“Will the change the game for the north Strip?” So asks the Las Vegas Sun. One could just say “no” and leave it at that, but there’s no getting around that SLS Las Vegas will be in a, um, challenged location. That’s not the only hurdle, as President Rob Oseland explains. “The fact that we’re able to sit on that [Sahara Boulevard/Las Vegas Strip] corner again is a really big advantage. It means we’re going to be accessible,” he says, trying to spin the SLS’s geographical isolation into a plus. He’s also promising a more casino-centric experience: “As a result of us having to work within the Sahara’s four walls, we’re able to re-create the energy we lost over the past two decades” to other amenities.
Oseland is something of a Vegas throwback: a man who worked his way up from dealing blackjack to running hotels. It speaks well of SLS owner Sam Nazarian that he went with such a person as opposed to bringing in some slickster from SBE Entertainment‘s nightclub empire. Work continues slowly but steadily at the old Sahara site, with the old Moorish fringes largely intact, but the hotel towers are evolving into the new look we’ve been promised. Continue, gentlemen.
Sheldon’s game. The antiquated vizier of Las Vegas Sands is pushing all his chips to the middle of the felt in an attempt to stop Americans from having access to Internet gambling. Before you buy into Adelson’s ‘Do it for the children’ crap, remember that he dabbled in i-gaming himself. Venelazzo‘s Web site shrieks that “you can even play from your room!” Yes, away from the prying eyes of casino surveillance and the Nevada Gaming Control Board. That’s as close to ‘Net betting as you can get without being in it.
New Jersey state Sen. Raymond Lesniak (D) immediately saw and raised Adelson, telling reporters he’d propose even more ‘Net betting in the Garden State. The American Gaming Association‘s aggressive new president, Geoff Freeman, also waded in, saying, “The Internet cannot be forced back into the bottle — nor can market demand.” You tell ’em, man.
Adelson’s bludgeoning attack comes as Atlantic City readies itself for a gambling revolution unlike anything seen in 35 years, since gambling was legalized in the seaside resort. The Garden State is so serious about secure play that some citizens may find themselves on the wrong side of its digital fences. As the Washington Post points out, similar fencing isn’t problematic in Nevada, where the borders are mostly the realm of Adelson’s proverbial rattlesnakes and scorpions. In New Jersey, much of the populace is clustered smack dab on the fringes of the state.
If you live in or near Chicago, get ready to go early and often to the former Michael Reese Hospital. Why? Because Skidmore, Owings & Merrill has identified a casino as the highest and best use for the city-owned property — more so than the Barack Obama presidential library. SOM’s study was commissioned by Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel (D), who can’t act on it, at least not right away. Barring action by the Legislature and Gov. Pat Quinn (D), as casino in the Second City will remain a pipe dream.
Good news for slot developers. Despite recent diminutions in Macao‘s slot inventory, manufacturers likely have the opportunity to sell 21,000 more across the next three years. Luckily for slot makers, the attrition rate of slots in Macanese casinos is high: 20% in 2012, 10% so far this year. And yet, during this time, slot revenue has actually climbed 13%. It’s a market that’s worth $1.75 billion this year. One feels better knowing that if replacement cycles in the U.S. are slow, we’ll always have Macao.
