Firm that boosted Starbucks hired to drive a better buzz in wake of recent troubles
Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2009
Can the firm that helped Starbucks launch the Frappucino — the Coke of blended coffee drinks — help the owner of the Tropicana hotel and casino? Tropicana Entertainment, which has some work to do in the image department, hopes so.
Owners’ offer would leave founding family in charge
Monday, Feb. 9, 2009
Station Casinos bondholders are being asked to approve a prepackaged bankruptcy restructuring deal that involves exchanging their bonds for others worth less money, with a cash sweetener. Bondholders could accept the deal, expediting the court process and keeping the Fertitta family at the helm of the company. Or they could reject it and force the company into traditional bankruptcy, where creditors are on their own.
On a recent weekday, Tulay Koseoglu sat in her taxi at the Riviera for more than an hour waiting for a tourist to exit the property. Like sparse crowds inside casinos and on Strip sidewalks, empty cab stands have become a symbol of the epic tourism downturn in Las Vegas.
Wynn Resorts today announced a cost-reduction program for its Las Vegas resorts that includes salary reductions for salaried employees, reduced work weeks for full-time hourly workers, the elimination of 2009 bonuses and a suspension of the company match to employee 401(k) plans.
Las Vegas resident Jim Morrison paid thousands of dollars for a skybox at the Tao nightclub inside the Venetian. When an inebriated Morrison refused to tip the club’s security guards, the guards became violent, Morrison claimed.
The cost of doing business on the Strip has skyrocketed, with casinos attempting to lure customers with more discounts and freebies amid a worsening economy, according to the Gaming Control Board’s annual report on the industry. The report suggests that Strip customers spent more on food and rooms and less on just about everything else, including gambling and drinking. Revenue fell by nearly a percentage point at Strip casinos, while the properties’ corporate expenses rose 19 percent during the fiscal year that ended June 30, compared with the same period a year earlier. Profit fell 57 percent as a result.
Extraordinary efforts over five years overcome board’s bad first impression
Monday, Jan. 19, 2009
Three years into the arduous process of obtaining a Nevada gaming license, Slovenian business partners Tomaz Zvipelj and Joze “Joc” Pececnik stumbled before the Nevada Gaming Control Board. At a hearing in November 2006, the board declined to license the partners’ gambling machine company and criticized them for sloppy record-keeping and obstructing the investigation process.
While some resort operators sweat over plans for the next hot nightclub, celebrity chef restaurant or pool lounge, tech geeks at the under-construction Fontainebleau Las Vegas are abuzz over their kind of eye candy.
At a time when some companies are strapped for cash, Fontainebleau Resorts is expected to have enough money to open the $2.9 billion Fontainebleau Las Vegas, as planned, in October.
Las Vegas Sands was once the envy of Wall Street. In fall 2007, with seemingly unlimited growth prospects in Macau, the most lucrative gambling market in the world, the company’s share price topped out at nearly $150. But then came the fall, a drop so fast and long that even in this era of suicidal reversals on Wall Street, Sands stands out. The company’s market value plummeted more than 90 percent.
Following moves by other companies to delay or cancel building projects amid the floundering economy, Harrah's Entertainment is delaying the opening of its Octavius Tower expansion at Caesars Palace until demand for hotel rooms improves, the company said today.
The discovery of structural problems at CityCenter’s The Harmon, which led developers last week to scale down the hotel and scrap plans for about 200 condominium units, might be viewed as an unfortunate incident that turned into a lucky break for partner MGM Mirage.
MGM Mirage could have built a structurally sound 49-story building, but given the economic climate, the company and its partners decided it wasn’t worth the additional time and money to finish The Harmon as planned, the company’s top executive said Wednesday.
County official says ‘significant’ errors found on 14 floors of CityCenter unit
Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2009
The Harmon Hotel & Spa – originally planned as a 49-story building with some 200 condominiums atop 400 hotel rooms, will no longer offer condominiums and instead will open in late 2010 as a 400-room hotel, MGM Mirage said today. The Harmon, one of six towers at MGM Mirage's CityCenter resort complex under construction on the Strip, had been slated to open in November.
The earnings slump in the gaming industry is partly responsible for the fact that the state agency that investigates casino owners, vets gaming deals and tests gambling equipment for reliability and fairness is short-staffed.
Station Casinos is hoping business will be strong in the coming weeks and that customers use some of the company’s coupons and offers flooding airwaves and mailboxes. The company’s viability depends on it.
Maria Chenes’ career — like the industry that employed her for 34 years — had seemed recession-proof until six months ago. Like a bad joke, she was laid off on a Friday the 13th.
