One reader asks, regarding senatorial aspirant Sue Lowden's esteemed Pioneer Hotel & Gambling Hall:

I'm confused (as usual, but...) - Isn't the Pioneer NOT a gambling hall now, its shell hosting an ABC convenience store & various other small shops?
I don't remember if I ever patronized the place when it was a casino, but its stores are in a good location for the Downtown tourist crowd; the ABC Store is especially popular with our Hawaiian friends. That's good for sales taxes, right?

As for the Vegas Club, please don't vaporize it yet: We're going to stay there at the end of the month, mainly because it's free for me - and a separate free room for a friend of mine - allowing him to attend the Speedway races for that much less money.

You're thinking of the Pioneer on Fremont Street, while Ms. Lowden's establishment is down in Laughlin. And it very much has gambling. As for dematerialization, S&G did not nominate the Vegas Club for that dubious honor but suggested that, as long as Sen. Harry Reid's people are threatening to "vaporize" Ms. Lowden that they make themselves useful and turn their phasers on her grind joint, which is regarded as a bottom-feeder even by Laughlin standards.

The Vegas Club is very much on people's minds, as another reader asks:

How is it possible that TV series VEGA$ starring Robert Urich came out on DVD on October 20 and I saw nothing in the Las Vegas media celebrating the occasion. I saw an ad in Newsweek. They couldn't get something with Wayne F. Newton at the Tropicana or Phyllis Davis and Judy Landers in front of the Plaza or the Las Vegas Club? Sad, sad, sad.

Ah, a Phyllis Davis shout-out. You're speaking our language. And, yes, that VEGA$ release really snuck by, didn't it? In a classic case of the blind following the blind, local TV stations take their cues from the newspapers. The various Greenspun-owned organs have been slashing staff at a fearsome rate, so it's understandable that they'd miss it.

As for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, suffice it to say that staffers there, up to and including head cheese Thomas Mitchell, had to be told that the Moulin Rouge was burning down because -- even though it was happening across the street -- they work in a penetentiary-like building with no windows to the outside world (architecture as institutional metaphor).

So it's not the least bit surprising that our insular and rapidly declining local media would totally blow this one. As for Mayor Oscar Goodman, he had a previous commitment in London, but still ... no proclamation? No declaration that Oct. 2009 was hereby "VEGA$ Day"? Another missed opportunity for some free ink.

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As some may recall, the saga of Goliath, the LVA rescue kitten, had a happy ending. Not only has he found a new, loving home but the hyperactive little fellow (whose new owners renamed him "Murderface") has developed an interest in technology:

"Robin said he’s obsessed with the computer — he’ll shimmy up her leg or the back of the chair, then either perch on her shoulder or sit in front of the monitor and bat at the cursor on screen."

Since my two cats only acknowledge computers to the extent of sitting either A) on the mouse pad or B) in front of the screen, effectively blocking it, Goliath would appear to be part of that younger, techno-savvy generation.

Sue Lowden = Klingons? The senatorial candidacy of Archon Corp. Treasurer Sue Lowden is evidently being taken quite seriously by Sen. Harry Reid. So much so that Reid's office has threatened to "vaporize" Lowden, prompting some musings on the proper response to phaser fire. If Reid wanted to do Nevadans a service, shouldn't he instead vaporize Lowden's Pioneer Gambling Hall, a grind joint that's been likened to the barren, depressing, post-2004 Vegas Club downtown?

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Reader herbop reports on the latest thrift move by Tamares Group: "While other Downtown hotels are installing in-room safes, and removing complaint-causing daily fees for same, the Vegas Club Hotel has pulled out the installed safes from its rooms. When I inquired, they said it's 'policy.' Guests can still use the casino's safe deposit boxes.

"They left the four bolt-holes in the wall, unpatched. Classy, right?"

Geez, I hope those German G2E attendees opted for the Plaza over the Vegas Club. Nice work, Tamares. Why don't you strip the copper out of the place and sell it on the black market while you're at it? (Whoops, we probably shouldn't give Pojo Z. and his flunkies any ideas.)

Kickoff time. Since NFL season finally draws nigh (after what seems like five months of preseason games), it's probably worth mentioning LVA Sports. It includes a directory of football contests, pigskin parties and team bars in the Vegas area. There are no fewer than 12 watering holes allied to Da Bears but only half that number for Packer Backers.

