Two Way Hard Three | Las Vegas Casino & Design Blog

My good friend Chuck at VegasTripping.com is just back from Las Vegas and wrote up a little report about the transition at Luxor:

http://www.vegastripping.com/features/feature.php?feature_id=139&page=1

MGM's 1st Quarter Conference Call transcript is available:
MGM Transcript

Shadow Creek, MGM Mirage's fabulous golf course located in North Las Vegas, will close for a few months for an extensive renovation.

The press release is after the jump but basically it says that it will close until December while original architect Tom Fazio looks over the changes.

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

The rumors are true! Gans will move to Encore when it opens, leaving The Mirage.

What's funny is that Wynn denied this point blank to Steve Friess in the last interview.

http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=132059&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1131831&highlight=

The story says it all - at least some of the doom and gloom is true enough to scale back.

http://www.lvrj.com/breaking_news/17679794.html

Thanks to Brian and Detroit for pointing this out.

A Las Vegas-is-gonna-go-bust doom and gloom article from the Times Online in the UK.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/chris_ayres/article3701686.ece

The Wall Street Journal follows up on the condo-hotel bubble, and focuses much of the story on Residences at MGM Grand and Trump's new tower. The story should be available without a subscription:

"It's been a very bad investment," said Moji Adekunbi, a 47-year-old engineer, who bought a $550,000 condo-hotel unit in the Signature at the MGM Grand in 2005 in Las Vegas, where one of every four hotel rooms being developed is a condo-hotel unit. Mr. Adekunbi counted on the cash flow from renting out his unit more than covering his $3,000-a-month mortgage payment, leaving him with a tidy profit.
He said the developer's sales staff led him to believe that the hotel would have 94% occupancy and $350-a-night rates, Turns out, he said he is netting only between $400 and $1,800 a month before his mortgage payment."
Condo-Hotel Buyers See Investments Sour As the Market Weakens

Two important stories on LVS:

Why would Sheldon Adelson make such public comments about MGM, Pansy Ho and Atlantic City?
Sands Chief Questions MGM Mirage's Motives

What is the real story on CFO Rozek's departure from LVS?
Robert P. Rozek resigned from his position as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Las Vegas Sands Corp

Another open topic for discussion.

One thing of note - I got some photos from Mike_Ch which I published:

http://www.ratevegas.com/photo/most_recent

Thanks Mike!

We talk the concept of 'free' and casinos, lots of fresh details on Encore at Wynn Las Vegas, Majestic's Vegas numbers, and more. This is a don't miss for Wynn fans.

The participants include:

Jeff Simpson - http://www.lasvegassun.com and http://www.inbusinesslasvegas.com

David McKee - http://www.lasvegasadvisor.com/blogs/dmckee/

Dave Schwartz - http://www.dieiscast.com

Chuck Monster - http://www.vegastripping.com

Direct Download: http://media.ratevegas.com/37-VegasGang03062008.mp3

Dave Schwartz has an interesting article where the talks about a piece from Wired that is discussing the proliferation of free services in business, especially on the Internet. Dave spins that into a gaming business narrative and breaks it down for us.

http://www.dieiscast.com/2008/02/26/could-casinos-become-free

We're back with roundtable #2 - this time around the topics include Crown investing in Harrah's/Station, MGM Grand Detroit, Pure being raided by the IRS, Cuba as the next Macau and more.

The participants include:

Jeff Simpson - http://www.lasvegassun.com and http://www.inbusinesslasvegas.com

David McKee - http://www.lasvegasadvisor.com/blogs/dmckee/

Dave Schwartz - http://www.dieiscast.com

Chuck Monster - http://www.vegastripping.com

Direct Download: http://media.ratevegas.com/36-podcast_02212008.mp3

Some info on MGM Mirage's quarterly results, announced today:

http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=101502&p=IROL-NewsText&t=Regular&id=1110879&

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/mgm-mirages-net-profit-soars/story.aspx?guid=%7B74B0CA0C-98F3-4472-B48D-EB7F4B52CDFA%7D

The first episode of what could become a new, semi-regular podcast has been posted.

It doesn't yet have a name but the working title is 'Vegas Roundtable'. It's a gaming industry related podcast in a discussion format. Today's participants include:

Jeff Simpson - http://www.lasvegassun.com and http://www.inbusinesslasvegas.com

David McKee - http://www.lasvegasadvisor.com/blogs/dmckee/

Dave Schwartz - http://www.dieiscast.com

Chuck Monster - http://www.vegastripping.com

Thanks to all participants. The podcast is in my normal feed for 'The Worst Las Vegas Podcast' but it will probably move to a dedicated feed. Also, if anyone can think of a good name, drop them in the comments.

If you don't subscribe to the feed and want the direct URL, here it is:
http://media.ratevegas.com/35-roundtable_1-02_07_08.mp3

Some new photos posted this afternoon:

http://www.ratevegas.com/photo/gallery/encore
http://www.ratevegas.com/photo/gallery/montecarlofire

The Encore shots give a really good look at the final layouts for the big parts of the project. You can see all the skylights in the low-rise for the new spa, plus I assume that lattice roof area will be filled with glass as well. Overall, looking good - can't wait to see more.

Thanks to Brian and Mark for sharing their photos.

Regarding the podcast, I have GarageBand open now - hopefully I'll get this finished shortly.

Last week, most TV sets were tuned in to see the facade of a Las Vegas hotel, the Monte Carlo, engulfed in flames. I'm no expert in fire safety but I know what was going through my head, watching in real time: this fire is moving FAST and whatever is on the top of that building looks to be fueling it.

In the hours and days that followed, one term was repeated over and over: EIFS.

Instead of demonizing an easy target, I'm glad that I've had the chance to speak with several folks fluent in EIFS details, including some industry representatives. Keep reading after the jump and I'll share a couple of things I've learned.

Not sure how serious this is yet. Obvious now that it was pretty serious.

http://www.lasvegasnow.com/Global/story.asp?S=7774764

Update: I'm watching the live video on lasvegasnow.com and it looks pretty bad. Lots of black smoke that actually looks like it is coming from two places.

Updated: The fire is extremely bad. Multiple floors on the South side - that side of the building at the top are basically destroyed. Major destruction. Wow, this is really bad. Clark County Firefighters are incredibly brave - they are up on the roof working to put this out. I guess guests are being moved to MGM Grand Garden Arena. Nice.

