David Mckee's Stiffs & Georges - Riviera

Eight Vegas shows reviewed

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 18:10:00 -0700

As promised, Mike Shackleford's WizardOfVegas.com site has launched. It took a while to get the bugs worked out, hence my review of Scarlett & her Seductive Ladies of Magic didn't appear until after the show had closed. However, to the best of my knowledge, you can not only read about but still see all of the following ...

• Amazed

• Anthony Cools

• Gordie Brown

• Marriage Can Be Murder

• Matsuri

• Sin City Bad Girls

• V - The Ultimate Variety Show

Sample line: "Yes, Marriage can be murder ... and so is the food." Enjoy!

Aria drives prices ... down

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 16:23:00 -0700

Contrary to repeated assertions by J.P. Morgan, it would appear that MGM Mirage is putting out promotional specials for Bellagio ... and very aggressively so. Note however, that Steve Wynn's masterpiece is maintaining its price point and Aria is the one having to come down to meet it.

Also, an unscientific survey of mid-week rates parallel to Aria's opening shows that what the CityCenter flagship is doing is sucking the air out of the rest of the Strip, especially other MGM properties. Even Wynn Las Vegas is down to $159/night that week (quotes were predicated on a three-night stay).

The absolute bargain was Downtown's Golden Gate ($12.71) and unless you count Hooters and fellow bottom-feeder Wild Wild West, the lowest on-Strip price was $21.21 at MGM's Circus Circus. The Sahara ($22.40) and Imperial Palace ($25) were close behind. They were ever-so-slightly outpriced by the Riviera ($27) and Tropicana ($29.33).

As for other properties in the lion's den: Excalibur ($31), Luxor ($48.37), New York-New York ($50), Monte Carlo ($58.62), the Green Monster (aka MGM Grand, $70), Mandalay Bay ($72.55), The Mirage ($76.50), THEhotel ($93.29), Vdara ($109) ... with only the Green Monster's Sky Lofts ($600) outpricing Aria.

So, MGM, are you sure this oligopoly business model is the way you want to go? I'm just askin'.

<crickets>

Night of the living dead

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 13:06:00 -0700

Will the last person leaving the Riviera please take down the Charo in Concert, Abra-ca-Sexy! and Tom Stevens posters? Everything about last night's visit to the casino suggested a business that's died but doesn't realize it. Not that it helps to be literally in the shadow of the rotting whale carcass that is Fontainebleau. Between it, Echelon and the apparently defunct Plaza project, that neighborhood is one giant buzz-kill.

Still, even on a Wednesday night one does not expect to see such a thinly populated casino floor. There were more players around the electronic table games than the real ones. In the parking-garage elevator, one of the braille "3" panels was missing from the keypad. Management's solution? Scrawl "3" in red ink where the braille pad should be. (ADA non-compliance much?) If the Riviera is blowing off its interest payments in order to use the money on operating costs, it's not going very far, from the looks of things.

The moribund feeling extended to the upstairs showroom, where Charo has given way to Andrew Dice Clay (or, as the Riv bills him, "Andrew DICE Clay"). Even with a 90-minute cocktail party as an inducement, Clay rolled snake eyes in terms of media turnout. It was a small crowd [sic] and even ~~some~~ many of the local bloggers blew it off, so scant was the event's cachet.

Maybe they were at the Tropicana, checking out Wayne Newton, whose new show ...

Features Rich Natole. This confirms well-sourced reports LVA had been receiving that the impressionist would land a new gig at the Trop and it was merely a question of when. Natole, who was subletting a time slot from Anthony Cools, got caught in the crossfire between Cools and Trop CEO Alex Yemenidjian. When Cools, Bobby Slayton and the Penny Lane show were sent packing, Natole found himself briefly at loose ends, too. The Natoles are nice people, so I'm glad this Vegas saga has a happy ending. On a sadder note ...

Lanni ailing. Former MGM Mirage CEO J. Terrence Lanni has an undisclosed form of cancer. The news comes almost a year to the month since he abruptly resigned from the gaming giant. At the time, Lanni denied that health problems were involved but he also said it had nothing to do with a resumé-inflation scandal that threatened to bring him under investigation in New Jersey, Illinois and Nevada. (Another possible motive for Lanni's abrupt departure: MGM stock had just sunk below $10/share.)

S&G sends wishes for a speedy and full recovery to Lanni, and to his family. I've lost a couple of friends to cancer, so I can imagine the ordeal the Lannis are experiencing. And, if it's not inappropriate, a tip of the Panama hat to low-budget broadsheet Gaming Today, which beat all major news outlets to this sad story.

Reality bites. At least if you're trying to maintain your price point at Aria. The megaresort has cut rates to $159 -- and thrown in a $75 amenity credit -- to entice two-night stays, through April 1. Wouldn't it be ironic if, instead of cannibalizing Bellagio, as feared, Aria wound up gravitating toward the mid-market crowd?

Please spare a thought for the Queen of Comps, the beloved Jean Scott, who's in her sixth week of convalescence from the flu. First, a hepatitis scare, now this. Let's hope LVA's most popular blogger catches a break -- and soon.

Scarlett saved?!? & other Case Bets

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 16:28:00 -0700

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.

The casualties mount

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 14:54:00 -0700

Just yesterday I was lamenting the dearth of possible fallback positions for entertainers bounced from this or that casino. Heck, even the formerly volatile V Theater is enjoying its first stable lineup of shows since forever.

Sadly, we can add Scarlett and her Seductive Ladies of Magic (aka Abraca-Sexy) to the casualty list. With Charo literally and figuratively ailing, the Riviera's formerly robust lineup of shows is getting Slim-Fasted in a hurry.

Hopefully, somebody else can find a spot for Scarlett and her red bikini. Or she might take a cue from Bobby Slayton, who's literally getting out of town. So might Barry Manilow. However, we ran this down for a Question of the Day last week and the smart money has him taking up residence at the long-empty Paris-Las Vegas showroom. If Manilow can't break the jinx on that theater, nobody can.

I hope WizardOfVegas.com gets my Vintage Vegas review up before the show becomes history, because this Zowie Bowie extravaganza is an act of the so-bad-it's-good variety. It has the potential to go into posterity as one of the great Strip trainwrecks of all time.

Despite not having seen Vintage Vegas, Steve Friess channels the experience uncannily well: "I missed, for instance, what must have been a pretty disastrous opening night at the Monte Carlo for Zowie Bowie and its Vintage Vegas act ... even our most obsequious of entertainment scribes trashed them ... the idea here is that a major theater on the Strip is now given over to the alleged romance of Old Vegas. When it fails, I wonder, will anyone (else) suggest that maybe it wasn’t the execution that flopped, but the fact that people are bored with the effort to relive a bygone era?"

Having witnessed the completely pointless Rat Pack covers of spicy-as-mayonnaise Matt Goss, I'm inclined to agree. The 'retro' shows that work best -- like Rick Faugno's once-a-month showcase at South Point -- are ones in which the artist takes familiar material and makes his/her own. For Faugno, the songs associated with Frank Sinatra or Fred Astaire are as fresh and vital today as 50 years ago, and it comes through in his performance.

Much the same could be said for the Motown covers of Human Nature, a fantastic act that's literally crimped by management's determination to pack the absolute maximum number of tables into the Imperial Palace showroom. Memo to Rick Mazer: If you take 8-12 tables out, people will actually get up and dance, instead of merely wishing they could.

Speaking of showrooms, is there a smaller, crappier one than that at O'Shea's? You have to feel sorry for the performers who are relegated to this broom closet. Given the general disrepair evident at the Irish-themed casino, my best guess is that Harrah's Entertainment has decided to just let the place to go to hell until such time as they're ready to gut it and make it an anchor of their proposed off-Strip retail/restaurant mall.

