Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

$25 million in comps, 500 steaks a night and other South Point tidbits revealed by ‘Vegas Stripped’

'Vegas Stripped' Red Carpet and Premiere at South Point

Tom Donoghue/DonoghuePhotography.com

The red carpet and premiere of Travel Channel’s “Vegas Stripped” at South Point on Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2012.

'Vegas Stripped' Red Carpet and Premiere at South Point

The red carpet and premiere of Travel Channel's Launch slideshow »

Once reality TV exploded a decade ago, it was probably inevitable Las Vegas would become the home of show after show after show. When your community’s nickname is Sin City, you’re pretty much a target-rich environment for ratings-seeking television producers.

With an overload of neon-soaked reality shows already out there, it was with some surprise that the Travel Channel’s “Vegas Stripped” debut contained lots of interesting little tidbits about the South Point.

And the really good stuff was in the wave of numbers related to South Point’s operation, specifically the financial details. Here is our by-the-numbers look at what we learned about Vegas’ “cowboy casino,” as it’s called in the show’s intro.

Note: The numbers were taken directly from the first two episodes of the television program and were not independently verified by VEGAS INC.

    • Gene Gabaldon puts a few dollars on a Megabucks machine at the South Point Casino on Friday, Feb. 13, 2009.

      Gene Gabaldon puts a few dollars on a Megabucks machine at the South Point Casino on Friday, Feb. 13, 2009.

      14.5 million and 43 percent

      The show says South Point spends $14.5 million a year on special events and that “these events only have one thing in common: they’re not moneymakers” for the property. It’s then explained that at least 43 percent of attendees at the events must gamble in the casino before profitability is typically reached.

    • $25 million

      It was revealed that South Point spends $25 million a year on comps.

    • The Fetish & Fantasy Halloween Ball at South Point on Oct. 29, 2011.

      The Fetish & Fantasy Halloween Ball at South Point on Oct. 29, 2011.

      500. Or 1,500. Or maybe 2,400.

      On “an average night,” the casino’s all-hours restaurant, the Coronado Cafe, can serve up to 500 steaks to the casino’s late-night breakfast crowd. On the night of the Fetish and Fantasy Ball, the restaurant expected to sell at least 1,500 steaks, but ordered a total of 2,400 New York Strip steaks for the weekend at a cost of $20,000.

    • 100

      By 3 a.m. during the Fetish and Fantasy Ball, held Oct. 29, 2011, the Coronado Cafe had served 80 pounds of sausage, more than 100 pounds of bacon and 140 pounds of breakfast potatoes.

    • 25,000

      Not surprisingly, Saturdays are typically South Point’s busiest day of the week. The show said South Point averages about 25,000 people in the casino each Saturday.

    • The Fetish & Fantasy Halloween Ball at South Point on Oct. 29, 2011.

      The Fetish & Fantasy Halloween Ball at South Point on Oct. 29, 2011.

      71

      For the Fetish and Fantasy Ball, South Point had 41 of its own security officers on duty and brought in an additional 30 contracted officers to help with the audience.

    • $5,000

      Many of those security officers were on pasties patrol. South Point officials worried pasties might violate a Clark County code related to “lewd activity, nudity or topless activity,” saying it could result in a $5,000 fine.

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