You Probably Missed One of the Biggest Las Vegas Stories of the Year

By Scott Roeben, on August 31 2026
4 min read 0 comments
Las Vegas

Seriously. There’s a good chance you completely missed one of the biggest Las Vegas stories of the year. We know this because we are a Las Vegas expert and we missed it. That’s because we are very busy and important. What’s your excuse?

In May 2026, Caesars Entertainment bought out JGB Vegas Retail’s stake in Grand Bazaar Shops for $66 million.

How did this news fly under the radar? It’s because people didn’t realize it means Grand Bazaar Shops, the unshaved armpit of the Las Vegas Strip, is going away. This is one of the greatest pieces of news in the history of Las Vegas. Let’s delve, shan’t we?

This is the photo they use to get tenants excited. Without irony.

While Caesars Entertainment owns the land underneath Grand Bazaar Shops, the flea market’s operator owned the lease. Prior to the buyout, JGB owned 92%, Caesars owned 8%.

Caesars acquired full control of Grand Bazaar Shops on May 1, 2026.

What isn’t widely known is Caesars Entertainment has long wanted to kill off Grand Bazaar Shops, and now it finally has the ability to do so.

The demise of Grand Bazaar Shops was top three on the to-do list for Caesars following its acquisition by Eldorado Resorts. The other two items have already happened: The closure of Drai’s nightclub/dayclub at Cromwell (now Vanderpump Hotel) and kicking out all the timeshare salespersons from Caesars Entertainment resorts. Yes, Caesars sacrificed a revenue source because it diminished the guest experience. Imagine that.

Now, Caesars has quietly sealed the fate of the butt-ugly atrocity outside Horseshoe.

Grand Bazaar Shops opened at then-Bally’s on Feb. 26, 2015. The space was previously home to trees and a people-mover. Trees and people-movers don’t generate revenue. Grand Bazaar Shops seemed like a good idea at the time.

In the SEC filing about buying out the lease for Grand Bazaar Shops, Caesars was vague about its intentions, other than to say there are “more changes planned.”

Our sources say that as tenant leases expire at Grand Bazaar Shops over the next couple of years, they won’t be renewed.

It doesn’t so much matter what’s next, it only matters that Grand Bazaar Shops be put down humanely. Also, LFG.

We are forced to thank our friend Chris Holmes for nudging us into learning more about the Caesars buyout deal. He also provided a bird’s eye view of The Strip’s worst eyesore, which is saying a lot because Sahara is considered part of The Strip.

We don’t talk much about Grand Bazaar Shops unless it’s to make fun of the place.

Pouring one out for the fallen: Starbucks, Swarovski, Redneck Riviera, Born and Raised and so many others.

Now that we’re talking about it, though, we dug up a few tidbits of interest.

We’ve been told the most recent additions to Grand Bazaar Shops, Ole Red and Bottled Blonde, are experiencing very different levels of success.

Specifically, Ole Red is printing money while Bottled Blonde is struggling mightily.

Bottled Blonde cost $50 million and recently brought in a new management company, 81/82.

In other news, Smelly Cat Karaoke at Grand Bazaar Shops is reportedly in serious trouble.

Smelly Cat is where another doomed business was located, Bourbon Parade. Smelly Cat opened in July 2025, despite our best efforts.

Bourbon Parade closed after one month of operation. No, that is not a typo.

The only thing worse than karaoke is Chicago-style deep-dish “pizza.” Adios not soon enough, Giordano’s.

We are using the term “pizza” very loosely here.

To be clear, Caesars Entertainment has not specifically announced what’s next for the Grand Bazaar Shops space.

The company is currently in the process of being purchased by bajillionaire Tilman Fertitta.

The good news is that because Fertitta will own the land in front of Horseshoe, he won’t have as big a nut in rent as other casino companies on The Strip. Vici Properties actually owns the land under most Strip casinos, and those rents increase often (irrespective of whether revenue does or not). Other companies, therefore, can’t invest as much in capital improvements.

Fertitta will have the benefit of being more nimble, investing where others can’t. Caesars Entertainment will be private, not a public company, so it won’t have to live under the tyranny of quarterly earnings reports.

It means Caesars can start thinking big picture, rather than focusing on short-term profits to appease stockholders. Grand Bazaar Shops was short-term thinking, if there was any thinking involved at all. Not every square foot of everything needs to be monetized.

This is from May 2014. We hated Grand Bazaar Shops even before it was Grand Bazaar Shops.

As mentioned, it could take a few years for all the leases at Grand Bazaar Shops to end, but it will be worth the wait.

Grand Bazaar Shops sits at a prime location. One insider said Tilman Fertitta believes he owns “three corners at Main Street and Main Street.” (The other two corners are Vanderpump and Caesars Palace.)

It’s time to create something as special as the location.

The days are numbered for the trainwreck of steaming WTF that has been Grand Bazaar Shops at Horseshoe.

Now you know. Just like us. The blog that will continue to claim we know everything despite all the evidence to the contrary.