Today is a very special Vegas News day. I pulled my winter coat out of the closet for deep cleaning. The high temperatures this week will be 10-20 degrees cooler than last week. Brrr?
Before leaving the east coast I donated all of my real winter coats. My Las Vegas winter coats are two hoodies and a sweater. Las Vegas never really gets cold. The button down and shorts uniform is pretty much in use all year round. This morning I saw people wearing winter coats and knit caps when I was running errands. It was a delicious crisp 50 degrees.
It’s hot coffee and hoodie season in Las Vegas. I love it! Las Vegas weather and how people react to it continues to fascinate me. It’s unofficially “freezing” to the locals. I’m not even sure it’s even hoodie weather yet but I’m gearing up for the unfrozen tundra.
I have a great passion for a lot of things in Las Vegas. There’s always something new happening in Las Vegas and with the companies that operate here. As you know, deciphering casino corporation earnings calls is one of my favorite ways to analyze the industry. Let’s just get to the Vegas News.
Boyd Gaming Earnings – Vegas News
This week Boyd Gaming threw a ton of shade at a Las Vegas casino without ever mentioning its name during their earnings call. The Gold Coast picked up new customers during the renovation of “the casino across the street” (Palms Casino Resort). Those customers haven’t returned to “the casino across the street” with the completion of the $690 million renovations.
The quote of the call came during the question and answer part of the earnings call. One of the reps on the call said “opening a new Asian restaurant won’t have much effect on us” when asked about thoughts on Palms finishing the renovation. It will be interesting to hear how Palms Casino Resort is doing when Red Rock Resorts (Station Casinos) reports earnings.
I’m not a connoisseur of Asian cuisine but I’m not sure an expensive Dim Sum restaurant at Palms will pull any customers from Ping Pang Pong at Gold Coast. PPP is one of the best values of any restaurant located inside of a casino.
Boyd Gaming was concerned about business at The California and Main Street Station with the Circa being built. While construction is slowing foot traffic, the Cal had a particularly strong quarter thanks to the renovations. The construction disruption is about as they predicted and it sounds like they did a good job preparing for any potential problems.
Boyd – Company Continues to Do Well in Vegas
The company continues to do well in Las Vegas. Both the locals casinos and downtown casinos are doing well. You can read about the finances here.
There was no mention of buying a property on the Vegas Strip or the potential expansion of the Fremont. Unlike the previous earnings call, gaming analysts didn’t even push them on the topics this time.
Boyd says they haven’t analyzed its Las Vegas casinos for expansion. It would be a surprise if we hear any news about expansion or a casino purchase from Boyd in the next quarter.
Hard Rock Finally Ready For Prime Time?
It feels as if there have been rumors about Hard Rock International buying a Las Vegas casino for more than a year. Well, it looks like they could be ready to make a move. Hard Rock’s Chief Executive Officer Jim Allen told Bloomberg “Certainly on the Strip is one of the possibilities…We look at this as a great opportunity for our brand.”
Rumors previously tied the Hard Rock to the Cosmopolitan but Allen told Bloomberg that Hard Rock isn’t interested in that property. Hard Rock seems to have its eyes set on PLANET HOLLYWOOD Las Vegas Resort or Bally’s Las Vegas. Eldorado/New Caesars says they are interested in selling at least one of their Vegas Strip properties.
Planet Hollywood might make sense but there isn’t much space to get creative and put a Hard Rock stamp on the property. Bally’s and its neighboring land could provide a lot of room to create a unique property.
Hard Rock International has nothing to do with the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas. The company is owned by the Seminole tribe in Florida. Check out the new Hard Rock Hollywood that opened this week. This is spectacular and totally Vegas.
Las Vegas Poker Rooms Dropping Like Flies
The Strat poker room recently moved to the second floor but closed just a month after moving. It’s the latest poker room in Las Vegas to close. Evidently 27 poker rooms in Nevada have closed since 2011.
Poker rooms notoriously aren’t major revenue generators. UNLV professor Anthony Lucas told the Rockford Register Star that “a typical Las Vegas casino poker room with 20 tables generates about $3 million a year in operating profits.”
Okay but how about some context? He went on to say that “slot machines in the same space would produce quintuple the profit,” according to the Stiffs and Georges blog.
That’s quite a difference in revenue. Sahara is supposedly opening a poker room next year. It will be interesting to see how long this poker room will last. Renderings show less than 10 tables. It could be a nice amenity but from the numbers above it doesn’t seem like the room will generate much revenue.
You Love Fees
- Light (day and night) at Mandalay Bay charges 7% on food and drink.
- XS at Wynn charges $1 per order.
- MGM Resorts dropped the fee but third party venues may still charge.
- Sahara venues add a 15% gratuity.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal just learned about the drink fees you’ve been reading about for a few months. They reached out to some venues around town to learn more about the drink fees. Here are the highlights:
TravelZork This Week
Downtown Las Vegas Breweries |
A Long (Awesome) Night At Able Baker Brewing
Best Video Poker in Las Vegas
Learning Video Poker Strategy at a Video Poker Bar
Quick Hits – Vegas News
When the fun stops? The fun never stops! Here are a few more Quick Hits of Vegas news for ya.
- Las Vegas Sands (Venetian/Palazzo) is mostly an international company so their earnings are pretty boring. However, it’s always fun to track room rates. See the info here.
- Poo is coming to Las Vegas! Read more here.
- Skill games are still a thing and they’ll be at Red Rock for a few weeks. Read more here.
- Boring Las Vegas is underway! Read more here.
- Paula Abdul kicked off her residency at Flamingo Las Vegas. Read more here.
- Read your semi-monthly train update here.
- Hooters ain’t going nowhere at OYO! Read more here.
- Someone drove an RV into a casino. Seriously. Read more here.
Want direct access to casino news, casino reviews, narratives, loyalty programs and video poker? Visit our casino/Vegas section directly at CasinoZork. Join the thousands of people who read TravelZork every month! Sign up here for one email per week updates. (Email is sent weekly on Monday afternoon Eastern Time, and includes our popular weekly Vegas news series)
