The Strip’s newest resort has a provocative ad campaign and artsy attractions to distinguish it from some of its competitors. But there’s a post-recession element behind the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas’ glam rock facade: A contrarian decision to not charge hotel guests resort fees.
Jason Matecki is one of those wealthy people who developers counted on during the boom years to buy condos on the Strip. Then the economy busted, real estate investors soured on Las Vegas, and developers scrapped plans.
Las Vegas Sands President and Chief Operating Officer Michael A. Leven intends to sell up to 1,758,349 shares of Las Vegas Sands stock next year as part of a pre-arranged stock trading plan, the company said today.
Paul McIntyre is smiling at the Global Gaming Expo, belying the fact that he is embedded deep behind enemy lines. This is the final frontier for anti-smoking advocates — the casino industry’s premier trade show, which wrapped up in Las Vegas last month — and not an entirely welcome place to be.
When asked to explain the aesthetic of a casino resort lacking a defined theme, major chains or celebrity brand names, the CEO of the $3.9 billion Cosmopolitan Las Vegas resort begins to unpack a series of boxes the size of cigarette packs stacked on his desk.
John Unwin left a high-profile job as general manager of Caesars Palace last year to lead the $3.9 billion Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, a 2,995-room property that debuts Dec. 15 as the last of the boom-era luxury resorts on the Strip to open.
With just days left before the 111th Congress calls it quits, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is taking what’s almost certain to be his last, best chance for a while to fast-track an effort to legalize Internet poker and deliver a prize to some of his biggest backers.
While defending their financially troubled development as a forward-thinking enterprise yet to hit its stride, CityCenter’s developers acknowledge a problem with the landmark, $8.5 billion project: Many pedestrians are simply passing it by.
Compulsive gambling is a tricky topic in a town where casino operators are considered economic engines and icons of ingenuity instead of unsavory merchants muddying the water between entertainment and highway robbery. This makes casino owner John Woodrum something of an enigma.
No casino game may be more intimidating than baccarat, typically played at high limits in elegant, sequestered rooms with tuxedoed dealers, attentive casino managers and waitresses quick to appear with fine cocktails. It was played by European royalty in the 13th century and by James Bond in the 20th, memorialized in such stylish films as “Dr. No” and “Casino Royale.” And yet, for a game wrapped in mystique, baccarat is one of the simplest games in a casino.
In the otherwise dull world of quarterly conference calls, analysts can count on Steve Wynn — the eloquent, philosophical and opinionated CEO of Wynn Resorts — to go off script, much to their consternation.
Richard Chu had done quite well for himself as a host at Pure nightclub at Caesars Palace, cultivating customers, escorting them inside and landing them the best tables. How well did he do? The IRS says he failed to declare at least $112,000 in income.
Las Vegas visitors probably stay at the Bellagio more for its dancing fountains or opulent surroundings than because it's one of the very few luxury hotels in town that does not charge a resort fee.
After her second place finish last year on Donald Trump’s reality show “Celebrity Apprentice,” Annie Duke cemented her crossover status in pop culture from the more crowded field of mere poker fame.
Comes with rehiring policy, controversial tip-sharing plan
Tuesday, Nov. 9, 2010
Among the fears of many casino workers in town is not just losing their jobs, but whether they can find work when the economy improves. That’s less of a concern now for some dealers at Wynn Las Vegas.
The quick answer: Maybe. Las Vegas resorts report hopeful signs and economists are optimistic, but consumers still cautious about spending.
Sunday, Nov. 7, 2010
By some measures, the recession-battered Strip has made the turn and is on the road to recovery. Room rates, convention bookings, gambling revenue and visitor traffic have all improved. But don’t release the confetti yet.
Penn National Gaming executives have been high-fiving each other over their purchase of the M Resort’s debt for $230.5 million -- and the right to acquire the $1 billion property outright.
More than three years after voting for union representation, Wynn Las Vegas dealers last week voted 258 to 65 to approve the resort’s first-ever labor contract. About 60 percent of Wynn's 500-plus full-time dealers cast votes, union representatives said.
Partners take chance that they have enough stories to be the CNN of the gaming world
Monday, Nov. 1, 2010
More than two years ago, UNLV professor and casino consultant Jeff Voyles had an “aha” moment while leafing through more than a dozen casino industry trade publications that have sprouted in the past decade. “It just didn’t make sense, going through all this stuff,” he said.
When Toronto-based Onex Corp. acquired the Tropicana Las Vegas out of bankruptcy last year and installed Alex Yemenidjian as CEO, the plan wasn’t to survive on bargain hunters amid dated surroundings.
When Toronto-based Onex Corp. acquired the Tropicana Las Vegas out of bankruptcy last year and installed Alex Yemenidjian as CEO, the plan wasn’t to survive on bargain hunters amid dated surroundings.
Nevada’s largest casino company recently bid farewell to its corporate name of a decade and adopted a highfalutin new one: MGM Resorts International. Soon, two other Strip giants may do likewise. It’s as if some fabled casinos are suddenly in a hurry to shed their skins.
While some industry observers point to recent increases in gambling revenue as a sign that a recovery is under way, analysts at CB Richard Ellis in Las Vegas are popping that balloon, calling such figures a temporary aberration.
