By Greg Jones   Tue, Mar 03, 2009

M Resort might be the newest casino in Las Vegas, but at its core are the old values that helped turn the city into the entertainment capital of the world.

The $1 billion casino has everything both local customers—the primary audience for M Resort—and out-of-town visitors could want. It features 92,000 square feet of gaming space with 1,800 gaming machines, 64 table games, a poker room and state-of-the-art race and sports book; a 390-room hotel; a 23,000-square-foot spa; 60,000 square feet of meeting space and nine food and beverage outlets.

Located on Las Vegas Boulevard about 10 miles south of Mandalay Bay, everything at M Resort is designed to take advantage of the view of the Las Vegas skyline—even from the porte cochere on the south side of the building, you can see through the property to the Strip.

The view is a major part of the rooms at M Resort, particularly the flat suites and the loft suites, from which the 270 degree angle of view allows guests to take in the lights of the casinos as well as the surrounding mountains. Similarly, the majority of the restaurants—from Veloce Cibo on the top floor of the hotel tower to the coffee shop—are set up in a way to also take in the views, as is the pool area.

But for Anthony Marnell III, the most important component of M Resort isn’t the views or the gaming or any of the amenities, it’s service and value: the human touch. The most important part of M Resort is the people working there and the service they can provide to the customers.

It is not only a return to the city’s traditions, but also a return to the family’s approach to running gaming properties. Tony Marnell II served as CEO and chairman of the board for Rio Hotel & Casino Inc. before it was acquired by Harrah’s. From the time it opened in 1990 until the acquisition nine years later, Rio developed a strong customer base among locals and tourists alike because of its unrelenting commitment to value and service.

Anthony hopes he can recreate that success by sticking to what worked before.

“We’re offering a lot of fantastic products here that the consumer is going to find enormous value in,” he said. “It’s what built a lot of loyalty to the Rio brand.

“We won’t make as much money as others who price their products differently, but we’ll make a good living and we’ll make our customers happy.”

Service-centric

The most important thing M Resort brings to the table is a new approach—or perhaps more appropriately a revitalization of the old approach—which emphasizes customer service above all else. It is something that Marnell thinks has been missing from Las Vegas for a number of years. It is something that got lost in the shuffle as the town experienced unparalleled success—it seemed there was an endless supply of customers and the casinos couldn’t do anything wrong. A cursory look at the revenue figures from Las Vegas over the past couple of months clearly show that, like every other industry, gaming is also not impervious to the fickle whims of the average consumer. That is not to say that the only reason the industry is hurting is because customer service in Las Vegas is terrible. That is not the case at all. Las Vegas is still a world leader when it comes to serving guests and customers, but the competition seems to be narrowing the gap as companies are forced to reduce staff to deal with the troubled economy.

“I don’t think there was as much emphasis placed on service as there should have been,” Marnell said. “Things were booming. Everybody was flush with cash and it really became a bidding war—not on the building site, how much can you spend and how big can you build it—but how much can you charge for it and who will pay the most.

“I think clearly that strategy is over with. That is not coming back for a long time.”

Marnell calls his approach high-touch and low-tech. In an age where almost everyone spends a majority of their time dealing with computers, they don’t want to have to use kiosks to cash tickets or use computer terminals to book rooms or make special room arrangements. Those options are available, but where some people have used this technology to replace the human component or to seriously augment it, that won’t be the case at M Resort.

“I’ve been a guest in some places and I had an issue, and they say whatever the computer says is what you get. That’s not service, that’s not hospitality and that’s not the gaming business,” Marnell said.

Even little things like treating a valued customer to a free meal or a show is something that needs the personal touch. M Resort will have a player club—iMagine rewards club—through which guests can accumulate points that they can redeem for food or entertainment options, but that’s not as personal or as valued as the simple hand comp.

“I don’t know what happened to the hand comp in Las Vegas,” Marnell said. “The hand has got to come out the other way from the casino to show the customers we appreciate, recognize and value them. That is how we make our living; it is how our team members feed their families.”

The team members are a big part of Marnell’s plans for his new resort, and the distressed economy offered him the opportunity to find the best workers available. There were some 50,000 applicants for about 2,000 jobs (the property opened with 1,800 positions) and gave Marnell and his staff the opportunity to find employees who have the right attitude about taking care of the customers.

