Two Way Hard Three | Las Vegas Casino & Design Blog

In Business Las Vegas has a wide-ranging interview with Roger Wagner, COO of Resorts International. He makes some interesting comments on Harrah's, the Las Vegas Hilton and the gaming industry in general.

To read the interview, click below:
Resorts International: Inteview with Roger Wagner

An nice article (registration required) from the New York Times on the current restaurant scene in Las Vegas:

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/26/dining/26vega.html

Technorati Tags: bellagio, gaming industry, las vegas, lasvegas, mandalay bay, mgm grand, mgm mirage, vegas, wynn, wynnlasvegas

Net revenues increased 74% from the same quarter last year. Even same-store net (not including Mandalay's properties) was up 10%.

The closing of Beau Rivage cost them $13M compared to the previous year.

Full details on the results: here.

Technorati Tags: gaming industry, las vegas, lasvegas, mgm mirage, vegas

Courtesy of Clark County, some additional information on progress/permits for Encore at Wynn Las Vegas and the Palazzo site, next to The Venetian.

Palazzo Permits

Encore Permits.

Neither contains any new earth-shattering information but it does show Encore going up in the room count department a good bit.

Now, this next set of permits are for a smaller expansion for Wynn Las Vegas, to include the Spamalot Theater, as well as some additional casino, retail and some other uses... 20,000 in additional casino space? Interesting.

Wynn Las Vegas Spamalot Expansion

Technorati Tags: casino design, gaming industry, las vegas, lasvegas, vegas, venetian, wynn, wynnlasvegas

We've got some more information on developments in Macau, the former Portuguese colony that allows Las Vegas style gambling in China near Hong Kong.

Thanks to reader Chris, we have some great first hand info as well as pictures. For those that missed them last time, we posted a bunch of his shots here: http://photos.ratevegas.com/photo/gallery/macau. Some great shots!

This time around we have a couple more photos from Chris and they will be in the Macau group on the above site very soon.

Below, find some more comments from Chris regarding Macau developments (after the jump)...

Thanks again to Chris - he's providing us with a unique insight into Macau development that otherwise we just wouldn't have. Thank you Chris and keep it coming!

Technorati Tags: casino design, gaming industry, las vegas, lasvegas, macau, mgm mirage, slots, table games, wynn

Las Vegas Business Press has a comprehensive report on the rebuilding of Mississippi's Gulf Coast casinos.

To read:
Las Vegas Business Press on Mississippi's Gulf Coast Casinos

Mike P commented in 'Las Vegas Photography':
"My wife and I are in a "Salon Suite" at the Wynn for a week. I have a camera with me which I might pull out of its bag. Is there anything you'd like to know about the suites?"

Mike and anyone else, it would be interesting to get your views on Wynn's suites. I've only seen the Salon Suite when Housekeeping had the door open of the one across the hall from my Executive Suite, a large room but not a real suite.

When Wynn's website went live, I compared the suite floorplans to those at Bellagio. As nice as the Salon Suite looks in photos, I wonder how it compares to Bellagio's Penthouse Suite. The Salon Suite has ,1,950 sq ft compared to Bellagio's one bedroom Penthouse Suite which has 1,536 sq ft. Yet, the Salon Suite has only one large bath and a powder room compared to Bellagio's His and Her Baths plus a powder room. Wynn does have a Massage Room.

Bellagio's 1,020 sq ft Bellagio Suite has one bedroom and 2.5 baths. The comparable Parlor Suite at Wynn has 1,280 sq ft and has 1.5 baths.

Wynn's 933 sq ft Executive Suite is one large, combined living and sleeping area, yet it has 2 full baths. Bellagio's Salone Suite is 853 sq ft, has a combined living and sleeping area and one large bath.

Since Steve Wynn built both hotels, I wonder why he didn't put two full baths in the two largest suites, but he did in the one-room Executive Suite.

I realize there are more important issues in the world than Las Vegas suites, but it just seems odd to me. Whether it's a couple or two friends traveling, the second bath comes in handy.

Having said all that, I'm looking forward to my fourth trip to Wynn next month.

Heard around town, the gallery at Wynn may be closing.

My thoughts? Bad move - the gallery is a semi-unique feature that sets the resort apart. The collection is small but has some pretty amazing works, including 'Le Reve'.

Wynn Closing Gallery?

Technorati Tags: gaming industry, las vegas, lasvegas, vegas, wynn, wynnlasvegas

The Boardwalk, located between Monte Carlo and Bellagio on the Las Vegas Strip, will close January 9th, 2006 to make way for MGM MIRAGE's upcoming Project CityCenter

LVRJ: Boardwalk to Close
LV Sun: Boardwalk to Close

Technorati Tags: casino design, gaming industry, las vegas, lasvegas, mgm mirage, project citycenter, vegas

Las Vegas based Station Casinos shattered Wall Street guidance with their third quarter results. The Las Vegas market continues to be robust.

Station Blows Away Estimates

Technorati Tags: gaming industry, las vegas, lasvegas, vegas

Purchased by Harrah's earlier this year, the Bourbon Street casino on Flamingo has closed two weeks early after a water main broke.

No plans have been announced for the property but it is hard to believe they won't be knocking it down.

