Vegas visitation for Super Bowl weekend is projected at 295,000 – only 1% off last year’s tally. The economic impact, including gambling, is expected to be nearly $110 million.
Both of Las Vegas Sands’ Strip megaresorts are on the receiving end of four-star ratings by Mobil Travel Guide, rankings awarded on the basis of secret-shopper surveys. This is Palazzo’s first year on the list, the Venetian’s fourth. Mobil has also given star status to Canyon Ranch SpaClub at the Venetian, as well as to 15 of Venetian/Palazzo’s restaurants and nightclubs.
Now that Defending the Caveman has settled into its new digs at Excalibur, Mike Weatherford pays it a visit and gives it a thumbs-up. He reports that star Kevin Burke is still tinkering with the length of the show, which now plays in an afternoon slot, but that it's "a flexible vehicle that still makes all its points in compact form." Discounted Caveman tix are available through our Member Rewards Book.
Longtime Strip fixture Danny Gans sat down with the Las Vegas Sun to discuss his new Encore show. He promises the same basic format as his Mirage act, with a smattering of new material, when he opens at Encore on Feb. 10.
Phil Hellmuth is the featured guest on this week's Strip Podcast. To illustrate Hellmuth's tempestuous reputation, the Strip Podcast site also links to a video gallery of Hellmuth's 10 "Biggest Blowups."
Steve Davidovici, boss of Pure nightclub and known around town as "Stevie D.", may have gotten the heave-ho. Citing confidential sources, Richard Abowitz reports that "Stevie D. is no longer welcome at Pure or actively involved in the company but may still be being paid or be a technical owner." Pure Management Group isn't commenting. Pure made headlines early last year when it was the target of an IRS raid.
Gambling in Space blogger David Matthews has some heavy action riding on Sunday's Steelers/Cardinals tilt. How heavy? He's sharing his Super Bowl prop bets with the reading public and at least $100 a bet, that's a heckuva lotta Benjamins he's got riding on the outcome.
Feb. 13 is a lucky Friday for the Yuma area, as that will be the opening date for Quechan Casino Resort, six miles outside of town. The night before, the Flying Elvi will put in a guest appearance for the pre-opening gala. Quechan boasts 1,000 slots, 34 table games (including poker) and a 166-room hotel.
Casino business in Arizona was down 16% in the last three months of 2008, based on state revenue-sharing figures. "We rely 100 percent on discretionary income. No one has to go gamble," Sol Casinos CEO Wendell Long told Capitol Media Services. He added that his company was loosening slot holds and offering lower-priced dining options to entice customers.
Revenue and profit for WMS Industries' latest fiscal quarter came out slightly ahead of JP Morgan's estimates. The slot maker also banked $3 million received from settlement of a lawsuit. Casinos are replacing slots at a slower rate and WMS is downplaying expectations for next quarter, but the performance of newer games like "Wizard of Oz" and "Star Trek" appears to bode well for future results.
It's all a matter of perspective. Projections for January in the Chinese gambling capital are for a 23% revenue decline from the first month of 2008. However, that still translates into $1 billion, the second-best month of the last five. Las Vegas Sands and Stanley Ho's SJM each control a quarter of the market, Wynn Resorts has 15%, and Galaxy Entertainment, Melco Crown and MGM Mirage are battling for the remainder. Chinese New Year business is expected to prove weak this year.
It’s Big Game time so you can expect non-stop action in sports books all over Sin City. Click here for a continuously updated list of all the best viewing parties, drink specials, and prize giveaways being offered on Super Sunday. Meanwhile, Saturday night is fight night at the MGM Grand, where you can see the UFC rematch between Georges St. Pierre and BJ Penn.
Today's Las Vegas Review-Journal carries a story on the ups and downs of Vegas lounge acts. For instance, Jerry Tiffe hopscotches between four casinos, while casino semi-regulars Yellow Brick Road often have to hit the road to make ends meet. An exception to the rule is Fontana Lounge headliner Dian Diaz, who's entering her second decade at the Bellagio night spot.
A lone reader just pointed out that we had left out both Casino Royale and O'Shea's from the voting options in the current poll on the Strip's friendliest dealers. So... If you were also wanting to vote for one of those properties, please accept our apologies -- they've now been included.
Slot maker International Game Technology has announced an additional 200 job cuts, mainly on the manufacturing side. This is the manufacturer's second workforce reduction in the last quarter. Yesterday, IGT announced that former Harrah's Entertainment CEO Phil Satre would be joining its board of directors, pending regulatory approval. IGT has been embroiled in a public squabble with current Harrah's leadership over Wheel of Fortune and other revenue-participation games, which Harrah's has been phasing out.
El Ad Properties is blessed with some very patient bankers. After receiving a short-term extension on repayment of its $625 million purchase loan for the New Frontier site, Israel-based El Ad has obtained a three-year, six-month extension of the extension. The loan will now mature in August 2012, by which time El Ad may have broken ground on its announced "Plaza" megaresort, across the Strip from Wynn Las Vegas. Said one jaundiced Las Vegas Review-Journal reader, "it would seem that Arab/Israeli peace will come faster than this project."
In today's Las Vegas Sun, Jeff Haney has a piece on the hazards of prop bets, particularly those made online. Super Bowl prop wagers currently making the rounds include, With what song will Bruce Springsteen open his halftime set?' and 'How many food references will John Madden make?'
No, not Vegas but the long-suffering Atlantic City Tropicana. Its 23 slot technicians, who maintain A.C.'s third-largest slot floor, have voted to authorize a strike after a year-plus of negotiation failed to result in a contract. If the slot techs strike, dealers may be close behind. Trop President Mark Giannantonio's statement that he "has and will continue to bargain in good faith" is at odds with Trop trustee Gary Stein's public stance that it would be inappropriate to reach a contract until a new owner is in place. The last casino strike in Atlantic City was in 2004.
Foxwoods Resort Casino is retiring almost 50 categories of casino chips and replacing them with 2 million radio-frequency-emitting, serial-number-bearing "smart" chips. Smart-chip manufacturers maintain that this makes player rating a more of a science, less of a guesstimate, and Foxwoods says it will also be easier to track its chip inventory this way.
In yet another blow to Atlantic City's staggering casino economy, Revel has stopped interior work on its casino-hotel, citing financial issues. Completion of the exterior will continue, but 400 employees have been laid off. At present, Atlantic City has one casino in Chapter 11, another threatened with foreclosure and three Trump properties that may have to seek Chapter 11 protection.
A partial ban on smoking in New Jersey's casinos isn't likely to be rolled back anytime soon, judging by the views of Garden State residents, as polled by Fairleigh Dickinson University. Ironically, support for the partial ban was highest (50%) among those respondents who actually visit Atlantic City. An outright ban drew 39% support. The poll used a sample of 841 respondents and has a margin of error of 3.5%.
Filling the void left by the closure of Huntington & Hart, surfer and nightclub promoter John Huntington's Huntington Ink opens at the Palms "this spring." It's described as "a high-end, Asian inspired tattoo lounge ... reflecting Huntington’s love for the Asian culture and his martial arts background in Jujitsu and Muy Thai, the newly designed lounge will feature a palette of gold and orange and dramatic lighting, along with water features and ornate staircases." It will also incorporate a "tattoo stage" and a D.J. station. Huntington is familiar to cable-TV viewers from his A&E series, "Inked."
According to Thoroughbred Times, TrackNet simulcast feeds and betting data have been terminated to Nevada casinos as of today. That means no Gulfstream Park, no Santa Anita, no Golden Gate Fields, nor any Laurel Park or Oaklawn Park races. While Wynn LV sports book boss John Avello says Nevada casinos will continue to take wagers on races at those tracks, "We don't have the signals." Avello has been one of the negotiators trying to resolve an impasse between TrackNet, which wants a fee increase, and Silver State casinos, which don't. Nevada's share of OTB handle has fallen drastically, reducing the casinos' leverage. Although TrackNet's Nevada contract expired Jan. 1, casinos were able to negotiate a Jan. 24 extension, but negotiations reportedly went downhill from there. TrackNet has been involved in similar confrontations in other states.
Nobody's denying that it was indeed a bearded, sunglasses-wearing Joaquin Phoenix who gave an inauspicious three-song freestyle rap performance at Lavo on Jan. 16. Whether it was serious ... that's another question. It may have been an attack of Andy Kaufman-style performance art. A Phoenix confidant told Entertainment Weekly the Walk the Line star "said, 'It's a put-on. I'm going to pretend to have a meltdown and change careers, and Casey [Affleck] is going to film it.'"
Starting on May 1, Allegiant Air will open a new, twice-weekly route from Grand Rapids, Mich., to Las Vegas. The $198 round-trip (a special inaugural fare) route will fly on Fridays and Mondays.
Fewer Missourians are experiencing gambling disorders (or at least are reporting it), according to data released by state's Department of Health & Senior Services. In a poll of 5,000 Show-Me State residents, the percentage of those who patronized casinos rose from 32% in 2004 to 44% in '07. Those admitted to having gambling-related money problems fell from roughly 1% to three-fourths of a percent. The rate fell sharply among women but rose among men. The rate was up in Kansas City but considerably down in St. Louis.
It'd only be for an hour but we'd be surprised if it happens at all. Las Vegas and Henderson mayors Oscar Goodman and Jim Gibson are calling for area businesses and hotels to make a one-hour conservation observance "to raise awareness about global climate change," according to The Associated Press. The blackout, should it occur, will take place at 8:30 p.m. on March 28.
McCarran International Airport gets new nonstop service tomorrow when AeroMexico launches twice-weekly service from Sin City to Mexico City. The round-trip service will run on Thursdays and Sundays. Flights will arrive in Vegas at 2 p.m. and return to Mexico City an hour later. "With the current strength of the U.S. dollar to the peso, Mexico is definitely one of North America’s most affordable destinations," announced AeroMexico veep Frank Galan. The airline's Vegas traffic last month was 32% higher than in December 2007.
Both Las Vegas Sands CEO Sheldon Adelson and his board of directors are on the receiving end of another shareholder lawsuit. Much like the first one, filed in November after Sands' stock value cratered, it accuses Sands' board of being unable to control majority owner Adelson and of being responsible for the devaluation of the stock. Shareholder Caleb Hartmann is the plaintiff of record.
Not only are room rates at the Flamingo quite affordable these days but, through Feb. 2, you can request a free upgrade to a Go Room. The promo code is PFGRL and Harrah's informs us that the promotion is good for bookings through April 30.
Oops -- we unintentionally left out the Imperial Palace from the voting options in the current poll on Strip dealers, so if that's your pick for the friendliest, please revisit the poll and cast your vote. Thanks!
Not even being in sunny San Diego could lift the mood at the American Lodging Investment Summit. Stock analyst Joseph Greff writes, "The general sentiment of attendees ranged from cautiously pessimistic to downright depressed, with 2009 operational performance viewed as an extremely weak year/writing off the year, 2010 viewed as a transition/getting back on track year, and 2011 viewed as ‘heaven’ (on a relative basis)." Negligible cash flow, borrowing constraints, and irreconcilable differences between buyers and sellers as to what hotels are worth were additional factors weighing on the minds of the assembled hoteliers.
If you're going to be in town this weekend and are looking for the best place to catch the action, check out our Big Game Parties coverage in "Special Events," where you'll find details of all the parties around town, from strip clubs to Strip casinos, not to mention all the bars with drink and food specials. And we'll be adding new events as we hear about them right up to the last minute, so keep checking back for updates.
