TI talk in Vegas Seven

The latest Vegas Seven is out, and in it I talk a little about Treasure Island, post-MGM Mirage:

Treasure Island sits next to The Mirage, the casino that changed the Strip when it opened in 1989, and across the street from the Venetian/Palazzo and Wynn/Encore megaplexes, representing billions of dollars in casino capital. It’s not part of a national powerhouse such as Harrah’s Entertainment, and it doesn’t have an outpost in Macau. Owner Phil Ruffin is the only beneficiary of last year’s great deconsolidation trend that was supposed to see fire sales dismember the Strip’s big owners. Instead, MGM Mirage sold Ruffin Treasure Island, which today is an island unto itself on the Strip.

The Kansas billionaire bought a unique challenge: making a go of a Strip casino without a large convention center to lure profitable midweek business travelers or a national loyalty program feeder. It’s been more than a year since Ruffin closed on the casino, and what he’s done since then says a great deal about what works in Las Vegas today.

via Treasure Island finds niche with diversity under Ruffin | Vegas Seven.

The casino’s headed in an interesting direction that I think people should take note of. If nothing else, it’s proving that singly-owned casinos can still compete.

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