The massive $11 billion plus CityCenter project under construction on the Las Vegas strip is scrambling to put together an additional $3.5 billion in financing to complete the project in time for the advertised late 2009 opening. Apparently the economic woes consuming the US and World financial markets are taking a toll on the normally bullet proof Las Vegas economy.
Rising fuel cost combined with the collapse of the real estate market has forced money lenders into a corner, even those lending institutions that once stood in line to buy into a glamorous Las Vegas gambling resort are treading water until the storm passes.
Even though Dubai World, the $100 billion in assets investments company owned by the emirate's government, has invested $5.1 billion into the CityCenter project, additional funding will be necessary to completed the city-within-a-city on the Las Vegas strip. According to an outside source fund raising leader, Bank of America Corp., has lined up $2 billion of the needed $3.5 billion.
Gaming revenues in Nevada have suffered a 17% drop from the same period last year as a result of consumer belt tightening, record fuel prices, shrinking airline traffic and home foreclosures. Duesche Bank has taken over the $3.5 billion Cosmopolitan project located north of CityCenter after its developer, Ian Bruce Eichner, defaulted on a $760 million loan.
Will Las Vegas finally have to pay the juice to the piper after years of blue skies and good times? It's certainly beginning to look that way. Fact: Nevadans are carrying the highest per capita credit card debt load of any state in the nation, at least we're number one in something.
Today, the Cheesecake Factory celebrates their 30th anniversary with 30 different varieties of cheesecake -- for only $1.50 each slice.
That's the price they charged in 1978 when the first Cheesecake Factory opened.
And, of course, today is National Cheesecake Day, so you have even more of an excuse to have your cheesecake and eat it too.
In addition, a new chocolate cheesecake will launch today, with 25 cents from each sale going to American's Second Harvest.
Stop by one of the 143 locations nationwide, or one of the locations in Las Vegas (all are open till 11 p.m.) -- the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace, Green Valley Ranch at the District (the side with Whole Foods), or The Shops at Boca Park at Rampart in Summerlin.
Some restrictions: dine-in only, today only (July 30), and only one cheesecake slice per person.
Jubilee!, one of the last remaining classic dancing girl shows, is celebrating their 27th anniversary by offering locals $27 ticket prices now through Aug. 15.
Just purchase at the Bally's box office and show your Nevada I.D.
There's a maximum of four tickets per person, which regularly go for $65-89.
Shows run Saturdays through Thursdays at 7:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m.
Las Vegas resident Lewis had his gun taken from him at McCarran International Airport, on his way to Detroit on Friday.
The unloaded gun was allegedly a prop gun used by Lewis in his show (what show is that, we don't know), but the authorities nonetheless deemed it a concealed weapon with no permit.
Lewis claimed he wasn't aware it was in his carry-on bag and said family members had last used the bag.
Got a parking ticket you've been sitting on because of late fees?
Those penalty fees can build up to more than the ticket itself, so it's no wonder.
But now you have a reprieve, just as long as you pay the ticket.
From tomorrow through July 31 at 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., bring in your ticket (or tickets) and you'll be able to pay it with no late fees -- no questions asked.
Even if you've been avoiding the collection agency, you can still pay your ticket plus only $10 for collection fees.
You must appear in person at the City of Las Vegas Parking and Hearings Office (416 N. 7th St.). Be sure to bring the ticket, vehicle identification number (or license plate number), and money.
Cash, credit, debit, money orders, and cashier's checks will be accepted -- no personal checks.
For more information, call (702) 229-4700.
If you miss this week's moratorium, you'll have another chance next week from Aug. 5 to Aug. 7, also at 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
But after that, well, you like both your thumbs, right?
For all of August, locals will receive 2-for-1 tickets to Crazy Horse Paris (at MGM Grand).
Simply show your Nevada I.D. at the box office when purchasing tickets.
