\n
![\"Scott](\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/vitalvegas\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/author-logo-lg-88x88.png\"){kind=logo}
<\/a>\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\nThe restaurant that replaced Bobby Flay\u2019s Shark restaurant, La Popular, has itself closed at Palms.<\/p>\n
La Popular officially opened a little over a year ago, in June 2023. The opening was celebrated with a $100,000 donation to a local food bank, Three Square.<\/p>\n
They kept using the word \u201cpopular,\u201d but it may not mean what they think it means.<\/p>\n We never heard much about this Mexican restaurant, which probably should\u2019ve telegraphed its untimely demise.<\/p>\n This was the third location of La Popular (technically, La Popular CDMX) in the U.S. This location was overseen by Executive Chef Cesar de la Parra.<\/p>\n \u201cCDMX\u201d stands for Ciudad de Mexico, the capital of Mexico.<\/p>\n Yep, we\u2019re padding. We have no scoop about the closure of this restaurant, and Palms hasn\u2019t said what will replace it, so we\u2019re stuck with initialism trivia.<\/p>\n People sometimes mix up initialisms and acronyms. Both are abbreviations, but acronyms are pronounced as words, like \u201cSCUBA,\u201d for example. \u201cScuba\u201d stands for \u201cself-contained underwater breathing apparatus.\u201d S.O.S. isn\u2019t an acronym, it\u2019s an initialism.<\/p>\n FUBAR is an acronym, a particularly relevant one for a story about a restaurant closure.<\/p>\n Why did La Popular close at Palms? Successful restaurants don\u2019t close in Las Vegas unless there\u2019s a sex scandal involved. This isn\u2019t that.<\/p>\n Palms is moderately successful, but not tremendously. The resort makes about $25-30 million EBITDA a year. Not bad, but not exactly a windfall for the San Manuel tribe.<\/p>\n EBITDA is an initialism for \u201cearnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.\u201d<\/p>\n Most casinos appeal to tourists or locals, and that Venn diagram doesn\u2019t overlap often. Off-Strip casinos cater to both groups, despite each kind of customer having very different expectations.<\/p>\n Station Casinos tried to make Palms a hot spot for tourists, but the effort failed badly, and the company had to sell the resort to the tribe. They went back to what Station does best, serving locals.<\/p>\n Elevated Mexican fare may just not be a fit for Palms. The Scotch 80 steakhouse is excellent, the food court is popular, as is the AYCE Buffet.<\/p>\n Locals tend to like convenient, cheap eats. They\u2019re at the casino to gamble, and dining it sort of an interruption or annoyance more than anything.<\/p>\n The timing of the closure of La Popular is curious. Palms is shaking up its leadership ranks, and the resort has a new General Manager<\/a>, Steve Thayer. Thayer started Sep. 16, 2024 and comes from The Strat, another casino that attempts the balancing act of accommodating both tourists and locals.<\/p>\n Thayer replaces industry veteran Cynthia Kiser Murphey. The official story is she stepped down, we think she was pushed.<\/p>\n Working with tribes is challenging on a number of levels. There are, let\u2019s just say, complications.<\/p>\n For example, Palms isn\u2019t technically owned by the San Manuel tribe. It\u2019s owned by the San Manuel Gaming and Hospitality Authority (SMGHA), a \u201cgovernmental instrumentality.\u201d This entity was created so tribe leadership wouldn\u2019t be subjected to the same scrutiny as other casino owners.<\/p>\n Oh, and \u201cSMGHA\u201d is an initialism, Unless you pronounce it like the sound a smoker makes during a coughing fit.<\/p>\n We can\u2019t believe you gave us yet another excuse to share this original song.<\/p>\n Enjoy this world premiere of a song we made for you. We can’t stop singing it and hope you do not have the same experience, probably. pic.twitter.com\/f0BKdxYJWj<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/vitalvegas\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/la_unpopular-845x563.jpg\"\/)
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/vitalvegas\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/la_popular-845x563.jpg\"\/)
\n