At long last, Octavius; Power plays at Hilton, Beso

Good news for whales and business travelers: The long-in-abeyance Octavius Tower at Caesars Palace has been finished inside and out, and will open for business on Jan. 2, 2012. The ginormous, high-tech hotel rooms are perfect for the customer with money to burn, and completion of Octavius is meant as a signal of Caesars’ confidence in the staying power of the high-end market.

Which is a little odd, coming off the big deal about Project Linq being an attempt to reposition dining and retail on the Strip toward the middle class … but never mind. Finding money to polish off the tower was one of the objectives of Caesars’ busted IPO a year ago. Evidently the company found enough spare change under Gary Loveman‘s sofa cushions to push ahead on Octavius all the same. However, one notes significant “budget creep” on Project Linq. The $550 million that was supposed to cover that and Octavius’ completion and three East Coast joint ventures will now be entirely consumed by the Strip mall and its Ferris wheel. If one dollar out of every five in gross revenue is still going toward debt servicing, you have to wonder how Linq can be financed. It would certainly explain the increasingly desperate tone struck by Loveman as he keeps talking up Internet poker.

Hilton in foreclosure. A Las Vegas Sun story strongly implies that Goldman Sachs is foreclosing upon itself at the Las Vegas Hilton. Minority owner Goldman would have understandable reasons for taking that route, if it meant being shot of feckless majority owner Colony Capital, which — by its own admission — is struggling to meet Hilton payroll these days. With Colony out of the picture, perhaps Hilton Worldwide could be persuaded not to haul down its flag at year’s end. As is always the case, Colony spokesmute Owen Blicksilver earned his paycheck by refusing to comment. (A parrot would be cheaper than Blicksilver — and equally efficacious.) At any rate, news of an LVH foreclosure is as surprising as this morning’s sunrise.

Desperate creditors. It would seem like a fool’s errand to bid against Tilman Fertitta, even for a failing restaurant/nightclub combo like Eva Longoria‘s Beso and Eve. But that’s what disgruntled investors are threatening to do. Fertitta has even taken the extra step of indemnifying the Desperate Housewives star against Beso-related litigation. Why anyone among the $5.7 million creditor pool would want to sink more diñero into the dinner spot is difficult to fathom. Fertitta’s motivation, I suspect, is much simpler. If he doesn’t leverage her pulchritude, celebrity and fame into an Atlantic City Beso and perhaps other Landry’s Restaurants promotions, I’ll eat my hat.

Why is it that the name of this Vegas eatery on wheels that’s invading Hollywood looks like “Fuck U Burger” on the printed page? Methinks someone is having a chuckle at consumers’ expense.