Alex and Mia Las Vegas Videos

Alex and Mia are YouTube vloggers who just a couple of days ago published a series of videos documenting a trip to Las Vegas. I was unfamiliar with Alex and Mia before stumbling upon these videos - but they have two hundred fifty thousand subscribers on YouTube so they're kind of a big deal - at least to a demographic ten to twenty years younger than the readers of this blog.

The first video (August 1, 2015) sets the stage. Alex and Mia (with another couple) travel from LA to Las Vegas for Mia's 21st birthday on Virgin America and check-in to a ridiculous suite at The Cosmopolitan before hitting the Bellagio buffet and doing some gambling at Harrah's. Everything is going well so far.



The next video (August 2, 2015) is where the trouble begins. It starts off with Alex showing off an amazing view of the south Strip and taking advantage of some lavender-peppermint shower gel before the group heads off to ride the High Roller. It looks like they were doing the open bar package and had a good bartender who poured them a shot when the wheel reached its highest point. Some nice Vegas footage here. They then headed to the new O'Sheas to play some beer pong. I haven't been in the new O'Sheas yet, but from the video it kind of reminded me of the old O'Sheas which is a very good sign.

At the 5:25 mark we learn The Cosmopolitan has failed Alex as he reveals he was (allegedly) robbed of a $100 casino chip by (allegedly) the Cosmo housekeeping staff. If that wasn't bad enough - at the 7:48 mark Alex tells us they also found bedbugs in their Cosmo suite. Here's a picture Mia posted on twitter of the bedbug:



After a long wait the group gets moved to another suite which is even better than the first. It must have been a wraparound as they had views of the south Strip along with a different view of the Bellagio fountains and the rest of center Strip.



The third video (August 3, 2015) opens with the view from yet another room as they were told the "eco test for bedbugs came back negative." Interesting. After a trip to Marquee Dayclub Alex and Mia head off to The Palms to dine at Alizé. I had actually never heard of this place that boasts "the most spectacular view in Las Vegas with French cuisine beyond imagination."



The final Las Vegas video (August 4, 2015) starts with Alex placing some insane sports-book wagers followed by the group heading down to Fremont Street.



So there you have it. I enjoyed the Vegas footage in these videos. It was definitely surprising to see the (alleged) theft and bedbug issues at a hotel as nice as The Cosmopolitan. I guess it's a reminder that unfortunate things can happen anywhere, even at the most expensive hotels.

Bill's Closing for Remodel on February 4, 2013

Bill's Gamblin' Hall & Saloon will be closing on February 4, 2013 to undergo an extensive renovation and transformation into a luxury boutique hotel.

A Caesars Entertainment press release described the $185 million dollar project:

"The complete remodeling of the guest rooms, casino floor and common areas, the addition of a new second floor restaurant, and the construction of the 65,000 square foot rooftop pool and dayclub/nightclub."

Ever since Caesars acquired the former Barbary Coast in 2007, they've had plans to do something with it. At first they were thinking about demolishing it along with Flamingo and Imperial Palace to make room for their version of CityCenter. When the economy tanked they scrapped that idea and settled for modest renovation projects.

I'm always in favor of property improvements, but it's going to be sad to see Bill's go. It was always a fun place to stop in for cheap drinks and low table minimums, just like O'Sheas. Those two closing leave Casino Royale as the premier low rolling joint on the Strip.


Photo: Larry D. Moore

Top 5 Vegas News Stories of 2011

Now that the calendar reads 2012, I thought I'd attempt to recall some of the top Las Vegas news stories of 2011. These are more or less off the top of my head, so I might have forgotten something, but here goes:

5. Absinthe opens to rave reviews.
Usually shows open and close in Las Vegas with little fanfare, but Absinthe got such great reviews that it really opened some eyes. I can't remember a show that has received almost unanimous positive reviews in some time.

4. Plaza renovation leads downtown resurgence.
The Plaza hotel on Fremont Street purchased the Fontainebleau's furniture and used it to complete a major renovation project, which included a makeover of rooms, public areas and a few new restaurants. Along with the improvements at Plaza, many new bars and restaurants on Fremont Street made downtown a fun place to hang out in 2011 and beyond.