Hell no, they won't; Penghu punk'd; Barbarians at the gates (again)

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 19:12:00 -0700

Pay taxes, that is. Two Indiana racinos are pushing back against a tax rate that averages 38%. Considering that the two tracks -- one run by Cordish Gaming -- are the newbies on the Hoosier State scene, one could fairly ask them, "Didn't you know what you were getting into?" As the article notes, neither Harrah's Entertainment and Boyd Gaming -- both which recently heavily reinvested in Indiana -- aren't whining about their tax rates.

But the racinos have a point. In states where the number of casinos is artificially capped by the Legislature, solons become the custodians of the industry's economic future, like it or not. And it only stands to reason that if the market is going be diluted, tax relief is in order. Considering that same-store revenues in Indiana have been nothing but down since the racinos opened, some push-back on the tax front was probably inevitable.

Hell no, they won't either. Allow casinos in Penghu, that is. Voters on the Taiwanese island voted against gambling expansion there, putting the issue off-limits for three years. The notion of planting mega-million-dollar casinos in remote, hard-to-reach parts of Taiwan never made that much sense to S&G, but big industry players like Sheldon Adelson and Gary Loveman have kicked Taiwanese tires in the recent past.

Did Adelson and Steve Wynn mistime their leap into the Hong Kong stock market? One Wall Street Journal columnist thinks so. Bad timing isn't the exclusive province of the public sector, though: A Washington State tribe borrowed $375 million on the strength [sic] of revenue forecasts that proved grossly over-optimistic. Percentage-wise, neither Harrah's nor Station Casinos missed the mark this badly.

Bob Stupak, R.I.P. The penultimate Vegas maverick is gone, having spent much of the last decade as a recluse. One especially thorough obit contains a quote by former Klondike owner John Woodrum that ought to be engraved on Stupak's gravestone (or at the base of that now-vanished Stupak statue): "If ever there was a guy beyond the rim of reality, there was Bob. But somehow he made reality happen."

Just what we don't need. They're baaaaack. Never mind the smoking wreckage they've made of Harrah's and Station, private-equity firms are rooting amidst the flotsam, looking to extend their morbid clamp on the casino industry. Leading the pack is Leon Black's inaptly named Apollo Management. Both indirectly (Planet Hollywood by way of Harrah's) and directly (Cosmopolitan, Fontainebleau), Black is reported to be scarfing up what few independent properties remain, raising the prospect of a Total Rewards oligopoly stretching from just above CityCenter to the southern frontier of the The Mirage.

There are also a few bottom-feeders in play. Hooters hardly seems worth buying unless Onex Corp. wants to do a tear-down and extend the Tropicana Las Vegas eastward. Current ownership of the Riviera is tapped out but the place still has prospects as a fixer-upper (not something that fits with Apollo's sack-and-pillage business model). If non-bottom-feeder Green Valley Ranch is really on the bubble of insolvency, then Penn National Gaming ought to quit chasing F'bleau, and try to drive a wedge betwixt Station and its Greenspun family partners. Penn would stand to inherit a beautiful property with far fewer problems than Big Bleau.

Do not resuscitate?

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 18:01:00 -0700

Most of us hew to the standard English-language definition of "fixation" (as in "I have a sudden fixation with actresss Crystal Chappell"). However, in Cirque du Soleil-speak, "fixation" means "damage repair." To wit: Criss F. Angel vehicle Believe has been in need of fixation since before it opened. (Only Crazy Girls and Steve Wyrick get lower ratings from LVA members.)

It's nigh upon 11 months since Believe was foisted upon an eagerly skeptical Las Vegas and apparently, the "fixation" process still drags on within the catacombs of Luxor. Or not. Whatever the case, Cirque du Stuck on Themselves ain't tellin', not even to the Los Angeles Times.

Two thoughts: If the show's problems are so intractable they take nearly a year to "fixate," why not just bag it? Also, if what Cirque is presenting is a work in progress, ought not Believe to charge consumers a "price in progress"? Like, oh maybe $15/person to see Mr. Angel and his Cirque enablers try to figure out what the hell kind of show they want to do?

While I don't share Richard Abowitz's enthusiasm for Zumanity (for me, it's a show about sex that's staged by eunuchs). Ka is awe-inspiring and Mystere is enjoyable if you have a very high tolerance for whimsy. But it is with masterly understatement that Abowitz writes, "Cirque can be pretentious on stage and in the corporate culture."

Guy Laliberté's cosmic dream, our nightmare

Scarily, he reveals that head Cirque jerque Guy Laliberté is planning to spread coulrophobia to the cosmos. Is no place safe from putty-nosed clowns? Can't they accidentally-on-purpose open the airlock when Pennywise is trying to juggle in zero gravity or whatever Laliberté has in mind? (Given the reports of Laliberté's heterosexual athleticism, I have my suspicions as to what he really wants to experiment upon in zero G's.)

On the subject of ass-clownery, this takes the cake. I guess he believes "If you haven't been bookmarked, re-Tweeted and blogged/You might as well not have existed."

Adios, Charo? Moving further up the Strip, Abowitz speculates that an ankle sprain may provide the excuse for the Riviera to draw the curtain on Charo in Concert. (I accidentally typed "Charon." A Freudian slip?) Even reliably everything-is-better-than-ever Robin Leach concurs. Who'd have thought that, back when I reviewed Charo's show for CityLife, in tandem with Ali Spuck's cabaret act, that two months later, the plucky Ms. Spuck would be the one -- pardon the pun -- still standing?

Since the flamenco-guitar portion of Charo's show was a bit light on content (five songs), the Riv could have turned lemons into lemonade by working in more guitar and less coochi-coochi. But evidently not. But don't despair, guys. The Riv's still got Scarlett, Princess of Magic and her red bikini.

In an unrelated rumor, Tony 'n Tina's Wedding is alleged to be halfway out the door at Planet Hollywood. That always seemed a mismatch of show and venue; it will surely pop up somewhere else (LVA members give it our highest rating), should the rumor turn out to be true.

"Viva Elvis"

Wed, 02 Sep 2009 01:38:00 -0700

Obssessed? Moi?

Yes, Viva Elvis will be the long-awaited, enshrouded-in-secrecy title of the Cirque du Soleil show scheduled to debut this December at CityCenter.* Wow, they must have had to really burn the midnight oil in Montreal to come up with that one ... Speaking of name changes, Scarlett and her Seductive Ladies of Magic (at the Riviera) is now Abra-Ca-Sexy. Well, it's catchier ... The wheels continue to fall off the Riviera train: An Evening with Dean and Friends has closed, as has the dinner buffet (again) ... Lost in the bankruptcy tumult at the Greek Isles was the opening of a new show. Its cumbersome title is Chinaman: A Rock & Roll Comedy Experience. Moving right along ... By the time you read this, Rockstar: The Tribute should have reopened at the Harmon Theater after a disastrously short stint at the Wyrick Entertainment Complex (aka, "the Venue of Death") in Planet Hollywood. However, the Harmon has given it as much advance publicity as an IRS raid on a Vegas nightclub, so that's not a promising start ... In like manner, Beatles tribute Penny Lane tiptoed into the Tropicana without so much as a 'by your leave' ... Back at Planet Ho, Tony 'n Tina's Wedding evidently isn't performing up to expectations. Ticket prices have been reduced 13%-30%, although they're still steep ($63-$143) ... It looks like Deutsche Bank is going to wait a spell and open the Cosmopolitan in Sept.-Oct. 2010. Which, given that the Strip's been strangling on a glut of high-end rooms, is probably the wisest course of action. Wall Street's former Holy Grail, "another wave of megaresort openings," has become a phrase to be dreaded.

Ready for some good news? The most remarkable dancer of the late, lamented Sin City Kitties, Koree Kurkowski, is now part of the ensemble of Bite. The show is kitsch to the nth degree but it's entertaining in its own so-bad-it's-good fashion. The Stratosphere casino floor was pretty dead for a Friday night last weekend, but Bite was definitely packing them in. It's not as good as Sin City Bad Girls (at the Las Vegas Hilton) but way better than forgettable X Burlesque (at the Flamingo).

