Fire at Vegas resort sends person to hospital

LAS VEGAS (AP) - A mattress fire at Bally's Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas has sent one person to the hospital.

Clark County Fire Department spokesman Dan Kulin says the blaze was confined to a room on the 25th floor of the hotel.

KLAS-TV reports the fire was put out by the hotel sprinkler system, and that guests reported hearing a fire alarm accompanied by a voice that informed them to evacuate the hotel.

Authorities told KLAS that an adult male, believed to be in his 30s, was transported to an area hospital for treatment of smoke inhalation.

CES, adult conventions send Las Vegas hotel room rates soaring

Two of Las Vegas’ largest annual conventions — the Consumer Electronics Show and Adult Entertainment Expo — are scheduled to open today and have given Strip room rates a major boost for the weekend.
That is, if guests can even find an open hotel room this weekend. Most of the major hotels, including Palms, Caesars Palace, Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas and Wynn Las Vegas, are sold out for most days this weekend.
Guests trying to book last-minute rooms will find average daily rates like $600 at Palazzo, $566 at Bellagio and $525 at Aria and the Venetian. They’ll find less expensive room rates at second-tier hotels such as $448 at MGM Grand and $420 at Mandalay Bay.

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Analysts say recovery is coming for Vegas

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- The gaming industry is entering uncharted waters in 2011.

For the first time since 1989, the Strip will not witness a new hotel-casino opening nor are any new resort developments on the horizon.

The unprecedented building boom that covered parts of three decades and remade the look and image of the 4-mile-long boulevard is over.

It ended Dec. 15 with the unveiling of the $3.9 billion Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.

Barring an unforeseen miracle -- and a multibillion-dollar cash infusion -- neither the shell of what was to have been Echelon nor the 70 percent-complete Fontainebleau will be finished anytime soon.
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Hard Rock Hotel hit with $500,000 fine over drugs

Even after Nevada casinos were warned that drug use and other illegal activity wouldn't be tolerated in nightclubs and other venues, Las Vegas Hard Rock hotel-casino employees and supervisors broke the law by selling drugs and providing private restrooms so patrons could have sex and take drugs.
That's according to the state Gaming Control Board, which filed a complaint against the hotel-casino Wednesday.

Without admitting or denying the allegations, the Hard Rock agreed to settle the matter by paying a $500,000 fine and paying $75,000 apiece to the Gaming Control Board and Metro Police to cover investigative costs.

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Make way for the Cosmopolitan Hotel and Casino

Even before The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas opens Wednesday, gaming industry analysts are saying that to succeed financially the hotel-casino will have to offer something different from what is found at other properties along the Strip.

The Cosmopolitan also needs to generate income for Deutsche Bank AG, which acquired the property out of foreclosure in 2008 and spent $3.9 billion to complete the 2,995-room hotel-casino.

"It's important for them to maximize the property's long-term financial potential, no question," said Edward King, managing director of Morgan Stanley's investment banking division.

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Las Vegas: $45.99 unlimited buffet pass at Harrah’s hotels

The deal: The Buffet of Buffets pass ($45.99 per person, plus tax) allows you unlimited meals for a 24-hour period from the time you start using it. Whether it’s sampling desserts at Caesars or crab legs and prime rib at Harrah’s, the card’s got you covered for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Buffet stops included with the pass are:
> Lago Buffet at Caesars Palace Las Vegas;
> Paradise Garden Buffet at Flamingo Las Vegas;
> Flavors at Harrah’s Las Vegas;
> Emperor’s Buffet at Imperial Palace Las Vegas;
> Le Village Buffet at Paris Las Vegas;
> Spice Market Buffet at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino Las Vegas; and
> Carnival World Buffet at Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino Las Vegas

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Vegas casino fined for dancing gambler

Las Vegas has a reputation for letting visitors get away with all kinds of "bad" behavior. Activities like gambling and drinking on the street get a free pass in this anything-goes gaming capital. But apparently that permissive Vegas attitude doesn't extend to all behaviors, particularly if you like celebratory dancing when you hit it big at the tables.

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Las Vegas Sands to pay down debt

Las Vegas Sands Corp. plans to pay off more than $1 billion in outstanding debt while extending the maturity of about 75 percent of its loans by at another three years.