3. Cosmopolitan opens.
Technically Cosmopolitan opened during the last few days of 2010, but it was the talk of the town for much of 2011 as visitors got to experience it for the first time. Despite some issues with long check-in lines, the property has received high praise for its uniqueness and many drinking and dining options. That being said, it struggled to make money because it has attracted a largely non-gaming crowd.

2. Project Linq.
The Caesars Entertainment Project Linq has been talked about for a few years now, but in 2011 the project pushed full steam ahead. We learned many details of the project, including the news that O'Sheas will be closed in its current form and re-located, likely being incorporated into Imperial Palace, which will also be re-named.

1. Sahara closes.
On May 16th 2011 Sahara closed after nearly 59 years of operation. A month after the closing, a huge liquidation sale was held on the property where visitors could take home a piece of Las Vegas history while walking around the joint for one last time. The Sahara's owners have a plan to re-brand and re-open the hotel in 2014, but we'll just have to wait and see if that happens.

O'Sheas to be replaced by Clothing Store

I was looking at this new rendering of Project Linq, and I noticed the building previously known as O'Sheas will be transformed into a GAP clothing store.

Now, to be fair I'm sure that the actual clothing store brand that will be replacing O'Sheas hasn't been decided on yet, and the rendering just used GAP as a placeholder of sorts.

I am puzzled why they would want to replace a casino with a clothing store though. Even if they wanted to remove O'Sheas they still could have replaced it with a newer, nicer gaming establishment.

I guess this means retail is more important than drinking and gambling in Las Vegas nowadays. Shopping certainly has its place, but I think even O'Sheas haters would cringe at the thought of replacing it with a GAP.

NOTE: It has been reported that the O'Sheas casino will be re-located to another part of Project Linq, most likely inside the Imperial Palace (which will be remodeled and re-named) so O'Sheas might live on in some form.


Click the image to see a larger version.

Which Las Vegas Hotel Imploded Next?

There's a blog post over at Vegas Tripping discussing which hotels are most likely to be imploded in Las Vegas.

I was thinking about it, and came up with these 5 hotels I think could be imploded in the near future:

Sahara - The hotel is already closed so step one is out of the way. Owner Sam Nazarian insists that he will be opening a re-branded Sahara in 2014, but most people agree that's never going to happen.

Harmon - Construction issues caused this never-opened CityCenter hotel to be capped at around 50% of its planned height. Repairing the building might be more trouble than it's worth.

Fontainebleau - Like the Harmon, this hotel might be taken down before it even opens. One of the tallest buildings in Vegas, the Font was left 70% complete when the owners ran out of money. Finishing the resort will cost well over a billion dollars, and nobody has that kind of money anymore. Another case where implosion would be cheaper than completion.

Hooters - The bankrupt hotel will continue operations for now, but if things get bad enough I wouldn't be surprised if it closed down eventually. Implosion would make room for a new Tropicana parking lot.

O'Sheas - This is a wild card because it won't be imploded, and isn't even a hotel. It will likely be de-themed and re-named for Project Linq though, which will effectively wipe it off the map.

A building that will never be imploded is the Jockey Club. Steve Friess had an interesting article in the Sun today about why the Jockey Club will live forever. The article mentioned Controlled Demolition Inc. (the company that does all of the Las Vegas implosions) already has a general plan of how to implode almost every hotel in Vegas. That's a scary thought.

O'Sheas to be Re-named and De-themed?

As expected, Clark County zoning officials approved plans for the Caesars Entertainment Project Linq.

New renderings of the project have been released that make the project look more upscale than previously thought. In the past, some people have referred to the project as the O'Sheas street O'Shops but in the new drawings it looks like O'Sheas doesn't even exist. At least not in its current form.



It appears that O'Sheas will be completely transformed into a modern de-themed casino, similar to say Aria or the M Resort. This could be a good thing, but I'm definitely going to miss the old Irish pub theme of O'Sheas. While it isn't the nicest place in the world you can always count on cheap drinks, cheap games and cheap food at the food court. I'm guessing all of those things will go away with the renovation.



It's important to note that I'm just speculating that O'Sheas will be re-named and de-themed. Caesars Entertainment hasn't made this announcement yet, and all of the press I've seen regarding Project Linq still refer to the property as O'Sheas. Also it appears there are a couple of different versions of the new renderings, so the final decision might not have been made yet.

