All Articles for Category: Harrah's
Fellow podcaster David McKee keeps us updated on the Kansas gaming process here at Stiffs and Georges:
http://www.lasvegasadvisor.com/blogs/dmckee/index.cfm/2008/8/22/Kansas-Round-1-Its-Harrahs-Penn
Vegas Gang #11 is online here: http://www.vegasgangpodcast.com
This time we feature:
* Encore at Wynn Las Vegas Opening
* Cosmopolitan Sued Over Its Name
* MGM Mirage Using Social Networking
* Harrah's Pays Debt With Debt
* Adelson Profiled in New Yorker
Feel free to add comments below...
The latest episode is live - check out our discussions here:
http://www.vegasgangpodcast.com
Comments welcome below...
Vegas Gang Podcast #8 has been posted:
http://www.vegasgangpodcast.com
Comments can be posted here on this site, below.
Our guest is Steve Friess and we cover his book, 'Gay Vegas' as well as Las Vegas marketing, MGM Mirage splitting up, casino cheating and more.
Yes, we're back (and better than ever?).
Anyway, the episode is posted here: http://www.vegasgangpodcast.com
Comment away!
Mike_ch is back with the latest Strip Walk. This time we have a look at Encore at Wynn Las Vegas, Caesars Palace, New York New York and Luxor.
Notes after the jump, photos here:
http://www.ratevegas.com/photo/gallery/stripwalk
Harrah's Entertainment, the recently gone-private casino behemoth, has decided to change its name - to Caesars Entertainment. Fun.
http://investor.harrahs.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=84772&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1127757&highlight=
This is still breaking but it seems like the Feds raided Pure, the nightclub at Caesars, today.
Pure is not run by Harrah's, it is a separate entity.
http://www.lasvegasnow.com/Global/story.asp?S=7901495&Call=Email&Format=Text
Well, the gaming win in the great state of Nevada declined a good bit last time 'round:
http://www.vegastripping.com/news/news.php?news_id=1857&src=rss
Not good for our favorite multi-national casino conglomerates. It's hard not to link this to the degrading confidence in the US economy overall. Gaming is often somewhat insulated - people love to wager no matter how screwed they are - but of course there would be some kind of a hit if things go down big time in the US of A.
Well, this could be the second shot across the bow in the industry as we see a second major Las Vegas casino's dealers vote to have union representation.
http://www.lvrj.com/business/12797112.html
Following Wynn Las Vegas dealers before them, is this a reflection on management in these two organizations? Will we see dealers at an MGM Mirage property go this route?
It's making its way through the regulatory process in Nevada, with one hurdle to go.
http://www.lvrj.com/business/12197831.html
I can't imagine MGM or Wynn having the problems HET has had with unauthorized remodeling. And, I can't imagine the RJ ever going after this story as aggressively if it were MGM or Wynn.
"Harrah's Entertainment has reached a turning point in recovering from bungled remodeling projects at two of its local hotels.
A block of 501 guest rooms at Harrah's Las Vegas returned to active use by patrons on Friday, Harrah's Entertainment executive Jan Jones announced the same day.
Those rooms were pulled from service due to remodeling that had been performed without permits or inspections. They are located on floors four through 19 of the hotel's Carnivale tower. Those floors no longer need a fire watch, which is round-the-clock patrolling by personnel with two-way communication to report any fire, Marybel Batjer, another Harrah's executive, said Saturday. The rooms were out of service for 25 days.
A smaller block of 87 rooms at the Rio also returned to service earlier last week. Those rooms were shut down for less than 25 days. At that hotel, fire watches continue on floors three through 17, plus 19, of the Ipanema tower."
Improper Remodeling: Harrah's Reopens 501 Rooms
An interesting wire story about Harrah's dispute with a Native American tribe and a possible $2.8B judgement against the casino company. Analysts pose the possibility that it could even derail the privatization of the company, if the judgement is upheld.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/071029/harrah_s_mohawks.html?.v=4
Wow, another crazy story, this time involving Harrah's and the Rio.
