To celebrate the first anniversary of his cold-blooded, premeditated murder of the Sahara, nightclub owner Sam Nazarian trotted out freshly hired casino boss Rob Oseland, along with some 
models (no, not of the runway ilk) and even a rendering that one can find on the SLS Las Vegas Web site. As Chuck Monster reports, NASCAR Café will become “The Bazaar by José Andres” (whatever happened to the beer-garden idea?), which is a big step up, for certain. And, at Katsuya, you’ll be able to eat al fresco on the Las Vegas Strip, flavoring your sushi with the fumes from passing RTC buses and mobile billboards — the latter being a pestilence unleashed upon our city by Tom Letizia, an oleaginous local ad man, dampening the letizia of many, local and tourist alike.
Taking a gander at the model, the most striking aspect of the new Sahara, er, SLS LV is how much it resembles the old Sahara. If you’re fond of the onion-dome porte-cochere or the neon marquee, have a good look at them now, because they’re goners. The gently-curved, low-rise entrance envisioned for SLS is a throwback to the look of the early Sahara and other Strip pioneers. (Two huge, silver phalluses will flank the front door. Make of that what you will.) It’s more atmospheric than the northwest façade, which is generic Rodeo Drive retail frontage, writ large.”Generic” would also be an excellent description of the new, slab-like marquee, just like umpteen others along the Strip. Imagine the Monolith from 2001: A Space Odyssey, but colored sandstone and accessorized with a video screen.
(Will it be surrounded by agitated, bone-wielding apes? No, wait, that’s Continue reading
Wow, I totally 
Ever since a highly quixotic and even nonsensical attempt to take over most of Station Casinos, the cards have been played very, very close to the vest at Boyd Gaming. However, like another second-tier major, Ameristar Casinos, it’s showing renewed signs of aggression. Like Caesars Entertainment, it’s extending its presence into new (f0r Boyd) markets. Unlike Caesars, it’s doing so without significant capex expenditures. First came the acquisition of IP Biloxi, which has been performing up to expectations and arguably above them.
Then, in the gloaming of yesterday, Boyd disclosed that it had committed $1.4 billion to obtaining Peninsula Gaming, a riverboat-and-racino outfit concentrated in Midwest and South. So eager is Peninsula to be bought out that it’s actually loaning Boyd $144 million to close the deal. Boyd will draw another $1.2 billion from its line of credit, in addition to paying Peninsula $200 million upfront. In light of Peninsula’s $109 million cash flow last year and boffo early numbers from its Kansas casino (above), Boyd expects the purchase to begin paying for itself straightaway, increasing EBITDA 35%.
Aladdin, plus one baccarat chip, shipping and handling not included. (Some assembly required.) “It was the first European style casio [sic] in Las Vegas,” writes seller Mark, and undoubtedly the last, I might add. It successively broke the backs of London Clubs International and Planet Ho’s casino division, reducing both to minor principalities in the Caesars Entertainment empire. At a mere 13 feet long and 6 feet, 6 inches high, and weighing only 175 pounds, this is clearly 
It’s ironic that Sheldon Adelson is expending so much lungpower and cash to try and block federal legitimization of Internet poker and possibly other games. Washington 
There’s a dark horse in the race for a Toronto megaresort … very dark. It’s Onex Corp., known to you and me as the owner of the Tropicana Las Vegas. Onex subsidiary Casino ABS owns four of the largest casinos in Alberta. So Onex owner Gerald Schwarz has some justification for saying, “We know how to operate a casino,” although on the basis of Onex’s Vegas stumbles, many would challenge that assertion. In its favor, Canadian-owned Onex has “favorite son” status. However, Schwarz’s big talk hasn’t been accompanied by a big wallet at the Trop. A promised $265 million in renovations was whittled down to $145 million, and CEO Alex Yemenidjian‘s tenure has been marred by a series of contractual wrangles and high-profile defections. It’s hard not to feel as though Schwarz is entering a Shetland pony in a thoroughbred race.
A Friday computer glitch that destroyed half an S&G posting also accidentally closed “Comments” for “Lovemania comes to Cleveland.” Thankfully, LVA‘s Webmistress Jessica was able to rectify the situation with a few mouse clicks. Thanks also to the eagle-eyed Caesars Entertainment player who spotted the problem and alerted us. Opine away!
Better stick that rhetoric back in your briefcase, Lloyd. The long odds facing Atlantic City got a bit longer this weekend with the release of a Fairleigh Dickinson University poll that shows 58% opposition to Internet betting, even if run by reputable Boardwalk casinos. With only 31% support, this looks like a dead duck for several election cycles to come. Both state Sen. Raymond Lesniak (D, right) and Gov. Chris Christie (R) would be wasting political capital if they took this issue to the polls. Sports betting is one thing to the Garden State electorate — and inarguably essential to Atlantic City’s survival — but ‘Net bets are a bridge to far for the public to cross.
Revel, the new, $2.4 billion casino on the Boardwalk has been conducting a sort of “stealth opening,” conducting a two-month-plus dry run. Along with the stealth opening come what you might call “stealth revenues”: 
In an attempt to shave a few months off their casino-approval timeline, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission is going to put the horse before the cart. (I guess you’d call it a “Massachusetts Miracle.”) 
Although the Commission’s innovative gambit means all potential applicants will have to be investigated at once, if it works as planned, the first casinos could be operational by the first quarter of 2015. In the case of Caesars Entertainment, that’d be sneaking in just under the wire, considering how much is riding on Suffolk Downs turning out to be cash cow for Gary Loveman‘s debt-saturated company. Commissioners will certainly have their work cut out for them, pondering Caesars’ balance sheet and Suffolk Downs‘ 
Between this and MGM Resorts International‘s bungled due diligence in Brimfield, the champions are getting their clocks cleaned. Although I don’t make it a practice to second-guess the electorate, it’s difficult to disagree with local real estate agent Mille Cetrone, who lamented, “Wynn is the best of the best and the town let him walk away … This was the best place for a casino and we let it slip through our little fingers. I think we lost a golden opportunity.”