Diablo's Cantina indeed. I hope no one was hurt.

One interesting point - on the South side there, there is no low rise building at the base of the hotel tower. Hopefully that is making it easier to get crews closer from the ground.

Links:
http://www.lvrj.com/breaking_news/14369312.html
http://www.knbc.com/videostream/9476753/detail.html
http://lasvegassun.com/blogs/news/2008/jan/25/fire-monte-carlo/

Hats off to the amazing work of the Clark County Fire Department in getting this thing under control so quickly - and it does seem to be pretty much under their control now, despite the few flames still burning. Now the question is what does this mean for the property - how bad is the damage?

Update: Thanks to Mike_Ch, some more photos of the aftermath: http://www.ratevegas.com/photo/most_recent

Thanks to reader Aaron_B for sharing this trip report from CES 2008. I know several readers will be interested to hear about and see photos of the renovated suites at Bellagio.

The photos are here:

http://www.ratevegas.com/photo/most_recent

Enjoy!

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.

After a six-month hiatus, I headed back to town spending three nights at my old, favorite haunt before Wynn opened: THEhotel. My thoughts on the property, some gambling highlights, and general observations follow after the jump.

According to MacauTripping.com, the MGM Grand Macau opened to a smashing success - over $6.6 million in drop in the first few days of operations. This points to a very high volume of play in that time.

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?

Thanks to reader Andy who spotted this on The Mirage's official Web site. It seems the rooms are getting a full on make over starting in February and based on the pictures, they are totally tossing the current room decor.

http://www.mirage.com/hotel/hotel_remodel.aspx

Wow, that's drastic. Now, I totally think the rooms need to be redone but honestly, I think this design goes a bit too far for my tastes. I love the amenities they are adding - that's great... and, I think generally the vibe is okay but this is like cranked too far. It's as if they had one or two many committees weigh in on this, each tweaking the design a bit to the point that there's no longer any cohesion.

Thoughts?

Well, today is the big day for MGM Mirage with their first entry into Macau with the MGM Grand Macau. The property is a 50/50 joint venture with Pansy Ho, daughter of longtime operator Stanley Ho.

Personally, I think this property looks very interesting and it is certainly on my list of places to stay when I visit Macau sometime next year. I see the Wynn Macau/MGM Macau combo (they are right next door to each other) as the true epicenter of Macau luxury, despite Las Vegas Sands' grand Cotai experiment, at least for now.

http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/prnewswire/LATU077A18122007-1.htm

Mike_ch is back with another Stripwalk. This time he visits Encore, City Center, TI, Palazzo, Luxor and more. Check it out after the jump plus don't forget to check out the new photos:

Photos: http://www.ratevegas.com/photo/gallery/stripwalk

Here we are with a special Thanksgiving-eve 'Strip Walk' segment. This time around, mike_ch checks out the Frontier, Encore, City Center, Luxor, The Mirage and more. Text after the jump...

Photos: http://www.ratevegas.com/photo/gallery/stripwalk

Bottle service at clubs is huge as reported in the LV Sun. The economy must be better than I thought!
"Consider that more than 2,000 people walked through the door at Mirage's Jet nightclub during a recent weekend - and that more than half sat at reserved tables where bottle service starts at $400 for a bottle shared by three people.
An average table check can reach about $800, said Kelley Jones, president of nightclub operator Light Group's restaurant division."
Revenue From Alcohol Growing Faster Than Slot Revenue

I've posted my Las Vegas Strip construction photos: Most Recent Las Vegas Photos

All sorts of great stuff including Encore's high and low rise buildings, WLV's villa atrium, Palazzo, the white tiger pit at The Mirage, City Center, P-Ho, Bellagio, and more.

The link above should show them all but you can also visit the November 2007 tag. Also, based on some feedback I plan to add new searching and sorting capabilities to the photo database soon.

This will start Brian Fey's day off with a smile. Wynn Las Vegas has won recognition from The Michelin Guide.
NORM: Michelin makes Steve Wynn's year
Michelin's Highest Honor of Five Red Pavilions Awarded to Wynn Las Vegas

MGM Mirage announced today that they will build a $3 billion, non gaming resort in Abu Dhabi, part of the United Arab Emirates.

http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=101502&p=IROL-NewsText&t=Regular&id=1073968&

I got a press release this morning from MGM Mirage regarding a new restaurant going in at The Mirage. BLT Burger will be replacing the Habitat at the resorts' Southern-most Strip entrance.

This is another nail in the coffin of Siegfried and Roy's tenure at The Mirage. As for the restaurant, the press release states:

"BLT Burger's diverse menu will offer quality ingredients including beef (sirloin, short rib, chuck and brisket cut), American and Japanese Kobe, lamb and Ahi tuna burgers along with soft, no-frills buns. Onion rings and a variety of French fry options, including waffle-cut, sweet potato and chili cheese, will complement the meal. An array of milkshakes in classic and spiked varieties will be available along with a selection of ice cream floats. Nostalgic glass-bottled sodas, innovative cocktails, as well as a focused selection of wine and beer will quench every guest's thirst."

On their earnings call today, MGM Mirage's Jim Murren discussed the recent problems with their guest reservations system, OPERA, that runs 7 properties for the company, mostly in Las Vegas.

Murren stated that the OPERA issue was due to a 'memory leak in the operating system'. He also stated that OPERA runs on an 'HP platform' and an 'Oracle database'. By 'HP platform', it's not clear if he means they are running on HP's PA-RISC UNIX operating system or HP hardware and something like Windows Server.

Murren claims the issue is resolved and they are fully operational but that they intend to have a backup system put into place for the future. He didn't break out the total cost of the problem for the company.

MGM Mirage posted their 2007 Q3 results - the company's net revenues are up 6% to $1.9 billion.

Details are here: http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=101502&p=irol-SECText&TEXT=aHR0cDovL2NjYm4uMTBrd2l6YXJkLmNvbS94bWwvZmlsaW5nLnhtbD9yZXBvPXRlbmsmaXBhZ2U9NTIzODMxMSZkb2M9Mg%3d%3d

Some discussion on the call surrounded City Center and Dubai, Bellagio's baccarat room being closed, and the ongoing construction at former Mandalay properties.