Did officials cut corners during a recent renovation? It seems some contractors have come forward and alleged this may be the case.
Clark County is on the case.
Well, that was a great conversation... We had an in-depth talk with Chuck from VegasTripping.com who just recently has gotten back from Macau.
We went over everything from specific hotel talk on topics like Wynn Macau, Venetian Macau, Galaxy Starworld, MGM Grand Macau, Casino Lisboa and more. We also talked about the business - folks like Wynn Resorts, Las Vegas Sands, SJM, Melco and others.
Cotai, gaming industry topics, casino design and more. It was a great discussion and I'm hoping we can do another segment soon.
Our second time using Talkshoe.com and it was a lot of fun. Regular readers like Detroit1051, Mike E, Brian Fey, mike_ch and BarbaryKevin were all in on the action.
We covered a broad range of issues, from Cotai, Harrah's, Wynn Resorts, Las Vegas Sands, Palazzo, Encore, IGT and a lot more.
During the show we talked about Chuck's Macau diary. That link is here: http://www.macautripping.com
Harrah's is making moves on the Cotai Strip in Macau by purchasing a golf course that makes them the second largest land holder in the area after Las Vegas Sands.
Based on one Web site's analysis, they paid about $22 million an acre - not too shabby.
Harrah's is still without a concession that gives them the necessary license required to operate a facility in Macau but of course, money talks and Harrah's wants in.
Here's Harrah's press release on plans to build an arena behind Paris/Bally's. Jason and Billy alerted us to it earlier today.
"Harrah's Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE: HET - News) and AEG today unveiled plans for of an approximately 20,000-seat, privately financed, state-of-the-art arena. This arena is envisioned to be Las Vegas' new home for the most popular and important sports and entertainment events. The site of the venue will be one block east of the world famous Las Vegas Strip on approximately 10 acres of land that is part of the current Harrah's land holdings."
MGM Mirage made a few changes in the executive suite which they announced today.
First off, the extremely capable Jim Murren has been promoted to President and COO of the company (from President, CFO, and Treasurer). Murren came from Wall Street and is probably the most responsible for MGM Mirage being a model for other gaming companies to follow, especially when talking about reporting. Murren will also oversee all properties except for those that are part of the 'City Center Campus'.
Bobby Baldwin has been moved into a new position - Chief Design and Construction Officer. He'll oversee all new construction and capital improvements in the US. He also will oversee the 'City Center Campus', which includes City Center, Monte Carlo and Bellagio.
Lastly, Dan D'Arrigo has been promoted to EVP and CFO.
All of these positions report to Terri Lanni, the company's Chairman and CEO. Additionally, John Redmond, who had been running the properties formerly in the MGM family, including MGM Grand and NYNY has resigned as planned.
http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=101502&p=irol-newsArticle&t=Regular&id=1042568&
Unrelated, Harrah's has scheduled an announcement for tomorrow regarding entertainment changes at their resorts in Las Vegas.
Welcome to a new semi-regular feature, 'Strip Walk'. These photo updates from the Las Vegas Strip (and other parts of the Valley) have previously been presented by our man in the field, mike_ch. Well, now he's an official part of the crew and we're aiming to get these two you about every other work, time and schedule permitting.
His notes follow after the jump and the photos for this and future walks are here:
http://www.ratevegas.com/photo/gallery/stripwalk
Enjoy!
We've reported on this in the past so it's not new news, but Harrah's is unveiling the plans for the new tower coming in at Caesars Palace - the Octavius Tower.
The LV Sun has more info:
http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/sun/2007/jul/19/566655783.html
Technorati Tags: caesars, casino design, gaming industry, harrahs, las vegas, lasvegas, vegas
Expansions at Hard Rock and Caesars Palace are on the agendas for next week's Planning Meetings.