Encore seeks to outdo Strip rivals in luxury, service
Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2008
Lest anyone think Encore is simply another high-end hotel, or little more than a hotel addition to the attached Wynn Las Vegas resort, consider that Wynn Resorts executives consulted with experts from the Mobil Travel Guide to help them design a property that has a shot at becoming the country’s largest hotel to receive Mobil’s five-star rating.
Indications are that more casinos will not be sold
Monday, Dec. 22, 2008
On the heels of last week’s announcement of the sale of Treasure Island, MGM Mirage officials are taking exception to rampant speculation about which company properties could be next.
With Encore’s opening set for Monday, Steve Wynn has a lot going for him
Saturday, Dec. 20, 2008
It’s a good time to be Steve Wynn. While competitors are slashing expenses and running their hotels on the cheap, Wynn spared little expense developing Encore, his $2.3 billion resort that opens Monday.
MGM Mirage expects more than 100,000 applicants in down economy
Thursday, Dec. 18, 2008
As employers nationwide shed workers amid the deepening recession, MGM Mirage will kick off the country's largest hiring spree Jan. 5 as it seeks more than 12,000 workers for its $9.2 billion CityCenter resort and other company-owned properties.
Strip casinos lost the business of people like Fred Jones years ago, when the business model for which the industry was known — free meals and rooms for gamblers, even low rollers — was phased out.
City sees 10 percent drop in visitors compared to last year
Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2008
Hours after Nevada reported its worst monthly decline in gambling revenue since the state began compiling such info in 1983, the local tourism authority reported the second largest monthly drop in Las Vegas visitors. The dismal October figures are the latest sign that business has worsened in Las Vegas and precede fourth quarter casino earnings reports expected to show more red ink.
With the U.S. economy in the tank and foreign countries more open to big gambling resorts, MGM Mirage is amping up its expansion efforts with a new division focused on international gaming expansion.
With no sign of an economic recovery on the horizon, Station Casinos and Harrah’s Entertainment are bargaining with lenders to help resolve their cash flow problems.
Las Vegas a lot like Detroit, but big industries viewed differently
Monday, Dec. 8, 2008
The debate over the proposed federal bailout of Detroit’s Big Three automakers raises some intriguing comparisons with the industry behind our own company town. Las Vegas has been called the “last Detroit.” And the Strip is indeed a modern union success story. The U.S. automakers say the failure of the country’s largest remaining manufacturing base could spark a depression.
Station Casinos’ decision to replace company-owned cafes at six casinos with Denny’s restaurants is part of a money-saving trend afoot at properties owned by Station and competitor Boyd Gaming, which are facing the worst recession in a generation.
A Wednesday deadline came and went for Herbst Gaming to repay some $847 million in bank loans that were due in November, paving the way for lenders to force the company into Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
As room rates for New Year's Eve drop, no one knows how many visitors will show this year and how much they'll spend
Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2008
Strip casinos have maintained enviably high occupancy rates during this recession by offering deep discounts and unprecedented package deals – an indication that customers are still willing to open their wallets for bargains even in turbulent times.
Company will end match of 401(k) contributions, at least for time being
Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2008
Station Casinos is among the first gaming companies to suspend contributions to the retirement benefit. The company said it will periodically evaluate the potential reinstatement of matching contributions.
Casino trade group hurrying to nail down its position
Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2008
Casino companies may be commiserating over their earnings troubles, but they are squabbling like extended family at Thanksgiving dinner over the prospect of legalized Internet gambling.
Every year slot machine manufacturers gather to discuss their industry’s version of global warming — a dramatic shift in customer tastes with long-term implications for survival that are still years away.
MGM Mirage's new chairman and chief executive says he learned how to be a leader from a master with whom he has conferred nearly every day for the past decade.
MGM Mirage chief says time is right to hand reins to younger successor
Sunday, Nov. 16, 2008
Terry Lanni’s decision to retire as chief executive of MGM Mirage will be viewed with some concern, if only because he is one of the industry’s most respected leaders.
Investigation of claim on resume may mar Lanni’s reputation
Sunday, Nov. 16, 2008
State gaming regulators are investigating the academic credentials of MGM Mirage Chief Executive Terry Lanni, who may have embellished his resume with a nonexistent MBA.
Hurt by the slumping economy, the world's No. 1 slot machine manufacturer began laying off about 500 workers this week as part of a companywide cost-cutting effort that began a few months ago.
Economic downturn spurs uncommon request for review of company books
Thursday, Nov. 13, 2008
In light of the credit crunch and economic downturn, Nevada regulators are seeking information from top gaming companies about their financial health. The Gaming Control Board's actions raise an important question during these troubled economic times: What role do regulators play in the financial decisions of gaming companies, or, for that matter, in management decisions in general? The answer: very little.