“The No. 1 thing to get a job at M Resort was how you approach and look at service,” he explained. “If you didn’t have the skills, but you had the ability to present yourself in the right way and you had the correct mindset that the customer was No. 1 and at all costs you must take care of the customer, then we made a position for you. If you weren’t qualified to do it, we trained you how to do it.

“It didn’t really matter where you were or what you’ve done, it was about your approach to service.”

Complementing the service approach is a focus on value. Price points at the restaurants top out around $50—that includes the 20-ounce rib eye—and drinks are priced in a similar manner, with nothing more expensive than $8.50.

“You can’t serve a 16-ounce steak for $70 anymore,” Marnell said. “It doesn’t matter who you are, when you walk out you feel ripped off. It happened on a regular basis because people could get that, but those days are gone. I think the days of the $15 martini are gone, too.”

He also noted that unlike some smaller restaurants in the area, the outlets at M Resort are at a considerable advantage in setting price point because the individual restaurants do not necessarily need to post a profit, it only matters that the overall property is profitable.

Anthony Layton Matthews, vice president of food and beverage at M Resort, explained that the approach to the dining options at M has evolved as the economy worsened. The restaurants need to be comfortable for everyone who comes in, “whether its a lady and gentleman in a pair of shorts and a T-shirt or someone wearing a sports coat.”

“Our overall approach to food where we were a year ago is different than today,” Matthews said. “We’re getting back to the fundamentals of food. Charge what you need to charge, but don’t get too aggressive.”

Food Court

Modest price points and outstanding views aren’t the only things that makes the dining outlets at M Resort special. Whether a guest is looking for a steak—from the Marnell family ranch in Montana—or a quick sandwich, or even just something to drink, M Resort will have everything.

Located on the top floor of the M Resort hotel tower, Veloce Cibo and Bar Veloce are a primary focal point for the property. It is not only a place for dinner, but Marnell also sees it working as a lounge at night. Matthews describes the menu as “Asia meets Italy meets California.” It features everything from appetizers to sushi to steak.

“It’s difficult to get people from the casino floor to the rooftop for the first time, but I think once they go there once, they won’t want to go anywhere else,” Matthews said.

The Studio B buffet is another draw at the property. It is very likely the most entertaining buffet in Las Vegas, bringing a unique approach to this casino staple. It is a multifaceted area that features a live action cooking studio as part of the attraction. (And, unlike some other buffets in town, beer and wine are included with meals at no additional cost.) The main dining area is also ringed with televisions showing what is happening in the studio kitchen. It has prompted some people who took tours well before the property opened to wonder whether the area was actually the sports book.

“The heart and soul and really the entertainment of the property is the Studio B buffet,” Matthews said.

There are a number of new approaches on the beverage side, too. A beer bar, 32 Draft, will have 96 beers on tap, and the idea is to run the beer through a cooler to get the temperature down to 32 degrees as it comes out of the head. It has a prime location next to the Vig Deli and the race and sports book.

M Resort also has a number of Enomatic Wine Serving Systems, which can dispense wine by the glass or even the ounce. These machines are available in the Hostile Grape wine bar and Veloce Cibo, and there are several portable units that can be brought into the convention space if requested.

On the casino floor, there will be several self-serve soda dispensing machines. Rather than make people wait for a server to come around—not that it should be a long wait with the commitment to service—the idea is that guests can come in, grab a soft drink and proceed to their favorite machine. This will become increasingly attractive when summer temperatures set in.

“We are truly looking at F&B as an amenity to the casino and an amenity for the gaming customer,” Matthews said. “I think our commitment to keeping the food quality up and the costs down will give us a competitive edge to fill our restaurants better than our competitors.”

By Randall Brody   Tue, Mar 03, 2009

The Internal Revenue Service has long held the belief that a number of employees who receive tips routinely under-report what they actually earn when it comes time to file their tax returns. In the past, the IRS selectively targeted tipped individuals—a substantial number of employees in the gaming and hospitality industries earn a large proportion of their earnings from tips—and found evidence to support its argument.

As a result, a number of employees have found that they owed additional taxes as well as penalties, and many of these individuals were not in a position to make good on what they owed.

