Columnist Jeff German: Casino closings a wake-up call for LV

Friday, Jan. 30, 2004 | 5:08 a.m.

Jeff German's column appears Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays in the Sun. Reach him at german@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4067.

WEEKEND EDITION

Jan. 31 - Feb. 1, 2004

IT MAY BE no coincidence that Binion's Horseshoe and the Castaways were among the last downtown hotels to renew collective bargaining agreements with the Culinary Union in the summer of 2002.

Both hotels, which had been struggling for years in an unfriendly downtown business environment, now are closed. The Horseshoe has been bought by gaming giant Harrah's Entertainment Inc. and is expected to reopen in March. But the Castaways, which is in Bankruptcy Court, may have shut its doors for good last week.

Every time a casino closes in Las Vegas, we get a black eye. The rest of the world doesn't understand how this could happen in such a thriving community. And that's bad for business.

The reality is that not all of Las Vegas -- particularly downtown -- has been living up to this vibrant image.

It is true that we've been making progress revitalizing downtown. But when two casinos abruptly close within three weeks of each other, I wonder whether we're really headed in the right direction.

Others in the trenches on Fremont Street share this opinion.

Departing Horseshoe owner Becky Behnen and Culinary Union boss D. Taylor aren't the best of friends lately. Behnen blames the union for forcing her to give up the casino her colorful father Benny Binion made famous, and Taylor accuses Behnen of running the property into the ground and putting union members out of work.

But both Behnen and Taylor agree that something more needs to be done downtown to prevent other casinos from shutting their doors in the future.

"They need to bring a neighborhood downtown -- high-rise living, shopping, parks and restaurants," Behnen says.

Adds Taylor: "We have to reinvest in the core and do things that will bring people there. We've got to create excitement and make it a place where they want to go."

Taylor says cities that invested in their core, such as Baltimore, San Diego and Cleveland, have witnessed a "rejuvenation."

Mayor Oscar Goodman has created some enthusiasm here. He has brought us the Las Vegas Premium Outlets mall on the outskirts of downtown, and he has big plans to create an "urban village" nearby on those much-hyped 61 acres.

But as successful as it is, the mall has not attracted business to Fremont Street. In hindsight a better place for the mall would have been at Neonopolis, which has been a publicly financed economic disaster.

Neonopolis was supposed to be the savior for the Fremont Street Experience, another publicly funded redevelopment project that has not lived up to potential. Aside from average restaurants, the only real attraction at Neonopolis has been a chain of movie theaters. But who wants to drive downtown from Summerlin or Green Valley to see a movie when you can watch one at your favorite neighborhood casino?

Behnen has been beaten up in the media for her lack of business prowess. There is some truth to that, and the same criticism probably applies to the folks at the bankrupt Castaways. But larger and more worrisome issues, such as the growth of neighborhood casinos, also are responsible for the decline in business downtown.

"People have all of these amenities in their back yard -- movie theaters, bowling, Irish pubs and restaurants," Behnen says. "They don't need to come downtown."

Even more ominous for downtown's future is the rapid expansion of Indian gaming in California, a major source of tourism for Las Vegas. Just as it's doing in Reno, Indian gaming now is taking its toll here.

According to Behnen, people who used to make four or five trips a year from California now visit only once or twice a year.

It comes down to creating an environment downtown that not only will hold its own in the competitive gaming industry, but also will encourage residents to live downtown and provide a stable economic base there. You have to redevelop more than just Fremont Street.

Smarter minds than mine will have to figure out what needs to be done.

But I do know one thing. If we don't show some urgency, we're going to be hearing about more casino closings like the Horseshoe and the Castaways very soon.