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Las Vegas Sands’ Dr. Miriam Adelson Makes First Political Donation in Nearly Two Years

Dr. Miriam Adelson, the largest individual shareholder of the Las Vegas Sands casino empire she inherited from her late husband, has made her first political donation in nearly two years. But the cash didn’t go directly to Donald Trump, the former president whose 2016 and 2020 White House campaigns she and her husband, Sheldon Adelson, dumped more than $200 million into.

Miriam Adelson Donald Trump Las Vegas Sands
Dr. Miriam Adelson remains the largest shareholder of Las Vegas Sands, the casino empire founded by her late husband. Adelson hasn’t yet donated to Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential bid, though she resumed her political spending in March after nearly two years. (Image: Haaretz)

Adelson controls 46% of the Sands organization following her $2 billion stock sell-off last year to acquire a controlling ownership position in the NBA Dallas Mavericks. Adelson, a stalwart Republican and perhaps the strongest pro-Israel voice in the United States, remained politically active in 2022 after the January 2021 death of her husband.

Adelson gave $1 million to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s (R) reelection in 2022, a contribution many saw as an effort to win political favor for the state welcoming in commercial casinos. She also gave $20 million to GOP congressional committees that year.

Adelson’s political spending went quiet throughout 2023. But federal campaign finance records show that Adelson, who’s worth more than $30 billion, might be returning to the political arena ahead of the November 2024 presidential election.

PAC Money

Before 2024, Adelson’s last political donation was an $8,100 contribution in November 2022 to a California Republican’s Attorney General campaign. Records from the Federal Election Commission reveal that Adelson reopened her political treasure chest in March with a $5,000 donation to the Las Vegas Sands Political Action Committee (Sands PAC).

The Sands PAC predominantly supports Republican candidates both on the federal and state level. The PAC limits its contributions to a maximum of $5,000 per candidate.

Adelson pitching in $5,000 is rather uneventful, but it could hint that the billionaire is readying to ramp up her political spending. Adelson said during the 2024 GOP primary that she wouldn’t endorse or financially support a candidate in favor of allowing the Republican electorate to decide who should challenge President Joe Biden.

The primary is long over, yet Adelson hasn’t contributed to Trump’s 2024 campaign. He needs cash, as the costly lawsuits against him play out.

Adelson and her husband poured more than $524 million into Republican campaigns and PACs between 2011 and 2022.

Biden Outpacing Trump

According to the FEC, Biden has significantly more cash on hand than Trump. The incumbent has around $130.8 million in funds to spend on his 2024 campaign, while Trump is said to have around $66.7 million.

Adelson, of course, can singlehandedly push Trump above Biden, assuming the Democrats’ largest donors, including George Soros and Michael Bloomberg, don’t do the same with hefty donations to the president.

Trump will be without the support of Americans for Prosperity, the super PAC controlled by the Koch network. The group backed Nikki Haley during the 2024 GOP presidential primary. The Koch network is controlled by Charles Koch, one of the world’s richest individuals who has long been a Republican supporter, but a Trump foe.

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VEGAS RESTAURANT ROUNDUP: Morgan Wallen Opening Ole Red Clone, Last Roundup for Holsteins at Cosmo

Looks like Blake Shelton will soon no longer be the only one in the country-star-opens-a-restaurant-and-bar-in-Nashville-and-then-Vegas business.

As a 20-year-old, Morgan Wallen competed on Season 6 of “The Voice” in 2014. However, he wasn’t on Blake Shelton’s team. Shelton later said: “Now here he is having these gigantic, huge number-one hits, and I can’t take any of the credit. It’s like, ‘I had him right there and he got away.’” (Image: Getty)

Morgan Wallen — called “the biggest country star of the 2020s” by the New York Times — is opening what is likely to be second location of This Bar and Tennessee Kitchen at a Las Vegas shopping mall, according to a Las Vegas Review-Journal report.

The logo for Wallen’s This Bar and Tennessee Kitchen, which is slated to debut this summer in Nashville. (TC Restaurant Group)

According to Wallen’s own website, the first This Bar is slated to open in Nashville this summer as a six-story, 30,000 square-foot bar, restaurant and live-music concept that sounds almost identical to the four story, 27,000-foot Ole Red, which Shelton opened in January at the Grand Bazaar Shops in front of Horseshoe Las Vegas.

