Castagna and Uncle Louie at the
New Frontier Implosion
Last Updated: June 10, 2009
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
6/10/09
The Fontainebleau files for Chapter 11. Their story seems to be that everything would be just fine if the banks would give them the money they have already promised. The banks' story seems to be that the project is way over budget and they don't have to. We guess it's up to the courts to decide this. In the mean time, some construction will continue, but it won't be full speed ahead.
6/08/09
What's going on with the Fontainebleau? It's hard to know what all is happening, but we do know that they feel the need to sue to ensure that they money they were counting on actually shows up. They've also lost their CEO, and, as the article points out, liens are piling up.
6/03/09
Who's planning an upgrade in this credit market? The Tropicana, of course. They've cleared bankruptcy and are on the verge of getting their new management team approved. Do we think the funding for this upgrade will come through in a week or a month? Well, no, since you ask, but at least it indicates that they don't plan to close the place down, or maybe that's just what they want us to think.
5/20/09
MGM Mirage has completed its restructuring. Moreover, they plan to be part of two new hotels in Dubai, although something tells me that construction on those won't start any time soon. Is this enough to keep MGM Mirage solvent? That remains to be seen, but it's a step.
5/15/09
The Tropicana will have a new owner as it emerges from bankruptcy. This may happen within the next month or two. As long as it's not Columbia Sussex, we're willing to give the new owners the benefit of th doubt.
5/13/09
NORM!'s column notes about cut backs on services at the Sahara, perhaps indicating that the owners have decided on a time frame to close the place and perform significant upgrades. Perhaps that time frame is really soon.
5/9/09
What's new and hip in downtown casinos? The El Cortez. Don't laugh, the new owners have pumped a lot of money into the place making improvements. It's less clear if this will pay off, but at least they've made the effort.
5/4/09
The Las Vegas Business Press speculates as to the future of the Las Vegas Strip. In a nutshell, they expect spin-offs, sales, and management changes.
5/1/09
Construction on the Fontainebleau has drastically slowed down due to financial problems.
4/30/09
Is Binion's in financial trouble? Could be. For many downtown properties the land on which the casinos sit is often not owned by the resorts themselves. Now, landlords have sued Binion's for missing payments, and the article suggests that the same thing might happen with the Four Queens as well. We don't expect this to lead to closures, but sorting this out isn't going to happen overnight.
4/29/09
It appears that MGM Mirage and Dubai World have come to an agreement about the funding of CityCenter. This is good news for everyone concerned.
4/24/09
It's a speculative piece from an unsual source of casino news, but George Knapp's interpretation of what's going on between MGM Mirage and Dubai World coincides almost exactly with our speculation.
4/20/09
Liz Benston in the Las Vegas Sun talks about what's happening behind the finances of some of the smaller Las Vegas casios such as Hooters or the still-closed Lady Luck. Not a lot of breaking news, but a good overview.
4/18/09
Do we have an agreement between MGM Mirage and Dubai World about City Center? Maybe, it seems, or if we don't have one, we might be close.
04/17/09
Ooooh, that rascally Carl Icahn is at it again. Always active during times of economic strife, this time around he's trying to force MGM Mirage to go through bankruptcy. Why would he do this? It can be hard to figure out Icahn, but, one of his funds owns a lot of MGM Mirage debt, so maybe he thinks the bond holders will get a better shake from a judge-appointed receiver than it would from the deal MGM is currently trying to negotiate. On the other hand, maybe he's trying to force MGM Mirage to auction off some of its properties, and he might be able to grab one at fire-sale prices.
04/16/09
Say it ain't so! The planned Elvis-themed museum is in default and could be forced to sell their property. What, a planned resort/casino without huge corporate backing is having problems getting off the ground in this financial market? Hard to believe.
04/06/09
From the "Shocked, Shocked We Are" Department, The Greek Isles files for bankruptcy. This is no surprise since the property is already in receivership after defaulting on its financing eight months ago.
04/01/09
Can anyone save CityCenter? How about Colony Capital? Apparently, this isn't an April Fool's Day joke, and by no means is this a done deal. Note, Colony Capital already has a foothold in Las Vegas, they're the owners of the Las Vegas Hilton and backed Station Casinos bid to go private.
