In the crazy world of Las Vegas and casino gambling, it takes a truly big story to capture readers’ attention.
For example, AI gun detection potentially being deployed in Las Vegas Strip casinos, a man suing the Venetian after a scorpion stung his testicles while in bed at the resort’s hotel, and raging wildfires blanketing Sin City with smoke. These were all potentially interesting stories that flew largely under the radar in terms of views this year.
But there were also some typically explosive and over-the-top Las Vegas stories we covered this year that did get your attention.
Lost Vegas
In 2024 Las Vegas gambling news, nothing captured readers more than the final moments of two venerable Las Vegas icons – the Mirage and the Tropicana.
Both historic casino resorts closed this year, the Mirage on July 14 and the Tropicana on April 2. Any piece we wrote on these topics, from liquidation sales to the process of closing down, proved popular.
The Tropicana, affectionately known as The Trop by many locals, opened in 1957 and ran for 64 years on the Las Vegas Strip. In its ’60s and ’70s heyday, it was the destination in Sin City for an all-star cast of U.S. celebrities, and featured in screen classics like Elvis Presley’s Viva Las Vegas and a James Bond movie, Diamonds are Forever.
Final owner Bally’s has now demolished the Tropicana a few short months after closing it. The site is set to be used for a Major League Baseball stadium, hosting the soon-to-be-renamed Las Vegas A’s sometime in 2027.
Meanwhile, the Mirage wasn’t around for half as long as the Tropicana, but it had just as much influence. The brainchild of now-disgraced casino mogul Steve Wynn, the Mirage became the first of a new era in luxury casino resorts in Las Vegas when it opened in 1991. It set the template for the Las Vegas Strip resorts of today in terms of scale and prestige.
Its last owner, Florida-based Hard Rock International, plans to replace the closed Mirage with a new Hard Rock Las Vegas Casino Resort. Development of the site is already underway, including the foundations of a huge new guitar-shaped glass hotel tower.
Outside of the two big closures in Las Vegas in 2024, eyeballs were also drawn to stories about the ceaseless march of change in Sin City. Stories of interest included the Paris Las Vegas becoming the first large resort in years to add rooms with balconies, the expansion of MGM’s the Bellagio and locals casino South Point, and the potential sale of the Downtown Grand.
The Bellagio removing its trees for the Las Vegas Grand Prix was also an unexpectedly popular story. Another was the prospect of increased collaboration between the legal cannabis sector in Nevada and the casino resort business, which seemed to spark interest with readers.
Vegas Luck in Action
Speaking of what may be a vice for some but a good time for others, stories of big wins in Las Vegas were also very popular throughout the year.
Our monthly jackpot roundups were usually well-received. Among the biggest gambling winners of Sin City this year was Daniel Tamayo, winner of the $10 million first prize at the World Series of Poker main event.
Readers also liked the claims of UFC President and CEO Dana White, who this year told a podcast that he went on a $27 million winning streak playing baccarat at Caesars Palace.
Speaking of Caesars Palace, earlier this year, one high limit slot player went on a crazy run at the Caesars Entertainment flagship venue. The unnamed gambler hit six Dragon Link jackpots while playing in the casino’s high limit lounge between April 4 and April 14, taking home a total of $1.617 million.
Sins and Sentences
On the other hand, Las Vegas isn’t just about cutting edge luxury and gambling winners. It ain’t called Sin City for no reason, pal. Stories of Las Vegas’ darker underbelly also proved popular among readers this year.
A $650K casino heist in Primm, Nevada, was too big of a story to not write, despite Primm being around 40 miles south of Las Vegas (but still in Clark County).
The case of a prolific casino chip thief who was finally added this year to Nevada casinos’ so-called Black Book, officially The List of Excluded Persons, was also a popular story. As was the arrest of a man charged with using a fake check to back $800,000 in gambling loans at the Aria Resort & Casino – which he then lost at the tables.
Although not necessarily always the biggest draw for readers, undoubtedly the biggest crime story of the year in Las Vegas gambling was the money laundering allegations leveled against Resorts World.
The Genting Malaysia-owned casino was linked to the activities of several known illegal California bookmakers, many of whom have now been charged in a wide-ranging federal investigation.
One of the bookmakers was connected to the theft of $17 million from baseball star Shohei Ohtani. The L.A. Dodgers’ player lost millions to his former translator, Ippei Mizuhara, who used it to gamble with Matt Bowyer – who himself gambled millions at Resorts World.
Resorts World Las Vegas fired its president, Scott Sibella, shortly before he was found guilty in a separate money laundering case relating to his time in charge of the MGM Grand.
The Nevada Gaming Control Board’s own legal case against Sibella was recently settled, with the former exec losing his Nevada gambling license and paying a nominal $1,000 fine.
The ban will undoubtedly affect Sibella’s ability to get any other job in the gambling business going forward. The NGCB was widely criticized for being late to the party on the issue. In late 2023, it cleared Sibella of yet another separate money laundering connection. It then did not file its own complaint against Sibella or Resorts World until months after the first wave of federal prosecutions connected to the case.
David is an online casino expert who specializes in online slots and boasts over 10 years experience writing about iGaming. He has written for a wide range of notable publications, including eSports Insider and WordPlay Magazine.
David graduated Derby University with a BA Degree in English Literature and Creative Writing.
