Two Way Hard Three: Comments

Comment on "Vegas Gang #85 - December 7th, 2012"

Thu, 13 Dec 2012 20:23:46 -0800

Great show, as always. Hunter, the loss of TWHT is a shame, but your reasoning is solid and I understand a need to focus one's energies, for sure.

A thought about the Bill's/Drai's changeover. Once the conversion is complete, "Drai's Boutique" or whatever it's called will essentially be a nightclub/dayclub with 200 hotel rooms, more or less. It won't have a whole lot else to offer -- the property is too small to have more than one or two restaurants, for example.

And so, someone like me, not interested in the nightclub scene, probably won't ever set foot inside. And that's OK. I prefer not to interact with d-bags whenever possible, so I'll stay away.

Contrast this with Wynncore or Cosmo, which have other points of interest, and so those of us interested in the hotel room product, the restaurants, the casino, etc. in those properties have to fight through the d-bag crowd. People that stay at Wynn, Encore, Cosmo, etc. have to deal with nightclub noise from certain floors/towers.

I like the idea of a hotel solely for d-bags. Maybe it will draw some of them away from Cosmo, Wynncore, Venetian/Palazzo? Or maybe that's just wishful thinking.

It will, of course, affect its neighbors, especially Flamingo. I have stayed there a dozen plus times, several times in south-facing rooms, looking over the top of Bill's towards the Bellagio and the south Strip. Those rooms will have a big liability once the rooftop club opens next door. Sigh.

- Eric

Comment on "Seven Out"

Tue, 11 Dec 2012 19:55:54 -0800

Thank you for having this site. I've been a very avid reader and have commented a couple times over the past years. I found your site through another Vegas blog that has since gone dark as well. It was my connection back to the city after leaving in 2007. I am proud to say I use to work for Wynn, was there when the whole thing happened to La Reve and used to speak to him and others every Saturday morning. Thanks for the memories.

- NYC2010

Comment on "Seven Out"

Tue, 11 Dec 2012 19:43:41 -0800

Chris Hall and others have made some very good comments about your blog. Lots and lots of good information over the years and also the people who make comments here have made a great contribution to this blog. With not much construction on the Strip any more (Project Linq and maybe Sahara) it must have been hard to keep this going. Who knows, maybe there will be some more casino projects in the near future.

Your blog did an excellent job of talking about and discussing in depth five brand new casinos in Las Vegas which costs over $19 billion dollars to build since 2005 and in my lifetime (I am 46 years old) Las Vegas will never see that again. Here we go:

Wynn $2.7 billion dollars
Palazzo $1.9 billion dollars
Encore $2.3 billion dollars
City Center $8.5 billion dollars
Cosmopolitan $3.9 billion dollars

Unfortunately the recession started around September of 2008 and projects of this cost and size don't make economic sense any more but you have to give these casino operators credit for taking a chance to try and build the best (and most expensive) casinos in the world.

Great job Hunter. Good luck.

- Paul Shanahan

Comment on "Seven Out"

Mon, 10 Dec 2012 23:29:19 -0800

Hunter:

I have read this blog for several years now and I always enjoyed its specific take on Vegas. Jeff Simpson's passing was very sad and I can understand how it would have impacted on your enthusiasm and willingness to continue. You should be proud of what you accomplished with the blog.

Thanks to you and Dr. Dave for your many stimulating posts and ideas. Best wishes with all the other projects you are pursuing.

- mungroo

Comment on "Seven Out"

Mon, 10 Dec 2012 20:21:16 -0800

Sad to learn of the demise of one of my favorite websites. While I may be in the minority, I hate to see everything I love migrate to social media where thorough discussion is limited to 150 characters and everything is temporary. Hunter, I hope you chose to leave this blog up as an archive in some form for the long term. The history contained within is unbelievable. Imagine if we had a blog like this from when they were building the Sands, Stardust, and Sahara! The contents of that blog would be in the UNLV special archives! I look forward to one day being able to take my kids and grandkids to Encore, Cosmo, Aria, and Palazzo when they're grown...and tell them that I was one of the first people through the doors at Aria, or that I consumed the very first rum and coke served to the general public at Chandelier. I'll be able to go right to the blog posts and show them the construction process, and all the speculation and discussion surrounding each one of these wonderful places. I still love going back a few years and reading the archives on this site...seeing what has changed, and what we thought would change. I love reading the comments of a highly intelligent and informed community of people that are as passionate about my favorite city as I am. This blog is a treasure, and I hope it remains in archive form for us history nerds. Thank you Admiral for creating this wonderful community and all the time, sweat, blood, and tears that have come along with it. We look forward to whatever is next.

- Chris Hall

Comment on "Vegas Gang #85 - December 7th, 2012"

Sun, 09 Dec 2012 22:04:50 -0800

I have listened a couple times to this great episode and want to thank you guys for another top notch effort.

I hope to comment more than once on this show as the thoughts come to me, but the most important thing I want to say now is that you three have recovered from the loss of a year ago, and have a great flow amongst yourselves. I thought this a couple weeks ago while I was listening to a recent episode, but I forgot to comment then (and regret it now).

A thought regarding the Bill's changeover is wondering why Caesars isn't utilizing George Maloof in some key fashion? Seems to me that he almost single-handedly created the populist beautiful people segment of the last decade. And not using him reflects the typical arrogance of the Loveman regime.

- Jeff in OKC

Comment on "Seven Out"

Sun, 09 Dec 2012 09:55:20 -0800

Thanks for all that you've done with the blog. It's been a pleasure reading TWHT over the years. Can't wait to see the new VegasMate update in the future!