If you haven't already, don't forget to make your voice heard in our current poll about the upcoming Vegas pool season and what you want from it. A new reader survey goes live at midnight tonight and we'll present the results of the current one on Saturday.
Attempts to work out a compromise on Gov. Charlie Crist's controversial (and unconstitutional) compact with Florida's Seminole Tribes have run aground in the state's House of Representatives. It's a bipartisan roadblock. Republican lawmakers are endeavoring to harass the vendors who supply the Seminoles, while Democrats fret that Seminole casinos -- now armed with blackjack -- could put the state's parimutuels out of business. Some Florida racetracks have added slot machines but the experiment seemed headed for failure even before the Seminoles rolled out the '21' tables, making the racinos' task that much harder, leading them to seek lower taxes, longer hours and more forms of casino gambling.
Foxwoods Resort Casino and MGM Grand at Foxwoods have augmented their Dream Rewards Program with two additional levels: Diamond Elite and Platinum Member. In addition to discounts, the perks include: invitation to member-only events, reserved parking, access to the Players Lounge, comped hotel rooms on a week-round basis, V.I.P. check-in, and being jumped to the front of the line at shows, restaurants and the spa.
Cordish Co. says it has a done deal with Morgans Hotel Group, which runs Las Vegas' Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, to continue to brand its Kansas Speedway casino project as a Hard Rock property. Although Cordish pulled out of a deal with Kansas earlier, it is submitting a smaller, $400 million proposal now that the casino contract has gone out for re-bidding. One possible snag is that Cordish has worked on the East Coast with Florida's Seminole Tribe, which owns HRH naming rights east of the Mississippi. It remains to be seen whether the potential draw of the Hard Rock name in Kansas outweighs any desire Cordish might have to collaborate again with the economically powerful Seminoles.
True, the newly improved Mirage volcano is out of action right now. However, despite rumors to the contrary, it won't be dormant until mid-February. MGM Mirage informs LVA that its "volcano is currently undergoing follow up work and is scheduled to be up and running this Friday."
Reduced fuel costs, more routes and a new charter contract with Beau Rivage all helped Las Vegas-based Allegiant Air to a $0.88/share profit in the fourth quarter of 2008. Passenger loads were up, with Allegiant flying at 90% capacity. This time, Allegiant made no mention of an idea, floated last fall, to charge passengers for carry-on bags. We hope we've heard the last of that.
An increase in comping during the 2008 fiscal year (which ended last June) meant lower profits for Strip casinos, -57%. But what really cut into casinos' bottom line were huge increases in debt and interest, while return on investment fell to a dismal 7%. Entertainment budgets doubled, but the profitability of restaurants shot upward by 89%. According to the Las Vegas Sun, "The report suggests that Strip customers spent more on food and rooms and less on just about everything else, including gambling and drinking."
For Super Bowl weekend, the Mirage is offering rooms from $69/night on up. The offer is good from tomorrow through Feb. 2. Use promo code SUPERPARTY when booking online.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, JW Marriott and James Packer's Crown Ltd. have been unable to come to terms on leasing rights to the Rampart Casino. Hence the strong possibility that Rampart could fall out of Packer's deal to buy the two Cannery casinos and a Pennsylvania racino from local businessmen William Paulos and William Wortman. Last year Packer had to write off the bulk of his investments in Station Casinos and Harrah's Entertainment. At present, including Rampart Casino, the Packer/Cannery deal is valued at $1.75 billion.
The Las Vegas Business Press reports that, as part of its "Luxury for Locals" push, Trump International is offering 25% off breakfast, lunch and dinner at its restaurant, DJT Sun..-Thurs. We can vouch for the excellence of both DJT's cuisine and its wine list.
A raft of extended-period discount offers has just been broken out for a quartet of Strip resorts. The basic value proposition is that, the further in advance that you book your stay, the bigger the discount. All stays, unless otherwise noted, must be booked via the Web. They break down as follows:
The Mirage: 15% off through Jan. 31; 20% off, Feb. 1-Mar. 31; 30% off, April 1-Aug. 31. Promo codes: 15volcano, 20volcano & 30volcano. Expires April 2.
Luxor: 15% through Mar. 31; 20% off, April 1-June 30; 25% off, July 1-Sept. 30; 30% off, Oct. 1-Dec. 31. Promo code: LDRATE. Log on or call 877/386-4658. Expires Feb. 5.
New York-New York: 15% off Jan.; 20% off Feb.; 25% off Mar.-April; 30% off May-Nov. Promo code: TIEREB1. Expires Feb. 5.
Monte Carlo: 15% off Jan.; 20% off Feb.; 25% off Mar.; 30% off April. Promo code: XMCTIER. Two-night minimum stay mandatory. Log on or call 866/783-1976. Expires April 30.
Throughout February, players at PT's and Sierra Gold properties will have daily opportunities to win Blu-Ray DVD players (brand unspecified). If you're a Golden Rewards member, every 10 points in play earns you an entry in the drawing. Lucky winners will have their names posted at 10 p.m.
For all the advance ballyhoo about Encore, little attention was paid to its Sky Casino, a 63rd-floor hangout for high rollers. Now Reuters has an inside look at the private rooms where baccarat and other high-stakes games are played. The Macao-influenced hangout has "been filled and occupied every day since we opened, other than last night," a Wynn exec tells Reuters.
In tracking Las Vegas room prices for Chinese New Year (which officially culminates today), JP Morgan found rates inching upward at Strip hotels owned by Harrah's, Wynn and MGM Mirage as the holiday drew nearer. Not so for the Venetian/Palazzo, whose room rates went down slightly over the same period. Celebration of the Year of the Ox may have been somewhat curtailed this year, as prices for the Jan. 16-18 weekend remained flat.
The clown house is putting a strong push behind its "Big Top Blow Out" special, which discounts room 25%-35% with no minimum stay. Only a first night's deposit is required by Circus Circus and, should you have to cancel, a full refund is available until 48 hours prior to check-in. A $100 "fun book" is part of the package, too.
Elsewhere, JP Morgan reports that room rates at Encore are running lower than those of Wynn Las Vegas, anywhere from $13 to $35 less per night.
With one week to go, lines for the Super Bowl remain rock solid, sitting at -7 (Steelers favored) and 46.5 for the Over/Under. Specials and parties are beginning to be announced, once again under the moniker of the "Big Game" in order to steer clear of the NFL's protection of its "Super Bowl" trademark.
An article in today's Las Vegas Review-Journal delivers two sobering statistics. First, of an expected 51,000 new hotel rooms expected to come on line by 2012, only about 19% (9,700) are currently being built. And second, through last September, [individual] Las Vegas condominium projects are closing sales at an average of three per month, down from what was expected to be 100 per month.
A weak (-14%) December capped a disappointing 2008 for McCarran International Airport. The airport’s 44 million-plus passengers represented an 8% dropoff from 2007. Setbacks in passenger loads carried by individual airlines ranged from Southwest’s -2% to US Airways’ -24%.
The Super Bowl prop sheets are out online and at sports books around town. As usual, Jay Kornegay at the Las Vegas Hilton leads the pack with hundreds of proposition wagers to choose from, though you'll find a good mix at most major books.
Customers at Eastside Cannery and the Cannery in North Las Vegas don’t need to fear any major shakeups in the near term, following Cannery Casino Resorts’ acquisition by Crown Ltd. Crown's CEO, Rowen Craigie, told Nevada regulators, "Subject to [detailed] review, we have no plans to fundamentally change the operations in the short term. He did, however, keep the door open for marketing programs that have worked for Crown elsewhere (presumably Australia). Crown owner James Packer was excused from having to attend the hearing. The value of Crown’s deal has fallen somewhat now that JW Marriott in Summerlin (whose Rampart Casino is managed by Cannery’s founders) has balked at a Crown takeover and is opting out of the pact.
A check made for "Ten Million Dollars Only" and stamped "Not Negotiable" is the central exhibit in a lawsuit by Mohegan Sun against scandal-ridden high roller Ausaf Umar "Omar" Siddiqui, who gambled away a minimum of $10 million during two sprees in December 2007. His lawyer says the debt cannot be enforced because Mohegan Sun broke tribal and state laws by extending credit to his client.
Wynn Las Vegas' sports book boss, John Avello, has posted just-for-fun odds on the Academy Awards, although he seems to have punted on the Best Supporting Actress category. Avello's predicted winners are Slumdog Millionaire (Best Picture), Kate Winslet (Best Actress), Mickey Rourke (Best Actor) and Heath Ledger (Best Supporting Actor).
Casino-ology author Bill Zender will be appearing at Lied Library on the UNLV campus, on Feb. 23 at 2 p.m. Zender will be discussing his new book as part of UNLV's ongoing "Gaming Research Colloquium." Next up in the series is "The Mob Never Ran Vegas," on Jan. 29 at 12:15 p.m. Both events are free and refreshments will be served.
Yesterday, Phat Ngoc Tran pleaded guilty to federal racketeering charges and named 12 casinos among his victims. The only Vegas property on the list was Palace Station, although regional powerhouses Beau Rivage, Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods were also targeted by Tran. As recapped by The Associated Press, "The indictment alleges that members of the criminal organization bribed casino card dealers and supervisors to perform false shuffles during card games, thereby creating 'slugs' or groups, of un-shuffled cards ... after tracking the order of cards dealt in a card game, a member of the organization would signal to the card dealer to perform a 'false shuffle,' and members of the group would then bet on the known order of cards when the slug appeared on the table," once winning nearly a million dollars. Tran will be sentenced June 1. He is the 20th defendant to plead guilty in the case.
Collecting on a poker debt proved hazardous to poker legend Amarillo Slim's health. The 80-year-old Thomas "Amarillo Slim" Preston thought he was obtaining a four-wheeler in lieu of a $3K gambling debt. After being lured to a remote area, he was beaten, suffering a broken jaw, hand and thumb. Not only did he fail to collect the three grand he was owed, Amarillo Slim was robbed of $8,000 and a ring valued over 10 times that much.
Mobil Travel Guide has bestowed upon Wynn Las Vegas a five-star award for its Tower Suites, making Wynn LV the only hotel-casino to win this award three times in succession. After three years of four-star status, Wynn LV's The Spa joins very select company in the five-star category this year and is the only Vegas spa to earn that distinction. Alex, Alessandro Stratta's Franco-Italian restaurant won a five-star award for the third year running. Our congratulations to all the winners.
New Hampshire Charitable Gaming has told the city fathers of Berlin, N.H., that the moment is right to petition the Legislature for a casino in the city. By Vegas or Atlantic City standards, the property would be modest: 10 table games and 250 slots. The city council is already in support.
After missing three mortgage payments, Resorts Atlantic City has Column Financial on its case. The latter has asked New Jersey regulators to allow it foreclose on Resorts or for the owner, Colony Capital, to surrender title to the hotel-casino. Colony is the majority owner of the Las Vegas Hilton and Station Casinos.
Today marks the opening of "Classic Contemporary: Lichtenstein, Warhol & Friends" at the Bellagio Gallery of Fine Arts. The "friends" include Frank Stella and Hans Hoffmann. The works, on loan from the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, cover the period 1949-80, with most hailing from the Sixties, so "contemporary" is a bit of a stretch. However, it's an impressive show and runs through Sept. 8. Admission is $15 or $12 for Nevadans and senior citizens, and $10 for teachers, students and military personnel. Gallery hours are 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Sun.-Thurs., and 10 a.m.-7 p.m. on Friday/Saturday. Call 702/693-7871 or 877/957-9777, or surf to www.ticketweb.com.