A celebration of the female form, the show shares the same name as the famous cabaret in France and also shares dancers -- all 12 of the dancers at the Crazy Horse at MGM Grand were from the original Crazy Horse dance troupe in Paris.
Tickets are regularly $50.50 and $60.50, which includes all fees.
Shows are Wednesdays through Mondays at 8 p.m. and 10:30 p.m.
1st National Bank of Nevada shutters, will switch to Mutual of Omaha
On July 24, federal regulators shut down 28 branches of 1st National Bank of Nevada and First Heritage Bank.
The Treasury Department's Comptroller of the Currency Office found that the bank was undercapitalized and had excessive losses of assets and earnings from "unsafe and unsound practices."
On Monday, the five branches in Las Vegas will convert over to Mutual of Omaha Bank.
Because they're insured by the FDIC, all accounts $100,000 or less are protected and insured by the government.
Those with more than $100,000 will still have "the full amount of their deposits."
As usual with a financial institution, no advance notice was given, and the closures occurred suddenly, with notices posted on the outside windows of the banks.
To celebrate, Ellis is offering a $400,000 giveaway, with partial amounts given away nightly. Just scan your card daily at one of the kiosks and you'll know instantly if you've won.
Extra multiplier days are also awarded on select days -- besides 2x indefinitely on all machines, some select machines will be 5x on Fridays and 6x on Sundays and Tuesdays. And among those, select machines will be a whopping 40x, even some video poker machines.
Silverton has a delicious promo through the end of this month.
From now through July 31, earn points from midnight to midnight, and you can get free breakfast, lunch, or dinner. And the points don't come off your account
Video poker is the same but triple the points (300 points = breakfast).
Food vouchers are good at the Sundance Grill, Mi Casa Grill, and the Mermaid Lounge. Vouchers cannot be redeemed at Twin Creeks.
For the buffet, the lunch and dinner vouchers will get you in, even on weekends. We stopped by last weekend on Friday night when the dinner buffet (with Alaskan crab) is $19.99 (Saturday-Sunday brunch is worth $16.99). That's an extra $6 value. Plus, every Friday at Silverton gives 5x points (you still have to earn 300 points for dinner, but it's credited at 1500 points, worth $1.50 in comps).
Also nice is being able to use the dinner voucher for breakfast (because there isn't exactly a timeline for breakfast in Las Vegas).
Points are earned at 1 point = $1 on slots.
The one catch is you must redeem the voucher within 24 hours.
Ticketdeals Partners and Wynn Las Vegas have a special discount on the water acrobatic show Le Reve for this summer.
Now through Aug. 31, premium and splash zone (don't worry, you won't get wet much) seating are $86.90, including tax ($9.95 convenience charge is not included). Tickets for these sections are normally $137.50 and $108.90 (including tax), for a savings of almost $50.
To purchase, visit this link, select the date you want, enter quantity, and enter code TMDEAL under the "Ticketdeals Partner Offer."
Children should be at least 5 to attend, and children under 12 must be accompanied by an adult.
Note that this is the revamped show by Steve Wynn.
Le Reve performs Thursday through Sunday at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. No show today or tomorrow.
By and large, articles of this nature are from a historical perspective, so let's do something different. With faces forward and upturned at just the right angle to catch the light emanating from a glorious future ahead of us, let's have a look at possible "bumps in the road" for the Degenerate Mecca Family Friendly Las Vegas, in no particular order.
The LasVegasVegas.com list of Top 5 Las Vegas Disasters are:
Just over the hills to the east, Lake Mead, which is on the Colorado River, the area's main water source, is literally drying up. Runaway population growth and a historic drought have rendered the nation's largest reservoir a virtual drainage ditch, down to a skeletal 48 percent of capacity
Lake Mead having dropped to historic levels back in 2004 was indeed a large and loud signal that perhaps there was potential for some real future problems of the widespread hardship, misery, disease, and even death kind. There's Harry Reid's solution....