Wallen’s second This Bar, according to the R-J, would only be 10,000 square feet and occupy the second and third floors of the 63 Las Vegas mall at the corner of Harmon Avenue and the Strip, atop of which sits Ocean Prime.

Wallen is partnering in This Bar with TC Restaurant Group.

The R-J story identified a building permit application that names only a $9.75 million “Vegas Country Music Restaurant” and a includes an “ellipse rooftop balcony” that connects to the restaurant.

Holsteins opened along with the Cosmopolitan in December 2010 and, rumor has it, will close this summer. (Image: shermansfoodadventures.com)

Dining Ins & Outs

Holsteins, the burger restaurant that opened along with the Cosmopolitan in December 2010, will reportedly close this summer. This news comes from Casino.org’s own Vital Vegas blogger Scott Roeben, who reports it only as “a rumor” provided by an anonymous source.

That source seems to be fairly informed, since they also reported that the restaurant was a victim of a shakeup by new casino owner MGM Resorts, and that its former space will handed over to Clique Hospitality.

Last August, we reported that Bojangles — the franchise that expanded from its first location in Charlotte, NC in 1977 to 800 outlets across 15 states — is building 20 new restaurants in Las Vegas. It looks like the first will be at the Diamond Plaza retail center at the intersection of South Rainbow Boulevard and Blue Diamond Road, more than 10 miles southwest of The Strip. Bojangles operated as Bojangles’ Famous Chicken ’n Biscuits until 2020.

The El Herradero Nightclub, at 3402 E. Lake Mead Blvd. in North Las Vegas, was closed by the Southern Nevada Health District on April 17.

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Wynn Las Vegas President Steve Weitman Leaving Company

Wynn Resorts (NASDAQ: WYNN) noted today Steve Weitman, the president of the operator’s Las Vegas Strip properties, is leaving the company effective June 10.

Wynn Resorts
Wynn and Encore on the Las Vegas Strip. President Steve Weitman is leaving the venues in June after two decades with the company. (Image: Luxury Lifestyle Magazine)

The executive didn’t give a reason for his departure beyond noting he’s evaluating other opportunities and now is “the right time to pursue my next chapter.”

After 20 years with this great company and leading the property to the best financial results in its history, Wynn Las Vegas and Encore are in an excellent operating position,” Weitman said in a letter to colleagues and staff at the Strip venues. “This has been an amazing journey and I could not be prouder to have worked alongside the best in the business. The friendships and relationships I’ve built with many of you over the last two decades will last a lifetime, for which I am most grateful.”

Wynn and Encore Las Vegas are the operator’s Sin City properties and two of its three US venues with the other being Encore Boston Harbor.

Weitman Had Long History with Wynn

When he leaves the gaming company on June 10, Weitman will have spent just over two decades with the firm.

He joined as senior vice president of Wynn Las Vegas — a role he held for 12 years and five months — in May 2004. In September 2016, he was promoted to chief operating officer (COO) of the Sin City venues. He occupied that role until January 2023 when he was elevated to president.

“All of us will miss Steve, but after such a long and successful run, we can all understand why he now wants some time to consider other life options. … Steve has been an integral part of Wynn Las Vegas for 20 years. He has demonstrated a singular level of dedication to Wynn and has contributed so much to our success. His career within the company has been inspiring to so many,” said Wynn CEO Craig Billings in a note to staff.

Prior to joining Wynn, Weitman spent more than eight years as director of operations and licensing for Walt Disney at that company’s Burbank, Calif. headquarters.

Interesting Timing for Weitman Departure

While neither Weitman nor Wynn gave a specific reason for the executive’s decision to leave the helm of Wynn Las Vegas, his departure comes as the operator is embroiled in litigation against Fontainebleau Las Vegas for pilfering Wynn staffers.

Wynn formally sued Fontainebleau in late February with the newest venue on the Strip firing back with a legal complain of its own less than a month later. Wynn believes that several former culinary and nightlife employees that jumped ship to Fontainebleau actively attempted to recruit former colleagues still employed at Wynn and some may have violated non-compete agreements with Wynn.

To be clear, there is no news at this point about Weitman moving to another casino or staying in the gaming industry following his June departure from Wynn Las Vegas.

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Slots a Fun (Re)Introduces Coin Slots to Vegas Strip

Circus Circus updated its Slots a Fun floor on Friday. Or, more accurately, they downdated it.