MonteLago Village hosts the first food fest of the year Saturday afternoon when the International Chili Society holds their annual Chili Cook-Off. In addition to chili tasting and judging there will be prize raffles and a DJ as well as discounts at shops and restaurants throughout the Village. Music aficionados have a chance to catch Grammy award winning saxophonist Kenny G at the Orleans and/or guitar virtuoso Al De Meola at Santa Fe Station.
In celebration of its 20th anniversary, the Mirage is offering half-price wine on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. Participating restaurants include Samba Brazilian Steakhouse, Kokomo's, Onda, Caribe Café and Cravings.
A deadline for Trump Entertainment Resorts to make good on missed interest payments has been rolled back from yesterday to Feb. 4. One bondholder's reaction was, "They will probably wipe out the stock and the bondholders will end up with something. I don't think [Donald] Trump should end up with anything."
From the London Times comes an eccentric crime story. An 81-year-old Florida priest has pled guilty to embezzling parishioners' money to underwrite his gambling habit. Seems that dollars dropped in the collection plate first went into a secret cache above the church's ceiling tiles, then to "an offshore account from where it was used to fund gambling trips to Las Vegas, lavish homes and even a mistress," to say nothing of a collection of rare coins. Athough Rev. John Skehan was charged with looting the parish of $1 million, Catholic officials fear he could have conducted a 20-year crime spree that netted $8 million. Skehan, who initially fled to Ireland, now could face 31 years in prison (assuming he lives to be 112). Said his attorney, "It's been extraordinarily difficult for him from the beginning."
CEI Asia Pacific Magazine has designated Venetian Macao as the best Meeting, Incentive, Convention & Exhibition (MICE) Hotel in Asia, while Venetian Macao's sales staff took home a second-place award. This is the second consecutive year the Sheldon Adelson property has won the top prize. Its 1 million-plus square feet of exhibition and meeting space have hosted 35 large and 2,000 smaller events in 16 months.
Casinos in Mississippi may be down 6% in 2008 but the $2.7 billion in revenue they recorded was still better than any pre-Katrina year. Generally speaking, Gulf Coast casinos are holding up better than riverboat ones and Gulfport is losing fewer customers than Biloxi. Relatively low tax rates are credited with allowing Bayou State casinos to comp generously.
Today's Las Vegas Sun carries a profile of Stoney's North Forty at Santa Fe Station. Owner Stoney Gray says business has been hog-wild since the Country-themed club's New Year's Eve opening and he's working on opening a third club at an undisclosed location. Opines Gray, ""When you start having problems in society, when you start having economic trouble, family values become more important, and Country music is hard-core family values ... This is a perfect time for Country-Western bars."
With Encore now up and running, 53 members of Wynn Resorts 129-person design staff have been let go. Terms of the severance were generous, including two months' pay. Wynn exec John Littell said, "This action, while difficult, is a result of a natural contraction of staff after major project completion such as Encore."
International Game Technology posted $66 million in first-quarter profits today, -42% from last year. Slower sales and more expensive jackpots were blamed. IGT has yet to disclose how much it paid for the intellectual property of defunct Progressive Gaming.
After four years on Fortune's list of the "100 Best Places to Work," Station Casinos didn't make the cut this year. Suspending 401(k) contributions will do that, we guess. However, there was a new Nevada entrant to the ranks -- shoe vendor Zappos.com, which debuted at #23.
With its purchase of the Atlantic City Tropicana seemingly in the bag, Cordish Co. wants to renegotiate the price of $550 million deal. Creditors, seeing a fire sale in the offing, want the property return to ousted owner Tropicana Entertainment. Stiffs & Georges has the latest on this Boardwalk soap opera.
Nevada's Gaming Commission has voted unanimously in favor of the purchase of Cannery Casino Resorts by James Packer's Crown Ltd. Packer has been making headlines lately due to his recent disposal of several big-ticket corporate and personal assets.
New Treasure Island owner Phil Ruffin tells Steve Friess that he's in talks with Cirque du Soleil to lengthen the contract for Mystere from three years to eight. Who knows? Maybe Mystere will eventually catch up with the 49 years logged by Folies Bergere. Ruffin also expects to close the Treasure Island sale two months ahead of schedule and may cannibalize part of the Strip-side lagoon to give pedestrians an outdoor café, saying, "there's no place for them to sit and eat" in that stretch of the Strip.
Fab Four Mania is no more. Today's Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that the show has gone dark, permanently, at the Riviera (as have several Riv food-court venues, we might add). Meanwhile, Tony 'n Tina's Wedding leaves the Rio at the altar on Jan. 31 and reconvenes the nuptials at Planet Hollywood's ballroom on Feb. 6. Meanwhile, the former Raw Talent Live -- now Fuego Raw Talent -- remains in a holding pattern but is expected to touch down at Club Rio. It will be reconfigured from a production show to a nightclub one. (Our managing editor says that, whatever they do, he still wants back the 90 minutes of his life that Raw Talent stole.) That leaves Stomp Out Loud as the one player in the musical-chairs game still without a seat. Stomp was expected to plant its feet at the Sahara but no formal announcement has been made.
Not only were local, national and international media wined and dined at Encore last week, Steve Wynn also rolled out the red carpet for Vegas taxicab drivers. An LVA source saw a check-in line marked "Driver Registration" and learned about the cabbie-fest. Since visitors to Sin City are famously reliant upon cab drivers for advice on shows, clubs, etc., giving them the run of Encore is a mighty savvy move on Wynn's part.
Chinese Restaurants News, in celebration of the Year of the Ox, has named the top 10 Chinese eateries in the U.S. Ironically, although the announcement was made at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino, not one of the 10 winners hails from Las Vegas. They are: Koi Palace (Daly City, Calif.); Yangming (Bryn Mawr, Penn.); Fung's Kitchen (Houston, Tex.); Bo Ling's (Kansas City, Mo.); Grand Sichuan (New York, N.Y.); Empress Dim Sum Seafood Restaurant (Denver, Colo.); Chef Lee's Peking Restaurant (Columbus, Ga.); Suzie's the Finest Chinese Cuisine (New York, N.Y.); China Palace Restaurant (Stockton, Calif.); East Restaurant (Wells, Mass.). OK, so Vegas got spanked. But how many of those cities have casinos? Very few! So there.
Foodies can expect quite an array of eateries and watering holes (14 in total) when M Resort opens March 1. The roster includes Studio B (restaurant/cooking studio), Marinelli's (Italian food from Marnell family recipes), Terzetto (surf and turf), Restaurant Veloce Cibo & Bar Veloce (sushi), Red Cup Café (24-hour dining), Hostile Grape Wine Cellar (the -- cliché alert -- "cellar and tasting room with an attitude"), Baby Cakes (European pastries), Vig Deli (ballpark food, adjacent to the sports book) and Piazza Grille (outdoor dining). For more information, see www.theMResort.com.
JW Marriott Las Vegas Resort & Spa is introducing what it calls a "financial blues buster." It's Ceres Restaurant's "Dine in 2009" prix fixe menu, which offers a starter course, entrée and dessert for $20.09 (think mixed baby greens followed by pan-seared Snapper and an apple tart). The menu offerings will change every week, so to find out the day's fare or to make a reservation, call 702/869-7381. The $20.09 special is available Tues.-Sat., from 5-10 p.m.
According to an Associated Press article, Vegas casinos may be reconsidering their high-end-oriented strategy of recent years. "Industry leaders are following the widespread layoffs, debt reduction and other cost cutting of recent months with calls for innovation and a back-to-basics approach that focuses on delivering a quality at good prices," reports Oskar Garcia.
MGM Mirage says it is weighing additional layoffs, selling raw land in Las Vegas and Atlantic City, peddling its corporate jets, even selling more casinos. It's also talking about branding overseas hotels with the Bellagio name. Harrah's is tinkering with marketing ideas like same-day discounts and comps, relayed by text message, while Las Vegas Sands says it will stick with its current strategy and wait for the economy to improve. That may be a long wait if, as M Resort CEO Anthony Marnell III contends, Vegas has priced itself out of the market. "The masses ... they're done with [$15 martinis]," Marnell told the AP. "They are going to stay retracted and conscious of their dollars for a long time."
While the newly unveiled fountain in front of the V Theater at Miracle Mile Shops doesn't even come close to the originally proclaimed "five stories" of height (actually 50 feet), it does have a temporary new water show. Through Jan. 24, the fountain does a choreographed routine, set to the Miss America theme song, four times a day, starting at 12:30 p.m. and repeating every two hours, until 6:30 p.m.
Give Florida's Seminole Casino Coconut Creek for pushing the envelope with regard to amenities. Its "Dinner in the Sky" special hoists parties via crane, whereupon their meal is cooked and served in mid-air. Reports marketing firm Raving Consulting, "up to 22 guests per lift were placed in four point harnesses as three chefs stood in the center with a harness that was hooked on to the table. When everyone was secured the crane lifted the table 160 feet in the air. Guests were served wine, champagne and a five-course gourmet meal while listening to music." The entire event takes an hour and Seminole CCC is turning as many as five covers-in-the-sky per day.
"Where's the best place to get a great view of Las Vegas?" is the current question at Vegas Happens Here. As of this writing, "The flight coming in" is the people's choice, in a runaway. Capital Grille gets the least amount of love. (Could its proximity to the empty lot that used to be the New Frontier be the problem?) One of Anthony Curtis' favorite vantage points, the Eiffel Tower Restaurant, puts in a respectable showing.
Phantom: The Las Vegas Spectacular cast member Jason Forbach teams with the show's assistant conductor, William Waldrop, and several other Phantom colleagues to give a benefit concert for homeless families. Tickets are $20 apiece and proceeds go to Family Promise. The performance will be held on Saturday at 2 p.m., at Clark County Library (1401 E. Flamingo Rd.) and tickets can be purchased at www.FamilyPromiseLVTickets.com.
An amendment to an amendment to a bank agreement will allow Black Gaming to continue running a downsized operation at the Oasis, in Mesquite, at least until Feb. 2. In the meantime, the company is negotiating with the City of Mesquite to keep its liquor license and gaming permit. Both could be revoked next month, due to the closure of the Oasis' bars and most of its hotel rooms. One-fifth of the casino's 750 slots remain open for play.
Now through Feb. 11, you can stay at Trump International for as little as $89/night. Request the "Suite Escape" and you'll get a studio suite, $50 spa credit and a generous 4 p.m. checkout time. As Vegas bargains go, this one is very strong indeed, particularly if you fancy being across the street from Fashion Show Mall.
John O'Malia's tenure as managing director of PartyGaming will have lasted a bare 10 months when his resignation becomes effective at the end of February. According to a Financial Times article, O'Malia is believed to be miffed over missing out on the CEO's spot, getting a sop in the form of the expressly created "managing director" title. O'Malia "is widely credited with creating a casino product, for reforming the company's flagship poker website and for providing the company with much of its intellectual firepower," according to the paper.
Sheldon Adelson's Sands Bethworks project in Pennsylvania has already halted work on its shopping mall and hotel, cannibalizing their work forces to get the casino ready by Memorial Day. Now Sands is asking for an indefinite suspension of those projects "until economic conditions change," according The Associated Press. Pennsylvania's Gaming Control Board will weigh the request next month.