* -- the Viva Elvis revelation was let slip during last weekend's Michael Jackson festival at The Palms. I learned of it after being invited -- on 75 minutes' notice -- to co-host an episode of Steve Friess' The Strip Podcast, in which I am teased for being "obsessed" with Carmen Electra. I'll link to the edited version once it's available, so you can hear me date myself with a Barbi Benton shout-out.

This isn't Photoshop but an ad clipped from a Michigan newspaper, I kid you not:

The things you can find at the grocery store these days ...

Abraca - OMFG!

Fri, 21 Aug 2009 11:53:00 -0700

Scarlett, Princess of Magic has settled into her new revue, Scarlett and her Seductive Ladies of Magic, which finally gives me a reason to encourage people to visit the Riviera. The video below is taken from Scartlett's family-friendly V Theater show (long since closed) but many of the same tricks are reprised, on a bigger scale -- and with far less clothing. Her instance, the one-piece has devolved into a 'barely there' red bikini. Make sure your pacemaker is in working order.

There's some incredibly perfunctory toplessness from two assistants/dancers but it's Scarlett who brings the sexy -- and how! If this doesn't work out, she'd make a formidable contestant on Dancing with the Stars, too. I'm no great judge of magic but Scarlett is definitely the most hot-cha Strip headliner not named Marie Osmond. In a classy gesture, Scarlett's former presenter, David Saxe, was at the Riv last night amidst the well-wishers.

As for the Riv itself, corner-cutting is omnipresent, sometimes amusingly so. The post-Scarlett cocktail party featured but a lone plate of bruschetta and some cheese cubes. When they were (quickly) gone, they were gone. The Riv is just hanging on by its fingernails, even if it's not fallen off the cliff yet.

Amazed. It looks like an open-ended run is assured for this afternoon comedy show, highlighted by guitar-playing impressionist Mark Rayburn. (After you've seen him, you'll never take Gordie Brown seriously again.) Tickets are just a wee bit steep for a 2:30 p.m. show, but this is a winner, much better than certain comedy shows which I've seen and/or reviewed recently. I can't recommend it too highly. My more extended impressions of Amazed and Scartlett are due for publication in the near future.

Buffet bulletin. No word yet on whether MGM Grand, Luxor, Excalibur or Stratosphere are reining in their all-day buffet specials. Ben Bernanke's confidence notwithstanding, optimism in Vegas should be tempered with caution ... and price increases probably should not even be contemplated until those downward-trending visitation numbers start heading up for a change. One needn't be an economist to see that Nevada's recovery, when it happens, will be slow in coming.

The juice behind the juice. Could the speedy restoration of Privé's liquor license, following some cosmetic changes in management, have had another motive? Like maybe a precipitate dropoff in Planet Hollywood foot traffic? Xania Woodman reports, you decide.

Goliath gets a clean bill of health.

Goliath adopted? There's a glimmer of hope that little Goliath may soon find a new home. Why then am I so melancholy?

When hackers attack

Fri, 07 Aug 2009 15:35:00 -0700

Unlike the now-debunked ATM scams at the Riviera and The Rio, this is the real deal, as it played out at Mount Airy Casino in the great state of Pennsylvania:

"You can't bring that sword in here!"

Thu, 06 Aug 2009 16:49:00 -0700

Some do-it-yourself ninja got busted sneaking a samurai sword into Casino Rama, in Ontario. As far as exotic weaponry on the casino floor, S&G thinks this takes the prize.

The not-so-great ATM caper. Both Wired.com and the Christian Science Monitor have been carrying stories on sinister ATM-alikes positioned to capture conventioneers' cash at the Riviera. Since the alleged scam occurred during DefCon, a conclave of hackers, you wouldn't be much of a criminal mastermind if you thought such a scheme would go undetected.

Expanding on the story, the CSM reports that the not-ATM was stationed across from the Riv's security office -- a brazen move, if true, and that a similar scheme was unmasked at The Rio. However ...

Riviera brass say it was a mixture of hoax and misunderstanding. It was their ATM, they say, and they were the ones who took it offline in anticipation of DefCon. Because, gosh, you wouldn't want operational ATMs in your convention area when it's aswarm with conventioneers, would you? People might actually, like, use it.

Finally, some good news: The video speaks for itself ...

Quote of the Day

Thu, 06 Aug 2009 16:11:00 -0700

"A pox on you, David McKee! I bought 450 shares of Riviera Holdings at 48 cents yesterday, knowing all was well with the world. Today, it is already down to 42 cents. Over 10%! In one day!! I am convinced the surging popularity of your blog, along with your [Question of the Day] answer questioning the future of the Riv, have had a chilling effect on the investment community. Curses, foiled again!!!" -- S&G reader Jeff Leatherock.

Get 'em while they're young

Thu, 06 Aug 2009 15:04:00 -0700

One of the Atlantic City Hilton's most valued players was a 19-year-old from Brooklyn. This baby whale was sufficiently lucrative to the Colony C(r)apital property that he received a comped stay and qualified as a "rated player."

Better still, A.C. Hilton execs allowed him to keep playing even after they'd been tipped off to his juniority. Nice work! Step right up, Colony, and collect your reward -- a $115K fine from the New Jersey Casino Control Commission. Apparently the Hilton simply took the youngster's word that he was old enough to gamble before handing him the keys to kingdom.

Colony may be able to buy casinos but it sure as shooting can't run 'em. Frank Fertitta III may not have been the best monarch of Station Casinos but, compared to majority owners Colony, it's another case where the one-eyed man is king in the land of the blind.

One sings, the other doesn't (quite): Not only is Ali Spuck's new Liberace Museum show a real value proposition at $15/ticket but, hot damn, she's Spucktastic. As for Charo in Concert: A Musical Sensation, at the Riviera, it's something for everyone but not that much for anyone. Although Charo "goes to 11" on the Camp-o-Meter, gay audiences (and Baby Boomers, too) seem likelier to flock to Spuck.

Bleary blogger: My apologies for the disappointing blogorrhea of late. I've been immersed in a crash course on the crash-and-burn of Russia's casino industry (R.I.P.). Throw in some computer troubles and I'd conservatively estimate I'm three days behind the rest of the gaming world.

To Charo or not?

Fri, 31 Jul 2009 15:55:00 -0700

Are you wondering whether it's worth forking over 50 or more of your increasingly hard-earned dollars to see Charo in Concert: A Musical Sensation at the Riviera? This video (or "bideo" in Charo's Castillian lisp) is sufficiently representative that it tells you more than could any review:

The show's second half is given over to a five-song set with Charo on guitar. Does she have mad guitar skillz? Is she a Guitar Heroine? The twin "bideo" screens in the showroom maintain a constant closeup of her fingerwork, allowing you to decide for yourself. One might hope that cute little Manolo puts in an appearance, but alas ... no bull.

Signs of the Times

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 12:27:00 -0700

Caesars Palace's jumbotron was hawking a poker "tournement [sic]" as of last night. Having an ex-Harvard boffin at the helm evidently doesn't raise a company's I.Q. level. You half-expect that sort of spelling gaffe on the marquee at Terrible's; at Caesars, not so much.

It was wall-to-wall people at the Golden Nugget last night. Which goes to show that a scarifyingly depopulated Riviera on Monday night was not indicative of some citywide malaise. (What it bodes for the Riv is less than reassuring, however.) Nugget owner Tilman Fertitta is really packing them in -- at least in terms of bodies, if not dollars -- particularly the retirees. If Anthony Newley shout-outs are your thing, you'll love headliner Gordie Brown.

Thumbs down, however, to some price-gouging we encountered at The Grille, the Nugget's fast-food joint. Two bucks gets you a soda -- in a thimble. And don't be goin' askin' fer no refills, buckaroo, 'cause they're ain't none. Just skedaddle now afore somebody takes a brandin' iron to yer hide, tenderfoot.

Penn finally makes a move

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 12:31:00 -0700

Well, let's not get all excited yet. Penn National has bought a puny stake in Morris Goldstein & Assoc., a slot distributor. It's a bit of kabuki theatre whereby Penn and executives CEO Peter Carlino, President Tim Wilmott, CFO Bill Clifford and veep Robert Ippolito can go through the licensing process now, just in case they feel like acquiring something significant down the road.

