The lineup of retailers at Crystals luxury mall at CityCenter reads like a who’s who of posh celebrities. Louis Vuitton. Roberto Cavalli. Harry Winston. Christian Dior. Then there are the brands too obscure or expensive to be household names: Assouline (rare book store) or Kiki de Montparnasse (racy lingerie). If you haven’t heard of them, you’re not their clientele.
Las Vegas Sands has named a new president for its Las Vegas properties, the company announced this week. The position has been vacant since the former president stepped into a new role.
At first glance, Suite 1168 in Hard Rock’s Casino Tower looks like any other Las Vegas high roller suite. There are flat-screen TVs, a full-size bar and a hot tub large enough for whatever party might wander back to your room.
After two years of declining revenues, the U.S. casino industry showed more stable results in 2010, according to an annual report released today by the American Gaming Association. Gross gaming revenue from commercial casinos totaled $34.6 billion in 2010, a nearly 1 percent increase from 2009.
Las Vegas Sands reported record earnings for the first quarter of 2011, primarily because of stronger results in Macau and operations in Singapore. The Las Vegas-based casino operator today reported net income increased to $299.4 million.
The Sahara hotel-casino has shut down its roller coaster in preparation for its closure in less than two weeks. The roller coaster closed Sunday, a representative from the hotel said. The ride first opened in 1999 when the Sahara renovated and opened its NASCAR Café.
Las Vegas has been bumped from the top spot of summer travel destinations on one travel website. The city trailed Orlando and took the No. 2 spot on Orbitz’s 2011 summer travel index, after holding the top spot for the last two years.
On any given weekday evening, the entrance of Xtreme Couture martial arts gym off Sunset Road is brimming with wannabe mixed martial arts fighters who have just left their nine-to-fives to train alongside six-time UFC champion Randy Couture.
Executives cut the ribbon today on the first phase of the $850 million Tivoli Village at Queensridge in the western Las Vegas Valley. Tivoli opened with 15 stores and restaurants, which is half of the stores planned for Phase 1 of the project.
One gambler is going home a lot richer after hitting the Megabucks jackpot for $10.6 million at Aria on Friday evening. A spokesperson for MGM Resorts International confirmed the win but said the gambler has asked to remain anonymous.
In recent years, building a new Las Vegas development has usually meant adding a towering glass casino-resort to the valley’s skyline. But unlike the flashy behemoths on the Strip, west Las Vegas’ latest development is calling upon some old world charm to attract patrons.
Wynn Resorts posted a sixfold increase in profit during the first quarter of 2011 as business boomed in Macau and continued to rebound in Las Vegas. The Las Vegas-based casino operator reported first-quarter profit of $173.8 million, or $1.39 per share, an increase from $27 million, or 22 cents per share in the same period of 2010.
Steve Wynn took home more than $14.6 million in 2010 in his role as Wynn Resorts chairman and CEO, an increase of about $6.2 million from his compensation package in 2009.
The number of tourists traveling to Las Vegas is approaching pre-recession levels, but the average cost of a Strip show ticket has already surpassed that mark. Las Vegas show prices are at the highest levels recorded in the 20-year history of an annual survey conducted by Las Vegas Advisor.
If there is anything that could match the number of casinos in Las Vegas, it’s the number of fast food restaurants. McDonald’s and Burger King operate a combined total of more than 80 restaurants in the Las Vegas Valley, with smaller brands scattered in between. Las Vegas probably needs another fast food restaurant as much overweight Americans need their high-calorie offerings. But Burger King’s new Whopper Bar at the Rio puts a different spin on its traditional offerings.
February brought Las Vegas its 12th consecutive month of increases in visitation, according to numbers released today. The number of visitors in February increased by 1 percent from about 2.85 million visitors in February 2010 to more than 2.88 million this past February, according to a monthly report from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.
It’s the time of year when packs of bikini-clad 20-somethings descend on Las Vegas Strip resort pools with yard-long drinks and hundreds of dollars to spend. It’s pool party season and the most profitable time of year for nightclub operators who are also dabbling in the daylife trend.
Greenspun Media Group has launched a new website for daily and breaking business news in conjunction with its reimagined weekly business magazine, VEGAS INC.
We’ve all likely stood behind one at McCarran International Airport security — travelers who purge their carry-on bag of shampoo bottles and suntan lotion because they don’t understand the TSA’s 3.4-ounce liquid restriction.