He co-sponsored a law granting the Southern Nevada Water Authority a free right-of-way on federal land to pipe groundwater into Las Vegas from central Nevada, hundreds of miles away. The $3 billion plumbing plan would tap the Great Basin aquifer, a vast underground sink that runs from Death Valley, in California, across central Nevada and into western Utah.
And here's a related blurb about the same from Popular Mechanics, presented in a "gosh, this is really the only idea/option, but look, they're wrangling!" fashion.
As cities across the Southwest boom, such wrangling over water projects seems destined to accelerate. Meanwhile, the Las Vegas plan is moving forward. The SNWA hopes to complete the approval process in 2009, and turn on the faucets by 2014.
or, there's this one, from someone who sounds like he realizes that breakdowns will begin to manifest themselves much sooner than 2014. Of course, his solution doesn't really help anyone acquire or maintain any lucrative deals:
Hang on tight Vegans. (or is it Vegasites? Surely there's a proper term here, but Vegans is fun, so let's stick with it.)
Bonus possibility: The CDC, partnering with Merck, rolls out a new water vaccine around Q2 2009. It contains crucial genes from the most robust species of camel, greatly reducing individual need for water. Federal legislation (The Hydration Freedom Act of 2009) is rushed through, mandating the shot for all LV residents and laying the groundwork for a similar global program to be implemented in all desert states and regions by the UN to "prevent mounting global instability." Toilets begin to go out of fashion as everyone saves their own urine "just in case."
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photos by flipchip • lasvegasvegas.com
Rail cars filled with high level nuclear waste will move through Las Vegas
Where are we going to put this nuclear waste? How bout the desert? The only people that exist out there are degenerate gamblers....
Admittedly, the chances of Disaster via Yucca are low, at least in the near term. There has been a goodly amount of fight from Nevada residents, and Governor Gibbons has vowed to continue fighting the project as long as he has the position. However, the Bush administration recently submitted the formal application for the site, demonstrating that efforts to push the site are still rolling forward, however slowly.
Edward F. Sproat, manager of the Yucca project, confirmed that the department now believes it may be 2020 before the waste site can be opened, assuming the NRC grants a license. And he said even that target may not be met if Congress does not provide a steady money stream.
But it is exactly this creeping pace that puts the Yucca Mountain Project on the list--it's the Mor Furniture meets Bloated Government project*. Governor Gibbons and Sen. Reid may be fighting the project, but what about their successors? One also shouldn't discount the possibility that one or both might have a "change of heart" about the project and begin advocating for the project. After all, these are political creatures we're speaking of...
*(Yucca Mountain, no completion till 2020! Gosh, that's like forever, and stuff-that sounds like a really good deal.)
Come invest in Vegas Real Estate, it's HOT! Real Estate is never devalued, and it's not like water is a problem. Now, what are these "foreclosures" you speak of?
The developer of the Cosmopolitan Resort Casino, a $3.9 billion condo-hotel complex on the Las Vegas Strip, has been notified by its primary lender that it will begin foreclosure proceedings.
Sixteen years ago, developer Ian Bruce Eichner was forced to give his lenders the keys to his newly finished office tower in Times Square. The empty building, a symbol of one of the worst downturns in U.S. commercial real-estate history, ultimately cost his lenders and partners about $200 million.
Nice work if you can get it, I suppose. The news was met with shrugs by most, but surely will be paid close attention by many as attested to by Las Vegas Review Journal--
Eichner told the Wall Street Journal last week that 83 percent of the project's condominium units have been sold, with buyers putting down 20 percent nonrefundable deposits on sales totaling $1.35 billion.
I wonder what the over/under is of the month-to-month continued construction deal between Deutsche Bank and Perini (general contractor on the project) holding up as the months tick by? And for those of the mind that it's not so bad, here's the latest deal that's going bust before it goes bust.