Bourbon St. Closes Ahead of Schedule

Technorati Tags: harrahs, las vegas, lasvegas, vegas

Anthony Marnell III, son of Tony Marnell, is looking to build the 'M Resort' in Las Vegas. Tony Marnell runs Marnell Corrao construction, the company that built Bellagio, Wynn Las Vegas, Treasure Island as well as the Rio, which they also operated before it was purchased by Harrah's.

Interesting development.

Marnell Plans Development

Technorati Tags: casino design, gaming industry, las vegas, lasvegas, vegas

Looks like Colony is renovation the Las Vegas Hilton, once the largest hotel in the world.

Las Vegas Hilton Renovations Underway

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Anyone in Southern California that visits Las Vegas is well familiar with the 15. It's basically the only driving route to Sin City and in many places it is still two lanes, which leads to sometimes massive delays.

Interesting article on how important this stretch of road is to Nevada.

http://www2.dailybulletin.com/news/ci_3114952

Technorati Tags: gaming industry, las vegas, lasvegas, vegas

The Las Vegas Sun reports the B Bar will be turned into a high-rollers lounge:

"Someone got fired, a new guy came in -- they're changing the room we're in now, turning it into a high rollers lounge,"

Wynn needs music in the B Bar and other lounges. Even Bellagio has kept the pianist in Petrossian and music in the Baccarat Bar. If this report is true, I'm disappointed.

Las Vegas Sun Column on Wynn's B Bar

For those that haven't seen it, we've launched a new photo archive for the RateVegas family of sites.

It's located here: http://photos.ratevegas.com/photo/

It will be expanded over time but right now we have over 2,000 photos of your favorite Las Vegas (and Macau) resorts.

Want to submit a photo? editor@ratevegas.com

Technorati Tags: las vegas, lasvegas, photography, vegas, vegas photos

Some new renderings from MGM MIRAGE on the changes coming up - check out that volcano!

Japonais Outside
Japonais Inside
Mirage Volcano

Technorati Tags: casino design, las vegas, lasvegas, mgm mirage, mirage, vegas

Courtesy of reader Chris, we have a bunch of construction photos from Macau to share.

The photos are located here: Macau Photos on RateVegas.com

Enjoy!

Technorati Tags: casino design, gaming industry, macau, mgm grand, mgm mirage, vegas, venetian, wynn

The October 17th issue of Fortune Magazine has an excellent article on Sheldon Adelson and LVS' Macau developments. It's long but very informative.

Adelson and Wynn will never see eye to eye:
"Wynn is very good at creating mystique," he says. "He�s in it for fun and design gratification. My creativity extends to matching my tie to my suit. But I�m very good at making money, and that�s what an economic enterprise is all about. I�m simply a much better businessman."

Fortune Magazine Article on Sheldon Adelson and Macau

So, the 'Golden Boys' are out of gaming... Does anyone have the real read on these guys? They claim they got an offer they couldn't refuse and on paper, that might be believable.

Until the Laughlin deal with Barrick fell apart, it looked like Poster Financial (the holding company for their investments) might make off with some cash. As it turned out, that deal fell apart (and into the court system) and Landry's ended up getting the Laughlin Nugget for no additional cash. Hmmmm... That's about $30 million that didn't go back into the pot.

Based on what we know, this seems like a botched deal to me. What do you guys think?

Technorati Tags: las vegas, lasvegas, golden nugget, vegas, wynn

We've covered the massive changes that are coming to The Mirage over the course of the next year before. I've gathered up a few renderings of what the changes should look like for y'all.

Click on these links to see the renderings:

Mirage Map (pardon my lack of skill with Photoshop). The red parts are changes.

Jet Vegas

Stack Restaurant

Mink Lounge

Thoughts?

Technorati Tags: casino design, gaming industry, las vegas, lasvegas, mgm mirage, mirage, vegas

We went for a last minute trip to Las Vegas this past weekend and I decided to go out and take some photos to keep my friendly readers up to date.

The good stuff - October 2005 Photos - The Mirage, Wynn, Bellagio and More (My RateVegas photo gallery still has some issues - Flickr for now)...

Read more after the jump...

Technorati Tags: bellagio, caesars, casino design, cirquedesoleil, entertainment, harrahs, las vegas, lasvegas, mgm mirage, mirage, vegas, wynn, wynnlasvegas

Gaming Today reports that Wynn's Encore may be on hold, the golf course is still under consideration and Macau may open a month early

To read further:
Wynn's Encore Waits Backstage

Our friends at VegasTripping.com are reporting that MS Governor Barbour has agreed to drop the restriction that requires casinos in the state to be built over water, which resulted in massive damage from Hurricane Katrina.

Development is still restricted to be near water, but this will allow the developments to be much more secure in the face of any future disaster.

MS Governnor Signs On To Land Based Casinos

Technorati Tags: harrahs, mgm mirage, gaming industry

This excerpt from a review of Wing Lei at Wynn gives one example of why the property cost $3 Billion:

>>Seating is at elegantly decorated tables whose settings include gold chopsticks and chopstick holders, and high-backed, red velvet-armed tapestry chairs which look as if they might have been designed for Bertolucci's The Last Emperor. They are, by far, the most beautiful restaurant chairs in the city, and rumor has it they cost close to $1,500 apiece.<<

The article in the October issue of Las Vegas Life may be found at:
Steve Wynn's restaurant Wing Lei may be a bit pricey, but it offers a magnificent Chinese dining experience

Wynn was my final stop before returning to the real world.