Yes, the Lucky Dragon will be coming back, albeit under a new name. Construction magnate Don Ahern has made a $36 million purchase of the luckless casino, which still carries another $50 million in debt. 
(Hence the bargain price.) Ahern will not need to worry about a gaming license, as he is ripping out the casino portion of the property and repurposing it for convention and meeting space. Ah, a developer who has done his homework in re the Strip. “I absolutely will not keep the name,” Ahern told the Las Vegas Review-Journal, and it’s safe to assume that all the property’s Mandarin signage is history too. Interestingly, despite the Lucky Dragon’s inauspicious history, it is said to have drawn the most interest of any real estate CBRE has put on the market.
Admittedly, 98% of those were “dreamers,” CBRE’s Michael Parks told the paper. Evidently everyone and his brother claimed to know a Chinese billionaire who recoup the Lucky Dragon’s fortunes. (And if they couldn’t get through to CBRE, they called the R-J.) “We could write a book on some of the stories that we heard,” Parks told the paper. Prospective buyers with real money, like Ahern, were few and far between. Financier Enrique Landa said of Ahern, “We’re very glad it has a new owner with a long-term vision.” We second that emotion.
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* Derek Stevens has been busy registering trademarks for Circa. The latest is Legacy Club Rooftop Cocktails, if you’re wondering what the penthouse bar will be called. Stevens has also registered an Icon Lounge and Girth Bar (a bar for plus-sized people like me?). Of course he might not use all these trademarks but at least he’s thinking ahead.
Across the street, the Golden Gate is hard at work on a pocket sports book, the better to cultivate sports fans until the mega-book at Circa is ready for players. Stevens aims to have the world’s biggest book at his in-progress casino and we take him at his word.
Rival operator Tamares Group continues its unending retrenchment in Downtown. Latest victim is the Beauty Bar (confession: we never drank there). Tamares has had a very mixed track record as a Downtown redeveloper and has been pretty much a washout in the gaming sector, having retreated to a last-stand position at the Plaza Resort, its other casinos having gone the way of all flesh.
* Sheldon Adelson‘s paywall-hidden newspaper reports that Caesars Entertainment and Turner Sports are huddling to brainstorm a Bleacher Report studio in Caesars Palace. We suggest it go in the TV-ready poker studio, right around the corner from the sportsbook, an asset that Caesars never particularly monetized.
* MGM Resorts International kicks off its MGM Resorts Public Policy Institute at UNLV today with a heavyweight matchup: Harry Reid and John Boehner on the topic of “Investing in America: The Future of Work.” In case you’re expecting fireworks, Reid says, “this is going to be about is how are we going to train American people to be aware of the fact that jobs are different, how are we going to prepare young men and women to understand that they’ve got to look for jobs they can get, not jobs they want.” There may be some friendly disagreements but, if so, the emphasis will be on ‘friendly.’
* Fans of MGM’s Scott “Woody” Butera will want to be in New York City tomorrow when he addresses the Betting on Sports America Conference. Although Butera’s title is president of interactive gaming the topic for his stemwinder will be how major leagues are benefitting financially from sports betting partnerships. MGM would know, as it’s taken the lead in that respect.
* Here’s a heartwarming animal story for today, because we like this kind of bonus content. Also, the S&G staff is set to adopt a new cat, Oreo, today. Wish us luck and hope that he fits in with the rest of our menagerie (three cats and a turtle).
Woody!