International Game Technology announces its 2009 first-quarter results on Thursday and the word from J.P. Morgan is those returns will be "soft." A decline in the slot-replacement cycle is partly to blame, as is the dumping of sundry one-time items into the quarterly financials, "with restructuring and severance charges and other one-time items creating noise" and pushing earnings down to 24 cents a share.
Macao casino baron Stanley Ho's STDM is buying the Mandarin Oriental Macau, which is half-owned by daughter Pansy Ho's Shun Tak company. The deal is valued at $205 million or $493K per room. If the hotel is flipped to a third party, both Mandarin Oriental and Shun Tak are entitled to a cut of the profits.
Licenses for slot parlors in Maryland are up for bid and some familiar names are in the mix. Penn National has already locked up a strategically valuable site along the Baltimore-Philadelphia corridor. Now Baltimore-based Cordish Co. has thrown its hat into the ring, as has Hard Rock Int'l. Bidding closes on Feb. 2.
Last Friday, Stiffs & Georges predicted that International Game Technology would turn out to be the "major slot manufacturer" that was offering to buy the higher-value intellectual property assets of Progressive Gaming. This morning, J.P. Morgan reports that IGT (a minority owner of Progressive) is indeed the man behind the curtain. A foreclosure sale of Progressive is being conducted, in order to pay down $17 million in debt.
According to yesterday's Las Vegas Sun, Fontainebleau is fully funded and the $2.9 billion megaresort is on schedule for an October opening. Liz Benston also profiles the resort's high-tech infrastructure. Basically, the place is one enormous antenna -- no dropped calls on your cell phone -- and equips all rooms with iMacs to facilitate intra-property communication. Navigation throughout the property will be made easier through the installation of interactive touch-screen maps.
For romantics, Monte Carlo is putting on a "Valentine's Day" promo that bundles $20 credits for room service and the spa, respectively. Bargain hunters might prefer to opt for the "Stay and Play" promotion that includes a pair of comped buffets, cocktails and spa admissions, plus $10 in free slot play and $20 worth of coupons.
Circus Circus throws restraint to the winds with a no-minimum-stay/25%-off deal. And you can't make it but are able to cancel 48 hours in advance, a full refund is yours. A $100 "Fun Book" is thrown in, too. At present, the only MGM Mirage property not running any promotional offers is Bellagio.
The line on the Super Bowl has moved from Steelers -6.5 to -7 and it looks fairly solid among various sports books and online sites. The total has dropped a half point to 46.5.
For years, Missouri attempted to curb compulsive gambling with so-called "loss limits" which restricted players' buy-in. However, they didn't stop a Missouri school administrator from blowing $175K, most of it embezzled from his employer, over the course of five years and 930-plus casino visits. The former school superintendent is now serving a month's jail time, and faces both $102K in fines plus $250K in unpaid taxes.
Airstream Trailers is partnering with KOA to bring what it describes as a new travel trend "under the neon shadows of the Vegas Strip." Ten Airstream trailers can be rented at the Circus Circus RV park. "Honeymooners can enjoy the peaceful setting of KOA and still experience all that Las Vegas has to offer," say Airstream and KOA. The trailers will be unveiled on Jan. 22, with pomp and circumstance that include 10 -- count 'em -- 10 showgirls.
Sunday's Las Vegas Sun carried an in-depth examination of the problems afflicting Las Vegas Sands and its controversial CEO, Sheldon Adelson. In essence, it paints the portrait of an entrepreneur who, having defied the odds several times over, made a big bet on Asia and crapped out. Some, however, point to the potential of the Pacific Rim market and predict that Adelson will be vindicated, as he was on Comdex, the Sands Expo Center, the Venetian, Sands Macao, etc.
The Strip strip club will be celebrating its 20th anniversary at JET nightclub at The Mirage tonight. The festivities will include 100 Olympic Garden girls handing
out $50,000 worth of lap-dance gift cards, plus a grand prize of a $100,000 bar tab to the OG.
There are lots of promos around town today in honor of Martin Luther King Day. Here are the ones we've come across so far, and we'll add more if we find 'em:
6X points at Palace, Boulder, Texas, Sunset, Aliante, and Santa Fe Stations, plus Red Rock and Green Valley Ranch; 5X points at Fiesta Rancho; 6X points at Coast Casinos; $5 Buffet (11 a.m.-8 p.m.) and 5X points at the Silverton. There's a coupon the the Las Vegas Review-Journal for buy one, get one free buffet deals at all Station and Fiesta buffets, too (valid through 1/22).
Here's the current lowdown on the festivities and viewing opportunities for the big day; we’ll post last-minute additions in this column as we hear about them.
Jan. 20
The popular coffee shop, which has numerous locations throughout the Las Vegas valley (including in the Palazzo, Palms, and Venetian), is jumping on the Obama bandwagaon with a "Coffee Bean for Change" campaign, which it launches today. The new menu includes various specials priced from 99¢-$2.99, including 99¢ coffees, donuts, bagals, and oatmeal.
A British betting shop fended off a robbery attempt Saturday by a young man armed ... with a garden shovel. A local paper described the ineffectual holdup thusly: "He threatened a customer before demanding cash from betting shop staff. The man left empty-handed and made off on a bicycle." He was observed to be wearing a black coat and white sneakers. Call police in Wearside, U.K., if you've seen him.
Since the debut of rival Four Winds Casino, 10 miles away across the Michigan border, revenues at Boyd Gaming's Blue Chip riverboat have been in a tailspin. Boyd, however, is fighting back and will open a 22-story hotel Thursday at the Michigan City, Ind., casino. The blue-tinted tower features a 10K-square-foot spa and a Stardust event center. According to Boyd spokesman David Strow, these are part of a move to reposition Blue Chip as an entertainment destination. ""We're offering a wide variety of amenities that other competitors may offer, but not under one roof," he told The Times of Munster. The new hotel adds 250 jobs to Michigan City's economy.
If you've been driving past Palazzo and wondered at the video billboard for "The Living Garden," wonder no more. It's an extension of the "living statues" concept seen at the Venetian, starring three female mimes who will congregate five times daily (starting at noon and then every 90 minutes, with the last show at 6 p.m.) at the cascading waterall in Palazzo's atrium. Once in the fountain, the trio performs "a carefully choreographed dance of life, drama and true beauty. Delicate jets of water appear from their fingertips as a shimmering halo cascades from the crowns of their heads. Following the expressive display which lasts the course of three pieces of beautiful music, the performers exit the waterfall and pose for photographs with the audience."
Afterwards, the threesome heads upstairs to the mall, where they encounter a pair of nine-foot-tall female vines who "interact with shoppers and guests, posing for photos, teasing the crowd and moving with acrobatic grace and flexibility. The vines journey throughout The Shoppes at The Palazzo in a playful routine of duality and intrigue." Just when you thought you'd seen everything, right?
The Pittsburgh Steelers have opened as a -6.5 favorite over the Arizona Cardinals for the Super Bowl. The game total is 47. The hundreds of proposition bets for the game are already appearing online and will begin to show in Las Vegas sports books later this week.
According to Macao tourism officials, the casino-laden Chinese city is experiencing "double-digit" growth in visits by British travelers. One of them explained that Macao "has a unique culture as a result of its Chinese and Portuguese heritage and really offers something for everyone -- not just those taking in the casinos -- It has beautiful buildings and museums in its historic center, which is a Unesco World Heritage Site, relaxing beaches and hiking trails in the south, excellent shopping and spas." Vegas has the spas, shopping and hiking. We’ll have to work on the rest.
As of Jan. 29, online punters who like to play at Playboy Poker will have to surf somewhere else. Playboy Gaming is shutting down, effective the end of the month. After receiving that news via a customer-service e-mail, Poker News Daily confirmed it with CryptoLogic, which carries Playboy Poker on its network. "The response to the Playboy brand wasn’t as great as we hoped," said a CryptoLogic source, whose company has seen defections by Littlewoods, PokerPlex, and Sun Poker.
In today's NFC Championship game, the Philadelphia Eagles are -3.5 favorites over the Arizona Cardinals and the total is 47. In the AFC, the Pittsburgh Steeleers are -6 over the Baltimore Ravens and the total is 34.
In the fiscal year ending June 30 2008, the profits of Nevada casinos fell 69%, according to the just-released Gaming Abstract Report. It was the lowest profit since 2002, when the casinos lost $33.5 million. The report that monitors 266 casinos grossing $1 million or more in gaming revenue indicated that $25 billion was taken in from customers, down 1% from the prior year. Of that, 48.2% came from gaming, as opposed to income derived from rooms, food, beverage, and other non-gaming areas. Profit margins were likewise down 57.3% on the Strip and 52.4% downtown.
Atlantic City’s state senator (and former mayor), James Whelan, is pushing for financial relief to New Jersey’s casino industry in the form of regulatory changes and new laws. He’s charged Richard Stockton College with the task of compiling the data necessary for making his case to Trenton. Whelan says he isn’t looking for tax cuts, but that the construction-approval process should be streamlined. "The information we have here from Stockton shows that we ... can't sit here and twiddle our thumbs," Whelan told The Press of Atlantic City.
That’s one of several conclusions put forward by IBISWorld, an L.A.-based research firm. Its 2009 gambling forecast sees the instant gratification of video poker cutting into the appeal of lotteries. Other predictions include a second year of casino revenue decline in Nevada, increased slot play at tribal casinos and skittish high rollers. IBISWorld goes so far as to prognisticate that "financial and operating risks associated with pursuing the high-roller market will persist, but some U.S. casinos may opt out of chasing high-end players altogether as the costs and incentives to attract these players increase significantly."
Today's Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that the Tropicana's impending shutdown of Folies Bergere was done as a money-saving measure. Folies performers are employees of the Trop, which wants to bring a new show that would be simply a tenant. Trop management is in talks with an unspecified -- and as yet unsigned -- outside production. Of the closing, Lance Burton said, "It's kind of like hearing your childhood home has been sold." Burton, like Siegfried & Roy, is a Folies alumnus.
If you've not been to Encore yet, we've got the next-best thing: photo tours of Encore's suites, lounges and retail, and its restaurants.
Two British horse players saw $588K in prospective winnings hit the turf with a thud when the horse they'd bet upon unseated its jockey in the final stretch. Topless, a 9-2 shot to win the Carlsberg UK Handicap Chase, appeared to have the race in the bag when she began veering around the course, dumping jockey James Davies in the process. Topless' erratic behavior also cost two betting syndicates her $285K. But there was a happy ending for the punter who bet heavily on 999-1 longshot -- and eventual winner -- Pangbourne. That gambler pocketed the equivalent of $164K on a $163 wager.
As of yesterday, members of Boyd Gaming's "B Connected" players club program can now enjoy the benefits of bconnectedonline.com, the personalized interface for the group's nationwide customer loyalty program. In addition to offering a one-stop shop for monitoring special offers and point balances, the new online interface at will feature all kinds of other stuff, including a personalized home page with real-time calendars for a snapshot of upcoming events, gaming promos and offers etc.; BCO Mobile, a mirror site optimized for use on mobile phones; and BCO Desktop, an application that sounds an alert on your computer whenever a new offer or promo is sent to your account. Cool!
Other features include a Slot Search that not only identifies the slots available at any Boyd casino but even pinpoints the location of the game on the casino floor, while webcams will offer live feeds initially from five Las Vegas locations (more are planned nationwide) including the Orleans Arena, the Fremont Street Experience, Mystic Falls Park at Sam's Town, the Gold Coast, and the outdoor area at The Orleans.
