Sadly, it seems a bid to build the world's tallest casino will not come to pass any time soon. From the Sydney Morning Herald:
JAMES PACKER'S ambitious roll of the dice aimed at creating the world's tallest casino has failed to come up with the right numbers, with financiers failing to support the Las Vegas project.
Crown Ltd, of which Mr Packer owns 38 per cent, yesterday announced that plans to build a $5.2 billion casino with American partners had been thwarted by the global credit crunch.
The decision to pull the plug comes after the plan to transform an empty block of land into a casino and hotel development was effectively put on life support about three months ago.
There are plenty of dead beat dads out there, and some of them may in fact be turning to spend money that they should be spending on their child, on the thrills and spills of casinos. Well thanks to some new legislation in West Virginia and Colordado, some casinos can start doing their part to help track down these guys. It won't be perfect, but its a great step to help get those kids the money they deserve.
If you are still shaking off your New Year's Eve hangover, and deciding on what to do today, a nice relaxing game of poker might be just what the doctor ordered. And as chance has it, The Casino City Times has just posted a list of their top ten casinos by poker tables. Head on over to the story to check it out.
Nothing says the holidays like some casino themed christmas tree ornaments. These glass beauties will look wonderful on any tree, but they are especially suited for the gambler in your life. Our favorite is the craps table. It makes us want to get a wee stick man, and some wee dice to throw on it.
Today we came across this article that takes a look at casinos from a different angle, their parking spaces. The Casino City Times has rated the top ten casinos based on parking spaces, and its a pretty interesting list. Next up, maybe you can start tailgating!
1.) Sandia Resort & Casino – Albuquerque, N.M. – 13,470 spaces
Etched out in the shadows of the Sandia mountains, the striking Sandia Resort & Casino certainly has enough activity to justify more than 13,000 spaces. In addition to the 1,700 slot and video poker machines and 111,000 square feet of gaming action, this bustling Sandian Pueblo reservation also features 228 guest rooms, an 18-hole golf course, an outdoor amphitheater and a convention center.
The Net is abuzz with the stories of the opening of the new MGM Grand Detroit, and rightfully so. She sounds like a beautiful new gem for the casino lovers of that northern midwest. Finally, an alternative to driving to Canada!
Eight years after opening its initial Detroit venture, MGM Mirage pulls the wraps off its $800 million MGM Grand Detroit this morning, doubling its casino size, adding hotel rooms and offering amenities the company hadn't been able to provide.
Murren is unabashed in his praise for the resort, one of three casinos operating in Detroit.
"In Atlantic City, this facility would give the Borgata a run for its money. On the Strip, it would be a very relevant property," Murren said. "In Detroit, it's in another galaxy in terms of the competition."
Even with an interim facility, MGM Mirage has fared well in Detroit.
According to the Michigan Gaming Control Board, through August the MGM Grand Detroit reported total adjusted revenues of $329.8 million, ahead of both the MotorCity and Greektown casinos. Through the first six months of 2007, MGM Mirage said the casino represents roughly 5 percent of the company's overall financial picture.
Murren said the company doesn't give investors projections, but it was safe to say MGM Grand Detroit will be a much larger slice of the MGM Mirage pie.
The casino will grow to 100,000 square feet with 98 table games (up from 72) and 4,500 slot machines (as opposed to 2,840 at the interim casino). The 18-story hotel tower will feature 400 guest rooms. The previous casino did not have a hotel. The new property will have a variety of dining options, including two restaurants operated by celebrity chef Michael Mina and one by Wolfgang Puck. The MGM Grand Detroit will also offer several entertainment options, lounges and a 20,000-square-foot spa.
No one's betting the new MGM Grand Detroit will steal hordes of gamblers away from Las Vegas or Atlantic City, but hopes are high the $800 million resort, hotel and casino complex will help put the Motor City on the map as a regional entertainment destination.
Business, tourism and city officials are touting the opening of MGM Grand, the first of the city's three gaming operations to have a permanent facility up, as a new era for Detroit's $1.3 billion-a-year casino industry and for the often-maligned city as well.
Read more at both of those news sites, and see more by heading to the Motor City yourself!
