No ‘M’ in ‘Penn’; A Royal mystery; See Vegas and die

Scarcely had the hot air cooled on Penn Entertainment‘s announcement that it was doubling the capacity of M Resort than word trickled out—via Vital Vegas—that Penn is in talks too sell the locals-oriented property to MGM Resorts Entertainment. It would be a radical shift in direction for Leo the Lion, who specializes in category-killer destination properties. But it’s more interesting in what it says about Penn, a company that has apparently lost its stomach for Sin City. It flailed and failed at the Tropicana Las Vegas and is now set to quit town altogether, it would appear. The sale proceeds would undoubtedly be channeled into Penn property upgrades in Illinois and Ohio. And M Resort is a relatively minor contributor to Penn’s overall coffers. But to quit Las Vegas at this juncture in order to double down on Joliet and Aurora seems like a questionable business decision indeed.

Penn’s apparent willingness to flee Nevada may have something—a lot of something—to do with Dave Portnoy. Getting Barstool Sports licensed in the Silver State isn’t an easy layup, especially when a character as foul as Portnoy is between you and the basket. And the Barstool brand even make sense for Nevada? How do you deploy a media-driven sports book in a state whose leadership is allergic to online sports betting? One brick-and-mortar book is going to be more trouble for CEO Jay Snowden than it’s worth. Penn may have decided to get out and call it victory. As for MGM, it would be fascinating to see how it tailors its would-be marketing and product to appeal to a different stripe of customer. One thing’s for sure: There’d better be free parking.

What’s happening way up the Las Vegas Strip at defunct Royal Resort? Not much, evidently. The closed, fenced-off hotel and several adjoining parcels are supposedly destined for a casino-resort. However, activity has been scarce. An astute LVA reader found the following information:

Royal Resort:
8/31/2022 Permit # BD22-07335 Removal of communication equipment by tenant Sprint
4/8/2022  Permit # BD22-17311 Remove/replace drywall on 5 floors

So there’s a very low level of activity at the Royal proper. In the It’s A Small World Dept., the missus used to work at the glass office building (also destined for demolition) at the left of the photo above. Owners Michael and Hooshang Pashaie‘s flunkies claim that the do-nothing Pashaies are “not interested in selling” but are in the middle of some kind of “mediation.” Their Beverly Hills company’s site claims, “GWP has assembled the consecutive lots to the east and west of the Royal Resort, which consist of a 43,470-square-foot shopping center on 3.7 acres and and a 306,000-square-foot office building on 3.3 acres, for a total of 10.5 acres fronting on South Las Vegas Boulevard with plans to develop a future high rise resort and casino.”

That and seven dollars will buy you a cup of coffee at Starbucks. Seriously, the Pashaies seem to be a day late and a billion dollars short of being able to pull the trigger on their grand plans. Maybe that’s where the “mediation” comes in. Perhaps they’ve landed somebody with the long green to redo that stretch of Convention Center Drive. We hope so. The Strip extension of the Las Vegas Convention Center ought to provide critical mass for a redevelopment. But the owners don’t have a track record of thinking big. Nor do they have an active Las Vegas presence.

Also, nearby Majestic Las Vegas-to-be still hasn’t broken ground and won’t for several months (Lorenzo Doumani having whiffed on Gov. Steve Sisolak‘s Covid-era decree that construction was essential work). Majestic’s budget has passed $950 million, headed northward. Majestic will try to flash some ankle at Consumer Electronics Show, previewing the non-gaming resort to conventioneers. It sounds like a desperation strategy but that’s just us.

Two heedless pedestrians were killed when an allegedly inebriated driver blew through a red light (as best we can tell). Although blame ultimately rests with Mykael Lanice-Lynn Terrell, who fled the scene, the couple can’t be exculpated entirely. They ignored a “Don’t Walk” signal during heavy traffic. Yup, being on the Fremont Street Experience can make you do stupid things. If you’re not keeping your aware of your surroundings at all times in Las Vegas, you really are asking for trouble.

That’s all the news we have other than the horrible casino fire in Cambodia (19 dead and counting), at least until sports betting in Ohio kicks off on Sunday. With the San Francisco 49ers already having clinched their NFL division, maybe you want to take the Las Vegas Raiders as your upset special. But don’t bet the house on it.