Question of the Day - 26 March 2023

The reason we didn't mention the possibility of a Major League Baseball stadium, home field for the Oakland A's, going up next to the Rio is this: The answer to the question about the Rio "being dead" was long enough without getting into this bit of speculation.

Here at QoD and, in general, LVA, we tend to play issues like these slow and tight, as opposed to the fast-and-loose style of some other Vegas news sources. So many variables are involved -- Will the A's move to Vegas? Will the stadium be built at the Rio or out in Summerlin or down by Blue Diamond or take over the Tropicana property? Will the county agree to a major tax abatement? Will it be within the next 10 years? -- that it's a whole QoD by itself.

As for the neighboring casinos upgrading, let's first look at the Palms. Our understanding is that Station Casinos had inside info, or at least thought it did, that the Rio would be torn down to make way for an MLB stadium. That was why the company bought the Palms in 2016, when these rumors started to surface, for $313 million, then sunk another $700 million or so into upgrading the place. Of course, having stepped out of its locals-casino comfort zone, Station got its head handed to it and shuttered the property following the shutdown; it reopened only after the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians took the Palms off its hands at a considerable loss. But stadium or no stadium, the Palms has seen as much upgrading as it's destined to for a while to come.

As for Gold Coast, a renovation of the hotel rooms was completed in 2013 and more changes were implemented in 2016-2017, when Ping Pang Pong moved into a new space, the buffet was upgraded, and Cornerstone Steakhouse replaced the Cortez Room, among a few others. Still, it's probably due for some further refreshing and now that Boyd has spent a reported $50 million renovating half of the Fremont's casino floor, with more millions aimed at finishing the job, perhaps the company will turn its attention back to the Gold Coast. We'd assume that if the stadium is announced for the Rio's parking lots, Boyd would take a good long look at its across-the-street property.

As for the Rio itself, owner Dreamscape has already announced a nine-figure remake of the property, as elucidated in the previous answer. That might be because they know more about the potential for a stadium next to the property than they're revealing. Or it might just be that the place is in dire of it. Either way, it will be welcome when it happens.

In the meantime, in our eternal optimism, we dream of a better tomorrow, where, first, we can watch Oakland A's home games from our office balcony and where, second, in the immortal words of Ralph Waldo Emerson, "chickens can cross the road and without being questioned about their motives."