$29–$991/24–1/25 •RonWhite•Mirage•$68–$881/24–1/26 •RobSchneider SouthPoint•$30–$401/24–2/1 •Foreigner•Venetian•$45–$2561/25 •ArchAllies•Cannery•$20–$331/25 •Calibash•T-Mobile•$80–$5771/25 •HeartofRock&Roll:HueyLewis Tribute•Suncoast•$19–$241/25 •TylerHenry Palms•$39.95–$249.951/29–1/31 •Aerosmith•ParkMGM•$68–$8211/30 •TheMarcusKingBand BrooklynBowl•$27.50–$77.501/31 •ShinLim•Mirage•$43–$2501/31 •VanMorrison CaesarsPalace•$70–$3291/31–2/1 •GeorgeStrait•T-Mobile•$75–$499FEBRUARY 2/1 •CarlosSantana•MBay•$99–$3732/1 •PeripheryIVHailStan BrooklynBowl•$27.502/1–2/8 •VanMorrison CaesarsPalace•$70–$3292/1–2/29 •DionneWarwick CaesarsPalace•$125/$1502/1–2/29 •ShinLim•Mirage•$43–$2502/3–2/15 •Aerosmith•ParkMGM•$68–$8212/6 •NikkiGlaser•Mirage•$40–$1502/7–2/8 •DermotKennedy Palms•$32–$732/7–2/8 • Iliza•Mirage•$43–$1742/7–2/22 •GwenStefani PlanetHollywood•$40–$2502/7–2/22 •TheDoobieBrothers Venetian•$62.95–$325.952/8 •BrianMcKnight Encore•$49.50–$1152/13–2/22 •BarryManilow WestgateLV•$49–$3502/14 •ShaunCassidy•GVR•$29–$592/14–2/15 •DierksBentley Cosmo•$40–$2752/14–2/29 •MariahCarey CaesarsPalace•$55–$2502/15 •BobbyCaldwell SantaFeStation•$24–$442/15 •BoxTops•Suncoast•$19–$342/15 •EdwinMcCain SunsetStation•$36.502/15 • LosTemerarios•MBay•$49–$2452/16 • JeffDunham CaesarsPalace•$46–$832/19–2/22 •SarahMcLachlan WynnLV•$59.50–$179.50

2/19–2/29 •ClassicCher ParkMGM•$55–$3622/20 •DweezilZappa BrooklynBowl•$35–$752/21–2/22 •TimAllen•Mirage•$65–$872/21–2/23 •PeterNoone SouthPoint•$45–$552/26–2/29 •ChristinaAguilera PlanetHollywood•$60–$2262/27 •Thrice•BrooklynBowl•$28/$322/28 • JoeyDiaz•TI•$30–$542/28–2/29 •Chicago•Venetian•$45–$2752/28–2/29 •RayRomano&DavidSpade Mirage•$87–$1262/28–3/1 •CapitolSteps SouthPoint•$25–$35MARCH 3/1 •ShinLim•Mirage•$43–$2503/4–3/6 •ChristinaAguilera PlanetHollywood•$60–$2263/4–3/7 •DwightYoakam WynnLV•$59.50–$1753/4–3/14 •Chicago•Venetian•$45–$2753/5 •DonavonFrankenreiter BrooklynBowl•$25/$273/5–3/8 •Women’sBasketballTournament MBay•$105–$3603/5–3/28 •BarryManilow WestgateLV•$49–$3503/6 •RichardCheese RedRockResort•$44–$693/6–3/7 •TomSegura•Mirage•$65–$873/6–3/14 •BillyIdol•Palms•$39.50–$159.953/6–3/21 •RodStewart CaesarsPalace•$49–$2393/11–3/13 • 311Day2020 ParkMGM•$1843/11–3/13 •TheUltimate311 ParkMGM•$199.50–$299.503/11–3/14 • LionelRichie WynnLV•$69.50–$3503/13 •DanceGavinDance BrooklynBowl•$29.50–$403/13–3/14 •BillMaher•Mirage•$65–$1043/13–3/15 •ToyCon EastsideCannery•$10–$253/13–3/28 •ShaniaTwain PlanetHollywood•$70–$2893/15 • ILVolo•Palms•$45–$2753/15 • JeffDunham CaesarsPalace•$46–$833/15 •RebelSouljahz BrooklynBowl•$27.50/$303/18–3/28 •DavidLeeRoth MBay•$63–$1293/19–3/22 •Ween•BrooklynBowl•$1783/20 •AndréRieu•T-Mobile•$74–$1443/20–3/21 •DanielTosh•Mirage•$65–$1063/21 •AnaGabriel•MBay•$49–$1193/24–4/4 •RobbieWilliams WynnLV•$69.50–$325

See inside wrap for “Weather,” “Room Rates,” and “Key Dates.”

