fontainebleau

Sh*t You May Have Missed… Like Fontainebleau Selling for $600M


Hey all, BigAZMarty here with this week’s news about our favorite place, Las Vegas!

Well, The Cromwell had an exciting fight weekend in the news; first, a fight caused something to fall and hit the tile floor which created a gunshot type sound causing panic to ensue, resulting in Drai’s and The Cromwell being evacuated until it was all sorted out. What’s interesting is that there are multiple versions on what caused the loud noise; according to LVRJ here it was statues falling over, according to local CBS station it was the stanchions for the velvet ropes hitting the floor. Read local CBS news here.  The second incident involved someone “making it rain” at the east valet area, read LVRJ here.  Personally, I feel that The Cromwell is a very nice boutique casino/hotel.  Question is does Drai’s just attract the wrong type of crowd?

Fear the Walking Dead is now open. LVSun has a good write up and a gallery of the attending actors and actresses from the show as well as some local celebrities, read here.

July numbers were disappointing for Strip properties and Nevada overall. There was a slight increase in slot play, but a big decrease in table-games (baccarat, blackjack, sportsbooks, etc.)  read LVSun here.  Also, remember that 4th of July was a continuous weekend event last year, this year it was in the middle of the week, so that causes issues with scheduling.

McCarran airline officials talk capacity and efficient passenger experience read LVSun here.  I think at some point in time the airport will be too encroached; if they close Nellis Air Force Base or move the base to the other side of the mountain, that area could be used as a new international airport on the outskirts of town.

Well now I can’t talk about Carl Ichan’s blue elephant (Fontainebleau), it’s been sold for $600M to two companies that develop and own a lot of east coast real estate.  I’ll have you read VitalVegas here as he’s the first to have put the rumor out there.  Now if Resorts World could do something other than stage some heavy equipment on site and erect a parking garage.  Also, the Alon site is still empty and not sold…and All Net Arena doesn’t seem to have activity on their site either.  The purchasing companies involved are Witkoff, check their portfolio here, and New Valley LLC, see their investments here.  Some properties are already in partnership with each other so it’s not a new partnership.  The question now is can they finish it off with a new vision?  UPDATE from MarC of Edge Vegas, they will be doing the full 4,000 rooms in a Hotel/Casino resort, read here.  Watch the original YouTube promo video for Fontainebleau…perhaps an inspiration for the current Cosmo ads?

Forbes also has a pretty good article on how Carl Icahn has made $1.4B over the years in Las Vegas, read here. Buy low while distressed and then take over and sell high…it’s his business model.  I think somewhere down the line he’ll buy Tropicana Las Vegas and roll that into Tropicana Entertainment, eventually selling his portion to the open market or another company looking to expand at maximum dollar.

Vital Vegas also has an excellent write up on the new “Circus 1903” at Paris,  read and enjoy here. It’ll be good to have something in that main theater again, Jersey Boy’s was great but this will fill that stage.  Now if they can just get the proper big main show back at Bally’s main theater.

Due to an early cut off time frame last week Vital Vegas has more on the Las Vegas Club deconstruction that may seem late but well worth it,  see and watch here.  I believe our editor-in-chief has some from about a week ago as well on his YouTube channel here.  Update, Vital Vegas twitter shows more of the parking garage demolition here

Westgate had a fire last Saturday night that engaged 70 firefighters as a 2 alarm fire, read news3lv.com here.  No report on what caused the fire, but some reports are that a balcony is where the fire started… Hmmmmm perhaps a smoldering cigarette?

Downtown’s White Castle grand opening now being pushed back to late September per Eater Vegas here.

Wondering what to do over Labor Day weekend in Las Vegas?  Vegasseven.com has good ideas, read here.

Funniest story of the week, Golden Tiki owner is crowd-funding “dirty” animatronic birds to occupy the Golden Tiki and entertain people, read LVRJ here.  Make them parrots and have them lurk on conversations and then yell out something profane related to the conversation…. that might just be a hoot!

Caesars is down to just Missouri and Louisiana for Gaming Approvals as Nevada was approved just last week, read LVRJ here.  So October is looking to be the month that Gary Loveman should be stepping down as Chairman of the Board.

Remember last week that Gaming Boards were considering what to do with Mary Jane in casinos and hotel rooms?  Well, the answer is pretty much HELL NO….so Airbnb is the solution right?  Read LVRJ here.  Hard to argue with the Federal Government there, and Nevada consumer law is private residence only.

Poolside table games making a comeback? Yup, LVRJ has the details and a gallery here.  One shot has a craps table at the Strat’s hotel rooftop pool (the smaller pool up on the bigger hotel tower).

Virtual reality for strip clubs?  Yup strip club views from a VR headset at home…nope never going to happen. Just don’t get this…if they have VR they have access to a lot more “lewd” stuff than a strip club, read LVRJ here.  Another item to note is that there is a Gentleman’s Club Expo and it was at Hard Rock this year.  I’m thinking club owners are not really thinking outside the box here but they have to stay in a fairly narrow legal environment so that’s what they are doing.

Evil Dead will open September 14th at Bally’s Windows Theater per Katz report on LVRJ here.  Also, the Tommy Wind Theater lease is up, and if I’m not mistaken, that is near the old Smith and Wollensky Steak House. There has been talk in the past of a property sale using land from the corner of Harmon and Las Vegas Blvd down to Walgreens, but with Smith and Wollensky property vacated and now with the Tommy Wind Theater lease up, could it reach all the way to the Showcase Mall?

Interesting read from LVWeekly on the two people that make The Studio at The Palms work for so many musicians.  Didn’t know there was a full music and sound studio at The Palms? Well, now you do. Read up on how and why it’s become successful here.  It’s another little-hidden gem that Red Rock Resorts acquired from The Palms purchase.

So a fairly light news week and I have to prep for some weekend travel, so now over to our Editor-in-Chief, LasVegasJunkie for our stuff and more.

Gracias, BigAZMarty!

Here are the stories we brought you this week:

Golden Gate Hotel and Casino opens up and lets us in

Iun Hockley reviews Zumanity: an Erotic Thrill Ride!

LasVegasJunkie exposes the smoke and mirrors at Resorts World

That’s all Folks!

[Cover photo: @LasVegasJunkie]

 

3 thoughts on “Sh*t You May Have Missed… Like Fontainebleau Selling for $600M

  1. Thank you! I love the updates! I really hope the Blue Elephant (or paperweight as I’ve called it through the years) turns out to be fantastic! Viva!

  2. McCarran will never be moved or shut down due to encroachment. If and when it gets too busy to handle more traffic, the mothballed plans for a second airport (primarily international flights and freight) south of Jean will kick in.

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