04/01/09
Add Hooters to the list of casinos who have missed debt payments. As in all cases, it remains to be seen if they'll have to declare bankruptcy or if they will come to some accord with the bond holders.
03/31/09
Add Riviera Holdings to the list of casino companies that may be forced to file for Chapter 11 protection. It's not like these guys have billions in debt, but their revenues have been badly squeezed by declining room rates.
03/27/09
Update: CityCenter makes their payment. Bankruptcy averted, at least for now. Part of the good news is that construction continues and 8000 people still have a job. At least for the time being. We don't think we've heard the last of this.
03/27/09
The Dubai World lawsuit may be the last straw. The CityCenter project may have to declare bankruptcy. There is a payment of $220 million scheduled for today. Because of the rift with Dubai World, the partnership may be in trouble and have to file for bankruptcy. If they're going to file anyway, may as well not make the payment. Thanks to many loyal Death Watch readers who wake up earlier than the Death Watch staff for pointing this out. Never have we received so much email about one news item.
03/24/09
It's that time again. Our friends over at VegasTripping.com have asked Death Watch maintainer Nick Christenson some questions about the state of Las Vegas. This serves as a pretty good summary of the Death Watch view of the state of the Las Vegas casino resorts.
03/23/09
Uh oh. MGM Mirage was trying to line up a plan where they can continue to own and operate the casinos that are most important to them while they finish building CityCenter. Now their corporate partners have thrown a big ole wrench into the machinery. Dubai World, their partners in CityCenter, wants out. There will be some late nights in the MGM Mirage offices this week as they scramble to come to terms with this.
03/23/09
The first bankruptcy shoe drops. Herbst Gaming submits its reorganization plan. This is the plan we expected. The Herbst family keeps control of their slot route operations, the lenders take control of the casinos.
03/20/09
Phil Ruffin takes over the TI today. We at the Death Watch wish Ruffin luck with his new venture.
03/18/09
Rounding up the bankruptcy talk is Liz Benston's overview of the subject as it applies to current Las Vegas gaming companies. A good one-stop article on the state of the industry.
03/18/09
The bank group who holds MGM Mirage's debt have given them until May to get their house in order. In the mean time MGM needs to figure out how they're going to make their payments. Part of the solution is selling the TI to Phil Ruffin, a sale which should close within weeks. Others have speculated that the rest of the solution will involve the sale of more assets. By no means is Chapter 11 off the table.
03/18/09
Court documents reveal that Station Casinos expects to file for bankruptcy protection in a mid-April time-frame. As the days go by, the buy-out proposal for a slate of casinos probably looks better and better to the Station bond holders.
03/18/09
Completing the trifecta of potential bankruptcy stories, Harrah's warns that come 2010, it may not have enough income to pay off its upcoming debt payments. They may be able to coast along for a while until it all comes to a head, though.
03/04/09
The Riviera is officially in default. The Riviera seems to think this is no big deal, but we don't know if this is really the case, or if this is the start of bigger problems.
03/03/09
Next up on the potential bankruptcy list, MGM Mirage.
03/01/09
Liz Benston of the Las Vegas Sun has written an excellent article discussing the state of the Las Vegas casino economy in the context of the national situation.
03/01/09
M Resort opens. Everyone knows this is the wrong time to open a casino, and it's in the wrong place right now, but if there's a saving grace, it's that the folks operating it are fully aware of the challenges they face. In any case, we wish the new venture luck.
02/27/09
From the "Blow Our Own Horn" Department, the good news is that Death Watch reporter Nick Christenson was finally consulted. The bad news is that it was by reporter and "friend of the Death Watch" Nolan Dalla rather than the casino industry themselves. The article asks several insiders, experts, and Nick about what the current economic mess means for poker.
02/24/09
From the "I Don't Think We Even Have a Department for This" Department: Boyd Gaming offers to buy a big chunk of Station Casinos for $950 billion. Given that Station is on the cusp of filing for Chapter 11 protection, this is an offer they'll have to take seriously.
