Question of the Day - 28 July 2020

Of the two, my money would be on Luxor being demolished before Excalibur.

Luxor, is a pyramid. There's not much you can do to change that. Sure, you can remove the Sphinx and other Egyptian artifacts, but it's still a pyramid. Also, Luxor is well known to have structural issues due to the shape.

Excalibur, on the other hand, can easily be remodeled to remove the castle motif. At least far more easily and cheaply than demolishing and rebuilding.

Down it goes with the perfect COVID storm to bypass the union hold on the property.  Plus, the Raiders will need more parking for their fan.

Both Excalibur and Luxor are part of the iconic landscape of the Vegas Strip, even though both are tired looking internally from all the years and thousands of visitors. Rather than tear them down and have ugly empty lots collecting trash until a new project gets done years later they could just be closed until better times come around, then decide what to do. Reducing the number of hotel rooms and casinos in Vegas would benefit the other properties, there's going to be a surplus of rooms in the city for a while. Circus Circus is almost 25 years older than either Luxor or Excalibur and it's still around. Also, if Excalibur is torn down where are all the little kids going to stay on the Strip when they bring their parents to Vegas? 

I stay at Excalibur frequently, and it is showing its age. But, like was pointed out, why would they tear these two properties down with the problems Vegas has had with newer property starts. I always wondered why Excalibur didn't ramp up on the medival theme when Game of Thrones was popular.

My thoughts are that both seem like realistic candidates for implosion and replacement, given the de-theming that's occurred on the strip for the last 15-20 years. It certainly makes sense on that front, even if the cost and carnage do seem rather high. 

just can't see it, the cost seems far more than the benefits.   Mandalay bay isnt booming and it would be isolated for years by this.  And my heart says please no, raised my family in that part of the Strip 

We need some older places to stay that are cheaper than the hi end places.  I love both of them for what they are.  During normal times, they have no problems with lots of people staying there.

I doubt demolition would be done by MGM Resorts on either of these two properties. Here are my thoughts on why:

1 - As mentioned, that lives a big gap on the south end of the strip. Several MGM Resort casinos could take a hit with the removal of one or both of those hotels.
2 - Selling these properties is more likely to provide a win/win for both MGM Resorts and the purchasing company. MGM will be able to remove a significant amount of financial burden for those properties while the purchasing organization could be gaining valuable real estate on the strip.
3 - Demolition is not cheap and it may be more cost efficient in the short term to keep those properties on the MGM Resorts books.

Why?....It doesn´t make economical sense. Re-develope the land?, it's a formula for disaster right now. Sell?, it could happen, but why re-theme, why try to de-piramid the piramid or de-castle the castle?, I would say re-theme the old gals, let them be what they where suposed to, there is more of a market forvthese old gals that they might lead you on, Circus-Circus and excalibur have been always been some of the most popular hotel-casinos on the sprip, and some of the stediest money makers. Phil ruffin understood that, that's why he bought TI, and circus circus, and now seems to be prety happy with them, the same should happen with the piramid and the castle, they are iconic by now, the landscape of Vegas would change drasticly ( and for the worse) if they disapear. Keep them, maintain them, love them enjoy them for years to come

Couldn't wait to stay at the Luxor when it was built and to ride the Inclinator,an escalator with a elevator box riding on it, what fun. It even has a world recognized figure of a Pyramid with a landing light shooting out of it's top inviting ET to come and play.  You can't show any picture of Las Vegas today that does not include the Luxor in it especially night photos.  Tearing down the Luxor would be the equivalent as tearing down the "Welcome to Las Vegas" sign.  Shutting the Luxor down and making needed structural repairs during this economic downturn is a far better business deal of any suggested.

Times are tight in Vegas.  Demo is expensive and as today's answer says, the value of the land does not offset the total value of a producing asset, no mater how dated it may be.

Safest options:
   #1 -  not do anything.  Ride it out.   Can still get some income.  At the same time they could:
   #2 - Put one or both up for sale.  Drop some debt.
   #3 - Close one or both of them as the economics would dictate to eliminate problems with the Unions.  MGM would still have the hotel assets to sell.  I believe that when a company buys the assets of another company, (As opposed to buying the company itself) any contracts that were in existence do NOT come with the assets, with the possible exceptions of liens/mortgages. 

If all else fails, MGM could pitch the Luxor to Citgo Petroleum for their home offices.  Citgo Oil has a pyramid logo -  Sounds like a natural fit. Paint the outside structural members red and it could become an instant icon. (Not a serious idea...obviously) 

I'm sure "Games of Thrones" had an imaginary impact on visiting Excalibur but don't forget "Vikings" has one also.  The olden days of Knights, Castles, and Viking raids will always be an entertainment theme in our culture not to mention the Brits as well. So I seriously doubt either one or both will be torn down however shutting down both until tourism returns is a way smarter tactic is finances can sustain the wait or the Nevada legislature grants protections for shutdowns during recovery.

Don't tear 'em down. Re-imagine them. Change the Excalibur theme to zombies. Invert the Luxor so that it balances on what is now its apex and turn the resulting large roof into a millennial-style nightclub.

The Excalibur zombies could also be rented out to NYNY if they ever want to go to a post-apocalyptic theme.

I remember when Luxor was first built it was stated that it was only intended to last about 15 years and then be torn down and replaced.  The same was said of a number of other hotels built around the same time.  If that's true, they have already survived longer than intended.

That said, as each themed resort goes away there's just that much less to make Las Vegas unique.  If all the resorts looks and feel just like each other, why bother to visit more than the one you stay at?

I won't get off in the weeds, but simply put. Dirt don't make no money. To the best of my knowledge, MGM and all of their partner companies operate on the foundation of monthly revenue. A raw land play won't give them any cash flow. I also don't think scraped off land will have a higher potential value than operating hotel casinos would.

A good majority of the stuff he posts is clearly from people who aren't decision makers and who aren't part of any serious discussions. Once in a while he's ahead of the curve, but mostly what he posts is second- and third-hand rumor mongering.

I'm not a fan of the de-themeing movement. I loved the old Treasure Island theme, incl the Pirate Battle out front. If you think about it Vegas has lots of themes, like Venetian (Venice, Italy), Bellagio (Italian neighborhood), NYNY, Paris with its Eiffel Tower, etc. Those are great and it would be silly to de-theme theme. Vegas is supposed to be an adult destination where your imagination is unlimited and there are over the top designs that dazzle the eyes, things not seen anywhere else. If the owners want to discourage families from visiting with kids because the parents don't gamble much when kids are with them then just be like Circa, say no one under 21 is allowed on the property. That's better than removing a theme just to discourage family tourists. Lots of adults enjoy the themes, places like Treasure Island make a mistake when they remove the very thing that made them great in the first place. I suppose we'll lose the volcano and fountains too if the corp execs say so...

MGM all cookie cutter casinos now.  They ruined Luxor, TI, and even Mirage theming.  Bellagio has lost its luster too.   

These properties wont be torn down in these uncertain times and its highly unlikely that they will be sold either. First there are no buyers lined up and secondly remember the land that these properties are on are owned by other entities. So a sale would require a multi-entity transaction.