A one-ton horse

Wed, 09 Sep 2009 17:56:00 -0700

If giant equestrian statuary isn't enough to make you pass up Las Vegas for a vacation in Chandler, Ariz., I don't know what will do the trick.

Not impressed. One reader wasn't bowled over by Commerce Casino's largesse to a group of Bay Area firefighters who are battling nearby blazes. Informed that the firemen were being fed on Commerce's dime, aforesaid reader laconically replied, "Hopefully they're feeding them better than they feed their customers." Ouch!

Feel better, Las Vegas

Wed, 03 Jun 2009 12:11:00 -0700

You could be Phoenix. A reader shared with me a Wall Street Journal article on the cratering hotel market down there. (No link, sorry.) Occupany hit 58% in April, far worse than anything Las Vegas has seen. (J.P. Morgan forecasts 80% Strip occupancy in July.) Also, there are concerns about the addition of 1,900 rooms to a 56,000-room market. Hell, Aria is going to add almost twice that much inventory to the Strip all by itself.

In the past five months, W Scottsdale Hotel & Residences has been put into foreclosure, InterContinental Montelucia Hotel has been sued for default, Pointe South Mountain Resort missed its mortgage payments and Wigwam Golf Resort & Spa filed for bankruptcy. In one case, the amount of money in dispute is $82 million -- pocket change compared to Las Vegas, where you can rack up billions in construction debt before anyone gets worried.

David Mckee's Stiffs & Georges - Arizona

A one-ton horse

Feel better, Las Vegas