Liz Benston

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Deals hit the buffet line: Eat all day for $25: Friday, Feb. 13, 2009; The economic slump has Las Vegas casinos blitzing the Internet with offers that include free rooms, half-price show tickets and airplane vouchers for future trips. The Excalibur is filling a new niche, so to speak, for the gluttonous crowd.
CityCenter jobs a bright spot in down economy: Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2009; The prospect of getting a job at CityCenter, which is hiring some 12,000 people for a late 2009 opening, has thrown some locals into a state of anxious excitement. Officials now expect more than 150,000 applications, including some 50,000 flooding the site within three weeks.
Primm hotel rates for locals: free: Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2008; Remember the days when casinos gave away rooms and meals to attract gamblers?
Casino companies, even the competition, wish Aliante well: Thursday, Nov. 13, 2008; While the buzz at Station Casinos’ Aliante Station grand opening party Tuesday was shaded with concern about the company’s ability to generate decent money at this suburban casino amid this downturn, everyone is hoping for the best.
Casino stocks plunge to new lows: Friday, Oct. 24, 2008
MGM Mirage stock still on downslide: Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2008; Those investors who figured MGM Mirage couldn't trade much below $20 a share a few weeks ago got another nasty surprise today, when bond rating agency Fitch Ratings issued an especially bearish outlook on the company.
MGM Mirage announces end to bonuses: Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2008; While some Strip operators have been cagey about layoffs, firings and other employee moves during this time of economic turbulence, MGM Mirage appears to be going the route of full disclosure.
MGM Mirage splits from Nevada Resort Association: Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2008
CityCenter secures $1.8 billion; Wynn avoiding worst of crunch: Monday, Oct. 6, 2008; It wasn't that long ago that Wall Street was criticizing Steve Wynn, who then owned Mirage Resorts, for spending money like a drunken sailor.
Adelson bails out Las Vegas Sands with cash: Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2008; It takes more than skill to survive on the Strip, especially now with business plans and financing deals imploding like so many old hotels.
Developers minimize Strip resort delays: Thursday, Sept. 25, 2008; The smart money on Wall Street says developers won't be financing resorts that aren't already far along in the construction process – at least not until banks have had a few years to recover from The Great Bad Mortgage Purge of 2008.
Atwell settles suit over New Frontier sale fees: Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2008; At a bankruptcy auction in 1987, local real estate broker David Atwell was lucky enough to represent a Japanese billionaire who entered the winning bid of $157 million for the Dunes hotel.
Slot players pinch pennies: Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2008; While the major casinos are doing a bang up job attracting visitors to Las Vegas with big discounts and other perks, their slot business continues to suffer. And that's bad news for Nevada, where slots make up about two thirds of the state's gaming revenue.
Despite other stalled projects, CityCenter still on track: Friday, Aug. 29, 2008
Tribal revenue growth slows but still overtakes nontribal casinos: Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2008; Indian casinos nationwide generated 5 percent more gambling revenue in 2007 than the previous year in spite of an economic slowdown that began to take effect in the fourth quarter of last year, according to a report released today.
Timing of gaming earnings can skew the numbers: Monday, Aug. 11, 2008; A month ago, investors panicked over news that Nevada's gambling revenue in May plummeted 15 percent to its lowest level in 11 years while Strip gambling revenue fell 16 percent.
Report: Echelon retail mall could be delayed: Wednesday, July 30, 2008; Bank of America gaming stock analyst Shaun Kelley has released a report stating that Boyd Gaming’s retail mall at its Echelon resort under way on the Strip could be delayed by developer General Growth Properties because of the credit crunch.
Bankruptcy attorney expects more bad gaming news: Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Wynn plays it straight to investors: Thursday, July 24, 2008; What do you do when your profit is down in the double digits and near-term profits are uncertain?
Wynn 'relaxing' interview strategy for Encore: Thursday, July 17, 2008; When Steve Wynn hired some 10,000 workers for the 2005 opening of Wynn Las Vegas, he initiated an interview process designed to draw prospective applicants into casual and free-flowing conversation, thus discovering and hiring the most engaging personalities.
May visitor statistics down but not out: Friday, July 11, 2008; After Thursday's news of double-digit declines in gambling revenue in Las Vegas, the latest tourism statistics from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority seem anticlimactic. Or, in other words, like more of the same.
UPDATE: Gaming win plummets in May figures: Thursday, July 10, 2008
Yep, room rates are down: Wednesday, July 2, 2008; Gambling Web site operator and Las Vegas Advisor publisher Anthony Curtis has published the results of his twice annual room rate survey and the results, as expected, show some of the lowest room rates in Las Vegas since 2003.
