All you need is a big building to advertise the Cirque Du Soleil show “LOVE”

The Treasure Island hotel and casino in Las Vegas was built in the ’90′s by Steve Wynn, and sold to MGM in a huge deal which included Wynn’s other mega resorts The Bellagio, and The Mirage. In 2009, Treasure Island was sold to an investor named Phil Ruffin.

Seeing that Bellagio and Mirage have fallen to shit since Wynn sold them, I thought it would be prudent to inspect Treasure Island and see how things are being done there.

Now, when I say “being done,” I am talking about my opinion, nothing more. You can scrutinize my credentials all you want, but the only credentials I need are my ID and password for this blog. It’s futile to send me the canned e-mails with vague references to legal action. I may be an amateur, but I’m not dumb. Keep ‘em, coming though. I’m saving them for a special post.

The Treasure Island is far from the atrocity that is happening at the other two previously Wynn-owned resorts. However, it’s still pretty generic. I didn’t notice any filth, or obvious signs of neglect, but the floors were scattered with litter. Lame.

What are those little hand pushed carpet sweepers called? We have a name for them in the waiter world, but I can’t remember it right now. Anyway, they’re like fifteen bucks at Costco. Every casino should be armed to the teeth with those things.

I found the coffee shop, and got in line. It was easy to find because it’s called “The Coffee Shop.”  It’s right by “Breeze Bar.”  See what I mean by generic? The line went fast and the pastry display had a fruit-topped cheesecake that caught my eye.

Inside was a very clean, well-lit dining room and a pretty good crowd for 3 am. The late-night menu was pretty typical. No surprises, really.  I went for the BLT and a slice of that cheesecake. Here, is where Treasure Island proved themselves.

Often, in mega-resorts on Las Vegas Boulevard, one may notice a lack of “give a shit” among the staff in general during the graveyard hours. Particularly in the twenty-four hour dining venue.

What I observed

• Clean dining room
• No leaning or inactive employees
• Clean and pressed uniforms
• A peppy waitress who was all smiles
• A constantly full cup of coffee

The BLT was put together by someone who cared what a plate should look like, and the ingredients were fresh.

The bacon was in good supply, and they use the premo stuff for their BLT. It makes all the difference in the world. The french fries happened to be freshly made, too.

The philly-style cheesecake topped with mixed-berry compote was the highlight of my meal, though. I’m a sucker for cheesecake. NY, Philly, Montana, wherever. You give me a well-made slice of cheesecake, you’ve pretty much won me over, and I’m a huge fan of The Coffee Shop in Treasure Island now.  My dad always used to say that if you feed people well, they will always come back. The Treasure Island knows this, too.

The only caveat is their disqualification from the Vegas cheap-eats category. One sandwich, one cheesecake, one coffee: $26.35.

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Great view of Wynn and Encore from the top of TI’s garage.