Question of the Day - 24 June 2010

Good question, which we took straight to the top and posed to Mark Brandenburg, co-owner of the Golden Gate. Here's how he responded (thanks, Mark!):

"I'm told that our current shrimp vendor just told us to expect a 30% increase for our next order. We believe we have another vendor that will hold close to our current price levels, although it might not be for long.

"Note: We suspect that some vendors are using the Gulf oil spill as an excuse to increase rates, even if they have not yet had a dramatic decrease in their supply (hard to believe, right?). I'm really not an expert on shrimping throughout the world, but most of our shrimp comes from places other than the Gulf. I don't know what impact this will have on world-wide supply, but it looks like we are about to find out.

"I've said this before and I'll say it again--the Golden Gate is determined to keep the price of our shrimp cocktail at $1.99. Our shrimp cocktail is a Las Vegas institution and it would be wrong to let BP or anyone else mess with that."

So, there you have it. Some downtown defiance in defense of a slice (or, rather, a sundae glass) of classic Vegas. (We won't mention the price going up from 99¢, which would seem churlish under the circumstances; let's just hope they can hang in at $1.99.)

We also checked in with some other of our friends to see how their properties were being affected. Here's what we heard back from the Director of Food & Beverage at the Mirage, who also had some interesting light to shine on the situation:

"We haven't had any variance in prices due to locked-in contracts. The reality is that shrimp is still being pulled from the Gulf. The impact on the import market should continue to trail the Gulf.

"As the Gulf shrimp becomes scarce, everyone will lean on the import market, which will naturally lead to price increases. Because almost all the imported shrimp is farm-raised, in about 6-12 months they will be able to ramp up their production, and the prices should normalize.

"One more item: 'Experts' are saying that the Gulf of Mexico is a big place and largely unaffected. They are postulating that there could actually be an increase in the population as the US Gulf Coast remains under-fished. Mexican wild shrimp have not seen any reductions at all.

"Finally, oysters will suffer, but we can bring in product from the east and west coasts without any concerns."

• "Here in Florida it is reported that the Gulf of Mexico supplies 7% of scrimp. There are problems from New Orleans to Panama City, Florida, but that area is small compared to the whole Gulf. Oysters are a lot bigger problem, at least right now. Bottom line is that a total shut down of Gulf shrimping doesn't affect 93% of shrimp supply. Price may go up on fear, but not because of any real shortage."
• "I live in Florida right off Tampa Bay. Several weeks ago the wife tells me to check the shrimp prices at our local seafood market (I was heading there anyway) because she is seeing local news reports that no one is buying shrimp as they are scared it may have come from the oil-affected areas so maybe the lower prices, due to the surplus, would fit our budget. "So, on one hand we see reports that fresh shrimp sales are down due to less demand and in your case a huge price incease all from the same cause. Ain't the marketplace great!! lol."