{"id":28709,"date":"2020-10-29T07:24:37","date_gmt":"2020-10-29T15:24:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/?p=28709"},"modified":"2020-11-04T07:15:10","modified_gmt":"2020-11-04T15:15:10","slug":"at-long-last-circa-las-vegas-strip-empty-city","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/at-long-last-circa-las-vegas-strip-empty-city\/","title":{"rendered":"At long last, Circa; Las Vegas Strip, empty city"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Yesterday was Circa Day, the opening of the most-anticipated Las Vegas<\/strong> casino in a long time (yes, even before Aria<\/strong>). Much of that buzz was due to owner Derek Stevens<\/strong>‘ canny mastery of PR but a spiffy new Downtown<\/strong> casino is an event unto itself. Between Global Gaming Expo<\/strong> and three feature assignments for Casino Life<\/em> (plus a lingering flu) we’ve been too slammed to stay on top of matters Circa, so we’re hoping Vital Vegas<\/em> will have an on-the-scene report later today. Reporter Susan Stapleton<\/strong> took the three-story<\/em> escalator to Stadium Swim, part of a picture-laden tour<\/a> of the new resort. Hotel rooms aren’t open yet but there’s plenty to see, including the monster sports book, the casino (of course) and Stevens’ pride and joy, Garage Mahal, the first such structure in Las Vegas designed with taxis and ride-sharing vehicles in mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

The opening even got the attention of the South China Morning Post<\/em>, which hailed “Michigan motor parts magnate<\/a>” Stevens for raising the pool-party game and gave the cost of Circa as $1 billion. (Whew!) It described Stadium Swim as more outdoor sports bar than thumpa-thumpa Rehab<\/strong> wannabe. Yes, you can even place bets poolside. Stevens took an aw-shucks approach, describing his al fresco<\/em> spectacle as \u201cKind of a like a great backyard, with a great pool scene, great food, sports on, and just a ton of fun.\u201d Mind you, a lot of testing went into Circa’s design features, meaning we’re probably not in for a repeat of the Vdara Death Ray<\/strong>. As for Circa’s no-kids-allowed policy, UNLV<\/strong>‘s David Schwartz<\/strong> sees it as a plus: \u201cAppealing to aspects of Las Vegas that many people love in a different way can be a formula for success.\u201d The article mentions, in passing, that Stevens in buying into Vegas just when Sheldon Adelson<\/strong> is cashing out? He surely can’t afford to take on Venelazzo<\/strong> but we can dream, can’t we? It’ll probably go to some faceless, job-slashing private equity fund.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Bottom line<\/em>: Derek Stevens is taking a gamble, swimming against the tide of a dreadful economy. But high curiosity about Circa\u2014the first new Downtown casino in 40 years\u2014could turn the trick for him and maybe rub off on the rest of Downtown (its operators certainly hope so). Having been subjugated by his charm we can’t help but root for him and wish Circa all the best of luck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Speaking of a rising tide lifting all boats, the advent of Circa is affecting Downtown table minimums: It’s $15 for craps and 21 at The D<\/strong> and Golden Gate<\/strong>, $10 for craps, $25 for 3\/2 blackjack but only $1 for 6\/5 blackjack at the Downtown Grand<\/strong>, $5 for craps and $10 for 3\/2 blackjack at the Four Queens<\/strong>. The Fremont Hotel<\/strong> is asking $10 for craps and 3\/2 blackjack, while the Golden Nugget<\/strong> gives you your choice of $10 craps, $25 3\/2 blackjack and $5 6\/5 blackjack.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s no secret why Las Vegas Strip<\/strong> gambling revenue plummeted 39% in September. Not only were there no conventions but visitation was down 51%, 11% better than August but still pretty pallid. Hotel occupancy was a bleak 47% (66% on weekends but 29.5% midweek) with revenue per available room $54 (-59%). The one bright spot for operators were room rates that climbed 21% to $117\/night. 16,000 rooms remain off line but if that’s a bid to artificially boost occupancy and RevPAR it’s not working out so great. Throw in those few baccarat players who thoroughly clocked the house and September will be a month to forget on the Strip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Veteran Las Vegas impresario Troy Heard<\/strong> of Majestic Repertory Theatre<\/strong> wrote the following yesterday: “This will probably be an unpopular take: a vote for [Donald<\/strong>] Trump<\/strong> is a vote to destroy the live-event industry.\u00a0The Trump administration has blatantly given up on trying to corral the Coronavirus<\/strong> pandemic in favor of ‘herd immunity.’ The fact of the matter is, we will not be gathering safely inside a venue in any significant *and fiscally beneficial* numbers unless there is a vaccine. Or, if we find a way to conduct efficient on-the-spot-testing of audiences with contact tracing and new safety measures. I know some of my performer friends are getting ready to return to the Strip, but it’s with major alterations to their shows, and with major pay cuts<\/em>. [emphasis added] This will not be sustainable over the long haul, though. Plus, traditional ticket buyers aren’t even coming back here\/are not allowed to travel here right now.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Jottings<\/em><\/strong>: Gaming & Leisure Properties<\/strong> informed Wall Street<\/strong> analysts that it has received 18 expressions of interest in Tropicana Las Vegas<\/strong>, “though [it] acknowledges a number of these buyers are likely just kicking the tires,” wrote JP Morgan<\/strong>‘s Joseph Greff<\/strong>. In other GLPI news, rent from The Meadows<\/strong> racino is down but GLPI expects to make it up and more when Penn National Gaming<\/strong>‘s Morgantown<\/strong> satellite casino opens … PlayUSA.com<\/strong> predicts that Tennessee<\/strong>, which goes live with sports betting on Nov. 1, will become a $6 billion market. That’s the most optimistic projection we’ve heard. DraftKings<\/strong>, FanDuel<\/strong> and BetMGM<\/strong> are already in but revenue will be taxed at 20% and hold is statutorily set at 10%. On the other hand, the industry will be mobile-only. \u201cIt\u2019s too much to say that Tennessee is the Wild West of markets, but it is far more open than we have seen,\u201d said analyst Dustin Gouker<\/strong>, while colleague Jessica Welman<\/strong> cautioned that “only time will tell to see if its regulatory gambles, especially the hold requirement, will hold the market back.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Yesterday was Circa Day, the opening of the most-anticipated Las Vegas casino in a long time (yes, even before Aria). Much of that buzz was due to owner Derek Stevens‘ canny mastery of PR but a spiffy new Downtown casino … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[65,60,155,42,51,226,277,14,4,278,287,283,58,241,189,245,69,95,243,161,9,19,143,38],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28709"}],"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=28709"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28709\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28711,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28709\/revisions\/28711"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28709"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28709"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28709"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}

Such is the insanity sweeping our country that it may be time for us to enter a Trappist monastery. A security guard in Chicago<\/strong> asked two sisters to put on PPE masks and sanitize their hands before entering the store. One of them picked up a trash can and hit the guard with it while the other pulled a switchblade<\/a> and stabbed him 27 times<\/em>. Miraculously, the guard not only survived the attack, he didn’t even require surgery. The two crazies are in custody, charged with attempted murder. Said the presiding judge, “It’s the complete randomness of this. It’s terrifying.”\u00a0You can say that again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n