Sh*t You May Have Missed While Eating Halloween Candy

It’s Sh*t You May Have Missed for the week ending November 4th, 2016.

Hey, all! BigAZMarty here with all the newsy goodness that is Las Vegas!!!!

1. El Cortez is celebrating its 75th anniversary, read/watch here and sorry about the video ads but it’s a TV station site so can’t avoid it. They also have some good history of the place as well over the years here. Good personal customer service, it’s still the name of the game.

2. Penn National Gaming has reported Q3 2016 earnings revenue of $765.6 Million, Income from Operations of $139.3 Million and Adjusted EBITDA of $211.3 Million. The transcript is interesting because they are discussing the future plans of Tropicana in a vague way but interesting. It looks like they are self-funding to the tune of $200 Million and will probably focus on the corner of the property on Tropicana and LV Blvd (open space and auto entrance currently). They are looking to finalize the Tropicana “master plan” in January time frame and then go into construction mode 2017 – 2019.  Also to note there is a buried nugget in there about how MGM, Caesars and other “player club” casinos block rooms for loyal casino players. Currently, Trop is booking at about a 20% (Marquee Rewards and old Trop cards that were already booked). They want to get that to 50% of the room inventory to be on par with the other big casino owners.  Never knew it was that high…always thought it was like 15-25%.  Regular non-gaming bookings take up the other side of the house.  With a push out to the corner via new construction it will ease that walk to the MGM properties and make it more attractive to walk there from MGM Grand/New York New York/Excalibur corners.  Read the transcript here.  Good info.

3. Speaking of Penn Gaming and Tropicana, the curse continues; Cherry Boom Boom is ending its short run, read Vital Vegas here. Six weeks and out…perhaps they need to bring back the original Showgirls here and at Bally’s? Kat’s article here says it just couldn’t operate in the black.

4. Share a Lyft ride? Sure why not, read Vital Vegas on Lyft Line in Las Vegas here. My wife did Lyft in Chicago while on business trip and preferred it over the cabs there. We will probably use it on our next set of trips in December to break in The Park Theater shows (opening night Stevie Nicks with the Pretenders and then one of the end of year Bruno shows). So this sounds like perfect timing for concert goers. I had planned to hike to Bellagio and take the free tram to Monte Carlo.

5. September Nevada Gambling results are in (the Stiffs and Georges rundown is a good read here): Nevada up 4% on 949 Million. Breakout as follows: Strip up 7.5%, Downtown up 4%, Laughlin down 4%, North Las Vegas down 4%, Boulder Strip down 22% (may be due to slot revenue reporting that will come for October). Clark County un-categorized up 7% (includes Primm and Mesquite). All I can say is continuing drop in players with a tighter hold by casino’s will eventually cause a shift to a death spiral for gaming on the strip (i.e. declining players…house increases odds for house…less players…more house hold..you get the idea).

6. WSOP is in final table phase, read LV Sun here. If only I didn’t have the blush tell when I have a winning hand…sunglasses can’t cover that up….and the winner has been crowned see Robin LVRJ here.

7. Red Rock Resorts (i.e. Station’s Casinos) is redoing its Players Club by adding in more to earn points on. Since they are near the Strip with The Palms purchase, they have to get closer to strip-side player club amenities. Read LVRJ here. Nice that although you don’t earn points on movie theater spending, you can redeem points for the movie theaters. We used to go to Red Rock for the Regal Theater out there during the day for a nice break from the strip. All I can say is the rename to MyRewards needs rethinking, but I guess they’ve already made up the cards.

8. Is Alon really ever going to start? Mariah Carey has now split from James Packer, and it looks like she’s going to ask for a $50M “settlement” from him (yeah, that’s rejected of course). Also, she’s seeking to keep the $10M diamond engagement ring (just go through all the TMZ stuff for the wild breakup stories out there). The new big surprise is now “Scientology” has been thrown in the mix from the Packer side. Read here. All I can say is build yourself out of the breakup and build the damn thing already!!! Think about it….Alon is trying to get funding for build out, but Packer may end up spending over $60M on a breakup fee. Think of all the new “hot available women” a new resort would draw!!! Kinda absurd isn’t it? Alon may be the new Moulin Rouge.

9. Speaking of Moulin Rouge, nope, not happening again, bid dropped. Read LVRJ here. With the redo of the Spaghetti Bowl, I’m not sure that site is going to be prime for much longer…may just be too close to the overpasses.