Occupancy was up 1% to 97% and ADR hit $147, up from $140. REVPAR hit $143 from $135 a year ago.

An interesting item - gambling revenues, excluding Beau Rivage, are actually down 3% from a year ago.

Here's a new open topic thread for y'all. A couple of notes on this sunny Sunday:

Regarding the piece on VT&T regarding the Encore casino and a 'poker island', based on the plans I have seen and the people I have talked to, this is off the mark. Now, the plans I originally saw for the low rise stuff have substantially changed since then, as we have already discussed... My understanding is that there is no poker room planned for Encore, plus the walkway changes he talks about obliterate the retail that's planned along the WLV-Encore corridor and generally just sound like they waste space. I am very skeptical.

Second, thanks to reader MikeP for sending in a photo inside Palazzo's retail area, plus the new aquarium at The Mirage: http://www.ratevegas.com/photo/most_recent

According to a release I got today, the aquarium that is behind the desk at The Mirage, which has been shrouded in black for months, has been revealed.

It's a whole new affair with more animals, new artifical reef and a new filtration system.

Supposedly the aquarium features 1,000 marine life forms in 20,000 gallons of water.

MGM Mirage has been plagued with Reservation System computer problems for several days according to Steve Friess in the New York Times.
Computer Glitches Plague Casinos

Looks like the RJ has a front page piece on Macau gaming, specifically US based operators there. It's an interesting piece and it comes with a fairly cheesy map and some photos. Worth checking out - even some photos of the analysts that get quoted in every gaming article in the paper.

http://www.lvrj.com/news/10701326.html

Sorry I'm only getting to post this now... Looks like Macau quarterlies are once again blowing through estimates:

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/071018/macau_gaming_revenue.html?.v=1

A 46% increase? Nice. This quarter had a little bit of Venetian Macau action but we'll really get a feel for that next time around, plus of course in the LVS and WYNN quarterlies.

Thanks to Mike for another installment of 'Strip Walk', or semi-regular feature that focuses on Las Vegas Strip construction progress.

Lots of great new info here and of course, we've got photos: http://www.ratevegas.com/photo/gallery/stripwalk

In Business Las Vegas did a fascinating interview with MGM Mirage President and COO Jim Murren last week. It is a highly recommended read that gives great perspective into the thinking that has driven recent deals with Kerzner, Dubai World and others.

It's clear that Terry Lanni and Jim Murren 'get it' when it comes to the biz side of the gaming industry - they are re-defining the standard practices that have been common knowledge in the industry. Business as usual? Not anymore.

From partnering with interesting companies to big ambitious projects like City Center in Las Vegas, they are bringing techniques that have worked well in the general hospitality industry to gaming and it seems to be paying off in spades.

Personally, I'd love to do an interview with Murren but MGM MIRAGE sometimes looks down on Internet media, even those of us with larger numbers than some print publications. I'm hoping one of these days these companies will wake up to that. They're not as bad as some companies but they could do better in this department.

Well, you know the drill at this point. Another episode featuring MGM Grand, Wynn Las Vegas, City Center and more.

Photos are here: RateVegas Photos

This time we get a bonus video: Diablo's Cantina

"USA Today" profiles Terry Lanni:
"Throughout its history, Las Vegas has seen its share of legendary tycoons, from Howard Hughes to Steve Wynn. The low-profile Lanni flies under the public's radar, but he's one of the most-respected and influential forces in the $90 billion gaming industry.
"I've dealt with a few CEOs, and I'd have to rate Terry up there at the top," says Kirk Kerkorian, the 90-year-old owner of Tracinda, which held 56% of MGM Mirage's stock as of June. "I've always liked this company. We've got a hell of a team there."

Executive Suite: You can bet on MGM Mirage's Lanni

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.

Fresh back from Macau, where he chronicled his trip, Charles from VegasTripping.com will be a guest for a special Q&A version of the podcast.

We'll be doing this on TalkShoe but here's how this will work - you guys submit some questions here on the site, I'll ask them in the first 30 minutes or so. The second half of the show will be open for general discussion. We'll see how that goes.

So... TONIGHT at 6pm PT

Update: Ok, the Talkshoe link is here: http://www.talkshoe.com/talkshoe/web/talkCast.jsp?masterId=44621.

If you're planning on joining us, I strongly recommend you go to the TalkShow.com Web site ahead of time to sign up for an account and download the software. Strictly speaking, the software isn't required (only a telephone is really required) but having it gives you extra features.

If you really can't download the software, you can call in using this number: 724-444-7444 with the TalkCast ID of 44621. Without the software you might not be able to ask any questions as we won't be able to identify you in the system.

A couple of quick hits today:

Steve Wynn is the guest on this week's, The Strip Podcast. He talks about Macau, nightclubs, and more. According to Wynn, Tryst is the top netting nightclub in town and Tao is fiddling with their numbers a bit. The interview is interesting and features a fun example of Wynn's office at work. Steve's thesis on why spending is up is sort of interesting.

Second up, thanks to Detroit, this link to an article from Robin Leach - will the nightclub boom continue.

Liz Benston interviews Bobby Baldwin in the LV Sun. He answers some of the questions we asked during our recent call-in podcast.

"He typically shuns publicity but was keen to address rumors that he might be leaving MGM Mirage - perhaps to join his old boss - after a management reshuffle. Baldwin would have been a natural choice for operations chief at MGM Mirage, a job that went to finance chief and CityCenter's chief idea man Jim Murren. Baldwin says he is impressed by Wynn's growth in Las Vegas and Macau but he's satisfied and challenged at MGM Mirage, at least for now.
The poker whiz from Oklahoma will retain control of CityCenter and the two adjacent resorts, Bellagio and Monte Carlo, while becoming chief visionary in planning projects along the Strip and beyond."

Q+A: Bobby Baldwin

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

Here's the latest Strip Walk, this time hitting Wynn Las Vegas, Trump Las Vegas, New Frontier, Palazzo, Treasure Island, New York New York, Excalibur, Luxor and more...

As always, the photos are here: http://www.ratevegas.com/photo/gallery/stripwalk

Commentary after the jump... Take it away Mike!

Past posts on AAA Diamond Ratings and Mobil Star Ratings generated so many comments, that we might as well start a new topic. The 9/9/07 RJ follows the AAA inspector as he checks out The Mirage on its regular review.

