Castagna and Uncle Louie at the
New Frontier Implosion
Last Updated: May 5, 2008
This is Nick Christenson's Las Vegas Casino Death Watch page. Here we track the hotel/casinos that we feel are most likely to close their doors in the near future.
This page focuses on the larger Las Vegas Strip and Downtown hotel/casino combination properties. We're not going to make quite the same effort to keep track of the locals places since unless their name has "Station" or "Coast" in it, they all look to us like they might close their doors at any time. Of course, these days there aren't that many locals joints that don't have "Station" or "Coast" in their names. Also, these properties don't tend to have the same sort of history associated with them that the more familiar names do.
We also don't plan to expand the Death Watch to casinos outside of Las Vegas. We're not nearly as familiar with those places, and we can't get as much good information about them. Besides, Las Vegas is still where the big expansion is, and where many of the major closings have been.
Please note that this is not intended to be some sort of insult to these properties, and we're definitely not trying to kick anyone when they're down. We're a big fan of the "Old Vegas" style. We'd much rather have spent time at the Desert Inn then, say, New York--New York. We think of the properties listed below much like an aging relative or sick friend. We'll shed a tear when they're gone, but it may be time to take a dose of reality and come to terms with the fact that these places may not be around much longer, so we should enjoy them while they're still with us.
We also encourage folks to give business to these places. I never got a chance to visit the Dunes, the Landmark, the Sands, the Hacienda, or the Pioneer. While this isn't likely to rate very high on my list of life's big disappointments, if I had an opportunity to see these places in their prime, I'd certainly want to do so. This list is designed to help folks appreciate historic Las Vegas locations before they're gone.
Finally, this information is compiled by us and represents only our opinions. There are no good reasons to think that our predictions here mean anything. We have no "inside information", and compile this list only from what we hear from folks we meet and articles we read. This information is likely to be wildly inaccurate, so take that as you will.
For those of you interested in Las Vegas casino ownership information, We've created a page to track that information. Fans of the Death Watch may want to check it out. Several people have asked for information on who owns what property, whether they're publicly tradable or not, and what their stock ticker symbol is. All this information is available on the new page.
Image: Las Vegas "legend" Frank
Castagna and Uncle Louie at the
New Frontier Implosion
05/04/08
Tropicana Entertainment is expected to file for bankruptcy. We can only hope that this means that the Las Vegas Tropicana ends up on the market, where it is acquired by a more worthy owner.
04/29/08
Half way down Norm's column in the RJ, he reveals plans for Steve Wynn's golf course behind his eponymous hotel. The plans include 5200 more rooms (creating an even 10,000), a 1.5 million square foot convention center, a huge lake, and a giant hand giving the finger to Sheldon Adelson's Venetian complex and convention center to the immediate south. Okay, so we made up that last part, but he may as well have added it to the list.
04/25/08
The Las Vegas Sun has a report on Station Casinos plans for the Wild Wild West site. The new project is named "Viva", and it looks like it might span as much as 110 acres! It sounds like groundbreaking (and, consequently WWW closing,) won't be until at least 2010.
04/25/08
The fifth item down in the RJ's Business "In Brief" column has a report about the credit rating of Hooter's Hotel. Moody's says, "Given the prolonged tubulence in the credit markets, the rating agency expresses skepticism regarding the materialization of the transaction in its current terms." In Death Watch speak, this means, "We don't think the sale is going to go through."
04/16/08
The Tropicana owners buy themselves some more time. The company's debt holders agreed to give the company some time to raise money rather than forcing Chapter 11 on them.
04/10/08
Harrah's may not be building in Las Vegas, but they'll be changing the company name, anyway. The name of the company will become Caesars Entertainment Corporation.
04/05/08
The Golden Gate gets a cash infusion and a new co-owner. The extra cash should help the place transform itself into a boutique hotel. Will putting extra money in the place have a payoff? I guess we'll see.
03/27/08
Will they really build an Elvis-themed casino at the SE corner of Harmon and the Strip? Let's see, a company with no money to build in this credit market ... hmmmm, we doubt it, but it's fun to put on the radar.
03/27/08
Earlier this year, the Death Watch predicted that the Crown Las Vegas site was the least credible new building process. Today we get confirmation of this. The owner of the land is looking to sell. Who's to blame? The tight credit markets, of course.