The move, announced Wednesday in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, gives Las Vegas Sands some financial breathing room as the company moves to restart stalled casino projects in Macau and explore other gaming opportunities

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Singapore Casinos Could Rival Las Vegas By 2012

SINGAPORE—Singapore's nascent casino sector could rival that of the Las Vegas strip in the next two years as Asian gamblers opt for the newer resorts closer to home over the traditional casino center.

Forecasters are already looking to upgrade their expectations for the industry following better-than-expected second-quarter results for Genting Singapore's Resorts World Sentosa, one of two casino-resorts in the city state.

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So much for Obama hurting Las Vegas

President Barack Obama, in February 2009, commented that banks receiving government bailouts shouldn’t go to Las Vegas at taxpayers’ expense. The comment did not sit well with our casino leaders.


Several thought the comments would have a devastating impact on the slumping Las Vegas market. Fortunately for Las Vegas, it turned out the “gloom and doom” prognosticators were wrong.

It is true that shortly after the comments were made, major Las Vegas stocks hit bottom. March 2009 brought stock prices of around $2 and $3 per share for MGM Mirage and Las Vegas Sands, and for Wynn Resorts the price for its stock fluctuated between $15 to $23 that month.

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Federal Jury Awards $200K to Guest of The Venetian

Apr. 13, 2010--A federal jury returned a $200,000 verdict last week after finding that Venetian security officers had falsely imprisoned a hotel guest from New York in 2004.


U.S. District Judge James Mahan presided over the trial, which stemmed from a lawsuit filed by New York resident David Lockhart.

Lockhart was a guest at The Venetian on Oct. 30, 2004, when he received a ride back to the resort. In the parking garage, security officers surrounded the vehicle and said it had been involved in a hit-and-run accident moments earlier.

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Vegas Strip Gambling Rises for Second Straight Month

Feb. 11 (Bloomberg) -- Las Vegas Strip gambling revenue rose 5.9 percent in December, the second straight monthly gain and a fresh sign the worst casino slump on record may be easing.

Strip proceeds climbed to $502.2 million in December from a year earlier, Nevada’s Gaming Control Board said today on its Web site. Revenue for the full year declined 9.4 percent.

Gains were driven by baccarat winnings, particularly at Aria casino, a venue at the $8.5 billion CityCenter resort MGM Mirage and Dubai World opened last month, analysts Bill Lerner at Union Gaming Group LLC and Robert LaFleur with Susquehanna Financial Group said today.

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President Obama Again Criticizes Trips to Las Vegas

President Obama is catching heat from Nevada lawmakers and business leaders regarding his comments Tuesday criticizing trips to Las Vegas.

During the president's town hall meeting in Nashua, New Hampshire, he discussed the need to curb spending during tough economic times. "When times are tough, you tighten your belts," the president said. "You don't go buying a boat when you can barely pay your mortgage. You don't blow a bunch of cash on Vegas when you're trying to save for college."

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Las Vegas on winning streak as market rebounds

LAS VEGAS The nation's struggling economy may have shattered the myth that the Las Vegas gambling industry is recession-proof, but the hotels and casinos are seeing signs that the city will be among the first to get healthy again.

Although hotels have been forced to reduce room rates to lure customers and visitor volume is down, a steady increase in room occupancy this year coupled with a rebound in high-end gambling is giving hope, if not celebration, that Vegas is on track for recovery.

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Las Vegas hotel suites take luxury to a new level

LAS VEGAS — A 10,000-square-foot suite that includes a basketball halfcourt rents for $25,000 a night at Palms Casino Resort. At MGM Grand's Skylofts, you'll find a bathtub that fizzes with tiny champagne-like massage bubbles, TVs in the mirrors and airport pickup in a $400,000 car.

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Another Cautionary Casino Tale

Less than 48 hours before Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS) -- a casino operator with a battered balance sheet -- was due to reveal second-quarter results, Station Casinos, which has a shakier balance sheet, filed for bankruptcy reorganization. The company filed for Chapter 11 on Tuesday, saying its casino operations won't be affected.

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http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32218494/ns/business-motley_fool/

Vegas casinos cut costs, slash room prices in 2Q

Declines in convention business and tourism took their toll on Las Vegas casino operators in the second quarter, as Wynn Resorts Ltd. and Las Vegas Sands Corp. each reported worse results Thursday than they did a year earlier.

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http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/jul/30/vegas-casinos-cut-costs-slash-room-prices-in-2q/

Las Vegas casinos report weak 1st quarter

MGM MIRAGE Receives Bank Support to Fund 100 Percent of Current Construction Costs for CityCenter