ONLINE GAMBLING AND CASINO GUIDE

Tourism numbers for February 2010 have been released, and I find them a little more difficult to dissect than usual: (i)According to the LVCVA, the city of Las Vegas hosted about the same number of visitors in February as it did in the same month last year. But the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority said Thursday that the nearly 2.9 million visitors in February meant $117 million more to casinos in gambling revenue than in 2009. The agency says that with more than 8,000 more hotel rooms to fill than last year, nightly rates and occupancy levels were down. Officials say convention attendance in February was down 11 percent compared with a year ago. The agency says more people are arriving in Las Vegas from California by car, than by airline flights. Officials say 5.7 million people have visited Las Vegas so far this year.(/i) Basically, everything is down, or the same, except for gaming revenue. While ... Read the full blog post...

One day, two stat-filled press releases: Las Vegas saw more than 2.8 million visitors in January, up 4 percent from the same month a year earlier. Figures released Wednesday by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority also show that convention attendance dropped by 16.4 percent from January 2009 to January 2010, to just under 450,000. The decrease was accompanied by a drop in the number of conventions and meetings held, which fell from 1,368 in January 2009 to 1,197 this January. January marked the fifth straight month that year-over-year visitor numbers increased. The visitors authority says 8,000 net additional rooms this January over last January resulted in a drop of 0.8 percent in citywide occupancy. The average daily room rate also fell from $104.89 to $99.75, a drop of 4.9 percent. Shortly after the above release was published, a very similar story hit the news services: Thanks in part to the recession, Las Vegas has the ... Read the full blog post...

Numbers are out for December of 2009, and like everyone predicted, it was a good month. This was due, of course, to the opening of City Center. The new property which opened in stages throughout the month of December drove a 2% increase in tourism and a 6% increase in gaming win. Even though this is good news, frankly, the month was less stellar than I thought it would be.  Had I been forced to put money on it, I would have taken the "over" on a 10% December increase without hesitation. Although we finished strong, 2009 as a whole was dismal.  Tourism was down 3% over 2008,  gaming win was down 6%, and convention traffic was down nearly 25%. As we ramp into the new year and bask in the glow of a happy ending (to the year 2009), a very large question comes to mind as I sit here contemplating the state of ... Read the full blog post...

Earlier this week, The Ritz-Carlton at Lake Las Vegas announced that they will close their doors in May, eliminating another 400 local jobs. This will be the first time that the Ritz has ever had to close a property, and I think the fact that they burst their "failure cherry" in Las Vegas is a bit sad, but also a bit telling.  It shows just how far we have fallen. Fortunately, for lovers of the Lake, the Loews  Resort remains open, and now that they have less (no?) competition, this property may very well survive. Or maybe not. Lake Las Vegas is a very cool place to hang out for the day. Were it not so far from the Boulevard, I would go more often.  It's as close to a Mediterranean seaside village as you will find within 200 miles of the Vegas Strip.  The problem is, not enough people come to Vegas for ... Read the full blog post...

Damn, I'm good. Reversing a 22-month slide, Las Vegas saw its first gaming win in November of 2009 with an 8.2 percent increase over the previous year. Since I more or less called it to the month, I take personal responsibility for this increase.  Being the ultramega ok superdope pimp of Las Vegas, this town does what I tell it to do.  And don't you forget it. Except for, you know, all the good stuff.  I honestly don't remember mandating 6:5 Blackjack, but I swipe one of Oscar's martinis every now and then, and I'm pretty sure that alcohol isn't the only thing in those beverages.  I think he puts Roofilyn in them.  The morning after imbibing, I usually wake up with a showgirl, a horse head, a pack of Depends, and a "thank you" note from Steve Wynn on the pillow next to me -- so my poor judgement may very well ... Read the full blog post...

I began visiting Las Vegas in the late 90's, and I moved to the city at the end of 2004 -- almost five years ago to the day.  When I first moved to Las Vegas, we were still the fastest growing area in the nation. I could almost imagine how the westward expansion settlers felt.  There was construction everywhere I looked, and there was a sense of excitement in the air as new families put down roots to start new lives.  This was the promised land.  The land of milk and honey.  The coolest place in the known universe that couldn't lose.  The best way to become rich in a casino is to own one, and everyone here had a piece of the house. Back then, the oft-repeated line was that "5,000 people move to Las Vegas every month", and it certainly seemed plausible. What a difference five years makes. Recently released census estimates ... Read the full blog post...

Aria had a preview today, but due to a high-saturation of press, wannabe-press, and everybody else ... I wasn't terribly comfortable.  I limited myself to a ninja-peek and got out fairly quickly. Because of privacy issues, I'm kind of done with "media events" ... so I'm going to wait until Thursday, Friday, or who knows ... maybe even next week to solidify an opinion.  Maybe the place will be better full of people and big action, etc. The only comments I will make right now is that it reminds me of a futuristic M/Wynn/Encore. I'm kind of underwhelmed. I don't know what I was expecting.  I guess something game-changing, but the game seems more or less the same.  Really nice casino in a really nice building.  It's been done before, and as of this week ... it's been done again. That's about it.  I won't drone on until I mix with real visitors and get ... Read the full blog post...

Talk about being lowballed. Today, Penn National Gaming said in a regulatory filing that it will offer $50 million for the 70% finished Fontainebleau. Given that the projected cost of the Fblue was $3 billion, Penn National's bid represents a roughly 98% discount.  Penn would also pay $52 million in bankruptcy expenses, but that will do little for the property itself. Fortunately, this amount will simply serve as an opening bid for the property, which is scheduled to be sold at auction on January 21, 2010.  If nobody else shows up with a higher amount, however, this could conceivably be the selling price for the tallest hotel structure on the Vegas Strip. Even without the building, the bid price represents an offer of roughly $2 million per acre of Las Vegas Boulevard real estate.  Two years ago, this same land was going for about $27 million per acre.  Were Penn National to knock the ... Read the full blog post...

Wow. Break out the champagne. No sooner did I send the last post over the ether, than the following news flashed across my screen: “Figures from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority show an encouraging upswing in the number of visitors to the city for the month of September. Visitor volume increased four-point-three percent in the month. That's the first year-over-year rise since May 2008. More than three-million people came to town in September, compared with two-point-nine-million in the same month last year. The month also showed promise in the convention category with attendance jumping 12-point-two percent.” “Maybe that Rex guy isn't so stupid after all.” See, I knew you'd say it.  I had faith. This is the first metric to turn around, and I damn near called it to the specific month.  I got a few emails after my last declaration begging to differ, and I respected and appreciated the dissent, but I stood ... Read the full blog post...