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This week's Zoning meetings:
LVS is asking for a time extension on its approval to build a new Convention Center. The Agenda item says LVS is in the process of obtaining permits, but could the economy be a reason?
Las Vegas Sands Convention Center
Wynn has requested a deviation for Encore's signage:
Encore's Signage
The show is up:
http://www.vegasgangpodcast.com
This time we feature:
* Wynn Hires Tim and Tim / Wynn Early Financials
* Nevada and Illinois Post Bad Numbers
* Tropicana E.Coli Outbreak
* Don Barden / Pittsburgh
* MGM Mirage / Wynn Resorts Market Cap
Comments welcome below.
Don't forget the Podcast-a-palooza:
http://www.vegasgangpodcast.com/2008/07/vegas-gang-podcast-live-august-16th-vegas-podcast-a-palooza/
Just saw this fly across the wire - Wynn Resorts has announced preliminary 2nd Quarter results:
http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=132059&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1173860&highlight=
Operating income at Wynn Las Vegas is expected to be $18-22 million, down from $63.4 million last year. Wow, big drop. Looks like they are blaming it on lower hold percentages, lower ADR, and lower occupancy.
On the other end, Wynn Macau did much better than last year it seems with operating income almost doubling to $100 million or so.
The company also announced they will be buying back more shares.
A surprising bit of news this morning.
"LAS VEGAS, July 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Tim Poster and Tom Breitling will be joining Wynn Resorts (Nasdaq: WYNN - News) subsidiary Wynn Las Vegas as Sr. Vice Presidents of Strategy and Development."
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/080702/law516.html?.v=14
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...
My good friend and fellow 'Gang Member', ("yeah, I'm in a gang") Chuck has posted a bunch of new Encore construction photos:
http://www.vegastripping.com/news/news.php?news_id=2144
Enjoy!
Thanks again to George "Dram Man" Geddes for providing a trip report based around his recent trip to Macau.
The photos, previously published, are here:
http://www.ratevegas.com/photo/gallery/macaujune2008
Thanks George! Continue after the jump...
Wynn Resorts started booking rooms at Encore today, for dates from February 6th, 2009 onward. They *may* accept guests before that date but for now, you cannot confirm anything earlier.
A little bit more info on the property:
* Encore will also feature a segmented hotel tower between suites and standard 'resort' rooms. As at Wynn Las Vegas, Encore's 'Tower Suites' will have their own valet, check-in and elevators.
* Encore will feature 5 new fine dining restaurants.
* As we already know, the casino will be bathed in natural light with pool and garden views.
* Encore will feature a new nightclub.
* All suites include wireless Internet access, 42" plasma TVs, and large bathroom TVs.
* The standard Encore room will feature L shaped couches in the sitting area. The standard room size is 700 square feet.
* They are also offering Parlor and Salon suites.
As we have previously heard, while Encore is described as an all-suite hotel, the standard room offering will be a segmented single room, featuring an innovative partition system.
I thought it was interesting to hear them describe Encore as a "new signature resort from the Wynn Collection". This is clearly in their script as two different reservationists gave me that line.
Thanks to occasional contributor George "Dram Man" Geddes, we have a load of new Macau photos to share.
As usual, all the recent photos can be seen here: http://www.ratevegas.com/photo/most_recent
Thanks to George for sharing - enjoy!
I had heard from several sources that while reservations for Encore at Wynn Las Vegas open up this Wednesday, they would not be taking bookings for arrivals before February 6th, 2009 (Super Bowl weekend).
Well, this seemed a bit strange... I checked into it myself and it is true that you cannot reserve rooms before early February. I guess it's possible the first two months are for invite only players but I find this hard to believe.
I'm still told Encore's casino should open in December - what does this mean? A soft opening for Steve Wynn, the king of the hardest of hard openings who is on record disparaging the soft opening at The Venetian and Palazzo? I'm personally pretty shocked if this is the case.
I've heard some rumors as to why - leading me to believe they may have had no choice - but nothing I've been able to confirm.
This is developing... Still plenty of time for things to change.
Update: Fellow Vegas Gang Podcast contributor Jeff Simpson contacted Wynn Resorts for comment and, unlike myself, was actually able to get a response. Wynn and Co. are saying they plan to open in December as originally planned and they're just being super-extra-cautious by not allowing normal reservations until February. Maybe that's all there is to it. Wynn Resorts - I'm happy to be a 'witness' at the official opening. :-)
The latest episode is live - check out our discussions here:
http://www.vegasgangpodcast.com
Comments welcome below...
This is good news that Tableau's Mark LoRusso will definitely move to Encore, and it looks like Tableau's space will remain a restaurant instead of becoming another club.
"Steve Wynn has lured another star chef to Wynn Las Vegas. Larry Forgione, a pioneering chef from New York, will move An American Place into the Tableau space this winter, when Mark LoRusso opens a restaurant at Encore, the new luxury suite hotel at Wynn Las Vegas. "Larry Forgione was one of the first chefs to focus exclusively on American ingredients and cuisine," Wynn said. "His vision and commitment to sustainability paved the way for many of today's chefs." ..."
Norm Column in the RJ: Norm
Yes, we're back (and better than ever?).
Anyway, the episode is posted here: http://www.vegasgangpodcast.com
Comment away!
Thanks to globalcasinoboom.com for this interesting story that talks about Wynn Resorts potentially managing or consulting on a casino from Arusze in the Philippines.
http://globalcasinoboom.com/casinos/philippines-wynn-may-manage-aruzes-25-billion-manila-bay-casino/
Yes, the property formerly known as 'Wynn Diamond Suites' has been renamed 'Encore at Wynn Macau'.