10. Boyd Gaming has reported Q3 2016 Earnings (read here or LV Sun here). LV Local casinos grew, but Downtown Las Vegas was flat year over year according to the report. After selling their portion of the Borgata in A.C. to MGM, having a buying spree in LV (Aliante, Cannery Casino’s) and the California and old Coast properties restaurant remodels ongoing…they probably need the time to integrate all the changes before doing any big things.

11. Halloween came and went, one of the wildest places to celebrate is Hard Rock Casino/Hotel’s Fetish and Fantasy Ball, just look at the gallery in this LV Sun article. Warning not entirely SFW…read here. Robin has some duplication but still this is LVRJ’s shots here.

12. Robin has a pretty good gallery of Fremont Street Halloween go’ers, looked like a lot of fun, check the article and gallery here. The Rocky Horror Picture cast is more true to form there than that TV remake…and probably more fun as well (the TV show had a lame way to do audience part….say it…say it….anticipation). Now, why hasn’t anyone made a slot machine out of that? You could get the “Rocky – Ugh” bonus….has to be classic and have a true Eddie bonus (with Meatloaf, of course, riding the motorcycle around for WILDS)…now wouldn’t that be fantastic? On the flip side, his other Halloween “gallery” is well… so so…but I blame the subject matter see here.

13. Monorail extension going through approvals to extend over to the Mandalay Bay/Luxor side of LV Blvd. Read LV Sun here. Looks like two years to get financing and 18 months of construction. I’ve used the monorail over 4th of July weekend and surprisingly enjoyed it. If they’d air condition the stations and the walkways, I’d like it even more. And I swear at one time Aladdin / Desert Passage Shops had a stop at one time. That is so needed back now for PH and Miracle Mile shops.

14. SEMA Convention is in town, lots of customized show cars and all for those auto enthusiasts. Some notes from LV Sun here.

15. Miracle Mile Shops are getting four new eateries and shops, per LVRJ here. I am excited about another Nestle Toll House store. If you are on the wrong side of the mall, it’s a hike to get to the existing one over on the Sephora side.

16. MGM’s REIT may be “turning Japanese” as they eye the possible legalization of casinos in Japan, read LVRJ here. To the possible tune of $10B.

17. Jon Lovitz and Dana Carvey (together) announcing a lot of dates at the Foundry at SLS read Kats here. Now isn’t that special? Would you believe….? Sorry, some of the best long-running skits on Saturday Night Live. Another reason to take the monorail up north and by then Lucky Dragon will be open as well. A twofer visit up there!!!

18. Wynn Resorts has posted it’s Q3 2016 Earnings, and while revenue is up 11% YOY, it still didn’t meet analyst estimates. They actually lost money, a net loss to the tune of $17.4 million. Read Calvin Ayer article here. It’s pretty evident that Wynn Palace cut into the Wynn Macau visitation pretty substantially. According to Wynn in LVRJ article here, there is construction on all sides of the new Palace, but even that didn’t cause people just to go to Wynn Macau instead. I’m guessing that without the junkets they are seeing if you place two of the same product close to each other without much differentiation people will still try to go to the new one. It’s been working in Las Vegas for decades.

19. Paragon Gaming is trying to pick up one of the four Stateline properties near South Lake Tahoe, the one that has had probably the best makeover I’d seen, the Hard Rock Lake Tahoe. Read LVRJ here. For you computer buffs, this property was once the High Sierra Hotel and hosted the companies that defined the High Sierra Format (it’s how computers read CD ROM’s) in 1985. If you are a film buff, it’s the NOMAD Hotel in Smokin’ Aces. If you are an Elvis buff it originally opened as the Sahara Tahoe and Elvis was there performing from 1971 to 1976. The Park family that owns it now (Warner Gaming is currently managing the casino side) is looking to get out from under this (at one time it actually split up the family business into two different enterprises with different members of the Park family joining into one or the other not both). I loved the redo, and for Michael, their Fire Break Kitchen and Bar was nice for an afternoon meal of Burgers and Onion Rings…menu here. Now of course with the Florida Tribe of Indians now owning the licensing rights to Hard Rock, I’m not sure if a rename is part of that action. Remember that Paragon is running the Hooters in Las Vegas…and I am theorizing that Tahoe footprint might fit a rename. Matter of fact that Fire Break Kitchen and Bar could easily be converted to a Hooter’s restaurant. While the Park family shot for a high concept and an upscale look, I just don’t know if that brought in enough people to warrant the makeover.