ADVANCE PLANNER—HEADLINERS AND EVENTS

SHOW NOTES• Ticket prices for Chippendales at the

Rio have been decreased from $73.15-$185.61 to $66.70-$185.61.

• Ticket prices for Hans Klok: The World’s Fastest Magician at Excalibur have been decreased from $73.56-$142.67 to $57.60-$123.

• Aussie Heat has closed at the V Theater.

8 • LAS VEGAS ADVISOR • DECEMBER 2019

ing grace period. It makes more sense, however, to park for free in the Miracle Mile parking garage across the street and walk over (the same advice we gave for the Milos lunch). We rate the Milos experience the better of the two, but Serrano is the play if you’re in a hurry. You won’t be disappointed by either. The Serrano special runs daily from 11:30 am to 2:30 pm. n

Jackpot Super Platter

During televised NFL and Vegas Golden Knights games, Jackpot Bar & Grill sells the super platter, a bar-food junkie’s wet dream made up of four sliders, chicken wings, chicken fingers, fries, and nachos, with all the necessary dips and toppings. The super platter easily feeds four and it’s just $15.99. You have to see this one to believe it (so take a look). n

Hatsumi

We don’t have much to add to the food recom-mendations in the ELV review of Hatsumi. The eggplant katsu and lomi lomi are excellent starters, then, as John says, you can tear into the skewers. Offal lovers can go to town, with heart, liver, tongue, and sweetbreads on the menu. Or steer clear of the innards with Kobe beef, lamb leg, quail, shrimp, shishito peppers, and more. This

is a place where you can grab a beer and just graze till you’re full. We hit it hard and before drinks the bill for two was $86, but most of the skewers are $3-$5, so get-ting out for half that is easily done.

John mentions the “slightly forbidding neighbor-hood,” the “walled-off fortress,” and the “nondescript entrance,” so let’s take a closer look. These things actually have a lot to do with Hatsumi’s charm (they convey the feeling that you must be in the know or you wouldn’t be here in the first place). The neighborhood is East Fremont, so you could call it forbidding, not so much because it feels dangerous, but that it’s just an older less-traveled part of town. That “fortress” is made up of the outer walls and structures that came with Fer-guson’s Motel complex (including La Monja, the Mexican restaurant from the same owner that we reviewed last month) and the security presence at the entrance gate keeps everything in check. When you walk through the gate, look for the restaurant door on the left—those hidden venues that are all the rage on the Strip don’t have anything on Hatsumi.

There are no TVs inside and the bathrooms are outside. Also outside is the grassy commons, where a free concert might be in progress, as it was when we were there, adding to the evening’s experience. We’re not sure if there’s a set schedule for the music, but you can learn more about plans for the place at fergusonsdowntown.com. n

Dining Notes

Vegan Market—Veg-In-Out, the first all-vegan gro-cery store in the city, has opened at 2301 E. Sunset Rd. at Eastern. The store features boxed, canned, refriger-ated, and frozen products, including vegan ice cream

Dining continued …

Super platter at Jackpot

(clockwise from left) Chicken croquetas, albondigas meatballs, and tostada manchega at Julian Serrano’s

A concert in the Ferguson’s commons

DECEMBER 2019 • LAS VEGAS ADVISOR • 9

continued on next page

and candy bars, though no produce (Veg-In-Out might expand into fruits and vegetables at a later date). A por-tion of the net proceeds are donated to a different ani-mal nonprofit each month.

Chowder correction—In last month’s review of the clam chowder at the Crown & Anchor bars, we identi-fied it as “Manhattan (white).” The white part was right, but as several readers pointed out, the white chowder is New England.

Chicken update—The price of the whole rotisserie chicken at Peru Chicken (LVA 11/14) has gone up $1 to $18.95.

