Vegas loves its Golden Knights
The Washington Capitals won the Stanley Cup last week, but Las Vegas has provided an amazing level of support for its hockey team and many of the tributes figure to last beyond the final game.
❚ Bellagio Patisserie is displaying a 5-foot-tall chocolate sculpture of Vegas Golden Knights goalie Marc-Andre Fleury and individual chocolate Fleurys are on sale for $40.
❚ A giant 600-pound Knights jersey adorns the Statue of Liberty at NY-NY. The Buddah at the entrance of Tao at Venetian and the Benny Binion statue at South Point also sport Knights Jerseys.
❚ A statue of Julius Caesar at the front of Caesars Palace holds a Knights flag and a 24-foot goalie stick.
❚ Several showroom celebrities, including Celine Dion, have performed in VGK attire. Watch parties outside the T-Mobile Arena have attracted up to 3,000 participants. And virtually every bar in town tunes its TVs to the games.
Bacchanal bump: Prices of the Bacchanal Buffet weekend brunch and dinner have spiked by $10 to $59.99 and $69.99, respectively. These prices are in effect at least through Labor Day.
Jackpot at Cosmo: A Canadian man hit for $1.3 million at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas last week on a Wheel of Fortune machine. It’s the second million-dollar jackpot at the Cosmo this year.
Rio drops seafood buffet: The Rio has quietly discontinued its Seafood Dinner Buffet after years of being the only one of its kind. It’s now called the Carnival World Buffet instead of the Carnival World Buffet & Seafood Buffet and all dinner and brunch options have been reduced in price by $3-$6.
Mandarin to become Waldorf: As a result of the sale of the Mandarin Oriental at CityCenter, the hotel will become a Waldorf Astoria. A complete rebranding will be implemented to create Waldorf Astoria Las Vegas. A timetable has not been revealed.
Question: What’s the latest on the labor dispute with the Culinary Union?
Answer: Caesars Entertainment and MGM Resorts International have signed agreements with the unions. While the pacts are being called “tentative,” they’re expected to be ratified and it’s a development that will likely lead to quick agreements at other properties. There could still be walkouts at individual holdout casinos, but the possibility of a citywide strike is all but non-existent.