For all the recent emphasis on stalled projects (mostly belonging to Las Vegas Sands or Galaxy Entertainment), Macao had another banner year. Its casino revenues were up 31% from 2007 (which, in turn, sported a 46% increase from 2006), despite a downturn (-7%) in the fourth quarter. Operators have also been winnowing their casino floors, pulling 300 table games and 1,000 slots from the market. The year's total casino take was $13.7 billion.
At 2 p.m. this afternoon a bevy of 2009 Miss America Pageant contestants will congregate outside the V Theater in the Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood to turn on the new multi-million dollar fountain display.
The fountain apparently features lighted water effects and eruptions five stories high (we're not sure how that works as we don't recall the ceiling being that high, but guess it must be), color changing fog, bursts of light and "dramatic, original soundtracks broadcast via a state-of-the-art surround sound system."
The iconic Pop Artist will be at his gallery in the Forum Shops at Caesars from 10-11 a.m. this morning to unveil four of the 44 paintings he's created in honor of the inauguration of President Elect Barack Obama.
Las Vegas Review-Journal columnist Norm Clarke is reporting that Rita Rudner has signed a three-year contract extension with Harrah's Las Vegas. One of Vegas' most durable headliners, Rudner is currently in her third year at the property, following a six-year run at New York-New York.
Vegas locals who haven't taken advantage of Blue Man Group's current half-price ticket offer now have until March 16. If you have a valid Nevada driver's license, call 702/414-9000 and mention promo code PB1 LOCAL 241.
Atlantic City Express Services (ACES, get it?) has begun ticket sales for direct rail service between New York City and Atlantic City. One-way tickets are $75 for first class, $50 for coach. Once in Atlantic City, passengers are met at the civic rail terminal will be ferried to the Borgata and Harrah's three Atlantic City casinos via complimentary shuttle service. ACES makes nine round-trip runs per weekend, stopping only in Newark en route to the Boardwalk and Marina District.
Stargazing opportunities this weekend shift to the east side of The Strip and beyond. Miss America hopefuls have gathered at Planet Hollywood and will tour the town leading up to the competition which runs Jan. 19-24. Over at the Hard Rock, Vince Neil hosts his annual Off the Strip Poker Tournament. Tomorrow’s event will feature celebrities, poker pros and adult entertainment stars facing off in a No-Limit Texas Hold ‘Em Poker match for charity.
Harrah's Entertainment hasn't announced new plans for its Imperial Palace showroom, which is a good thing because the transplantation of Legends in Concert to Harrah's Las Vegas has been delayed by another month. Legends will now go dark at the IP on Feb. 21 and reopen at Harrah's two nights later. Complications regarding the Legends set have slowed the move, which has been postponed once already.
Overseas visitors to the U.S. could find themselves turned away from American airports if they haven't registered with the Electronic System for Travel Authorization at least 72 hours in advance. ESTA replaces the I-94 travel permit, good for 90 days, and requires reporting of the same information: biographical data, travel information, and questions regarding communicable diseases, arrests and convictions. Tourists from Korean, the Czech and Slovak republics, Malta, the Baltic States, and Hungary needn't go through ESTA as their countries require visas for U.S. travel. And even if ESTA clears you, immigration officials still have the right of last refusal when you show up at a U.S. port of entry.
Mississippi's Supreme Court is hearing arguments in a civil suit between slot player Florida Eash and Biloxi's IP Casino. "Eash was playing a $5 Double Top Dollar machine on Feb. 19, 2006, when she hit a jackpot. A display informed her she had won $1 million, according to court records, and the machine also sent a signal to the casino's slot accounting system indicating a $1 million progressive jackpot was pending," reports The Associated Press. While Mississippi's gaming commission upheld the jackpot a circuit court judge overruled it, saying Eash had no entitlement to anything other than the $8,000 maximum payout that was posted on the machine's face plate.
The Tropicana's Folies Bergere won't make it to the half-century mark. In his Vegas Confidential blog, Norm Clarke reports that, in his first official act as Tropicana president, Ron Thacker has shut the 49-year-old shop show down and that the cast got the bad news last night. A Trop spokeswoman told Clarke the resort was "exploring options" for its Tiffany Theater and "definitely not closing up shop." Folies Bergere will give its last performance March 28.
We're getting a lot of emails from readers in response to today's QoD, so check back from time to time if this is a topic that interests you and feel free to use the QoD email or our customer service email (available via the "Contact Us" page) to share your thoughts and experiences about hotel "resort" and "amenity" fees.
A legislator in the Cornhusker State has proposed allowing as many as 3,500 slots and other gambling devices at Nebraska horse tracks, citing the ailing health of the sport of kings. Sixteen percent of the proceeds would go to various horseracing interests, 1% toward the treatment of pathological gambling, 39% to the slot owners and 40% would help fund state highway projects. Opposition is expected to be strong, with one detractor calling the proposed constitutional amendment, "a bailout for an industry that cannot sustain itself, and Americans are sick of bailouts."
Meeting in Scottsdale this week, the National Council of Legislators from Gaming States voted for a resolution that urges its members states to push for smoke-free work environments in all casinos and other gambling venues. It further urges smoke-free casinos be mandated in future tribal-casino compacts. At present, only Colorado, Delaware and Illinois require smokeless gambling, and the Colorado law is routinely flouted.
After 14 years of growth in the Kansas City market, the casinos there finally experienced what Wall Street calls "inelasticity." Revenues were down ever so slightly from 2007, partly due to competition from a tribal casino in Wyandotte County. There's a ray of hope in the form of an almost 2% upturn in December, the first full month after the state's loss limits were repealed.
Due to a writedown of value on its electronic table systems, Shuffle Master posted a fourth-quarter loss. However, revenues were 10% over Wall Street's consensus estimate and the company sold 727 automatic shuffler units during the quarter. The company also has over 5,300 leased shufflers in the market.
A player profile leaked to the San Jose Mercury News details the manifold neuroses of high roller Ausaf "Omar" Umar Siddiqui -- aka "Mr. S." The former Fry's executive, who's alleged to have lost $11 million at Planet Hollywood and the Palms, considered white vases a harbinger of bad luck. His product preferences, which included Trojan Magnum condoms, and other hangups will come as no surprise to readers of VIP host Steve Cyr's insider account of the high roller world, Whale Hunt in the Desert, written by LVA's Deke Castleman.
Despite an improving financial performance there's a new skipper at the helm of Planet Hollywood. After six years, Michael Mecca is out, replaced by former Luxor VP Thomas McCartney. PH co-chair Robert Earl issued a statement saying, "We appreciative of the tremendous value Mike brought to the organization over the past six years, from the purchase of this property through its successful launch as Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino, and understand his decision to resign to pursue other opportunities." Mecca had to pass on a leadership position at Mandalay Bay, when it opened in 1999, but finally got his chance at the brass ring when the former Aladdin was being reinvented as Planet Hollywood.
UNLV's David G. Schwartz was perusing some UPS fine print and found that the parcel-shipper claims to have trademarked "the Color Brown." Adds Schwartz, "If a company really can trademark a color, Wynn Las Vegas is due to get with a HUGE trademark infringement lawsuit any day now."
When Cirque du Soleil bigwigs being talking about post-opening "fixations" to their Criss Angel vehicle, Believe, they pooh-poohed the importance of the troubled show's much-criticized illusions (or lack of them), alternatively saying there were only a handful of magic tricks one can do onstage and that they could have done 20 "Mindfreak"-type illusions but simply chose not to. Apparently they have now chosen to do so; columnist Norm Clarke reports, "Five new illusions are being added to Criss Angel Believe (Luxor) during its break." (The show goes went dark Jan. 7, nine weeks into its run, and reopens Jan. 23.)
Las Vegas Review-Journal columnist Norm Clarke reports today that the Scintas will wind up their Las Vegas Hilton stint March 14. The group previously played extended runs at the Rio and the Sahara. LVH mainstay Menopause: The Musical undergoes a "change" of its own; the surprise smash will close on April 5. What's next for the Shimmer Cabaret? A "sexy show," according to Clarke.
Yesterday saw the iTunes-only release of the latest "Live from Las Vegas at the Palms" album, featuring indie rockers My Morning Jacket. Unlike previous releases by Hinder, Wolfmother and John Legend, it's not technically "live" (i.e., recorded in concert) but rather a product of Studio at the Palms. The iTunes series has also included Palms studio sessions by Death Cab for Cutie and Gavin Rossdale (Mr. Gwen Stefani). Studio at the Palms has also hosted "in some capacity" album sessions for Maroon 5, Panic at the Disco, Britney Spears, LL Cool J and Celine Dion.
Geekdom won't be coming to Vegas this spring; the Spring Symposium/ITxpo that was scheduled for Mandalay Bay has been canceled, as has a sister show in Barcelona. Conference presenter Gartner broke the news in best technospeak, blaming it on our "current macroeconomic environment and its anticipated impact on attendee travel and overall event attendance."
Voters in Black Hawk, Colo., voted overwhelmingly to extend casino hours 'round the clock, raise betting limits, and to add craps and roulette to local casinos. (Only Central City still has to vote, on Jan. 20.) Although both Ameristar Casinos and Riviera own Black Hawk properties, shares of both companies trickled downward in early Wall Street trading.
Motley Crue rocker Vince Neil deals 'em up, starting at 4 p.m. Saturday, at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, which hosts Neil's fourth annual Off the Strip Poker Tournament. Only the first 150 would-be entrants will be seated, so run, don't walk to this one. A $50 registration fee and $500 buy-in gets you a seat and a shot at the $50K prize pool. The tournament, held in memory of Neil's daughter Skylar, raises money for research into cancer, leukemia and AIDS. Motley Crue performs the last-ever concerts in the HRH's The Joint, Feb. 6-7. For more tournament information, go to Poker.SkylarNeil.org or call 693-5000 and ask for an HRH casino host.
It's the rare traveler these days who doesn't have at least one gizmo that keeps him or her uplinked and online, no matter where. In recognition of this, McCarran International Airport has added nine ReCharge Zones, with at least four more slated for Terminal 1. They combine long tabletops, power outlets and barstool-like seating. (An LVA staffer recently saw one in Sacramento's airport and wondered why Vegas didn't have them. Now we do.) Cell phones, laptops, smallish video games (like Nintendo DS), iPods and their ilk can all be run off these workstations. McCarran is funding the upgrade through a $1 million/two-year Verizon sponsorship.
Former college basketball coach Bobby Knight and broadcaster Billy Packer will be hosting their midnight "Survive and Advance" show from the sports book of Wynn Las Vegas for five weeks, starting March 15. The Sunday-night telecasts will air on Fox Sports Network parallel to the NCAA National Championship. The show will be accompanied online by an interactive Web site that "will feature custom games and a website, including news, analysis, blogs, video, and other original content."
Tribal casinos continue to feel the recession's squeeze. Rather than lay off any of its nearly 10,000 employees, Mohegan Sun (in Uncasville, Conn.) is imposing salary cuts and terminating 401(k) contributions. The pay reductions are progressive, starting at 4% for hourly employees and topping out at 10% for the highest-ranking execs. Mohegan Sun's revenues were down 5% last year.
If you haven't already, remember you have until midnight tonight to vote in our current reader poll for the best buffet in Las Vegas. It's literally neck-and-neck right now, with just two votes separating the top two picks, so make sure to make your voice heard if you haven't already -- it could make all the difference...