Rum Runner Burger—Rum Runner Tropicana’s build-a-burger deal that was $3.75 plus 30¢-75¢ for add-ons when we wrote about it in 2009 is now $5.99 and 50¢-$1.25. It’s still a good burger play (prices tend to be higher when you haven’t checked them in a decade). See entertainment for more on the Rum Runner. n

Openings/Closings

Celebrity chef David Chang’s Majordomo Meat & Fish is scheduled to open Dec. 12 at Palazzo. It’s Chang’s second Las Vegas restaurant along with Momo-fuku at the Cosmopolitan.

Aria has announced that Din Tai Fung, a Taiwanese restaurant chain known for its xiao long bao (a Shang-hainese-style steamed bun), will open next year in the space formerly occupied by the Aria Café. Din Tai Fung launched its first U.S. location in 2000 in Arcadia, CA; it now has seven locations in southern California, one in northern California, one in Oregon, and four in Washing-ton. This will be its first Las Vegas restaurant.

Gordon Ramsay is opening a sixth Las Vegas res-taurant—an Asian-influenced eatery called Lucky Cat, which Ramsay also operates in London. The location of the Las Vegas version, expected to debut next year, was not divulged.

According to a sign on a building in the Windmill (retail) Plaza on the west side of town, Harold’s Chicken Shack, originally opened in 1950 in Chicago, is return-ing to Las Vegas. A Harold’s operated for a couple years here, but closed in 2012. The sign says only that the restaurant is “coming soon.”

Carnegie Deli at the Mirage will close in February. The closing continues an exodus of kosher-style delis on the Strip—the Stage Deli at MGM Grand closed two years ago and Canter’s Deli at Treasure Island closed in 2012, then reopened and closed at The LINQ Prom-enade. Greenberg’s Deli in the food court at New York-New York is the only one left. Carnegie will be replaced with a “new fast-casual concept.”

After only about a year in operation and lots of good reviews (it was even one of the “52 Essential” in Eating

Las Vegas, b.B.d.’s has closed abruptly at Palace Sta-tion. A press release indicates that the restaurant plans to move to a new location. A replacement for the Palace Station space has not been named.

Mandalay Bay’s Red Square Russian restaurant that opened with the resort in 1999 has closed. The restau-rant was famous for its statue of a headless Vladimir Lenin, which stood in front of the restaurant.

Naked Pizza has closed at the El Cortez. n

ENTERTAINMENT

Holidays

The National Finals Rodeo (NFR) comes to town Dec. 5-14. During this period, several casinos host country & western acts in their lounges and showrooms (see the Advance Planner). Many run special parties and promotions to draw rodeo business, but those that tradi-tionally promote vigorously, often airing telecasts of the events, include Gold Coast, Orleans, Sam’s Town, Hard Rock, the D, South Point, TI, OYO, and Silverton.

Vegas is highly underrated for its holiday efforts, and as always, lots of spots will be sponsoring free festivi-ties, including The Park at NY-NY (“Holiday Experience at the Park”), the LINQ Promenade (nightly snow), Cos-mopolitan (“Little Winter” digital displays), Aria lobby (gingerbread house), Sam’s Town’s Mystic Falls (holiday laser show and “Cowboy Santa”), Silverton (“Underwa-ter Santa”), Bellagio Conservatory & Botanical Gardens, Venetian/Palazzo atrium, Wynn Las Vegas atrium, Ethel M Cactus Garden, Fremont Street Experience/Container Park, Fashion Show Mall (“hologram holiday experi-ence”), the Town Square and Tivoli Village shopping districts, Wet ‘n’ Wild (“Las Vegas Christmas Town”), Cowabunga Bay (“Christmas Town”), and Downtown Summerlin.

So far, the Fremont Street Experience boasts the tallest-announced Christmas tree at 50 feet. Only the Cosmopolitan ($25), Rock Rink in Summerlin ($15), and City National Arena ($13) have announced ice-skating rinks open to the public, but others seem to pop up every year. Similarly, additional holiday events show up in early December. For a complete list of everything we hear about, check our holiday-events blog at LasVegas Advisor.com.

Admission to “America’s Party Downtown” is $35 (plus taxes & fees). Details about the NYE Strip fireworks display aren’t announced till mid-December, but another elaborate “America’s Party” show is expected.

