A beer-fueled slots reprieve

Take a break from losing big to watch pro athletes lose even bigger, at the spanking new TAP at MGM Grand Detroit.Just opened inside the casino, this barn of a sports bar feels like an oasis of rustic charm amidst the desert of busy slot-machine lights and bleeps. 40 TVs play the most modern of sports in the most classic of spaces, decked out with vintage memorabilia & photographs from the historic Lindell AC (America's first sports bar), tables made of wine barrel wood, and a concrete bar resting atop used lockers, so you can really smell the authenticity. The other, more welcome smells are coming from the open air kitchen, where they're cooking up everything from nachos with triple-layered pulled BBQ beef, smoked Gouda, spicy sauce & jalapenos, to burgers like the Cow & Pig (with crispy pork belly, maple stewed onions, spicy mustard & cheddar), to entrees like the hickory grilled NY strip.Upholding the family name, there are more than 30 beers on tap, including out-of-towners like 312 Urban Wheat, Batch 19, and Blue Point Hoptical Illusion, plus a local lineup fronted by Short's Bellaire Brown, Frankenmuth Hefeweizen, and Bell's Two Hearted, though if your team and your bet lose, both could end up broken.