Tennessee Titans fans will just have to drink their beer at home, because our staff couldn't locate any Titan-affiliated bars. Ditto Tilman Fertitta's Houston Texans. Even the ever-putrid Oakland Raiders have three bars to their credit -- but getting to last year's Super Bowl still only netted one Vegas hangout for Arizona Cardinals fans. Go figure.

Don't pop the champagne for stalled Boardwalk resort Revel just yet. The latter has issued a clarification stating that China Construction Engineering Corp. only has a potential agreement in place to finish Revel, for which the resort must drum up funding later this year. Also, yesterday I misstated the opening date as "July 11" when I meant to type "July 2011." I regret the error.

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There's nothing like the approach of 2010's Global Gaming Expo to make Las Vegas hoteliers rethink their rates. For instance, if you want to stay at that palace of pleasure and plushness, the Plaza downtown, it'll run you $55 a night. Even the somewhat seedier Vegas Club will set you back $52/night.

Elsewhere in downtown, troubled Binion's may not be able to pay its landlords, but that's not stopping it from charging $172.62 during G2E Week. Even the clown house is cheaper: $142 gets you a Circus Circus room. That's a bargain when you consider that Stratosphere wants $164 per night.

As for the dubious privilege of hanging your hat at Imperial Palace, that'll cost you $189, bub. But the nerviest of the bottom feeders has to be Hooters. As of Sept. 4, it wasn't blushing to demand $192 per evening. Trust me when I say Hooters ought to pay you to stay there.

Then again ... I know of someone who got six nights at Imperial Palace -- during New Year's Eve -- for $16.65/night. So, rumors of Las Vegas' imminent recovery are probably premature.

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 "I'm conflicted: The Vegas Club casino is at least trying different stuff to drive business: Mechanical bull; 'Fetish pit;' Video blackjack; Internet access; Upgraded dining areas; Lobster catch machine, etc. ...

"But: I wasn't interested in the fetish pit -- I can't trust my back & heart to the bull -- the Internet access costs too much for what you get -- I want the snack bar &/or the coffee shop back, since I'm NOT a gourmand -- I don't play blackjack anymore since I discovered video poker -- and the lobster machine has no place in a casino + it's cruel.

"Far as I'm concerned, they should take care of the hotel. I've stayed there a number of times over the years, and the facility & service have continued to decline, year by year, under Tamares. (I come back sometimes because they comp me free hotel stays and $ cash payments @ check-in.)

"Overall, I think they'd do better to invest their money in routine maintenance + upgrades as needed to the LV Club & Plaza ... and start paying attention to the low morale of their employees."

[Bobby Ray Harris, are you listening?]

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Man about town Steve Friess has all the gory details, plus video:

The wife-beater-wearing female dealers at the Gold Spike are much, much sexier ... some of the hottest in Vegas, if that's your thing.

The sports book, once the pride of the Vegas Club, has been turned into a pretty spacious showroom, but that's about the nicest thing you can say for the place. Downtown needs entrepreneurs but Tamares is content to be a slumlord.

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Another victim of the Comment-Eating Server, Jeff in OKC, writes:

Isn't the Queen of Hearts property part of what is to become the new City Hall? I know the Nevada Hotel and Casino isn't pretty, but it is the first casino built by Sam Boyd as owner, I think I read, and was owned for many years by Downtown icon Jackie Gaughan. That would be enough to give it preservable cachet in most cities. 

IMO, Tamares has been a bad landowner in Las Vegas, having done nothing to enhance their properties, and barely doing any maintenance. I recall reading that they let the unrestricted gaming license on the Nevada lapse. I think the City should pressure them to sell out (The Stevens family's Desert Rock holdings that owns half the Golden Gate could tie the Nevada Hotel tastefully into a complex with the Golden Gate) to others who have a desire to invest in the City. The Siegels have done a miraculous transformation of the Gold Spike, showing that it is possible to do business in the City of Las Vegas.

The Plaza [Hotel] and Las Vegas Club are two properties that have beautiful 1970's and 1980's charm, which are rapidly disappearing in Las Vegas. Their time in the sun is coming, and a fiscally responsible touch up would be in the best interest of the operators and the City. I wish the Mayor was as interested in appropriately keeping what is 30 years old as much as instilling his vision of 30 years into the future.

