Despite SLS Las Vegas having lost $183 million in its first eight months of operation, against pitiful revenues of $88 million, President 
Scott Kreeger insists that owner Stockbridge Capital is in it for the long haul. It has to be, Sam Nazarian having hung this millstone around Stockbridge’s neck. Aside from the obvious location problem, SLS is the subject of frequent complaints about catering to the L.A. street gang crowd. It’s also doing a dismal job of courting locals. Station Casinos CFO Marc Falcone, when asked about SLS’ effect on nearby Palace Station, described it as “zero impact.”
Ouch. Kreeger is making some moves to try and remedy that, such as rejiggering the Code players card to increase gambling-related rewards, which had been previously subordinated to hotel stays and such. And, perhaps realizing the Las Vegas is saturated with electronic dance music, he’s turning nightclub Life into what the Las Vegas Sun describes as “a venue that will offer a more diverse entertainment lineup than just dancing and DJs.” Kreeger acknowledges that there’s no cavalry coming over the hill. He’s going to have to keep pounding the value message until Las Vegans start to feel like pricey SLS was built for them and not for Nazarian’s Beverly Hills cronies. Turning SLS around may make Kreeger feel like Revel was an easy gig.
* Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley (R) cut state Sen. Del Marsh (R) off at the knees, decreeing that casino legalization was off the table at an 
upcoming special session of the Lege. “We’ve got to fundamentally change the way we budget in Alabama so gambling is totally off the table as far as I’m concerned,” said Bentley. In earlier statement, Bentley (left) sniffed that “Alabama is better than to depend on gambling to fund its government.” Marsh wants Vegas-style gambling at four racinos across the state, plus a lottery. But to get that proposal back on the legislative docket, he’s going to have to duke it out with Bentley in front of the state supreme court.
Meanwhile, the Poarch Bank of Creek Indians is also pushing gambling as a budget-deficit fix but they way they’re going about it is lobbying for a compact with the state and taking their campaign to the airwaves. They’re at cross purposes with Marsh, because they want exclusivity … or at least one more casino.
* The gavel has fallen in the auction for Bwin.party Digital Entertainment and the winning bidder is 888, which put $1.4 billion on the table. Bwin.party chose 888 over GVC Holdings, although the latter’s offer was $17.5 million higher. Bwin told Reuters that 888 “carried fewer risks, with better prospects and an experienced management team all factors.” The deal is predominantly cash, with a smattering of 888 shares thrown in. It will be deleveraged in part by an expected $70 million a year in synergies. 888 gets Bwin.party’s larger sports-betting action while 888 will be supported on a more highly regarded software platform.
You have to wonder how much longer before Nazarian cashes in his chips. In recent months, SBE has sold off SLS properties (but will continue to manage them) in Beverly Hills and South Beach and recently made a deal to sell Cleo and Katsuya to the One Group. Three board members at SBE quit a few months back when Nazarian reentered the fold, and one of those board members was planning on investing $500 million into SBE. I would not be surprised if SLS as a whole gets acquired by someone like Blackstone. SLS Las Vegas is part of Hilton’s Curio collection (Cosmo is part of Marriott’s Autograph Collection and presumably would be likely to jump to Curio since Cosmo and Hilton has the same ownership.). The SLS brand and their properties would be a good fit within the Hilton umbrella.
The problem is no one really understood the name “SLS”. Those of us that have lived here a long time, (35 years) know that “SLS” stands for “Stupid Location Sam”!!!
Or, as an anonymous wag in the R-J suggested, “Sahara Location Sucks.”