03/22/08
From the "Say It Ain't So" department, the statue of Benny Binion on the NE corner of Ogden and Casino Center will be moved to the South Point. We understand that Benny would have liked to be associated with the equestrian center down there, but wouldn't it be more appropriate to keep the statue near, oh I don't know, the casino that still bears his name? It appears that Binion's new owner Terry Caudill is just trying to be classy here, but the thought of this makes us sad.
03/21/08
Has the Golden Gate been sold? Not entirely, just half of it has. Two brothers will become half owners with Mark Brandenburg continuing to hold the other half.
03/20/08
The Tropicana has a new President. Scott Butera is said to be a specialist in reorganizing financially troubled companies. Sounds like they got the right guy.
03/20/08
The Gold Spike empire continues to expand. The new owners bought a nearby apartment complex.
In the same article, Clark County commissioners approve the $6 billion Strip plans for the new Plaza. Apparently, no mention was made of any possible delays. Instead, the representatives of the Plaza say they're "forging ahead as planned".
03/17/08
Cosmopolitan, we hardly knew ye! The Wall Street Journal reports that Deutsche Bank has begun foreclosure proceedings against the not-yet-completed Cosmopolitan. We expect someone to open this place, it just might not be the people who planned it.
03/15/08
Happy birthday to us! The Las Vegas Casino Death Watch celebrates 10 years of history this month. Actually, our records aren't really clear about when this page first went live, but we think it was March 2008, so we'll celebrate in the middle of the month. It is hard for us to believe we've been at this for ten years, but we have. So there!
03/13/08
The latest Gaming Today's "Gaming Insider" column has an interesting paragraph. It suggests that the Plaza (the one slated to be constructed replacing the New Frontier on the Strip rather than the "downmarket" one downtown) may be a victim of the current credit markets. It's possible that its development will proceed more slowly than was originally planned.
03/11/08
Binion's ownership passes to TLC Casino Enterprises, run by Terry Caudill. The Death Watch wishes the new owners luck in returning this place to profitability.
03/08/08
Riviera Holdings has put a halt to their apparent effort to solicit a sale of the property. We understand that conditions right now aren't conducive to such a transaction, but we find it curiously odd that this was the one place ostensibly on the market for which there were no external bids that we have heard about over the last four years.
03/06/08
Yet another memo from the "Shameless Self-Promotion" department, those loyal Death Watch readers who also play poker may be interested in knowing that Death Watch maintainer Nick Christenson has recently co-authored the book, Winning Strategies for No-Limit Hold'em, published by ConJelCo. Some of our readers may want to check it out. Note, this officially marks the first advertisement in the history of the Death Watch. "We regret nothing!"
03/06/08
The Las Vegas Sun refers us to the London Times who has their own take on the notorious Sheldon Adelson/Steve Wynn perpetual pissing match. The Death Watch recommends that the next time the two of them are in the same room they just bring a tape measure, drop their pants, and settle this thing once and for all.
03/04/08
The ostensible new owners say that the Hooters brand will be shed from the Hooters casino. That's all fine, but let's actually see you close the deal first.
03/01/08
Revenue downtown increased over last year, but as Ben Spillman points out, this was mostly gains at the Golden Nugget, the rest of the pack didn't do so well. No big revelations in this article, but a good summing-up of the state of downtown by Spillman.
02/29/08
02/26/08
From the "Shameless Self-Promotion" department, for the fourth year in a row, Death Watch author Nick Christenson is interviewed regarding his thoughts on the state of Las Vegas casino openings and closings at VegasTripping.com.
02/26/08
From the "General Franco is Still Dead" department, one of our favorite columnists, Benjamin Spillman, writes about the fact that the Lady Luck is still closed. Good reporting on a topic near and dear to our hearts.
02/25/08
More on the proposed revival of the Moulin Rouge. There are good reasons to be skeptical about this. We will get interested once real construction happens.
02/23/08
The Gaming Commission approves upgrade plans for the Sahara. A few key words. This make-over plan "is conceptual". Also, the Sahara owners say, "There are some areas we might take down and remodel, but you're not going to see a big implosion here." That pretty much tells us what we want to know.
02/22/08
The sale of the Stratosphere and Arizona Charlie's properties are now officially owned by Whitehall Street Real Estate Funds, a subsidiary of Goldman Sachs. The also own a big piece of the Las Vegas Hilton.