"Unwilling to name competitors by name, Vincent said the association is the only company sending inspectors to all the properties it rates"
You'll recall in posts last year, we talked about Mobil's erroneous comments about Wynn Las Vegas, including reference to a "5th floor swimming pool", which showed that an inspector had not actually visited Wynn. Mobil subsequently corrected its errors.
MGM Mirage management should be happy with this story.
HOTEL CONFIDENTIAL: Diamond Quest

My good friend Chuck at VegasTripping.com is heading to Macau next week. Despite being very jealous, I'm happy to send you guys over to his site to get the regular updates he'll be posting - I know that I'm looking forward to some very thorough reporting from the field, HST style.

If you want to follow the mayhem as it unfolds, here's the best link for the action:

http://www.macautripping.com/tripping/

Second up, their annual 'Best Of' list, the Trippies, are now open for nominations. Feel free to nominate us - the parent Web site, RateVegas.com, this blog and even our podcast, which we're bringing back into a more regular schedule with live call-in shows (next Sunday the 16th!).

We're back with another Strip Walk! This was written almost a week ago and this time around you'll get Mike's comments but a few of my own sprinkled in - I was in Vegas for one night last week and took some of my own photos as well.

As always, the photos are here: http://www.ratevegas.com/photo/gallery/stripwalk

Commentary after the jump...

"Dubai agreed to pay $5 billion for a 9.5 percent stake in MGM Mirage and half of the Las Vegas casino owner's biggest development, bringing billionaire shareholder Kirk Kerkorian his biggest investment in the company."

This is huge news. There is a more in-depth report in the 8/22 Wall Street Journal for subscribers. The news troubles me, but Lanni and Murren haven't disappointed yet,

Dubai World To Buy 9.5% of MGM Mirage

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.

The press release is here:

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!

Steve Friess is an award winning Las Vegas-based journalist that regularly writes for the New York Times, USA Today and other national publications... You probably know him as the co-host of one of my favorite podcasts, The Strip. Steve's a great guy and Vegas is lucky to have him.

His new Las Vegas guidebook, 'Gay Vegas' covers Sin City with an emphasis on gay and lesbian travelers, though the tips in here are applicable to anyone visiting Southern Nevada.

Keep reading after the jump for my take on the book and if you want to pick up a copy, this Amazon link is a way to say thanks to us as well:

"Gay Vegas: A Guide To The Other Side of Sin City" (Steve Friess)

As noted in the RJ and the LVS thread, Palazzo is scheduled to open December 20th, 2007. We'll see if that's a soft opening or what - I have my doubts.

Also, according to the Movable Buffet, Tangerine at Treasure Island will be closing and will be replaced with a new nightlife venue by the end of the year. Tangerine is managed by the Pure Management Group.

Technorati Tags: casino design, gaming industry, lasvegas, lasvegassands, palazzo, treasure island, venetian

MGM Mirage had a big quarter but a large portion of the ground they gained were from one time events - property sales in Primm and elsewhere.

Still, income from continuing operations was also up - the company is healthy and I still consider it to be one of the best run in gaming - a model for the industry in that regard.

Revenues hit $2.11 billion and earnings were at $360 million with those property sales factored in. Incoming from continuing operations was $182 million, up from about $140 million in the year ago quarter.

REVPar on the Strip jumped 7%. I hope to have property specific info soon.

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070802/earns_mgm_mirage.html?.v=2
http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=101502&p=IROL-NewsText&t=Regular&id=1035817&

Technorati Tags: atlantic city, bellagio, borgata, cirque du soleil, cirquedusoleil, condos, gaming industry, las vegas, lasvegas, luxor, macau, mandalay bay, mgm grand, mgm mirage, mirage, project citycenter, treasure island, vegas

"Exclusive Resorts today announced that it will develop and own 30 luxury condominiums at MGM MIRAGE's (NYSE: MGM - News) highly anticipated Vdara at CityCenter on the Las Vegas Strip. Vdara Condo Hotel, one of the $7.4 billion project's four residential towers, is set to open in late 2009."

I had never heard of Exclusive Resorts, but I sure fall short of its demographics. This is not your father's timeshare. MGM Mirage and Exclusive issued a press release on Exclusive's purchase of 30 units at Vdara. Membership fees run from $239,000-$459,000 with annual dues of $14,000-39,000.

Here's the release with a link to Exclusive Resorts site:
Exclusive Resorts Buys 30 Units At Vdara

Luxor's transformation, which has included the ripping out of the old club, 'Ra' as well as most of the restaurants, continues to bear fruit.

This time the latest is the opening of the new club, 'LAX' on Labor Day weekend.

http://www.laxthenightclub.com/

Update: The Las Vegas Advisor is reporting that the de-themeing of Luxor is going ahead, with the Egypt theme going out the window.

Technorati Tags: gaming industry, las vegas, luxor, mgm mirage

Thankfully this doesn't happen often but it appears we have a crazy guy that opened fire inside the casino early this morning, injuring several people.

More info:

http://www.lasvegasnow.com/global/story.asp?s=6752982

Chance of a backlash against Las Vegas? MGM Mirage taking security seriously enough? Can you even stop someone like this in advance?

Technorati Tags: gaming industry, las vegas, lasvegas, mgm mirage

Last week's topic had 64 replies, so let's start a new one.

Kerkorian's initial interest in acquiring Bellagio and CityCenter certainly helped MGM during the month of June. The RJ summarizes share price changes in June for operators and slot manufacturers. MGM leads the pack.
Kerkorian's bid boosts MGM Mirage

So, there's another story here on the site that was posted recently about Fontana closing... Well, we've learned that the closing is NOT for good, just for the balance of the year. It will be used for private gaming as other parts of the casino are remodeled... Look for Fontana to return in December 2007.

When it DOES re-open, there will no longer be food served due to the genius of the NV Clean Air Act.

I was just going to update the other story but a few other sites picked up on this and I wanted to make sure they got the updated info as well.

So - that's the story and I'm 100% confident in the sourcing on this one.

Technorati Tags: bellagio, casino design, gaming industry, mgm mirage

I have confirmed reports that Bellagio is closing its Fontana Lounge, a small live music/dancing venue overlooking the lake that's been there since the hotel opened in 1998.

