Gaming Update 2010

New, ambitious developments have created some positive buzz for the gaming industry. The enormous CityCenter project in Las Vegas is a case in point: Its opening could fuel some growth this year in both city visitors and Las Vegas Strip revenue, according to reports from Standard & Poor's and real-estate company CB Richard Ellis, respectively. In Pennsylvania, recent legislation approving table games has sparked development plans from prominent gaming companies such as Las Vegas Sands and Wynn Resorts. And business is strong in Macau, a gaming market that could grow by as much as 15 percent this year, according to Standard & Poor's.

Generally speaking, though, the casino market still faces significant economic challenges. S&P expects overall gaming revenue to be flat or down slightly for the year. Any increased revenues at some properties will likely represent decreases at competitors. Room rates in competitive markets remain low. Of course, for planners, that competition represents a continued opportunity to score a good deal in gaming destinations.


Las Vegas Things began looking up last fall for Las Vegas, and as of press time the cautious optimism remains. In September 2009, the city experienced an increase in the number of visitors, the first such boost since May 2008. In December, Las Vegas welcomed nearly 140,000 convention attendees, a rise over the previous year by almost 12 percent. And despite a 4.5 percent drop in overall occupancy for 2009, Vegas still filled 81.5 percent of its guest rooms for the year -- more than 26 percent above the national average, as reported by Smith Travel Research.

But perhaps the most significant shot in the arm for the city came last December, when MGM Mirage and Dubai World began opening properties in their CityCenter mega-development. The $8.5 billion project created 12,000 jobs in a city where the high unemployment rate was due in large part to hospitality industry layoffs.

Two nongaming properties were the first to open, at the beginning of December. The 1,495-room Vdara Hotel & Spa, a 57-story, all-suite condo-hotel, offers several meeting and event rooms on the lobby level, with a total of 10,000 square feet of meeting space. The property also has an outdoor pool with a 40,000-square-foot deck and a two-level spa. Mandarin Oriental, Las Vegas, was the second CityCenter hotel to open, a 392-room luxury property with an entrance on the Strip. Among its amenities are a 27,000-square-foot spa; a cocktail lounge on the 23rd floor with sweeping views of the city; and a modern French fusion restaurant, Twist, by celebrated French chef Pierre Gagnaire. The Mandarin Oriental offers 12,000 square feet of meeting space.

Both hotels are within easy walking distance of the 4,004-room Aria Resort & Casino, the only gaming property in the development, which opened in mid-December. Aria's designers positioned the resort's 300,000 square feet of meeting and convention space to one side of the casino so that attendees could check in to the hotel and find meetings without walking through the gaming area. The LEED Gold-certified Aria has a green-meeting infrastructure in place, including an arrangement with a local pig farm to dispose of any food waste. Aria also offers 14 dining venues, including a handful by big-name chefs such as Michael Mina and Jean-Georges Vongerichten, as well as a spa and fitness center and the 150,000-square-foot casino.

December also brought the opening of Crystals in CityCenter, a visually arresting architectural playground of high-end retail outlets, as well as several restaurants that welcome groups. Among them are Eva Longoria Parker's Beso, a collaboration with chef Todd English, with a menu heavy on fine steak cuts and traditional Latin American dishes.

Still slated to open at CityCenter are the 400-room Harmon Hotel, although its previously announced opening target of late 2010 has been indefinitely delayed; and the residential Veer Towers, a pair of distinctive yellow-tinted glass towers tilted at opposing angles.

Another long-awaited development on the Strip, the Fontainebleau Las Vegas, was purchased early this year out of bankruptcy court by investor Carl Icahn for "only" $150 million. The original developers already had sunk about $2 billion into the project, which is about 70 percent complete. Icahn has claimed he won't do any more work on the 3,800-room resort until the market improves.

Station Casinos, which runs 14 properties in the Las Vegas area, including the Red Rock Resort, Aliante Station and Palace Station, reached an agreement in late February with some of its creditors on a reorganization plan.

