Las Vegas Advisor: Las Vegas strip casino first to ban smoking

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MGM Resorts International has announced that the south-Strip Park MGM and its hotel-within-a-hotel, NOMAD, will reopen on Sept. 30. They are the last of MGM’s properties to reemerge from the shutdown. Furthermore, both will open with smoking completely prohibited. They will be the only non-smoking resorts in Las Vegas and the first in two decades since the now defunct Silver City tried it without success.

MRI believes there’s a lot of pent-up demand for a no-smoking casino in Las Vegas and says that the Park MGM has been fully “prepared for a smoke-free experience,” with carpeting and wall coverings replaced throughout the property. Due to the heightened emphasis on healthy operating procedures, the no-smoke policy just might work this time.

LINQ hotel opens: The LINQ’s 2,250-room hotel opened last week, two months after the LINQ casino opened in June. Stays are limited to weekends as of now. That leaves the Cromwell, Planet Hollywood and Rio as the only Caesars Entertainment hotel-casinos that remain completely shuttered.

Circa gets level: After being on the hook for a big portion of $4 million in guaranteed prizes in its two football contests this year, a rush of entries at the deadline took Circa Sports over the break-even point for both. “Circa Million II” needed 3,000 entries and drew 3,148; “Circa Survivor” needed 1,000 and drew 1,390. The Circa casino is on schedule for its Oct. 28 opening date.

Question: You wrote that the Wynn buffet closed because “it was no longer a buffet in customers’ eyes.” Can you elaborate?

Answer: The Wynn buffet’s “serviced” format, by which food was ordered from a menu and delivered to the table, was more like a traditional sit-down restaurant experience. A big part of the buffet experience is being able to put your meal together perfectly, including getting the exact portions you want of the different offerings. Another negative to the format was having to order without seeing the food first.

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