Vegas casino F&B directors seem to think so. From our trusty LVA research department comes word that The Orleans and Mandalay Bay are ending their one-price-all-day buffet specials. Better/worse still, Palace Station is hiking the price of its buffet — by four bucks. One doesn't know whether to applaud this apparent harbinger of better times ahead or deplore the swift yanking of the "Welcome" mat out from under customers' feet.
Contract talks with magician Lance Burton, you'll recall, went right down to the wire. One possible sticking point? Burton has lost his 10 p.m. slot, which as of today belongs to Frank Caliendo, who'll be doing a 9:30 p.m. show four nights a week.
Good move. Burton's family-friendly act seems an odd fit with the late-show crowd. Besides, Caliendo is on network TV regularly, which Burton isn't. Between this, recruiting musical act Zowie Bowie and rolling out Hotel32, Monte Carlo is making a spirited attempt to stay in the limelight, even as CityCenter looms larger and larger next door.
Study Hall. Just what Nevada needs, another "study" of the tax structure. What's to study? At least 27% of the tax base comes from gaming revenues, which have been in decline for 18 months. A comparable portion comes from retail sales, which have been down two entire years and counting. The problem is obvious but the will to rethink it is rather less in evidence. Here's a hint: We need a plan which is not simply another variant of "Soak the tourists."
