Aliante Station brings a number of exciting entertainment and dining options to the people of North Las Vegas and the Aliante community, not the least of which is the first restaurant venture for Rino Armeni.

Armeni is well-known throughout the Las Vegas community, not only from his 12-year stint as the marketing director for Southern Wine and Spirits, but also for his work with the Epicurean Charitable Foundation, an organization he says is the second most important thing in his life behind his family.

But opening a restaurant has always been a dream for Armeni, and now it is time to realize that dream.

“I always wanted to do this, and I came to an age where I decided it was time to be my own boss and do it,” he said. “It’s my first restaurant, but I’m not a novice. I worked in hotels and casinos all my life except for 12 years…so I am very familiar with the F&B operations and I am very comfortable with it.”

North Las Vegas wasn’t the first place Armeni was thinking about opening Pips, which, by the way, he hopes will be the first of what will become a growing chain. But his friends on the Strip were obsessed with signing a celebrity chef, whereas Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta were, as he explained, “the only ones who believed in me.”

But there are some advantages that he pointed out. While growing, the neighborhood is currently under served in terms of dining options.

“I think that in a 10-mile radius, there are a lot of people and there is nothing,” he said. “I’m going to be only Italian restaurant, so I should charge $100 per person.”

Armeni is not, however, charging $100 per person. Instead, he has made a very conscious effort to keep prices affordable at Pips. From the entrees to the wines, Armeni said he wants to give his customers a value proposition by combining excellent food and service with a more affordable price point of about $35 per person.

“I’ve been in this town since 1989,” he said. “When I started at Caesars Palace, the buffet was $3.99. Now it is $30.

“We’ve forgotten what Las Vegas was all about, which was really value. If we out-price ourselves, people will come once and never come back.”

One of the areas where he has introduced a value concept is through the idea—originally proposed by Aliante Station General Manager Joe Hasson—of selling wine by the ounce. It will allow people to experience what a $200 bottle of wine tastes like without having to buy the whole bottle, or even a $50 glass. He also put great attention into putting together a wine list for various price points, with selections in the $35 to $99 range.

“When you come to my restaurant, you actually have a variety of wine that you can choose from based on price point,” he explained. “You can find a great bargain if you know your wines.”

Armeni also launched a concentrated effort to find his executive chef, and in the process landed Gerald Chin from the Joel Robuchon restaurant at the Mansion at MGM Grand, a man who Armeni says “cooks as good as my mother,” although he notes that he hasn’t told his mother that. With Chin, Armeni has created a menu he calls “youthful Italian.” It features modern twists on some classic dishes, including an Italian slider (meatballs filled with cheese), a fondue with 24-month aged parmesan and pasta cooked tableside inside a wheel of parmesan cheese.

With his experience, his knowledge and his obvious excitement about Pips, it is hard to imagine the property will be anything short of a success. Armeni clearly has the right attitude moving forward, and it looks like his restaurant will be a perfect fit at Aliante.

“I want to go back to square one,” he said. “Everything I have seen that is wrong with the F&B industry, I’m trying to avoid it. Go back to basics, that’s what I do.

“It’s all about the experience you give to your guests.”

By Roger Gros

Roger Gros is publisher of Casino Connection and editor and publisher of Global Gaming Business magazine, the industry’s leading gaming trade publication. Prior to joining Global Gaming Business, Gros was president of Inlet Communications, an independent consulting firm. He was vice president of Casino Journal Publishing Group from 1984-2000, and held virtually every editorial title during his tenure. Gros was editor of Casino Journal, the National Gaming Summary and the Atlantic City Insider, and was the founding editor of Casino Player magazine. He was a co-founder of the American Gaming Summit and the Southern Gaming Summit conferences and trade shows. He is the author of the best-selling book, How to Win at Casino Gambling (Carlton Books, 1995), now in its third edition. Gros was named “Businessman of the Year” for 1998 by the Greater Atlantic City Chamber of Commerce.

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