Most financially broken businesses try to resolve their predicaments with foreclosure auctions and bankruptcy sales — public events with starting bids and published procedures.
It’s a scenario many Las Vegas homeowners can readily identify with: Casinos that owe more than their buildings are worth and can no longer afford their debt payments are facing off with lenders who want to recover as much money as possible on ill-timed loans.
In the business world, one person’s loss is often another’s gain. But in recession-battered Las Vegas, a fortuitous sale is benefiting both parties by helping an investor boost his bottom line while helping another get a leg up on the competition. The Plaza in downtown Las Vegas will get a 21st-century makeover aided by the Fontainebleau, the unfinished Strip resort.
Desperate workers have been known, in trying economic times, to buy employment from unscrupulous managers willing to break the law to line
Tuesday, Sept. 21, 2010
In the days when mobsters lined their pockets with casino cash, employment in the industry’s more lucrative echelons often depended on knowing someone in a position of power.
Resort plans to deliver units, but potential buyers seek more information — or full deposit refund
Monday, Sept. 20, 2010
The owners of the Cosmopolitan probably regret the mess they inherited when they foreclosed on the property in 2008. That is, the requirement that they deliver condo-hotel units to buyers dismayed by the prospect of closing escrow.
Unusual act fails to impress a typical daytime customer of the casino, who's there to play video poker, not for entertainment of any kind
Saturday, Sept. 18, 2010
Las Vegas resident Judy Skow visits the Palms several times a month to play video poker. One recent afternoon is a bit different from her usual trip, however. For starters, it involves a man who appears to swallow a handful of razor blades.
On the ground floor of a nondescript office tower in the Strip’s shadow, a room crammed with cubicles is coming to life. It’s nearly 2 p.m., the end of the work day on the East Coast. Time for hundreds of pollsters to hit the phones and take the pulse, rolling east to west, of a nation.
Although many academic programs at UNLV have been slimmed down or gutted because of severe budget cuts, one bright spot has been the College of Hotel Administration, which survives mainly on private donations from the gaming industry.
Although major U.S. casino companies see a potential gold mine in legalizing Internet gambling, some operators of small, neighborhood casinos in Nevada — which make up most of the properties in the world’s largest concentration of gambling halls — see problems.
While some casino employers battle labor unions, Tropicana Entertainment CEO Scott Butera makes peace with them. Butera was a Wall Street investment banker who left after 14 years to restructure Donald Trump’s ailing casino company in 2002.
In a darkened conference room at the Tuscany, a group of casino surveillance managers lean forward in their chairs for a closer look at video footage of a man strapping a metal device to his left wrist and concealing it in his jacket sleeve.
The under-construction Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas resort has entered into an agreement with hotel giant Marriott International to help funnel Marriott customers to the $3.9 billion property.
Number of slot machines in nation grows, but in state, there are 20,000 fewer than at 2001's peak
Tuesday, Aug. 24, 2010
While the number of slot machines nationwide continues to grow with the spread of tribal and nontribal casinos, one-armed bandits are decreasing in Nevada — a trend that has more to do with new technology than the recession.
Company isn’t planning to seek approval for that in Nevada — yet
Monday, Aug. 23, 2010
While slot machine technology has progressed by leaps and bounds from the days of two-dimensional cherries and 7s, the day when gamblers can insert bank cards directly into slot machines won’t be here anytime soon — if ever.
Unexpected gift to help center get through this year
Monday, Aug. 16, 2010
It’s been a tough year for the Problem Gambling Center, which is operating on 70 percent of its normal budget after state cutbacks and a decline in donations.
The Fertitta family may well end up running the Station Casinos empire it founded, even after putting more than $6 billion in debt onto the company in 2007 as the economy worsened and sending it into bankruptcy.
As expected, Wynn casino dealers have appealed to overturn Nevada Labor Commissioner Michael Tanchek’s July ruling declaring that Steve Wynn can legally force dealers to share tips with supervisors.
Gambling revenue on the Strip, which accounts for more than half that generated by all Nevada casinos, fell 8 percent in June despite a 4 percent increase in visitors.
With more hotel rooms in Las Vegas than bodies to fill them, the evidence is growing that CityCenter is stealing more business from other resorts than it is creating. Many customers are choosing to stay at fancier hotels that have lowered rates.
Large transactions could signal ill-gotten gains, agents tell floor workers
Thursday, Aug. 5, 2010
Several months ago, the Internal Revenue Service agents who investigate financial crimes in Las Vegas began calling big casinos to set up meetings with their employees.
Companies operating offshore poker sites may be out of luck in U.S.
Monday, Aug. 2, 2010
The race for Internet gambling riches may have turned in favor of Nevada-based casino operators that own some of the best-known brands in the business.
The increasing popularity of gambling and casinos as mainstream entertainment is a double-edged sword for casino operators that must compete with properties offering the same games and similar entertainment options.
Casino mogul’s victory in tip-sharing controversy may head off future complaints from servers
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
When the Nevada Labor Commissioner ruled this month that Steve Wynn’s policy of distributing casino dealer tips to supervisors was legal, restaurants across Nevada breathed a sigh of relief.