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Inside Gaming Column: Rumored Project will Keep Harmon Hot

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- Talk of the town suggests Starwood is putting together a deal to bring its W hotel project together with Las Ramblas and the Hard Rock condos. This would mean that the Harmon Avenue corridor transformation will survive the apparent demise of movie actor George Clooney's hotel-casino project, Las Ramblas, and Peter Morton's Hard Rock condominiums.

With the Cosmopolitan, Project CityCenter and the Planet Hollywood Hotel and Casino coming alive at Harmon's west end, it looks as if the area could still become Las Vegas' new urban core.

The Amazon Ballroom at Rio is about to become the headquarters for the World Series of Poker, which will run June 25 to Aug. 11. The biggest complaint we hear so far is a repeat of the long lines from last year. That's not surprising when you hold the world's biggest poker event in a room the size of a basketball arena. But host Harrah's Entertainment reminds would-be players they can register online (worldseriesofpoker.com).

Look for substantial upgrades in the poker room at Caesars Palace. Even though its counterpart at The Venetian is off to a slow start, Caesars' poker room is a boon to the vintage casino. It's helping bring in the younger, hipper crowd that new owner Harrah's Entertainment is chasing. It's spurring spending at upper-end amenities such as Bobby Flay's, the Mesa Grill and Bradley Ogden. And it's getting a boost from those same restaurants and the entertainment at the Colosseum. Poker players don't necessarily want the crystal and tapestries of The Venetian, but they'll spend on top-rate amenities during breaks in their play.

The New York Times reported that Las Vegas Sands Corp. overpaid Sheldon Adelson, its billionaire owner, by $1 million last year, thanks to an "improper interpretation" of his employment contract. Four other top executives of Las Vegas Sands, The Venetian's owner, were overpaid by a combined $1.8 million. The compensation committee, however, agreed to let the executives keep the bonuses even though the value of Las Vegas Sands' stock fell 18 percent, or $3.2 billion, for the year, based on its Dec. 30 closing price, because they believed the executives had met the "intent" of their contracts by increasing the long-term value of the company.

In a strange case of man bites dog, Las Vegas-based Harrah's Entertainment is seeking treble damages of $225,000 plus costs from a Corbin, Ky., developer. In a case that started in October, Jimmy Vance claims Harrah's seduced him into a drunken stupor and talked him into accepting a $75,000 credit that he lost in one night. Vance acknowledges losing $500,000 at the Caesars Indian casino over time.

Gaming Wire Editor Rod Smith can be reached by phone at 477-3893 or by e-mail at rsmith@reviewjournal.com.

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