10 • LAS VEGAS ADVISOR • DECEMBER 2019

Many productions are on hiatus this month. Follow-ing is a list of dark days (no performances) for the major shows. All dates are in December and most shows are dark Dec. 31: Bally’s Potted Potter 25; Xavier Mortimer’s Magical Dream 1-4; Bellagio O 2-16; Binion’s Ghost Hunt 7, 14, 28; Talking Paranormal 7, 14, 28; Hypnosis Unleashed 20-24; Caesars Palace Wayne Newton 16-18, 23-25; Cosmopolitan Opium 2, 9, 16, 25; Downtown Grand Delirious Comedy Show 7; Hypnomania Comedy Show 7; Presto! Magic and Mystery 7; Excalibur Hans Klok: The World’s Fastest Magician 23; Thunder From Down Under 24, 25; Flamingo X Burlesque 17; Hard Rock Raiding the Rock Vault 2-20, 31; Harrah’s Elvis Presley’s Heartbreak Hotel in Concert 15-16; Mac King Comedy Magic 25; Mad Cap Comedy 18-23, 25-26; Righteous Brothers 3-5, 10-12, 17-19, 24-25; Tape Face 18-22; LINQ Jimmy Kimmel’s Comedy Club 17, 20, 24; Mat Franco 2-3, 6-10, 16; The Bronx Wanderers 7, 14, 24, 30; Luxor Blue Man Group 4, 24-30; Carrot Top 20-25; MGM Grand “Brad Garrett’s Comedy Club” 25; David Copperfield 5-15; Mirage Beatles LOVE 1-15; Terry Fator 9; NY-NY Zumanity 6-10; OYO The Hilarious 7 24; Motown Extreme 25; Paris Anthony Cools 9-15; Planet Hollywood Crazy Girls 19-24; Criss Angel MINDF-REAK Live 4-8, 11-15, 25; Plaza “Comedy Works” 1-30; Rio Chippendales 24-25; Penn & Teller 9-20; WOW–The Vegas Spectacular! 3-4, 17; Sahara Eddie Griffin Expe-rience 23-25, 30; Little Miss Nasty 28; STRAT Celes-tia 18-22; the D Laughternoon 21-23; FRIENDS! The Musical Parody 24; “Jokesters Comedy Club” 24-25; Tropicana “Laugh Factory” 25; Legends in Concert 16-21, 25; Murray: Celebrity Magician 2-19; Purple Reign 1-25; Rich Little Live 8-11, 25; Tuscany Rat Pack is Back 30; V Theater Beatleshow 3-4, 10-11, 17; “Las Vegas Live Comedy Club 31”; Marc Savard–Comedy Hypnosis 4-5, 7, 10-12, 17; Nathan Burton Comedy Magic 2, 4, 6, 9, 11, 13, 16; Popovich Comedy Pet Theater 1-17; Vene-tian Human Nature Jukebox Dec. 1-16, 24-30; Westgate George Wallace 10-14, 17-21, 24-28; The Magic of Jen Kramer 11-14, 18-21, 25-28. n

Rum Runner Hits 40

Last month, the Rum Runner on Tropicana cel-ebrated its 40th anniversary. We don’t usually make a thing out of local-bar milestones, but the Rum Runner is one of those places that’s been here through thick and thin. Plenty of stories have come out of the joint, but it might be most famous for launching the epic run of Archie Karas, when the gambling hustler beat poker-champion-cum-casino-executive Bobby Baldwin in a

pool game and proceeded to run the stake up to $17 million before blowing it all back. The pool tables are still there, as is one of the city’s longest-tenured playable foosball tables. The attached Badger Café features a build-your-own hamburger (see dining) and it’s a gather-ing place for watching Wisconsin Badgers and Green Bay Packers games. There are two other Rum Runners in town, but the one on Trop, about three miles east of the Strip, is the original. Drop in for a beer and some nostalgia. n

Bars and Happy Hours

For the 17th straight year, Ellis Island is serving its homemade egg nog (contains alcohol). Get it at the bar: $7 per glass and $35 per bottle. Ellis Island also has a shot of Jack Daniels and a beer for $6 beginning two hours before all Vegas Golden Knights home games. Wear a VGK shirt and get your first beer for $1.

Best Friend at Park MGM runs a “Happy HAPPY Hour” Sun.-Thurs. from 5 to 7 pm, with 20-ounce well drinks for $10, two tallboy beers for $14, and $10 small plates.

Bella Bistro at the Sahara has 50%-off bottles of wine on Mondays from 5 pm to close.

Yama Sushi Spring Mtn. has 2-for-1 hot sake on Mondays and 2-for-1 draft beer on Wednesdays.

