A welcome sign at Green Valley Ranch

Since Green Valley Ranch Station Casino closed its cafe, there hasn't been any place to eat in the casino late on weeknights except the Fatburger (a fast-food place) in the food court. On weekends the Turf Grill by the Sportsbook has been open all night, but its menu is limited. In the casino last night I saw signs announcing some welcome news: China Spice is now open until 1 a.m. on weeknights and 3 a.m. Saturdays and Sundays, serving American as well as Chinese cuisine.

Las Vegas has long had a reputation as a 24-hour-a-day town, and a part of that was the cafes or coffee shops at most casinos. In the past couple of years, to reduce costs, many casinos have closed or outsourced their cafes or cut back the hours they are open. Station Casinos, for example, replaced the cafes in its two Fiesta properties with Dennys and some of the cafes in its Station branded casinos with Coco's Bakery Restaurants.

This has created a bit of problem for Vegas residents who are used to eating at the cafes and paying with their slot points. Station points, for example, can be redeemed at company-owned restaurants at a rate of 600 points for a dollar but at non-company-owned restaurants at 1,000 points for a dollar, the same as for free play. Station's closing its cafes deprived their customers of a 40 percent discount.

So the recent move by Green Valley Ranch does more than give its customers the option of getting a nice meal at a sit-down restaurant late at night. It gives the casino's loyal players another option for getting good value for their slot points.