Harrah's Entertainment acquired the 2,496-room Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in late February, making the venue the southernmost property in a string of seven in a row that Harrah's owns on the east side of the Strip. The 1,229-suite PH Towers soft-opened at Planet Hollywood at the end of December. The luxury tower offers a landscaped pool area with 32 private cabanas.

Other properties that opened new towers in the past year include the 1,496-room Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, which unveiled the luxury 359-room HRH Tower at the end of 2009. The new addition has its own VIP entrance and check-in, and offers a spa and a coed Roman bathhouse, as well as a 14,000-square-foot nightclub, Vanity. In downtown Las Vegas, the 2,245-room Golden Nugget unveiled the 500-room Rush Tower last November. The new building includes a two-level pool with six cabanas and a 200-seat restaurant.

New meeting and event spaces have opened up in various locales, including at the appropriately named MEET, a 30,000-square-foot, three-story building downtown, scheduled to debut in mid-March. MEET can hold up to 2,000 people. The first two floors, outfitted with rigging, lighting and cutting-edge communication technologies, may be configured according to client needs. The third floor can serve as a VIP lounge or be used to host corporate training or other smaller events.

The 3,348-room Caesars Palace debuted five new pools in March, which, combined with the previously existing three, form the five-acre "Garden of the Gods." The revamped area includes 45 cabanas, swim-up gaming and lots of deck space. Across town on the Boulder Strip, the 307-room Eastside Cannery Casino & Hotel debuted the Casablanca Event Center, which can seat up to 1,100 attendees.

The toll taken by the weak economy, however, still is in evidence. In nearby Henderson, the 348-room Ritz-Carlton, Lake Las Vegas, will permanently close on May 2 due to the weak demand experienced over the previous 18 months; in a domino effect, the nearby Casino MonteLago also has ceased operations.

By Michael J. Shapiro

Atlantic City Atlantic City has been dealt a hefty share of challenges of late: Total local casino revenues for 2009 were down 13.2 percent from 2008, several gaming resorts changed hands, and all but one new development was shelved in the face of a stubbornly depressed economy.

But several bright spots stand out. Among them is Revel Entertainment's new, yet-to-be named $2 billion casino resort, now making steady progress in construction along the Boardwalk. Upon completion, the property will have two 1,900-room towers, a 150,000-square-foot casino and a 5,500-seat theater. At press time, an opening date had not been set.

Another positive note was struck with the launch last year of ACES train service between New York City's Penn Station and Atlantic City. The train, run by Amtrak, is a joint venture of Caesars Atlantic City, Harrah's Resort Atlantic City and the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa.

And though overall casino revenues remain down (-8.5 percent in January 2010 from January 2009), two properties, the Showboat and Harrah's Resort Atlantic City, reported a slight uptick in earnings for the same period.

Meanwhile, Pinnacle Entertainment announced in February that it will sell its 19-acre parcel of prime A.C. real estate, ending a plan to develop a
$1.5 billion casino resort. The company cited the city's prolonged gaming slump, competition from neighboring states and the uncertain economy as reasons for the move.

MGM Mirage announced shortly thereafter that it was putting up for sale its 50 percent stake in the 2,000-room Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa. Last year, the company shelved plans for a new $5 billion casino resort next door to the Borgata.

And then there are the three casino resorts owned by Trump Entertainment  Resorts, which filed for bankruptcy one year ago. At press time, billionaire developer Carl Icahn, who purchased the bankrupt Tropicana Casino & Resort for $200 million, was vying with Donald Trump for control of the 2,032-room Trump Taj Mahal Casino Hotel, 904-room Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino, and 728-room Trump Marina Hotel Casino.

By Lisa Grimaldi

For more information on Atlantic City, turn to our destination guide.

Pennsylvania Gaming ventures in the Keystone State got a boost early this year when the Pennsylvania senate legalized table games. The state's nine casinos currently are slot-machine facilities, but all could have table games installed by the end of this year, according to the Gaming Control Board.
 