The selective audit process, however, was not an effective or efficient way to collect the proper amount of tax revenue, and so the IRS found assessing tip revenues by casino provides a more effective approach to efficiently maximize the collection of tax revenues.

Tip Determination and Education Program

The Tip Determination and Education Program is intended to increase employees’ reporting of tips to their employers by means of customer outreach and education. The program involves working with employers to educate employees, employer execution of an agreement between the business owner and the IRS and employer participation in one of two programs. The two tip reporting options are the Tip Rate Determination Agreement (TRDA) and the Tip Reporting Alternative Commitment (TRAC).

Both the employer and the IRS agree to certain terms under these agreements. A TRDA is available specifically for the gaming industry.

Participation in either a TRDA or TRAC is voluntary.

Tip Rate Determination Agreement (TRDA)

A TRDA represents an agreement between the IRS and the employer that specifies an agreed upon rate of tips for each occupational category of tipped employees. The program requires the employer to work with the IRS to calculate a tip rate for each occupational category. To be enforceable, the agreement requires the participation of at least 75 percent of the employees. Participating employees must sign an agreement to report tips at the rate specified in the TRDA. While both programs were initially available for all employers, casinos are only allowed to enter into a TRDA agreement.

Benefits for Employees

Assuming that the employee is recognizing a higher income due to tips, they would be eligible for greater Social Security and increased unemployment benefits and worker’s compensation. The increased income would also improve opportunities for financing approval when applying for mortgage, car and other loans, because the tip income is documented and reported on a W-2. If the employer has a retirement contribution plan, there may be additional funding for employees.

A major factor in participating in the program is certainty and peace of mind. Once an employee signs the TRDA plan agreement, the employee does not have to fear any audits on future tips above the agreed tip rate during the agreement period. If the employee does not sign an agreement with an employer that has the TRDA plan, the employee will be subject to a possible audit.

The biggest objection that employees have is that the taxes are taken out of their paychecks based on anticipated rather than actual earnings. In an environment subject to seasonal ups and downs, this procedure can result in an overpayment of taxes by employees during the off-season. The tip rate is based on the average tips of all employees. If employees do not pool tips, some employees might pay taxes on tips not actually earned, while other employees might underpay.

Randall Brody is an enrolled agent and a Liberty Tax Service franchise owner. You can contact him directly at LibertyTaxVegas@yahoo.com.

By Greg Jones   Tue, Mar 03, 2009

Baseball season is back, and this year, it is stronger than ever in Nevada. The Las Vegas 51s start the season with a new professional affiliation with the Toronto Blue Jays, and Reno is now home to the minor league affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

For years, the 51s have been associated with baseball in southern California. The team was first associated with the San Diego Padres as the Las Vegas Stars. After that, it became the affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. The new affiliation, however, gives the teams some interesting promotional opportunities entering the new season.

Derek Stevens, whose family trust owns the 51s, said they plan to take advantage of the Canadian tie-in with a Canada night, during which guests can purchase Canadian beers or receive ticket discounts for wearing hockey sweaters (the preferred nomenclature for the tops worn by hockey players). The promotion will be called Blue Jay Tuesdays, which Stevens thinks will help attract a larger crowd on what has historically been a slower night for the 51s.

Additional promotions for the year include the ever popular $1 beer night and famous fireworks displays on select weekends. Stevens also said the team is looking at putting together family packages and possibly introducing a $1 food night on Mondays (also a slower night in terms of attendance), where people can get everything from hot dogs and peanuts to sodas for just $1.

With the promotions, Stevens thinks the upcoming year will set a new attendance record.

But there are other advantages for the new affiliation, too. First, because the Blue Jays play in the American League of Major League Baseball, the designated hitter rule will be in effect for all home games. As fans of baseball already know, the designated hitter rule—a provision through which teams can remove the pitcher from the batting lineup and substitute an offensive slugger—tends to lead to higher scoring games. While purists aren’t so hot on the designated hitter, there is no denying that the general public prefers to see offensive battles rather than watch defensive struggles and low-scoring games.

And, as started last year, the promotion allowing ticket holders from games in which the 51s score 10 or more runs to receive a free shrimp cocktail at the Golden Gate Casino is still in effect.

“Now that the 51s are affiliated with the Toronto Blue Jays, that means we get to play every home game with the designated hitter, so I anticipate a few more shrimp cocktails this year,” Stevens said.