Holders of LVA's new Member Rewards Book might have been surprised/puzzled to find coupons, good through Dec. 31, for Defending the Caveman at Excalibur, which had only committed to a limited run of the show at the time of publication. Well, business for Kevin Burke's one-man tour de force must be persuasive, because Excalibur President Renée West announced yesterday that, as of today, Caveman has been added to Excalibur's permanent roster of shows. Burke will perform at 3 p.m., Tues.-Sun., and at 7 p.m., Friday and Saturday. Tickets are $44.95/$34.95 for matinees and $49.95/$39.95 for evening shows.
Although interior work on the 655-room Octavius Tower will be suspended, related construction will continue at Caesars Palace. J.P. Morgan reports that a trio of "10,000-square-foot villas, and an expanded pool and garden area will open on schedule."
Even MGM Grand Detroit felt the chill, as Detroit casino revenues dropped 8% last month. While MGM was off 3%, its total revenue still represented nearly half the month's total, with rivals Motor City -12% and Greektown -13%. Casino revenue for the month was $104 million.
Coloradans having approved 24-hour casino operation and a twenty-fold increase in betting limits (to $100), plus the addition of craps and roulette, it's now up to each municipality. Cripple Creek has already voted to enact the newly liberalized rules and it's Black Hawk's turn today. It's expected to pass today's special vote but LVA hears that the remaining casino town, Central City, is not a sure thing.
Melco Crown majority owner Lawrence Ho told the South China Morning Post that he foresees a lifting on visa restrictions to Macao within a few months. It was Ho's opinion that last weekend's visit to Macao by China's vice president was a good omen and that it presaged economic-relief measures. The stated position of the Chinese government is that Macao needs to diversify its economy and not be over-reliant upon casino gambling.
Golden Nugget owner Tilman Fertitta has hit yet another roadblock in his long-stymied efforts to roll his publicly traded Landry's Restaurants (owner of the Vegas and Laughlin Nuggets) into his private Fertitta Holdings Inc. Fertitta's lead lender balked at certain SEC disclosure requirements, which would have required making public information they had pledged to keep secret. Rather than make the disclosure, Fertitta's bankers backed out.
Harrah's Entertainment has put the Octavius Tower of Caesars Palace, which is still six months from completion, on indefinite hold until demand for hotel rooms improves. Harrah's spokeswoman Jacqueline Peterson reports that the exterior will be finished before the suspension. The expanded Caesars convention center will still open as planned.
The latest swathe of food and bev. deals at this south Strip property includes $5 glasses of wine at the Mermaid Restaurant & Lounge, Mi Casa Grill Cantina, and Sundance Grill. Wine selections include Fetzer - Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and White Zinfandel - as well as Neibaum Coppolla – Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Pinot Grigio.
Other new offers include $4.99 12-inch pizzas at Luciano's Italian restaurant, which is also offering 15% off all orders for visitors aged 55 and older, plus a new "Cocktail of the Month" feature at Twin Creaks.
LVA editors were bonkers for Bette Midler's The Showgirl Must Go On from the start and now the Las Vegas Sun's Joe Brown has joined the chorus. The latest in his series of Monday-morning reappraisals of Strip shows revisits Midler's and delivers the verdict that a "good Vegas show has become a great Vegas show," thanks to some judicious tweaking. Showgirl, Brown opines, is "a streamlined, elegant, grown-up show, a show for people who have lived life, who have a sense of history, humor and the pain that comes with it."
When Wendover catches a cold, Nevada gets pneumonia. The community on the Nevada/Utah border is the prime beneficiary of the Salt Lake City market and usually one of the few markets in Nevada that's impervious to ups and downs in the gambling economy. But not anymore. The Red Garter Casino in West Wendover will close on March 3. The Red Garter had been on the market for 13 months without scaring up a buyer.
Steve Wynn spent part of last week in Macao, according to the Macau Daily Times and put out the word he would impose "no salary cuts and reduction in the numbers of construction workers and company staff," saying this would prompt a "ripple effect of insecurity and fear that is much, much more difficult to overcome than is raising the price when business is good." He also said that Encore Macau would not be suspended.
Workers at Crown Macau were not so lucky. Salaries have been cut 8%, backdated to Dec. 1. Melco Crown co-chair Lawrence Ho did not spare himself from the pay reduction.
Ohio lawmakers have been approached by Penn National Gaming in connection with a Penn-proposed 2009 ballot measure that would permit casino gambling at seven Buckeye State racetracks and four stand-alone casinos, for which various Ohio cities would compete. Voters recently rejected a one-casino proposal put forward by a rival company -- with $36 million worth of opposition bankrolled by Penn National.
After bolstering Atlantic City's sagging fortunes for months on end, table game revenues hit the floor with a "thud" in December, down 20%. Slot revenues weren't much better. Even though newly augmented Trump Taj Mahal, Harrah's A.C. and Borgata all posted declines, they outperformed their rivals in the market.
Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping passed on the opportunity to promise easier access to Macao, in a speech given over the weekend. The VP instead said Beijing would support Macao in its present financial crisis -- while urging greater economic diversification.
Pending local referendums, Taiwan is on the brink of having its own casino industry. Offshore gambling on the islands of Penghu, Matsu and Kinmen was approved by the Taiwanese parliament, on a 71-26 vote.
Nevada's Clean Indoor Air Act notwithstanding, a UNLV study has found "unsafe" levels of secondhand smoke in 24 Las Vegas restaurants. Many eateries that serve liquor attempted to get around the 2006 ban by erecting walls to segregate their smoking (i.e., bar) areas from their nonsmoking ones. "The smoke is drifting, which is a normal phenomenon, into areas that are supposed to be nonsmoking. The only way to have a nonsmoking area is to be a nonsmoking building," Prof. Nancy York told the Las Vegas Review Journal.
A local was struck Saturday night when a car veered onto the pedestrian-only Fremont Street Experience downtown. Not only did the car in question bust through steel barriers meant to shield pedestrians, it ran a red light and jumped a curb. The driver was arrested attempting to flee the scene was charged with a DUI. He's back on the street while his alleged victim remains in the hospital.
Circus Circus in Reno was the site of the arrest of an alleged identity-theft ring. A trio of individuals are accused of robbing mailboxes in northern Nevada and then running a "forgery lab" in their Reno hotel room.
After yesterday's NFL Playoff results, the favorite to win the Super Bowl is the Steelers at 8-5. They're followed by the Eagles (11-5), Ravens (3-1), and Cardinals (5-1).
Las Vegas Advisor publisher Anthony Curtis is quoted in the Travel section of today's New York Times in an article that dubs Las Vegas the "frugal destination of the year." To read the entire article, click here.
It’s official; casino revenue in Atlantic City was down almost 8% last year, with most of the decline occurring in slot play. New Jersey Casino Control Commission Chairwoman Linda Kassekert took the misery-loves-company approach, pointing to depressed casino revenues in Nevada. However, she acknowledged that, "While the economic problems that face this nation took their toll on casinos in 2008, the industry was also hurt by growing competition in neighboring states and a partial ban on smoking in casinos."
The International Academy for the Visual Arts has presented its "Silver Davey" to Viejas Casino, in recognition of the excellence of Viejas’ Web site, which beat out approximately 4,000 other entrants. The Silver Davey is awarded to small businesses.
The New York Giants have held firm as a -4 favorite over the Philadelphia Eagles, with a total of 39.5. Money is coming in on the Pittsburgh Steelers, which have risen to a -6.5 favorite over the San Diego Chargers, and there seems to be pressure to get to 7 by game time. The total is 37.5. Proposition bets are also showing up on these games, though they're not nearly as abundant as they will be for the Super Bowl.
At least that's the message sent in an article titled "You Can Survive" in today's Parade Magazine (newspaper supplent). In the category "Outlive a Heart Attack," the magazine compares Las Vegas' 53% success rate against 16% in Seattle (lauded for its response systems) and 2% in Chicago. The reason is the constant surveillance in the casinos and the prepardness and training of casino employees.
Station Casinos is again running daily ads (including today) in the LV Review-Journal for 2-for-1 buffets at any Station or Fiesta property. Current coupons are valid through Jan. 13.
Beau Rivage is once again the site for the Southern Poker Tournament, which kicked off Jan. 2 and culminates next Saturday. The tourney, now in its fifth year, drew 1,005 players on opening day. Event winners this year have included local pro Mark Wilds as well as a laid-off car engineer from St. Clair, Mich.
The home teams are favored in today's NFL Playoff matchups. The Tenessee Titans are -3 over the Baltimore Ravens and the total is 34. The Carolina Panthers are -10 over the Arizona Cardinals and the total is 49.5.
Governor Jim Gibbons is expected to sign a compact that will enable the Shoshone-Paiute Tribe to build a casino in the Silver State. It’ll be at the far opposite end of Nevada from the Avi Resort in Laughlin, up in the Duck Valley, along the Idaho border. It will operate under Nevada gaming regulations but will not pay the privilege tax.
Nine counts of wire fraud totaling $6 million have been filed against Omar Siddiqui, the former Fry's executive who enjoyed a high-rolling lifestyle on the Las Vegas Strip. The nine transactions in question involve payments from electronics vendors to Siddiqui, who then wired the money on to the Venetian. More tidbits surrounding the story -- one asserting a connection between Siddiqui and actress Carmen Electra -- have been popping up in local newspaper columns.
This year's run of "The Apprentice" will have a Vegas-friendly flavor, reports Norm!. Among those competing and raising money for charity, will be poker pro Annie Duke and LPGA golfer (and Lake Las Vegas resident) Natalie Gulbis. Former NBA player Dennis Rodman, whose antics caused grief for several Vegas casinos in the late Nineties, will also be among the cast. Our money's on Annie Duke, regarded as a solid, logical player. Besides, Huntington Press is preparing her book of poker theory, Decide to Play Great Poker for a mid-summer release.
Bureau of Land Management officials continue to move ahead with a proposed, X-mile walking and biking path through Red Rock Canyon. Its trailhead would be in Summerlin, near the far end of W. Charleston Blvd., and its terminus would be the junction of Blue Diamond Rd. and Route 160. Budgetary and environmental estimates will take another 10 months, but the project will be funded out of existing revenue streams. If you don't want to wait another year to check out Red Rock's natural splendor, our Hiking Las Vegas and Hiking Southern Nevada make perfect companions for a field trip.
Although 130,000 or so conventioneers have flocked to the Consumer Electronics Show, the Las Vegas Review-Journal says that's down from the usual 140,000 -- a 7% decrease.
Sin City serves as the appropriate backdrop for the 26th annual Adult Video News Awards which take place Saturday at the Mandalay Bay Events Center and will be hosted by industry stars Belladonna and Jenna Haze. Further up the strip, gadget geeks have gathered at the Las Vegas Convention Center to check out the latest and greatest at this year’s Consumer Electrics Show. Finally, The Cannery celebrates what would have been The King’s 73rd (!) birthday with a pair of performances by Johnny Fortuno, The Stamps Quartet, Sonny West and other friends of Elvis on Friday and Saturday night.
A quirk in how Nevada casinos report their slot drop contributed to a soft November, in terms of casino revenue. Slot drop from Nov. 29-30 will be rolled into December's numbers, which partly accounts for the -15% decline between November 2007 and this year. Baccarat players were lucky and the house wasn't, with baccarat win -16% despite higher drop numbers. In Southern Nevada, only Downtown and North Las Vegas held their ground (-2%), with NLV undoubtedly boosted by the Nov. 11 opening of Aliante Station. Write J.P. Morgan analysts, "December was likely a better month for the Strip ... due to last minute, bargain seeking travelers taking advantage of incredibly low hotel room rates across the Strip -- based on our recent checks."
