We kick off the new year with gambling news from Las Vegas, where a tribal casino is now open right in the middle of the Strip! We also discuss what many believe will be the new trend for gambling in 2023!
Hello friends! Happy New Year! And welcome to This Week in Gambling! Our first show of 2023! And we kick off the gambling news with a tribal casino right smack in the middle of the Las Vegas Strip! Now before we go any further, I think it’s fair to let you know that the casino in question is not a new casino, but an old familiar face: The Mirage! Most of you know that the Mirage was recently sold and will soon become the Hard Rock Las Vegas. Hard Rock is owned by the Seminole Tribe of Florida, of course, and that means that even though the name hasn’t officially changed yet the Mirage is the only Tribal owned casino located on Las Vegas Boulevard.
Sure, this is not the only tribal casino in Las Vegas. The Palms is owned by the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians from California. And of course, the Virgin Hotel has a casino that’s managed by the Mohegans of Connecticut. But neither of those properties is actually on the Las Vegas Strip. Here’s where things take an interesting turn, however, as Hard Rock has decided to keep the Mirage… The Mirage! At least for now. Complete with its iconic volcano attraction that everybody loves so much. The sale of the Mirage to Hard Rock was actually completed just before Christmas, but the property will not be transformed into the Hard Rock for at least another 18 months.
In an artistic rendering of the property, it’s clear that plans are to eventually be build a huge monstrosity of a guitar-shaped hotel, giving the Strip a much different look. Plus, they’ve already confirmed plans to remove the volcano once construction begins. That’s the bad news. However, they also plan to renovate the casino floor to hold 2,000 slot machines, along with more than 200 table games. But for the next year and a half at least, the Mirage will remain open as the Mirage. Meaning we still have time to book a room and enjoy the property. And who knows, maybe we could even convince the Seminoles to keep the volcano.
This week we kick off 2023 with a look at the New Year’s Bash online slot: a five reel, three row, 25 payline game from our friends at Habanero! Players spin and light up the New Year in cities all around the world, winning up to 90 free spins when all the lights are activated! There are wild and scatter symbols, and New Year’s Bash can be played on mobile devices! You can find this review and hundreds more when you visit our YouTube channel.
And finally this week, after discussing the tribal casino on the Strip, we head into the New Year and look forward to what 2023 may bring us, there are some who believe that this will be the year of cashless gambling. And if so, you can thank the Coronavirus. Yes the pandemic has inspired the growth of cashless gambling, and there are many companies out out there right now working on solutions to tie your payment methods to casino players cards and make the whole thing digital. Although, I gotta admit: The term “cashless gambling” sounds a bit oxymoronic, kind of like “tough love”… or “Postal Service”.