With the replacement for the Sahara the new SLS hotel and casino opening less than a month away the above pictures are a look at the nearly completed property.
24Jul
The cafe at the near Strip Ellis Island casino has long been a favorite for many because of its good value for money food options; I often used to visit the Ellis Island cafe but after several times of iffy service I have skipped stopping by there for food. Today I decided to give it another try and after I walked to the counter the hostess said “is the lounge okay” and before I could answer walks to the lounge which is actually the bar. I presume I was seated in the bar instead of the restaurant proper because I was by myself. I sat in the bar which they call the lounge for fifteen minutes listening too two drunk bar patrons shout at each other as they discussed which store or supermarket is best to buy liquor the conclusion it seems is Albertsons. Nothing is better when trying to enjoy a quiet meal than listening to drunk people yell at each other. If I was in a sports bar or brew pub I would expect some loud noise but not in a restaurant or cafe. Just before the waitress came by another patron was seated next to me and the waitress didn’t ask who was first she just started helping him yes I could have said something but I figured I would just order after. The customer then asked for meatloaf and the waitress said she didn’t think they had it and then two co workers told her they didn’t so then she headed off to the kitchen to ask the cook. After returning and informing the customer they didn’t have it the customer couldn’t decide what to get and the waitress went through a handful of coupons he had and explaining what each was on the menu. This took a long time and at this point I decided enough was enough and got up and left. I then headed over to Metro Pizza at Ellis Island and ordered two huge slices of cheese with a soda and because it was 2 for 1 Thursday’s I got both slices of pizza which was really good for $3 plus $2 for the soda I definitely will be back to Metro Pizza. I will give up on the Ellis Island cafe but the food is good and maybe if you are in a group you will have better luck with service.
09Jul
There were rumors circulating as soon as it was announced that the Quad would be renamed the Linq that the popular O Shea’s casino would be rebranded. This rumor has since been quashed as Caesars Entertainment has announced that they have no plans to rebrand O Shea’s. The former Strip side casino known for cheep beer as well as beer pong and Lucky the Leprechaun roaming the casino was incorporated in a more upscale space off the Quad casino floor. Since the new O Shea’s opened it has been busy nearly twenty four hours a day and rebranding a successful product would be a mistake so we are glad Caesar’s plans to keep things as they are.
If you want to catch tonight’s UFC® fight between Weidman and Machida the El Cortez is one of the places around town having viewing parties. The watch party begins at 6pm in the Fiesta Room at the El Cortez with $20 for general admission. If you are an Club Cortez or UFC® Fight Club Member or Zappos employee you can get in for $10.
04Jul
The new owners of the LVH, which was formally the Las Vegas Hilton, have wasted no time in changing the signage of their new property to the new name of Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino. The new owners Westgate Resorts have announced that they will convert some of the rooms to timeshare villas but still have hotel rooms available for nearby convention goers and Las Vegas tourists. The new owners also announced they would like to change the bar space from the former Star Trek Experience bar in to a nightclub. This hotel has a lot of history being the former home of Elvis when it was called the International and it would be nice to see this property flourish I don’t know if the new owners could make this happen but we wish them luck.
The above video is of Kyle Busch’s NASCAR show car being installed at M&M World on the Las Vegas Strip as you can see in the video its not the easiest thing to move and install. In the video the car even turns right very unusual for a NASCAR (just kidding) if you want to check it out its a free attraction located inside the M&M World store.
The El Cortez in Downtown Las Vegas has made a little bit of a name for itself with free food giveaways for players especially around holidays with things such as its White Castle Burger give a ways; The latest free food item is a free slice of Marie Callender’s strawberry pie to players today between noon and 6pm for players playing slots and table games.
When the Imperial Palace was re-branded as the Quad no one was particularly overjoyed with the new name it wasn’t bad but it was just kind of bland and with the Quad name sounded like a school or college space. Well now the Quad is being re-branded as the Linq Hotel & Casino which makes a lot of sense as its attached to the Linq Entertainment District and as you can see in the video above the 2,256 rooms will all be completely remodeled ahead of the planned opening date of Halloween this year. As part of the $223 million remodel is a planned new pool space which is greatly needed as the old pool was a rectangle concrete pool with not a lot of charm. The room update is underway at the moment and the newly modern urban rooms as Caesar’s has called them will come with a room rate starting at $89 plus resort fee as opposed to the roughly $20 a night plus resort fee that can often be had at the current Quad. I’m sad to see this often lowest room rate on the Strip at a great center Strip location being taken upscale with a higher rate but it makes a lot of sense for Caesar’s who could use the higher rate to help with their debt load.
02Jul
Michael Mina’s American Fish closed down at Aria on June 30th maybe a little earlier than expected as a previous close date was mentioned for some time in July. The restaurant is being replaced with another restaurant concept by Michael Mina called BARDOT which is slated to open sometime in early 2014.
A good cover band isn’t quite as good as seeing the original but they can be very entertaining in their own right. Two upcoming cover bands visiting the Mandalay Bay are Bonfire which is a tribute to ACDC and is rocking out tomorrow night at the House of Blues with a $10 general admission price for tickets. The second option is early next month when Blasphemous Rumors a tribute to Depeche Mode comes to the House of Blues on August 1st with special guest DJ Johnny Rox and a $13 general admission price for tickets. If you are looking for an inexpensive show on the Strip and are interested in the music of either band it might be worth checking them out.