ONLINE GAMBLING AND CASINO GUIDE

What do you do when you knock down your flagship property, embark on a massive replacement project, run out of cash, and turn the new place into an ugly, vacant monument to economic hardship?

In most places, you shoot yourself.

In Las Vegas, you buy more properties.

This week, Boyd Gaming informed Station Casinos that it was interested in buying some of their properties … including Aliante Station, Texas Station, Santa Fe Station, Fiesta, and possibly even the upscale Green Valley Ranch.

Boyd has $2 Billion in “revolving credit”, which is not enough to finish Echelon, but is large enough to buy this laundry list of locals casinos.  Were Boyd to be successful in acquiring these properties, they would have to expend roughly half of their revolving credit ($1 Billion).

Is this a good investment?

Given that Station Casinos is expected to file for bankruptcy next month, and the properties will be on sale, maybe.

Then again, if you have a giant hole sitting on the Las Vegas Strip, the argument could be made that perhaps you should finish what you started first.  Boyd reminds me of the kid who spends a ton of money on guitars, amps, and effects pedals … then after three guitar lessons, decides he wants to play drums.

What in the hell is Boyd going to do with the amp?  Leave it sitting in the garage?  For the love of god, at least sell it to someone who will use it.

Boyd isn’t doing that, though.  At least not yet.  They are going to let cobwebs grow on the brand new Stratocaster as they start banging on the used drum kit they got from the yard sale.

Of course, everyone desperately wants to know how this deal will impact Echelon.   Some people actually see it as an insult that Boyd would even consider spending money on anything that does not go toward finishing what they started with Echelon.  Hell, some people are still stinging from the loss of The Stardust.

I personally took these pictures of Echelon Place on Saturday:

As you can see for yourself, it’s currently a huge black eye to the city, and I am not sure how much good-will Boyd will garner by buying up other properties before they tackle the unfinished business of Echelon.  Echelon is seen as a huge middle-finger to everyone in town, and I know for a fact that people would like to see as much money as possible put into it.

Even if Boyd took the $2 Billion, and made a smaller Echelon, that would be preferable to what sits there currently.

If this deal happens, it would give Boyd control over more than 33% of the locals gaming market.  Boyd wants to dramatically increase their holdings in local properties.

Apparently, there is some greater logic behind this.

Some “analysts” (remember, you can’t spell analyst without “anal”) speculate that the locals gambling market will rebound faster than the tourist gambling market.  According the them, The Strip is in far more trouble than are the casinos serving the local neighborhoods.

Frankly, I don’t know why they believe this.  With the highest foreclosure rate in the nation, Las Vegas is arguably in worse shape than the nation as a whole.  We have layoffs and employment reductions city-wide, and our only industry is currently failing.

Then again, I suppose if you have a casino within a mile of your house, you are more likely to gamble than a person who has to fly across the country.  When I want to gamble, I walk out my front door, walk five minutes, and gamble.

The average American has to take time off from work, book a hotel room, and make airline reservations.  It costs them several hundred dollars and at least a couple of days just to have the same gambling opportunities as I do.  The money tourists use for transit and lodging, is money we can use purely for gambling.  Perhaps that is why we are seen as the salvation of the Las Vegas gaming industry.  I’m not sure if this is how the “analysts” are seeing things, but it is the only logic that makes sense to me personally.

Of course, we can question Boyd’s motives all day, but the matter of Station Casinos is also very important to the city.  How did they get into this mess to begin with?

As a local “internet reporter” (for lack of a better term), it has always struck me as odd that Station Casinos have been, hands down, the most unfriendly casino in town from which to report.   From a personal standpoint, there have been times in recent history where their egos have written checks that have exceeded their available balance of good will.  I have had somewhat of a rocky relationship with them.

They are far and away the worst casinos in which to try to get any kind of photograph.  They still have the most paranoid, aggressive, and least friendly security guards in Las Vegas.  They even called the cops on me for having a snowball fight in the Red Rock parking lot last December.

Then, there is the self-esteem issue.

A few years ago, the Venetian and Red Rock Station were opening their poker rooms only about a month apart.  I emailed each and asked if I could have a preview.

The public relations lady from Red Rock Station told me that they were having a media event, but that only select media outlets were invited. If I really wanted a preview, I would have to apply to their media relations department and prove that I had a big enough dick to get a peek at a few poker tables. I didn’t bother.

The Venetian PR people kindly replied that they were forwarding my email to the poker room manager. A day later, the poker room manager himself invited me down, waited for me to arrive, enthusiastically gave me the grand tour, and offered me a free lunch.  After the tour, he gave me his card, and told me to call him if I needed anything.

The way I was treated between the two properties was like night and day … and to this day, everyone who knows me is well aware that The Venetian is my favorite poker room in town.  Sometimes first impressions are important.

It has always been difficult to hand free publicity to Station Casinos.   In my opinion, they have a pathological tendency to overplay their hands.  It’s really very hard for me to sympathize with these guys, but it’s not exactly like they are going out of business.  I’m sure they will survive.

Another thing that is concerning about this deal is the question of what will happen to the Boarding Pass Program as a whole.  While the staff may be surly, the Board Pass is the most generous in Las Vegas.  Boyd’s program is not bad, but it can be a bit of a mess.  When I tried to use my Suncoast card at the Orleans, there was a problem.  They had to make a new card for me, and the points were not credited properly.  It’s a fine program, but it just doesn’t seem to be as seamless and reliable as the Boarding Pass.

Anyway, given that bondholders have one week left to vote on a restructuring plan, my guess is that we will learn of the outcome of this deal sooner rather than later.

It is also apparent that the responsibility of saving Las Vegas falls on the shoulders of those of us who live here.

While some people may see this as a large responsibility, I see it as a call to duty.  I also see it as an excuse.

The next time someone raises the question of whether I gamble too much, I will simply explain to them that I have a city to save.

Metropolis had Superman … Las Vegas has Rex.

Man, we are so screwed.

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