Lastly, the 51s will also look to develop hotel/ticket packages with the Golden Gate and sell tickets at the venerable Downtown casino. Other changes include dropping Sunday afternoon games after June. Stevens said it was just too hot to continue playing games in the afternoon once July arrives, something many Las Vegas residents would agree with.

It is too early to speculate about which players will be in Las Vegas at the start of the season, but the fact remains that it should be an exciting year for the 51s.

In northern Nevada, they are also celebrating the upcoming baseball season, because the city has its first AAA affiliate, (for the Arizona Diamondbacks). Reno has been home to other minor league teams, but the Aces will be the highest caliber team to play in the city. The difference is night and day.

Aces general manager Rick Parr told the Lohontan Valley News that he thinks the new team will be a strong enough draw to keep people from heading to California to watch a baseball game.

“You want to see a baseball game, are you going to see the Giants or the A’s or the Dodgers?” he said. “No. What you’re going to do is, if you have a team in your hometown that’s AAA baseball, you’re going to spend a few dollars and come to the ball park and have a good time.

“Once people come out once, they’re going to get hooked on it.”

But the team knows it is going to take more than just being new and having a new stadium to keep people interested. It might be enough to start off on a good note, but it won’t sustain attendance figures throughout the year. To that end, the Aces signed former major league player Brett Butler to manage the team.

“The newness of a first-year team gets things going,” Butler said. “It gets them sparked up and fired up and ready to do the job. But that newness will wear away. If you don’t have a quality product to put on the field, then you’re not going to even need to come to the ball park.

As a manager, it is my responsibility to get them to be the best that they can.”

Like the 51s, it is difficult to say who will be playing for the Aces until spring training ends. But regardless of who is there, Butler expects the team to play solid, fundamental baseball, and he expects that will be a winning strategy.

“The kind of baseball you’re going to see is fundamentally and situationally sound baseball,” Butler said. “The players are going to know how to play the game, and they’re quality people who we’re going to draft in the Diamondback organization.”

For those who prefer the Major League game, Las Vegas delivers with the return of the annual Big League Weekends in March and April. In March, the Chicago Cubs play the Chicago White Sox March 4 at 7 p.m. and March 5 at 1 p.m. In April, the Colorado Rockies play the Seattle Mariners April 3 at 7 p.m. and April 4 at noon.

“We are always excited to welcome Big League Weekend back to Las Vegas, and the 2009 matchups are going to be outstanding,” said Rossi Ralenkotter, president and CEO of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. “With the Cubs and White Sox bringing their cross-town rivalry here and the Mariners taking on the Rockies, baseball fans are going to have a great experience in Las Vegas.”

Both the Las Vegas 51s and the Reno Aces start the season April 9 and will play their first home games April 17. For information on the 51s and Big League Weekend, call 702-798-7825. For information about the Reno Aces, call 775-334-4700.

By Caitlin McGarry   Tue, Mar 03, 2009

As inhabitants of a largely barren desert, Nevadans should be experts in protecting what few natural resources the state has—but until recently, Nevada’s environmental policy has done little to reflect reality.

In 2008, a SustainLane Media survey of urban sustainability, which included economic and environmental criteria, ranked Las Vegas No. 47 out of the nation’s 50 largest cities. Last month, Men’s Health magazine released a list of residential recycling rankings, in which Las Vegas placed 99th out of 100 cities.

But despite its dismal placing in most environmental surveys, Las Vegas is striving to become a model of sustainability for the state—and with the help of a few key players, Nevada’s greener future may be closer than its rankings indicate.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Environmental activists have long focused on reusing resources as a method of contributing to global sustainability. Some Las Vegans, like Tara Pike-Nordstrom, have taken it upon themselves to lead the recycling fight.

For Pike-Nordstrom, recycling has been a lifelong passion. As an undergraduate environmental studies major at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas in the early 1990s, Pike-Nordstrom had to write a thesis paper about an environmental issue close to her heart.

“They said, ‘How about this: Think of something where you’ll make a difference on your campus, in your neighborhood, in your state, in your city,’” she said. “‘Think globally, act locally.’”

