While most immediately think of the Strip when the subject of new projects in Las Vegas comes up, there’s a lot of action underway downtown.

For the first time in decades, multiple cranes can be seen with construction in full swing on the Circa project being built on the site of the former Las Vegas Club.

The cranes aren’t as visible as those at the Raiders stadium site, as they’re currently positioned in a big dug out space below sidewalk level while the base is created for what will be a 44-story tower and a nine-story parking garage. More cranes will show up when work begins on a 32-story tower at the Fremont and another seven-story tower at the Downtown Grand.

These projects along with the reopening of the hotel at Binion’s will add nearly 1,900 rooms to downtown’s inventory.

Pedestrian bridges: Four new pedestrian bridges have been announced for the busy intersection of Sahara Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard South. More than 70,000 cars pass through the area daily. The four bridges, along with walkways, ramps, elevators, escalators and stairs, will cost $27.5 million to build. Construction will begin in July 2022 and take 18 months.

Big Starbucks gone: The Starbucks in the Grand Bazaar Shops at Bally’s has closed. It was promoted as a Super Starbucks when it opened in 2015 with a stadium-style grandstand looking onto an oversized projection screen. It’s a second prominent closing for the shops, following the 4300-square-foot Redneck Riviera bar clsing its doors a year ago.

Question: What does it mean when someone says a sports betting number is “flat”? For example, “the Lakers are minus two, flat.”

Answer: In gambling speak, when a number is quoted “flat,” also known as a straight bet, it means gamblers are following a standard-110 formula, which means the bettor would wager $110 to win $100 if the Lakers win by three points or more points since the Lakers were favored by two.

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