Two Way Hard Three | Las Vegas Casino & Design Blog

I just listened to the replay of a presentation Wm. Weidner, Las Vegas Sands COO, gave today at the Bank of America Gaming Conference in Las Vegas. It is well worth the 36 minutes. Weidner always impresses me, and I like his rapidfire way of talking. The presentation is accompanied by 55 slides which help put things in perspective. Macau and China are mindboggling. We've never seen anything like it, and LVS is going to continue to be the leader in Asia. China's future is unbelievable as is LVS'. Wow!!!

To listen to the replay:
Las Vegas Sands Presentation at Bank of America Gaming Conference

If you've been following the Vegas news over the past day or so, you will have noticed some new details on MGM MIRAGE's 'Project CityCenter' development, to be located between Monte Carlo and Bellagio.

We got the skinny from MGM MIRAGE and will summarize what we know after the jump.

Technorati Tags: casino design, condos, gaming industry, las vegas, mgm mirage, project citycenter, vegas

Got a nice reader trip report from John Hall, one of our regulars. It's always good to get a recent perspective. Enjoy!

Technorati Tags: gaming industry, las vegas, mgm mirage, mirage, vegas

Note: Updated 6/28/06 to conclude the report with Bellagio.

I've posted comments about Red Rock separately. Here are some observations about Wynn and Caesars Palace. I'll update this post with Bellagio in the next few days.

The Las Vegas Review Journal has an interview with Jimmy Wike, VP Table Games Operations. He speaks well of his employer, Harrah's, as one would expect, and sounds very supportive of Harrah's ability to bring Caesars back to its glory days. I found interesting his comments that Caesars is expanding games to appeal to different demographics and has actually reduced the number slots in favor of tables. He also discusses Harrah's corporate policy of emphasizing superior customer service.

The article may be read at:
RJ Article on Caesars Palace

Looks like another crazy idea for a small slice of land has popped up, this one on the site of the Westward Ho.

We really need some kind of probability scoring system for these projects. This one would be rated 'Low to Very Low'.

http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2006/Jun-21-Wed-2006/business/8067434.html#

Technorati Tags: casino design, gaming industry, las vegas, vegas

Observations from two days at the new Red Rock Resort on Charleston at the 215.
Details and photos follow the jump.

Mandalay Bay is first, followed by the other Las Vegas properties, then expanding out.

Here's some more info and point conversion information:

https://www.playersclub.com/home/HomeWizard.asp?pt=ocshoppe

Technorati Tags: gaming industry, las vegas, mgm mirage, slots, table games, vegas

I went to see one of the *preview* performances of LOVE, the new Cirque show based on music of The Beatles. It is playing at The Mirage, in the theater that used to be the home of Siegfried and Roy until the incident that left Roy fighting for his life.

LOVE is in previews, which means that Cirque is not issuing press tickets and they would rather I didn't publish this at all. To be fair, I fully understand that this is not the final version of the show and that subject matter may change. That's fine. Keep reading after the jump...

Technorati Tags: cirque du soleil, cirquedusoleil, entertainment, gaming industry, las vegas, mgm mirage, mirage, the beatles

"As I walked past the Aqua Theater, home of 'Le Rêve', I could smell flowers. As I passed into the hotel known as 'Encore', I was greeted by warming sheets of natural light, streaming into the vast gardens from the many skylights above. I had thought that Wynn Las Vegas was the pinnacle of comfortable, elegant resort design but once again, the bar has been raised."

We have a full feature on Encore details after the jump... (Warning: Spoilers - if you want to be surprised, stop reading now.)

Technorati Tags: casino design, gaming industry, las vegas, wynn, wynnlasvegas

So, I'm in Vegas checking out what is new and different and instead of just writing a simple note I decided to record audio as I walked through the properties... So, I guess this is the first Two Way Hard Three 'podcast'. I don't plan on podcasting on any kind of regular basis, this is a convenience thing. It's not short at over 30 minutes.

Anyway, if you don't like to hear people complaining about stuff, this isn't the podcast for you. I listened back and a lot of it is negative - I like talking about how people are screwing up... You have been warned.

NOTE: I recorded this late, late Friday night. I just listened to it again (and edited a bit). It's a little crazy sounding at times, very stream of consciousness. I also sound a little tipsy (never!). Hopefully I won't scare anyone off... Enjoy. I am off to a top secret meeting. Will report back when I have something to report.

Our podcasts are available via the RateVegas.com podcast RSS feed: http://www.ratevegas.com/feed/podcast

Technorati Tags: aladdin, bellagio, broadway, caesars, casino design, cirque du soleil, entertainment, gaming industry, harrahs, las vegas, mgm mirage, mirage, podcast, project citycenter, trip report, vegas, web sites, wynn, wynnlasvegas

This Thursday - Saturday will be on a research trip at Wynn Las Vegas (yes, life is tough), working on a detailed story on Encore's development, 'bare' at The Mirage and more. New for this time around - I'll be recording audio as well as writing details. We'll see how that goes. I might go to see 'LOVE', still not sure. Any requests for information, leave them in the comments.

Technorati Tags: bellagio, casino design, cirque du soleil, gaming industry, las vegas, mgm mirage, mirage, vegas, wynn, wynnlasvegas

I took a few photos today of Encore and Palazzo.

Photos of Encore and Palazzo

The rumors regarding Steve Wynn wanting to take over creative control of Le Reve are correct.

Today the company reported that they have purchased Dragone's interest in the Le Reve production for just over $15MM.

Supposedly Steve wants to add lasers, special effects and pyrotechnics to the show.

SEC Filing for Wynn Resorts

Technorati Tags: casino design, entertainment, gaming industry, las vegas, vegas, wynn, wynnlasvegas

According to Steve and Miles from 'The Strip Podcast' (who often break entertainment news on their podcast), MGM MIRAGE is killing off 'Hairspray' which is running at Luxor.

It's only been open four months but from what I have heard, attendance was poor from the get-go.

Steve and Miles briefly dissect the reasons behind the closure, taking a look at the idea that 'Hairspray' and 'Avenue Q' are a bit too off the beaten path for the average Las Vegas visitor. How will Phantom of the Opera (Venetian), The Producers (Paris Las Vegas) and Spamalot (Wynn Las Vegas) fare?

Listen to their 6 minute blast:

http://media.podshow.com/media/261/episodes/6942/thestrip-6942-06-05-2006_pshow_3740.mp3

Technorati Tags: broadway, entertainment, gaming industry, las vegas, mgm mirage, podcast, luxor, vegas, wynn, wynnlasvegas

Here's a cool video that outlines some of the gambling operations in Macau.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qriNHvh5Enk

Technorati Tags: casino design, gaming industry, macau, vegas

Man, this one sure has success written all over it... And I swear I'm not being sarcastic.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/05/business/media/05casino.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin

Technorati Tags: casino design, entertainment, gaming industry, hard rock, las vegas, vegas

Liz Benston in the June 4th Las Vegas Sun has two bullish stories on future growth. The first is on increased investor interest in Las Vegas gaming and condos. The second report is on Cosmopolitan, going up between Bellagio and CityCenter.

Investment appetite for Las Vegas is hotter than ever.

Cosmopolitan

Hail2skins alerted me to this update on plans for the New Frontier property. It appears on the Vegas Today and Tomorrow site.

Phil Ruffin's Montreaux resort