More Progress in Downtown Las Vegas

 

Despite tough times, downtown Las Vegas continues on a steady pace of casino upgrades. As mentioned a few weeks ago in this column, the formerly dilapidated Gold Spike casino has a whole new look and improvements are ongoing. Up the street at the Golden Nugget, it’s been announced that a $150 million 500-room tower will be completed on schedule and open in December; the 25-story tower will give the Nugget a total of 2,400 rooms. And a 47-story 1,000-room hotel and casino has been proposed for a 6.4-acre corner of the Union Park development, right behind the Plaza. If it’s built, it will be called Union Park. 

 

Wicked Numbers: More evidence of the above-referenced tough times came with reports that the January casino win on the Strip plummeted by 15%, compared to the same month last year. It was the 13^th consecutive year-over-year decline. Additionally, following a decline in visitors in 2008, January visitation dropped a whopping 12%. The upside? The casinos have to discount and room rates are down 20% and more.

 

Enviable: The non-casino Envy Steakhouse, inside the Renaissance Hotel on Paradise Ave., has debuted a new Sunday brunch called “Mimosas & Music.” The brunch comes with unlimited mimosas, sparkling wine, and build-your-own Bloody Marys. It’s served 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. for $25 and live music accompanies. This compares favorably in price with two other high-end brunches that debuted recently—Springs Preserve ($29) and Simon Brunch at Palms Place ($45).

 

Question: What’s the play for St. Paddy’s Day?

Answer: You’ve got plenty of options at several Irish-themed pubs in town. Here’s the list. The casino pubs include Jack’s (Palace Station), Brendan’s (Orleans), JC Wooloughan (Rampart), McFadden’s (Rio), Quinn’s (Green Valley Ranch), and Nine Fine Irishmen (NY-NY). Prominent non-casino pubs are Fado, McMullen’s, Three Angry Wives, and Hennessey’s. And the theme is casino-wide at Fitzgeralds downtown and at O’Shea’s on the Strip. For the full picture, check out the Special Events section at LasVegasAdvisor.com.

 

Anthony Curtis column is syndicated weekly to all the above publications.