Casinos change amenities all the time but this closing is notable because it offered lounge music and a low-key dance environment for slightly older customers, important as most all nightlife is focused on younger patrons and loud, club music.

MGM Mirage hasn't finalized plans for the space, though previously there have been poker tournaments held there and clearly it could be a prime restaurant spot.

Does anyone know of any good alternatives?

Update: See this story for more: http://www.ratevegas.com/blog/2007/06/bellagios_fonta.html

Technorati Tags: bellagio, casino design, gaming industry, las vegas, lasvegas, mgm mirage

The 6/20/07 WSJ reports that Kerkorian will withdraw his plans to take over Bellagio and CityCenter. Since the original announcement, MGM's share price is up 37%.
Was this only a ploy by Kerkorian and MGM to get the stock moving? Regardless, imo, MGM is still in play to be taken private.

An announcement may also be made today regarding a joint-venture between MGM and Kerzner Inetrnational to develop a multi-billion dollar casino resort on the 40 acres at the Strip and Sahara.
Subscribers to the WSJ can read the story at:
Kerkorian's MGM Plans in Doubt

Thanks to mike_ch who is back with another Las Vegas Strip development/construction update.

The photos are here: http://www.ratevegas.com/photo/gallery/mikech

Keep reading after the jump!

Technorati Tags: bellagio, casino design, condos, gaming industry, las vegas, lasvegas, lasvegassands, luxor, mandalay bay, mgm mirage, palazzo, photography, planet hollywood, project citycenter, trip report, vegas, vegas photos, venetian, wynn, wynnlasvegas

Here's some more info on upcoming Las Vegas construction, based off of filings with the county.

THEPlace - The condo development to sit between Mandalay Bay and Luxor is still on track, despite there not being a peep from them since the initial announcement. Some details on the project stats, which will include a rather large 256 square foot water features.

Hard Rock Condos - Nothing really here - just a request for an extension for the new owner to figure out what they want to do.

Cogent? - Anyone know what this is?

New York New York Nightclub - This is finally coming together, with an indoor/outdoor setup.

Fontainebleau - Work continues as they are asking for a batch plant.

Casino Royale - They want to expand the casino in the back with all sorts of new space.

Technorati Tags: casino design, fontainebleau, gaming industry, hard rock, las vegas, lasvegas, vegas

From Wall Street Journal

May 21, 2007 4:39 p.m. EDT
Tracinda to Enter Into Talks
With MGM to Acquire Bellagio
By DENISE JIA
May 21, 2007 4:39 p.m.

Billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian's Tracinda Corp. announced Monday that it intends to enter into negotiations with MGM Mirage to purchase MGM's Bellagio Hotel and Casino and City Center properties.

In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Tracinda said it also wishes to pursue strategic alternatives with respect to its investment in the world's second-largest casino operator, which may include financial restructuring transactions involving all or a substantial portion of the remainder of the company.

Tracinda currently owns 158.8 million shares, or a 56% stake in the Las Vegas-based company, according to the SEC filing.

Tracinda said it has made no decision with respect to any such restructuring transactions and reserves the right not to engage in or approve any transaction.

Shares of the company closed Monday at $62.89.

Updated by Hunter / Tuesday Evening: In an interview with Steve Friess, Bill Weidner from Las Vegas Sands indicated that his company might be interested in The Mirage and Treasure Island if MGM Mirage's properties were to be sold off individually.

Ok - this is getting a bit out of hand. Now, Weidner has actually expressed interest in those two properties in the past. I don't have a link but when the MGM/Mandalay deal was going through, everyone wondered if the FTC would require an asset sale to complete the purchase (they did not in the end). It was at that time he mentioned that LVS would be interested in buying The Mirage and/or TI to include with their portfolio. We know how that story ended.

Of course LVS is interested in The Mirage and TI - and not just a close approximation - these are places that perform very well and have a long established record. I was at The Mirage earlier today for dinner and despite it being a Tuesday, it was quite busy and doing well with occupancy. LVS would do well to score either property but it is so extremely unlikely that there's no point discussing it. Kerkorian's motivations are unknown but it seems more likely that instead of trying to raise cash through selling properties, he's either making a first step toward an LBO for MGM Mirage or it is an attempt to impose a valuation on the company that is closer in line to what he can see as MGM Mirage's rightful place in the market. The latter would be a particularly shrewd move and U'I'm sure we we will discuss these motivations more as we learn more.

Technorati Tags: bellagio, las vegas, lasvegas, lasvegassands, mgm mirage, mirage, project citycenter, sands, treasure island, vegas, venetian

I'm at Luxor for a convention for a few days - it's been awhile since I've stayed here and I've never been that impressed. Stlll, this place has fallen off even more than how I last remember it. My room smells bad, a bed that looks like it came from a military barracks and not even an in-room safe. Wow - the parking lot is probably more hospitable.

MGM Mirage has a TON of work to do if they want to make this place into any sort of a worthwhile endeavor. Honestly, I'm blown away with how bad this room is. Wow.

Early this morning an employee removed a backpack that was sitting on their car when it then exploded, killing the owner of the vehicle and injuring another employee.

http://www.lvrj.com/
http://www.fox5vegas.com/news/13268708/detail.html
http://www.klas-tv.com/Global/story.asp?S=6478863

Was this a bomb? I hate to use the 't-word' but what does this mean?

Update: Sounds like the police think this was directed at this specific person.

Wow, this is an interesting story.

Steve Friess has a note on his blog that says that MGM Mirage's company wide sports book network went down this afternoon, making it impossible to place bets at any MGM Mirage property - this includes Bellagio, MGM Grand, The Mirage, Mandalay Bay, Treasure Island, Monte Carlo, Luxor, Excalibur and Circus Circus.

This comes on the same day as a major boxing event and the Kentucky Derby - two MAJOR betting events.

Now, being in the technology field, I know that these things happen. I also know that these systems all have backup systems and that they train for these outages. I'd love to get some details on how this went down and what happened.

Technorati Tags: gaming industry, las vegas, lasvegas, mgm grand, mgm mirage

A big thank you to Drambuie Man for sending in a new report and photos from Macau.

I asked for some more photos of Wynn Macau and the Venetian and we got some good coverage. I can't wait to get out there and see this stuff myself.

http://www.ratevegas.com/photo/gallery/macau

The report is after the jump...