Pike-Nordstrom was already involved in an environmental group on campus that was focusing on recycling, and decided to craft a feasible recycling plan for UNLV. Upon graduating, Pike-Nordstrom wanted to turn her concept into a reality.

By 1995, UNLV’s Rebel Recycling program, which was based on Pike-Nordstrom’s thesis, was underway, funded by a $1 per student per semester fee inspired by the University of Colorado-Boulder’s recycling program.

In its early days, the program was intended to raise awareness about recycling among the university’s staff and students. Silver State Disposal Service, Inc., which was acquired by Republic Services in 1997, handled the campus’ recycling when Pike-Nordstrom began the program. The company picked up two tons of recycling from the school per week, but when Pike-Nordstrom decided to divert UNLV’s cardboard recycling efforts from the rest of the materials, Silver State notified her of its decision to drop the campus from its recycling services.

With just two employees and a small office, Pike-Nordstrom was forced to take on the job of recycling for UNLV, its satellite campuses and off-campus offices.

“The whole thing was a struggle,” she said.

The program has evolved in the years since Pike-Nordstrom was sorting paper alone in a parking lot—with the help of five full-time employees, 11 student workers and dozens of volunteers, Pike-Nordstrom was able to recycle 697 tons of materials last year (about 2.8 tons per work day).

While Pike-Nordstrom has worked tirelessly to ensure that UNLV moves toward sustainability, the team at Greener Vegas has come together to facilitate a recycling relationship between businesses and community members.

Zachary Delbex-Smith, founder of Greener Vegas, is a Teamster who works in the city’s convention industry. As the Las Vegas Convention Center strives to cut down its carbon footprint, Delbex-Smith and his colleagues have taken it upon themselves to speed up the process by collecting reusable materials after trade shows conclude.

The non-profit environmental organization began in January 2008, and immediately tackled the recycling of trade show publications at the convention center.

“We decided that the first thing that we’d do was do something about the publications, which seem to be the most non-focused on,” said Cynthia Stimple, chief operations officer of Greener Vegas. “Coming into a convention, those publications are so important; they represent the people that are there. But the moment that show is over, they’re trash. The convention industry has changed a lot in the last year. No one paid attention to what came in or what was being thrown away.”

Last year, Greener Vegas recycled almost 800,000 pounds of publication materials. The organization has its roots in recycling paper products, but Stimple said Greener Vegas is branching out, drawing attention to non-recyclable materials that are being thrown away rather than repurposed.

Many trade shows incorporate materials like metal, foamcore and mixed-media products that cannot be recycled. Greener Vegas has reached out to the community to find homes for such materials, connecting trade associations and businesses with schools, theaters and other interested parties.

Stimple said children in particular benefit from the repurposed materials donated from local businesses.

“With the budget cuts being so huge, there’s such a shortage of supplies for the schools,” she said. “So things like pens, the bags that come from the shows—all of those things are circulated back into the community… we try to repurpose that stuff as soon as possible.”

Stimple also said she hopes the current economic climate will remind people to be more resourceful, adhering to the old adage that one person’s trash is another’s treasure.

“People aren’t concerned about the green of the Earth anymore, people are concerned about the green in their pockets, and whether or not they can afford to recycle,” she said. “That is the most preposterous thing in the world.”

Industrial Strength

While Pike-Nordstrom and Stimple are focusing on UNLV and the Las Vegas Convention Center, respectively, the gaming industry is also doing its part.

Though no recycle bins can be found on the floors of any Las Vegas resort, the city’s hotels and casinos do recycle—out of sight.

“As practical as they are, sometimes the big blue bin just doesn’t fit in with the décor,” MGM Mirage spokesman Gordan Ashber told USA Today last year. “We do recycle, but we don’t need to ask our guests to do the work for us.”

Materials are typically sorted by hand on the properties’ back docks, then transported to recycling centers.

The city’s newest resorts are also focusing on the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program. The Palazzo Resort Hotel Casino is the country’s largest LEED-certified building, and new resorts such as Fontainebleau and CityCenter are being constructed according to LEED standards.

LEED certification, which ranges from basic to platinum, is judged according to several environmental factors, including air quality—which is why no Las Vegas resort has earned (or will earn) a platinum rating. The council deducts points from buildings that allow smoking.

