Ellis Island has temporarily moved outside karaoke to The Front Yard stage while the off-Strip casino is giving its longtime Karaoke Bar a facelift as part of the third and final phase of a $35 million expansion and renovation project.
“So people still have the opportunity to sing but on the big stage,” said Christina Ellis-Stalker, vice president of development for the family-owned and operated casino.
Ellis Island is also refreshing and modernizing its BBQ and Village Pub and Cafe restaurants. The Village Pub will remain open during construction, which will take place in stages. The Karaoke Lounge is expected to reopen in May or June.
When the project is complete this year (there’s no hard date), the oldest part of the Ellis family-owned property, which opened in 1968, will be The Front Yard beer garden, which opened in 2019.
“We’ve always been a little guy in a big guy’s game, so to be able to have a property with this fresh look and still emphasize the value we bring to locals and tourists is fantastic,” Ellis-Stalker said.
The casino known for cheap drinks, good food and low table minimums completed the vast majority of the first phase of the project in late August, when it unveiled a brand new gaming space that nearly doubled the size of the casino floor, highlighted by a midfield under a 50-foot-long, 11-foot-high LED screen, high-limit gaming area and a permanent home for Boomers Sportsbook.
The phase also included an external digital facade with more than 1,200 square feet of LED lights and approximately 1,740,000 pixels. Deck Rooftop Bar then opened in late October on the property located near the corner of Koval and Flamingo Road.
After the new expansion was revealed on the property, the original casino floor was closed and redone. In the second phase of the project, the refreshed original casino floor was brought back online earlier this month with a new players’ club and new wallpaper design.
“We’re so pleased with it and it’s wonderful to see the response to the property as well,” Ellis-Stalker said. – The response has been so positive.
Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@ theplayerlounge.com. Follow @tdewey33 on X.
