Strip outstrips Nevada; Trouble for Resorts World

Business was booming last month on the Las Vegas Strip. Gaming revenues shot up 10% to $534.5 million. Statewide, the increase was 6.5% to $967 million. Driving those Strip numbers was a mind-boggling 53% explosion in baccarat win on 26% higher wagering. Non-baccarat win was up a comparatively modest 3.5% on 7% greater play. Slot coin-in on the Strip was up 8% but win increased only 3.5%. Last December was dreadful for baccarat (-30%), so this month should impress in that department. Locals casinos’ performance didn’t reflect the robustness of the Las Vegas economy, being 1% down, pushed by 4.5% lower win on 2.5% more coin-in. Not even an extra weekend day could help.

Downtown rose 2% to $55.5 million, North Las Vegas slid 5% to just under $23 million, the Boulder Strip tumbled 12% to $64 million, Laughlin was flat at $42 million and miscellaneous Clark County (including Primm, Mesquite and the greater Searchlight metro area) raked in $103 million, an increase of 8.5%. Snowbirds flocked to Lake Tahoe, up 10.5% to $17 million, while nearby Reno climbed nearly 12% to $51 million. Credit Suisse analyst Cameron McKnight added that restaurant checks were “strong” in November and “Slot revenue up … suggests the ‘everyday’ customer is doing well.” (Unless he’s playing on the Boulder Strip, that is.)

* Just when it seemed things couldn’t get any worse for Resorts World Las Vegas, a lawsuit is challenging the building’s design. VitalVegas author Scott Roeben was photographing Resorts World several weeks ago when he noticed a suspicious similarity between the style of its windows and those used at Wynncore. (At the time, Genting Group was entertaining thoughts of making a play for Wynn Resorts.) Seems that Wynn’s lawyers noticed the likeness, too, and were not amused. Upshot: a lawsuit for “Federal Trade Dress Infringement, Unfair Competition and False Designation of Origin, Federal Trademark Dilution, and State Trademark Dilution and Copyright Infringement.” We’re not sure how much Wynn can do about the “concave facade [and] horizontal banding” since the hotel towers left the podium-level stage months ago and are now dozens of stories tall, Does Wynn propose that Genting implode Resorts World (making it the second Las Vegas resort to close without ever opening)? Is this an attempt to put Genting on the defensive in Wynn takeover attempts? Only Elaine Wynn‘s hairdresser knows for sure.

“By using trade dress that is confusingly similar to Plaintiff’s registered and common law Trade Dress in connection with the same or highly similar hotel and casino services that are offered by Plaintiff, Defendant is misleading the consuming public into falsely believing that it is affiliated with, sponsored by or associated with Plaintiff, when it is not,” reads the lawsuit, leading one to wonder just how this confusion is meant to be unraveled. Wynn’s lawyers can’t resist giving their bosses a pat on the back, saying Wynn Las Vegas and Encore “hold more Forbes five-star awards than any hotel and casino resort in the world, and are considered to be among the finest hotels in the world.”

Wynn alleges that Resorts World “visited a Las Vegas … architect and requested that they produce an identical or substantially similar architectural design and trade dress for purposes of trading upon the goodwill and reputation of the Plaintiff’s famous trade dress and architectural design.” I have trouble with this contention. While the current look of Resorts World is a Wynn ripoff, it strips away many of the baubles and elaborate chinoiserie of Paul Steeman‘s original design, to the point where it is questionable if Steelman is any longer the architect of record.

The bottom line of the lawsuit is to shut down Resorts World before it can progress any further, conceding that there is no amount of money that can make the alleged damage
right and “there is no adequate remedy at law.” If the injunction is granted, Resorts World will revert to its previous identity as the unfinished hulk of Echelon. Wynn could be shamed for creating blight on the North Strip and would likely reply that such is not its problem. It wants Genting Group to pay court costs and surrender all design materials for destruction. We don’t know if this case will ever see the inside of a courtroom (although, given the lagging pace of Resorts World construction, time is on Wynn’s side, possibly even forcing the sale of Resorts World to Wynn) but Genting stuck its neck out a mile and it was only a matter of time before the axe fell. Maybe Wynn can sell Genting that butt-ugly casino design (above) that the Massachusetts Gaming Commission drop-kicked like a football.