Reading between the lines though, it looks like the days might be numbered for the old O'Sheas.

UPDATE: August 21, 2011
Caesars Entertainment had an official press conference this week to discuss plans for The Linq.

As speculated, O'Sheas as we know it is going away. BUT there are plans to "move" the O'Sheas casino and somehow merge it with Imperial Palace. It's kind of hard to envision what that will look like, since Imperial Palace is also getting completely made over and re-named as a result of Project Linq.

Project LINQ Details Revealed

The Clark County Zoning Commission will be reviewing the Caesars Entertainment Project LINQ on Wednesday, August 3rd.

The agenda for the commission meeting was posted online, and revealed new details about Project LINQ.

Perhaps the biggest revelation is that parking will be reduced Flamingo, IP and Harrah's to accommodate the project. It appears total parking at the resorts will be reduced by 30%.

The south facades at Imperial Palace and O'Sheas will also be re-skinned and de-themed from their current Asian and Irish themes to reflect contemporary American design.

And yes, the 550 observation Ferris wheel is still in the plans, although the FAA might have something to say about it later down the line.

Read all about the Project LINQ plans: Clark County Zoning Meeting Agenda.

UPDATE: August 3, 2011.
Clark County has approved the project and new renderings have been revealed. See them here.

3 Dice Football

3 Dice Football has hit Las Vegas. The new game is currently available at O'Sheas. Most of the new table games introduced are card games, so it's pretty rare and exciting to see a new dice game.

The game is similar to craps in that you are either betting for the shooter to score a touchdown, or against the shooter "playing defense." Like in craps, if a touchdown is scored the shooter keeps rolling. Also similar to craps are the many prop bets that can be placed on each role of the dice.

The shooter starts at the twenty yard line and tries to score a touchdown with a possible first down at the 10 yard line. The shooter has three throws, or "downs" to get a first down (or touchdown).

There are two green dice and one red. The yardage gained is the value of the green dice minus the value of the red. You can score an instant touchdown by throwing "triples." A one yard penalty occurs when the total of green dice is lower than the red die, and a turnover happens when a red 6 is rolled with a green 1-1 or 1-2.

I think 3 Dice Football looks like a lot of fun. I like craps but it can be devastating when that seven wipes out your whole roll. In this game it seems tough to lose on one roll, and you could even hedge against a turnover for a 66-1 payoff. I don't know what the math looks like in terms of house edge, but I can't wait to play it nonetheless.

UPDATE - July 17, 2017: It appears the game never caught on, and is nowhere to be found anymore.

Caesars STILL wants Project LINQ

Caesars Entertainment is looking to take out a $400 million loan to finish the Octavius Tower and complete the Project LINQ street of shopping and restaurants between Flamingo and O'Sheas.

Project LINQ was first mentioned by the company in July 2009. It was put on the back burner for about a year before the company confirmed in July 2010 that it still wanted to pursue the project. In October it was announced that an IPO would be issued to raise the $575 million or so needed for the project, along with completing Octavius. A month later (in November) it was announced that the IPO was canceled and Project LINQ presumably dead.

I'm definitely surprised to see Caesars Entertainment continuing to try to get this thing done. With all the funding issues, along with the wide criticism of the project (especially the Ferris Wheel aspect) I would have thought Caesars would have taken their ball and gone home.

On the other hand, they need to finish Octavius sooner than later and probably figure now is a good time with Celine coming back. As long as they're getting a loan for Octavius, why not build the LINQ also? I'm guessing the Ferris Wheel might get scrapped though. With a reduced budget that has to be the first thing on the chopping block.

UPDATE: August 3, 2011.
Caesars Entertainment was able to secure financing and Project Linq will be built. Clark County has approved the project and new renderings have been revealed. See them here.

Harrah's IPO Cancelled - Linq Dead?

Within the past month or so, Harrah's announced that they were issuing an IPO, and would then use the proceeds to finish the stalled Octavius tower at Caesars Palace, and to build the Project LINQ stretch of restaurants and retail shops between Flamingo and O'Sheas.

Now Harrah's has announced that they are "not pursuing its initial public offering of common stock at this time due to market conditions."

