The three-story, 40,000-square-foot retail complex at Treasure Island, constructed last year on the spot where Pirates Cove and its buccaneering shows were once the highlight of a trip down the Strip, has a new destiny. The second and third floors above the recently opened CVS pharmacy will become an "interactive, theme park-like experience" based on giant characters from Marvel Comics’ "The Avengers" and Hasbro’s "Transformers."

The projected 50-minute combined experience is expected to be open by March, and an as-yet-undetermined ticket fee will be charged.

More ONJ: What began late last spring as a "mini-residency" for Olivia Newton-John at the Flamingo has morphed into a real residency, with word that Olivia Newton-John "Summer Nights" has been extended through Dec. 3, 2016. Tickets start at $83.

Concert hall: The former Life nightclub at SLS will become a live-event venue called Foundry Hall. The 1,800-seat theater will be open by the end of December and will book concerts and comedy acts.

Beef stew: On Tuesdays in Du-Par’s at the Golden Gate, the soup of the day is barley beef. Du-Par’s is known for its homemade soups, and they’re tasty, but this one’s the best. Big chunks of beef and vegetables, including whole portions of corn on the cob (which you might find challenging to eat in polite company), combine to make an awesome beef stew, even if they don’t call it that. A cup is $5.25 and a bowl is $7.25.

Question: Why doesn’t the monorail run to the airport?

Answer: The economics don’t work. The necessity of running part of the route between MGM Grand and McCarran International Airport underground would put the cost at $500 million.

That would require 25 percent of all airport customers to use the service for it to make a profit, a number that isn’t considered feasible. A more likely expansion for the monorail would run from MGM to Mandalay Bay.

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