Station reopens bullishly; Who was that masked man, anyway?

On the eve of today’s reopening, Station Casinos hosted a conference call with JP Morgan analysts and was pretty darn confident that its base of Baby Boomers and retirees would flock back. So confident is that Station “has not been running any large-scale promotions ahead of the reopening.” (Take that, Derek Stevens!) Yes, Virginia, the little Wildfire casinos have now reopened, along with most of the big properties. The Palms remains on ice since Station “will need to monitor the LV Strip, airlift, etc. as it’s a hybrid property.” The company’s not hurting from keeping its two Fiestas, Texas Station and the Palms closed, as they accounted for only 20% of last year’s revenue and 10% of cash flow (thanks to losses at the Palms).

Analyst Joseph Greff reported that Station “is resuming conversations after buyers paused in March as COVID-19 began proliferating; management is hopeful there will be some activity as things start to thaw, though buyers want to ensure they have an anchor tenant locked down” before delving into Station’s rich land bank. Asset sales were termed “a low priority,” although some kind of REIT transaction was not entirely precluded.

* Speaking of Stevens, he led by example as face masks for employees and social distancing (for everybody) were the rule at the reopenings of the Golden Gate and The D. “As with the rest of the world, the past few months have presented our city with an unprecedented challenge, and our team has worked around the clock to bring back the Vegas experience our visitors know and love,” the mogul said. Although his inspired “Keep America Flying” promotion contained no caveat requiring fliers to stay at a Stevens-owned casino, participants are going to remember who made it possible, good will you cannot buy. (Or can you?)

* Caesars Entertainment continues to promote itself as the Las Vegas Strip‘s value way station (except for Nobu Hotel). It’s advertising rates at newly reopened Caesars Palace starting at $99, the Flamingo Las Vegas at $47 and soon-to-reopen Harrah’s Las Vegas at $47 (hardly the same value proposition as the Flamingo). Depending on demand, Paris-Las Vegas will reopen starting at $55/night, The Linq for $35 (not much less than it’s worth), Planet Hollywood for $49, Bally’s for $47 and The Rio for a can’t-miss $29/night. The Cromwell misses out on the value parade at $89 but that’s the price you pay for intimacy. Were all that not enough, Caesars is brandishing 5X reward credits and tier credits. Caesars’ rates have had the toughest time recovering of any of the Big Four but there seems to method in CEO Anthony Rodio‘s not-so-madness.

* Are Las Vegas customers truly back in charge? Global Gaming Business thinks so, citing three majors’ renunciation of self-parking fees. (Las Vegas Sands never charged these odious levies.) OK, there’s been some weaseling from Caesars, prompting industry pundit Steve Gallaway to ask, “Are you going to be the only operator on the Las Vegas Strip that’s charging parking fees?” Not when Market Numero Uno during the recovery is going to be drive-in players (not locals, as analysts often wrongly predict). Gallaway says of the casinos’ craze for fees, fees and yet more fees, “It had nothing to do with supply and demand. It was just the operators identifying another way to squeeze money out of the customer’s pocket.” Besides, the resorts need to incentivize travel at a time when the audience’s evident inclination is to stay and play close to home. (‘Convenience gambling’ indeed.) Opines Gallaway of the big boys, “they’re recognizing they need to adjust their business model.” We sure hope he’s right.

Jottings: Default or no default, developer Steven Witkoff says he is “committed” to completed $3.1 billion The Drew. No word on whether he was also committed to an asylum shortly thereafter. He’s living in a dream world … Shame on the Plaza Hotel for disregarding player safety. It is eschewing plexiglas dividers on its casino floor. Always count on Tamares Group to bring up the rear … Terry Caudill is getting in on the aggressive-promo game. The Four Queens owner is offering $10 in free slot play to Royal Club members for every 100 points earned, in a sliding-scale promotion that accelerates to a $100 comp bonus for 4,000 points earned … Another setback for Crown Resorts: It cannot offer slots in Sydney until 2041 at the earliest, after Star Casino Sydney won the exclusive concession. Time to talk James Packer off the ledge … If contortionists don’t make you queasy (they do us), Cirque du Soleil is offering a hour of televised contortionists tomorrow at noon Vegas time, streamed via Clique Connect … Vegas might finally be back to something like normal but Fremont Street Experience hasn’t been a warren of activity, judging by its online Cat’s Meow video stream.