Mind you, Donald Trump did the same thing several years ago, by dint of a buying a stake in Rivieria Holdings. Nothing ever came of it.

Clouds over Macao. Hey, dictatorial Chinese Communist overlords in Peking, feel free to loosen up those visa restrictions to Macao anytime now. Visitation was down 42.5% in May. Hotel occupancy was also off 18%. One small bright spot was that Taiwanese visitation continues to ramp up, however modestly (i.e., 3%).

House of wax

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 13:05:00 -0700

I call your bluff, comrade. As you may have heard, casinos in Russia can stay open by converting to poker rooms. A tip of the fedora goes to reader mike_ch for pointing out this story, which delineates some of the pros and cons. In Vegas, even the strongest poker rooms don't generate nearly the body count that table games and slots do. But Russian casinos are much smaller and at least a few might be able to hang on, depending on the size of the rake.

It's mighty big of the Kremlin, by the way, to concede that poker is a sport, not a game of chance. Now if only Uncle Sam would do the same ...

Rescue the Riv! Random observation from driving down Las Vegas Boulevard last night: The Riviera suddenly looks so much better and more classic when juxtaposed with the incredible bulk that is Fontainebleau. Land values have fallen, RIV stock is worthless and the property itself provides ready access to the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Time, methinks, for Penn National to get off its duff and make an offer ... unless Penn CEO Peter Carlino is waiting for the Riviera to go into bankruptcy, so he can pluck the carcass at auction. Then again, if Carlino really thinks that Planet Hollywood and some or all of Station Casinos are low-hanging fruit, who am I to second-guess him?

Who's the dummy? The purpose of our excursion was to attend an incredibly pointless media event at Madame Tussauds at The Venetian. If there was a point, it was so that the assembled media hordes would serve as extras for yet another episode of Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D List. A waxwork of Ms. Griffin was being unveiled and suffice it to say that Wax!Griffin looks far better than Real!Griffin. (I must be Officially Jaded, for I scarcely gave the comedienne a second glance.) The various and sundry female impersonators on hand -- led by Frank Marino -- had clearly taken greater care of their appearances than Griffin had of hers. There was, in fact, just about every stripe of LGBT humanity on hand last night, so it was almost more Rainbow Coalition than media event.

What excitement there was went on outside, where a smallish crowd surrounded the Michael Jackson statue. Tributes were in evidence but everything was tasteful and no hysteria was to be seen. As for Mme. Tussauds itself, I've been to the original one in London, and I recall its wax figures as being more believable and the setting itself as more atmospheric (especially the tableaux of infamous British homicides and regicides) ... but that was 35 years ago this month.

Give Vegas Tussauds props for having a Joan Rivers dummy who looks more animated than her real-life counterpart, as seen on the NBC sitcom Celebrity Apprentice. All that's missing is to give the waxwork Rivers a voice box that periodically squawks, "A pokuh playah! A pokuh playah!" Still, we easily spent more time checking out the doodads and gizmos in Brookstone than we did in the wax museum.

Loveman in denial

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 16:36:00 -0700

Harrah's Entertainment CEO Gary Loveman continues his media-availability tour. In today's installment, he grants an audience to the Las Vegas Business Press and insists that not only is everything as right as rain at Harrah's but that the LBO he steered the company into is really "an ability to focus on long-term viability and the health of the business." (Bond analysts remain skeptical.)

Despite bragging on the vast "resources and ... expertise" (like these?) of Apollo Management and TPG Capital, Loveman doesn't have any new strategems or projects to offer. The overwhelming consensus of stock analysts and customers nowadays is that Less = Less at a Harrah's-owned property. Meanwhile, the debtholders who bankrolled the buyout are asked to take haircut after haircut, and could be forgiven for thinking they've been played for suckers. Is anybody benefiting from this deal? Oh, I forgot.

One could go on but the story's mostly a rehash of old Loveman platitudes, plus another refrain of "We Love Macao." Harrah's management has been warbling that tune incessantly of late -- so much so that it sounds like an overt courtship of Pansy Ho, should she and MGM Mirage get a divorce.

The most newsworthy aspect of the story is the accompanying photo, in which the former Harvard prof appears to gotten a deep chestnut-brown dye job. If indeed that's the case, Loveman should ask for his money back: It's not only undignified, it's inept.

Gordie Brown goes down: If you think Loveman gets a bad review, you should read about the Golden Nugget's star attraction, who inhabits "a place where pop culture pressed 'pause' at about the time of 'Achy Breaky Heart,' Hootie & the Blowfish and Forrest Gump."

Then again, there must be people who groove to Hervé Villechaize jokes. Trouble is, they're all going to be down at the Riviera, watching Charo. And when you're described as a poor man's Danny Gans ... well, do the blows land any lower than that?

Great news for slot players: Seven more years of Clue and Battleship. Give Hasbro credit for knowing a good thing (in this case, its alliance with WMS Gaming) when it saw it. And, just because we can't say it enough, WMS' Star Trek machines are the cat's pajamas. Just for the record, you know.

"Peepshow" buys a clue

Mon, 18 May 2009 14:56:00 -0700

"Peepshow" prime donne Kelly Monaco & Mel. B

By now it's old news that Planet Hollywood's new resident spectacle, Peepshow, has gone topless for real. Though some question the move, to me it always seemed retrogressive and counter-intuitive to present a T&A show in contemporary Las Vegas that had scarcely a nipple in sight. That's so 1956.

What's newsworthy is the co-producer's rationalization for not daring to bare: "All of the other shows in this genre play to a smaller house. What we didn't want to do is alienate what could be 50 percent of our audience. We wanted to do a show both men and women are comfortable seeing."

In this context, "smaller" is anything less than 1,400 seats. By that Double-D measurement, Cirque du Soleil's nudity-friendly Zumanity plays to a "smaller" (i.e., 1,256-seat) house, but we're hardly talking Crazy Girls-cozy there, now are we? Jubilee! over at Bally's, seats 1,040. The sight of literally scores of bare breasts hasn't kept that show from racking up a quarter-century run.

If Jubilee! "alienate[s] ... 50 percent of [its] audience" -- which is very unlikely -- it's done no evident harm at the ticket window. (For that matter, I know some women who wouldn't mind seeing Peepshow's Mel B. in her knickers ... )

So you have to ask, "What were the Peepshow peeps thinking?" They evidently came in not knowing the market and seem only now to be getting up to speed. Fig-leaf prudishness and the Las Vegas Strip just don't mix.

Quote of the Day

Fri, 03 Apr 2009 13:14:00 -0700

"You have a debtor threatening to jump out the window and the creditor threatening to push." -- Nancy Rapoport, who teaches bankruptcy law at UNLV, describing the stalemate at the Riviera, which bids fair to be the next bank-owned casino on the Strip. Perhaps they can make a fresh start by renaming it "The Wachovia."

Hooters vs. Riviera

Tue, 31 Mar 2009 18:17:00 -0700

It's a race to Chapter 11 now, with Riviera Holdings in the lead. Its glandular-themed rival down the street is opting out of an interest payment and drawing down the last of its credit, never a promising sign. However, Riviera is forcing a confrontation with Wachovia Bank. Given a choice between hoarding cash on hand and making a $4 million interest payment, Riviera execs chose Door #1. That comes atop some scarifying 4Q08 numbers that included a $13 million loss, plus cash-flow declines of 64% on the Strip and 42% in Black Hawk, Colo. (Those newly enacted rule relaxations in Colorado can't come soon enough.)

Downward pressure on ADRs (not to mention 84% occupancy) and diminished convention trade (-28%) were blamed for the decision to conserve dollars. While the Riv recorded almost as much entertainment revenue as the year before, 27% of that took the form of comps to high-value players and thus came right back off the ledger.