In our opinion, it's a brilliant move by Boyd. If Station accepts the deal, Boyd wins by getting worthwhile assets at a dirt-cheap price. If Station doesn't, they've got to sweeten the restructuring deal to their own bond-holders, 'cuz the partial Boyd buy-out is better for those folks. If they sweeten the deal, that weakens Station's cash position. A clear win/win for Boyd.
02/11/09
The Greek Isles goes into receivership. The dozens of customers of this place may not even notice, as the place will remain in operation ... for now.
02/10/09
Should we add Landry's, the corporate parent to the Golden Nugget, to the list of Las Vegas casino companies that might have to restructure? Some folks from US News & World Report think so. Again, we believe the Golden Nugget is profitable enough to not need to close, even if LNY has to restructure, but what happens if these companies experience a cash crunch but then can't get their restructured debt financed? That's the nightmare scenario.
02/10/09
The RJ reports that analyst Barbara Cappaert expects Hooters Hotel to have to file for bankruptcy.
02/10/09
The economy may be in the tank, revenues may be in the toilet, but when you need a new image, you need a new image, and the Tropicana certainly needs a new image. We have to say, since Scott Butera took over, it looks like the Tropicana is on a better track. Of course, one could fairly claim that this is faint praise.
02/04/09
Station Casinos unveils their restructuring plan. Given the fact that they built big and went private during the boom, and that now their income isn't enough to service their debt, there's not much else to do. We don't expect this impacts operation in the short term.
01/31/09
Is Station Casinos on the verge of default? Could be. We don't expect this to lead to casinos shutting down.
01/31/09
A new downtown casino? Really? Now? We find this implausible for the near future, but in a couple of years, maybe.
01/14/09
Again, from the "Generalissimo Franco is Still Dead" Department: Penn National Gaming says it not buying the Mirage. Penn has cash and wants to buy into the Strip, they're just saying this isn't yet the right place or time.
01/14/09
We have Tropicana's bankruptcy reorganization plan. Basically, the plan is to split the Tropicana part of the company away from the Columbia Sussex part of the company. At least that part of it is likely to please movers and shakers on the Strip.
01/07/09
Sometimes we report things we don't think are going to come to anything. This is one of those times. The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that a development group that calls itself the AFI Group has pulled permits to build the world's largest hotel just west of the Hard Rock along Harmon Ave.. As the CEO of the development group is quoted in the article, "My sense is that perhaps this is a development story for 2013 forward." Perhaps.
01/02/09
On tonight's episode of the TV show, Nevada Week in Review, several local reporters made predictions about the upcoming year concerning Las Vegas casinos.
George Knapp predicted that at least one Las Vegas hotel/casino would close outright, and when pressed, he named Circus Circus. We at the Death Watch disagree with this prediction, but it's not completely outside the realm of possibility.
Jeff Simpson, gaming columnist from the Las Vegas Sun, made several predictions. He predicted multiple casino companies will declare bankruptcy, including Herbst Gaming and Station Casinos as well as two or three unspecified others.
He also predicted several other transactions, including MGM selling it's half share of Borgata in Atlantic City to partner Boyd Gaming, and a sale by Harrah's of some core asset, most likely the Rio. He also floated the possibility that MGM Mirage might even sell the Bellagio.
12/26/08
Liz Benston has a good article in the Las Vegas Sun about the financial problems with Station Casinos. We don't see any places closing since we expect all their properties to have a positive cash run rate. We don't expect any to be sold. Chapter 11 is a real possibility, though. We'll see what happens.
12/23/08
Opening: Encore
This may not be the best time to open a $2.3
billion dollar expansion of the Wynn, but this is when it's ready,
so they may as well make the best of it.
12/22/08
The Treasure Island may be changing hands, but Liz Benston in the Las Vegas Sun tells us why she thinks it won't be the start of a trend for MGM properties.
12/18/08
Ben Spillman in the Las Vegas Business Press references a report on downtown Las Vegas. The prognosis isn't good. The report author, Frank Martin, seems to think that downtown may not be able to sustain all the casinos presently open, and that one casino closing may precipitate more casino closings. We hope this won't be the case.
