The 50th World Series of Poker is in progress at the Rio in Las Vegas. This year’s milestone meet features a record 89 events (11 more than last year’s record) being played over the 50 days of the tournament. The most expensive buy-in is $50,000 for the “Poker Players Championship” on June 24. The $10,000 buy-in Main Event begins July 3 and will run straight through with the champion crowned on July 16. Viewing of all tournaments is free and open to the public.

Alternative poker: While most WSOP buy-ins are $1,500 and up, you can play events with buy-ins below $500 in concurrently run tournaments at Binion’s, Golden Nugget, Venetian, Aria, Wynn and Orleans, all of which are already in progress. Even more affordable tourneys (buy-ins under $50) can be found in the smaller poker rooms around town.

New Casbar: SLS Las Vegas has opened the Casbar Lounge. In press releases announcing the opening, no reference was made to the iconic original Casbar at the Sahara, but adopting the name adds credibility to speculation that a resort name change back to Sahara might be in the cards.

Posting up: Upward of 3,000 more bollards are being installed to protect pedestrians on the sidewalks along the Strip from Sahara to the “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign. The 4-foot-tall steel posts are stabilized by being linked underground and are capable of stopping a truck traveling 55 miles per hour. The new installations bring the number of Strip bollards to 4,600.

Question: Did anyone keep count of the hot dogs sold at the D’s 5-cent promotion?

Answer: Sure did. During last month’s one-hour promotion offering Coney Island hot dogs for a nickel, a total of 1,108 were sold. Lines were long and the restaurant staff hustled to sell 18.5 per minute, which is one every 3.25 seconds.

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