Hard Rock: The plans indicate that the proposed expansion involves the
construction of 6 new high-rise towers to accommodate the additional
2,671 hotel rooms, with 4 of the towers located on the northwest side
of the site.
Hard Rock Expansion
Caesars: This is a request to modify the height of a previously approved high-
rise tower in conjunction with a resort hotel (Caesars Palace). The
tower was originally approved at a height of 295 feet with 1,017
guestrooms with a Tuscan villa design. The new elevations depict a
350 foot high tower with a design that is similar to the existing
Augustus Tower located just east of the proposed towers site.
Caesars Palace Hotel Tower
Station requests time extension on plans for resort at Tropicana and Industrial (Dean Martin Drive):
Station Resort
It's funny, Harrah's is the largest gaming company in the world and I'm just totally not interested in their quarterlies. Maybe it's because they are so spread out and derive revenue from so many locales - I'm not sure.
Anyway, here's an RJ report on Harrah's luck for Q1, which it seems wasn't so awesome due to Atlantic City.
Harrah's is in the process of going private so pretty soon I won't have to write these stories any more.
http://www.lvrj.com/business/7414636.html
Technorati Tags: atlantic city, caesars, gaming industry, harrahs, las vegas, lasvegas
Well, this isn't something I would normally report but it's getting a ton of coverage so here's one for the record...
Steve Friess, of the Strip Podcast and his new blog was the one that broke the story - Harrah's clearly should have embargoed some more bloggers because they just lost control of their story (don't get me started on how these PR departments treat most bloggers - we have more traffic than many of the print magazines covering the industry but often I'm treated like we are of no consequence here - big mistake guys - I can give you a HUGE number of readers a month that all *want* to hear your message and yet I often have a hard time getting phone calls returned. I digress).
Anyway, Bette Midler will replace Celine Dion in 2008 when her Caesars Palace show closes. This will likely be a smashing success - the appetite for Celine was ravenous.
Technorati Tags: caesars, entertainment, gaming industry, harrahs, las vegas, lasvegas, vegas
Here comes mike_ch's Las Vegas construction update April 2007. This one covers Paris, Planet Hollywood/Aladdin, Bellagio, City Center, NYNY, Excalibur, Mandalay Bay and Luxor.
Thanks again to him for providing this stuff.
Photos are located here: http://www.ratevegas.com/photo/most_recent
There are also some new videos, located here: http://www.ratevegas.com/photo/videos
Technorati Tags: aladdin, bellagio, casino design, gaming industry, harrahs, las vegas, lasvegas, luxor, mandalay bay, mgm mirage, planet hollywood, project citycenter, trip report, vegas, vegas photos, video
A short set of quick updates.
The Silverton, Ed Roski's joint on the I-15 on the way into town, is plotting a massive (by Silverton standards) expansion with new, high-end hotel rooms along with shopping, casino and entertainment space. They hope to compete with Red Rock and Green Valley Ranch.
http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2007/Apr-13-Fri-2007/business/13715709.html
Next up is the Imperial Palace. A non-union shop for years, the Culinary is considering trying to organize there as it seems Harrah's may keep the place open longer than everyone expected:
http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/consumer/2007/apr/13/566676183.html
Lastly, a story on an association of small, independent casino owners. I just thought this story was kinda interesting.
http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/sun/2007/apr/13/566655716.html
Technorati Tags: casino design, gaming industry, harrahs, las vegas, lasvegas, silverton
We're back after a few weeks off and this time I'm joined in the studio by two friends, Carter and Kevin.
Discussion includes Harrah's buyout, Macau updates, CityCenter and more, plus some oh so witty banter and a call from Mike E.
Enjoy!
Here's the link to all the most recent photos: http://www.ratevegas.com/photo/most_recent
A reminder - feel free to call in and leave us a message about anything Las Vegas or Web site related. The call in number is: 702-508-4232.
iTunes: http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=197984456
Direct RSS: http://www.ratevegas.com/feed/podcast
Technorati Tags: casino design, fontainebleau, gaming industry, las vegas, lasvegas, vegas, wynn
Today Harrah's Entertainment shareholders approved the casino company's privatization plan, moving forward on the 7th largest leveraged buy out in US history.
