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Kendall Jenner Tends Bar at Wynn Las Vegas

If you happened into Casa Playa, Wynn Las Vegas’ Mexican food nightspot, on Wednesday night, Aug. 9, you might have recognized one of the bartenders.

Kendall Jenner, the 27-year-old daughter of Caitlyn (formerly Bruce) and Kris Jenner, was on hand to mix margaritas alongside Wynn master bartender Mariena Mercer Boarini, who offered pointers from the sidelines.

Kendall Jenner mixes tequila drinks with Wynn Las Vegas mixologist Mariena Mercer Boarini, on Aug. 9, 2023. (Image: Wynn Las Vegas)

As with every Vegas Kardashian visitation since Kendall’s older sister, Kim, celebrated her 27th birthday at Tao at the Venetian in 2006, there was of course a marketing strategy behind this one.

Jenner jetted into town, wearing a curve-hugging leather dress, to promote her 818 tequila brand. Labels of the bottle were prominently positioned in all Instagram photos posted by @wynnlasvegas that night.

Jenner took time to pay compliments to, and share a drink with, Casa Playa chef Sarah Thompson. Of course, that drink was a glass of 818 tequila. The Wynn tried to use the occasion to show off Casa Playa’s recently expanded dining area, but all eyes were on the socialite and nothing else.

Jenner poses with her strategically placed bottle at the Wynn’s Delilah Lounge & Fine Dining. (Image: Wynn Las Vegas)

Jenner changed into a sleeveless yellow dress to promote her tequila at another Wynn eatery, Delilah Lounge & Fine Dining.

Kendall’s net worth is $60 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth. On the scale of Kardashians, that places her sixth — behind Kim Kardashian ($1.8 billion), Kylie Jenner ($750 million), Kris Jenner ($230 million), and Kourtney Kardashian ($65 million), but ahead of Khloe Kardashian ($60 million) and Rob Kardashian ($10 million).

In addition to founding a tequila company, Jenner has a real job as a fashion model and a fake one as a reality TV star on Hulu’s “The Kardashians.”

Not appearing with her in Las Vegas was Jenner’s love interest since February, 29-year-old Grammy-winning Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny.

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Palms Casino Resort Puppy Theft Leads to Massive Search in Las Vegas

Danny, a 10-week-old Pomeranian puppy, was stolen on June 28 from the Palms Casino Resort.

Danny, a puppy
Danny, a puppy, pictured above. He was stolen from the Palms Casino last month. (Image: Gary Stout)

He has not been seen since. Co-owner Gary Stout has been searching for him daily.

$1K Reward

Stout is now offering a $1K reward for his return, with no questions asked.

Here is a description: Danny is almost completely black. He has a white patch of fur on his chest and on the tips of his paws, according to Las Vegas TV station KTNV.

The dog was last seen in a black carrier that was on the floor near Stout’s girlfriend while she was at the Palms.

Earlier this month, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) officers provided Stout photos and video of the suspected puppy-napper.

On Wednesday, LVMPD officers posted photos and a description on social media of the thief. He was wearing a green hat, a white T-shirt and black pants at the time of the crime.

On a social media post, the LVMPD said its detectives “are seeking the public’s assistance to identify [the] … suspect involved in the theft of a dog that occurred … in the 4300 block of West Flamingo Road.”

It is believed the dog thief grabbed the carrier and put the puppy in bushes at the Palms.

Two hours later, he picked up the dog and carried it with him as he walked toward the Gold Coast Hotel and Casino, KTNV reported.

There are several apartment buildings near the Gold Coast, too.

The puppy if sold by the thief, it could fetch a few thousand dollars given its breed, according to KTNV. If there are new owners, they may not realize the puppy was stolen or that the legal owners were searching for him.

Stout spends many nights out on the streets of Las Vegas asking pedestrians if they have seen the dog. Recovering the dog is very important to him and his girlfriend.

Puppy Is Like a Child

You know, we don’t have any kids,” Stout recently told KTNV. “That is my kid, in my eyes. Any true dog owner would understand it.”

The couple had owned the puppy for about a month when it was stolen.

They planned to put a micro-chip in Danny when he was given his first round of shots. That way they could track him.

But Danny being a few weeks old — that was too soon to get those shots. So, they waited not expecting the theft of their beloved pet.

They continue to wait and search for his safe return.

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Fontainebleau Las Vegas Still Poised for 2023 Opening – First Regulatory Hurdle Cleared

fontainebleau_las_vegasFontainebleau Las Vegas is well on its way to opening in December with a preliminary Nevada Gaming Control Board suitability hearing in the rearview mirror and a Nevada Gaming Commission hearing on July 27 which almost certainly result in a recommendation to grant the property a license in November. Then, it’s all blue skies, or Fontainebleau wrapping up the details to open in December – finally, after breaking ground in 2007 and investing nearly $4 billion dollars in the development and surrounding economy.