02/21/08
02/15/08
The Nation's economic slow down comes to the Las Vegas casino industry. We are hearing about layoffs at a wide variety of properties, both upscale and down market. At the Death Watch, we always hate to hear folks losing their jobs or getting their hours cut, so we hope this is short-lived. Don't be surprised by disappointing numbers in 1Q 2008. If the malaise persists, some companies may consider improving their bottom line by selling non-core assets, but we don't think it has come to that yet.
02/11/08
We know Death Watch readers are always jonesing for news pieces that cover the Gold Spike. The Las Vegas Sun has a new one for us. Ah, that's the stuff.
02/08/08
The Nevada Gaming Control Board confirms that they are investigating Columbia Sussex' operations in Nevada. This includes the Tropicana. They won't say what they're investigating them for, just that they're investigating.
02/08/08
Redevelopment plans for the Moulin Rouge site look more serious than they ever have. At the Death Watch we have to admit that we don't think this is a good idea, but we wish the developers luck with this project. Of course, we don't have a timetable for construction yet... .
02/04/08
The Gold Spike has been sold again! Instead of being developed as an upscale boutique property, the plan by the new owners seems to be to combine the place with the Travel Lodge next door, to make one giant, well, bigger, crappy casino. Only, they're talking about doing it without so much "crappy", we're sure.
02/03/08
Columbia Sussex, owners of the Tropicana, fires back at Las Vegas Sun reporter Jeff Simpson. So, Jeff Simpson fires back at the Tropicana. Columbia Sussex, we suspect that trading newspaper items is a battle that is unlikely to go well for you. Of course, the Death Watch has no qualms about taking sides in this battle. Go Jeff Simpson!
02/03/08
A number of loyal Death Watch readers have pointed out that the Nevada Palace will close at the end of February. It will be replaced with a Boulder Highway version of the Cannery, slated to open this fall. We hadn't been reporting on it because, frankly, we don't know anyone with a majority of their teeth who says they'll miss it, but you never know. In any case, it will be gone and bulldozed real soon.
02/02/08
Apparently, the Hooters deal is still kicking. Someone is paying real money to keep this alive, which makes it seem more real to us that some of these deals.
01/29/08
Harrah's is now a privately held company. We believe this change in ownership will slow some projects due to the new company's debt load, but it will also free them up to do some things that might not be popular with Wall Street.
01/25/08
Today there was a major fire at the Monte Carlo on the Las Vegas Strip. Of course, in a situation such as this our first hope is that nobody was injured or worse. The damage looks to be significant, and we expect this event will significantly impact the hotel portion of the resort for a while, but we don't expect any long term impact to the property's viability from this.
01/19/08
Big plans in the works for the Greek Isles. This is the place on Convention Center that was once the Debbie Reynolds, once the Paddlewheel, and who knows what else. Sounds good? Not so fast. First, the current owners plans to give current staff six months notice when something is going to happen. Second, those magic words, "still arranging financing." **cough**
01/17/08
The Cosmopolitan project appears to be in a bit of trouble. The lender has delivered a notice of default on a construction loan. The developer says they had "anticipated and planned for this." For us, to have "anticipated and planned for" a loan to come due means that we acquired or set aside the money to pay it. In the business world we guess it means something else.
01/05/08
No news is what passes for news on the Klondike site. Nothing is officially happening. Oooh, that rascally credit market!
01/02/08
Jeff Simpson of the Las Vegas Sun prognosticates on the Las Vegas Strip for 2008. Jeff knows his stuff. His predictions probably won't all come true, but I can't find any that I think are out of line.
01/01/08
What better way is there to kick off the new year than with news that a Hooters buy-out is still possible. Don't keep us in suspense!
12/16/07
New Jersey has refused to renew the gaming license for the Columbia Sussex folks, owners of the Tropicana both in that jurisdiction and in Las Vegas. Jeff Simpson of the Las Vegas Sun has done a great job following the silliness of the Tropicana owners in this town, and he opines that Nevada should consider yanking the Trop's license here as well. There are many ways the issues faced by the Atlantic City Trop could come to influence Las Vegas operations. This whole mess captures our attention.
12/12/07
In locals casino news, the Cannery properties, including management of the casino at the Marriott-owned Rampart and the new east side Cannery under construction on Boulder Highway, will be sold to an Australian company run by James Packer. This involves a new license, so expect it to take more than a year to close. I wouldn't imagine that this sale will lead to fundmamental changes at the properties, but who knows?
