Breaking bad at the Trop; More trouble for Wynn Resorts

Business was afire — literally — at the Tropicana Atlantic City after a meth lab in one of the hotel rooms caused a blaze and led to the evacuation of four floors. This wasn’t how owner Carl Icahn wanted to make headlines, I’m sure. Suspect Michael Pillar, the pride of Whiting, New Jersey, was charged with maintaining a drug production facility, possession of methamphetamine and criminal mischief. Ya gotta watch out for that criminal mischief. It’ll get you every time. Two man and a woman briefly got away as the fire consumed a bed and bathroom, were apprehended on the street but were released without any charges being filed. “Only a few rooms were affected by the fire. Hotel rooms have been professionally inspected, and cleared to go back online tomorrow,” said General Manager Scott Callender, who can’t be thrilled that the 44th floor will now be synonymous with methamphetamine.

* Steve Wynn‘s inability to keep it zipped continues to plague Wynn Resorts. Shareholders Operating Engineers Construction Industry & Miscellaneous Pension Fund has filed suit against the company and its board of directors — and small wonder, given the amount of value in WYNN that was lost during the fallout from Sexgate. The court filing accuses the company of knowingly acquiescing to “countless acts of sexual harassment, sexual coercion, and other misconduct to take place over a period of decades.” The shareholders are not impressed with the Wynn Resorts internal investigation, either: “The special committee has provided almost no details about what and who it is investigating, and how any such investigation would be performed.” We expect litigation to keep on accumulating.

Steve Wynn’s termination agreement was released today and Deutsche Bank analyst Carlo Santarelli characterizes its language as “straightforward and stern.” There’s no severance pay  “despite some fearing a large payout was possible,” El Steve cannot work for another company for two years and has to be out of his Wynncore villa by June 1. That leaves employees with four months of having to contend with the sight of their old boss haunting the premises. [Editor’s note: This originally read “a year and a half.” S&G regrets the error.]

* This is kind of a bummer. Station Casinos‘ $485 million remake of the Palms includes the removal of the signature marquee in favor of an all-digital sign. (A sign of the times?) Ghostbar and Camden Cocktail Lounge are out, to be replaced with Apex Social Club. I’ve never forgotten what a casino executive once told me, that a casino resort is a work in progress. If you’re not constantly refreshing the product, you’re heading backwards. The vast majority of Station’s changes are to the good but I will miss that marquee.

* “After several very successful years at Aria, during which our customer conference continued to grow in size and complexity, we unfortunately found ourselves pushing the limits of available space,” said convention client Stephan Gray of CityCenter‘s convention center. MGM Resorts International‘s response? To cannibalize the mediocre Cirque du Soleil showroom and add 200,000 more square feet that includes an expansive, open-air veranda overlooking The Park. Executive perks include “a stocked pantry featuring a refrigerator full of everything from water to Dom Perignon champagne.” Sheldon Adelson, look to thy laurels!

* How many casinos have a room devoted to a single type of slot machine? Silverton Lodge in Las Vegas now does. In a coup for Aristocrat Technologies, the Silverton has opened a Lightning Link Lounge to showcase the popular linked-progressive game. “Our players have loved Lightning Link from the minute the first game arrived on property. Ever since, we have had more and more demand for the game, and it grew to the point where it made sense to dedicate a space to this incredibly electrifying game,” announced Executive Director of Gaming & Operations Bryan Binek, making a bit of a pun.