I don't think this vote was ever really much of a question but it's the latest step in the process:
http://www.lasvegasnow.com/global/story.asp?s=6332701
Technorati Tags: gaming industry, harrahs, las vegas
RFID technology in gaming chips isn't new to Las Vegas - we've seen it at the Hard Rock and Wynn Las Vegas already.
This is news that the technology is spreading to Harrah's Las Vegas - are more properties coming soon?
http://lvbusinesspress.com/articles/2007/03/19/news/iq_13160854.txt
Technorati Tags: gaming industry, hard rock, harrahs, las vegas, lasvegas, wynn, wynnlasvegas
Another construction update from mike_ch. This one covers Paris, Bill's Gamblin' Hall and Saloon, The Venetian, Encore, Palazzo, Stardust (RIP), Frontier, Bellagio, Planet Aladdin, and Luxor.
Thanks again to him for providing this stuff.
Photos are located here: http://www.ratevegas.com/photo/most_recent
Also, we've got new VIDEOS! You can watch them here (goes from most recent to older): http://www.ratevegas.com/photo/videos
I'll be in Vegas this weekend to see Spamalot, take some photos, tour the CityCenter sales pavilion and attend wedding (not in that order).
Thanks again to Mike_ch who is kind enough to share his updates and thoughts on what's going on down on the Las Vegas Strip.
This one covers the Stardust, Bellagio, Wynn Las Vegas and Encore, The Venetian, Palazzo, Luxor, Mandalay Bay, Monte Carlo, New York New York, Planet Aladdin, and more.
Photos are located here: http://www.ratevegas.com/photo/gallery/mikech
Keep reading after the jump for the report.
Technorati Tags: aladdin, bellagio, boyd, caesars, casino design, gaming industry, harrahs, las vegas, lasvegas, lasvegassands, luxor, mandalay bay, mgm mirage, mirage, palazzo, photography, planet hollywood, project citycenter, stardust, vegas, vegas photos, venetian, wynn, wynnlasvegas
MGM Mirage added a few press releases over the past couple of days detailing some upcoming plans.
First off is a new community in Jean, NV - just outside of Las Vegas. Currently they operate the Gold Strike and Nevada Landing. The latter will close and operations will be consolidated into the Gold Strike as a new casino hotel is developed, along with residential, retail and other mixed uses. What makes Jean interesting is the possibility of a new airport there at Ivanpah, serving Las Vegas's freight needs in the near term and international travel over the next ten years or so. With a monorail extension, this area could start to really hum.
Second on MGM Mirage's plate is brief announcement that their Macau partnership with Pansy Ho will build a resort on Cotai in that region. They don't specify the parcel other than to refer to it as a 'prime identified site'.
The other story of the day I thought was interesting is coming out of the Harrah's LBO. It's been revealed that part of the financing will come from Harrah's own assets. I find this fascinating and I am considering taking Wynn Resorts private by borrowing against their properties - can I do that? :-)
More on the Harrah's setup from the always excellent Business Press.
Lastly, a quick mention that high end condos aren't selling quite as fast as some thought.
Technorati Tags: casino design, condos, gaming industry, harrahs, las vegas, lasvegas, macau, mgm grand, mgm mirage
The Nevada Gaming Control Board approved the deal that swaps the Barbary Coast hotel and casino on the Las Vegas Strip for 24 acres of land located near Boyd Gaming's 'Echelon Place' site.
Harrah's had been trying to grab the site for years and Boyd finally relented last year. Harrah's is expected to include the Barbary site in any Strip re-development master plan, though that may have been slowed down due to the company being taken private.
Along with the sale, the Barbary Coast will be changing its name to 'Bill's Gambling Hall and Saloon'. The award winning restaurant 'Michael's' will be moving to the South Point down the road.