It seems that over the last couple of years, the home of the Star Trek Experience, the Las Vegas Hilton, has been undergoing some serious renovations. This investment in the hotel, has been pushing the quality feel of the place in whole new directions. One might think that the hotel and casino is trying to elevate itself above its nerdy (and fantastic!) attraction.
Over the past three years, the Hilton has remodeled 1,523 of its 3,000 rooms and suites, installed Italian marble floors in the lobby, remodeled the casino and the porte cochere, added a new lounge and expanded the sports book. "This is probably phase one of different phases of enhancements for the property," said Rudy Prieto, Las Vegas Hilton general manager and chief executive officer for the off-Strip property. "We will always continue to consider what our options are in terms of redevelopment." The room upgrades include new beds, 37-inch plasma televisions, wireless Internet access and ports for MP3 music players. The hotel, which is owned and operated separately from the Hilton hotel chain by Colony Resorts, plans to continue the hotel room renovations in 2008. Bill Lerner, a gaming analyst for Deutsche Bank, said the remodeling has made the resort's public areas in the entrance brighter and more comfortable. "That's a critical public face to have focused on," Lerner said. "Working on the entrance and the hotel reception and lobby are important things to have focused on. Keeping it fresh is critical, and I think they have done a good job." Lerner said the demographic for the hotel, which is on 59 acres on Paradise Road north of the Las Vegas Convention Center, are midweek conventioneers and value customers. The hotel has been running at 90 percent occupancy during the week and slightly higher on weekends, spokesman Ira Sternberg said. Nearly 40 percent of the occupied rooms during the week are bought by people attending conventions at the hotel's 200,000-square-foot meeting space. Sternberg said the property also benefits from being near the northern anchor of the Las Vegas Monorail, which averages 19,000 passengers per day, connecting the Hilton to the Strip. Prieto said redevelopment projects on the Strip's north end should increase foot traffic to the property in the next few years.
Massachusetts Governor Pushes to Build Three Casinos
It looks like the folks in the northeast won't be stuck with only Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun for long. The governor of Massachusetts has given his blessing to create 3 new resort style casinos in the Bay State. The plan is to use revenue from the casinos to help pay for the state's ailing infrastructure such as roads and bridges.
Bridges not falling down, AND casinos in Massachusetts!! Yes Please!
The governor promised to devote about $200 million annually in casino revenue to pay for bridges and roads, a sum he said would be enough to eliminate the need for a gas tax hike.
Patrick’s announcement yesterday came at precisely the same time a special state commission was formally rolling out a highly publicized plan calling for an 11.5-cent increase in the gas tax. Some observers said the purpose of his timing was clear: to blunt the commission’s findings and allow the governor to take control of the issue.
If you are a lover of the flair and style of the Mardi Gras atmosphere, but you can't get down to the Big Easy, then perhaps you should consider a stay at the Showboat Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City.
Theres plenty do do within the grounds, from the House of Blues and Finnegan's Wake, to Masque, the masquerade themed bar. There is also a steady stream of acts coming to perform throughout the place. Check out their nightlife page to get more of a feel of what you can find.
On the dining front, you get a wide array of dining options from the French Quarter Buffet, to the Canal Street Bread and Sandwich Co., to Casa di Napoli. Clearly there is a bit of the Big Easy from a cuisine standpoint, and you can certainly find something to eat if you are hungry. Poboys RULE!
Of course, a casino would not be a casino without some sweet sweet gaming. Showboat has your fill with over 80 table games ranging from craps, to blackjack, to poker, and they also have a horse racing simulcast, and plenty of slots to pass the time on.
All in all, Showboat has what you need for a wonderful vacation with a little bit of Mardi Gras flair.
Sands Casino in Atlantic City to be Imploded: A Pinnacle Casino To Replace It
Atlantic City is sometimes the forgotten sibling of larger casino destination rival Las Vegas, but the town hopes to change things as it ups the ante on what kinds of casinos and entertainment can be offered there.
From the Press of Atlantic City.com we get news of the pending implosion of an old AC staple: the Sands Casino Hotel, and its secret replacement coming from Pinnacle Entertainment.