Now that the boring business shite is past us, we can focus on something really important. Celebrity Hardship! (What's the over/under on this becoming its own television show sometime in the next decade? Promo: You think your life is bad, just look at how far these large-livin celebrities have fallen! Stay tuned, we have Ashlee Simpson on tape giving our sound guy a hand job for crack!)
(June 4) Ed McMahon, the longtime sidekick to Johnny Carson on "The Tonight Show," is fighting to avoid foreclosure on his multimillion-dollar Beverly Hills estate.
[...]
"He's not alone. There are plenty of people affected by the weak economy, bad housing market or bad health," McMahon's spokesman, Howard Bragman, said late Tuesday.
Celebrities: Sub-prime, only with more zeros than you.
While it's doubtful that price hikes on Hot Pockets are large enough to cause a general uproar, folks still choosing to eat real food have definitely noticed some stark changes over the last few years. As an example, let's look at MarketWatch article from June 2007-
Here's another sobering set of facts. As reported recently in the Wall Street Journal commodity "cash prices" section, wholesale prices of key food items have risen dramatically from a year ago:
-- Butter prices are up 31%
-- Cheddar cheese prices, up 65%
-- Nonfat dry milk prices, up 117%
-- Broiler chickens, up 17.5%
-- Beef, select, up 12.8%
Once again, that was June of last year. How have things been through the year since then?
(CNN) --The price of oil has doubled over the past year. A barrel of crude oil cost about $65 in June 2007; it is currently hovering around $130 a barrel.
Certainly this issue is not unique to Las Vegas by any means. However, Vegans should be asking themselves just how much of the food in Vegas is grown locally, or even nearby? The question is not how much food is available, but also how is it going to get to your table (Here's a small version)?
Also worth recalling is the fact that it was less than two months ago mainstream media was alive** with headlines of rice rationing by several major retailers as well as food riots in Haiti, Bangladesh, and Egypt.
**(well, alive as they could be while getting shoved into oblivion by the latest newsflash in the "Britney Spears Flashes Funbags to Class of Retarded Schoolchildren" vein)
Whilst the vacuous heads all over the teevee ply their soothing calmative wares emanating from the mouths of various "experts" (analysis like "I don't know why people are worrying about it. I mean how many people really need to buy 20lb bags of rice?") has abated somewhat, things continue to unwind and are increasingly likely to topple a dinner table and/or leave a gas tank empty near you.
When this city's a rockin', don't come'a knockin'. Few know that Vegas Valley lies on seven major fault lines, and if they did, it would probably make people reluctant to invest in Real Estate. Waitaminute.....who told? This must mean that #3 was caused by a leak. Once that gets fixed, the market be hot hot HOT again! Attention Citizens: Any mention of the fault lines will be construed as trying to incite panic and interference with the United States Economy, a terrorist offense that will be dealt with to the fullest extent of the law. Now, if you'll look over here I have an amazing 3-bedroom in Green Valley...
"The valley is surrounded by a big, deep-faulted basin that would shake like a bowl of Jell-O if struck by a major earthquake and would continue to shake until the energy dissipates," [Assistant Geophysics Professor at UNLV] Snelson said.
The most hazardous fault is widely considered to be the Frenchman Mountain fault east of Las Vegas, said Craig dePolo, a research geologist for the Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology.
There has not been a major earthquake in the Las Vegas Valley since it was settled during the mid-19th century, and earthquakes are also practically impossible to predict. The valley might see a major Richter event tomorrow, or there might be nary a tremor for another 1000 years. However, on Feb 21 2008, Wells, NV residents were hit with a 6.0 earthquake, so really, how hard is it to imagine that such a thing might happen to the Las Vegas Valley?
Would you bet the (or rather, "your") house on it? It would seem that if you're an owner in the Valley, you may have done just that--
We disclose airport noise, gaming, new road construction and construction defects, but have little concern for a Green Valley home being built on the Whitney Mesa Fault.
