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Las Vegas News of the Week

 
September 21, 2009
Vegas4Visitors Weekly

by Rick Garman


Let's Make a Tropicana Deal
The Tropicana has landed a potential boon by playing host to the new version of the classic game show “Let's Make a Deal." The series, to be hosted by Wayne Brady, will tape shows at the hotel and Vegas visitors can put on their wacky costumes to try to win a share of the loot.

"Let's Make a Deal" has Vegas roots. The original version, hosted by Monty Hall, was taped at The Las Vegas Hilton during its final season in 1976-1977.

The Tropicana is currently in the midst of a major makeover and this could be exactly the kind of thing the property needs to draw attention to it again. Certainly seeing all those people in costumes traipsing in and out of the place will be a sight to see.

Brady will continue his gig at The Venetian while hosting the game show in between.

If you want to go to a taping, tickets are free and you could win big. You can find out more information at http://www.cbs.com/daytime/lets_make_a_deal/.

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Fontainebleau Suitors
Although lawsuits and other court challenges are continuing over the mothballed
Fontainebleau hotel and casino, several companies appear to be looking for what could be a bargain out of bankruptcy.

Harrah's and Penn National Gaming have both been mentioned as possible buyers for the $3 billion, 4,000 room property that was to have opened later this year.

The Fontainebleau ran into trouble with its creditors and all of the banks funding the project turned off the cash flow. Construction on the project, located just north of The Riviera, came to a halt and the building has been sitting there, about 80% complete, for months.

Despite a massive nearly $20 billion debt load, Harrah's has been eyeing a variety of expansion moves including possibly taking over Planet Hollywood.

Penn National Gaming, big on the east coast and Midwest, has been looking for a doorway into Vegas for years. They are sitting on a big pile of money, about $1.5 billion, after a failed takeover attempt left them with a bunch of break-up fees.

However, gaming analysts are not convinced that either company has the resources to take on such a huge undertaking. Although it's likely that Fontainebleau will go for significantly less than the $3 billion it was estimated to be costing to build, it still isn't going to be cheap and the money needed to start construction up again and finish it off (as much as another $1 billion) could be difficult to find.

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Vegas Signs Light Up Downtown
More classic neon signs from Las Vegas' past are being installed along a stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard near Downtown. The signs, ranging from the Silver Slipper to an old Binion's Horseshoe sign, are being restored and added to medians from Washington Avenue to Sahara Avenue. It's all part of a $1 million project designed to spruce up the street and the signs are being provided by the Neon Museum. There will be three installed to begin with and organizers hope to have more than a dozen by the time the project ends.

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Vegas4Visitors Weekly Awards
The Mmmmm, Hot Dogs Award of the Week goes to Pinks, the classic LA wiener stand that has opened its first Las Vegas location at
Planet Hollywood.

The Mmmmm, Hard Rocks Awards of the Week goes to the Hard Rock Café, which has opened a second location at the Showcase Mall, just north of the MGM Grand. This is a restaurant only – no casino.

The What's in a Name Award of the Week goes to MGM Mirage, which has reached a deal with no fewer than 10 different companies that could put its marquee brand names on hotels around the world. The company will manage the hotels but will not have to spend any money to build them. This strictly franchise deal is only good, for now, in other countries but could lead to non-gaming properties abroad with names like Bellagio and MGM Grand.

The Really? Award of the Week goes to Steve Wynn who is rumored to be putting in yet another nightclub at Encore Las Vegas. The new club will reportedly go along The Strip in the space between Switch restaurant and the high-limit club and should open next summer. Another nightclub? In a town that has a bazillion of them already? In a hotel that has three of them already? Really?

The Happy Birthday Award of the Week goes to The Mirage, which will turn 20 in October. To celebrate they are planning a huge rock concert at their Bare pool lounge featuring Slash, Tommy Lee, Courtney Love, Rob Zombie, and more.

The Saving History Award of the Week goes to The Clark County Museum, which recently rescued and will reopen the Candlelight Wedding Chapel on their grounds. The chapel opened in 1966 on The Strip and hosted weddings for Bette Midler, Whoopi Goldberg, and other luminaries. It was moved to the Clark County Museum in 2007, was restored, and will reopen in November.

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Feature of the Week

 
Harrah's Eyeing Planet Hollywood?
 

While virtually every other casino company is pulling back and downsizing, Harrah's is making moves that will expand its reach as the biggest gaming corporation in the world.

The big Vegas news is that the company has purchased a portion of the struggling Planet Hollywood Resort's debt, estimated to be over $860 million total. This could be a sign that Harrah's is aiming to take over the hotel/casino, which would give it an almost uninterrupted string of properties from Harrah's at the north all the way down to Planet Hollywood at the South, including Imperial Palace, Flamingo, Bill's, Bally's, and Paris Las Vegas.

Planet Hollywood has been fighting the same kinds of economic turbulence that has sent many other companies into bankruptcy. A couple of weeks ago it officially defaulted on part of its debt, a bad sign that spells trouble for the property. Without the deep pockets of a major company behind it that can better handle the debt that is piling up, the hotel has been at risk for just such a takeover.

Meanwhile, Harrah's is also moving into Ohio by purchasing the Thistledown Race Track in Cleveland. Why do they want a horse track you might be asking? Because a plan is afoot that would allow them to install slot machines at the track.

But Harrah's is not stopping there, instead going not only global but world wide, as in the web. The company has partnered with a London based online gaming company that will bring their Caesars and World Series of Pokers brand to the lucrative UK Internet gambling market. Many are seeing this as positioning for a possible change in the law that may make it legal for online casinos to operate in the United States.

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Feature of the Week

 
CityCenter Pictures
 

It's just a few short months until CityCenter, the largest development in Las Vegas history, opens to the public. While you're waiting, here are some new photos, both official from the MGM Mirage company and taken by us at Vegas4Visitors.com.


CityCenter in its entirety. Photo courtesy MGM Mirage.


Aria is the main hotel-casino in the complex, with more than 4,000 rooms. It is scheduled to open on December 16, 2009. Photo courtesy MGM Mirage.


Vdara is a condo hotel with no casino and will have more than 1,400 rooms. It is scheduled to open December 1, 2009. Photo courtesy MGM Mirage.


the Mandarin Oriental is a hotel (392 rooms) with condos on top of it. It is scheduled to open December 4, 2009 . Photo courtesy MGM Mirage.


The Veer Towers are a condo only property scheduled to open in January 2010. At the base of the towers is The Crystals shopping and entertainment center, scheduled to open December 3, 2009. Photo courtesy MGM Mirage.


The Mandarin Oriental. Vegas4Visitors.com.


Veer and The Crystals. Vegas4Visitors.com.


Another shot of Veer and The Crystals. Vegas4Visitors.com.

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