SEARCH NEWS:

 

Inside Gaming: Strip May Feel Sting From Shift in Ring

Forget any doubts about the importance of boxing. Wall Streeters say the average room rate on the Strip dropped 10 percent for the Sept. 11 weekend because of a shift in the boxing calendar. Oscar De La Hoya fights Sept. 18, while last year he fought on Sept. 13. The average room rate this year is $240, compared with $267 last year. The highest room rate both years was at Caesars Palace, $450 this year, down 8 percent from $490 a year earlier. The big gain was at host MGM Grand, where the average rate is $230, up 28 percent from $180.

¥ ¥ ¥

MGM Mirage said last year it was taking over its own lobbying, and take over it has. Employees have been sent the "MGM Mirage Election 2004 Employee Voter Guide." The booklet says the company's Government Affairs Department visited every 2004 candidate and lists all legislative, County Commission, judgeship, regent and school district races. MGM Mirage's endorsements are marked with the company's logo, just in case employees forget where their bread is buttered. That can't hurt if tough issues arise over MGM Mirage's pending $8.1 billion merger with Mandalay Resort Group.

¥ ¥ ¥

Clark County officials who asked not to be named said they were perplexed by the resurrection of plans to build a 100-foot, 148-unit hotel complex on the tiny little Villa de Flores apartments site. "Who'd want to look out at the (Mirage) Dumpsters?" they asked. The officials and industry officials suspect there's more to the story, probably aimed at resolving title to the land around Treasure Island and The Mirage. After all, the two resorts offer a possible site for developing convention space or they could be sold in the wake of the proposed MGM Mirage-Mandalay Resort Group merger.

¥ ¥ ¥

Some industry insiders are agog over Margaritaville. They're saying the Jimmy Buffett in the Flamingo looks as if it could be the highest-grossing restaurant anywhere in the United States. Plug in that a high proportion of its business comes from a passer-by clientele, the same clientele that Caesars Entertainment is trying to lure into its casinos and other amenities. Logically, it should be a huge kick in the seat for Caesars' earnings.

¥ ¥ ¥

The Planet Hollywood investor group planning to take over the Aladdin if its gaming licenses are approved this week is giving out T-shirts. The intent, they say, is spirit building, and in that spirit they read "Future Planet Hollywood Team Members." Now that's a real keeper. The group is also planning to remodel the team member dining room in September.

The Inside Gaming column is compiled by Gaming Wire Editor Rod Smith. You can contact him by phone at (702) 477-3893, fax (702) 387-5243 or e-mail at rsmith@reviewjournal.com.

Copyright GamingWire. All rights reserved.

< Gaming News