Beau Rivage Resort & Casino's popular Eight75 lounge has entered a new era, adding another totally-renovated element to the coastal resort's luxurious offerings. "We have about 130 seats and 34 tables. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, we're packed," said Murat Akan, Vice President of Hospitality. "We're not just a gaming resort; we're an integrated resort offering a lot of amenities and entertainment. We are bringing guests here from more than 90 different cities through the MGMAir program. Any given day, we have 500 rooms filled from 7 cities because we have two flights come in that are scheduled charter flights."
This contemporary iteration of Eight75, named for the address of Beau Rivage, is approximately 300 feet larger than the last. The circular bar in the middle of the floor that once took up most of the space has been replaced with a sexy oval lounge. The bar has been pushed to the wall which is lined with patrons from open to close. Cozy, short-backed, plush seats allow you to be seen, and gone are the closed-off booths. Eight75 feels like a feast for all the senses: velvety seating, savory snacks, stellar libations, a whiff of Beau's signature scent, and live music nightly. "You need to touch the five senses and instill wellbeing. Your palate needs to be tingled. The light needs to be right, the music needs to be right because people come to places where they feel comfortable," said Akan.
A goal for the renovation was to make the space feel like a luxurious southern parlor, and the details found in Eight75 help to create this immersive atmosphere. Akan explained that the first thing he wanted was to bring in aspects of the coast. "We talk about the coastal United States from Alabama to Texas. There's a cuisine and drink culture here that's very shared. It's a southern culture." Having an elevated lounge experience was the second point to be made. "We have renovated our buffet. We have renovated Salt & Ivy. We renovated Jia. We completely opened a new restaurant, Coraline's. We renovated our rooms, our suites are coming up. We have retail renovations, spa renovations. We said, 'Look, we want to renovate this but we want to stick with our roots.' New Orleans also inspires us, we have a lot of guests from Louisiana."
The cocktails are as pretty as the furniture. The Smoke & Brass Sazerac cocktail comes out literally smoking. The White Lotus is a stunning lychee martini with yummy cocktail caviar waiting at the bottom of the glass. The bar snacks have highly satisfying crunches. Try the house-made cheese and chive crackers or the simple, yet awesome crispy pasta chips. The Mango Tajin Fruit Jellies fill your sweet and spicy craving.
Before Eight75 kicked off with live music, I headed over to MGM Golf in the retail promenade to take part in some fun games. On Wednesdays between 4 and 7 PM, the gaming bays are free of charge! Though "golf" is in the name, there are a ton of games to choose from. While sipping a succulent whiskey cocktail, I shot zombies while roaming an apocalyptic city, and then I competed in archery. Akan told me, "MGM Golf is great for families looking for something fun to do indoors. They have food, they have drinks, they have games. I can come over there and catch my favorite sports games. And there's good music."
I sprinted through the casino to get to Jia for dinner. I've been so excited to experience the changes here. Though the Pan-Asian restaurant has been around for years, new entrees and shareable dishes are highlighted. The Baked Miso Butterfish flakes effortlessly; the flavor combination of miso, mirin, sake, and sugar is complex. I paired that with my favorite sushi roll (The Philadelphia) to have a familiar flavor to compare it to. The Japanese Chocolate Whiskey Cake with whiskey-soaked cherries and smokey sea salt was picture perfect.
I then returned to Eight75 where Triggerproof was playing. It was fantastic to be able to see the stage from every point in the room, as before it felt like the large bar in the middle made it difficult. The members were so well framed by the gold clamshell as they excitedly performed the biggest hits of the last decades. The interactive show was so much fun; the guitar player even joined me at my table for a moment to play a solo.
Eight75 never went out of style, but this shiny new era is so hot that reservations for tables on the weekends are highly recommended. Get more details here.
