Vegas buzzes on holiday weekend

Tuesday, June 1, 2004 | 11 a.m.

Las Vegas' summer travel season got a strong Memorial Day kickoff as tourists shook off record-high gasoline prices to fill the city's hotels, show rooms and restaurants.

Representatives of local resorts said entertainers ranging from pop singer Prince to comedian Jay Leno drove traffic to their respective casinos as more than a quarter-million people made Las Vegas their three-day-weekend destination.

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority estimated last week that 281,000 visitors would be in the city, resulting in a hotel occupancy rate of 95.9 percent.

Memorial Day 2003 brought in 276,000 people with an occupancy rate of 94.7 percent.

Visitors were expected to generate $168.7 million in nongaming revenue over the weekend, compared with $166.5 million last year.

Based on comments from resort representatives, those projections were met.

"We were at or near capacity at all our properties," said MGM MIRAGE spokeswoman Yvette Monet.

She said the company's entertainment offerings helped drive casino traffic all weekend with well-attended performances of Madonna at the MGM Grand Garden and Leno at The Mirage's Danny Gans Theater.

Monet said the introduction of new songs in the MGM Grand's "Le Femme" production show last week resulted in a resurgence of interest in that show.

Mandalay Resort Group reported a big weekend, driven in part by two sold-out concerts that also helped fill Mandalay Bay's retail outlets.

Spokesman Gordon Absher said Tiger Jam, a charitable event sponsored by professional golfer Tiger Woods on Saturday, incorporated a sold-out concert by Prince. A second Prince concert Sunday also sold all 11,400 tickets.

A spokesman for Caesars Entertainment Inc. said all the company's properties were at capacity over the weekend. Michael Coldwell said the opening of the new Bradley Ogden restaurant at Caesars Palace and the return of Celine Dion last Wednesday after canceling 10 shows for medical reasons helped drive traffic to the resort.

Representatives of Harrah's Entertainment Inc. and Boyd Gaming Corp. also said their properties were at or near capacity all weekend.

A spokeswoman for McCarran International Airport said today that workers geared up for the three-day weekend by authorizing overtime in advance, and it paid off.

"It was busy as usual, but not overwhelming," said spokeswoman Elaine Sanchez. "We always expect large crowds on three-day weekends, but the TSA (Transportation Security Administration) had individuals working overtime and the airport had front-loaders (personnel who assist passengers through security lines) as well."