Long Time in Development, Multiple Setbacks

The nearly 70-floor property has stood out on The Strip for years, at one point, it was swathed in white construction wrapping and called an eye-sore by neighboring businesses when in the hands of another owner.

A quick rundown of the type of property visitors can expect when it is opened all point to a high-end experience with over 400 suites included in a count of over 3,500 hotel rooms.

The casino space will be modest by the percentage of total floor space with about 150,000 sq ft of gaming area holding 128 gaming tables and 1,300 slots. High rollers and mid-rollers will be catered to with nearly 20,000 sq ft of VIP gaming space and over 3,000 square feet of domestic high-limit floor. There will reportedly be 6 Salons Privé. Sports bettors will find a dedicated space of more than 13,000 square feet.

The casino will be at ground level with a retail promenade above it and health and fitness above that. Over half a million square feet of convention and meeting space is included with one area covering over 100,000 square feet making it the second-largest meeting hall in the market.

About half of the dining space will be high-end and the remainder reserved for casual dining. The upscale areas will include international chefs and globally recognized brands.

Nightlife has not been overlooked with a nightclub as well as a day club and a theater to seat nearly 4,000 visitors. Development partner “It’s an arena-size theater stage and it will be a multi-purpose room,” Fontainbleau development partner Brett Mufson said. “We will have residences and host groups and meetings, speaker series, and car events.”

To Employ 7,000+

Nearly 4,000 workers are currently on site and operations will require more than 4,500 full-time workers and nearly 2,000 part-time employees. At full operational capacity, including partner employees, over 7,000 people will be employed with some 250 in executive positions.

At Wednesday’s preliminary hearing, Jeffrey Soffer and Brett Mufson of Fontainebleau Development were found suitable to operate the property. They will face the Gambling Board soon for what usually results in a rubber stamp after a few tough questions that may be left dangling, giving applicants a chance to tidy up any loose ends and give finality to any open questions not fully addressed at the preliminary hearing. In this case, it may be a tax matter from a decade ago and whether any debt forgiveness was included in Soffer’s repurchase of the loan involved in the property.

Soffer was the original developer, but he ran into difficulties when the great recession set in and turned the economy upside down in 2008. The current development also includes the deep pockets of Koch Industries’ real estate investment subsidiary, Koch Real Estate Investments. Raider/investor Carl Icahn owned the property for a while but it didn’t progress toward opening under his ownership.

Concerning the “suitability” issue that was brought up during the hearing, gambling lawyer Frank Schreck provided some detail. Schreck said:

“The focus of the investigation appears to be an analysis of a loan related to the development of Town Square more than 10 years ago. It was purchased from the lender by Jeff Soffer and his sister Jackie. According to Mr. Soffer’s counsel, Rod Rosenstein, the former Acting Attorney General, the issue seems to be whether or not there was any debt forgiveness related to the repurchase of that loan. We are still unsure whether Mr. Soffer’s tax accountants properly accounted for any forgiveness in the complicated transaction.”

Thanks to the consequences of the “Great Recession” of the late 2000s, Soffer reportedly had hundreds of millions of dollars of net operating losses. These would presumably be available on paper to take care of any tax liability.

Second Chances

Soffer has owned the property again since February 2021.

“Soffer said, “It’s been a full circle with this development and I’m excited to be able to finish this. It’s going to be fabulous for Las Vegas. It’s definitely a little different than originally planned. It’s much more upscale.”

According to an article in CDC Gaming Reports, Gaming Control Board Chair Kirk Hendrick didn’t have any concerns about earlier failures of the property during the “economic downturn” of the 2000s.

“I’m very excited for that part of the Strip to see some revitalization and your property move forward,” Hendrick said.

According to local ABC News affiliate KTNV, US casinos made a record-breaking $60 billion in revenue in 2022. Nevada casino operators accounted for $14.8 billion, and casinos on the Strip accounted for more than 10%, or $8.2 billion of the entire nation’s gambling revenues, making the Las Vegas Strip the top gaming market in America. A distant second was Atlantic City with 2022 revenues of $2.8 billion last year.

Source: Fontainebleau Las Vegas on track for November licensing ahead of December opening, CDC Gaming Reports, July 12, 2023

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Viewers Cry ‘Nope’ on Recycled Las Vegas Soap

Some vewers of a viral TikTok video are retching over the possibility that the soap they’ve used in Las Vegas hotel rooms was recycled.

The video, from the channel Science Insider, shows the recycling process engineered by the Clean the World Foundation. The process breaks down used hotel soap bars, disinfects them, and molds new soap bars out of what’s left over.

As shown in a viral Tik-Tok video, bars of old soap slide along a conveyor belt. They are then cleaned, sanitized, and remolded into new bars. (Image: Science Insider/TIk-Tok)

“Hotels throw out millions of bars of used soap every week,” the video’s voiceover states. “But they don’t have to go in the trash.”

The video states that Clean the World cleans dirt and hair from the top layers of used bars. Then a machine called a refiner grates the bars, squeezing out noodle-like strands that get heated and mixed with a solution of water and bleach for 7 to 8 minutes to sanitize them.

