Liz Benston crunches the numbers on the much-touted "40,000 new rooms" and finds only two-thirds that many. I mean, 26.6K hotel rooms isn't shabby but, if you threw the numbers together the way civic boosters do (mixing completed projects with chimerical ones), you could arrive at double that number.
Speaking of chimeras, the giant arena-cum-casino project that REI Neon hopes to build where much of the downtown Arts District used to be has received yet another extension from Oscar Goodman. At $10.5 billion, REI Neon's project makes CityCenter look almost thrifty. REI has never executed anything remotely on this scale, hence the penumbra of skepticism that dogs the project.
Steve Wynn's tipping policies are earning a second look from Nevada Labor Commissioner Michael Tanchek. Mind you, it's a narrow look, but it could be the wedge that pries open the door for additional legal challenges. Or not.
Equal time for Sheldon Adelson. In case you missed it, Two Way Hard Three (home of the best critiques of Palazzo) has the entire Power Point presentation from Las Vegas Sands' Investors Day, last Monday. Oh, and a complete Webcast, too. I feel so 20th century.
Fasten your seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy year. Not only is the local prospect disturbing, but some of Vegas' and Reno's prime feeder markets are getting hit very hard, too.
More bad news for the thousands (from maids to casino managers) displaced by Hurricane Katrina. FEMA trailers may be contaminated. When are these people going to catch a break?
John McCain picks up the support of his most bitter rival. I don't think the Romney supporters are going to take this very well. They're a passionate bunch.
Darn it! We're not in first place anymore.