Thanks to VegasTripping for the tip and also a photo of construction:
Encore at Wynn Macau
Encore at Wynn Macau Construction Photo
Yes, this is a few days old but we need a story to cover it and I was out.
LVS - Las Vegas Sands had an unexpected 1st quarter loss which has caused the stock to tumble. Slow ramp up for Palazzo in Vegas and a new weakness in Macau seems to be the culprit. Some numbers here.
WYNN - Wynn Resorts did better than expected on revenue but it looks like it missed on EPS. I am hoping to have some more time later to get deeper into these figures and listen to the call playback. http://www.thestreet.com/s/wynn-posts-mixed-quarter/newsanalysis/leisure/10414810.html?puc=googlen&cm_ven=GOOGLEN&cm_cat=FREE&cm_ite=NA
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
On the most recent episode of The Strip Podcast, Steve Wynn talks about his ultimate plans for the golf course - two new hotels for a total of 10,000 rooms (including WLV and Encore) and a 1.5 million square foot convention facility.
Clearly, this would put Wynn Resorts in direct competition with the various other convention centers in town, most specifically Las Vegas Sands and their Sands Expo. No specific timeline was given for the development.
KLAS-TV has a three part, 30+ minute interview with Steve Wynn on its website. The audio is so poor that I haven't listened to it yet. I'll need headphones, but for Wynnophiles, it might be interesting.
KLAS-TV Interview With Steven Wynn
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=
It may have been a whole year in the works, but it felt like only yesterday that I had booked my flight as I was sitting impatiently at the airport. This was to be my last hoorah with Vegas until Encore's opening in December. Who knows if I'll hold true to that promise, but I planned this trip to the fullest knowing all too well that these rare opportunities don't come around very often.
(More after the jump...)
Steve Friess chats up Steve Wynn for this weeks The Strip Podcast and there is no shortage of great quotes, particularly near the end when he gets into Adelson's claim that at one point he had offered Wynn a job.
I assume the show will be posted sometime Thursday. It's certainly worth a listen, along with a few bits on Encore and the Binkley book, "Winner Takes All".
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
Wynn Resorts have settled on December 2008 as the unveiling for Encore Suites, the sister resort going up next to Wynn Las Vegas.
Few new details besides the opening timeframe are in the press release, though it does allude to many of the features we've already covered here in the past.
http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=132059&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1112568&highlight=
Wynn Resorts just reported their results.
http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=132059&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1107473&highlight=
That's the press release. I'll update this with some thoughts as soon as I have a chance.
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.
Ok, still working on my Palazzo story but in the interim, here's some recent photos of Encore at Wynn Las Vegas.
Some nice shots showing low-rise progress. Curtains and what looked like furniture was in many of the lower floors of the high-rise.
In particular, this shot shows where the glass wall looking over the pool area will be:
http://www.ratevegas.com/photo/show/5809?gallery_id=78
And the rest of the shots:
http://www.ratevegas.com/photo/gallery/encore
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?
This was in the news yesterday and I just assumed most people saw it so I didn't post it but maybe I was wrong... Anyway, Wynn Macau is set to open it's casino expansion on Monday, December 24th. This includes more tables, slots, and their new dramatic entry feature (I hope we hear more about this soon). Following in January are more retails shops including Hugo Boss and Ferrari.
http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=132059&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1088786&highlight=
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
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
Chuck at MacauTripping.com has posted a photo walkthrough of Wynn Macau with shots from his recent trip. A must see for Wynn fans.
http://www.macautripping.com/features/feature.php?feature_id=5&page=1
Wynn Resorts just reported as the market closed - the conference call is about to start and I'll update this with any interesting info.
Quarterly revenue was $653.4 million, up from $318.1 million last year - all because of Macau. Adjusted property EBITDA was $186 million.
Adjusted net income: $73.4 million, compared to a $1.3 million loss last year. GAAP net income was $44 million and that figure from last year was skewed by the sale of the Macau sub-concession.
Lots of interesting details in the press release: http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=132059&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1069836&highlight=
ADR at Wynn Las Vegas: $282, up from $271 a year ago. Occupancy was 96.6%.
ADR at Wynn Macau: $245 and occupancy was 91.9%.
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
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
Can Le Reve be salvaged? I haven't seen it, but Wynn has been tinkering with it for two years now: Is it a first class show?
Le Reve Continues To Evolve
Liz Benston had an interesting column on Macau in the 9/30 LV Sun:
Catching up to Las Vegas
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."
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!
As the Wynn Las Vegas tipping fiasco was hitting fast and furious, one Web site - CasinoDealers.net was the voice of many that felt they didn't have one. The Web site is a popular gathering spot for those in the industry and it was the home of many a hot-and-heavy discussion on the topic. Some of those discussions even spilled over here as we have some of the same contributors.
Anyway, the site is profiled in today's LVRJ:
http://www.lvrj.com/business/9686822.html
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...
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)
Thanks to VegasTripping.com for pointing us to this interesting interview with Steve Wynn.
He talks about their upcoming Cotai property - he wants to make it the best in the world it seems... Also, some talk on Encore (the casino will look like Macau's, which is pretty much what we all expected) and Las Vegas Sands.
Great interview: http://macaubusiness.com/index.php?id=881
Update: I thought I had a photo of the Wynn Macau casino in my gallery but I looked and couldn't find one