Pinnacle Entertainment Inc. is promising some Las Vegas-style flair in a spectacular implosion this fall of the old Sands Casino Hotel.
But what will rise in place of the iconic Sands remains a mystery.
“See you in 2011,” Pinnacle Executive Vice President Kim Townsend coyly told an audience of Atlantic City business leaders who were anxious to hear plans for the resort’s newest casino.
Townsend, however, revealed precious few new details about Pinnacle’s proposed $1.5 billion megaresort in a presentation Tuesday to the Metropolitan Business & Citizens Association at Boardwalk Hall.
Pinnacle plans to break ground at the end of 2008 and begin full-fledged construction the following year. A grand opening is expected in late 2011.
The Las Vegas-based company, a newcomer to Atlantic City, will redevelop an 18-acre site overlooking the Boardwalk between Indiana and Kentucky avenues after the old Sands is imploded, probably in October.
“Truly, it will be a must-see event for all,” Townsend said while promising the Sands’ demise will match any of the extravagant implosions staged in Las Vegas in recent years.
This morning, we came across a very nice review of the Poker Room at the Venetian written up by Pokernews.com. We have not had the chance to visit the venetian's poker room, but it sure sounds like a lovely place.
The Venetian's poker room is one of three high-end, luxury poker rooms in Las Vegas, the other two being the Wynn and the Bellagio. The Venetian was designed with appearance in mind, having 21 large-screen plasma televisions, beautiful tables, extremely comfortable, adjustable chairs, richly appointed décor, and a very tasteful, muted, coordinated color scheme to the room – giving it an air of luxury that's unmatched in Las Vegas rooms.
Art We Can All Love: A Gallery of Casino Carpeting
Alot of work goes into choosing the look of a casino. And a large part of that look, is in the carpeting on the gaming floors and elsewhere. Well, someone has finally put some attention to this aspect of casnio beauty. Behold, a collection of carpet galleries:
Red Rock Resort's newly opened 72-lane bowling alley isn't the largest in the Las Vegas Valley. But in a town already popular for bowling tournaments, the lanes are becoming significant elements of casinos as they market themselves as all-ages entertainment centers.
"This is the next step up," said Dennis Mathews, Red Rock Lanes' bowling operations manager. Mathews has been playing host to bowling operators from across the country who are buzzing about the obvious differences with the center's lower-rent peers.
There's the deluxe bar with a carpet that glows under a black light. There are the gun metal and wood-inlaid chairs, with ne'er a plastic chair in sight. There's the printed screen above each lane featuring Red Rock Canyon, reminding bowlers of the beauty of open desert (without the drawback of scorching heat).
But the real reason for the buzz lies beyond a doorway of hanging metal beads, where 12 bowling lanes await in a separate room resembling a jet - set lounge. The space can be divided into three rooms of four lanes each, with each boasting a nightclub-quality sound system, special-effects lighting and 120-foot-long projection screens that can display music videos, movies and television shows.
Nearby meeting rooms feature laptop hookups and 65-inch plasma TVs.
Renting four lanes for three hours will set you back about $1,500 - not including catered food and bottle service.
Wow, this is both hot, and cool! Sure, the price is high for the primo-lanes, but surely a swanky night wouldn't be complete without some sweet action on the old oiled wood ...*cough*.
We wonder what Jack Colton will think of this place.
Billion you say? What happened to the good old days when casinos were only in the millions?
According to the Gambling Planet, Las Vegas is about to get a brand new $2.8 BILLION casino / mega resort. This new mystery casino will be owned by a private company called Fontainebleau Resorts.
The company, majority owned by Turnberry Associates principal Jeffrey Soffer, quietly broke ground on the 9.91 hectare site north of the Riviera hotel-casino in February and has kept its plans secret until Monday.
"It’ll be a contemporary design and it will blend what’s current and what will endure in contemporary art, striking design, world-caliber architecture, new technology and hip music," Fontainebleau CEO Glenn Schaeffer said. "It’s not about the past, it’s about the future."
Wow, we love surprises, especially 2.8 billion dollar surprises.
Crown Las Vegas Will Never Reign
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