20. Scientific Games is rolling out a $75M cost cutting program (i.e. reduce the duplication) across all of its divisions. Read LVRJ here. In the last few years, they bought the following: Bally Technologies, Shufflemaster, and WMS brands. Also reported in there is the amount lost this Q3 2016 (less than last year but still a loss).

21. This is a change of pace; Britney helps to bring in $1M to help fight children’s cancer. She spun on X Cycle for 45 minutes or so with Mario Lopez all for a good LV cause read here. This was worked out via Britney and Tony Hsieh (Zappos CEO and founder and also Downtown project head honcho). It’s  nice to see her giving back to the community.

22. Holy cow, read here for how much Trump and others have their properties devalued in Las Vegas to lighten the property tax burden. Now, if I could only get that to happen on all taxes….wow. Caesars needs to take notes here. They are on the bottom end of this and could save a ton if they really wanted to. Read LVSun article on how they do it here.

23. Not yet in Las Vegas but Caesars is testing Skill Based Gaming in Atlantic City, read here. Hopefully, they will comment on the testing project shortly, or they will just implement it in Las Vegas if it makes them a “killing” on the millennials.

24. Smartwatch owners beware, casinos are going to be treating smartwatches just like smartphones, read here.

25. VegasSeven has some history for us around Howard Hughes, read here, here and here. I always wondered what happened to the Silver Slipper; it was a nice little casino for nickel players in the mid-1980’s…and one of my first times actually playing on slot machines (and I absolutely hated it..just like a millennial…because the rewards just didn’t come fast enough).

26. Vital Vegas is stating Baz is having issues at the Palazzo and may be closing up soon. Read here.

27. Vital Vegas also has some new menu items for Triple George Grill, read here. Never heard of glegan until now.

28. EDGE Vegas linking to TravelZork here, has a fantastic article describing the best drink vouchering system in Las Vegas (like that is a good thing). Seriously, if Vegas is going to do this at least pick the best option and duplicate it. By far Cosmo may just have it right and be the most customer friendly version.

29. Next week I will have more Q3 2016 earning as most will be reporting Thursday after market (too late to make cutoff) and next week.

30. Oh and a gallery of Cubs fans celebrating Game 7 and the win here in Las Vegas. It looks more civilized than the bar Fox Sports had a feed on during the game. That place was nothing but beer showers for all ( the guy in gray hoodie and lady were just soaked).

31. This just in Paris Hotel and Casino has a power outage due to equipment failure, crews are working to restore power. Read here. Hopefully, it’s restored by the time you read this, and I really hope no one is stranded in the Eiffel Tower or those elevators, that would freak me out. More coverage here as they are evacuating the property. Crazy stuff, remember something like this happened to Mandalay Bay not too long ago as well…I think it was just the casino floor there, though.

Anyways that’s all of the news so far this week. Now over for our news via our resident “cheeseburgers in paradise” editor-in-chief Michael Movestro.

Thanks, BigAzMarty! “Oh! Think Twice! It’s just another day for cheeseburgers in paradiiiiiiise!” But not so much for I <3 Burgers and Cheeseburger Las Vegas :( It’s tough to be a burger in Vegas!

Now for the stories we brought you this week:

32. Blonde4ever happens upon parking meters with a positive twist…in: Donation Stations – Give Change To Make A Change.

33. I reported on the sad discovery of the rent hike that closed a favorite burger place in Goodbye: Cheeseburger Las Vegas.

34. Michael James looks back on the closure of Stardust in Lost Vegas: The Decade Since Stardust Fell To Earth.

35. I managed to endure a night of upscale dining (who knew?) in my Review: Morimoto Las Vegas.

36. Sammasseur profiles a powerhouse who’s equally at home in Gatsby’s Long Island and Alice’s Wonderland in Anne Martinez Can’t Slow Down To Be “The Next Big Thing.”

37. And then it was me yet again finally trying out a hyped-up burger place in my Review: Biting In At Wahlburgers Las Vegas.

Also, some sad news to report. Sammasseur has left Vegas Bright. He said it had to with waning excitement for Vegas and the site. Which makes sense as they are both inter-related. He specifically cited reasons in his rant article. Sam gave us reviews on shows, LGBTQ happenings, performer profiles, peaks inside exclusive hotel suites and more. I’m gonna miss him; he was a very instrumental force here at VegasBright; I was proud to call him Assistant Editor and am still proud to call him a friend. You can read all of Sam’s work here.

That’s it for this week; a new podcast will be up on Sunday where I discuss last weekend’s Vegas trip.

[Photos: Baz Star-Crossed Love, Michael Movestro, Sammasseur, Tropicana Las Vegas]