The Riviera's appeal is not likely to be enhanced by the announcement it is renting out space to that bane of Strip visitors -- a timeshare company. "We have implemented and will continue to implement promotions to attract competing hotel customers to our property to enjoy our amenities," Riviera adds. Just don't order the powdered eggs, OK?

Station Casinos, meanwhile, closes the book on a poor-to-awful 2008. Cash flow was below $100 million for the fourth quarter, further underlining how overvalued the company's LBO price was.

No more sports betting ... at least not until football season at Bally's. What the hell. You can't bet on a Boston Celtics game there anyway.

Case Bets: Wynn, Adelson, casino closings & Number One

Mon, 30 Mar 2009 18:45:00 -0700

Last winter, I got a break on my rent -- but not nearly as good as the one Steve Wynn did. That's a nice deal, if you can get it.

Las Vegas Death Watch: In the latest "Stripper Poll" posted by Steve Friess, he asks which Strip casino should close first "if economic conditions warrant it." Through some glitch, the Tropicana was listed twice, so voters may be using two of their three votes on it. Either way, it's out in front with 40 votes, with hanging-by-a-thread Hooters second (31 votes) and Circus Circus, the casino people to hate -- and patronize -- third with 29, as of this writing.

The fourth-place showing by the customarily derided Imperial Palace counts, in this context, as good news for the IP. As for the Tropicana's prospects, I'd still count them better than Riviera's ... assuming Trop management gets its act together, which it shows few signs of doing.

Good news for Adelson: An analysis of the East Coast casino market finds Sands Bethlehem relatively sheltered from strong competition and likely to swipe business from two rival Pennsylvania slot parlors.

Whatever service workers get paid, it's not enough, as this story demonstrates. The indignity alone is impossible to quantify.

Case Bets: Taxes, Stratosphere, Riviera, Treasure Island

Wed, 04 Mar 2009 13:43:00 -0700

If you, like me, had hoped for a breather from bad news today, you hoped in vain. In no particular order ...

Faced with a collapsing state budget and a scorched-earth set of spending cuts proposed by Gov. Jim Gibbons, do state Democrats take an Obama-like, "Hard choices are upon us" stance? You're kidding me, right? No, they're seeking refuge in weaselly evasions that they can't make specific proposals because they don't know the exact number that they have to hit.

Will they take on the mining industry or propose the gross-receipts tax on non-casino businesses for which J. Terrence Lanni used to stump? Nope. Even though sales taxes are by nature regressive and both they and gaming revenue are spiraling downward, 60% of the state's eggs will continue to be put into that fraying basket. (The best analogy for this budgetary formula is that of CityLife's Steve Sebelius, who likens it to building a house on the slope of an active volcano.)

The rest of the non-solution, as propounded by Ways & Means chair Morse "Moose" Arberry (D) consists of More Of The Same: Just jack up each existing tax a teensy bit and maybe nobody will notice -- or at least squawk too loudly. The rationale, as explained by one budgetary sage, is that everybody takes it in the shorts (basically), sparing legislators from having to confront one or two particular interest groups. It also means that the increased -- they hope -- revenue starts rolling in on Jan. 1, 2010 ... whereupon the larger issue of Nevada's revenue structure can be safely palmed off on the 2011 Lege, absolving the current bunch of responsibility. Yup, sounds like a real winner.

So Nevadans and tourists alike can brace themselves for higher taxes on: alcohol, tobacco, live entertainment, insurance premiums, property transfers -- and casino revenues. Not to mention the hotel-room tax that's already sailing through. Heck, it seems the gambling industry dodged a credit-chilling acceleration of the tax on markers largely because Midnight Jim went off half-cocked. Gibbons' characteristic ineptitude is rarely a cause for relief but here's an exception to the rule.

As for the Buckley/Arberry proposition that the people who are already paying (you, me, the guy behind the tree) should pay more while the ones who aren't will continue to skate ... to say that it's disgraceful, inequitable and it stinks would be a gross understatement. It's a sad day when Jim Gibbons is your local Profile in Courage but there you have it.

J. Terrence Who? The unfortunate Mr. Lanni was a no-show at his Nevada Business Hall of Fame induction. Maybe, just maybe he's keeping a low profile because MGM Mirage is cracking under the strain of debt that was run up on his watch. Then again, this is a town that has no compunction about giving sentimental awards to mobbed-up old casino execs. But fudge one resumé and you're a non-person, buddy.

More 401-ks stopped. This time it's the Goldman Sachs-owned Stratosphere and both Arizona Charlie's, etc. Gosh sakes, yes, let's raise gaming taxes right this minute.

If a Strip casino were to close, the odds-on favorite would be the Riviera. It has shuttered all but one of its restaurants and has got to be worrying that a rumored six-month postponement of Fontainebleau could be the kiss of death. If that weren't enough, Wachovia Bank has decided to give the Riv a shove under the bus by insisting that -- according to Riviera Holdings President William Westerman (via PR Newswire) -- "Wachovia could gain access to all cash held in Riviera's bank accounts by merely advising the banks of a notice of default without first allowing us the opportunity to cure the default, no matter how trivial."

He adds that Wachovia's alleged brinksmanship has been going on since last Oct. 14. What luck: Of all the banks willing to help prop up the casino industry, Westerman has to deal with the one that decides to play hardball instead. When you consider that people were writing Westerman off 10 years ago, he's no stranger to facing long odds.

Ready for some good news? Cash-parched MGM Mirage is close to gaining some desperately needed liquidity now that the Nevada Gaming Control Board has OK'd Phil Ruffin's purchase of Treasure Island. Ruffin has enjoyed excellent luck with Nevada regulators. Like his New Frontier acquisition, this one went through like greased lightning. An exhaustive LVA profile of Ruffin found him always to be on the up and up. And unlike James Packer, he doesn't plan to fix what isn't broken.

Penn Natl' > [your company here]

Wed, 04 Feb 2009 11:44:00 -0700

Wall Street remains gung-ho on at least one gaming stock: Penn National. Vegas-based casino owners who are pining for Penn to buy one of their assets may have to possess their souls in patience. Joseph Greff writes that Penn is keeping its powder dry "given the belief that market clearing prices for single asset acquisitions will dip lower in 2009. We are not expecting any acquisitions any time soon." The restraint displayed by Penn's board of directors stands in silent reproof to the sheeplike tendencies displayed at other casino companies in the recent past -- the manner in which the calamitous Station Casinos buyout was rammed through is one of the more egregious instances.

The real kicker comes toward the end of a J.P. Morgan research note, which lauds Penn's all-regional portfolio, which is expected to outperform the Las Vegas and Atlantic City markets. As LVA Editor Deke Castleman put it, who'd have thought we'd ever see the day when Wall Street likes Keokuk, Iowa, better than Las Vegas?

How bad is it at Riviera? All buffets have been closed and an eyewitness tells me that only two outlets are still open in the food court. It sounds like they're just hanging on by their fingernails until Fontainebleau opens and (we hope) stimulates business up thataways.

Colorado casinos: Four votes, four wins

Wed, 21 Jan 2009 18:47:00 -0700

After a statewide vote approved 'round-the-clock operation at Colorado's non-tribal casinos (along with a 20X increase in betting limits and a wider repertory of games), the measure wasn't home and dry. It had to be voted through in Cripple Creek, Black Hawk and Central City. I heard some skepticism voiced about whether the citizens of Central City were on board with a gambling expansion but they sure were. The proposed liberalization racked up an overwhelming victory yesterday.

Don't gas up for a drive to Colorado just now. The widened operating rules don't kick in until July 1. Although neither Ameristar Casinos nor Riviera Holdings is directly affected by the Central City vote, Wall Street finally got a clue as both stocks traded slightly upward today. Ditto Penn National but not Isle of Capri. Congratulations to all Colorado operators, who definitely could use the relief.