The news motivated Las Vegas Sands Corp., which opened Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem last May, to resume construction of a 300-room hotel adjacent to the casino, which had been stalled due to the economy. Sands also had planned 200,000 square feet of retail space at the site, as well as about 50,000 square feet of flexible multipurpose event and meeting space, although as of press time no further details were available concerning those projects.

In Philadelphia, Wynn Resorts signed a letter of intent to manage the Foxwoods casino slated for the Philadelphia waterfront. Foxwoods had come under fire with the Gaming Control Board for missing development deadlines and was being fined daily when Wynn stepped up in late February, declaring a desire to finish the project by late 2012. Wynn's deal is contingent upon approval by the Gaming Control Board, which has requested detailed financing and construction data for the estimated $600 million casino by the end of this month.

The nearby SugarHouse Casino, also being developed on the Delaware River waterfront, is slated to open an interim casino this summer. The initial incarnation will consist of a 100,000-square-foot gaming area with 1,700 slot machines, one restaurant, and two bars and lounges. Phase I of the project is scheduled to open in 2013 and upon completion will include a total of 3,000 slot machines, four restaurants, two bars, a food court, retail space and a 10-level, 3,000-space parking garage.

Rivers Casino, a 3,000-slot facility, opened last August in Pittsburgh, next to Heinz Field. The casino offers a 1,000-seat outdoor amphitheater, as well as meeting and event space within some of its five restaurants and four bars. Wheelhouse, an on-site sports bar and grill, can accommodate from 150 to 200 guests in a back room -- which happens to be home to the largest TV in Pittsburgh, according to the venue. Andrew's, a 120-seat contemporary steak and seafood restaurant, is closed to the public but open to groups on Mondays and Tuesdays. And the Drum Bar can provide a versatile space for private events of 60 to 350 attendees. Eventually, the entire top floor of Rivers will be dedicated to hosting meetings and events. The facility doesn't have lodging on-site, but it does partner with half a dozen nearby hotels to offer package deals and free shuttles.

By Michael J. Shapiro

Reno/Lake Tahoe In Reno, a few properties have come together in an attempt to attract larger groups to the region. The Reno Resorts Conventions and Meetings Co-Op, administered by the Reno Sparks Convention and Visitors Authority, essentially is a one-stop shop for the Reno-Sparks Convention Center, the 1,000-room Atlantis Casino Resort Spa and the 1,635-room Peppermill Resort Spa Casino. Atlantis is linked to the convention center via a pedestrian sky bridge, and Peppermill is less than a mile away. Together, the three venues offer more than 700,000 square feet of meeting space. The co-op provides a central point of contact (renoresortsconventions.com), as well as incentives for larger groups.

In January, the Atlantis Casino Resort Spa unveiled the Atlantis Steakhouse, a 220-seat fine-dining venue that also features fresh seafood. Private dining is available in The Cove, a separate room that seats up to 12. The Club Room can seat parties of up to 50 and can include a private, self-serve bar.

The Peppermill Resort Spa Casino, meanwhile, is about to reduce its carbon footprint and realize the benefits of an $8.1 million investment in well drilling. The resort struck a geothermal water source more than 4,400 feet below ground, which as of this spring will provide all of the heat and hot water for the resort, guest rooms included. Geothermal energy already heats all the water for the 600-room Tuscany Tower, including the 43,000-square-foot Spa Toscana and Fitness Center and two outdoor pools and spas. The resort will save an estimated $1.8 million per year once it switches over to the geothermal system.

A new sports bar, Xtreme, opened at the 1,995-room Grand Sierra Resort and Casino. The venue, which debuted last September, is open 24/7 and offers bar food and 25 high-definition 42-inch plasma TVs, as well as a 12- by 8-foot LCD high-definition projection screen. Groups of 250 to 300 can be accommodated. Grand Sierra also welcomed a new Charlie Palmer restaurant, Briscola, which is a family-style, economically priced venue that offers fresh hand-cut pasta along with classic Italian entrées. Groups of up to 100 can be accommodated for private functions and buyouts.

In Tahoe, the $300 million, 170-room Ritz-Carlton Highlands, Lake Tahoe, opened last December at the Northstar-at-Tahoe resort, offering ski-in, ski-out access, an on-site restaurant by acclaimed San Francisco chef Traci Des Jardins, and a 17,000-square-foot spa and fitness center.

The Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course and Restaurant, near the resorts of South Lake Tahoe, has opened The Beach House, a two-story, 3,652-square-foot home that can sleep eight people and host 60 for an outdoor event or 40 indoors.

By Michael J. Shapiro

Asia Update

Singapore Gaming has arrived in Singapore, with the February debut of the casino at Resorts World Sentosa on the island of Sentosa. Unveiled were 1,340 rooms in four hotels, including a Hard Rock, and two more properties are set to open this spring. When completed, the complex will have 1,800 guest rooms, 300,000 square feet of meeting space and a Universal Studios theme park.

Singapore's second casino, part of the huge (and wild-looking) Marina Bay Sands, opens this month, along with 963 guest rooms, stores and part of a convention center. When completed by year's end, the complex will have 2,500 guest rooms and nearly 1.3 million square feet of meeting space.

Macau The 410-room Encore at Wynn Macau will open this month as an extension to the 600-room Wynn Macau.

Sands China Ltd., a subsidiary of Las Vegas Sands Corp., has resumed work on its Cotai Strip resort. Already open are the 3,000-room Venetian Macao, with 800,000 square feet of exhibition space, and the 360-room Four Seasons Macau, with 18,300 square feet for meetings. Coming soon are the 636-room Shangri-La Macau, with a 64,580-square-foot ballroom; the 4,067-room Sheraton Macau Hotel, with 270,000 square feet of meeting space, and a 1,259-room Traders Hotel.

By Lisa Grimaldi

 

California

Northern 

In June 2009, the 60-room Twin Pine Casino & Hotel in Middletown, about 80 miles north of San Francisco, celebrated the debut of the hotel part of its name. Owned by the Middletown Rancheria of Pomo Indians, the property also expanded its existing casino with additional slot machines and table games, a new restaurant and bar, retail shops and a wine-tasting room that seats up to 40. The total cost of the hotel, which offers one meeting room that can hold 50 people, came to $42.5 million.

In Brooks, Calif., about 40 miles northwest of Sacramento, the 200-room Cache Creek Casino Resort, owned by the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation, earlier this year announced plans to add 20,000 square feet of gambling space, a 52,000-square-foot event center and a 900-car parking structure. The project represents a scaling-back of designs revealed last fall, which included construction of a 10-story hotel. The tribe hopes to begin work on the revised expansion in 2011 and finish in 2013, pending the approval of an environmental impact review.

Come July, the Thunder Valley Casino, just north of Sacramento in Lincoln, Calif., will complete a major expansion. New features will include a 297-room hotel, 40 percent more casino floor space, a spa, an entertainment venue and a parking garage.

Southern 

The 662-room Harrah's Rincon Casino & Resort, 45 minutes northeast of San Diego in Valley Center, recently unveiled a series of upgrades, including a revamp of its 24-hour Café and a $6.2 million renovation and expansion of the buffet. The resort has a total of 13,500 square feet of meeting space.

Just a few miles north of the Rincon, in Pala, Calif., is the 507-room Pala Casino Spa & Resort, which wrapped up an 18-month, $100 million renovation and expansion last December. Improvements to guest rooms include new 42-inch flat-screen TVs, iPod docking stations and spa products. Elsewhere on-site, two new restaurants opened: Amigo's, a Mexican eatery, and Sushi Sake, bringing the total number of dining options to 10. Also added was a new 15-table poker room and high-limit area. The resort offers a 10,000-square-foot spa and 40,000 square feet of meeting space.

The 400-room Barona Resort & Casino, near San Diego, has opened the 175-seat Italian Cucina, which features a private dining room that can host 20 people for an event. Also new is the Seafood Plaza and a Mexican eatery, El Rancho Grande. The resort also features the AmBience Day Spa, the 18-hole championship Barona Creek Golf Club and a Golf Events Center with 18,000 square feet of indoor/outdoor event space.

By Kaylee Hultgren