Nazarian’s secret weapon?; Vegas still equals value

It’s Monday, so it must be time for another worshipful Sam Nazarian profile in the Los Angeles Times. Sure enough. If you can endure the usual LAT fawning, one will glean some useful facts and inferences — plus a reminder that incompetent Colony Capital has a $35 million stake in SLS Las Vegas‘ parent company, potentially hexing the project. There also seems to be some “price creep,” with the tab now pegged at $800 million. According to the LAT, Nazarian has $450 million in the kitty and the question is begged of how the $350 million shortfall will be bridged. (I’m still convinced that much of the project will be held in abeyance until a Phase II can be underwritten.)

If white-on-white SLS Las Vegas still looks like a long-shot proposition as a casino hotel, Nazarian is well-positioned in one respect. Vegas is nothing if not imitative. MGM Grand is experiencing a 20% upsurge in foot traffic from mega-club Hakkasan. Since casino owners are mostly copycats at heart, they’ll be wanting new nightclubs of their own soon, you can be on it. And Nazarian has at least six or seven nightclub brands that he could extend to the Las Vegas Strip, making him a one-stop shop. Despite owning one of the worst corners of the Strip, The Naz may metaphorically be the man in the right place at the right time.

Thanks, Gray Lady. Both Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D, left) and Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) are currently trying to keep New York State casinos out of the Five Boroughs. (Silver more so than Cuomo.) They got an in-kind contribution, albeit probably not of the sort Cuomo wanted from the New York Times. Reporter Ginia Bellafante took a trip out to Queens and found that much of the business along South Ozone Park had been sucked out of the neighborhood. Mammoth racino Resorts World New York was blamed for the malaise … although it has been a boon to pawn brokerages.

New York is clobbered by Vegas when it comes to affordability as a summer vacation spot, according to numbers crunched by Travel Advisor. Affordable hotel rooms tip the balance in Las Vegas‘ favor, even though Sin City is the priciest place to eat (Seattle is the most affordable), and our taxis and cocktails are up there, too. Enjoy it while you can, dear readers, because the casino moguls are just itching to ratchet prices up as soon as the market will allow.