Kura Revolving Sushi Bar has a happy hour daily from 9 pm to close, with 50%-off all drinks.

Through the end of the year, buy a $25 gift card at either Lucky’s Lounge (7345 S. Jones Blvd. or 8025 Farm Rd.) that will be donated to a children’s charity and get a large cheese pizza and either a pitcher of beer or two cocktails.

The Mob Museum’s corn-mash moonshine is now being sold on store shelves. Formerly available only at the museum, the whiskey is now sold at Lee’s Discount Liquor stores; a 750-milliliter jar is $24.99 and a smaller sample jar is $4.99.

The sports betting network VSiN has partnered with the Lewis & Clark Brewing Co. to create BookMaker Blonde Ale. The beer is currently available at South Point, the D, and the Golden Gate.

The Petrossian Bar at Bellagio has reopened after a makeover.

In Andiamo at the D, a Manhattan is $19.48, a glass of Louis Martini Cab is $11.90, and a Peroni is $9.78. At Hatsumi, a Loverboy is $14.07 and a draft Asahi is $7.57. At Lawry’s, a glass a house Cab is $11.90 and a Heineken is $7.57. At Hennessey’s, an Irish coffee is $10.82 and a bloody Mary is $7.84. In the West Expan-sion bar at the Palms, a Leinenkugels beer is $8. At Club Platinum, a Kahlua is $8 and a Bud is $6. At Yama Sushi Spring Mtn., a large hot sake is $7.58. In Palace Bar at

Entertainment continued …

DECEMBER 2019 • LAS VEGAS ADVISOR • 11

the Four Queens, a Heineken is $6.25. At Millers Ale House, a Heineken if $5.69. At Jackpot Bar and Grill, a well vodka is $5. At the Italian American Club, a Peroni is $5. At Rum Runner E. Tropicana, a draft Bud is $3.75.

Notes: Club Platinum is a Gentlemen’s Club next to Tuscany. The prices of the Heineken at Lawry’s and the Peroni at the IAC haven’t changed since we last checked them in 2015. n

Entertainment Notes

Donny and Marie Depart—Long-time Flamingo headliners Donny and Marie Osmond performed the final shows of their 11-year run last week. The brother-sister duo opened in 2008 for a six-week engagement, but were such a success that the Flamingo extended their contract several times and renamed the showroom after them in 2013.

Showroom Closes—The D is closing its showroom in order to expand the second-floor sports book in time for the NCAA basketball tournament in March. The 20-year-old Marriage Can Be Murder, the 10-year-old Defending the Caveman, Friends a Musical Parody, and Laughternoon, will all go dark as of January 5.

Civillico Closes—After a 10-year run as a Strip headliner, Jeff Civillico has announced that he’ll play his last show at Paris on December 18 in favor of concen-trating on corporate performing.

Miller’s Update—Last month, we suggested that Miller’s Ale House at Town Square is a good place to catch PPV sports events, with a $10 charge and an option to watch from the bar area for free. A subsequent visit offered neither option, and everyone entering was charged a $20 admission. So it’s a moving policy, but $20 is likely the highest you’ll pay and we still rate this a solid play for viewing boxing and UFC contests.

See the advance planner for dates, prices, and addi-tional show updates. n

GAMBLING

Will Hill Buys CGT

The U.S. division of London-based William Hill Plc, considered the world’s largest bookmaker, will acquire the race and sports book assets of CG Technology in Nevada and the Bahamas. No terms were disclosed; regulatory approval in both jurisdictions is required and expected to be granted. William Hill will take over the

continued on next page

books at the Tropicana, Venetian/Palazzo, Cosmopoli-tan, Palms, and Silverton. The new books will bring Will Hill’s total number in Nevada to 118; it also has race and sports books in 10 of the 13 states where sports betting is legal.

