MGM Resorts International and Anschutz Entertainment Group have unfurled the big- and small-picture details of their 12-acre, 20,000-seat arena. For an in-depth description, I direct you to Alan Snel‘s excellent account. The announcement refuels speculation that AEG (operator of the Staples Center) and MGM will make a play for an NBA or NHL franchise. From an architectural standpoint, it’s appropriate that the arena is going onto land occupied by leftover CityCenter office space, for it is clearly an attenuated continuation of Jim Murren‘s vision for CC. The sharp-angled, canted, glass-walled planes of the design evoke Crystals, Aria and Veer Towers alike.
The sandstone-colored western facade looks like a continuation of CityCenter’s spa and convention spaces. From I-15, it will present a harmonious front — CityCenter being the first Vegas resort to put nearly as much concern into the “curb appeal” of its backside as its Las Vegas Strip front. (Actually, I find the I-15 side more appealing, but that may be a minority view.) In any event, Murren has not given up on his New Urbanism, as he tries to create an arena that is of CityCenter rather than on it, to paraphrase Frank Lloyd Wright, who knew a thing or two about design.
Desperation mounts. For the Menominee Tribe, that is. They’re volunteering to pay more and yet more tax money, all so they can get a casino at Dairyland Greyhound Park. Their first offer was 7.5%. Now they’ve upped it to $200 million over five years. Opposing tribes would also be offered a $50 million line of credit from operator-to-be Hard Rock International. The is becoming quite a cause celebre, with the anti-casino Tea Party now getting into the act. Incidentally, as tribal casinos continue to become swankier and more competitive with the private-sector product, they’re outperforming the latter. To be sure, exclusivity in some states doesn’t hurt. And — don’t forget — Massachusetts could have three tribal casinos when all is said and done.
MGM and Boyd Gaming may have dealt a severe blow to Atlantic City without knowing it. Their recent court victory involving back property taxes hits city coffers hard and is expected to trigger a series of similar appeals by other casinos in town. If Borgata is overvalued, what about the Golden Nugget and Atlantic Club? Non-casino businesses and residents can expect to get hit up harder as the city looks for revenue elsewhere. If casino reassessments continue to prevail, the solvency of Atlantic City is at stake, complicating Gov. Chris Christie‘s five-year rescue plan for the Boardwalk. “The last thing [casinos] want to do is put Atlantic City into bankruptcy, because you rely on the city for the police, the firefighters, the municipal services,” RBC Capital Markets analyst John Kempf told the Wall Street Journal. To a large extent, A.C. is already a ward of the state and a tax war with the casinos ensures that it will remain so for the foreseeable future.
Shintaro Ishihara. You don’t know who he is but … he’ll have been prophetic if the Japanese Diet legalizes casino gambling. He favored a casino/theme park combo 12 years ago and has taken several taxpayer-paid junkets to, uh, research the matter in Vegas, Macao and Australia. Even in political retirement, Ishihara is ahead of the electorate, which opposes casino gambling 58% to 42%.
