Vegas News September 6, 2020
What does it mean to be the “Biggest Craps Player Ever?” We will get to that in a moment. But first, where is Marc Meltzer?
It has been a very odd summer for Vegas News. Actually, it has just been a very strange 2020. I was preparing a tale (Marc’s idea) about how Marc and Scott (Vital Vegas) went out to dinner on Wednesday night, and Marc has not been heard of since. But, considering how unusual this year has been, I was afraid people might actually take me seriously. Alas, Marc is totally fine and just enjoying a few weeks off from Vegas News for some well-deserved vacation.
Lovely dinner with this 🤡 It’s been way too long! 🎉 https://t.co/cGtD2jSgJX
— Marc (@MeltzVegas) September 3, 2020
It looked like Marc was starting Labor Day Weekend a few days early with a fabulous dinner at Heritage Steak at The Mirage.
4 courses for $68. The 8 ounce filet is $55 alone. Add the cake (below) app and side (not shown) and you have a heck of a deal @TheMirageLV. pic.twitter.com/sItq4aSIsB
— Marc (@MeltzVegas) September 3, 2020
What’s On My (Vegas) Mind?
@LasVegasUK covered a number of items in our semi-regular TravelZork feature “9 Casino Tweets You Missed This Week.” Fun fact, if we have a really busy week, it could actually expand to “18 Casino Tweets You Missed.”
“YAWN” – Mlife Tier Match
The big news in the casino loyalty world was the expansion of the Mlife Rewards Tier Match to markets outside of Atlantic City through December 31, 2020. Fundamentally it’s not that exciting for the status-obsessed miles&points people. The abridged version: Not a lot of value in Vegas, but some opportunities by allowing one to match their Mlife Status to World of Hyatt Explorist status.
That Did Not Last Long
Wynn “Re-Imagined” Buffet
I am not going to “give away” all of our favourite tweet-scoop, but one item really had me thinking a bit. It was announced that the new reimagined Wynn Buffet will be closing permanently. You might recall, Marc did a review recently of the “Re-Imagined Wynn Las Vegas Buffet.”
“Based upon guest feedback, we found that many guests prefer a more traditional buffet experience over the served all-you-can-eat format”
Wynn Resorts spokesman Michael Weaver
According to Wynn Resorts, it seems people were just not interested. While I am a huge fan of everything that has to do with the “Wynn Experience,” I have to ponder that there is a bit more to the closure than just customer feedback. Overall, Wynn has been exemplary in providing a very positive customer resort experience during COVID. Perhaps, this was one area with low occupancy that Wynn Resorts decided to “cost-save” in a strategic fashion. Makes a lot of sense, since closing a buffet barely impacts the overall resort experience.
Biggest Craps Player Ever
On the 1st of September, The Daily Mail “broke” the type of “gossip story” they are famous for. For anyone that gambles and especially those who love craps (dice) this was quite the headline.
EXCLUSIVE: ‘He’s the biggest craps player ever!’ How NBCUniversal exec Ron Meyer, who stepped down after affair with actress was exposed, blew $100M of his fortune gambling, lost up to $7M in one night and chartered helicopters to go casino-hopping
The Daily Mail | Mail Online published 1 September 2020
I actually discovered the “Biggest Craps Player Ever” story first while reading a casino.org piece about the topic, fundamentally sharing the details of the article from The Daily Mail.
There are a few things that do not totally connect in the story. This is not a surprise, since most “gossip stories” with unnamed sources tend to leave off a few pieces of the overall puzzle. No surprise that he stayed in a Penthouse Suite at the Mandarin Oriental in New York. Though, was it a CENTRAL PARK VIEW SUITE (from 2,295 USD) or a PREMIER CENTRAL PARK VIEW SUITE (from 2,695 USD)? (Yes, this pontification was meant to be tongue-in-cheek.)
He would stay at the penthouse suite at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in New York while on business, and the vice president of marketing at Caesars Atlantic City would send a helicopter to take him to his casino.
The Daily Mail | Mail Online published 1 September 2020
He would blow between $5million and $7million at Caesars. Once he exhausted his credit line there, the VP would take him to Foxwoods and the Mohegan Sun in Connecticut where he would blow $3-5million as well at each place.’
Tapped At One Casino – Move To The Next Casino
What I found odd, or perhaps interesting, is that the quote alludes to the fact that the Caesars Atlantic City Hotel and Casino VP (“the VP”) would actually take a Caesars client to Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun after he had exhausted his credit line at Caesars.
While I understand that casinos will often “turn a blind eye” with regard to overall casino credit exposure, as long as the player keeps paying, this seemed unusual that “the VP” would bring his client to another property. One thought is that perhaps there was also an independent host involved. Perhaps it was actually the host that was moving his “big player” around.
Another possibility is that this was an exceptional example of competing properties working together. As we know, casinos share with each other extensive information about the credit profile and credit lines of their players. Perhaps, it is not that unusual for properties to work together like this.
The only strange issue, from a credit compliance perspective, is that Caesars Atlantic City was aware their client (aka “The Biggest Craps Player”) was “tapped out,” and then sending him somewhere else that had (casino) credit available.
“Chronic Gambling Is An Illness”
Over the years, he became known in Hollywood for an interest in high-stakes card games, a hobby that ultimately tormented him. “Chronic gambling is an illness and has a lot of stupidity that goes along with it,” Mr. Meyer told The Times in 2007. He said that he had given it up when G.E. acquired the bulk of Universal from the French conglomerate Vivendi in 2003. “That made my decision for me,” he said, alluding to the visibility and management rigor that ownership by the conglomerate would bring.
NY Times | “Hollywood Executive Ron Meyer Leaves NBCUniversal After Secret Settlement” Published 18 August 2020
According to a NY Times article, Mr. Meyer said he had given up gambling in 2003, though that doesn’t really correlate to the current story. Funny enough, his past history of gambling did not mention much about playing craps.
In the divorce settlement his wife asked for a forensic accounting, because she thought he was hiding the money. But he wasn’t hiding the money, he just blew it.
The Daily Mail | Mail Online published 1 September 2020
Meyer did a fabulous job hiding his gambling losses. Such a good job, in fact, that his wife was convinced he was hiding money during their divorce proceeding. Still, there seem to be quite a few pieces missing from the story. I am certain it was quite the scene to see this “craps action” live at Caesars AC. I guess, these are the stories which breed more gossip.
Mr. Frank’s meagre $10k credit line pales in comparison to this craps player. By the way, James Bond only played craps once, and that was in Las Vegas in “Diamonds are Forever.”