The Real Deal! poker show to premiere at The Venetian
By today's close of trading, shares of Las Vegas Sands jumped 9.4 percent to $42.20.
This could be because of the buy rating from Jeffries & Co., which stated that the company that owns The Venetian and The Palazzo is outperforming the market and gaining market share.
But we'd like to think it's because of The Real Deal!, the new live poker show announced today at The Venetian.
No, this isn't the All-In musical debacle gearing up at Rio and Harrah's.
Similar to the live stage game show The Price Is Right at Bally's, audience members will use mobile devices to participate in poker hands with their favorite poker celebrity.
And there's a chance at a $1 million prize for a royal flush.
Revolving poker celebrities appearing on stage include Doyle Brunson, Daniel Negreanu, Phil Hellmuth, Jr., Antonio Esfandiari, Gavin Smith, Eli Elezra, Jennifer Harman, Phil Laak, Scotty Nguyen, and Todd Brunson.
More info on the show as it evolves can be found at this linkThe Real Deal! will premiere in the fall at The Venetian Showroom and will alternate with other shows six days a week.
Next time you're on the Strip looking for something to do, look no further than the little concierge contained right in your cell phone.
Vegas.com has launched a free Mobile Concierge that provides that day's and the next day's shows and tours in Las Vegas.
Text 777 to VEGAS (83427) to receive the up-to-the-second show information.
Phones with Internet access or mobile devices can go to mobile.vegas.com.
There you can get a directory of hotels, browse shows and tours with short descriptions, see times and prices and locations, and then when you're ready to purchase, click "Buy Tickets" or the showtime.
This will reserve your ticket. Then call the number listed, and you'll speak to a live operator who will take your name and payment information. No more having to fumble with entering dozens of credit card numbers into your phone.
Your tickets will be waiting for you at the box office, or you can even use your phone itself as your ticket.
At some locations such as Wynn Las Vegas, your ticket will be shown as a barcode on your phone display. The ticket taker will scan this barcode to let you in.
Brenden Theatres (at The Palms) and CineVegas offer a free pass for two to see the new movie American Teen on Tuesday, July 22 at 7 p.m. -- a month ahead of its Aug. 15 opening.
A hit at film festivals including Sundance, the documentary follows 10 months in the daily lives of five teenagers, all throughout their senior year of high school in a midwestern town.
Reviews are calling it "a modern-day Breakfast Club."
Seeking protection under Chapter 11, the upscale 3,600-acre resort near Lake Mead claimed debts between $500 million and $1 billion. The economic downturn was one of the factors cited.
Just six months ago, when the master-planned community defaulted on $540 million in loans, Atalon Group assumed ownership.
They do have $127 million of financing in place to keep daily operations and employees paid. Bankruptcy will let Lake Las Vegas continue doing business while restructuring.
As if you didn't already know, tomorrow night is the premiere of The Dark Knight.
In celebration of the new Batman flick, DC Comics artist Lee Bermejo appears Friday at Brenden Theatres (at The Palms) from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. to sign these awesome, specially commissioned collector's cards of The Joker in front of The Palms hotel-casino.
Bermejo will then continue to sign autographs Saturday at Comic Oasis (3121 N. Rainbow) from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
At Brenden Theatres, The Dark Knight plays in IMAX ($14) and regular 35mm ($10) pretty much around the clock, with late showings at midnight, 1:10 a.m., and 2 a.m.
Actor Nicolas Cage is selling his Las Vegas digs for $9,950,000. Actually, he has been for the past few months, but until now, the owner wasn't disclosed.
His 14,000-square-foot mansion, at 5100 Spanish Heights Dr. (215 and Trop/Durango), is fully furnished and includes game rooms, movie theatre, a view of the Strip, seven bedrooms, nine bathrooms, and garage parking for 16 cars.