However, LEED ratings ensure that even if casinos are not pillars of environmental excellence, they are trying to be more energy efficient—some properties, like the Palazzo, even harness solar power in their efforts to cut costs and carbon emissions.

Save the Planet (and Money)

Nevada Senator Harry Reid has been at the forefront of diversifying energy sources in order conserve the earth’s natural resources and save money in the long-term. Reid has long been championed the harnessing of Nevada’s sunny days for energy purposes.

“Nevada is the Saudi Arabia of solar energy and is poised to lead a global clean energy revolution,” Reid said in a statement last year. “We need to do all we can to encourage public and private investment in projects to develop this amazing potential.”

One such project, Nevada Solar One, went online in 2007. The 400-acre solar plant, located in Boulder City, uses parabolic troughs comprised of mirrors to funnel sunlight into tubes containing heat transfer fluid. The heat turns water into steam, which then powers a turbine. Nevada Solar One is one of the few utility-scale power plants in the country, and is able to produce 64 megawatts—enough energy to power 40,000 Las Vegas homes.

NV Energy, the state’s electric utility company, has acknowledged the move toward alternative energy is inevitable in the state, and as such has postponed plans to build the the coal-powered Ely Energy Center for at least 10 years. In a statement, the company said it “will not move forward with construction of the coal plant until the technologies that will capture and store greenhouse gasses are commercially feasible, which is not likely before the end of the next decade.”

The company is instead focusing on the construction of a 250-mile transmission line that will link northern and southern Nevada and enable NV Energy to electrically transport renewable and other energy resources from one part of the state to the other.

NV Energy has also instituted incentive programs to help customers make their homes and businesses more energy efficient. The incentives include rebates for replacing outdated appliances with newer, more efficient ones; rebates for replacing old light bulbs with energy-saving ones; rebates for installing solar panels; and a refrigerator recycling program.

The Southern Nevada Water Authority is also at the forefront of providing incentives to encourage energy efficiency. The Water Smart Landscape rebate program, which began in 2005, offers property owners $1.50 per square foot of grass that is removed and replaced with more sustainable desert landscaping.

Brave New World

In an effort to further demonstrate its emerging environmental consciousness, the city of Las Vegas will be participating in the second annual Earth Hour, in which cities all over the world power down iconic buildings, government offices, residences and non-essential lighting of other structures for 60 minutes. The event, organized by the World Wildlife Fund, is intended to be a symbolic demonstration calling attention to global climate change. Las Vegas will be joining more than 70 cities around the world when the Strip goes dark March 28 at 8:30 p.m.

UNLV recycling guru Tara Pike-Nordstrom said the university will be participating by powering down residence halls and other buildings during Earth Hour. Pike-Nordstrom and her colleagues will be offering food and games outside for students who join in the demonstration.

Earth Hour is yet another example of Las Vegans joining together to better the environment. During the difficult economic climate, many people are struggling to manage their own resources, let alone the Earth’s. But Cynthia Stimple of Greener Vegas said that hard times often serve to remind people that materials are indeed limited.

“We are going to be forced to become more resourceful,” Stimple said. “I think it’s a good thing…and if we turn around our attitudes about the future, it really is a land of plenty.”

Pike-Nordstrom also has hope for Las Vegas. She said she thinks if Clark County approves a switch from red, white and blue residential recycling bins to large comingled toters, which have been shown to increase recycling efforts, it will encourage more residents to recycle. She also hopes to see the RecycleBank program, which mails rewards, coupons and other incentives to people when a chip in the recycling truck senses they have been filling their bins or toters, instituted in the city.

“I have a lot of hope for our community in terms of recycling,” Pike-Nordstrom said. “I think we’re going to get better. We need to get better.”

For more information about Greener Vegas, visit www.greenervegas.org. To find out more about UNLV's Rebel Recycling program, go to facilities.unlv.edu/recycling.

