So much for that “right amount of wrong.” The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas put itself on the map with a batch of pervy-looking TV spots touting itself as the Ground Zero of decadence in Sin City. So how much wrong is too much? What about being a pre-operative transsexual and using the ladies’ loo? That’ll allegedly get you barred for life from the Cosmo. If they knew a man in drag was relieving himself in the ladies lounge that would leave a strong implication that they’ve got spycams that can see what you’re doing in the stall. Not a comforting thought.
To its credit, the Cosmo was quick to issue an apology. It even put out a sort-of return invitation, which may or may not undo the PR damage. Jeff Simpson notes that the hotel gives itself an ocean of verbal wiggle room. One convention booking is apparently hanging in the balance and the story went viral so fast The Atlantic posted a photo of CityCenter by mistake, something I am 101% certain isn’t going over well at image-conscious MGM Resorts International. (Too bad the guest wasn’t a transsexual prostitute; [s]he’d have her run of every casino on the Strip.)
The Las Vegas Weekly‘s Kristen Petersen neatly pegs the contretemps as another case of Las Vegas proving itself “a place that markets itself as a wild, anything-goes destination, but only if you stay within the corporate-sanctioned norm.” One reader pointedly asks how people would act if a “trans” relieved him/herself in the men’s room instead. Nah, nobody would have minded that, would they?
Suicide mission. Do you ever wonder if Trump Entertainment Resorts‘ lead owner, Marc Lasry, just wishes his casinos’ namesake would just shut the hell up, especially after a March shellacking in Atlantic City? (The latter was mainly the fault of Lasry’s hand-picked CEO, Robert Griffin, but still …) Having accomplished his mission of ticking off “the blacks,” Donald J. Trump is now aiming his flatulent rhetoric at gays. Yup, Don, just keep being divisive at a time when the casinos that you and your daughter are paid to promote need every last customer they can get. Trump Entertainment may not have the best leadership but its signature mouthpiece seems to enjoy making life harder for the people in charge.
Das Donald may be a genius politician for all I know but, as a businessman, he looks more and more like a blithering idiot. Let’s not forget that this is the guy whose one lasting accomplishment in Atlantic City was to impede Steve Wynn‘s entry into the market, a delay that helped enormously to set the area’s eventual downfall in motion.
In a highly unusual move, the managing editor of Fox 5 TV, Jason R. Latham, hints at a news blackout of Trump’s state visit to the Strip. “There is some belief that Las Vegas news organizations shouldn’t cover Trump’s appearance at the Treasure Island resort, because to do so would only inflate his Unicron-sized ego and add legitimacy to a man who’s become a caricature of himself … Trump is a rich man clinging to the bottom of the showbiz ladder, a sideshow whose bankroll is the only reason he hasn’t drifted into obscurity with Rick Rockwell and Darva Conger.”
You gotta love the inside-baseball reference to the years-ago Who Wants to Marry a Multimillionaire? debacle, which cost a couple of Las Vegas Hilton executives their jobs (but landed Ms. Conger a Playboy spread). But don’t go spoiling our fun, Jason. The only casino “mogul” who’s always good for a laugh is the bumbling Trumpster … who’s been a caricature of himself for at least a decade, probably longer.
Believe it when I see it. How could the press possibly “boycott” a man leading the polls in the race for President? Me thinks some pushback would be more likely. From now on whenever the bloviator mentions Obamas school grades, the press should immediately mention that Obama edited the Harvard Law Review, and that Donald appeared to get favorable treatment to gain admission to Wharton Business School. NBC deserves alot of flack, they are Trump enablers. Progressive and fair media groups should badger any celebrity that goes on Donalds show next year with question after question about association with a racist. Post warnings. Trump will end up with Stephen Baldwin, Jon Voight, Victoria Jackson, and Chuck Norris. NBC will be left with a turd sandwich…
What journalists should boycott is any pronouncement by Trump that he might come to Las Vegas and build a casino here. We’ve been hearing that dusty wheeze for years and years, and it’s about as likely to happen as the sun orbiting Planet Earth.
I spoke with my host recently at an aging (aren’t they all?) Boardwalk property. The host was a little happier these days, because while occupancy was down, the management was no longer giving away their (aging, sometimes linen challenged) rooms.
She also noted that the clientele is “better looking” these days. Now, I know what she means by that. This particular casino, well it was pretty ghetto for quite some time, and had many security issues. Those sort of folks aren’t getting a room anymore just for the asking, just so the management can show a 99+% occupancy rate midweek.
Let me stress, it has nothing to do with race, but everything to do with appearance. To offer the punch line to a famous Steve Wynn quote, no one likes gambling with poor people.