With creditors prepared to ask a federal bankruptcy court for permission to file their own reorganization plan, Tropicana Entertainment narrowly beat them to the punch. Its plan, filed yesterday, promises to either pay secured debtors in full or forfeit the collateral (which could include the Vegas Trop), compensate unsecured creditors with shares in the reorganized company and to void the current ownership, held by former CEO Bill Yung.
In addition to the $150/person "Pure Love" package we mentioned earlier this week, the Mirage is offering an "All You Need is Love" deal. Through Feb. 28, guests can get a two-nights/two-tickets offer that bundles a pair of Love tickets with a remodeled deluxe room for $318 weekdays (Sun./Mon. or Wed./Thurs. or Thurs./Fri.) or $368 on weekends. Call 800/732-8412 to take advantage of a pretty strong offer.
The El Cortez's conversion of the former Ogden House into "Cabana Suites at the El Cortez" is almost done, scheduled to open late next month. For an advance peek, see Stiffs & Georges.
Ladbrokes' humorous "Quench Your Thrill Buds" TV spots didn't amuse Britain's advertising czar. The bluenoses at the Advertising Standards Authority have nixed airings of the spots, one of which showed a risk junkie accidentally plunging to his death by attempting to use a potato chip bag as a parachute. The punchline: "If only he'd seen ladbrokescasino.com it would have quenched his thrill buds."
After receiving one (yes, one) complaint, the ASA dropped the hammer on Ladbrokes, informing The Guardian that "while the TV ads would not be viewed as realistic or aspirational, it agreed with the complainant that the overall portrayal of gambling was in a context of toughness with links to excessive risk-taking and reckless behaviour." Ladbrokes responded that the ASA's prudishness was "political correctness gone too far." (Three Ladbrokes TV spots can also been seen at Stiffs & Georges.)
CineVegas will be hosting a Green Film Series at the Springs Preserve every other Saturday for four weeks, beginning Saturday, January 24. Featuring environmentally themed films, the screenings will be held at 7:30 pm in the Big Springs Theater, with tickets $10 each for general admission or $25 for a "Food and a Flick" package, which includes a pre-movie dinner at the Springs Preserve Café by Wolfgang Puck.
For more details and ticket info visit www.cinevegas.com/green and for additional info about other "green" initiatives in Las Vegas, including environmentally friendly hotels and ecologically sound eateries, check out our latest "Spotlight on..." feature about Green Vegas.
MGM Mirage informs us that, contrary to information we reprinted from the Las Vegas Sun, the original plan for the Harmon Hotel & Spa was for 47 floors, not 49, and that the revised version will have 25 floors, not 28.
Former Ted Binion girlfriend Sandy Murphy got put on "hold" today by the Nevada Supreme Court. The Supremes stated that they're not going to hear her appeal of a denied claim for a portion of Binion's estate until Clark County District Court has fully adjudicated the matter. The lower court tossed most of Murphy's claims in late 2007 because Murphy did not file within three years of Binion's 1998 demise, as required by law. The Binion-Murphy saga is recounted in John L. Smith and Jeff Scheid's Quicksilver.
Outgoing Nevada Gaming Control Board member Mark Clayton is reportedly joining Lionel, Sawyer & Collins, the Las Vegas firm that is regarded as having the state's greatest concentration of gaming-law expertise. Before joining the NGCB, Clayton was corporate counsel for the Aladdin and Showboat Inc. He is succeeded by former slot executive Mark Lipparelli.
In a throwaway at the end of today's column, man-about-town Norm Clarke mentions in passing that magician David Darkstone "has popped up as a potential replacement for Criss Angel in Cirque du Soleil's Believe." It's well known that Believe is undergoing a show-doctoring phase that could take three months to complete. Who expected that the "fixations," as Cirque's Guy Laliberté calls them, might include the dumping of Angel, the show's main selling point?
Converse Consultants, which provided engineering oversight on City Center's troubled Harmon Hotel & Spa, is under investigation by Clark County. Seems that Converse "repeatedly filed rebar inspection reports indicating there were no problems with The Harmon," according to the Las Vegas Sun. Trouble was, there were actually big problems with the rebar, sufficiently serious that MGM Mirage yesterday announced its was truncating the tower, which will now top out at 28 stories, instead of the planned 49 floors.
Mike Weatherford reports that male-stripper show American Storm, left homeless by the closing of Polly Esther's at the Stratosphere, will take its thongs to the V Theater. The latter's $1,000,000 Vegas Game Show closed on Sunday -- perhaps to return, perhaps not -- creating a vacancy for American Storm. Meanwhile, Stomp Out Loud and Raw Talent Live remain in holding patterns, seeking new venues. They also closed Sunday, as did Mamma Mia!, making it quite a dark night on the Strip.
This Saturday, Penthouse owner Marc Bell and Pet of the Year Heather Vandeven co-host "a fashionable night" at Christian Audigier The Nightclub at Treasure Island. Doors open at 10 p.m.
The Queen of Comps writes us: "I will be live on HoldemRadio.com today, Thursday, January 8, at 7 p.m. Eastern (4 p.m. Pacific), discussing my book, Tax Help for Gamblers, and answering those thorny questions many of you gamblers will be having in the coming months as you ponder how you will handle all those W-2Gs you collected in 2008." Sounds like must-hear radio to us.
James Packer's $1.8 billion purchase of Cannery Casino Resorts (which owns two Las Vegas locals casinos plus a racino in Pennsylvania) got the thumbs-up today from the Nevada Gaming Control Board. The body also OK'd the Marnell family's $1 billion-plus M Resort, expected to be the first Vegas casino with an in-house pharmacy. It will also have an on-property filling station. It debuts March 1.
Taking the full-service casino concept to a new level, M Resort, Spa & Casino announced today that it will have an on-site pharmacy, dispensing medication and "proactive heath screenings," 12 hours a day, seven days a week. The apothecary will also be the first Vegas foray of Nevada Pharmacy Management, which runs several outlets in the Reno area. Guests will even be able to have prescriptions delivered to their rooms. M Resort is slated to open this March.
A decade-plus of employment declines in Atlantic City casinos has now sunk to 1987 levels, reports The Press of Atlantic City. Seaside casinos sacked 2,125 workers, with a quarter of those job losses occurring in December. Only Harrah's Marina added jobs (350 of them), while the property with the fewest layoffs (26) was the once termination-happy Tropicana. Bally's saw the largest workforce drop, with 570 positions cut.
There was one bright spot for Premier Exhibitions in a pretty bleak third-quarter report. Since reopening at Luxor, attendance at Bodies is up 9% compared to its last four months at the Tropicana. Very early trends also bode well for Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition's relocation to Luxor, where traffic in its first 10 days was +125% over its last 10 days at the Trop.
After sitting on a massive assemblage of land at the northeast corner of Harmon Ave. and Koval Lane, developer Africa Israel Group has announced plans for a four-tower, 6,745-room hotel-casino, which would be the world's largest hotel, surpassing Malaysia's First World Hotel. If Clark County grants permits to Africa Israel, the company would have until 2011 to get its shovels into the ground. Currently, Africa Israel is in a retrenchment phase. The Harmon/Koval site combines the acreage once intended for two failed condo projects, W and Las Ramblas.
In a not-completely-surprising development, MGM Mirage is reconfiguring its plans for The Harmon, which was to have been a condo-hotel, one of several in CityCenter. This morning comes news that the condo component has been scrapped and the 88 contracted condo buyers will be offered units elsewhere in CityCenter. The design alteration reduces the number of rooms in Harmon by a third, shaves $200 million off the CityCenter budget and pushes the hotel's opening back in late 2010, one year behind the rest of CityCenter. MGM Mirage is blaming the change on "contractor construction errors."
According to the local Fox TV affiliate, the Mirage is offering a $150/person package deal: a ticket to Cirque du Soleil's Love, a free drink at Revolution Lounge, dinner at Stack and comped admission to Jet. The Mirage isn't plugging this deal at its Web site, so you'll have to ask for it specifically.
If the CES show floor, as seen on "Today" looked exceptionally deserted, that's because Al Roker was taping his stand-ups at four in the morning, Pacific time. But event organizers fear that while registrations are even with last year, the actual number of people who show up will be fewer. Exhibit space is down by 6% and, "Hotel rooms are plentiful and going at cut rates, and fewer people are expected to fly into the city," according to a wire service report.
Kansas' Cherokee County casino concession may not be wanting for suitors much longer. Gaming Today reports that Jack Binion's Marvel Gaming is going to make a run at the casino opportunity, which Penn National walked away from. Binion didn't bid on the southeast Kansas license the first time around but Marvel was an also-ran for one of the other three concessions, which went to Butler National, Cordish Co. and Harrah's Entertainment respectively (although Harrah's and Cordish subsequently withdrew).
Readers of VegasTripping.com have voted LVA's online forum the best of 2008. Ninety-thousand-plus members can't be wrong.
Moody's has issued a "D" rating -- the lowest possible one -- on Trump Entertainment Resorts' bonds. According to the agency, "there is no assurance that any agreement with respect to any restructuring [of debt] will be reached." A sale of Trump Marina to a former Trump executive is still hanging fire, too. However, Trump stock bounced yesterday, closing up at 38 cents a share.
Mississippi's Clarion-Ledger is reporting that the budget for Harrah's Margaritaville project in Biloxi (planned successor to Grand Casino Biloxi) has been trimmed to $500 million. As of last May, the project was budgeted at $704 million.
On his Vegas Happens Here blog, Steve Friess reports on a conversation with MGM Mirage spokesman Alan Feldman, who says that, contrary to rumor, the Light Group is still running the show over at the The Harmon condo-hotel, part of CityCenter. As for alleged construction problems, Feldman says, "We've ... had to deal with structural issues. Some rebar had to be redone." While condo sales at CityCenter have petered out, Feldman notes "this is real estate that's not going anywhere."
With dishonored casino marks very much in the news last year, UNLV's David G. Schwartz checked out the Nevada Gaming Abstract and found that, in 2007, bad debts added up to $113 million, or -2% of casino income. Some of the bad markers were charged against rooms, even F&B service. Concludes Schwartz, "no matter how bad things are going for you at your job, I’m pretty sure you didn’t make $5 million in bad loans during the year, as the average Strip credit manager apparently did."
If you've got a free afternoon on Jan. 29, check out a free presentation of UNLV's Center for Gaming Research. Leslie Niño Fidance of the Boyd School of Law will be giving a talk entitled "The Mob Never Ran Vegas." The lecture will be given in the special collections reading room of Lied Library on the UNLV campus.
North Las Vegas' Barcelona Hotel Casino has been snapped up by Siegel Group Nevada, the developers currently upgrading downtown's Gold Spike. In addition to room for expansion, the Barcelona offers a 260-slot casino, which will be run temporarily by slot-route operator United Coin Machine. After the sale closes, the Barcelona will become Siegel Slots & Suites.
Tropicana Entertainment has succeeded in luring Ron Thacker away from Fontainebleau Resorts, where he was VP of casino operations, installing him as the new president of the Las Vegas Tropicana. Thacker's also been with the Cosmopolitan, as well as with three properties now in the Harrah's chain: Casino Windsor and the Las Vegas and Kansas City Flamingo Hiltons.