By Casino Connection Staff   Tue, Mar 03, 2009

When Bob Meyers first set foot in the Stratosphere Casino Hotel, he was employed as a sound man for Danny Gans, who at the time was just starting his Las Vegas run. Gans’ deal was only for three months. After the deal expired—everyone knows where Gans is now—Meyers stayed on and started working full time for the Stratosphere. Since 1996, Meyers has been an audio-visual man for the property, eventually working his way up to the corporate level, where he now oversees the audio-visual components of all American Casino Entertainment Properties casinos. Most recently, on February 20 and 21, Meyers was volunteering his time and services to provides a number of critical—and some not-so-critical—components during the Scale the Strat event at the Stratosphere. Meyers made sure the communication system, some 50 radios in all, was working so other volunteers along the stairwell could monitor the runners and communicate to other volunteers as well as medical personnel if necessary. At the same time, Meyers set up the audio components for the award ceremony at the top of the tower, visual components showing the runners ascending the stairs in both a showroom at the base of the tower and at the observation deck up top. There were some 100 runners making the climb to the top of the Stratosphere, with all money raised going to the American Lung Association. And as important as the runners were, it was volunteers like Meyers and other ACEP team members who made the whole event possible.

By Caitlin McGarry   Tue, Mar 03, 2009

David O’Neil is a self-described “permanent fixture” of Main Street Station. For the past 10 years, O’Neil has carefully guarded the Downtown casino, protecting both property and patrons from harm.

As a third man for Main Street Station’s security team, O’Neil is responsible for helping to supervise the team, train other security officers and protect the property’s assets. What began as simply a job has become a career for the father of four.

The Memphis-born, Los Angeles-raised security guard relocated to Las Vegas by way of Oceanside, California with his wife in the 1990s. Just days before his daughter was born, O’Neil, who was working at a local Blockbuster at the time, was driving through Downtown when he decided to see if Main Street Station was hiring. It was. He applied for a position with the security team, and days after his daughter’s birth, O’Neil got the job. He has been with the company ever since.

O’Neil has long aspired to work for the city, either with the police department or as a corrections officer, for which his time with the security team of a busy Downtown casino has provided valuable experience. O’Neil has had many brushes with danger during his tenure at Main Street Station, many of which he can laugh about today.

“I’ve had several chases and takedowns in the casino,” he said. “One time, a guy was at the cage trying to demand money. One of the cage cashiers panicked and backed away from the window. She wouldn’t give him the money, so he decided to jump into the window with his feet dangling out. I thought, ‘That is not a normal transaction.’”

O’Neil chuckled as he recalled the scene, as if he still could not believe the thief’s audacity.

“When the thief jumped back out, the cage cashier screamed and I happened to be 10 or 15 feet away from him,” O’Neil continued. “He started running toward the door, but I was right behind him. I tackled him at the door.”

O’Neil received the Las Vegas Security Chiefs Association’s Professional of the Year Award in 2006 for going above and beyond the call of duty during the encounter.

O’Neil not only cares for the well-being of his property, but also for the health and safety of the casino’s guests. One day in 2002, O’Neil was finishing out the last hours of his shift when a patron suddenly had a heart attack. Paramedics were called to the scene, but the man was dying as they were on their way to the property. O’Neil and his colleagues knew they had to intervene, and they brought the guest back to life before emergency personnel arrived. It was an experience O’Neil will never forget.

“That was my stellar moment right there,” he said. “Saving somebody’s life.”

O’Neil’s job is not always filled with excitement and adventure—he is typically posted near the casino’s doors to prevent the kind of action he has dealt with in the past. But O’Neil is in his element when he is free to roam around the property, “interacting with people and throwing out bad guys.”

So when you visit Main Street Station, say hello to David O’Neil. One day, he just might save your life.

By Frank Legato   Tue, Mar 03, 2009

Before committing to this most comprehensive biography of Beatles legend John Lennon, there are a few things you should know.

First, it’s l-o-n-g. At 822 pages, it’s one of the few biographies to rival a textbook for volume of information (there’s even an index). Second, you’ve got to get past the rather stodgy British writing style of Norman, who, although considered the definitive Beatle biographer (thanks to his landmark 1981 bio Shout!) has a style that takes getting used to.

You’ll also find references that may send you to Google unless you’re British, and come across a number of typos one wouldn’t expect from HarperCollins.

Despite all that, this book reveals more about Lennon’s life than any before it. Exhaustive interviews with surviving associates from throughout Lennon’s life provide a clear picture of the troubled star.