Buyback at Isle

Wed, 14 Jan 2009 14:48:00 -0700

As reader Bill Jones pointed out, Isle of Capri is making a first-come, first-served offer to retire 28% of senior debt at 55 cents on the dollar. (Official version here.) Wall Street wasn't impressed, with Isle stock -16% as of this moment. But then what's with the market today? Voters in Black Hawk, Colo., OK'd expanded games, hours and betting limits, and yet both Ameristar Casinos and Riviera Holdings (which operate in Black Hawk) are down roughly 12% in today's trading. The Black Hawk bulletin is a not-inconsiderable positive -- but you wouldn't know it from Wall Street's glum reaction.

Is Peter Carlino crazy?

Fri, 24 Oct 2008 13:43:00 -0700

Now I know that Penn National is all a-flush with cash these days and CEO Peter Carlino is probably feeling bullish. Still, in a recent visit to Vegas to assess possible casino acquisitions, he's alleged to have acted like he just fell off the turnip truck.

According to Steve Wynn -- in the course of scotching a rumor that he might buy up some MGM Mirage property -- Carlino made the company an offer for Bellagio. Carlino must think that J. Terrence Lanni is an awfully desperate man. Why else would MGM part with its most powerful revenue driver on the Strip, a casino that is regularly in Majestic Research's top three when it comes to game usage (over-simply, sheer preponderance of players)?

Carlino made news by publicly dissing the Tropicana as a potential buy, saying "There's better stuff" to be had. Agreed. But, unless Wynn either misheard or is making mischief, Carlino seems to have veered far off the other side of the road. There's definitely some low-hanging fruit out there: The Rio, Riviera (plus debt), Cosmopolitan (ditto), maybe even the Sahara. Why he thinks MGM would part with its most valuable asset beggars the imagination.

(Wynn's hypothesis that MGM might peddle its Atlantic City land and perhaps its half-share of Borgata makes far more sense, especially with the question of Pansy Ho's suitability still hanging fire in New Jersey. And Penn has shown interest in two other A.C. sites already.)

MGM spokesman Alan Feldman is cagey, though, keeping alive the prospect that Bellagio might be had (perhaps by someone with the initials K.K.) for the right price. But I've got to believe it would take an offer as exuberant as the one El-Ad Properties made for the New Frontier before MGM Mirage would pawn its crown jewel to a rival operator.

And don't forget Downtown: Carlino is welcome to buy out slothful Tamares Group any time he likes.

Rapid response; Riviera automates

Mon, 08 Sep 2008 14:14:00 -0700

That was quick. Scarcely had a posted a query regarding the difficulty of finding an out-of-town newspaper in Las Vegas than back came the following response:

"Tell the good folks that you can buy newspapers from the stand out front of Egg And I. We found it a year ago and eat all our breakfasts there whenever we fly into Vegas. If they don't know about this small locals restaurant, they are missing a real treat."

On the subject of eggs, Liz Benston gets a rare, behind-the-scenes look at how the Riviera is making ends meet. Solutions run the gamut from mechanizing the check-in process and centralizing F&B purchases to requiring execs to make do with fewer techno toys. Some moves were unsurprising (layoffs) while others were counterintuitive (reducing the number of slots) but effective.

But the one really off-putting economy is the Riviera's new reliance on Quick Cuisine, a staple of the military mess hall, in its first-ever deployment along the Vegas Strip. Unlike the Bass-o-Matic, it doesn't slice or dice, but the Quick Cuisine "can create and dispense sauces of varying thicknesses and serving sizes, including gravy for a turkey sandwich, spicy tomato sauce for a platter of spaghetti and industrial-sized servings of eggs and oatmeal. Using a process similar to freeze-drying, the manufacturer reduces homemade foods to powders that are reconstituted when they’re mixed with water heated to more than 200 degrees."

Powdered eggs? Blech! Whatever things I'm doing at the Riviera in the future, eating there won't be among them.

Casino Jack strikes again. Yet another Washington lobbyist discovers that his association with Jack Abramoff has toxic consequences.

Dave Schwartz elaborates on his denunciation of Pinnacle Entertainment (see "Comments"). The -- pardon the pun -- money quote is: "The way I see it, this guy is paying his taxes and providing some kind of economic life for the city. More importantly, it’s his store. The wonderful thing about America is that if he doesn’t want to sell it, he doesn’t have to."

Amen to that.

Speaking of Pinnacle, its Atlantic City project is on hold for at least one more year. But if they company has already sunk $400 million into the former Atlantic City Sands site, I'm thinking it's a better-than-50/50 shot they'll move forward on the project. If the city council was amenable to selling Bader Field (which could hold as many as five casinos) starting at $800 million, expecting to garner half that amount by flipping one casino site would seem awfully optimistic.

Steve Wynn's bad bet?

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 11:24:00 -0700

There's a service here in town that alerts locals to "twofers" and outright freebies for various Strip shows. Lately, its e-mail alerts have been dominated by three names, two of which you might expect: pricey The Sopranos' Last Supper and newcomer Scarlett: Princess of Magic. The third name might surprise you -- Danny Gans. Yes, Danny Gans, he of the tree-trunk biceps and reputedly calcified comedy routine.

Gans: Flexing less box-office muscle these days?

Don't blame MGM Mirage, which is making marketing hay out of the waning months of Gans' stint at The Mirage. Maybe an act that is notorious for its lack of evolution is losing its appeal. Or perhaps, in today's economy, $110 seems an awful lot to see an impressionist, especially one who has scant name recognition outside the Vegas Valley.

(Well, maybe blame MGM Mirage a little bit: Wayne Brady, over at the Venetian, offers as many as five price points [from $54 to $171], compared to Gans' one-price-fits-all structure. Besides, Brady's show is a lot more up to date and -- as the Significant Other will be happy to tell you -- he's much better-looking than the ever-grinning Gans.)

When Steve Wynn announced that he'd wrested Gans away from MGM Mirage, he likened the entertainer (with typical, and usually pardonable Wynn overstatement) to Céline Dion, citing Gans' ability to fill 1,200 seats a night. Depending on how many of those seats are being given away, the frequency with which the house is being papered at The Mirage makes one wonder if Wynn has hitched his wagon to a falling star.

Boyd Has Brass Balls

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 18:37:00 -0700

Yesterday, I got a hint that Something Big was going to be announced in today's Boyd Gaming earnings report. Little did I suspect it would be the completely unprecedented (in my recollection) step of halting a megaresort project in mid-stream and taking 9-12 months to see how the tourism and credit markets shake out. This was a gutsy call, one certain to provoke depression in the local media and perhaps panic investors.

To its great credit, Wall Street not only rolled with the news, it even heaved a collective sigh of relief, rewarding Boyd with a 20% stock price increase in a single day's trading. Seems that analysts not only doubted Boyd's ability to pull the project off but feared it would capsize the company, never mind adding to a coming capacity glut along Las Vegas Boulevard. (Perhaps those are the same analysts who want Boyd to sell the land -- worth as much as $3 billion -- and quit the Strip.)

If I had to guess -- and I do, because Boyd is being a bit coy about the timeline of its decision -- I'd hazard that it was General Growth Properties' 18-month postponement of the High Street mall component that forced the issue. The planned mall anchors the southeast corner of the project and its absence would leave a conspicuous gap, to put it mildly. Then subtract the Mondrian and Delano hotels on the property's south side, and you've wiped the slate clean of most everything on the left side of the above rendering (borrowed from VegasTodayAndTomorrow.com).

Morgans Hotel Group has thrown in the towel on obtaining financing for its two-hotel commitment, making Morgans the skunk at the picnic. It played tattle-tale, rushing out the news of Echelon's freeze 90 minutes prior to Boyd's own announcement. The high-end hotelier even had the gumption to issue a press release implying that it was Boyd's fault the pieces didn't come together. Boyd came through with its equity, in the form of the land, but Morgans could never get its ducks in a row.

In a sense, the fate of the Mondrian/Delano component was sealed when playboy (ex-)CEO Ed Scheetz went haring off course and bought the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, for reasons still unclear. (It goes with the rest of Morgans' portfolio about as well as white shoes with a charcoal gray business suit.) Maybe Scheetz felt a need to outdo predecessor Ian Schrager.

