Two Way Hard Three | Las Vegas Casino & Design Blog

Ira Sternberg has been doing his show, 'Nighttime with Ira' for many years. This past November, he interviewed the late Jeff Simpson.

That interview will re-run 12/22 @ 6:30pm on KUNV.org.

A lot of people have been asking me about how they could celebrate and remember Jeff Simpson, who died on December 3rd. As far as the show goes, we've got a few ideas that we're working on, none of which are ready to be discussed yet.

But, if you're in Las Vegas this Sunday, the 18th, you can join us and Jeff's family for a get together @ Sunset Station. Here are the details, from Jeff's girlfriend Jazmin:

Jeff's family and I have been so touched by the outpouring of support and emotion over Jeff's passing. We would like to invite you to join us for a casual gathering to celebrate his life on December 18th, 2011, 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM at Jeff's home casino, Sunset Station. The get-together will be located in the Sunset Room, which has been so graciously provided by our friends at Station Casinos.

Thanks to Jazmin and Jeff's family for putting this together and thanks to Station for providing the room.

I hope to see you there and for those that can't make it, we know you'll be there in spirit.

I have some very sad news to share. Our friend, Jeff Simpson, passed away early today.

Below is a statement from his loved ones:

Jeff passed away due to complications following emergency heart surgery.

According to his wishes, his ashes will be laid to rest in a private ceremony with his closest loved ones.

Jeff is survived by his girlfriend, Jazmin Casing; his brother Jon Simpson; father, Robert Simpson, his nieces Tiffany, Nina and Hanna Simpson and his niece and godchild, Vivian Salazar.

The family suggests that memorial contributions be sent to Jeff's favorite charity, the Nevada Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Jeff's biggest passion in life was the gaming industry -- he loved everything about it. As an editor and reporter covering Las Vegas gaming for over a decade, he truly loved learning the secrets and intricacies of the business from people like Steve Wynn, Michael Gaughan and Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta.

On a personal level, Jeff just plain loved casinos. He really loved craps and was an avid poker player who particularly enjoyed no limit hold 'em. One of his dreams was to play in the World Series of Poker and he has won numerous tournaments at the Orleans, Venetian, Caesars and The Mirage.

He lived in Las Vegas with his girlfriend of seven years and their chihuahua, Ricky (yep, he's the one tries to crash the Vegas Gang podcasts every once in awhile :)

His family and friends thank everyone for such a generous outpouring of love and support for Jeff.

For those who want to experience Jeff's TWHT columns again, you can read them all here. Jeff was an integral part of the Vegas Gang and appeared on virtually every episode.

I recently was lucky enough to do an in-depth interview with Jeff for the show. You can listen to that here.

Jeff forgot more about casinos than most of us will ever know. His insights were sharp and always impressed me - I often I wished I had thought of them first. It was an honor to do the show with Jeff and to have him writing here. We are all significantly worse off without him.

I'm in shock - I can't believe he's gone. These few sentences are surely not all I will have to say about my friend but it's all I can muster right now.

My most sincere and heartfelt condolences to Jazmin and the rest of Jeff's family.

Thanksgiving is right around the corner and for this edition of SIMPSON on VEGAS, Jeff is going to share what we all (collectively as guests and hotel operators) should be thankful for when it comes to Las Vegas.

Continue reading after the jump and have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Episode #69 is up!

Listen here: http://www.vegasgangpodcast.com/2011/11/vegas-gang-69-november-9th-2011/

This time on the show:

Another installment of 'Meet the Gangsters', this time featuring Jeff Simpson (@simpsonlasvegas).

This is a long one but Jeff goes into a ton of detail about his background, the industry, where it's going and more. Great talk.

There's been a lot of talk about potential casinos in Florida and just yesterday, news of a new poker partnership between Vegas operators and online enterprises.

Jeff gives his thoughts on these two possible futures in the latest Simpson on Vegas.

Enjoy.

It's time to blow some crap up!

SoV is back. Happy Sunday.

This time around, Jeff explains what's going up in smoke and when. Enjoy.

Here's Jeff's latest 'advice' column, this time with thoughts on Monte Carlo, New York New York, MGM Grand, Tropicana, Luxor, Excalibur and Mandalay Bay.

This is the last of the series for The Strip. Read the others here.

Enjoy!

This is SoV #30! Congrats to Jeff on the milestone and thank you to all of you for reading.

Here's Jeff's latest 'advice' column, this time with thoughts on Bellagio, Caesars Palace, Cosmopolitan, Bally's, Aria, Planet Hollywood and Paris.

Enjoy!

We're back with part three of Jeff Simpson's 'Advice for The Strip' column here at Simpson on Vegas. In this episode, it's the other side of the Center Strip.

Continue after the jump...

We're back with part two of Jeff Simpson's 'Advice for The Strip' column here at Simpson on Vegas. This time around it's Venetian, TI, Mirage, Casino Royale and Harrah's.

Continue after the jump...

This time around, Jeff offers up some free advice to casino owners and operators for some of Las Vegas' most iconic properties.

This is the first in a series.

Continue after the jump...

This time around, Jeff reflects on Terry Lanni's role in Las Vegas and his own interactions with him.

Lanni died Thursday.

Continue on after the jump.

This is the 25th edition of the Simpson on Vegas column - congrats Jeff and thanks to all of you that are reading. I love publishing this column and I hope you're enjoying it too.

Jeff hits a few topics this time out but my personal favorite is a reminder that local business media could do more when writing about the gaming industry.

Anyway, keep reading after the jump for the full low-down.

Will Gary Loveman expand the Caesars empire (ha ha) into the Las Vegas locals market? That's the theory that our intrepid columnist, Mr. Jeff Simpson, is putting forth in this latest edition of SIMPSON ON VEGAS.

