Expect more sites to join Vegas’ online poker market

UltimatePoker.com became the first online site to open for legal, live, real-money poker this week. While the current operation is being referred to as a "beta test," you can play for real money if you are over 21 and in Nevada.

That means you have to be physically in Nevada to play, but the software can be downloaded and accounts funded from anywhere.

Ultimate Poker is connected to the Ultimate Fighting Championship, which is owned by Station Casinos’ Fertitta brothers.

It’s expected that other casino groups will follow suit with online sites but that Nevada will have to partner with other states in order to attract the volume of players necessary to make online poker thrive once again.

» Refund bonus: One more tax-refund play has shown up. Cash your IRS refund check at any Station casino and get two free passes to the buffet there. That includes the upscale spreads at Green Valley Ranch and Red Rock.

The deal runs through May 31.

» $2 more: The price of the excellent weekday lunch deal in Estia­to­rio Milos at the Cosmopolitan has been raised by $2. Now $22.13, the long-running three-course lunch is still a bargain, running Monday-Friday from noon to 2:30 p.m.

» Valentino closing: One of Las Vegas’ most acclaimed restaurants, Valentino at the Venetian, will close in June. Owner Peiro Selvaggio says that he’s actively looking for a new location for the restaurant. Additionally, both FIRST Food & Bar (Palazzo) and sister restaurant Rattlecan (Venetian), which has been open only since November, were shuttered abruptly last month.

For more information about Las Vegas shows, buffets, coupons and good deals, go to www.LasVegasAdvisor.com.

No word yet as to what, if anything, will take their places.

Question: What are the dates and prices for Olivia Newton-John’s performances at Caesars Palace?

Answer: ONJ was scheduled to play the Flamingo (on dates when Donny and Marie Osmond were off), not Caesars’ Colosseum. However, that engagement is now on hold, pending Newton-John’s status after dealing with a personal issue that interfered with the plan.