Ed Scheetz, master of disaster

Extended to the limit by its Hard Rock purchase, not to mention a costly series of upgrades and expansions, Morgans seemed to lose sight of its preexisting commitment to Echelon. Instead of wrapping up financing for Mondrian and Delano while the markets were still flush, the company dithered around with trying to fix a property (the Hard Rock) that wasn't broken and pursuing a Nevada gaming license.

Boyd has indicated that it's in ongoing talks with Morgans, but that sounds like whistling past the graveyard. Morgans was the first of Boyd's joint-venture partners to drop the ball, long before GGP did, and Boyd would be well shot of the hotelier that can't make up its mind. Even now, after initially talking about jacking up ADRs and repositioning the Hard Rock for Morgans' customer upscale base, it's done a full 180 and is going into business with porn stars.

If you can filter out the anti-casino rhetoric, Hugh Jackson has an interesting take on What Went Wrong: "... over the years, as Boyd kept making noises about what it would ultimately do with the Stardust site, the company's eyes just kept growing and growing, and the obsession to become one of the cool kids on the Strip became, well, palpable. It was almost as if Boyd somehow felt that its hitherto dependable revenue model .... was somehow inferior, or distasteful, and in any case not snazzy and glamorous ..."

That analysis assumes that something like Stardust 2.0 would cut it on today's Strip and I don't for a minute think it would. Just remember what an anachronism the New Frontier became: a stinky dive that was like a B- or C-level locals joint that had been supersized and mistakenly plunked across from the stylish Desert Inn. I don't know if Boyd bit off more than it could chew (at least in an inflationary market driven by myriad rival condo and hotel markets) but its JV partners sure did.

With Borgata and Water Club in Atlantic City, Boyd has proven twice over that it can execute a high-end property. And even if it were to throw in the towel on Echelon (possibly forever dooming the company to second-tier status in the eyes of the industry and media), this is the worst time to fling 65 acres or so of Strip land onto the market, especially with other properties -- Riviera, Tropicana, San Remo/Hooters -- going begging.

It took some cojones to make this move. But it was the right one and it's good to see Wall Street lining up in support.

Vegas Right Now = Bargain Country

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 12:28:00 -0700

While the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority may blanch from peddling bargain-oriented messages, we don't. While it wasn't that long ago that some of us were mourning the apparent demise of on-Strip bargains -- or redefining said bargains as $100/night -- the downward economic spiral of the U.S. has dramatically reconfigured the equation. And a 39% drop in MGM Grand room prices or a 45% plunge at Green Valley Ranch definitely qualifies as "dramatic."

Boulder Strip quality at Las Vegas Strip prices

On the lighter side, you've got wonder what they're smoking at the Longhorn or Speedway that leads them to believe they can justify price points equivalent to Sunset Station, Excalibur or Harrah's Las Vegas -- and 2.5X those at Palace Station. Oh well, optimism is an admirable quality.

Speaking of bargains, Wall Street is punishing Las Vegas Sands for its room discounting, not to mention predictions of a delayed opening (as in months later than planned) for Four Seasons Cotai. At $43.09 and falling, LVS is definitely a "bargain play," off $105.67/share from its 52-week high.

Barden in Pittsburgh: Harrah's out, SugarHouse in

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 12:20:00 -0700

That "juice job" that is Don Barden's Majestic Star casino project in Pittsburgh still has a pulse, even though contractors walked off the job yesterday as threatened. Chicago real estate developer Neil Bluhm is willing to chip in $120 million. Since Bluhm is the top dog on the SugarHouse casino project in Philadelphia, he can only be a minority investor in Majestic Star -- but what a minority! For $120 million, Bluhm gets 33% of a $780 million casino ... no small index of Barden's desperation.

Bluhm also hip-checks Apollo Management, co-owner of Harrah's Entertainment. Apollo had contemplated loaning $150 million which, presumably, could have been rolled into an equity stake. (As with Bluhm, Apollo is precluded from majority ownership in a second Pennsylvania casino.) However, Barden is still $30 million shy of his target number -- and no buyers have emerged for the Fitzgeralds casino in downtown Vegas, which represents the equity Barden was obligated to commit to Majestic Star.

This whole thing looks more and more like a colossal boondoggle by the day (Majestic Star's proximity to Heinz Field and PNC Park is a traffic nightmare in waiting, and Barden's plan scored a 274 out of a possible 600 from the Pittsburgh Department of City Planning). However, various local- and state-level commissars for optimism -- including the state's gaming commission -- are so nakedly desperate for additional tax revenue that they're willing to overlook the elephant in the middle of the room.

If Bluhm's name sounds familiar, he was part of a consortium that included Barry Sternlicht and which made several unsuccessful runs at Riviera Holdings. (Considering that RIV hit a 52-week low earlier today, perhaps they'd like to try again.) While he and Barden iron out the details, Majestic Star will sit half-finished and idle for as much as a fortnight. There's even a Web cam where you can view the work that is not taking place.

Displaying a rich sense of humor, Barden's spokesman "said the suspension of work should not affect the timetable for the North Shore casino's completion, scheduled for May 2009." What a card!

Elsewhere in Pennsylvania, the state's higglety-pigglety rush to embrace casino gambling continues to unravel (much to the relief of Atlantic City, I'm sure). Even though the state Supreme Court has said he can't relocate Philadelphia's two slot parlors, Mayor David Nutter wants to appoint a commission to study doing that very thing. He could also throw so many bureaucratic obstacles in the paths of SugarHouse and Foxwoods that they either give in and move voluntarily -- or perhaps they take their balls and go home. If Nutter's objections were merely aesthetic, that might be negotiable, but they appear to run much deeper than that.

Just for fun, check out this botched implosion in Florida. Las Vegas may not be tops in every desirable category, but we sure do know how to blow up buildings.

Monte Carlo: No harm [sic], no foul

Wed, 26 Mar 2008 12:13:00 -0700

A major Strip hotel put out of commission for weeks, thousands evacuated, 13 injured and $90 million in damage? No big deal, says the Clark County Fire Department. You see, Union Erectors didn't intend to set the Monte Carlo on fire, so it's all good, per impeccable Fire Dept. logic. Ergo, not even a fine for Union Erectors, even though the company merely assumed it had a valid permit and its fire watch was "ineffective." (Let's see: You're on duty to watch out for risk of fire and a massive conflagration breaks out? Yeah, I'd call that ineffective.)

Move along, folks. Nothing to see here. Just like ...

The spreading stain of renegade remodeling jobs is fanning out beyond Harrah's Entertainment and into some of the companies it has gobbled up, either in whole or in part. First up is the former Caesars Entertainment (née Park Place Entertainment, née Hilton Gaming), which built Paris-Las Vegas, site of some do-it-yourself sauna installation.

Perhaps this one can be traced all the way to the grave of Arthur Goldberg, on whose watch Paris-LV was built. Such a control freak was Goldberg, he was notorious for insisting on signing all checks of $5,000 or more. Casinos formerly owned by the late Ralph Engelstad (what else but Imperial Palace?) and by Boyd Gaming (the Barbary Coast) are also on the inspection list, which gets longer by the week.

Which means it's a very ill-chosen time for Harrah's CEO/President/Chairman/Grand Pasha Gary Loveman to try and push whistleblower Fred Frazzetta under the bus, but a Mar. 18 press release did just that, terming Frazzetta "irresponsible" and lacking in credibility. (If anybody's credibility is eroded at this point, it's not Frazzetta's.)

"The company has not suggested that any of the terminated employees," of shuttered Harrah's subsidiary Roman Empire Development, "were responsible for the improper renovation work," reported the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Which is interesting, because -- back in my days at the Las Vegas Business Press -- one of the first tips we got about the evolving private-equity buyout of Harrah's was that its in-house design operation would be scrapped and outsourced.

So the high-profile sacking of 200 Roman Empire employees may have been a pre-planned cost-cutting move masquerading, at the time, as a forceful response to the Rio/Harrah's LV/Flamingo renegade-renovations debacle. That shiny halo that Gary Loveman wears in Christina Binkley's otherwise excellent Winner Takes All has gotten a mite smudgy of late.

