Two Way Hard Three | Las Vegas Casino & Design Blog

Just yesterday my wife and I were discussing wether or not Encore will have it's own marquis. I guess the anwser is, yes. I hope it's as cool as Wynn's.

neither of those links are working

TC, that's strange. They both worked yesterday. Here's the link to the main Agenda page. Scroll down to the two items, and you can bring up detailed pdf files (I hope).
http://agenda.co.clark.nv.us/sirepub/pubmtgframe.aspx?meetid=307&doctype=agenda

Thanks, I found what the mentioned articles. Very interesting stuff

Posted by mike_ch

Macau: A BBC article on the misfortunes of Stanley Ho:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7506995.stm

Liz Benston writes the first somewhat positive article on Cosmopolitan I've seen in some time. Steve Wynn's negative comments on the multi-level design of the casino and public spaces are indirectly addressed.
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2008/jul/17/why-cosmopolitans-credit-collapse-accentuates-posi/

Corsa Cucina at Wynn never could find its niche. I see it's now officially Stratta. Wynn's website has been changed, and the prices are very high for a casual place, but it looks the same.
http://thevegaseye.com/home/2008/7/14/stratta-now-open-at-wynn-las-vegas.html

Was Alex in charge of Corsa? and is this wynn trying to get people who can't afford to go to Alex go to Stratta instead? thinking its a cheaper alternative?

TC, these are my recollections.
Steve Wynn brought Stephen Kalt in from NYC to run Corsa Cucina when Wynn first opened. Originally, Corsa had a race car theme to go with the Ferrari showroom down the hallway and was going to be a nice but casual restaurant. Before Wynn opened, Steve Wynn changed the direction of Corsa and made it a little higher-end. It was good, but the decor didn't go with prices and food. When Wynn renovated Corsa, I believe Kalt was still there. The room looked much more sophisticated, but it still didn't seem to find its niche. I don't know when Kalt left Wynn, but Stratta has a proven track record. Diners who know of Alex and his previous restaurant at The Mirage, Renoir, may be influenced to go to Stratta. Although still pricey, it's certainly a lot more affordable than Alex. (Affordable has a different definition at Wynn.)

Encore began hiring externally yesterday and we can get a few more bits and pieces on the project by studying the employment site.

No confirmed restaurant names as of yet, but there's mention of an "Asian Bistro", a "Lobby Bar and Cafe", "Modern Steakhouse", "Fine Dining Italian", and "3 Meal Period American Cuisine". The latter two are respectively described as "Modern Italian-Mediterranean cuisine showcased in a jewelbox setting nestled inside the Encore Tower Suites" and "Wildly innovative, crowd-pleasing American fare offered morning, noon and night!"

It is interesting to see how much staff from WLV will be moving to Encore considering the number of open positions now available in their restaurants, but most other jobs such as front desk, VIP, or Villa Services don't make indication as to whether they are Encore or WLV specific.

Thanks to George yet again, we have a bunch of new Macau photos:

http://www.ratevegas.com/photo/most_recent

This time, some of the less frequented and local joints.

I guess 5300 total hires for Encore. 1700 are coming over from Wynn to Encore. The 5300 new hires, includes all the new Encore staff, and the 1700 positions that have to be replaced at Wynn due to their transfer. The head chef of Tableau will be running the upscale Italian place. I spoke at length with the staff of Tableau last week, many of them are moving with their old chef over to Encore to support him with his new place. In fact they said, the new chef is already running Tableau. I expressed my sadness is not being able to order my favorite breakfast anymore, the Kobe Braised short ribs, will be greatly missed, I hope I am able to cope. :)

Wynn:
http://www.lvrj.com/news/25749559.html

Encore opens Dec 21st huh... Nice, I hope that date sticks!

"The difference now is that we have all these Internet bloggers and half-assed observers. Seventy percent of what they write is total bullshit and total fiction..." - Steve Wynn

He's probably talking more about financial blogs and those that really watch the markets but still, an interesting quote.

I wish I could make up 70% of what I wrote. It would make things a lot easier.

MGM's Jim Murren offers some upbeat comments to the LV Sun this morning. His quote about the very large number of foreign visitors at Bellagio is amazing. It would be interesting to know the percentage for comparable months in previous years. Is it the cheap dollar and European vacation practices, or is this primarily because of Asia? I wonder what the picture is at Wynn and Venetian/Palazzo.

"He sounds most excited, however, discussing the recent trend at Bellagio, where more than 30 percent of hotel guests over the past couple of months have been foreign visitors. Typically, about 10 percent of customers are foreigners."

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2008/jul/24/mgm-mirage-chief-upbeat-amid-drumbeat-downturn/

When I was at Wynn last week, there were tons of overseas travelers like always. However, in addition to the normal large amount of Asians, I for the first time noticed, a huge increase in the number of Europeans visiting the property. So I would say this is holding true for Wynn as much or even more so than what Bellagio is experiencing.

I noticed quite a few Germans at Bellagio last week, including some families with kids. Just based on casual listening and looking I'd say the percentage of Asians was about the same as most summers but there were quite a few Europeans of all nationalities.

On an earlier comment: my memory is a little hazy, but I think Kalt left Corsa sometime in 2006 or early 2007. I was told by someone who was probably in a position to know and quite possibly telling the truth that he left because he couldn't be as creative with the menu as he wanted while sticking to the price points Steve Wynn wanted for that space. Since Stratta's the star chef at Wynn maybe he'll have a little more flexibility than Kalt did.

I had a look one afternoon last week, and except for the name above the entrance the restaurant looked unchanged and the menu was about the same with similar prices to the last time we ate there. By Wynn standards Corsa/Stratta is relatively moderately priced.

Fontainebleau Miami Beach's reopening has been moved back from August to "Fall" 2008, but the website has been recently updated for both the Miami Beach and Las Vegas properties. Descriptions of both sound so similar on the site, I had to verify which one I was looking at. I thought of Leonard Stern because the Fontainebleau site certainly pays homage to Morris Lapidus, but I wonder how many people today know him or anything about him.
I'm looking forward to going down to Miami Beach as soon as it opens. Both properties should be huge successes. Brochures for both properties can be accessed at:
http://www.fontainebleau.com/

Posted by Mark D

CityCenter is having trouble finding more financing to finish the project.

[url]http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=alHxxqo1pZ_Y[/url]

I'm sure financing will be secured shortly, but who would have imagined MGM and Dubai would have any trouble in the first place. Shows how tough the economy has become.
http://www.lvrj.com/business/26090169.html

http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/185/story/218868.html