I was there in June. A convention was just arriving. RIO Rita was out and about greeting arivers. Was moderately busy for around 11am. I did seem to get the feeling it was a little off though. Sportsbook was dead. Picked up my 12-1 ticket for the Cubs in the World Series. The buffet was as good as ever and was very enjoyable. I was surprised that we got anywhere near it. It didn't seem that busy.

Maybe, as was touched on, the crowds are being attracted to the strip to places where there is more action, Mandalay for example. People I travel with love RIO but during a trip where you can't see everything you prioritize. My friends tend to spend more time on the strip where you can more efficiently see more. RIO then becomes a secondary plan. We usually go to All American Bar and Grill for our last dinner before we leave. We didn't this year because everyone wanted to spend another day on the strip. Our decisions really have nothing to do with the quality of RIO but just the desire to see all the places we have never seen. Paris, Aladdin, Venetian, Mandalay, Bellagio. All the new development has, till now been on the strip. There is so much there to do and see. You might look at it this way. Maybe when the Palms opens, it will start to attract more people back to the area. With the quality of The RIO people will spill over back to the old reliable attractions there. It might even prompt Coast to do something to upgrade the Gold Coast a bit.

One note about RIO on where they might want to adjust things a little. Payoffs etc. As I mentioned I got 12-1 on the Cubs. After Lunch we took a cab over to Luxor. We stopped into the Sports book there. Odds for Cubs was 18-1. I heard that there was someplace on strip, Imperial Palace(?) rings a bell where odds may have even been higher. Also, I recall while at RIO the year before that you could not find a Blackjack table under $10 and some of the arrogance from employees was a little dissappointing. I have to say I didn't get that the last time though. Everyone was friendly and courteous. I encountered people at Keno, Buffet, Sports Book, Play Rio, and Valets. All were very friendly. They need to keep up with good shows too. I badly wanted to see Penn And Teller but ran out of time. Shows like that will, I am sure attract people in.

Most of the shows and action really take place at night. I didn't get there in the evening during my last trip but the year before it was packed. The layoffs, as described with the High Roller layoffs, may be in response to quieter business during the day. It sounds like that is where they are scaling back. That might make good business sense. You do not need as many dealers and hosts etc. during the day as you might need at night.