Poker event participation declines 16 percent
Participation was way down for this year’s Colossus event at the World Series of Poker. Although the field was one of the largest ever at 18,054 players, that was down 16.5 percent from last year’s 21,613. A big factor in the drop is likely this year’s introduction of two tournaments with lower entry fees — an online event with a $333 buy-in and The Giant, with a $365 buy-in.
Wheel of Fortune jackpots: Two Wheel of Fortune jackpots were hit last week. A 25-cent progressive at Wynn paid $343,000 and a $1 progressive at Arizona Charlie’s Decatur paid $1.67 million.
Casino location for sale: A prime center-Strip location that had been earmarked for a major casino called Alon is up for sale. Alon’s developer, Crown Resorts of Australia, is asking $400 million for the 34.6-acre parcel that it bought for $280 million in 2014. The parcel, formerly the site of the Frontier Hotel-Casino, went for $1.2 billion when purchased by an Israeli developer in 2007 for a project called The Plaza, which also never materialized.
New steakhouse: Bavette’s Bar & Boeuf, one of Chicago’s most acclaimed steakhouses, is headed to Monte Carlo. The restaurant is scheduled to open in October in the space that housed Brand.
Downtown shuttle: Funding for a new free downtown shuttle service has been approved. The Downtown Loop will connect the Arts District, Premium Outlets North, Mob Museum, Pawn Plaza and other downtown areas via two shuttles that will operate nine hours a day. The service is expected to launch in June.
Question: What’s the story about the new taxi system called Kabit?
Answer: Four Las Vegas taxi companies have come together to form a new hailing system that eliminates the need to make a phone call. Kabit (pronounced cab-it) is the name of the button that’s been installed at businesses throughout the city. When a store employee pushes the button, the nearest available cab is sent to pick up the rider.
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