Technorati Tags: casino design, gaming industry, lasvegassands, macau, mgm mirage, sands, wynn, wynn macau

Thanks to reader Aaron_B for providing this write up and photos from his recent trip to Bellagio.

His report follows after the jump and the photos, available at the link below, show off some of the recent construction work. You'll also see some comments on the new car rental facility at LAS.

http://www.ratevegas.com/photo/gallery/april2007

Thanks Aaron!!

Quick note on the balustrade damage: I remember seeing some of that way back in May 1999, just after opening. I looked out my window and was surprised that it was already cracked.

Technorati Tags: bellagio, casino design, gaming industry, las vegas, lasvegas, mgm mirage, photography, project citycenter, trip report

MGM Mirage reports Q12007 results this morning and despite posting some strong numbers that were solid gains, they didn't meet analyst consensus estimates for net income, mostly from lower than expected Las Vegas Strip gaming revenues.

Mississippi with Beau Rivage had a strong surge in activity as the property continues to come back from Katrina. Beyond that, Strip REVPAR jumped 9% and EBITDA was up as well.

I like to look at occupancy, ADR and REVPAR more than the revenue figures to get a feel for the real property performance and there was some growth there as well. The blended ADR for the Strip was $169 for the quarter and REVPAR at $162 with occupancy of 96%.

Here's the press release.

Technorati Tags: bellagio, gaming industry, las vegas, lasvegas, luxor, macau, mandalay bay, mgm grand, mgm mirage, mirage, project citycenter, treasure island

Thanks to Brian and everyone else that submitted this to me.

Just a quick post to direct people to some new photos posted at SkyScraper City that cover all the recent construction activity in Macau. Great to see these projects moving along, especially the hotel at the Sands - Sheldy quietly hedging his Cotai bet.

Also, Drambuie Man is back in Macau and will be sharing more photos when he returns - thanks again!

MGM Mirage announced today that they will be investing $160MM in Anthony Marnell's South Strip (far South) project, the 'M Resort'.

Marnell previously built and operated the Rio and his company, Marnell Corrao, built The Mirage, Treasure Island, Bellagio and Wynn Las Vegas for Steve Wynn.

Technorati Tags: gaming industry, las vegas, lasvegas, mgm mirage

The New York Times has an interesting article that covers the upcoming growth spurt in Las Vegas. A lot of general info for a mass audience but I did think the quote from Wynn indicating that this was the 'most over the top' expansion so far was interesting.

Is this a bigger game changer than milestones like the International, MGM Grand #1, The Mirage, and then Bellagio?

Technorati Tags: bellagio, casino design, fontainebleau, gaming industry, las vegas, lasvegas, project citycenter, vegas, venetian, wynn, wynnlasvegas

MGM Mirage put out a press release today updating folks on City Center's progress.

I've heard a lot of chatter from insiders about the project and from all accounts it is coming along quite nicely - MGM Mirage executives are very pleased with their progress. Of course, recent photos show the main hotel is really taking shape.

There's also news on some budget changes to the project - nothing significant and entirely expected for a development in this stage and of this scope. MGM Mirage is also putting pressure on sub-contractors to reduce some project costs and budgets and without that, the price would have gone up more than they are indicating here.

Technorati Tags: casino design, gaming industry, las vegas, lasvegas, project citycenter

So, that story we posted the other day from VT&T was true! MGM Mirage has indeed purchased the land surrounding Circus Circus to assemble a jumbo parcel that will certainly see re-development sometime in the future.

http://www.lvrj.com/news/7096416.html

We previously discussed this here: http://www.ratevegas.com/blog/2007/04/rumor_mgm_mirag.html

Unfortunately I don't have the facility to merge the topics in any sensible way.

Technorati Tags: gaming industry, las vegas, mgm mirage

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

I haven't been able to confirm this story despite making several queries but Vegas Today and Tomorrow is reporting that MGM Mirage may be buying the Bennett-owned parcel across from the Sahara.

Since Nazarian purchased The Sahara, this parcel is available - they were previously trying to sell the hotel along with this parcel.

Of course, as we learn more, we'll keep you updated.

Technorati Tags: las vegas, lasvegas, mgm mirage, sahara

From the agenda of Clark County planners, we have some insight into future projects. Here goes:

City Center - Not much, just a slight increase in the height of the towers from 543 feet to 580 feet. The FAA signed off and MGM is stating that they need the space for stuff like elevators and if residents want to put stuff on the roof (I assume satellite dishes, etc...). Also, the retail component is being increased from 650,000 square feet to 666,870 square feet. One interesting note is that Bellagio's holding company, Bellagio LLC, is the applicant - surely they have new holding companies for City Center - I would assume at least one per development for legal and financial reasons.

Wynn Las Vegas - Again, nothing major. They want to build a walkway from their Sands Ave. parking to the back of house area of the hotel, just for employees. The walkway does intersect with the monorail and the request states they will install a 'protective roof plate' to prevent falling debris hitting anyone. Ha.

Fontainebleau - Some details on the project, which is in review. The tower will be 735 feet high with 2,880 hotel rooms and 1,020 condos with kitchens. The tower sites on a low-rise podium with heights that vary from 81 feet (LVB side) to 175 feet on the convention center side on the back. Other than that, the details are few. They do have a batch plant on site at this time.

Technorati Tags: casino design, entertainment, fontainebleau, gaming industry, las vegas, lasvegas, mgm mirage, project citycenter, wynn, wynnlasvegas

A few quick sound-bites:

A Gaming Today story on the upgrades at the Golden Nugget details the recent changes. I've seen some of this stuff and it is pretty nice. They did a good job down there.

MGM Mirage's sale of their Primm, NV assets to Herbst Gaming is complete.

Lastly, it looks like the NBA All Star Weekend was a bust from a gaming perspective. Thankfully, baccarat action from Chinese New Year saved the day.

Technorati Tags: casino design, golden nugget, las vegas, lasvegas, mgm mirage

We all know the base genetics of MGM Mirage's City Center development - a mixed use project across 76 acres on a prime piece of Las Vegas Strip real estate. Multiple hotels, gaming, restaurants, retail and condos all coming together in an effort to master plan an miniature city.

