My latest for Forbes looks at how the landscape of the North Strip is about to change: The three operators looking to turn the North Strip from afterthought to epicenter are fighting against history, but they have the potential to disrupt Las Vegas. Read it here: Getting Ready For The Las Vegas Raiders, The North […]
Here is this week’s Green Felt Journal, on the opening of SLS–and what it means: The Sahara’s closing on May 16, 2011, was significant in more ways than one: It was not only the demise of one of the Strip’s few remaining classic casinos, but it essentially marked the depth of the Great Recession. So
The Strip’s New Monkey Business | Vegas Seven Read More »
Vegas SevenAs you might know, a month ago, sbe Entertainment Group sent out a press release with some details of the financing of the putative SLS Las Vegas. I was skeptical, as were others. Last week, the company sent out a second press release, which provided more details. I still had questions, so, wearing my Vegas
With Oseland Aboard, SLS Could Be a Winner in Vegas Seven Read More »
Vegas Seven, writingMy contribution to the coverage of the Great Sahara sale is in Vegas Seven this week: At the Sahara, NCL put 600,000 items for sale, from camel-base lamps ($150; they were the most consistently pilfered item from hotel rooms) to the wooden doors from the House of Lords restaurant ($825). The two-month liquidation sale is
Selling the Camel in Vegas Seven Read More »
Vegas SevenThis week I’ve got three separate pieces in Vegas Seven. The first is a short news item comparing and contrasting two Strip casinos with similar origins and dissimilar fates: The Tropicana and the Sahara are a study in contrasts despite some shared history; at opposite ends of the Strip, both holdovers from the 1950s managed
Sahara Vs. Trop in Vegas Seven Read More »
Vegas Seven, writingI’ve got a new column in the Las Vegas Business Press, in which I consider the meaning of the Sahara’s impending closure. Even in flush times, running a Las Vegas casino was never a license to print money. Casinos have changed hands, declared bankruptcy and even closed their doors. But the recently announced closing of
Sahara signals Strip woes in LVBP Read More »
Las Vegas Business Press, writingIt’s pretty rare for a Strip casino to get knocked out. Sure, more than a few have taken the standing eight count of bankruptcy, but usually, no matter how far in debt a casino gets, it produces enough cash flow that the lenders would rather see it open than closed. The Sahara’s scheduled May closure,
Requiem for (a Vegas) Methuselah Read More »
writingAn LA Times article about Sam Nazarian’s plan for a nearly-finished hotel he just acquired in Hollywood got me thinking that this could be a model for at least one of the towers at the Sahara–if things ever turn around enough to justify the renovation: The former Palihouse, which Nazarian estimates is about 85% complete,
Glimpse into Sahara’s future? Read More »
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