Cage purchased the property for $8.5 million in 2006, along with another smaller property on the same street for $2.25 million (which he sold in 2007).
To request a showing of the property, contact Robert Sibulkin at (702) 498-9115 or email robertsibulkin@yahoo.com.
The need for a new terminal at McCarran International Airport is necessary, with constantly increasing numbers of visitors (as long as you don't count this year).
And the cost has been estimated at a cost of a Strip hotel-casino -- $1.2 billion.
And that's just the low bid.
The new Terminal 3 will be alongside Russell Road, and expects to have 14 gates across 1.87 million square feet when it opens in four years. It will cater mainly toward international travelers.
Starbucks has announced the first wave of 600 locations to be closed, or over 5 percent of its 11,434 locations in the U.S.
The number of stores to close used to be 100, but the economic downturn (presumably going hand-in-hand with consumers unwilling to pay $4.50 for gourmet coffee) led to 600.
Many of those locations are stores that opened recently, within the past couple years. Next year, the chain will open 200 fewer locations.
Six hundred jobs will be cut. Those employed at closing locations will be transferred to nearby stores.
Breakfast sandwiches and other items will also be eliminated.
By the end of this month, the following Las Vegas stores will close:
#6633- DESERT INN & DECATUR
4810 W DESERT INN RD
#10393 - TROPICANA & EASTERN
2510 E TROPICANA AVE
#10462 - CHARLESTON & BRUSH
5181 W CHARLESTON BLVD
#10872 - LAKE MEAD & RANCHO
3720 LAKE MEAD BLVD
#11647 - SKY POINTE & BUFFALO
6515 N BUFFALO DR
All were deemed underperformers and unprofitable. None are inside casinos.
Wynn's new Encore hotel-casino begins hiring this weekend.
Up for grabs are 5,300 positions, all of whom will be hired online. (About a third will be moving from Wynn Las Vegas, so those empty spots will also need filling over at Wynn.)
Encore is on track to open by the end of this year, and reservations are now being accepted after February 2009 (just in case any mishaps cause delays, no reservations may be made in December or January until closer to the opening date).
Encore is Steve Wynn's $2.2 billion project with 2,034 rooms, almost doubling the size of Wynn (which went at $2.7 billion for 2,715 rooms).
We hear a rumor that more major plans are in the works, with more encore towers behind Wynn, possibly taking up the space of the golf course.
Kinky Friedman makes an appearance tonight at 7 p.m. at the Clark County Library (1401 E. Flamingo).
He'll be promoting his new humor book, What Would Kinky Do? How to Unscrew a Screwed Up World, with a reading and book signing.
Along with his own brand of cigars, he'll also be at the Sands Expo for the International Premium Cigar and Pipe Retailers Trade Show today through July 17 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Friedman is a singer, songwriter, detective novelist, and even politician (he ran for Justice of the Peace in Kerrville, Texas). Many consider him to be a modern-day Mark Twain. His persona also goes hand in hand with irreverent movie critic Joe Bob Briggs.
Nevada gaming is seemingly in a freefall, earning 15.2 percent less in May 2008 than in May 2007. Put another way, it's the worst May in 10 years.
The decline is across the board, with the Strip at 16.4 percent less, downtown at 17.3 percent less, Mesquite at 3.2 percent less, North Las Vegas at 29.4 percent less, and Boulder Strip at a whopping 30.2 percent less.
Gambling on tables and slots were shown to be down approximately the same amount, at 15.7 and 15.1 percent, respectively.
One interesting trend was that while multidenomination slots were down 11.2 percent, penny slots were up 9.6 percent.
In table games, blackjack was down 26.2 percent, craps was down 7.3 percent, roulette was down 27.7 percent, and baccarat was down 0.6 percent.
The downturn also equates to less tax money going to the state, almost $19 million less.
The more this continues, the more budget cuts will be necessary and perhaps even raise taxes, which Gov. Jim Gibbons is hoping not to do.