- TIavEN

Comment on "Seven Out"

Sun, 09 Dec 2012 00:47:49 -0800

thank you for this blog that you made it turn thing around for me going miss this part of our website and going miss the great info you put on here bye

- worldpool

Comment on "Seven Out"

Sat, 08 Dec 2012 17:53:03 -0800

Listening to Vegas Gang #85 now. I agree that Twitter has contributed to your decision. I'm part of the problem. Twitter has dumbed me down because of 140 character limit. Makes me lazy. I'm randomly reading TWHT archived topics again. Fun.

Thoroughly agree with @chuckmonster on Las Vegas Hilton. What a great property at one time. My fav in the late 80s.

- detroit1051

Comment on "Seven Out"

Sat, 08 Dec 2012 05:18:49 -0800

Thanks for everything. Both as a reader and a contributor, this blog has been a lot of fun. And thanks to all of the commentors for making this a place for robust discussion of Las Vegas.

- Dr.Dave

Comment on "Open Topic Discussion: November 25th, 2012"

Wed, 05 Dec 2012 14:09:13 -0800

Aaron, no matter how big the projects are (see CityCenter, Encore, etc.) pedestrian flow is maintained. Over the past 10 years of visiting Vegas, I've never seen pedestrian flow forced to cross and continue on the other side of the street. It may be claustrophobic, it may involve plywood tunnels, but there's always a way to walk from A to B.

For example, walking from Flamingo to Harrah's now (or at least, when I was there in September) involved a plywood tunnel that occupied the right lane of LV Blvd, with a single entrance into IP/Quad along the way.

The area between Bill's and Flamingo is a bit tighter, with the pedestrian overpasses and Flamingo Road intersection right there. Still, I'd be stunned if Caesars/Clark County didn't maintain a pedestrian right of way between Flamingo and Bally's on the east side of the Strip.

After all, if they close the sidewalk, where will drunken Mickey Mouse and Sponge Bob hang out? :D

- Eric

Comment on "SLS Las Vegas: Funding for Green Cards"

Tue, 04 Dec 2012 18:17:45 -0800

Thx.

Yes, doesn't seem like a lot of money - clearly Steve Wynn won't be using this for his next place.

I can't say this for sure but I'd take the fact they are resorting to this as a sign... and probably not a good one.

- Hunter

Comment on "Vegas Gang #84 - November 15th, 2012"

Tue, 04 Dec 2012 13:32:18 -0800

Great comments... big thanks to John for shining a light on the Maryland details!

- chuckmonster

Comment on "SLS Las Vegas: Funding for Green Cards"

Mon, 03 Dec 2012 22:13:19 -0800

Great examination H. I'm always amazed by the detail you get from these financial documents that goes right over my head.

Seems like a small window of opportunity for SBE - green cards for investment - to get $115m. What other avenues do they have to get the cash and when exactly is the deadline?

- chuckmonster

Comment on "Open Topic Discussion: November 25th, 2012"

Thu, 29 Nov 2012 10:03:41 -0800

I would appreciate any comments on the Linq project; especially how construction will affect pedestrian traffic in 2013. I see that Bill's is closing in early 2013 for extensive remodeling. Combined with the Linq construction, will it even be possible to walk from Harrah's to Bally's? I'm sure anyone planning a trip in 2013 would appreciate your tips in this regard on where to stay to avoid hassles. Thanks.

- Aaron

Comment on "Open Topic Discussion: November 25th, 2012"

Wed, 28 Nov 2012 13:59:36 -0800

Difficult. For one, the building isn't really finished--the Boardwalk retail area isn't done. If finished, it would draw pedestrian traffic from neighboring casinos. But doing that would require money, and who wants to invest in a casino in a declining market that's losing money?

- Dave

Comment on "Open Topic Discussion: November 25th, 2012"

Wed, 28 Nov 2012 07:38:09 -0800

In that case, Dr. Dave, what should be done from now on to make Revel a success? It appears to me that the current management path isn't working.

- JeffinOKC

Comment on "Vegas Gang #84 - November 15th, 2012"

Wed, 28 Nov 2012 06:43:09 -0800

^ Interesting. I know that MGM was able to get enough return from their policies to mitigate the fire-related shutdown of Monte Carlo and the blackout-related shutdown of Bellagio. At least that's what they said in their filings.

- Dr.Dave

Comment on "Open Topic Discussion: November 25th, 2012"

Wed, 28 Nov 2012 06:36:47 -0800

I think the odds of Wynn taking it on are pretty long, mostly for the reasons Detroit has pointed out.

Revel's a lot like Cosmopolitan and CityCenter--designed for a market that no longer exists. I wouldn't be surprised in AC revenues are well below $3 billion in 2012, meaning that the market has declined by more than 40% since 2006. I'm frankly amazed that the casinos there have been so tenacious.

I'll repeat what I've been saying for the last ten years: the days of running that city as a collective slot machine day-tripping destination are gone. Forever. Never coming back. To survive, the city really has to do something different.

- Dr.Dave

Comment on "Open Topic Discussion: November 25th, 2012"

Sun, 25 Nov 2012 20:38:04 -0800

Jeff, I'm no expert on AC, but I'd be surprised if Revel succeeds or the city ever comes back. Too many other gaming options in the area. It seems to me that the entire NE part of the country has become a huge locals market, not a vacation destination. Sands Bethlehem has 3,000 slots and 183 tables. That's more than Revel.

Steve Wynn could become the leader on the river in Philadelphia's limited market, just as MGM Grand did in the Detroit market., I think Wynn wants and needs to be in a big urban center with air accessibility. Although AC is only 60 miles away, it's a hassle to fly into PHL and then have another hour's drive to AC.

We need Dr. Dave to give us his expert opinions.

- detroit1051