12/03/07 The Las Vegas Sun has a good article on the issues surrounding the name dispute between the downtown Plaza hotel and the new "Plaza"-themed resort to be constructed on the Strip.
12/01/07
The Tropicana submits another contract proposal to its union workers. Basically, Columbia Sussex, who has already cut hundreds of jobs at the Trop, wants to change the union pension plan to a 401(k) and trim health benefits. The unions don't seem to agree that this is a good idea. I feel quite confident that the union will not cave on these demands, so unless Columbia Sussex changes their tune drastically in the next couple of months, expect the labor dispute to continue. Frankly, it would take a radical change in position by Trop management to avoid a strike at this property.
11/20/07
The New Frontier was demolished to make way for place that is intended to have The Plaza brand. But wait, isn't there already a place in town with that name? The opening rounds of that court case are underway.
11/19/07
Here is a list of the New Frontier implosion videos we know about. We'll add to this list as folks let us know what we've missed.
The "official" Death Watch videos are available through the link in the next item below.
11/16/07
The Death Watch pictures, video, and commentary on the New Frontier implosion are available. Enjoy.
11/13/07
The New Frontier main hotel tower was imploded last night. Video and trip report to follow soon.
11/08/07
Station Casinos goes private. The stock will no longer be traded on the NYSE. They will still report to the SEC because some of their debt is publically financed.
10/26/07
Confirmation appears in the RJ. The New Frontier implosion is scheduled for November 13 at 2:30 AM. Save a good spot for us. Once again, Controlled Demolition, the best in the business, will be setting it up. Be safe, people.
10/19/07
Gaming Control gave their approval to the plan to take Station Casinos private. This is just about the last hurdle before this becomes a done deal.
10/05/07
"Hey Rocky, want to watch me pull a new development of the Moulin Rouge out of my hat?" "But that trick never works." "This time for sure!"
09/27/07
I know everyone has been waiting for this, but we have some bad news. Brace yourselves. According to the Las Vegas Advisor the grand opening party for Planet Hollywood has been pushed back to November. I know, you've cleared your schedules and bought a new outfit for it. Try not to let this ruin your month.
08/29/07
Implosion Alert: New Frontier on November 13, maybe
The Las Vegas Advisor reports
the rumor that the New Frontier implision will occur on November 13. No
confirmation is available.
08/22/07
The Hooters deal is apparently still on. However, current instabilities in the credit market have made the deal trickier. We'll see what happens.
08/17/07
The upgrades at the Tropicana have been put on hold until at least 2008. They blame rising construction costs and the debt market.
08/15/07
The New Frontier sale is official. Elad and IDB Holdings are the owners of record of the site. Demolition will begin any day now, and implosion is expected sometime this fall.
08/14/07
Station shareholders voted to approve their private equity buyout. All that remains is to gain regulatory approval.
08/14/07
There is news on the Riviera front. The Riviera's management and holding company seem to have different ideas about how to handle an internal buy-out offer. How does this affect things? That's unclear, but with the problems in the subprime mortgage market, money for buy-outs may be more difficult to come by, meaning that it will be tougher to find folks who want to spend New Frontier-like per-acre money on a Strip property. Oh, and the Death Watch gets a mention in the article.
08/05/07
The Review-Journal reports that Harrah's is rolling out it's Total Rewards comp program at the Imperial Palace. This indicates that the IP isn't going anywhere for a while. So, it would seem that Harrah's redevelopment plans for the eastern side of the Strip will proceed more slowly than we might have thought.
08/02/07
SBE Entertainment is now the official owner of the Sahara. Navegante will manage the casino, presumably for the time being. We expect changes here, as the management has announced that they plan to upgrade many facilities. We don't yet know on what time table this will occur.
07/30/07
Our friends at the Las Vegas Advisor seem to believe that the most likely date for the New Frontier demolition is sometime in September.
07/16/07
Casino Closing: The New Frontier is now closed. One month from now, the demolition starts. Expect it to proceed with dispatch, although it will be a while before they're ready for an implosion of the tower.
07/12/07
You can take the pyramid out of Egypt, but can you take the Egypt out of the pyramid? The Luxor hopes so. The place isn't going anywhere, just the Egyptian theme, it would seem.
