When you walk into one of those multi-billion dollar temples to excess that line the Las Vegas Strip, did you ever stop to ask yourself “how did they pay for this?” Well, in most cases “they” (the companies that build them) borrowed the money just like you would if you were going to add a den to your house. Although in these cases the checks that get cut have a lot more zeroes on them than the ones you are probably used to dealing with.

Now that the American financial market is roiling with a credit crisis (whether real or perceived) it is having dramatic affects on Las Vegas, with multiple projects and sales now delayed and at least one major company looking overseas for additional dollars.

The “money in” part of the equation involves MGM Mirage, the Las Vegas gaming company, and Dubai World, the company that manages investments for the Arab nation. Last week it was announced that Dubai World was going to invest $5.1 billion in MGM Mirage, buying roughly 10% ownership of the company as a whole and 50% of the $7.4 billion CityCenter project now under construction on The Strip.

This is seen as a strategic win for both partners with MGM Mirage getting an important pipeline of rich Middle Eastern high-rollers into Vegas and a toehold in the burgeoning Dubai and India markets for non-gaming resorts, while Dubai gets a chance to open their tourist doors to an American market nervous about heading anywhere east of London.

CityCenter will still be managed by MGM Mirage and is on track to open in 2009.

Meanwhile the “money out” portion involves no fewer than four major construction projects or sales that have now been delayed due to the jitters in the financial markets.

We had already heard about the Tropicana delaying its multi-billion makeover until at least 2008 but now comes word that the Southern Highlands Resort is also on hold until next year. The $1 billion project from Olympia Gaming was to break ground at the far southern end of the Vegas Valley this summer with an opening in 2010. Now the shovels won’t turn until 2008 at the earliest and the opening date move back accordingly.

Those credit woes have also affected the expansion at The Silverton. A $500 million project was going to include a 360-room hotel tower but that has been delayed now. Other parts of the expansion including a bigger casino, a revamped pool area, and a new parking garage will move ahead as scheduled but there is no word on when the hotel expansion will happen.

And it’s not just construction projects that are being delayed. The long in the works sale of the Hooters Hotel and Casino is being affected by the credit markets. The players involved insist the sale is still on but things are taking longer than expected as everyone re-examines financing options.

The smart money on Wall Street is betting that the economic problems are going to get worse before they get better so expect to see more announcements in Vegas about money coming in from unexpected sources and money going out of planned projects.

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Question: I was just in Las Vegas last week and saw video poker machines that were called “Guaranteed Play.” Can you tell me what those are all about?

Answer: “Guaranteed Play” is a pretty revolutionary idea that you can only find at the Station Casinos like Red Rock Resort, Green Valley Ranch, and Boulder Station for now.

On regular video poker machines you put in your money and you play until you either lose it all (usually) or you walk away. So if you were to lose every single hand on a $20 investment on a quarter machine, you would wind up playing 16 hands at the maximum bet ($1.25 per hand). Of course that rarely happens and so depending on what you win or lose you could play several dozen hands with that $20 before you run out or decide to quit.

With “Guaranteed Play” you buy a pre-determined number of hands and get to play those hands no matter if you win or lose. On a quarter machine, $20 buys you 75 hands and $40 gets you 200 hands. You still win (or lose) on the same maximum bet pay table but you accrue your winnings separately from what you put in the machine.

The good news on this is that in most cases you will probably be able to play more hands than you would on standard video poker wagering systems and your winnings have nothing to do with the money you put in the machine. The bad news is that if you decide to cash out before your set number of hands is up, you don’t get the balance of your original investment back. In other words, if you quit after 40 hands you don’t get any of that $20 you put in the machine returned to you.

I haven’t had a chance to play one yet so I can’t give you any direct feedback on whether it works better or worse than a regular video poker machine and certainly, as with any gambling venture, it is all luck of the draw. You might do well with the traditional betting scheme and lousy with the new way or vice versa depending on the machine you sit down at and your luck, but it is certainly an intriguing idea.

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