Linq in sync on Strip
Curiosity finally got the best of us.
We had to go to the Strip and check
out The Linq, Caesars Entertain-
ment’s $550 million open-air retail,
dining and entertainment district,
which had a soft opening the end of
December when O’Sheas returned
to the Strip.
The Irish-themed casino was
known for its cheap drinks, very
casual atmosphere and, most of all,
beer pong. It was a place to party on
a budget. But all that ended April 30,
2012 when O’Sheas closed its doors
to make way for Linq construction.
Now, 19 months later, O’Sheas re-
opened inside The Quad casino (for-
merly Imperial Palace). It’s smaller,
only 5,000 square feet, and a lot less
“cheesy.” There are just 11 table
games, but there are two bars serv-
ing 60 different beers so it will still
be a party place. And, yes, the beer
pong tables have returned. There
are six of them, so patrons will have
plenty of action.
But our days of partying and beer
pong are long, long gone. We were
more interested in other parts of the
project.
When you step outside O’Sheas
you are in what used to be an alley
between The Quad and the Flamin-
go. Since we remember the dirty,
dingy, gray, dreariness of that alley,
our first look was one of shock and
surprise. We saw a lively, modern
looking street that might be seen in
any recently built, outdoor shopping
district in the country.
As we wandered up one side of
the street and down the other we
realized, in addition to O’Sheas,
only a handful of the shops were
open. The rest, apparently, will de-
but sometime late next month. But
that probably doesn’t include the
main attraction – The Linq itself
– the 550-foot observation wheel
we’ve watched rise and dominate the
Vegas skyline over the past couple
of years that will offer a spectacular
360-degree view of the entire valley.
We hear it’s likely the wheel will not
take on passengers until the second
quarter this year.
Of course, being this close we
couldn’t resist the urge to walk to the
end of the street and peek through
the construction fence to get an up-
close view. And, it is impressive; 550
feet is very tall when you are only a
few yards away.
We also managed to talked with
a security guard and ask a couple
of pressing questions our friends
have wondered about: How long is
the ride? Are there restrooms in the
compartments? He answered, “45
minutes, no restrooms.” The rote
manner of his response told us he’d
heard these questions many times.
Now that the burning questions
were answered, we were ready to
look at the few shops that were open.
Right off the Strip, just beyond
Linq’s impressive 130-foot tall digi-
tal marquee with fantastic resolu-
tion, is Starbuck’s. Since there are
probably 100 or so in Las Vegas, this
one held no interest for us.
After that, we saw Haute Dog-
gery. As the name suggests, it is
all about hot dogs (featuring the
Sahlen’s brand out of Buffalo, N.Y.)
with numerous options for toppings,
including aged goat cheddar cheese
and smoked bacon.
Next-door is the Purple Zebra,
which is a unique self-serve candy
and daiquiri bar. They offer dozens
of plastic containers from zebra legs
to musical instruments to legs with
fishnet stockings to footballs to al-
most anything you can
imagine. For around
$10 to $12 you can
buy just the container.
Or, at added cost, you
can fill it up with slush
(with or without alco-
hol), which comes in
various flavors.
Across the street is the newly
constructed side-entrance to the
Flamingo casino with a couple of
their giant trademark pink birds
standing guard, attracting tourists
for picture taking.
We also noticed an interactive
digital sign closer to the Strip that
is supposed to help visitors find
what they are looking for at The
Linq or any of Caesars properties.
But apparently it isn’t ready for use
yet as everything we touched came
back with an error message or no
response.
Also open was Chayo Mexican
Kitchen + Tequila Bar. This two-
story restaurant offers indoor and
outdoor seating, several bars, live
DJs and a mechanical bull, which
many patrons are sure to tackle.
Chayo offers 60 different tequilas
to choose from if you need added
courage.
We’ll keep an eye on things at
Linq and definitely return when the
Ferris wheel opens.
See you around town.
Eileen DiRocco is the owner and
publisher of GamingToday, the bi-
ble for gaming news “you can bet
on.” Contact Eileen at Eilee
Curiosity finally got the best of us.