With the IPO off the table for now, it appears that Octavius will remain unfinished for a while longer, and Project LINQ might be dead altogether. While I'm in favor of doing something with that street between Flamingo and O'Sheas, a lot of people have made fun of Ferris Wheel project. It wouldn't be surprising at all to see Harrah's kill the idea altogether.

UPDATE: August 3, 2011.
Although the IPO fell though, Caesars Entertainment (formerly Harrah's Entertainment) was able to secure financing and Project Linq will be built. Clark County has approved the project and new renderings have been revealed. See them here.

Harrah's will finish Octavius Tower - Build Project LINQ

Harrah's will be issuing an IPO that could raise up to $575 million. The cash will then be used to finish the mothballed Octavius Tower at Caesars Palace and to build the LINQ retail and entertainment area between Flamingo and O'Sheas.

Both of these projects are long overdue and it's nice to see that they will be completed. Octavius Tower was scheduled to open in the summer of 2009 before it was put on hold in January of that year. Project LINQ was first envisioned in 2006. Since then there have been a few different ideas for the properties between Harrah's and Bill's. With the economy crashing, the more extravagant plans were scratched and LINQ was brought back to life.

Along with the two Vegas projects, Harrah's will also use some of the IPO money to invest in and run some Ohio casinos with Dan Gilbert.

Source: Bloomberg.

UPDATE: August 3, 2011.
Although the IPO fell though, Caesars Entertainment (formerly Harrah's Entertainment) was able to secure financing and Project Linq will be built. Clark County has approved the project and new renderings have been revealed. See them here.

New Flamingo Food Court

A food court at Flamingo will be opening this fall. Restaurants will include Johnny Rockets, Pan Asian Express, LA Subs & Salads & Bonanno's NY Pizza. The food court will be near the main showroom at Flamingo.

I personally like the choice to add some fast food to the property. Previously guests would have to venture across the street to O'Sheas if they wanted to grab some food on the run. Flamingo isn't really known for its dining offerings, so this will add another choice for people who might not want to spend time sitting in a restaurant or waiting in line at the buffet.

Source: FlamingoVegas twitter.

Harrah's Project Linq - Still on the Table

Back in July 2009 Harrah's revealed that they were planning on transforming the street between Flamingo and O'Sheas into a pedestrian walkway consisting of bars, restaurants and shops with a giant Ferris wheel at the end of the street.

A year has gone by, and many people had forgotten about the project until a recent Business Week article confirmed that Harrah's is still aiming on building the development in 2011. The cost of the project would reportedly be less than $1 billion.



Here are my thoughts on the project:

I love the idea of turning the street into a pedestrian only street. It's a hassle to cross that street at times, and big crowds can build up near O'Sheas and in front of Margaritaville. Having the street pedestrian only would clear up that congestion and make the whole area a lot safer and more convenient.

Having lots of bars and shops all together sounds like a good idea, but they will need to attract some pretty unique places to entice people to wander down the street. Hopefully they'll have some cool joints and not just an extended O'Sheas food court.

Lastly, I don't really like the Ferris wheel idea. They need an attraction at the end of the street to get people to walk down there, but I'm not sure a Ferris wheel is what people want in Las Vegas. I could be wrong though, as the London Eye seems pretty popular, and people are always looking for great views of the Strip.

UPDATE: August 3, 2011.
Clark County has approved the project and new renderings have been revealed. See them here.

Harmon Ave Walgreens Coming to Strip

The 2.16 acre parcel of land on Harmon Ave. south of Planet Hollywood and across from Cosmopolitan and CityCenter is being developed. A 3 story, one hundred thousand square foot retail building will break ground in the next few months. Walgreens will be the "anchor" of the building.

It's definitely nice to see something done with this land. If you have walked past it lately you might have noticed that it is pretty barren and often trash laden. A Walgreens might not be what people expected, but this is a high traffic area, and Walgreens will no doubt do a lot of business. This will be the third Walgreens on the strip. There is one in front of Palazzo and another one just south of this proposed location near MGM Grand.

I always think it's an interesting decision to not include a casino in a new project on the strip. It seems like it would be ideal to develop this land into a small walk in casino similar to that of Casino Royale, O'Sheas or Bill's. You could incorporate a Walgreens into that type of project and still print money from the casino. Obviously there would need to be significantly more investment and planning involved for that type of project though, and perhaps the economy can't handle it yet.

Source: Las Vegas Sun.