Some analysts feel this is a first step toward a big consolidation in the sports betting industry, but we’re not sold. CG Technologies has had a rough go in Nevada. After coming in with guns blazing as Cantor Gaming in 2009, CGT has had problem after problem, resulting in the payment of $9 million in disciplinary fines to Nevada regulators, plus $22.5 million in a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice over money-laun-dering charges. They were also the only book to deal with the dodgy entity groups that showed up acting like sports betting hedge funds—another misstep. CGT was probably looking for a way out and Will Hill provided one. And speaking of “outs” (places to bet), there are still a lot of options in Nevada and more are showing up in the states that have legalized sports betting, so the loss of one book doesn’t move the needle much for either the industry or the players. n

New Book at the Plaza

In more William Hill news, the oldest continuously operating sports book in Las Vegas, running since it was the first to be housed in a casino in 1975, has been completely remodeled. Will Hill has operated the Plaza sports book since 2012 and brings it back into play with this investment. The new book boasts downtown’s big-gest seamless high-definition video wall: five feet tall by 16-1/2 feet wide, with a viewing area of more than 80 square feet. It will likely hold that “biggest” distinc-tion only until Circa’s monster book goes live across the street late next year, but it’s also now positioned to welcome the Circa defectors who go seeking greener (luckier) pastures. n

Nickel Keno Progressive

Word tends to get around when there’s a big jackpot opportunity and it did last month when the progressive nickel video keno jackpot for a 10-spot at Palace Station surpassed $100,000. It takes four coins to qualify, so that’s just 20¢ a rattle to win more than a hundred Gs. It sounds juicy, but as we’ve pointed out many times, keno progressives have to climb high before they yield a player advantage, due to the big house edge at reset.

When we got there, the jackpot was at $103,333 and rising quickly, due to all the action at the 10-machine

12 • LAS VEGAS ADVISOR • DECEMBER 2019

Gambling continued …

bank. Players like the potential for big paydays, but the return at $103k-plus is only 95.48%—this keno pro-gressive doesn’t reach breakeven until the jackpot hits $184,000. n

Free Parking for Locals

This one’s interesting. Las Vegans who are Gold tier Caesars Rewards members (the lowest level of the play-ers club) can get a free upgrade to Platinum (the second level) by bringing their players card and ID to a CET club booth. Being at the Platinum level allows free park-ing and brings some other perks, and the promo lasts through January 31. We’re relaying this straight from a press release, so we don’t have all the details (e.g., is the offer for Las Vegas residents only or all Nevadans?), but it sounds like an easy play for any local with a Cae-sars Rewards card (even if it has zero points on it) who may have been avoiding Caesars because of the parking fees. We’ll update at LasVegasAdvisor.com when we get the deets. n

Gambling Notes

Jackpots—A Hawaiian guest won $1.1 million at the Fremont on a Wheel of Fortune slot. A player at Paris won $2.3 million by drawing a seven-card straight flush in diamonds on the Face Up Pai Gow Poker progressive jackpot game. It was a record jackpot for the linked Face Up Pai Gow system.

Roulette Winner—Last month’s ceremonial first bet on the Plaza’s single-zero roulette table was placed on red by Ashley Revell, the player who negotiated and won a $135,300 bet at the Plaza 15 years ago. The stakes were lower this time, but Revell’s $7,000 wager won again when the ball landed on red 36. (How does he do that?)

VGK Bingo—Arizona Charlie’s Decatur is running a Vegas Golden Knights bingo night at 7 pm on December 19. It’s a $10-minimum buy-in and there’ll be lots of VGK giveaways (hint: wear VGK apparel to up your chances for the goodies).

PA Poker Online—Live online poker debuted in Pennsylvania last month when PokerStars opened in partnership with Mount Airy Casino and Fox Bet. Pennsylvania joins Nevada, New Jersey, and Delaware in offering live poker online and is off to a fast start, according to PokerScout.com, which ranked PokerStars PA the 16th most active poker site in the world after only

three weeks of operation.Jeopardy Line—If you haven’t heard by now,

“Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time” tournament will be aired beginning January 7. The tournament will match James Holzhauer, Ken Jenkins, and Brad Rutter, the show’s three biggest winners ever. Holzhauer opened as the +125 favorite at the Westgate sports book; Jennings is +175 and Rutter is +300.

No SBNC II—Not so fast on Draft Kings’ second Sports Betting National Championship, which we wrote last month would be held Dec. 5-8. That was the infor-mation we had, but it’s not happening and we’ve seen no updates on a later date. n

Video Poker Lost and Found

We bring it up a lot, but one of the best games for quarters continues to be the Vue Bar at the D. Last month, we stumbled onto the 8/5 Bonus Poker pro-gressive with the royal flush at $2,365. That’s a cool 102.35% return, but it’s not the best of it. While the royal flush was rising, the smaller progressives were high enough that at one point the overall return was 111.3%. That’s crazy out of line and it’s not easy to make those assessments on the fly, but the point is, this game is almost always good.

