It’s still many years from a countdown, but an airport for recreational space travel in Las Vegas just cleared the first hurdle on its voyage toward reality. The Clark County Commission unanimously approved construction permits this week for the Las Vegas Spaceport to build a $30 million runway. A rendering of the Las Vegas Spaceport, which would be built on desert land 32 miles west of Las Vegas. (Image: Las Vegas Spaceport) Slated for 240 acres of desert land near Sin City’s border with Pahrump, Nev., the $310 million project was announced last summer by Las Vegas Spaceport CEO Rob Lauer. “I ..read more

The oldest continuously operating casino in Las Vegas is getting a facelift. El Cortez received a well-deserved place on the National Register of Historic Places in 2013. (Image: thevendry.com) El Cortez is renovating 10,000 square feet of its historic casino floor and adding another 5,000 square feet to it. The $20 million refresh will result in a brand new high-limit lounge and two new bars that will be in keeping with its pre-WWII time-machine vibe. We sure hope you didn’t like Ike’s Bar too much. (Image: El Cortez) One bar is described by a news release as a “roulette” bar, the other a “sh ..read more

Nearly two months ago, reports surfaced that MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM) is mulling the sale of its regional casinos in Ohio and Springfield, Mass. Officials in the Massachusetts city said they intend to hold the gaming company to the terms of the host city agreement should a transaction materialize. MGM Springfield. City officials said the gaming company must abide by the host city accord if it opts to sell the casino. (Image: Boston Globe) In March, it was reported that MGM could be evaluating the sale of MGM Springfield and MGM Northfield, a racino near Cleveland. MGM Springfield ..read more

It’s been less than a month since FanDuel took over as the lone mobile sportsbook operator in Washington, DC, but rivals are already clamoring for access to online sports betting in the US capitol. Washington, DC Council member Kenyan McDuffie (I-At Large) at a 2021 campaign rally. Gaming companies support his bill to open the Washington, DC mobile sports betting market. (Image: YouTube) Earlier this week, representatives from BetMGM, Caesars Sportsbook, DraftKings, and Fanatics Betting & Gaming gave testimony before the Washington, DC City Council’s Committee Business and Economic Develop ..read more

Zac Brown stunned Las Vegas observers by announcing that his Zac Brown Band will be the next to ascend to a vaunted residency at the Sphere. Not Harry Styles, as previously rumored. Not the Eagles. Not Beyonce. Zac Brown and his country band may perform the next full Sphere residency after U2’s and Dead & Company’s. (Image: Rolling Stone) “It’s the greatest canvas ever created, and to be one of the first bands to go in there and do it, this is our masterpiece,” Brown said during an appearance on comedian Theo Von’s YouTube podcast this week. “This is our chance to show what we can really d ..read more

The City of Farmers Branch, a Dallas suburb, has passed on the chance to host Texas’ largest poker room. On Tuesday, the city council voted 4-1 against an ordinance that would have legalized cardrooms, paving the way for the proposed venue. Poker’s Doug Polk, above, wanted to bring a 47,000-square-foot cardroom to the City of Farmers Branch, Texas, but was rebuffed by city officials this week. (Image: 888) The decision dashes the plans of three-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner Doug Polk, who wanted to open a 47,000-square-foot cardroom with a bar, restaurant, and 100 poker tables. Po ..read more

A Clark County district judge denied Wynn Resorts the temporary injunction it sought against Fontainebleau, the new Strip casino resort it is suing for poaching its executives. The Fontainebleau, foreground, overshadows the Wynn and Encore in a photo taken from the top of the Strat. (Image: Getty) On Thursday morning, Judge Mark Denton ruled that Wynn Resorts’ request was overly broad and, therefore, not appropriate for an injunction. Wynn sought the injunction to stop Fontainebleau from enticing any more of its executives into breaking their employment contracts to work at Fontainebleau, whic ..read more

Golden Entertainment (NASDAQ: GDEN) dramatically reduced debt while announcing its first ever quarterly dividend. Such efforts, including share buybacks, could be the casino operator’s preferred avenues for returning capital to shareholders rather than acquiring gaming venues in Nevada. Golden Entertainment’s Arizona Charlie’s Casino. The operator prefers share buybacks over Nevada acquisitions. (Image: Las Vegas Review-Journal) Last month, the Strat operator deployed $287 million to redeem outstanding senior notes, slashing its outstanding liabilities and leaving it with about $100 million in ..read more

Google “Block 16” and “Las Vegas” and you may think this article is about an expensive food hall at the Cosmopolitan on the Strip. It is about the human appetite for expensive vices, but food isn’t among them. Two scandalously attired women shade themselves under the the awning of the Arizona Club, a legal bordello on Block 16, sometime in the late 1930s. (Image: UNLV Special Collections) Exactly how and when Las Vegas first got the nickname “Sin City” is up for debate. However, Block 16 was most certainly where. When the San Pedro, Los Angeles & Salt Lake Railroad auctioned off the parcel ..read more

The man accused of deceiving a South Dakota gaming property worker appeared in court this week. The employee had collected $350K from the casino cage and turned it over to the defendant at a gas station. Grand River Casino, pictured above. A suspect was arrested after allegedly convincing a casino worker to collect $350K from the cashier’s cage and then bringing it to him. (Image: Grand River Casino) Roberto Orellana, 44, of Omaha, Neb., who received the cash, pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to grand theft, according to the Mitchell Daily Republic, a South Dakota news outlet. Judge Chris Giles d ..read more