As Hurricane Isaac forced the closure of 18 casinos in Louisiana and Mississippi (including the Silver Slipper [left]) and casino-expansion measures in Illinois and Michigan came to a head, what story did the American Gaming Association deem its highest priority today? You’ll never guess. “Fifth Street to Manage Two Siegel Group Casinos.” Yes, a rinky-dink management deal covering 300 slot machines and a smattering of table games trumped all other news of the morning … at least from the AGA’s screwy point of view. Pressing news from the Gulf Coast and from Illinois, among other places, was buried halfway down the page. Nice sense of urgency there, AGA.
Now that Harmon Hotel has a date certain with the wrecking ball, what will arise in its place? Phil Hevener provides a strong hint in the latest edition of Gaming Today (Motto: “News That You Can Bet On!”). MGM Resorts International, Hevener reports, “has big plans … that will provide improved visibility” for CityCenter, “where first time visitors sometimes find it difficult to tell one front door from another.” (True that.) He then segues into an amusing encounter with a Vegas newbie who, seeking CityCenter, went to The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas by mistake. Inexplicably tenured CityCenter CEO Bobby Baldwin — the man who brought you The Harmon and the Vdara Death Ray — plans to erect the “biggest [marquee] on the Strip.” Now where, oh where, would MGM find the room for such an erection? Where else but the site of the soon-to-be-ex-Harmon, which currently serves as the de facto CityCenter marquee, festooned with some of the fugliest building wraps in town … no small achievement.
Incidentally, MGM CEO Jim Murren tells Hevener that he expectsVegas visitation to top 40 million souls this year. Murren’s crystal ball has malfunctioned in the past, so let’s sincerely hope he’s got it back in working order this time.
