Anthony Curtis

Fueled by the likelihood that Las Vegas will get an NBA franchise, several plans for a basketball arena have been floated. They include sites at the Rio, Resorts World Las Vegas and a site farther north on the Strip, while the mayor is lobbying to build downtown. Now comes word of a plan for a $10 million resort located on Las Vegas Boulevard about 5 miles south of the city. Along with a 25,000-seat arena, the 63-acre site would host a 50,000-seat soccer/concert stadium; a cultural and entertainment district complete with theater, comedy club, boxing museum and Combat Sports Hall of Fame; a hotel; a casino; and a residential component. None of these plans appears to have the inside track; however, the odds are good that a stadium will be built, helping to secure Las Vegas teams in all four major sports.

Bad news came for anyone holding out hope that buffets will be coming back to Las Vegas with the announcement that the MGM Grand Buffet will close permanently after business on May 31. It was among the oldest remaining, having opened with the casino in 1993. The closing will leave only 10 casino buffets in Las Vegas, where there once were more than 40. MGM says there are “no immediate plans for the space.”

With the Vegas party machine revving up for summer, the action at the pools takes center stage. Unlike the days when you had to be a hotel guest to get into a casino pool, many are now open to the public for swimming or partying, but be prepared to pay for the privilege. The following pools will be hopping all summer long as part of Las Vegas’ vibrant “daylife” scene: Aria, Bellagio, Caesars Palace, Circa, Cosmopolitan, Durango, Downtown Grand, Encore, Excalibur, Flamingo, Fontainebleau, Golden Nugget, Green Valley Ranch, Harrah’s, Horseshoe Las Vegas, Luxor, M Resort, Mandalay Bay, MGM Grand, Palms, Paris, Park MGM, Planet Hollywood, Plaza, Red Rock, Resorts World, Sahara, Silverton, The Linq, The Strat, Vanderpump, Venetian/Palazzo, Virgin and Wynn. If you don’t see the resort at which you’re staying on the list, don’t worry. All the casinos have pools for their guests; they just aren’t all open to the public.

Consolidation among sports books in Las Vegas isn’t exactly big news. That is, unless it involves one of the most iconic sports books in the world. Such is the case with the inking of a deal for Caesars Sportsbook to take over operations of the Westgate SuperBook. The SuperBook has for decades been considered the top one or two books in Las Vegas, but it’s now ceding control to Caesars. The move sent a wave of surprise and sadness through the sports betting world, as it means the demise of an independent bookmaker putting out competitive lines. Many see it as a play by Caesars to own and possibly grow Westgate’s (football) SuperContest, similar to its previous acquisition of the World Series of Poker from the Horseshoe. Pending approval by regulators, the transition will be completed in time for football season.

For decades, Primm, Nev., has been a first casino stop for many visitors traveling to Las Vegas on I-15 from Los Angeles. That will soon end with the announcement that the last of the three casinos there is closing. Whiskey Pete’s closed in December 2024, and Buffalo Bill’s in July. Primm Valley, the last of the three, will shutter after business on July 4. The Lotto Store just over the state line in California, which drew thousands of lotto hopefuls from Las Vegas, will also close. Once home to the three operating casinos, a roller coaster, a concert arena and an outlet mall, Primm appears destined to become Nevada’s next ghost town.

With football season just around the corner, Circa is raising the stakes again for its trio of NFL contests. After easily covering the $15 million guarantee in last year’s Circa Survivor contest, this year’s guarantee has been boosted to $20 million, while Circa Million VIII will again guarantee $6 million. The entry fee is $1,000 for each with a maximum of 10. Circa Grandissimo, a second survivor contest that has a $100,000 entry fee (maximum two entries), has a $4 million guarantee, up from last year’s $1.5 million. Collectively, that’s an unheard of $30 million in contest guarantees.

The 57th World Series of Poker is underway, held again at Horseshoe Las Vegas and Paris. This year’s tournament features 100 bracelet events. The most expensive buy-in is $250,000 for the “Super High Roller” on June 13. The least expensive is $300 for the “Gladiators of Poker” that begins July 8. The prestigious $50,000 buy-in “Poker Players Championship” begins June 21 and the $10,000 buy-in Main Event starts July 2. In a major Main Event change, the final table will begin play on Aug. 3, four weeks after its nine players are determined. It’s a return to the premise of a pause before play of the final table creating a bigger buzz, though not the extreme delay until November that occurred from 2008 to 2016. The WSOP is referring to it as a “Cliffhanger” break. Viewing of all tournaments is free and open to the public.

Caesars Entertainment has entered into an agreement to be acquired by Fertitta Entertainment in an all-cash transaction valued at $17.6 billion. The deal includes a “go-shop” period through July 11 that gives Caesars six weeks to consider other offers. If the deal goes through, all Caesars executives and management teams are expected to retain their positions, which means there won’t be noticeable changes at Caesars properties, at least for a while. The head of Fertitta Entertainment, Tilman Fertitta, also owns the Golden Nugget casinos, the Landry’s restaurant chain and the Houston Rockets.

Considered a month away from extinction just a week ago, Primm, Nev., the first casino stop for many visitors traveling to Las Vegas on I-15 from Los Angeles, has new life. The Primm family has inked a deal with Las Vegas-based Terrible’s to operate its hotel-casinos and related properties there, which appears to be a stay of execution for the Primm Valley Hotel-Casino and two gas stations that were scheduled to close on July 4. The Terrible’s brand is well-known in Nevada for its casinos and Terrible Herbst gas stations and convenience stores. The focus is on keeping Primm Valley open, but Terrible’s could also resurrect the other two casinos at Primm: Buffalo Bill’s and Whiskey Pete’s.

The Vanderpump Hotel, formerly The Cromwell, Bill’s Gambling Hall and Barbary Coast, held its grand opening ceremony last week. As expected, given the resort’s namesake, it was a fancy affair, with Lisa Vanderpump arriving in a custom Rolls-Royce and being escorted into the resort by a phalanx of bellmen. The decor is a shrine to Vanderpump’s British heritage, family life and famous friends. Gigolo, the lounge named after Vanderpump’s dog, Giggy, and The Bar at The Vanderpump Hotel are new, while Giada, Drai’s After Hours, Soleia (the rooftop pool), Starbucks and Caesars Sportsbook are Cromwell holdovers.