Las Vegas Blog October 2006

October 2006 Blog Archive

October 24, 2006

There is a proposition on the ballot in Nevada to legalize the possession of up to an ounce of marijuana and setup a taxed and regulated sales system. Aside from the obvious federal law issues, I just don't see how it would possibly work. I am about as libertarian as one can get on drug prohibition but I just don't see an America where you can walk into 7-11 and order a pack of "Skunky Lights 100s." If anything, this country is going the opposite way. You can't even smoke a cigarette outside on the beach in California anymore. Can you imagine being allowed to fire up some doobies?

Comments, Compliments and Complaints

October 19, 2006

I just got back from a week in New York City for business and it certainly isn't Las Vegas! I hear many complaints that the old bargain days of Vegas are gone and in many ways that is true. However, I stayed at Wynn in July for $239 a night and it is the most expensive hotel ever built. Yet in NYC, I paid over $400 a night to stay at a Hilton on a corporate rate! The food prices aren't much better. $16 pastrami sandwiches, coleslaw 3 bucks extra. I grew up in New York and love the town but I much rather be in Vegas!

October 9, 2006

The site has finally been updated from my last trip. There are quite a few new property maps as well as new room pics from Paris and Stardust.

In casino news, Harrah's has dropped it plans to pursue the second of two casino licenses in Singapore. This is in light of the takeover bid that was announced last week. Apparently, the new owners would have to go through the entire approval process with the Singaporean government to even bid on the project and there just wasn't enough time. This news, for some reason, caused all casino stocks to start the day off in the toilet through most came back before the end of the day.

October 2, 2006

This morning, 2 major pieces of Vegas news hit the wires. Boyd Gaming announced that they reached a deal to exchange the Barbary Coast for a parcel of land directly north of the soon to be imploded Stardust. The deal was valued at $280 million. In even bigger news, Harrah's received a buyout offer from a group of private equity firms for $81 a share. They are reviewing the offer and will decide whether to accept it.

As for the Barbary Coast deal, Harrah's has had a hard-on for that place since it acquired Caesars as it is the only missing link in their continuous ownership of the east side of the mid-Strip from the Imperial Palace all the way down to Paris with Caesars thrown in for good measure. For Boyd, this was a friggin home run. They got $30 million more for it than the Englestad's got for the entire IP! I don't know what it works out per acre but it has to be in the $50 million area. As a shareholder of Boyd, I appreciate Harrah's generosity. Now they have another 24 acres to work with on the replacement for the Stardust.

I am all for Harrah's being taken private. It can only be a good thing for gamblers as the current incarnation of Harrah's has been nothing but bad. At every property they have bought, they have gutted anything remotely resembling a decent machine and their "Total Rewards" program is one of the stingiest in the business. They have done it all in the name of the mighty share price and the hell with the loyal customers.

I completely understand the need to maximize profits, I am all for it. It the way they do it that bothers me. They prefer to empty the wallets of the occasional visitor to Vegas by offer nothing but crappy machines rather then cultivate the 6 times a year guy like me who will ultimately make them more money in the long run. The end result is a huge swath of the LV Strip is a wasteland of bad casinos. Once they destroy what remains at Caesars, I will no longer be able to stay and play on the Strip. Green Valley Ranch and a few other locals places have figured out how to offer both a nice casino and decent games, so they are the ones who will get my business.

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