The construction cranes are crawling over the property and the 4,000 room hotel/casino that will anchor site is up beyond the 11th floor. A live Web cam of the construction is on the official Web site. Also, MGM MIRAGE provided me with some photos and renderings of the project. Some may be familiar and others new.

I was able to tour the sales pavilion that has been a key tool in allowing MGM Mirage to almost completely sell out one of their condo developments (The Residences at Mandarin Oriental). Along with the tour some questions were answered about some of the other components of the project.

Keep reading after the jump for some more thoughts on what I saw.

online casino games

Technorati Tags: casino design, cirque du soleil, entertainment, gaming industry, las vegas, lasvegas, mgm mirage, project citycenter, vegas, vegas photos

Some quick updates this afternoon...

First off, Mandalay Bay announced upgrades to their pool complex. They spent $30 million to expand the area with the cornerstone of the upgrade being an outdoor-yet-climate-controlled, three story casino featuring glass walls. The casino will feature blackjack, craps and roulette. Beach attire is encouraged - no dressing up required.

To top it off, the third story will include 'Villa Soleil', a set of top of the line villa-like beach cabanas designed for up to 16 guests and 500 square feet. These will cost as much as a whopping $2,000 per day! Mandalay also claims to have doubled the number of available chairs at the pool.

Regarding Monte Carlo, we already knew they were building Diablo’s Cantina to offer dining on the Strip. What's interesting about the official announcement is that MGM MIRAGE alludes to future upgrades coming to Monte Carlo. Looks like that they are going to be spending some money there, at least in the short term. According to the press release, the restaurant is described as follows:

"The first floor will incorporate the main dining area with a hip bar and lounge. Guests will be able to enter from a Strip-front entrance that will feature a walk-up frozen/specialty drink bar, or through the casino. The second floor will include an open-air center bar area and stage for live music, rotating entertainment acts and weekend DJs. The patio will be a perfect setting for carefree fun in the sun or under the desert moon."

In other news, Fontainebleau applied with the county to increase the number of condos on the site from about 950 to just over 1,000. The space will come from a reduced number of hotel rooms - 2,880. The total number of units between the two types will be about 3,900.

Technorati Tags: casino design, fontainebleau, gaming industry, las vegas, lasvegas, mandalay bay, mgm mirage, vegas

Thanks to Drambuie_Man, we have a major set of new Macau photos that highlight the construction of the MGM Grand Macau, Venetian Macau and others. He was also kind enough to write up his report, which you will find after the jump.

The photos are located here:
http://www.ratevegas.com/photo/gallery/macau

Huge thanks go out to Drambuie_Man for taking and sharing these photos with us. He attached some notes to the photos which I have distilled and included here after the jump. I highly suggest that you give these a read along with the photos to get a better sense of context.

Here goes...

Technorati Tags: casino design, gaming industry, lasvegassands, macau, mgm grand, mgm mirage, venetian

Work got out a little early and I was on my way taking my sweet time to the airport. I had gotten a full eight hours of rest the night before and hardly any butterflies were flapping in my stomach.

Why was I not suffering the usual symptoms of pre-Vegas? Maybe because I knew it would be nearly impossible to top my last trip where I spent time in one of Wynn’s Fairway Villas with friends of nearly 20 years. What I did come to realize during this quick getaway, however, is that a solo trip where you meet others in town at your own leisure is something special in and of itself and a different kind of fun.

(More after the jump...)

I recently spent a weekend in Las Vegas. My stated purpose was a friend's wedding but I managed to get in a few other activities for the benefit of you fine people.

Here you will read about Encore at Wynn Las Vegas, Palazzo, The Mirage, Spamalot, Luxor and more.

Also, I uploaded a couple hundred new photos: http://www.ratevegas.com/photo/most_recent

Some more info after the jump...

Ok, so this isn't really a surprise. This has been rumored and semi-confirmed for months.

After the fall of 'Hairspray', Luxor officials were looking for something to fill their theater and they tapped their friends from Canada to help.

This show will feature the 'magic' tricks of illusionist Cris Angel. I've never seen him perform but I've heard he is quite good and far less annoying than David Blane.

Expect more details from MGM Mirage soon and a show to open early 2008. Production cost is supposedly about $100 million.

Technorati Tags: cirque du soleil, cirquedusoleil, entertainment, gaming industry, las vegas, lasvegas, luxor, mgm mirage, vegas

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).

MGM Grand Detroit will be the first of the three "permanent" casinos to open. It's interim casino has been operating since 1999 in an old IRS processing center building. The permanent facility will be one block away in an ideal location to get traffic off the freeways and fairly close to the convention center.

The website has been updated to include hotel and meeting information. The "Image Gallery" shows photos and floorplans for the rooms. I was pleasantly surprised by how upscale the rooms will be. Although the hotel will only have 400 rooms, it will be a welcome addition to my long-depressed home town. The rooms put those at MGM Grand Las Vegas to shame, MGM Detroit's casino has been very profitable for MGM Mirage, and I'm glad MGM invested $700+ Million into the new facility and the city. Well done, MGM!

Photos:
MGM Grand Detroit

Drambuie_Man is heading to Macau and has offered to take questions in advance for those of us that haven't been or can't get to the other side of the world on a regular basis. I'm lucky to have several folks in the area that have been very generous with their time and this is another example of that.

His comments are after the jump and feel free to litter the comments with requests. Also, if you are in Macau or nearby and want to hang out, email me at editor@ratevegas.com and I'll make mutual contact.

Technorati Tags: casino design, gaming industry, las vegas, lasvegassands, macau, mgm mirage, sandsmacau, wynn macau

This time around I spent most of the episode talking about Wynn Resorts, Ltd., 4th Quarter earnings report. There's also some stuff on MGM Mirage and others.

Update: For some reason that I can't explain, this episode sounds somewhat tinny. Sorry about that.

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: boyd, gaming industry, las vegas, lasvegas, lasvegassands, macau, mgm mirage, podcast, sands, sandsmacau, vegas, venetian, wynn, wynn macau, wynnlasvegas

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

Boyd Gaming posted some nice results yesterday:

http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2007/Feb-21-Wed-2007/business/12696493.html

Boyd is building Echelon Place in Las Vegas on the site of the Stardust, which is set to come down in mid-March. Their joint venture in Atlantic City with MGM MIRAGE, Borgata, has many folks believing that Echelon is a project to watch and their Las Vegas opening will be a bigger splash than some have predicted.