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Ian Sutton posted this today at GamingFloor.com and I couldn't resist snurching it. Sandwiched between footage of the Lady Luck and other Downtown detritus is a long, loving look at those two fine Tamares Group dereli ... er, acquisitions: the Queen of Hearts and the Hotel Nevada. The latter has long been closed as was (supposedly) the QoH. But I saw some lights on at the old Queen when we drove past it Tuesday night, so who knows?

The bigger question is why Tamares continues to let these eyesores fester, especially with nearby development on Oscar Goodman's famous 61 acres proceeding apace. It's past time to knock this crap down. Even empty land would be an improvement. Ditto the Lady Luck. For a three-syllable solution to that gargantuan hulk, I defer to the time-honored wisdom of Jimmie J.J. Walker:

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"No corporate liposuction." With those words, new Tropicana Las Vegas CEO Alex Yemenidjian not only coined the catchphrase of the year, he implicitly repudiated the policies of forerunner William J. Yung III, whose Columbia Sussex modus operandi was to solve all problems by sacking large numbers of employees, stripping out amenities, raising prices, slashing marketing and decimating advertising budgets. (A super-stupid policy, it turns out, as revenues and cash flow at at least three of four former Aztar Corp. casinos plummeted under Yung's reign of error.)

A-Yem's approval hearing with the Nevada Gaming Commisson was marred only by a senior moment from Commissioner John Moran Jr. According to the Las Vegas Sun, Moran "applauded Yemenidjian’s efforts and recalled playing golf at a course near the Tropicana, adding that he hopes new management will be able to return the property to its glory days."

WTF? Is Moran flashing back to the Tropicana golf course that used to be in back of the old Marina Hotel and was cannibalized by MGM Grand? Or maybe the Dunes Golf Course across the street? That was more than 10 years ago, dude, and what's it got to do with the price of tea in the Trop? Is he suggesting A-Yem put in some links? The only ones you could fit into the current Trop site are the putt-putt kind -- not that there's anything wrong with that.

Yemenidjian's $440 million debt-for-equity swap effectively reprices the Trop at $12.9 million/acre ... possibly even less depending on how great of a discount Onex Corp. obtained on that debt.

Kudos to NGC Chairman Peter Bernhard (pictured) for crafting a sensible solution to the problem of licensing Las Vegas Gaming CEO Jon Berkley. Both the new CEO and his company have been stumble-prone, so Bernhard's provisional one-year license is a prudent compromise, giving Berkley just enough rope to either hang himself or prove that he's the Mr. Fixit his lawyer says he is. As for Las Vegas Gaming, it's where your phone call rolls over when you dial up ...

... the Ensign scandal's casino connection. Over at the Las Vegas Gleaner, Hugh Jackson has unearthed "the forgotten Ensign," brother Bill, onetime COO of Nugget Gaming, a company with a remarkable development slate. When S&G rang up Nugget's executive offices on Ali Baba Lane, we got Las Vegas Gaming instead. Neither Bill Ensign nor Nugget CEO Stephen Crystal were to be found on the voice-mail directory either.

Crystal was the chief huckster for Barrick Gaming, an underfunded company that fronted Lichtenstein-based Tamares Group's stealthy acquisition of six downtown Las Vegas casinos, before vanishing in a cloud of insolvency. During my early months at the Las Vegas Business Press, I quickly learnt to take Crystal's public pronouncements cum grano salis. (Well, he was an ex-politician, after all.)

Helpfully, the Nugget Gaming site actually provides old news clippings that show just how hilariously full of it Crystal and front man D.W. Barrick were. A former colleague who had a ringside seat for Barrick Gaming's licensing told me that Nevada regulators were desperate and convinced themselves the (wholly unrelated) Barrick Gold Corp. fortune stood at Mr. Barrick's back. As the Barrick/Crystal house of cards was collapsing, I called Toronto-based Barrick Gold spokesman Vince Borg for comment. He'd never heard of Barrick Gaming. So much for that.

DINO? Not as in "Martin," sadly. Reporter Dennis Myers breaks down why casino executives and other bidness bigwigs are lining up behind Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV). Yes, this is the same Reid the Las Vegas Review-Journal routinely and hysterically calls "socialist." Then again, the R-J thinks anybody to the left of Grover Norquist is a pinko.

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"The surroundings and clientele here are just too rough. (Ironic, but true: The first two letters on the Western marquee are burned out, so it simply reads, 'STERN.' It's an apt description." -- description of an aborted fact-finding mission to the Western Hotel, from the latest issue of Las Vegas Advisor. So much for those reports of an improved, more respectable Western.

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