{"id":20380,"date":"2017-10-19T08:04:14","date_gmt":"2017-10-19T16:04:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/?p=20380"},"modified":"2018-03-02T09:13:53","modified_gmt":"2018-03-02T17:13:53","slug":"new-mgm-ad-stirs-controversy-macao-heightens-security","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/new-mgm-ad-stirs-controversy-macao-heightens-security\/","title":{"rendered":"New MGM ad stirs controversy; Macao heightens security"},"content":{"rendered":"

Among the victims of Stephen Paddock<\/strong>‘s domestic terrorism was MGM Resorts International<\/strong>‘s “Welcome to the Show” ad campaign. The aftermath<\/a> of a mass murder\u00a0was hardly the time<\/a> to be proclaiming that you’re “in the ‘Holy Sh*t!’ business” or to promise to “blow the mind of all mankind.” Our collective mind was pretty well blown by the horrific events of October 1. Unfortunately for MGM, its post-Paddock ad campaign is faring hardly better<\/a>. One of the nicer Twitter<\/strong> reactions was that the ad push was “oddly capitalistic in the wake of a horrific tragedy.”<\/p>\n

Business Insider<\/em> dissents, calling the ad “powerful” and quoting supportive marketing experts. Says Sol Marketing<\/strong> CEO Deb Gabor<\/strong>, “In an age when<\/p>\n

brands increasingly find themselves in the crossfire for showing off values and beliefs that don’t match with those of their customers, MGM’s news [sic<\/em>] #VegasStrong<\/strong> ad does quite the opposite. Their spot is quietly dignified, prioritizes the master brand and sentiment of the Vegas hospitality community above its own, and represents an idea that transcends merely selling hotel rooms.” As for the ad’s intent MGM Chief Marketing & Experience Officer Lili Tomovich<\/strong> explains,\u00a0“It reinforces our promise to the world that we\u2019ll remain strong and united in the face of adversity.”<\/p>\n

You may feel differently but the candy-cane fa\u00e7ades of Excalibur<\/strong> and New York-New York<\/strong> seem vastly inappropriate to an ad pushing the “#VegasStrong” message. Throw in the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority<\/strong>‘s commercials and maybe the hashtag should be “#VegasShameless.” Are people really that<\/em> scared to visit Vegas now? Incidentally, while “Welcome to the Sh0w” is in mothballs, MGM is reserving the option to re-launch it at some future point, hopefully one far removed from the Paddock disaster.<\/p>\n

Across the Pacific Ocean<\/strong>, in Macao<\/strong>, the Mandalay Bay<\/strong> shootings have\u00a0reverberated, even in a jurisdiction where metal detectors are standard casino equipment. Gaming houses in the Chinese enclave will be staging “simulated attacks” to be better prepared for terroristic acts<\/a>. The initiative evidently came down from City Hall, which huddled with all six Macanese casino operators to offer a coordinated response.\u00a0\u201cA simulation of attacks should be conducted in the short term … so that the frontline workers of casinos are more skilled in handling emergency incidents,\u201d read a government statement.<\/p>\n

Luggage will be banned from casino floors, metal detectors will become mandatory and casinos will be required to have “special action teams” to be the first line of response before police arrive upon the scene. According to Reuters<\/strong>, casinos in Macao — unlike those in Las Vegas<\/strong> — had been “on alert” following a Paddock-style mass shooting at Resorts World Manila<\/strong>. There’s so much craziness abroad in the land that a higher security profile in casinos, while unpleasant, is a regrettable necessity.<\/p>\n

*\u00a0Tomorrow marks a historic date for Henderson<\/strong>, as it welcomes its first cannabis dispensary, Essence<\/strong>. The first hundred stoners through the door get a free joint, while the first 300 will receive free T-shirts (a less powerful incentive, we think). It must be agony for the casino industry to be on the outside looking in as Nevada<\/strong> develops a new cash crop in which it cannot participate lest Jeff Sessions<\/strong> get all up in their grill.<\/p>\n

* Poker may be struggling in Las Vegas<\/strong> but it’s a thriving business<\/a> in Pennsylvania<\/strong>, where casinos raked in $4.5 million last month. That’s the third year\/year increase in the last four months.<\/p>\n

* Congratulations to Unite Here Local 7<\/strong>, whose contract with Horseshoe Baltimore<\/strong> went into effect earlier this month<\/a>. Workers covered by the contract range from cocktail servers to slot technicians, two bedrock employee groups of the casino industry. According to the Baltimore Sun<\/em>, “The contract offers wage increases, improved health benefits, and an education and training fund.” S&G<\/em> applauds anything that raises the standard of living for casino employees.<\/p>\n

* Not everyone is a convert to skill-based slots. Columnist Elliot Frome<\/strong> offers dissent<\/a>, as well as taking a shot at the thinking behind their implementation: “The casinos will need to learn that profits are profits and if you make $100 from a bottle of vodka it can be just as profitable as taking the customer for $100 at the craps table.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Among the victims of Stephen Paddock‘s domestic terrorism was MGM Resorts International‘s “Welcome to the Show” ad campaign. The aftermath of a mass murder\u00a0was hardly the time to be proclaiming that you’re “in the ‘Holy Sh*t!’ business” or to promise … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14787,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[120,7,62,228,224,53,72,11,95,192,25,8,9,17,196],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20380"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20380"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20380\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21285,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20380\/revisions\/21285"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14787"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20380"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20380"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20380"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}