Enjoy after the jump and leave your comments to tell us what you think about this possibility.

CityCenter has now been open for about 18 months.

This time around, Jeff looks at how things are going for MGM with their gigantic project.

Jeff's latest is a few random thoughts on MGM, Bobby Baldwin, and the renovation progress at The Tropicana.

Read on after the jump and feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments.

Yeah, so this isn't about gambling addiction but I couldn't resist the use of the headline on everyone's favorite in-casino pamphlet.

Jeff's back with the latest installment of his column and this time around, it's looking at a common thread in recent casino corp conference calls: a reduction in comps to rated players.

The article is after the jump.

Jeff's back with his latest piece and this time he's examining the performance and challenges facing The Cosmopolitan.

Click through for the full text, it's a good read.

I was just at Cosmo last week for another stay. I've got a bunch of scribbles and other notes that I'm (slowly) working to turn into a piece of my own.

Anyway, enjoy!

Our own Jeff Simpson will be a guest on PBS' Nevada Week In Review this evening, talking about online poker and other topics I'm sure.

The show airs locally on Channel 10 at 7:30pm, with repeats Saturday at 7:30pm and Sunday at 12:30pm. The show is also available online and as a podcast (that's how I watch every week).

http://www.vegaspbs.org/index.aspx?nid=238

Jeff's back and we're talking about poker again this time around. Since the last post went up, Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval has weighed in with a letter to the author of AB258 that makes his position fairly clear.

The letter is available here from the Las Vegas Sun.

What did the mainstream media miss when analyzing this development? Continue on for Jeff's take on how this impacts this issue.

Update: According to Channel 8, an amended version of the bill made it out of committee and is heading to the Assembly floor.

This time around, Jeff dives into the complexity of regulating online poker.

It's an interesting take - be sure to give it a read, after the jump.

Here we are with a new SoV, and this time it's all about Strip entertainment.

Jeff's full text is after the jump and in case you missed Dr. Dave's debut column yesterday, you can read it here.

Keep reading after the jump.

You've always wanted a ferris wheel in Vegas, right? Well, Jeff's gonna be sitting right next to you on that first go-round. How about a stadium? He's got that covered too.

He's back with SIMPSON ON VEGAS #16. Enjoy.

Las Vegas Sands made news when they announced that they had basically cut off comps for a large segment of their customers.

In this edition of Simpson on Vegas, Jeff takes a look at that new policy and adds his two cents.

Continue after the break...

Jeff's latest column delves into the Hard Rock settlement with the NGC.

Interestingly, in the past few days the Hard Rock has been in the news as it appears it is heading into foreclosure. We'll discuss that story and others on the Vegas Gang this week.

Keep reading after the jump... and yes, I skipped thirteen on purpose.

Here ya go folks, the latest Simpson on Vegas, via our good friend Jeff Simpson.

This column is all about the little annoyances on the casino floor - it's a great look at the little things that bug Jeff (and a lot of these bug me too)... Plus, we get to publish the term 'craps superstar' - a new job description is born!

Enjoy!

Happy holidays to all!

Jeff is back with a special column, and while prostitutes and lawsuits might not be traditional Christmas fodder, I recommend reading anyway. Come on, you know you're stuck with your relatives and probably bored out of your mind right about now, right?

Enjoy... and who doesn't want an Adelson voodoo doll? Last minute gift idea!

Cheers.

The esteemed Mr. Simpson is back with his latest column. This time around the bend, he'll share his thoughts on the opening of the Cosmopolitan as well as discuss a recent stay at Aria.

Enjoy!

Jeff Simpson is back and this time around he's sharing his prescription for some of the most famous assets on The Strip and nearby.

How do you think these properties can survive the downturn? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Jeff's back and this time he's started up his own little 'gaming hall of fame/shame', picking the top and bottom of Las Vegas' operators for the past decade.

Would you rate 'em different? Reply in the comments.

Here's Jeff's latest column wherein he examines parents towing their kids through the casino, Tamares and what's happening at The Plaza as well as his take on how The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas will fare when it opens in December.

Enjoy!

Jeff's back with more wisdom from his valley enclave. This time he's taking a look at the Fertittas and their situation with Station Casinos - a company they built, extended and then bankrupted.

How did this happen and what's coming next? More after the jump.

Jeff is back with part two of his take on the Downtown Las Vegas scene and what might help it turn around.

Keep reading after the jump and if you missed part one, it's right here.

In a totally unrelated thought - don't forget that we're giving away an iPad.

We're back with another installment of 'Simpson on Vegas' and this time around, Jeff examines the situation in Downtown Las Vegas.

This is part one of a two part series. Continue after the jump for the article.

Jeff Simpson is back with his latest column. This time around, Jeff looks at a sometimes complicated choice for casino operators - whether to invest in a renovation project and if so, how much to spend.

There are many examples of this on The Strip - some, like MGM Grand, have been dramatic and raised the bar significantly. Others, not so much...

Anyway, keep reading after the jump for Jeff's latest.

Happy Fourth of July to all!

Jeff Simpson is back with his second at-bat, this time with a piece that examines a long-standing Nevada law: treating marker debt as a bad check if they're not repaid.

In addition, a few anecdotes on the state of the industry with comments on the Trop and Aria - keep reading after the jump for Jeff's latest.

Enjoy!

I'm very happy to present the first installment of Jeff Simpson's new column, 'Simpson on Vegas'. Every other week or so, Jeff will offer his opinions, insight and commentary. I'm looking forward to it and so should you.

This first time around - do you think that Las Vegas operators are doing enough to lure in new (and existing) customers? Where are the next generation volcano, pirate show and fountains?

Continue reading after the jump and leave your thoughts in the comments.