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Ante Up!
Bets and Pieces from the Shores of Atlantic City, the sands of Vegas, and other gambling hot-spots.
Sun Sells Resorts Atlantic City for $140 Million
Sun International Hotels Ltd. has agreed to sell its Resorts Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City to Colony Capital, a private investment firm in Los Angeles. The agreement includes an option for Colony Capital to buy an adjacent piece of land for $140 million in the future. The deal is expected to be finalized early next year. The sale price of Resorts marks a substantial discount from the more than $400 million that Sun has invested in the Boardwalk-adjacent property.
Colony’s other gaming assets include Harvey’s Casino Resorts and the company is also in the process of buying Glendale-based Pinnacle Entertainment, Inc.
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MGM Grand Completes Remodel
The MGM Grand Hotel and Casino recently completed an $85 million Grand Tower room remodel of 4,200 guest rooms. The newly completed tower redesign is part of an ongoing $750 million master plan at the resort that began in May 1996. The newly renovated, art deco-themed rooms feature plush fabrics, polished woods, and glamorously appointed accoutrements. Each room was redesigned to replicate an MGM Studios’ bungalow, taking guests back to the “Golden Age of Hollywood.” Artwork in the rooms depicts studio shots of MGM stars, both past and present. Bathrooms feature an extensive use of white Italian marble.
In addition to the hotel’s room renovations, many hotel employees are now wearing new uniforms, or “costumes,” designed to recreate a vintage Hollywood style. Bellmen are adorned in costumes reminiscent of the bellhops in the MGM film classic, Grand Hotel. Front desk costumes feature an updated version of the costumes worn by Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn in the film.
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Las Vegas Fastest Growing City in U.S.
According to U.S. Census reports, Las Vegas was the fastest growing city in the country during the 1990s, with its population ballooning 62 percent to 1.38 million between April 1990 and July 1999. That fact brings both positive and negative results to the city. The boom in gaming is the primary reason for the growth, and the increased population has provided a reliable and energized workforce for the desert community. But having such rapid and profound growth in a short period also brings growing pains. Increased traffic congestion and an inability to meet construction needs are two major concerns facing area residents, who will have to deal with annoyances along with the prosperity of the times.
Other fastest growing major metropolitan areas included Laredo, Texas and Boise, Idaho. Two suburbs of Las Vegas, Henderson and North Las Vegas were the two fastest growing cities of 100,000 residents or more.
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Maloof Family to open Palms Casino-Hotel
The Maloof family, who created and oversaw the locals-oriented Fiesta Casino Hotel, has begun construction on a new $265 million resort, the Palms Casino Hotel. Scheduled to open in December 2001, the Palms will provide Las Vegas with a new, affordable, resort-oriented, 470-room property with an eclectic mix of bars and restaurants, a spa and salon, movie theaters, a 1,200-seat entertainment venue, and a 95,000-square-foot casino. Located on a 32-acre site on Flamingo Road across from the Rio and Gold Coast casinos, the Palms will feature a dramatic 40-story tower.
“Based on our experience in the local market, we designed the Palms to offer a complete gaming experience by combining our past successful philosophies with the excitement and amenities that visitors expect from a Las Vegas Strip hotel,” said George Maloof, President of the Palms. “We will provide a complete resort for locals and tourists with the charm and attention of an independent, family-run hotel.”
The Palms marks the newest project for the Maloof family, who manage successful business ventures in the fields of banking, hotels, and sports. The Fiesta, developed by the Maloofs in 1994, enjoyed two expansions and financial success under the operation of George Maloof. It is currently being purchased by Station Casinos, Inc. Brothers Gavin and Joe oversee Maloof Sports, Inc., whose holdings include the Sacramento Kings of the NBA and the Sacramento Monarchs of the WNBA.
Originally from Albuquerque, N.M., the Maloof family consists of matriarch Colleen and five siblings, George, Gavin, Joe, Adrienne, and Phil.
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Steve Wyrick Opens New Sahara Theater
Steve Wyrick, whose larger-than-life illusions earned him the International Magician’s Society Magician of the Year Award, is now headlining at the Sahara Hotel and Casino’s new Sahara Theater. Wyrick’s show is housed in the new multi-million dollar theater that was custom built to accommodate the ambitious - and dangerous - illusions he has become famous for. The theater is modeled after a rustic airplane hangar, complete with broken-out windows and oil barrels.
“This incredible new theater has allowed me to take my show to a new level,” said Wyrick, who performed to capacity audiences at the Lady Luck Hotel and Casino before moving to the Sahara.
Guests will be astonished to see Wyrick perform his famous “Blades of Death Challenge” and reappear over the audience dangling from a rope attached to a full-sized, 40-foot Aerostar helicopter. Wyrick stuns audience when he walks through the spinning blades of a 16-foot turbine 747 engine. For his finale, Wyrick makes a twin-engine, Beechcraft Baron 58 airplane appear in just a split second.
Tickets are available through the Sahara Hotel Box Office at (702) 737-2515.
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Museums to Hit the Strip
Continuing a trend toward mixing culture and neon, the Hermitage and Guggenheim museums plan to offer their masterpieces for show on the Las Vegas Strip. Two spaces - the Guggenheim Las Vegas and the Hermitage Guggenheim Museum - will be built by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Rem Koolhaas in The Venetian Hotel-Casino.
The 63,700-square-foot Guggenheim Las Vegas, the larger of the two galleries, will be built between the Venetian’s casino and parking garage for large-scale traveling exhibitions. Scheduled to open in the summer of 2001, the gallery’s inaugural exhibition will be “The Art of the Motorcycle,” which received outstanding reviews when it opened at the New York Guggenheim in 1998.
The smaller 7,660-square-foot Hermitage Guggenheim Museum will house 20 works from the Russian Museum and 20 from the Guggenheim in New York, with the artwork rotating every six months. The debut exhibit at the Hermitage will gather a representation of Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, and early Modernist works. It is set to open in spring 2001.
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HIGH ROLLER - Spring 2001
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