Trop guests relocated after E. coli concerns: Wednesday, July 2, 2008; Some 490 hotel guests staying at the Tropicana's Island tower have been moved to other rooms at the Tropicana, the Tropicana-owned Westin property and other Las Vegas hotels after testers at the Southern Nevada Health District discovered that well water serving the hotel tower was tainted with E. coli bacteria.
Casino stocks take a bath: Friday, June 27, 2008
World Series tests players' skill - or luck: Thursday, June 19, 2008
Tropicana is going, going, not going: Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Here a Fertitta, there a Fertitta: Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Poaching customers’ names can toast some casino hosts: Wednesday, June 18, 2008; Customer lists may not be made of platinum but they are among the most valuable assets a casino company owns.
Moody's offers glum Vegas outlook: Thursday, June 12, 2008; Some Las Vegas casino operators and analysts are hopeful that the economic downturn will bottom out by the end of the year and rebound again by the time several major hotels and condo towers are expected to open by late 2009.
Rio dealers seek union election: Wednesday, June 4, 2008; This week the Rio became the third megaresort where casino dealers have filed a petition for an election to organize through the Transport Workers Union.
A tale of two resorts: Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Robin Leach reporting sale of Cosmopolitan: Wednesday, May 28, 2008; Since last year, New York development giant Related Cos. has been angling to take over the under-construction Cosmopolitan resort and casino, whose primary lender, Deutsche Bank, has begun foreclosure proceedings on the property.
Memorial Day weekend, Venetian style: Thursday, May 22, 2008
Ivanpah airport opening further delayed to 2018 or later: Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Ivanpah airport opening further delayed to 2018 or later: Wednesday, May 21, 2008; Clark County Director of Aviation Randy Walker broke some bad news to analysts with investment firm Deutsche Bank, revealing that the proposed Ivanpah airport will likely be delayed by 18 months, pushing the opening date to 2018 or 2019 from 2017, as originally planned.
And now let's play The Price is Right!: Wednesday, May 21, 2008; Does CityCenter, which for a long time was given a $7 billion price tag, actually cost $8.1 billion, $8.4 billion, $8.5 billion, $9.2 billion or $11.2 billion? Each of those figures has been reported by the company in recent weeks.
CityCenter will not all open at once after all: Friday, May 16, 2008; For some time, the folks at MGM Mirage have touted the fact that CityCenter – all 18 million square feet of it – will open at once by the end of 2009.
Boyd may build casino in Henderson: Friday, May 16, 2008; After losing at least one opportunity to build a suburban casino some years back, Boyd Gaming Corp. is close to signing a contract to build a casino as part of a proposed master-planned community to be built at a former
industrial site in Henderson.
Magic Kingdom performs a little magic in a dreary economy: Thursday, May 15, 2008; http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24582165/
And you wonder who pays for those expensive casinos: Wednesday, May 14, 2008; Gamblers lost a record $34.13 billion in non-tribal casinos last year, a 5 percent increase from 2006 and more than consumers spent going to movies and buying video games combined, the American Gaming Association reported today in its annual industry survey.
No surprise: visitor numbers continue to soften: Friday, May 9, 2008; The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority reported more of the same today: fewer visitors, especially convention goers, are coming to town.
Gaming revenue, especially slots, continue their decline: Friday, May 9, 2008; For the third month in a row, the state of Nevada is reporting a significant decline in gaming revenue blamed on the economy.
Tropicana Entertainment makes money but still files for bankruptcy: Monday, May 5, 2008
Atlantic City to ban smoking in casinos: Thursday, April 24, 2008; In a move that could reverberate across the casino industry, the Atlantic City Council voted unanimously Wednesday night to ban smoking in the nation's No. 2 gaming market.
Lanni last year: $9.6M in compensation, $12.6M in stock options: Tuesday, April 15, 2008; Excluding the value of stock options and awards, MGM Mirage Chief Executive Terry Lanni earned $9.6 million in compensation last year. That figure includes a salary of $2 million and incentive-based compensation of $6.4 million, according to the company's latest proxy.
February tourism leaps by 3 percent: Monday, April 14, 2008; If not for leap year, Las Vegas visitor volume, one of the best indicators of tourism demand, would have been down a half a percentage point in February versus a year ago.
Boyd shifts casino location in North Las Vegas: Friday, April 11, 2008; Dominant locals casino operator Station Casinos has been one of the valley's most aggressive developers, staking out prime neighborhoods before objectors can get a foothold.
Harrah's hails Caesars: Thursday, April 10, 2008; What's in a name? For Harrah's Entertainment, which is losing the international expansion race
to Las Vegas Sands, Wynn Resorts and MGM Mirage, apparently not enough.
Harrah's adds Lynn Swann to its board: Wednesday, April 9, 2008