By Scott Roeben, on August 22 2026
The best new steakhouse you haven’t been to yet, High Steaks, has been rebranded at Rio. The restaurant from Vegas-based culinary sensation James Trees has been renamed High Stakes.
Rio’s Luckley Tavern has been rebranded to Revolution Tavern & Grill.
There’s more Rio restaurant news and we’ve got all the scoop you demand because aren’t you super special getting to demand things from a blog you never even thank or send See’s to? (Our new favorite is Milk Almond Caramel. Life expectancy in a motor vehicle in Las Vegas during the 160-degree summer weather, about 20 seconds.)
“Cannabis-Induced Intoxication Stakes” didn’t have the same ring to it.
Anyway, what were we talking about? Oh, right, Rio’s restaurants.
High Steaks was a cleaver name for a restaurant, which explains why there was already another venue with that name. Oopsie.
It seems Thunder Valley Casino in Lincoln, California also has a High Steaks, so they politely asked Rio to tweak their restaurant’s name.
Thunder Valley is a tribal casino, and nobody wants to get into a pissing match with the United Auburn Indian Community, wherever and whoever they might actually be.
Rebranding can be expensive, of course. You have to swap out all the signage and menus and pretty much all the printed materials. Sometimes, you just have to hunker down, take the hit and make sure you’ve covered all the bases on the legal side. Chef James Trees now owns the High Stakes brand, we’re told.
Luckley Tavern rebranded to Revolution Tavern & Grill for another reason. Rio is bringing some of its food concepts in-house that previously involved third-party partnerships.
Luckley was operated by A Perfect Bite, the hospitality company founded by Las Vegas restaurateur Oliver Wharton.
Luckley is (was) a lovely space, but the metaphorical carpet (name) never matched the metaphorical drapes (vibe).
The Luckley name never really clicked and felt like a mismatch with the decor which featured lots of music icons and vinyl records.
Grace Jones’ debut 1977 studio album, “Portfolio,” peaked at number 109 on the U.S. Billboard 200.
Revolution fits perfectly with the decor, and Rio’s in-house team is expected to give the menu an overhaul.
Rio has a secret weapon at its disposal: Andrea Van Willigan. Willigan is the Director of Culinary and Banquets at Rio, and her credentials are impeccable, including working with Gordon Ramsay. If you can do that, you can get through anything.
Wharton was also a partner in two of Rio’s food hall concepts, Attaboy (burgers) and Nama Nama (sushi). Those concepts will be rebranded, and a new burger stand is in the works. It’s unclear if there will be another sushi place, but it’s sounding like a new ice cream shop is a lock for the Canteen Food Hall. In the meantime, the soft serve at Tender Crush is fantastic.
In other Rio restaurant news, we’re told construction is finally happening at “&pizza.” They need to rebrand that place, too, just to keep us from being annoyed. And, no, “&PIZZA” isn’t any better. We’re calling it “Ampersand Pizza” until they fix it.
Ampersand Pizza sits right next to Rio’s sportsbook. Which is considered a plus by some people, oddly.
And don’t get us started on Eggslut.
We would love to see Eggslut rebranded to The Willigan. Or to anything else, really.
Trust us, no Native American tribe owns a brand called The Willigan.
The return of “Tony n’ Tina’s Wedding” is marginally food-related, so it’s worth a mention. The dinner show opened at Rio on Aug. 13, 2026. If you plan to see it, you should probably do that sooner rather than later. Just ask the folks at the former “Marriage Can Be Murder.”
We love us some Rio, and enjoyed our recent visit to High Steaks, now High Stakes.
You know we’ll keep an eye on all the changes in the works at Rio and beyond because the alternative is having a life and nobody’s got time for all that.
Dining and Cooking