Plaza postscript; exit Liberace; Teller spooks!

One of my conjectures in regard to yesterday’s disclosure that the Plaza Hotel was tentatively scheduled to be sold at foreclosure auction on Oct. 1 was that a postponement of the auction from Sept. 1 betokened an in-progress renegotiation of a $56 million loan. Bits and pieces of information trickling down the grapevine indicate that guess was, so to speak, on the money. Tamares U.S. Real Estate has signed a letter of intent on to restructure the loan, a deal rumored to have been struck in late August.

Tamares’ PR could (obviously) use some work because I’m hearing that the renovation of the Plaza is budgeted at far more than the announced $20 million and that the money represents an equity commitment on Tamares’ behalf, not a loan. In addition to relocating the Plaza’s jerky shop, bingo room and certain other amenities to the Vegas Club, the latter is slated to have its carpeting redone. At least that’s the word on the street. What Tamares could really use is a joint-venture partner but that’s apparently not under consideration for the time being.

A word on Tamares Group‘s “passive landlord” guise, a fib that enables the Nevada Gaming Control Board to avoid having to conduct a suitability probe of the multinational corporation. These enormous changes are taking place at a time when gambling operations are being transferred from Bobby Ray Harris to Santo Gaming. For a “passive” owner, Tamares is making decisions with pretty significant ramifications for the financial performance of its three remaining casinos. The hired-gun casino operators have to roll with it. Tamares waited nearly six years to open its wallet on behalf of its Vegas casinos and left it pretty late in the day. One can only hope that the parlous local construction economy will enable the firm to get the kind of bargains that enabled Onex Corp. to redo the Tropicana Las Vegas‘ Island Tower at surprisingly low prices.

Sic transit gloria Liberace. Even were the Vegas Strip not in advanced stage of Snookification, the downfall of the Liberace Museum was inevitable. You could argue that it’s remarkable the museum lasted as long as it did. Liberace mania seems to be a clear case of “You had to be there,” although I’m frankly glad I wasn’t.

Bargain of the Week: Shows bound for Broadway (or, in this case, off-Broadway) don’t preview in Boston or New Haven anymore. But one is getting its kinks ironed out in Las Vegas this week. Over at The Rio, a famously quiet fellow named Teller is putting the finishing touches on his latest directorial venture, Play Dead. Co-written with star Todd Robbins, it offers ghostly manifestations, full-frontal nudity and an “unholy resurrection” or two, if that’s your thing. It’s free, it’s fun and it’s an evening in the theater that you won’t soon forget.