Technorati Tags: atlantic city, borgata, boyd, casino design, gaming industry

MGM MIRAGE reported another blowout quarter, with Q4 profits doubling from last year. Quarterly revenues are up to $2.02 billion with almost $90 million coming from insurance recovery against Katrina losses.

These numbers were way above what analysts had predicted.

http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=101502&p=IROL-NewsText&t=Regular&id=963023&

http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D8N9IGVO0.htm

Technorati Tags: gaming industry, las vegas, mgm mirage, vegas

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

Well, we all know that MGM Mirage is planning to enter the Macau market with the under-construction MGM Grand Macau. Since MGM is not a concessionaire in Macau, they have to partner with someone that is or has a sub-concession... Well, they hooked up Pansy Ho, daughter of Macau old-timer Stanley Ho.

Stanley's well known to be a least a little on the sketchy side (some would say totally on the sketchy side). The question that's come up is if partnering with Pansy would allow Stanley any undue influence into her operations.

The Nevada gaming regulatory bodies are investigating Pansy's suitability as MGM Mirage is a multiple license holder in the Silver State. Will this be a problem? The licensing is taking longer than many expected - does that mean they've found some items they're not too happy with?

A couple of articles discussing related issues:
http://www.valleyblogs.com/mckee/2007-02-06/id_2057

and related to Pansy, brother Lawrence and Packer's media conglomerate:
http://www.news.com.au/business/story/0,23636,21170997-462,00.html

Technorati Tags: gaming industry, macau, mgm grand, mgm mirage

I wouldn't normally post this as I get these press releases all the time but I thought this one was interesting.

It's a $20,000 package for a trip to the MGM Grand's Skylofts, designed for newlyweds.

It includes a meal at Robuchon, Ka, Tabu, the spa, Rolex watches (!), two nights in a one bedroom Skyloft and more. The complete description from the press release is after the jump.

Technorati Tags: gaming industry, las vegas, lasvegas, mgm grand, mgm mirage, vegas

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.

Casinos Divide to Conquer

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

Today's newspapers have some interesting stories.

First off is the Sun with an article on Bobby Baldwin and the CityCenter plan. Some of the water and special features are alluded to here. A very interesting article. From this piece I can't help but think that pretty soon there will be way too many interesting resorts to really see Las Vegas in a single weekend anymore... if you can even do that still today.

http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/consumer/2007/jan/21/566630061.html

Second is an article on implosion prep for the Stardust:

http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2007/Jan-21-Sun-2007/business/12010899.html

Technorati Tags: boyd, casino design, condos, echelon, gaming industry, las vegas, mgm mirage, project citycenter, vegas

** I was originally scheduled to do a tour of the City Center Sales Pavilion this weekend. Unfortunately something has come up and I will be in California instead. Anyway, here's some info I got on PCC from MGM MIRAGE and I will re-schedule my tour. **

MGM MIRAGE opened the Project CityCenter Sales Pavilion in early January to showcase the various features of their $7 billion project. The center features models of several of the condo units, incorporating state-of-the-art technology to give prospective buyers an immersive experience.

The Pavilion is open daily, 10am - 7pm. Appointments are preferred but according to MGM MIRAGE staffers serious prospects can often be squeezed in. More info, direct from MGM MIRAGE, on the various units follows.

Technorati Tags: casino design, gaming industry, las vegas, project citycenter, vegas, vegas photos

Saw this one on Robin Leach's 'blog' on Vegas celebrity gossip topics and it's interesting.

The idea is that Luxor's name would change to 'The Pyramid' about halfway through the year when they open their new nightlife operations.

Robin's take on the Luxor name is here.

I know MGM MIRAGE is eager to re-make Luxor in the public's eye as it is seen as having languished under previous management. Still, this would be a big move. I'd be more inclined to see a marketing campaign around 'Luxor: The Pyramid' rather than dropping the former moniker altogether.

Technorati Tags: casino design, gaming industry, las vegas, luxor, mgm mirage

Howdy folks! As a quick aside, I meant to do a podcast tonight but it didn't happen - sorry!! I'm shooting for the weekend and from then on, probably every 7-10 days. Thank you for being patient. There's clearly a lot to about.

I am planning on being in Las Vegas at the end the month, just for a weekend, to tour and document the progress at CityCenter's preview center - thanks to MGM MIRAGE for any access. From what I'm told, the preview center is amazing - I look forward to sharing with everyone... Expect photos to follow.

Regarding Wynn Macau, their 'Diamond Suites' project, located on the property edge near the future MGM Grand (with its neat/original curtain wall design), is a new hotel tower with the aim to up their room inventory as the company also looks into possibilities on Cotai Originally, Wynn Macau had something akin to a phase '1b', which was supposed to expand the casino floor, add a showroom and a new 'front feature', all to open in early 2007. This front feature is some kind of special effects room that Wynn says will 'blow us all away'.

Given that the public spaces are now going to be more aligned with the 'Diamond Suites' areas, they have been delayed until later this year. The 'Diamond Suites' tower is still 18 to 25 months out, though no specific dates have been announced. Some of the new tables and slots will open for the celebration of Chinese New Year, which is also coming to Las Vegas in a few weeks.

Ok, and last, MGM MIRAGE has new renderings of both CityCenter and MGM Grand Macau in their latest financial presentation. Very interesting shots that really show how the new buildings will interact with each and specifically "NOT" interact with neighbors.

MGM Mirage Financial Presentation 1/2007

I realize this was long winded - sorry. I hope everyone is doing well. Photos will follow in this space.

Technorati Tags: boyd, casino design, fremont

Thanks to reader Aaron_B for this well written trip report from Bellagio. This is his first contribution so let's give him a warm welcome.

Also, if there's anyone else out there that would like to share a report, please feel free to send them to editor@ratevegas.com. I cannot guarantee that it will be published but I will guarantee to read it and get back to you. I'm especially interested in reports from hotels that we don't cover as often (i.e. not Wynn Las Vegas, The Mirage, Bellagio, etc...) but that doesn't mean you cannot submit one from the above.

Some photos are also posted:
http://www.ratevegas.com/photo/most_recent

The report continues after the jump. Enjoy!

Technorati Tags: bellagio, las vegas, lasvegas, photography, project citycenter, trip report, vegas, vegas photos