More info:
http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2007/Feb-08-Thu-2007/business/12456754.html
Technorati Tags: boyd, casino design, gaming industry, harrahs, las vegas
Thanks to David for this tip...
An interesting article on mega-casinos in the UK, this one in Manchester:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601102&sid=ao_GCMXRVLdM&refer=uk
Also, this from the LV Business Press:
http://www.lvbusinesspress.com/articles/2007/01/29/news/news_update/doc45bead94bb510176721394.txt
I know David has some insight into UK gaming law - hopefully he'll share in the comments.
Update: The LV Biz Press link may not be accurate/up to date.
Technorati Tags: casino design, gaming industry
We've heard all sorts of rumors about the sale of the Rio to various parties. Well, this one I can see maybe actually happening, just because it seems to actually make sense.
The Poker Prof says that the Rio is going to Maloof. We shall see.
Technorati Tags: gaming industry, harrahs, las vegas, palms
This is a WSJ article so it requires a subscription or you'll have to find some other way to read it but it's recommended - interesting stuff.
Basically the concept is that operators could sell their real estate holdings and then sign long term management deals with the new owners of the real estate. This lets them monetize these assets and many of these companies like Harrah's or MGM MIRAGE are sitting on billions in real estate.
From the article by Peter Sanders:
"Blackjack players who are dealt a pair of aces often "split" the cards into separate hands, giving them two shots at hitting the jackpot. Now, some casino companies are considering a split of their own: effectively dividing their real-estate assets from the operating companies that run the casinos."
Technorati Tags: gaming industry, las vegas, lasvegas, lasvegassands, mgm mirage, vegas, wynn
I'm finally back with another podcast. Sorry - it's been busy. This one's only about 40 minutes long so you should have plenty of time to listen.
In this episode I talk about the the Trippies, Wynn labor dispute, City Center progress, Wynn's golf course, and more. Hopefully the next podcast won't be another month away!
The link to the Las Vegas Photo Quiz is here: http://quiz.ratevegas.com - Enjoy!
Update: Our good friends at VegasTripping.com have posted a little shout out to our shout out to their awards in which they gave us a shout out. Awesome.
A reminder - feel free to call in and leave us a message about anything Las Vegas or Web site related. The call in number is: 702-508-4232.
iTunes: http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=197984456
Direct RSS: http://www.ratevegas.com/feed/podcast
Technorati Tags: harrahs, las vegas, lasvegas, mgm mirage, podcast, project citycenter, ratevegas.com, vegas, wynn, wynnlasvegas
What did you think was the most interesting/biggest story of 2006 that related to Las Vegas and/or casino gambling?
Was it Harrah's being taken private? Wynn Resorts opening in Macau? The Stardust going dark? The insanity around the Tropicana bidding war? I'm interested to hear your take.
The RJ has a story on that topic today with a few examples but we don't have to limit the discussion to those options.
http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2006/Dec-31-Sun-2006/business/11367452.html
And, for a little bit of history, these are the posts from December 2005. Funny to think of all that has happened this year.
http://www.ratevegas.com/blog/2005/12/
Technorati Tags: boyd, gaming industry, las vegas, lasvegassands, macau, mgm mirage, stardust, vegas, venetian, wynn, wynn macau
Not a lot of detail yet but it looks like Apollo/Texas Pacific boosting the bid to $90/share did the trick:
Harrah's Board have accepted the offer:
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D8M3F69G1.htm
Technorati Tags: gaming industry, harrahs, las vegas
Some quick hits on upcoming development projects in Las Vegas from the Sun.
* Some discussion on Caesars Palace and the Roman Forum / new tower development.
* The Harrah's Center Strip project is still under wraps, likely delayed due to the potential private equity take-over of the company. This potentially includes the re-development of Bally's, Imperial Palace, Harrah's Las Vegas and the Flamingo, with varying degrees of severity.
* Echelon Place is moving along.