07/12/07
Potential new owners for the Gold Spike? Even though a sales contract has yet to be signed, a Miami developer is looking at turning the Gold Spike into a "chic, boutique hotel". Okay, you can stop laughing now. The new owners say, "Our specialty is taking crack houses and turning them into four-star boutique hotels." Well, at least they seem to know what they're getting into.
06/30/07
The Las Vegas Sun has a good article on the travails of the Tropicana since Columbia Sussex took over.
06/28/07
Want to know a sure-fire way for an article to get a mention in the Death Watch? Have your article reference us. Benjamin Spillman gets a shout-out for using a Death Watch contributor as a reference in his fine article on the ownership change of Binion's.
06/26/07
Binion's is set to be sold!. The purchaser will be TLC Casino Enterprises, the owners of the Four Queens across the street. We don't know what TLC plans for the place. We expect it will stay open for a while, but we don't know what changes might be in the offing.
06/20/07
MGM Mirage has decided not to let Kirk Kerkorian buy the Bellagio and City Center. From the Death Watch perspective, what's more interesting is that MGM Mirage would partner with Kerzner International to build a megaresort on 40 of the 78 acres they own at Sahara and the Strip.
06/17/07
There's no new news, but for those who are in the market to shop for a casino, the Las Vegas Sun provides some suggestions of what's on the market and why those places haven't been bought up yet.
06/13/07
Casino Closing: New Frontier
According to a New Frontier spokesperson, via the RJ,
the New Frontier will
close on July 15.
06/08/07
The Fontainbleau project seems to be moving forward with new financing. It's scheeduled to open in Fall '09. We'll see if that happens.
06/01/07
Benjamin Spillman of the Review-Journal provides some good information about the status of Binion's. No new news, but well worth reading.
05/30/07
The Riviera has filed a lawsuit to prevent the company currently bidding on the property from making another bid until after December 22. We suppose there may be good reasons to not want a suitor for one's business to make an offer, but we can't help but think, "A lawsuit preventing them from bidding on our company, that will show 'em! They'll never try that again."
05/25/07
We missed this one when it was first released, but it was pointed out to us by the Las Vegas Advisor. Further developments have occurred in the potential Hooters sale. Apparently a deal has been struck to sell the place, well, sometime in the next 13 months or so. We'll see what happens.
05/22/07
The folks at Gaming Today speculate that Landry's, the folks who own the Golden Nugget, are looking into buying Binion's. This would be good in the sense that someone with deep pockets is interested in the place. The potential downside is that since Landry's took over the Nugget, it hasn't exactly become a haven for bargain shoppers or discriminating gamblers. At the Death Watch we suspect that a winning formula for a place such as Binion's will look rather different than it would for the Nugget. Still, we're mildly optimistic about the possibility.
05/22/07
It sounds like Kerkorian is thinking of taking part of MGM Mirage private? That doesn't make a whole lot of sense to us, but maybe it's a trial balloon for the prospect of taking the whole thing private. This time around the Las Vegas Sun provides a little more analysis on what might be going on.
05/16/07
More bad financial news about Binion's. MTR says they plan to remodel the place. We hope that whatever they do, it works.
05/16/07
Game Over: New Frontier
Could it finally be happening?
Could the New Frontier
really be coming down? By all accounts, Phil Ruffin has sold the
New Frontier to El Ad for $1.2 billion. The transaction is set to
be completed in 90 days. After the sale is truly done, it sounds like
El Ad will close and demolish the place IMMEDIATELY, to be replaced
by a replica of New York's Plaza Hotel. We want to be skeptical about
this, but that doesn't seem possible. Death Watch fans, VISIT NOW!
05/14/07
The Las Vegas Business Press has some news about Station Casinos' plans for the future. Sounds like they plan to open Aliante Station in '08, something on the now razed Castaways/Showboat site in '09, Durango Station in 2010, and something in Reno in 2012. Note, nothing about the Wild Wild West. Does this mean it will be around until after 2012? Maybe.
05/12/07
The dormant W project has been canceled. This was supposed to be on Harmon next to the now defunct Las Ramblas project. Anybody good a good use for 50 acres?
05/11/07
Another bid for the Riviera at $30/share. This one comes from outside the company. We think this bid still undervalues what the market has been paying for Strip property, but the bids are getting closer to fair value.
We don't think these places are going to vanish any time soon, but we've heard others talk about them as if they think they might. These are our thoughts.
Got any information about Las Vegas casino closings? Don't hesitate to send us email at: npc@jetcafe.org.
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