We had to go to the Strip and check
out The Linq, Caesars Entertain-
ment’s $550 million open-air retail,
dining and entertainment district,
which had a soft opening the end of
December when O’Sheas returned
to the Strip.
The Irish-themed casino was
known for its cheap drinks, very
casual atmosphere and, most of all,
beer pong. It was a place to party on
a budget. But all that ended April 30,
2012 when O’Sheas closed its doors
to make way for Linq construction.
Now, 19 months later, O’Sheas re-
opened inside The Quad casino (for-
merly Imperial Palace). It’s smaller,
only 5,000 square feet, and a lot less
“cheesy.” There are just 11 table
games, but there are two bars serv-
ing 60 different beers so it will still
be a party place. And, yes, the beer
pong tables have returned. There
are six of them, so patrons will have
plenty of action.
But our days of partying and beer
pong are long, long gone. We were
more interested in other parts of the
project.
When you step outside O’Sheas
you are in what used to be an alley
between The Quad and the Flamin-
go. Since we remember the dirty,
dingy, gray, dreariness of that alley,
our first look was one of shock and
surprise. We saw a lively, modern
looking street that might be seen in
any recently built, outdoor shopping
district in the country.
As we wandered up one side of
the street and down the other we
realized, in addition to O’Sheas,
only a handful of the shops were
open. The rest, apparently, will de-
but sometime late next month. But
that probably doesn’t include the
main attraction – The Linq itself
– the 550-foot observation wheel
we’ve watched rise and dominate the
Vegas skyline over the past couple
of years that will offer a spectacular
360-degree view of the entire valley.
We hear it’s likely the wheel will not
take on passengers until the second
quarter this year.
Of course, being this close we
couldn’t resist the urge to walk to the
end of the street and peek through
the construction fence to get an up-
close view. And, it is impressive; 550
feet is very tall when you are only a
few yards away.
We also managed to talked with
a security guard and ask a couple
of pressing questions our friends
have wondered about: How long is
the ride? Are there restrooms in the
compartments? He answered, “45
minutes, no restrooms.” The rote
manner of his response told us he’d
heard these questions many times.
Now that the burning questions
were answered, we were ready to
look at the few shops that were open.
Right off the Strip, just beyond
Linq’s impressive 130-foot tall digi-
tal marquee with fantastic resolu-
tion, is Starbuck’s. Since there are
probably 100 or so in Las Vegas, this
one held no interest for us.
After that, we saw Haute Dog-
gery. As the name suggests, it is
all about hot dogs (featuring the
Sahlen’s brand out of Buffalo, N.Y.)
with numerous options for toppings,
including aged goat cheddar cheese
and smoked bacon.
Next-door is the Purple Zebra,
which is a unique self-serve candy
and daiquiri bar. They offer dozens
of plastic containers from zebra legs
to musical instruments to legs with
fishnet stockings to footballs to al-
most anything you can
imagine. For around
$10 to $12 you can
buy just the container.
Or, at added cost, you
can fill it up with slush
(with or without alco-
hol), which comes in
various flavors.
Across the street is the newly
constructed side-entrance to the
Flamingo casino with a couple of
their giant trademark pink birds
standing guard, attracting tourists
for picture taking.
We also noticed an interactive
digital sign closer to the Strip that
is supposed to help visitors find
what they are looking for at The
Linq or any of Caesars properties.
But apparently it isn’t ready for use
yet as everything we touched came
back with an error message or no
response.
Also open was Chayo Mexican
Kitchen + Tequila Bar. This two-
story restaurant offers indoor and
outdoor seating, several bars, live
DJs and a mechanical bull, which
many patrons are sure to tackle.
Chayo offers 60 different tequilas
to choose from if you need added
courage.
We’ll keep an eye on things at
Linq and definitely return when the
Ferris wheel opens.
See you around town.
Eileen DiRocco is the owner and
publisher of GamingToday, the bi-
ble for gaming news “you can bet
on.” Contact Eileen at Eilee