12/17/08
What's up with the Fountainbleu? The Review-Journal lets us know. Summary: Damn the torpedos.
12/16/08
Phil Ruffin has announced what he plans to change about Treasure Island. Nothing. He likes it as is.
12/15/08
The Treasure Island is sold! There were several rumors that the place might go to Steve Wynn, but we at the Death Watch are truly shocked by who actually acquired the place, and that's former New Frontier owner Phil Ruffin!. At the very least we have to congratulate Ruffin for his "buy low/sell high" strategy. Now, we fully expect Ruffin to announce exciting new plans for that property for the next decade while doing nothing.
12/09/08
Station and Harrah's are in a bit of a financial bind. Basically, going private and assuming debt at the peak of one's market capitalization and profitability can cause some problems. Everyone fully expects them to survive, the question is what pain will they have to endure in the short term in order to remain viable in the long term.
12/03/08
It's not Las Vegas news, but it is a relevant sign of the times. Las Vegas is not the only Nevada tourist destination hurting from the current economic conditions. Black Gaming closes much of the Oasis casino in Mesquite. Our condolences to those who lost their jobs as a consequence, but this was probably a necessary move.
12/01/08
The Las Vegas Business Press reports that MGM Mirage is looking into selling some if it's undeveloped Strip property. One of these parcels is on the SW corner of Sahara and Las Vegas Boulevard that was previously slated for a joint venture with Sol Kerzner. They also own about 35 acres in two parcels between Tropicana Ave. and Russel Road. They also own various other parcels around the county which we expect they'd consider selling for the right price.
11/20/08
Appropriately enough this time of year, a panel of casino CFOs got together to talk turkey. The most memorable statement came from Dan D'Arrigo, CFO of MGM Mirage, who stated that he didn't think any new resort development on the Strip that isn't already under way will be started for another five to seven years.
11/13/08
It looks like the Terrible's casino business is likely to have to file for bankruptcy protection. In the present market, it's hard to see how they're going to turn it around. We would be surprised if they got through this without having to sell off parts of their company. Potentially on the block are the three Primm casinos as well as Terrible's on Paradise Road.
11/07/08
Las Vegas Sands, owner of the Venetian/Palazzo complex, is in a bit of financial trouble. Their latest report to investors mentions that they may have problems making some of their loan payments. Even though a bankruptcy is possible, we don't think there's any real chance of the place closing. It's just another sign of the times.
10/30/08
MGM Mirage announced that they won't be starting construction on their new resort in Atlantic City or their joint venture with Sol Kerzner in Las Vegas. This is no surprise, and I don't think it's a sign of anything but the reality of the economic markets.
Readers might think that during tough economic times, there would be a lot of activity on the Death Watch. It's quite the contrary. Hotels are more likely to close when someone has plans for the property. We expect few changes for a while.
10/10/08
On this week's episode of Nevada Week in Review, Jeff Simpson suggests that there is a strong chance that Caesars might have to declare bankruptcy sometime over the next couple of years. Caesars (then Harrah's) borrowed a lot of money to go private at just about the stock peak. With revenues down, it's very questionable as to whether they'll be able to meet their debt obligations. We don't think this makes Caesars unviable, just that they may have to go through Chapter 11 proceedings. Also, this makes it much less likely that Caesars does any new building in the near future, and it's more likely that Caesars would sell off non-core assets.
10/07/08
So, which hotel will be allowed to use the "Plaza" name in Las Vegas? Well, both of them. This should be interesting. Of course, it probably won't matter until at least 2012.
09/12/08
Even though it's on Boulder Highway, at the site of the former Nevada Palace, we should probably at least have mentioned the opening of the Eastside Cannery. This event happened a couple of weeks ago. The Cannery folks have created a solid and stable business by providing good value aimed at the locals' "mid-market". We congratulate them on their achievement. Some back story on this company is available.
09/11/08
Quoting Ben Spillman from the RJ, "After months of billionaire bickering, it looks as if a jury will decide whether Las Vegas gamblers can tell the difference between the Plaza hotel-casino and a hole in the ground." Succinct, informative, and witty. Just what the Death Watch is looking for.
09/07/08
So, what's going on at the Riviera?