No slam-dunk for Wynn dealers. Liz Benston guides readers through the whys and why-nots of whether a recent California ruling against tip confiscation at Starbucks will have any effect on a similar regime at Wynn Las Vegas. "[D]ealers say Wynn is using the tips to supplement supervisors’ salaries," writes Benston. Hell, that was Wynn's own justification at the time: That he couldn't get any good pit bosses because there was better money to be had by being a dealer. Rather than raise the bridge, Wynn chose to lower the river and you all know how well (or badly) that has gone.

On the move. Another high-ranking Strip exec has "ankled" over to Fontainebleau. First, the Cosmopolitan's Audrey Oswell, now Riviera Holdings CFO Mark Lefever. Glenn Schaeffer is building himself quite a braintrust.

Steve Wynn, take note

Fri, 21 Mar 2008 12:05:00 -0700

Do the circumstances of this case sound familiar? Or how about this (literal) money quote:

"Tips really help those receiving the lowest wages. I think Starbucks should pay shift supervisors higher wages instead of taking money from the tip pool."

Seems that tip confiscation is going to cost corporate greedheads $106 million Star bucks -- and that's just in California. Were a Nevada court to uphold former state Sen. Donald Mello's interpretation of the tip-sharing law he wrote, it would be bad news for Starbucks and Wynn Resorts alike.

Counsel for Starbucks whines that the judge's ruling was unfair 'cause it was, like, only four paragraphs long. Who said justice had to be long-winded? Or that cheapskate execs can get around paying a fair wage by plundering front-line employees' tips?

While we're on the subject, why does Starbucks -- or any other retail outlet -- need to subject its employees to the humiliation (or its customers to the emotional blackmail) embodied by the tip jar? It's thisclose to panhandling. I second the sentiments expressed in a recent Wall Street Journal column which deplored the practice, not least -- in fact, most of all -- because it's asking customers to subsidize wage rates that employers are too cheap to pay themselves. If StarJavaCoffeeSexpresso Detour is going to charge John Q. Public $4.95 for that Blended Oreo Latté and $1.95 for a slice of banana bread, you'll never convince me it can't afford to pay a living wage ... and not "living" in the sense of "living on welfare" or "living below the poverty line," either.

That sound you hear is the buzzer signaling the end of Robin Leach's exceptionally prolonged 15 minutes of fame. You know Leach. He was the randy Andy who almost cost Emeril Lagasse his liquor license back in '99. Anyway, an exceptionally reliable source informs me that when Leach hove his bulk over the horizon at a recent media event, the following colloquy ensued ...

CHECK-IN PERSON: "And you are ... ?"

LEACH: "Leach. Robin."

CHECK-IN PERSON: "Let me look you up."

Gaming Commission rolls the dice. Restoring the casino license of an admitted scammer is a big risk. If Angelo Stamis screws up again, it'll be the Nevada Gaming Control Board and Gaming Commission that'll look bad, not him.

It reminds me of what Gaming Commissioner Art Marshall once told me: "The Control Board dispenses justice; the Gaming Commission dispenses mercy." And 33 years has been a long time to spend on parole, as it were. Many felons get off with far less.

In other business, the Gaming Commission approved the Carano family's acquisition of a casino in the greater Carson City area. The Caranos own Eldorado-branded casinos in Reno and Shreveport/Bossier City, La.

It's over. Massachusetts' House of Representatives drop-kicked Gov. Deval Patrick's casino-legalization proposal by a 2.3-1 margin. Following a rebuff -- nay, a beat-down -- of those proportions, I'm guessing Patrick won't be returning to the issue until either A) the economy gets a helluva lot worse or B) he wins a second term.

Strip land values down? But Atlantic City is up

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 15:22:00 -0700

I never thought I'd type that headline, but that's the gem of news buried at the bottom of an otherwise pro forma story on the Riviera FY07 filing.* Pointing to a glut (102 acres, precisely) in undeveloped Strip acreage, John Knott of CB Richard Ellis says it means "it's more challenging for the Riviera to get $30 million per acre[,] which you could have argued four months ago was the value. Today, it's clearly not the value."

(Which isn't good news for Columbia Sussex, in case it decides to unload the Las Vegas Tropicana, bought when Strip land values were at their zenith.)

* -- As reported on our What's News page: "Despite notching improved room rates at its Strip property and better cash-flow margins overall, Riviera Holdings Corp. recorded a $1.48 per share loss for 2007, compared to only $0.03/share in '06. Improved entertainment product, primarily ICE, was also credited with improving financial performance at the Vegas Riviera. Its Black Hawk counterpart has added three outdoor smoking lounges to counter Colorado's ban on smoking in casinos."

"Thank God for Leap Day" That's what they're probably saying along the Boardwalk, after a 29-day February broke a 10-month run of gloom-inducing numbers in Atlantic City. Slot revenues may have merely held their ground but table games continue to look like A.C.'s source of salvation (+4.9%).

The quick-and-dirty version is that it was a bad month for Colony Capital and a good one for Trump Entertainment Resorts, which belatedly rolled out a cross-property players card. (They're only doing this now?) Gaming execs are quick to strike a cautionary note, in the "One swallow doesn't make a Spring" vein.

Ray Rawson might get the boot from the Nevada Gaming Commission. This is a developing story that bears close watching, especially given the current administration's propensity for controversial appointments (a boon to newsmen after eight comparatively bland years under former Gov. Kenny Guinn).

The upside to a weak dollar is that it means "buy American" ... if you live overseas. That goes for Strip condos, too.

Washington resident says economy slightly amiss

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 14:45:00 -0700

Perhaps the only American who doesn't think we're in a recession had a blinding flash of realization today, declaring "it's clear that our economy has slowed." Oh really? What clued him in? The $4/gallon gas he hadn't heard about a week ago? The all-time high in foreclosures, perhaps? The lowest homeowner-equity rates in 63 years? Maybe the 85,000 jobs lost in the last two months (with two Vegas mainstays, construction and retail, hit hard)?

Not only are casinos in Atlantic City fighting a downturn, we've already seen flattening in Iowa and Lousiana, and it's creeping closer to home, with Station Casinos running up against a newly inelastic market and dampened profitability. And it's far from alone. The sclerosis of our economy has taken a while to reach Las Vegas, impacting outlying markets first, but it's here now. We're all going to have to tighten our purse strings and I fear that's going to include the gaming industry.

"Losing a job is painful," says the man who's never lost one in his life. As for the 63,000 people who did find themselves unemployed last month, the Washingtonian can at least promise them an unending supply of optimistic platitudes, like "Our economy will prosper."

Yes, but when and -- more importantly -- how?

On a brighter note, higher room rates, and improved slot product and play translated into a better year for Riviera Holdings Corp., as did notable improvements in cash flow. The company has basically taken itself off the auction block, citing a pallid economy and chilly credit markets, although Barry Sternlicht's Riv Acquisition Group is still kicking the Riv's tires.

None of this, however, kept RIV shareholders from taking a bite in the wallet, as the company posted a -$1.48/share result for 2007. RIV stock only lost three cents per share for all of 2006.

HillRod's pandering. Stumping down in Mississippi, Sen. Hillary Clinton intimated that she might condescend to offer Sen. Barack Obama the #2 spot on the ticket. That's mighty big talk coming from a second-place candidate and, were I Obama, I'd send her off with a flea in her ear. Besides, does anyone really expect Clinton to run with veep-to-be who would outshine her on the stump and draw bigger crowds? She's got enough problems keeping ol' Bubba from stealing the limelight.

What makes my blood simmer is the implicitly patronizing nature of Sen. Clinton's pseudo-offer. In effect, it says, "That black fellow's not ready for the top job yet, but if y'all are really nice and vote for me and Bill, we might let you have a seat at the table." With the CEO's chair finally within its grasp, America's black electorate needn't be sweet-talked into settling for, at best, a junior partnership.