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Scarlett saved?!? & other Case Bets

Posted At : October 1, 2009 02:28 PM | Posted By : D McKee
Related Categories: Donald Trump,Penn National,Riviera,Environment,Fontainebleau,Phil Ruffin,The Strip,Downtown,Entertainment,Economy,Tourism

Splendid news, lads (and lasses). Scarlett, Princess of Magic may return to the Riviera in nine months or a year ... that is to say, whenever the economy eventually rebounds. This comes straight from Riv management.

Of course, there's a good chance the Riv itself won't be around in nine months or so. It's miracle it's stayed out of Chapter 11 as long as it has. Then again, President William Westerman has an enviable track record when it comes to beating the odds. People were writing him off 11 years ago and he's still here.

Ah, the good old days. Remember when the Gold Spike was hands-down the scariest casino in Las Vegas? The Siegel Group has done a splendid job of spiffing the place up but a reminder of the Spike's dodgy not-so-distant past came in the form of a guilty verdict in a Nov. 17, 2008 shooting. According to the Pulitzer Prize-winning Las Vegas Sun, the attempted murder was a "grizzly homicide." Does that mean the assailant was firearm-proficient bear?

Now that autumn is here, get out and enjoy Lake Mead while you still can.

Investors may be tiring of endless debt swaps and postponements. A proposed 64-cents-on-the-dollar (at 10% interest) issuance of MGM Mirage debt laid an egg. When it took out $12 billion-plus, due next June, MGM must have been either high as a kite on CityCenter cash-flow projections when it agreed to that deadline or assumed that, when push came to shove, it'd just rejigger its debt load anyway.

A wise colleague of mine once said in re Donald Trump, "All he ever does is restructure his debt because that's all he can do!" That has now become the modus operandi of the casino industry at large -- except for Mr. Cash-and-Carry, Phil Ruffin. So I guess Trump can legitimately claim to have been ahead of his time.

Penn hearts F'bleau. Well, sorta. Penn National Gaming has acknowledged that it's been sniffing around bankrupt Fontainebleau but cites several disincentives to a deal. Penn's CFO even called F'bleau worthless (and few in town would give him an argument at this point). Penn's publicly stated criteria for a Las Vegas acquisition have included that it be affordable and unencumbered. F'bleau is neither. So if Penn can't make liens and litigants go away, perhaps it can trash-talk F'bleau's price down so far that completion-related headaches become grudgingly acceptable.

Comments (Comment Moderation is enabled. Your comment will not appear until approved.)
David Howes's Gravatar You never used the picture I sent you of the Circus Circus clown overlooking the 70% finished Fontainebleau pool. Quite amusing.
# Posted By David Howes | 10/1/09 5:42 PM
Joe-B-30's Gravatar Yes, "grizzly homicide" means exactly what you said. You know in this country we have the right to arm bears.
# Posted By Joe-B-30 | 10/1/09 8:03 PM
Jeff in OKC's Gravatar LOL, Joe-B-30. Best I've read all day.
# Posted By Jeff in OKC | 10/1/09 9:48 PM
Paul Shanahan's Gravatar Fontainebleau just got way to big for its britches. If they could have kept the cost below $2 billion dollars it might have been already done. Glenn Schaefer is going to be harder to find than Osama Bin Laden after the "Fontainebleau fiasco".
# Posted By Paul Shanahan | 10/2/09 5:25 AM
David Howes's Gravatar Bring on the Clowns! Oh, no. The Clowns were the ones building this mess until the banks finally realised that they were dealing with Clowns.
# Posted By David Howes | 10/2/09 12:46 PM
David McKee's Gravatar We can't upload photos to the blog that haven't appeared there before. It's a software problem that won't be solved until we make the switch over to Word Press. If you're frustrated, think how I feel.
# Posted By David McKee | 10/5/09 5:00 PM