Uploaded last month, the video has been viewed more than 23 million times as of Wednesday morning, generating thousands of comments from grossed-out viewers.

“Dirt and hair is removed?” one asked. “I don’t want anything that’s touched someone’s dirt or hair.”

“Don’t worry, all the pubes and dead skin cells act as exfoliating agents in the recycled soap bars!” another comment stated.

“Aaaaand I’m bringing my own soap,” someone else wrote.

It is a safe bet to assume that none of these grossed-out commenters was unaware that Las Vegas recycles and treats every drop of the water discarded from Strip resorts. In other words, at least some of the water drawn from bathroom sinks and restaurant taps was once washed down shower drains or flushed down toilets.

In the viral TIk-Tok video, a refiner grates the cleaned used bars of hotel soap. (Image: Science Insider/Tik-Tok)

The TikTok video claims that “thousands of hotels around the world” participate in the soap recycling program, though it doesn’t name any.

Clean the World’s website lists headquarters in Las Vegas and Orlando. This makes sense since they’re the cities with the most hotel rooms not only in the US but the world.

A 2011 press release posted on the company’s website listed Caesars Entertainment, The Venetian/Palazzo, and Wynn/Encore as Las Vegas partners in its recycling program.

Clean the World did not return an email seeking more information from Casino.org.

Doesn’t Wash

Just because some Las Vegas resorts contribute soap to Clean the World for recycling does not mean that they also distribute the end product to their guests.

A deeper dive into the organization shows it to be an independent nonprofit founded by Shawn Seipler in 2009 to improve the quality of life for vulnerable communities around the world.

Another video about Clean the World’s soap recycling — posted to YouTube by the channel Insider Business  — specifically states that the old soap bars are recycled “into brand new one for people in need.”

People in need are not known to check into Las Vegas Strip resorts.

View the TikTok video below:



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Last of Siegfried & Roy’s Tigers and Lions Leaves Las Vegas for Sanctuaries

The last surviving white tigers and lions belonging to magicians Siegfried & Roy have left Las Vegas. This leaves the Strip without a single exotic cat appearing, performing, or residing there for the first time since 1967.

Siegfried & Roy perform with one of their white tigers on stage at The Mirage during the heyday of both their magic act and of the acceptability of exploiting wild animals for entertainment purposes. (Image: Shutterstock)

The animals were already relocated by The Mirage, where they had been residing — at least in part — at Siegfried & Roy’s Secret Garden for the past 30 years, to two animal sanctuaries. According to a statement released from The Mirage after the fact, WildCat Ridge Sanctuary in Scotts Mills, Ore. and In-Sync Exotics in Wylie, Tex. were chosen after an “extensive search process.”

The Mirage did not state how many cats were relocated or what specific types of cats were relocated to each sanctuary.

“The facilities chosen for the cats’ forever homes demonstrated the ability to continue the same quality of care with thoughtful attentiveness to the well-being of Siegfried & Roy’s animal family as they have received at The Secret Garden,” the press release stated.

Since Strip resorts don’t alert the media to highly controversial events in which things can go wrong, there were no photographs available of the exotic cats leaving The Mirage in Las Vegas. So Casino.org asked Bing’s ChatGPT AI to create one. (Image: Bing ChatGPT)

According to The Mirage, both sanctuaries have “deep experience in providing for the long-term care for exotic cats with their experienced animal care teams and excellent facilities that provide a peaceful home to a wide range of wildcats.”

Now They’ve Disappeared for Real

Siegfried Fischbacher and Roy Horn were the performers to bring white lions and tigers to the Strip in 1967. So it’s fitting that their big cats were the last to go. You won’t find a big-cat show on The Strip anymore, and you aren’t likely to find them in the future.

Whereas big cat shows and zoos were once seen as an acceptable way to educate the kiddos about wildlife and conservation, public attitudes have changed about the benefits of exploiting animals raised in captivity.

The career-ending attack on Roy Horn by his white tiger, Mantacore, during the duo’s magic show in 2003, served as a defining moment for the world to rethink its position.

Horn died from complications of COVID-19 in 2020. Fischbacher died  the following year from pancreatic cancer.

Hard Rock International, the new owner of The Mirage, permanently closed Siegfried & Roy’s Secret Garden last year and announced that all its animals would be rehoused.

The departure of the exotic cats follows the departure of the last three dolphins from the property in May to CoralWorld Ocean Park’s Sea Sanctuary at Water Bay in St. Thomas.

PETA Reacts

After today’s relocation news, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals e-mailed Casino.org the following response.

“Champagne corks are popping at PETA,” said organization spokesperson David Perle. Added Debbie Metzler, the organization’s director of captive animal welfare: “Kind tourists today won’t go anywhere near cruel and archaic animal acts like those from Siegfried & Roy, and these dangerous spectacles have all but done a disappearing act from the Strip.”

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