Let’s try this again …
Today’s guest blog hails from the keyboard of reader Jeff_in_OKC who recently paid not one, not two but three (brave man!) visits to the Western Hotel, on the fringe of downtown Las Vegas. The Western stands in isolation, kitty-corner from the flattened remnants of the Ambassador East Motel, yet another fine real estate play by Tamares Group.
I have noticed the last few years that I am more drawn to Downtown when I read about Las Vegas. It seems like it is more fun and less crowded. Maybe it’s because it seems so much less monolithic that the overcrowded, megaresorts on the Strip. Probably it’s because I lived in downtown Oklahoma City during most of the 1990s and learned to embrace the “urban life.”
The romance and history of the older parts of Vegas, along with the chance to restore something to its faded glory is very attractive to me. Add in low prices and the heightened sense of awareness needed to stay safe in the urban environment and you’ve got my blood pumping
One of the people I have most admired in my downtown studies is Jackie Gaughan. I have read all the stories about him I can find and have a half-dozen El Cortez shirts I usually wear to work. I see him playing poker at the El Cortez and hope to work up the nerve to shake his hand and thank him for all he has done for Downtown. Haven’t been able to do it yet.
The reason for my idolatry is simple enough; here’s a man who went to work every day, and cared about his employees and customers in a challenging environment. The beautiful people this ain’t. Just working-class, typical Americans. I was touched when I read the story where Mr. Gaughan told his son, Michael Gaughan, that he just couldn’t close down the Western in 2003 or 2004, even though it was losing money, because he had over 100 employees who were like family to him and he had more money than he could ever spend.
Overview of old Las Vegas, found at the Western Hotel.
Going … going … Gaughan. Fast-forward a few years and Jackie has sold out. No, really, Continue reading
Launching a frontal assault on Las Vegas Sands, archrival Sociedade de Jogos de Macau has requested that the Macanese government repatriate Sites 7 & 8 on the Cotai Strip™, and award them to — 
As we’ve been taught, if you’re going to tell a lie then make it a whopper. Enter Republican Advocates President Jim Clark. Having called completion of CityCenter “throwing good money after bad”, Clark unloads this doozy: “The project is now a $13 billion (with a “b”) bankruptcy employing some 22,000 lawyers, most from out of state.”
The groundbreaking dining guide will be priced at $12.95 and will feature not only a special veto section—including heated arguments about some of the restaurants prized by one critic and rejected by the others—but also quick-reference lists in a dozen categories, such as Best Cocktails and Best Cheap Eats.
Scarcely had Steve Wynn and Victor Drai parted company than Wynn Resorts issued this curt declaration at 10 a.m. today: Cy Waits has been separated from the company and 
She quickly learned that 
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, 
Worker-recruitment problems in Macao are worse than Las Vegas Sands has been letting on. The company has now re-postponed its $4 billion, 6,000-room Venetian Oriental into late 2011, with its second phase debuting in mid-2012. The company’s verbiage, however, raises the possibility of further setbacks. Construction is expected to take 16 months, “once we have sufficient labour to ramp up construction activities to requisite levels.” Considering that aforesaid labor is required to be 50% Macanese, there’s no telling how long it will take the workforce to reach critical mass.
UIGEA repeal? Forget about it. Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) has chickened out again. Pressed on the issue, he said he’d support the legalization of online poker but faintheartedly drew the line there. That still wasn’t good enough for some independent casino operators in the Reno area, who bitched and moaned about how this was The End of Life As We Know It.
While we’re on the subject of fools and money, goodbye and good riddance to Dubai World, which is believed to be shopping its MGM shares and half-ownership of CityCenter. Dubai World, you will recall, are the sheiks who tried to shake down MGM by manufacturing a crisis that damn near brought CityCenter to a screeching halt. With their $4.8 billion CityCenter stake now worth approximately $1.3 billion and their MGM shares having lost 89% of their value, Dubai World is poised to take the biggest haircut since Yul Brynner. This works wonderfully well for principal owner Kirk Kerkorian, who now has a chance to reclaim a chunk of his company for cheap and simultaneously rid himself of a troublesome partner. So long, Dubai World and don’t let the doorknob hit you on the way out.
Not electionwise but with regard to Penn National Gaming‘s racino in Charles Town, W.V., and its Hollywood Casino in Pennsylvania. The introduction of table games is buoying revenues nicely. The overall result in especially impressive in Charles Town. Not only did table games rake in nearly $6 million but slot revenues vaulted despite the subtraction of 599 machines. In July ’09, the one-armed bandits took in $31 million. This year, it was nearly $42 million (+37%). Slot win per machine went from $199/day to $305.
After one near-eviction, followed by a lengthy reprieve, magician Dirk Arthur and his big cats got the heave-ho from the Tropicana Las Vegas. Where’s tiger-loving illusionist to go? In Arthur’s case, it’s to the Strip’s biggest litter box, O’Shea’s Casino, armpit of the giant that is Harrah’s Entertainment. Arthur opens there on Sept. 13, under the auspices of the late Danny Gans‘ production partner, Chip Lightman. Performing twice nightly, Arthur promises a constantly changing rotation of at least a half-dozen different species of feline, including leopards and a liger. “I’m thrilled to introduce … some new tricks, including a gun with an audience member and another illusion with the seductive black panther. And I promise the cats will be at their best performance level; that’s why feeding time is after the show,” Arthur announced.