Liz
Benston at the Las Vegas Sun lets us know. The bottom line: Times
are tough.
09/04/08
Does it really count to put a casino on the Death Watch if it
never opened? We're not so sure, but it hasn't kept people from
asking about the Cosmopolitan.
Finally,
we have some answers. Basically, the new owners, Deutsche Bank,
thinks the way forward is shorter than the way back, about what we
expected.
09/01/08
Ben Spillman in the RJ reports that
the improvements
to the Gold Spike are making that place, well, not a dump. This
we've gotta see.
08/21/08
From the "That Was Fast" Department:
the Tropicana has
reached a contract with the Culinary Union. We don't know the details,
but the agreement was described as being in line with those signed at
other Strip properties last year. At the Death Watch, we want to
congratulate Tropicana CEO Scott Butera for being far more sensible and
fair than the previous Tropicana management, and we're glad that this
was settled without a strike.
08/20/08
The RJ reports that
the Tropicana will
resume talks with the Culinary union. The article states that
the Trop will take a "very material change in direction." We hope
this means that this means that the ridiculous positions that the Trop
took during the last round are a thing of the past, and that a new
contract that's good for all parties will be signed soon.
08/18/08
Columbia Sussex' travails after purchasing Aztar's Tropicana assets
have been well chronicled here.
What
went wrong? The LV Sun's Liz Benston let's us know.
08/16/08
We know that nothing is going on at the former New Frontier site that
is slated to become the Las Vegas version of New York's Plaza Hotel.
Finally, this is
acknowledged. The Elad group says they'll break down on construction
in 2009.
08/05/08
No big surprise, but the RJ tells us that
the MGM project
in Jean that used to be the Nevada Landing has been officially
scuttled. No work has been done there for a while, so this
just makes it official.
08/02/08
I know you are all wondering, "So what the heck is happening at the
Riviera?" An
article in the Review-Journal addresses this question. In short,
a bunch of people have looked at buying the property, but none have
pulled the trigger. In the mean time, they keep doing what they
need to be doing.
08/01/08
Big news from Boyd Gaming.
Boyd will suspend
construction on its Echelon project. Boyd says they hope to
resume construction in 2009. This is huge news, and not good news
for Las Vegas as a whole.
07/31/08
From the "Say It Ain't So!" Department:
business partners
of the folks ostensibly redeveloping the shuttered Moulin Rouge
casino are unhappy. In the article by Ben Spillman, one of
the principles in the redevelopment plan is quoted as saying,
"... those that smell the potential success of the Moulin Rouge will
do anything they can to stop its progress." Yeah, we're sure that's
it.
07/18/08
The
Wall Street Journal has a profile of Sahara owner Sam Nazarian.
He says he's going after the L.A. party crowd. Uh, don't they already
visit the Palms and Hard Rock? We'll see if he can lure them to
a 56 year-old hotel.
07/18/08
Stupak Update: Bob Stupak had survived the first two days of the
final event at the WPT Bellagio Cup poker tournament earlier this
week. However, he failed to show for day 3, and rumor has it that
he needed emergency medical attention, perhaps even surgery. It
is also rumored that he is suffering from leukemia. In any case, we
at the Death Watch wish Mr. Stupak a rapid and complete recovery
from whatever maladies from which he may suffer.
07/13/08
While the gist of Ben Spillman's article in the RJ is that
Fitzgerald's isn't going anywhere,
the prospect for
it changing hands is higher than we might have previously thought.
It's worth keeping an eye on this.
07/02/08
The
folks ostensibly redeveloping the Lady Luck want more land from the city
before they start fixing up the Lady Luck. At the Death Watch, we
might suggest that these developers do something, even
anything before the city considers giving them cheap land.
06/27/08
Apparently, the Klondike has been demolished while we weren't looking.
We're unsure if the high winds of a few weeks ago are responsible,
or if human intervention was necessary. In either case, we were as
surprised by the news as was the Las Vegas Advisor, from whom we
learned it.
06/16/08
Both Gaming Today and the Review-Journal
have articles on the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. The expansion
of this property is under way, despite the difficult economic times.
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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