Neon Dice

Now that we are firmly into 2013, it’s time to look forward to the new year and all of the Vegasy Goodness that lies ahead.  While the days of massive casino openings and implosions may be well behind us, that doesn’t mean that changes aren’t afoot in Las Vegas.  They are just more subtle.  Here are three things that I am hoping will happen at some point in 2013:

Reopening of Binion’s Hotel – Binion’s probably has the most interesting history of any downtown property.  From its days as the Horseshoe with Benny Binion as the owner, it is one of the iconic places in Vegas History.  The fact that its hotel rooms are still closed, especially given the downtown renaissance, is just sad.  As such, my biggest wish for 2013 is that Binion’s will reopen their hotel.  There are plenty of rumors about renovations happening, but nothing has been announced.  Until there is, it’s most likely more smoke than fire.

The Quad isn’t lame – I really hope the remodeled and finished The Quad Hotel and Casino won’t be as lame as I think it will be.  If it really is going to be a beer pong and bad-odds gambling parlor, I have no interest.  But if the limits stay low and the odds stay reasonable with an updated and modern environment, I would be thrilled.  I don’t have high hopes for this, but it would be awesome to have a modern budget friendly option at center strip.

Cosmopolitan gets its act together – I love hanging out at the Cosmopolitan.  I like eating at Holsteins and Secret Pizza, I love getting drinks at many of the bars, and I like playing video poker at Book and Stage.  So what do I mean by getting its act together?  I mean offering reasonable table limits when the casino is empty, acting like their loyalty program actually matters, and all around operating like they aren’t ashamed to have a casino on the property.  I think the only way any of this happens is if the property gets a new owner and thus a new direction.