If you’re short-bankrolled, you might pass on the Vue Bar for either of the main-floor Four Queens bars, where they’ll comp drinks for 50¢ coin-in per play. While you can still weasel a drink for short-coin play in most places, official policies almost always require $1.25 per play. The best game there is usually the 9/6 Double Double Bonus progressive for quarters, which returns 98.98% at reset and is always above 99%.

You can get your parking comped for earning 25 points at the Downtown Grand. The game to play there is the quarter 10/6 DDB progressive at the bar.

The online database vpFREE reports that Eureka in Mesquite deals 10/7 Double Bonus (100.17%) and 10/6 DDB (100.07%) in denoms from 25¢ to $1, along with several other high-return schedules, including NSU Deuces (99.73%) and 9/6 Jacks or Better (99.54%) from 1¢ (on Hundred Play) up to $2 and $5, respectively.

Though Jackpot Bar & Grill continues its play-$500-get-$25 bonus good all day on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, there’s talk of a replacement deal. Even if they change, history suggests that the promo will be worth playing for some casual positive EV and drinks.

No Bob Dancer video poker classes are currently scheduled. They are expected to resume in January. In the meantime, be sure to check out Bob’s weekly Tues-day blog and the Thursday “Gambling With an Edge” podcast, with Bob and Richard Munchkin, both at LasVegasAdvisor.com. n

Best rates at press time from sample of 54 Las Vegas casinos. Rates NOT guaranteed, subject to change without notice, and do not include tax. Lower prices may be available online.

RO

OM

RATES

WEEKENDMainStreetStation•$57Fremont•$62WildWildWest•$65

CircusCircus•$57WestgateLasVegas•$65Tuscany•$70

HardRock•$91Paris•$112Palms•$128

WEEKENDCalifornia•$97Fremont•$97MainStreetStation•$97

DowntownGrand•$79CircusCircus•$86OYO•$98

Palms•$148Mirage•$166Paris•$186

WEEKDAYFourQueens•$49SilverSevens•$54California•$57

CircusCircus•$48DowntownGrand•$53Tuscany•$55

Paris•$106Mirage•$116Palms•$124

WEEKENDCalifornia•$97Fremont•$97MainStreetStation•$97

DowntownGrand•$103CircusCircus•$108Sam’sTown•$122

Palms•$189Cromwell•$196Palazzo•$202

WEEKDAYSilverSevens•$54California•$57ElCortez•$57

CircusCircus•$48DowntownGrand•$53Excalibur•$57

Paris•$106Palms•$124Cromwell•$126

WEEKDAYWildWildWest•$45ElCortez•$48FourQueens•$49

CircusCircus•$48Tuscany•$55DowntownGrand•$56

HardRock•$81Palms•$98Paris•$102

WEA

THER Mean 46° Avg. Max. 58° Avg. Min. 33° Pools: Closed

Evening temperatures dip into the 30s and even into the 20s. The sun makes an occasional appearance.

Attire: Desert or not, it’s wintertime and it’s cold. Dress warmly.

Mean 45° Avg. Max. 57° Avg. Min. 32° Pools: ClosedCool and dry. Days are crisp, but pleasant. Cold evenings.

Attire: Sweater and jacket—desert winters are cold.

SEPTEMBER

DATES

KE

Y

FEBRUARY

APRIL

JANUARY

DECEMBER

MARCH

FEBRUARY JANUARY

FEBRUARY

MARCH

2–5 Off-PriceSpecialist2020—11,500 4–7 WorldofConcrete2020—60,000 5–7 MAGICMarketplaceSpring2020—78,000 15–17 Nat’lAutomobileDealersWinter’20—30,000 16–19 WesternVeterinaryAnnualConf.—15,000 23–27 Wedding&PortraitPhotographers—10,000

10–14 ConExpo—129,000 17–20 Int’lSecurityConference2020—29,000 22–25 ASDMarketWeekSpring2020—46,000 31–4/1 Nightclub&BarShow2020—39,000 31–4/2 Int’lPizzaExpo2020—12,000

1–2 Int’lWirelessCommunications2020—12,000 19–22 Nat’lAssoc.ofBroadcasters2020—103,000

Mean 50° Avg. Max. 62° Avg. Min. 37° Pools: ClosedDays begin to warm, evenings still cool

Attire: Light jacket for the day, something warm for evenings.

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