Booking site Oyster.com is having a bit of fun with the gap between perception and reality at some Las Vegas hotels. Take for instance, that photo which shows you the Mandalay Bay wave pool as though you would have it all to yourself. (To me it looks rather sad, as though the Great Recession’s won and everybody’s gone home.) The reality, is quite different. Ditto the perception/gap disconnect between your room at the California Hotel & Casino as depicted by Boyd Gaming and as experienced by Oyster.
Good news for fans of the venerable Riviera. After seeing the place slowly go to the dogs under the late William Westerman and his successors, new owner Barry Sternlicht is looking to make a (modest) turnaround. Maintenance and other capex costs will go to $9 million/year from $3.6 million.
Whether that’s enough to do more than nibble around the edges of a tired property remains to be seen but both the Riv and its Colorado sister property will be getting new slot machines as part of the upgrade. Sternlicht’s business plan is to increase revenue 24% over the next four years, by which point the Riv is expected to eke out a modest profit. At least by shucking five-sixths of its debt load, the Riv won’t be carrying an elephant on its back anymore.
Somebody needs to tell the Washington Post‘s Chris Cillizza that bashing CityCenter isn’t a winning issue in Nevada, where a significant plurality of voters thinks senatorial intervention was the right thing. Heck, even Sen. John Ensign (R-NV), while at pains to downplay the extent of his involvement, has decided to take some of the credit, too.
On the subject of CityCenter, 14% of Strip baccarat play is concentrated at Aria. That means it’s going to get a disproportionate number of the new brand of cheaters. However, considering the indifference displayed by Vegas casinos toward the sage advice of cheating expert — and LVA author — Bill Zender, they’re going to have to get their clocks cleaned a few times before they decide to get with the program.
Given bullish results of late in Macao — even now that we’re past the first anniversary of gambling’s big resurgence in the enclave — Galaxy Entertainment is upping its ante on its Galaxy Macau resort on the Cotai Strip™. It’ll spend an extra $103 million to add 500 hotel rooms, increasing its opening-day capacity by well over 50%. With Venetian Oriental falling farther and farther behind schedule, Galaxy saw an opportunity and struck.
Very revealing 2nd photo of MB: No way would you catch me out there unless I was on my way somewhere else.
As for the California, I’ve stayed there many times, and the Oyster’s photo is slightly misleading: Although it looks like management moved in an extra chair and maybe a picture for their photo, the Oyster photo doesn’t show the new flat screen TV, which the California has installed in its rooms.