Las Vegas Sands will open a hotel at its Pennsylvania casino in May. The Sands Hotel at the Sands Casino Resort in Bethlehem, Pa., will be a 300-room, luxury hotel and the largest in Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley area, the company announced this week.
Las Vegas remained the top U.S. destination for trade shows in 2010, according to a new report released by the Trade Show News Network. The city hosted 60 of the 250 largest trade shows in 2010.
The Las Vegas Strip will go dark Saturday night for Earth Hour to send a message about climate change and the importance of energy conservation. This is the third year several Strip casinos will be dimming their lights for the annual event.
It was 1986 when an up-and-coming music TV network first touched down in Daytona Beach for its inaugural spring break special. It was before anyone had ever heard of a reality TV show, but the throngs of inebriated college students and bikini-clad girls made an instant hit for MTV.
Higher fuel costs will likely take a toll on the U.S. gaming industry as Americans scale back on discretionary spending to fill their gas tanks, according to a new report.
Some of Las Vegas’ largest annual conventions helped to drive a visitor volume increase of 8.6 percent in January over the previous year, according to numbers released today.
Gary Loveman took home about $5.9 million in 2010 in his role as Caesars Entertainment chairman and CEO, slightly less than the compensation package he received in 2009.
As prices at the gas pump continue to spike, a vacation is often the first thing cut from the family budget. But even as fuel prices near the $4 mark in major tourist feeder markets like California, Las Vegas tourism and resort officials don’t seem to be worried — yet.
Clark County commissioners on Wednesday unanimously supported a proposed amusement park on the Las Vegas Strip. Developers hope to build an entertainment and retail district that would include amusement rides on a 9.6-acre site across from Mandalay Bay.
MGM Resorts says changes continue in response to customer feedback
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
When Deutsche Bank opened the Cosmopolitan on the Strip in December, misinformed tourists and some Las Vegas residents mistakenly grouped the new resort with MGM Resorts International’s CityCenter complex next door. It was easy to see why.
Wynn Resorts CEO Steve Wynn has received an annual salary increase of about $1 million, according to a regulatory filing today. Wynn’s base salary was increased to $4 million, the filing indicated. The change was effective Feb. 24.
While some of his Las Vegas Strip neighbors are tattered from several years of use, Wynn Resorts CEO Steve Wynn barely waits for a thread to be out of place at his hotels before calling for a complete remodel. It’s a practice the casino mogul has followed since the beginning of his career, first at the Golden Nugget and now at Wynn Las Vegas.
In SEC filing, company says it needs $400 million to finance projects
Thursday, Feb. 24, 2011
Caesars Entertainment announced today that it is seeking funding to complete the unfinished Octavius Tower at Caesars Palace and to begin development on a retail and entertainment plaza on the Strip.
A more family friendly travel destination has bumped Las Vegas from the top spot of the hottest spring break vacation locations on one travel website. After holding steady at No. 1 for two years, Las Vegas moved to No. 2 as Orlando moved into lead spot on Orbitz.com’s list.
The Stratosphere will dim its lights tonight in honor of the 10th anniversary of Dale Earnhardt’s death. The tower will turn off its lights at 9 p.m. and it will remain dark for 10 minutes in remembrance of the NASCAR driver who died during an event on Feb. 18, 2001.
When guests start checking into the new Ravella hotel today, they’ll find much of the Italian-inspired décor of the old Ritz-Carlton but with some more contemporary flourishes. The shuttered resort — the Ritz-Carlton closed in May — has been given a second chance with the opening of Ravella at Lake Las Vegas.
Crowds, spending expected to be up this year compared to 2010
Friday, Feb. 4, 2011
Two of city’s most popular events — the start of Chinese New Year and the Super Bowl — will collide this weekend, bringing thousands of visitors and millions of dollars to Las Vegas.
It’s the time of year when red and gold lanterns adorn Strip casino ceilings and citrus trees line hotel lobbies. It isn’t your typical New Year’s décor but a sign that Las Vegas is ready to usher in another round of celebrations — and one of its most profitable periods of the year. The Chinese New Year officially begins today, bringing thousands of domestic and international tourists to Las Vegas and injecting million of dollars into the city’s economy.
High above the casino floor where customers are tethered to the slot machines, the El Cortez has spent months revamping its hotel to attract the young, hipster crowd finding its way to the new downtown.