Detroit's Greektown Casino, currently in Chapter 11, has hired Las Vegas-based Fine Point Group to improve efficiency and profitability. It is essentially a transfer of power, as Fine Point will fill the CEO, GM and VP of marketing chairs at Greektown. Company founder Randall Fine is a former Total Rewards and slots veep for Harrah's Entertainment, as well as marketing VP for Carl Icahn's casino arm, ACEP, and Fine Point is staffed with executive talent plucked from Harrah's, MGM Mirage, Station Casinos and Isle of Capri.
A free standard room at the Plaza Hotel & Casino or adjacent Vegas Club is your reward if you can beat the prices found on the two hotels' own Web sites. Guests who are able to find lower Plaza/Vegas Club room rates at participating sites Hotwire.com, ExpediaSAGroup, Las Vegas Tourist Bureau, I4Vegas, OrbitzSAGroup, Travelocity, SynXis Priceline, TripRes, Synxis.com, Vegas.com, Hotels.com, Mark Travel and Allegiant Air will get a comped room night at the Vegas Club or Plaza. Ground rules are as follows: "Upon finding the lower rate, guests must speak with a call center supervisor or a manager and verify the lower rate. Guests will receive a free standard room only for the night they found lower rates. Dates are subject to availability and black out dates can apply." The number for bookings is 800/634-6575.
"TrackNet Media Group is poised to cut off its signals to more than 80 Nevada casinos Jan. 7 unless a new agreement is met for what the content company feels are more equitable fees," reports Bloodhorse.com. That would mean no feeds from Gulfstream Park and Santa Anita, among others. TrackNet's CEO says it has been in talks with the Nevada Pari-Mutuel Association since last February but didn't receive even a "woefully inadequate" counteroffer until late December. TrackNet says Nevada enjoys a 'volume discount' and only represents 4% of the company's handle.
Britain's Labour government has approved rules that would double the maximum slot -- or "fruit machine" -- bet from approximately 70 cents to the equivalent of $1.40, as well as raising jackpot limits to a whopping $100. Already this move is stimulating howls of outrage both from moralists and clinicians. Slot revenues are expected to rise 20% under the new rules.
Among the items soon to be considered by the Clark County Planning Commission are time-extension requests by the Cosmopolitan. These are believed to be indications that the financially troubled condo-casino project will not be finished until 2010. Which may be good news: No other Strip projects are scheduled to open that year.
While some casinos have drawn down operations during the current recession, few have gone as far as the Golden Moon, near Philadelphia, Miss. The tribally owned casino is giving the pink-slip to 570 non-tribal employees and will only operate three days a week. The Golden Moon is owned and operated by the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians.
Although Don McMillan has a master's degree from Stanford, plus years of toil in Silicon Valley to his credit, he ultimately found fewer laughs in microchips than at the microphone. He'll be headlining at The Improv, at Harrah's Las Vegas, today through Saturday, two shows nightly (8:30 and 10:30 p.m.). As part of a $105/night, two-night-stay package, Harrah's is comping two Improv tickets plus a dinner buffet for two -- almost $135 worth of added value.
MGM Mirage is going live today with its job application site. The company expects to fill 12,000 positions, spread across Aria Resort & Casino, Vdara and the Crystals mall. Even though Mandarin Oriental, Las Vegas and The Harmon Hotel, Spa & Residences are being run by other companies, they are also taking applications through the CityCenter Web site.
Today through Jan. 14, JetBlue is running a fare special that includes one-way fares to Las Vegas from Long Beach and Burbank at $39 each. Fares purchased can be used Jan. 12-April 1 (but not Feb. 11-16 or 19-24). Additional discounts can be found via the Travelzoo ad on LVA's home page.
According to an Associated Press profile of singer/songwriter/novelist/entrepreneur Jimmy Buffett, the Margaritaville restaurant at the Flamingo is the highest-grossing restaurant in the nation. According to Flamingo President Don Marrandino, its annual gross is $43 million and the eatery has turned in five strong years. Harrah's Entertainment's Margaritaville-branded casino in Biloxi is on hold and, according to the AP, its budget has been downsized to $700 million (from a multi-billion-dollar megaresort). Buffett has also sublicensed the Margaritaville theme to the prospect owner of Trump Marina, in Atlantic City, which will also fly the "Parrothead" flag.
But not in a good way this time. According to the National Weather Service, 2008 -- as cool as it was economically -- was Las Vegas' fourth-warmest year on record, with highs that were on average on degree higher and lowers that were three degrees. The more concrete and asphalt Las Vegas lays down, the bigger its "heat island" effect, which accounts for the higher temperatures. So if you're down on the Strip in midsummer and feel like you're in a convection oven, you're not imagining things.
Blackjack expert and author Richard Munchkin was voted into the Blackjack Hall of Fame at this year's Blackjack Ball. Munchkin is the author of our book Gambling Wizards. He punctuated the appointment by taking second in the Ball's skills competition, which was won by a player who goes by the name "Honcho." Not competing this year was James Grosjean, who is ineligible to compete after winning the contest three times. The champion's cup is now called the "Grosjean Trophy."
Sunday's Las Vegas Review-Journal has a on-the-spot report about slot tournament players, as seen in action at Aliante Station. The #1 gaffe is revealed (Don't pull the lever) as are some of the superstitions to which participants adhere, reaffirming the maxim, "Nobody understands the slot player -- including the slot player."
Despite being one of the most popular spots on the Strip for New Year's Eve weekend, even THEhotel at Mandalay Bay is now getting into the discount game. In its "Winter Wonders" offer, not only can you get a third night free if you book two, a half-price breakfast or lunch, a $300 spending voucher and a "fly back certificate." This is but the latest in an aggressive series of marketing offers made at MGM Mirage properties. By contrast, an LVA informs us that Venetian/Palazzo is only budging very marginally off its usual rates.
Silverton has extended its great 2-for-1 dining offer throughout January. Get a twofer on entrees in any restaurant from 4 to 10 pm daily. No coupon necessary, but must be a players club member.
The stately sport of tennis has long maintained the practice of allowing players to "tank" matches. That may be working to the benefit of mobsters who, ex-mafioso Michael Franzese contends, are still heavily involved in the sport, even threatening players with physical force. "If I were in this business now, tennis would be my major target because one player can impact the game. That's all you need," Franzese tells The Australian, adding that he warns players to steer clear of gamblers: "Gambling is a very serious business. If you put yourself in a gambling situation, you're most likely going to attract the wrong people because those same people are watching you."
Las Vegas' experiment with launching New Year's Eve fireworks from ground level drew the most criticism since the city's decision to forego a show in 1999. The change from prior rooftop launches was implemented primarily to save about $200,000 in costs for inspections mandated by recently adopted safety rules (likely implemented as a result of last year's Monte Carlo rooftop fire). Most complaints about the $600,000 show were related to restricted visibility. Show organizers say they will evaluate the feedback for next year.
Baldini's Sports Casino, in Sparks, Nev., has passed from the Donald Baldwin family to a group of buyers from Montana. Rather than obtain a gaming license, it appears that the new owners will simply farm out casino operations to United Coin Machine, a slot-route specialist.
Lenders have given Donald Trump's casino company three additional weeks to restructure its $1.25 billion debt. Last month, Trump missed an interest payment and, if he can’t demonstrate the art of the deal by Jan. 21, his debtors may demand accelerated repayment. Bond analyst Barbara Cappaert argues that debtholders should force Trump out as a condition of any further forebearance: "So is this a poker game for Trump? With Donald Trump controlling 28% of the Class A stock and 100% of the Class B stock (and controlling several board positions), we would suggest bondholders make sure that Mr. Trump no longer has that kind of control," she wrote.
Casino revenues in Macao were down 6% last month, following an apparent recovery in November. Las Vegas Sands, which has pulled ahead of Stanley Ho’s SJM, has the largest market share. Wynn Macao, in third place, has been increasing its share, mostly at the expense of Galaxy Entertainment. Melco Crown remains in fifth place, with MGM Grand Macau bringing up the rear.
The excellent Coast Connections magazine is a rider in today's LV Review-Journal. This magazine is loaded with coupons, including gambling matchplay, and is so strong we didn't expect it to be published after its initial run last month. Pick it up.
Former Bally Gaming President Alan Maiss, one of two-dozen figures convicted in a Louisiana slot machine scam in 1995, was pardoned by President George W. Bush. Maiss, who donated $1,500 to Bush's 2004 re-election bid, was among the many casino- and Mob-related individuals swept up in "Operation Hard Crust" (so named by FBI agents because the mafiosi frequented a deli where the bread was invariably stale). Bally sold slot machines to a pair of Mob-front companies in Louisiana and Maiss failed to report his knowledge of the companies' Mob ties to federal authorities. He had sought to withdraw his subsequent guilty plea on the grounds that it was impeding his ability to get a new job.
"Islamist terrorist networks, particularly al-Qaeda, are using gambling websites to launder money and train potential terrorists in Britain," begins a story in The Economic Times. It quoted a counterterrorism expert from Jane's Intelligence Group as saying, "Al-Qaeda want to create a university of jihad online, both in a spiritual and financial sense," and that online gambling sites frequented by young people were one avenue of recruitment. This is not good news for players, as it will give (pardon the term) fresh ammunition to supporters of a U.S. ban on Internet gambling.
Las Vegas Sands has struck a compromise with Macanese labor unions regarding salary reductions at Venetian Macao. While work weeks will still be curtailed from 48 hours to 40, salaries will be recomputed so that the loss of pay is 13%, not 17% as previously proposed. Sands also agreed not to eliminate any of the affected positions. "In addition, when the economy starts to show signs of upturn, the company shall immediately restore the workers' original salary level and working hours, or assist them to be transferred to better positions if the company opens new businesses in Macau or other regions," reports the Macau Daily Times.
Buried deep within today's Norm! is a report of more trouble at MGM Mirage's CityCenter. Specifically, The Harmon condo-hotel may be put on hold. "The bigger concern, I'm told, is the central iconic tower, which was designed to lean about 22 degrees but is now almost double that because of a cabling issue," writes columnist Norm Clarke.
Despite rumors that Gov. Jim Gibbons was going to tap former state Sen. Bob Beers to fill Mark Clayton's seat on the Nevada Gaming Control Board, he has turned to an industry figure instead. Gibbons will be drawing upon the expertise of Mark Liparelli, a former executive with Casino Data Systems, Shuffle Master and Bally Technologies. It will be a return of sorts for Liparelli, a former securities analyst for the Control Board.
The first weekend of the new year is a busy one with most venues back to full song after the holiday break. The Pearl at the Palms hosts two big shows with the Stone Temple Pilots onstage Friday night and Kid Rock in an encore performance on Saturday. Comedy fans have five headlining shows to choose from including David Spade’s first gig at the Venetian, which runs New Year’s Day through Sunday. This is also your last chance to catch Stomp Out Loud at Planet Hollywood, Mamma Mia at Mandalay Bay and Fuego Raw Talent at the Sahara. All three shows will close after their performances on Sunday.
Here's wishing everyone a prosperous 2009. To start the new year, the new Bob Dancer video poker book, Video Poker for the Intelligent Beginner, is off the press and shipping. And we've got a great poll going right now to determine Las Vegas' best buffet (cast your vote). We have lots of new things planned for LasVegasAdvisor.com this year, so keep coming back to help us make this the greatest site anywhere on the Web for gamblers and Vegas enthusiasts.