Tag Archives: Lvbp

It’s been worse

July 18, 2008 5:00 pm

My latest piece in the LVBP is small consolation for folks who’ve got a significant chunk of their net worth tied up in gaming stocks, but hey, there’s a reason that they call it “gambling.” I’ll spoil you with the last two paragraphs, from the LVBP:

Today, with fears of an economic downturn souring even the most optimistic boosters, Las Vegas might do well to remember the lessons of 1955. Stormy economic waters don’t mean the ship is destined to sink. Instead, a skilled navigator, who can learn from the past and apply those lessons to the present, can guide the vessel to a brighter future.

Though we might have to adjust our thinking, we should take solace in knowing that Las Vegas has been through worse.

The downturn is bad, but Las Vegas has survived worse

As of today, that gets the 2008 Chauncey Gardner award for metaphor. As a matter of fact, I think from now on I’ll just say that “there will be growth in the spring.” I’m sure my homespun brand of optimism will go far.

Seriously, the point of the article isn’t a pollyannish ode to living in the best of all possible worlds. Rather, I hoped to challenge people in the industry to think creatively and find a way out of this mess. The rewards for those who do will be substantial. Remember, those billion-dollar behemoths on the Strip are built on the dust of casinos whose operators couldn’t adapt to new conditions.

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Fake Vegas explored

July 2, 2008 9:52 am

My latest Business Press column is out, in which I turn an offhand comment by an LA Times movie reviewer into grist for 550 words about Fake Vegas. From the LVBP:

Casinos, certainly, have taken their place as legitimate businesses, and a former Harvard business professor runs the world’s biggest gaming company. So it’s not a question of whether people take casinos seriously — they are so potentially lucrative that everyone, particularly state-level politicians, pay attention.

No, it’s a deeper question, an existential query about the role of Las Vegas in the world.

Are we really living in what Hal Rothman called the first city of the 21st century? Are we the shock troops of the continuing transition to a service economy? Is Las Vegas a city that points the way to the future?

Or is it just a place where people come to drink footballs full of beer and yard-long margaritas and play nickel slots? Is Las Vegas really hip, or is it a city that real hipsters condescend to visit with a knowing smirk at the cheesiness factor?

Can a land that was once the king of fake be taken seriously?

Does it matter if most of Las Vegas is just an imitation of someplace else? I think it does, because eventually the appeal of the fake wears off. So the recent move to build properties that are just themselves–not fake somewhere else–is a good one.

This doesn’t mean that Fontainebleau and the LV Plaza (should it happen) should be lumped in with the fakes of the past. They are just Vegas outlets of budding (international) hospitality brands. No one would say that the Las Vegas Hilton is an enlarged copy of the Beverly Hilton–it’s been one of the most “authentic” Las Vegas casinos for almost 40 years. I see the Font and LVP as in that same mold.

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The economy and room rates

June 19, 2008 5:14 pm

Hey, they’ve finally posted my latest piece in the Las Vegas Business Press. Here’s a taste:

The economy, as the blurb that crawls across your television screen says, is bad. Really bad. And don’t you forget it.

For those dealing in luxury goods and services, the perception of an economic decline is just as ruinous as its reality. Whether or not we’re in a recession (not, since we haven’t had two consecutive quarters of negative economic growth) doesn’t really matter. If people believe that they need to tighten their belts, they might be disinclined to splurge.

Here in Las Vegas, the past 20 years have seen a shift toward the luxury-end of the travel market. Does this mean the Wynns, Lannis, and Adelsons who’ve ramped up the luxe factor — and their room rates — made the wrong decision? Not at all, because in an era of casino proliferation, cheapness and convenience are no longer compelling reasons to visit Nevada instead of, say, Barona resort in California or the Horseshoe in Tunica, Miss.

Regardless of whether recession is real, perceptions affect behavior

Seriously, it’s like the national media is rooting for economic decline–that’s all you hear about.

I was inspired to write this after reading the piece in Vegas Tripping 3 weeks ago about the Sahara’s “spin the wheel, make the deal” promotion.

If ripping off of Halloween Havoc 1992 can’t buck up the visitation stats, we’re really in deep trouble here.

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Responsible gaming monitors redux

May 20, 2008 12:54 pm

I’ve got a more in-depth look at the Canadian responsible gaming monitors in the LVBP. Here’s a snippet:

Recently, the British Columbia government announced plans to hire nine “responsible gambling information officers.” These new deputies of safe gaming will spend their working hours hanging out in casinos throughout the Canadian province, looking for “distressed gamblers” with whom they will discuss gambling.

Like many Las Vegans, you may not be quite sure what to make of this news. Is this a case of our Canadian brethren (or at least their elected officials) having a more finely developed social conscience than us hardscrabble, self-reliant Nevadans, or just the nanny state run amok?

Canada sends problem-gambling monitors to casinos

Strangely, what I thought was the most uncontroversial part of the piece: that “The industry has an obligation to ensure that all of the games are actually as they are advertised,” and that players have the right to learn about game odds, was reprinted below the column under the header “Sounding Off.” I don’t know if this means that I was sounding off when I said this, or that readers are welcome to write in defending the right of Nevada casinos to surreptitiously alter the odds of the game. I’d like to see someone write in to say that if a casino wants to take all of the tens out of their blackjack shoes without saying so, it’s totally cool with them as a player. It might be fun, just to see someone’s head explode with fury over at the Las Vegas Advisor.

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