MGM does the right thing; Killer chipmunks in Lake Tahoe

In a very george move, MGM Resorts International is donating two acres of Strip land to be the site of a memorial to the victims of the Mandalay Bay Massacre. The acreage, at the corner of Reno Avenue and Giles Street, is part of the larger area where the infamous Route 91 Harvest festival took place. The exact nature of the memorial remains to be debated and we’re sure it will be a contentious process. But we’re also certain that MGM could have seen megabucks for the two acres on the open market and chose to pass that up in favor of a generous gesture toward the Las Vegas community. (Sixty people died and hundreds were injured due to the act of domestic terrorism.) “Having a permanent memorial commemorating the victims and heroes of 1 October is vital to our community’s continued healing, and we are honored to donate a portion of the Village site to help bring that memorial to fruition,” read a formal MGM statement. We’ve often been critical of MGM’s response to the victims of the shooting but would like to think we’ve saluted it when it’s done the right thing. As it just did.

Gaming & Leisure Properties Inc. is dropping ominous hints about the future of the Las Vegas Tropicana, feeding into speculation that owner-to-be Bally’s Inc. will demolish the venerable resort so that its 35 acres can be converted into a baseball stadium. This would be the cruelest in a series of cruel blows to the Trop, which has suffered from a series of poor or inattentive ownerships. Admittedly, at 64 years of age, the Trop is ancient history by Vegas standards—and Bally’s might be left at the altar. The Oakland Athletics have reopened negotiations with Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf, suggesting that Sin City just got played by the big boys. Since the A’s are committed to Oakland through 2024, Bally’s doesn’t have to make any rash decisions regarding the Trop’s immediate future.

Mask mandates are coming back to regional casinos. Iowa‘s most popular, Prairie Meadows racino, just imposed one. The racino had operated maskless for 13 months but the resurgence of Coronavirus leaves little choice. The Grand Casinos chain in Minnesota just reinstated mask-wearing for guests and, since the casinos are on sovereign land, there’s nothing that anti-vaxxer politicians can do about it but blow smoke. Like Prairie Meadows, Grand is a well-established brand and has little to fear from taking the prudent approach. Ditto Harrah’s Cherokee, in spades.

Las Vegas Strip room rates continue to escalate. For the August 22-28 period, they’re up 22% midweek (hurrah!) and 55% on weekends. Compared to 2019, only MGM is underperforming. It was -17% on weekdays and 72% on the weekend. Caesars Entertainment is up 64% midweek but only a mild 37% on weekend days, while Venelazzo shot up 110% midweek against 42% on the weekend. Wynncore rates are through the roof midweek (+147%) and yet only up 29% weekends.

Remember the Black Plague? Well, its’ threatening Lake Tahoe, thanks to an infestation of infected … chipmunks. The cute little rodents are carrying the disease, bringing with it closure of recreational areas along the lake, although we’d not heard of any casinos being menaced yet. “Plague is an infectious bacterial disease that tends to be spread by chipmunks, other wild rodents and their fleas. For humans, symptoms can show up within two weeks of exposure to an infected animal. They include fever, nausea, weakness and swollen lymph nodes,” says KTLA-TV. As the saying goes, Don’t feed the animals!

Jottings: Daisy Ho has been snorting something. She’s predicting $5 billion Grand Lisboa Palace will do 100%-plus return on investment. “I think for our property, looking at breaking-even and stabilisation, will take… 12 months or so, or less,” she predicted feverishly … Perhaps to make up for the inferior brand equity of Caesars Sportsbook, the Roman Empire is giving out free play to induce new customers. “Your first bet is on Caesar, up to $5,000 risk-free,” sayeth the Web site … Having been caught underpaying its taxes, Crown Melbourne is now up to date. Whether that is enough to save the renegade casino’s license remains to be seen … Unsustainable fishing habits are catching up with those casino buffet staples, crab and lobster. “Our buffet is not serving any king and snow crab; only our steakhouse restaurant is,” said a Beau Rivage chef … Urban One has put down $26 million in earnest money for its projected Richmond casino. If voters reject the gambling hall (unlikely), the dough is refundable … Memo to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, yes, The Strat is a Downtown casino and South Point is in miscellaneous Clark County. Just ask the Nevada Gaming Control Board … Macao gambling revenues rose 29% from June but were still a pale reflection of 2019 last month, only 35% of what they were two years ago. “We suspect the near term will be impacted by cases popping up in several regions and is beginning to have an impact on bookings,” wrote JP Morgan analyst Joseph Greff, who doesn’t expect the good old days to return until 2023 sometime—and not even then for emaciated VIP play.

Quote of the Day: “Not surprisingly, urban markets continue to meaningfully underperform as city-wide conventions have yet to stage a material rebound and international inbound travel to several of the largest markets remains notably depressed vs. 2019 levels.”—Deutsche Bank analyst Chris Woronka