* Station has plans for Durango Station some day.
http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/consumer/2006/dec/05/566636105.html
Technorati Tags: boyd, caesars, casino design, echelon, gaming industry, harrahs, las vegas, lasvegas, station, vegas
Well, no big surprise here... It seems the outdoor 'Roman Forum' area at Caesars Palace is a terrible use of space given it is never used for anything significant.
Harrah's will build more casino, retail and back of house space in that part of the property and then also build a new hotel tower in the southwest corner of the property.
The new tower will be 29 stories and have over 1,000 rooms.
http://www.lvbusinesspress.com/articles/2006/11/29/news/news_update/doc456d375dc4f81505144820.txt
Technorati Tags: caesars, casino design, harrahs, las vegas, lasvegas, vegas
Roll The Bones is a new book by Dr. David Schwartz, the director of the Center for Gambling Studies at UNLV. His blog, DieIsCast.com is a great source for gambling information and news along with the ever-popular casino carpet gallery.
Dave has written several gambling related books in the past, including Suburban Xanadu, a study of the casino resort's evolution (this book features an in-depth look at Martin Stern, Jr., who's work we have mentioned several times in the past here on this site) and Cutting The Wire, a look at the Wire Act and Internet gambling.
You can buy this book here (and it supports this site in a small way): Roll the Bones: The History of Gambling
Keep reading after the jump...
Technorati Tags: atlantic city, boyd, caesars, casino design, gaming industry, harrahs, hilton, las vegas, lasvegassands, macau, mgm mirage, project citycenter, ratevegas.com, vegas, wynn
In this latest edition of the podcast, we cover a lot of ground, literally!
First up, here's a warning - this podcast is AN HOUR long. Sorry it is so long but there's a lot in here and I looked at cutting something but I decided that I simply didn't want to and thus here we are.
The notes are after the jump. As always, recent photos are here: http://www.ratevegas.com/photo/most_recent
Technorati Tags: casino design, gaming industry, harrahs, las vegas, mgm mirage, palazzo, podcast, ratevegas.com, vegas
This Wall Street Journal article (presented via Yahoo! - I hope that means you can read it w/o a subscription!) talks about how construction costs in the Valley have been rising and how that impacts costs for the big gaming operators, both those with projects going and those with stuff on the drawing board.
Wall Street Journal via Yahoo! (free!)
If that doesn't work, here's the original WSJ link (subscription required):
Wall Street Journal (subscription required)
Third Quarter earnings are coming out. The RJ gave a preview:
Big Six Earnings Preview
For conference call junkies, a schedule follows the jump.
This week's Las Vegas Business Press discusses planned changes and an expansion at Paris. Is Harrah's concerned about pedestrian safety, or is it a great marketing move to bring more Strip visitors into the property?
Plans For Paris
I got my review copy of Dave Schwartz's new book, "Roll The Bones" today and I've started to read it. Dave is a friend of mine and I feel lucky to call him that. He's the number one gambling historian and author of several books. He works at UNLV as the Director of the Center for Gaming Research. His Web site is located here, which we are now proudly hosting for him: http://www.dieiscast.com
A full review will follow when I'm done but so far, it's great. Anyone that's seriously interested in gambling should buy this book right now.
The link below is from Amazon.com and not only do you get the book for a great price, but we get a small cut of the proceeds, so you are supporting the site and getting what so far seems like a great book.
Ok, here goes: Roll the Bones: The History of Gambling
Enjoy.
Technorati Tags: atlantic city, aztar, bellagio, borgata, boyd, broadway, caesars, casino design, cirque du soleil, fremont, gaming industry, golden nugget, hard rock, harrahs, hilton, hooters, las vegas, luxor, macau, mandalay bay, mgm grand, mgm mirage, mirage, monorail, palazzo, palms, planet hollywood, playboy, project citycenter, red rock, riviera, sahara, southcoast, stardust, station, table games, treasure island, tropicana, vegas, venetian, wynn, wynn macau, wynnlasvegas