The newly gathered coin-operated slots at Slots a Fun boast actual reels, not virtual ones. (Image: X/@casinocollective)

The separate casino area, located next to Circus Circus’ main building, now features 85 coin-operated slot machines, many from the last millennium. (Technically, the mix of 25 cents, $1 and $5 machines are operated by tokens that need to be purchased.)

Ticket Out of Here

Coin slots began disappearing from casino floors across the US by the mid-2000s, as Ticket In Ticket Out (TITO) vouchers replaced almost all of them.

For casinos, TITO machines — developed in 1992 by MGM Corporation — eliminated the labor-intensive cost of having to continually empty hoppers of coins. Because of reduced cash handling, they also streamlined accounting procedures.

Paper money and vouchers also put less wear and tear on machines than coins do.

The problem with the newer machines, however, is that lots of gamblers miss the feel of coin slots and the big plastic barrels that got heavier when coin avalanches kerplunked into them.

This is why TITO machine manufacturers still replicate the sound of change dropping into the payout tray during jackpots.

Tokens of Their Appreciation

A Circus Circus press release describes this as a “strategic shift” that “reaffirms its dedication to honoring the essence of vintage Vegas while embracing innovation for the modern-day guest.”

In reality, there was no “American Pickers” rummage through junkyards or estate sales for retired machines. Circus Circus and its Slots a Fun were simply the last bastions of the Strip that modernization hadn’t completely transformed. So Phil Ruffin’s casino decided to flip this from a negative to a positive.

Around 50 of these last clattering icons — until recently found in smatterings across the Circus Circus and Slots a Fun floors — were simply gathered together into one place. Circus Circus then fortified the collection with 35 more token slots it purchased from vendors in Las Vegas and Iowa.

If the coin machines aren’t enough of a time portal to entice a visit curing your next Strip sojourn, Slots a Fun also features $2 beers, hot dogs, and shrimp cocktails. And 20 table games have been reintroduced into  its 8,000 feet of gaming space — all with $5 minimums.

What year is this again?

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On-Sale Dates Announced for (Cheaper) 2024 F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix

Fans can see the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix starting at $150 less than they paid to see last year’s inaugural race. Tickets, starting at $350, will go on sale to the public starting Monday, March 25, at 10 a.m. PT for race weekend, which will be held Nov. 21-23, 2024.

Tickets to the inaugural F1 Grand Prix started at $500. (Image: Reuters)

“We are incredibly proud of the inaugural Las Vegas race and look forward to leveraging the successes and learnings of 2023 as we evolve the race weekend for the benefit of all our stakeholders,” Renee Wilm, CEO of the Las Vegas Grand Prix, said in a statement.

Single-day tickets for the Grand Prix race on Saturday, Nov. 23, start at $350. Standing-room-only tickets in the Flamingo General Admission section start at $600 for a three-day ticket.

All prices listed here exclude taxes and fees.

The Caesars Palace Experience will start at $850. This section will be located along Las Vegas Boulevard and will have access to the Caesars Palace fan zone. Food and beverages will be available for purchase.

T-Mobile General Admission, which is also standing-room-only, will start at $1,050. These tickets include interactive experiences plus complimentary food, water, and soft drinks.

Grandstands are priced as follows:

  • Heineken Silver Main Grandstand ($2,750)
  • T-Mobile Grandstands (three tiers starting at $1,800)
  • West Harmon Zone Grandstands (two tiers starting at $1,500)

Clubs are priced as follows:

  • Skybox* ($10,500 plus taxes and fees) — NEW for 2024: Fans will have the option to purchase a Skybox ticket with an assigned seat in the Heineken Silver Main Grandstand for a total of $12,500 per person.
  • NEW Turn 3 Club ($9,300)
  • Champions Club ($8,900)
  • NEW Club Overtake* ($5,500)
  • Legacy ($5,500)
  • Club Paris ($3,750)
  • HGV Clubhouse ($3,500)

Luxury spaces are priced as follows:

  • F1 Garage ($35,000)
  • Additional details on the F1 Garage experience will be shared in the coming months
  • Wynn Grid Club ($25,000)
  • Paddock Club ($15,000)
  • Bellagio Fountain Club ($12,500)

Nevada residents will get early access starting Friday, March 22, at noon through Sunday, March 24. To access the presale, fans must purchase tickets via Ticketmaster using a credit or debit card linked to a Nevada billing address.

Visit f1lasvegasgp.com for more information and to sign up for updates.

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