Norman also clears up some misunderstandings about another troubled Lennon, John’s father Alf (later known as Freddie). We find that Lennon’s oft-sainted mother, Julia, was more to blame for John’s lifelong psychological demons than Alf, who returned from a stint as a ship’s steward to find his wife living with another man. We learn how Julia’s family shut Alf out of John’s life—a fact John himself ultimately learned through a manuscript written by Alfred Lennon and sent to the star upon Alf’s death.

We also learn how this family history clearly screwed up John Lennon’s personality—causing him to become a violent jerk, then a paranoid mess, then, ultimately, a mature man who found peace of mind with Yoko Ono.

Yoko was interviewed extensively for this book, but ultimately failed to endorse it because she felt it portrays Lennon as “mean.” Well, that’s exactly what Lennon was at times. But in the end, the painstaking research in this work gives us an understanding of what lurked behind that anger and paranoia—as well as the genius of the man’s music.

John Lennon: The Life makes us understand an enigmatic star, and that, alone, makes it worth reading.

Just block out a lot of time.

By Robert Rossiello   Tue, Mar 03, 2009

Electro-pop diva Lily Allen released her second album It’s Not Me, It’s You last month, giving fans of the U.K. singer a reason to rejoice.

For those of you unfamiliar with Allen, her 2006 debut album, Alright, Still, sold more than 2.5 million copies and established the then-20-year-old London-based singer/songwriter as a bona fide star. The appeal of Alright, Still centered around Allen’s cheeky exploration of the Euro party scene, with witty, biting lyrics wrapped in danceable techno-beats.

The same sharp, cynical edge is found on the 12 tracks of It’s Not Me, It’s You, though Allen has broadened her targets this time around.

The opening track, “Everyone’s At It,” pokes fun at society’s reliance on anti-depressants. The album’s first single, “The Fear,” takes on consumer culture and the cult of celebrity.

Allen declares herself “a weapon of massive consumption,” and sings “Life’s about film stars / and less about mothers / it’s all about fast cars /and cussing each other.”

Other songs cover racism, God and clueless men. This would be heavy stuff if it wasn’t done with such incisive comedy and coated in bubbly synthesizers.

Allen’s approach to songwriting is unique. Teaming up again with producer Greg Kurstin, she has him build up lush chords and drum tracks and simply improvises lyrics over top of them.

Allen says, “I just sing along and make up the words, and then once we’ve got the bare song, we decide which way we’re going to go with the production.”

Allen is akin to a great stand-up comic who riffs like a rap star. Her flirty voice and light sound allow the message to shine through the music.

By Joe Legato   Tue, Mar 03, 2009

Anyone who has ever stumbled upon spiders or scorpions knows the hair-raising feelings they induce. But have you ever thought about what it was like for them? Rainbow Studios gives you the chance to see the world from the perspective of these creepy critters with Deadly Creatures.

You play as either a scorpion or a tarantula as it fights to survive the typical daily encounters of an arachnid in the desert. The storyline loosely follows two humans as they search for gold in the desert, but your main goal is simply to stay alive as you battle other bugs, reptiles and rodents through a series of desolate environments.

Depending on whether you are the scorpion or the tarantula, Deadly Creatures offers the player some cool abilities. The scorpion is large and powerful with its pincers and stinger, so gamers in this role will be able to slash and sting their way through many levels. The tarantula, on the other hand, is sneaky and nimble due to its agility and webbing, so you’ll have an easier time sneaking up on enemies or just creeping around through other levels.

In either case, players should remember that their character is still relatively small. There are some creatures, such as rattlesnakes, that they may not be able to kill, and must simply avoid!

Deadly Creatures presents a fresh storyline and a completely new style of game play. Whoever thought the life of a bug could be such an adventure? Gila monsters, wasps, big feet—the trouble never ends!

So if you ever do find a creepy arachnid in your shoe, maybe you should just let it go. With all the other encounters it’s going to have that day, it has enough to worry about!

By Aysa Melkonyan   Tue, Mar 03, 2009

In the controversial style of filmmaker Michael Moore, comedian and social commentator Bill Maher has come up with Religulous, a movie that questions the roots of faith and criticizes the consequences of extreme religiousness.

Because of its deviant topic, the film was released in very few theaters. Now it can be seen on DVD, but viewers should be cautioned. Not only is it R-rated; Religulous absolutely denies the existence of any facts about religion and calls for rationalism instead of blind belief.

Maher claims he doesn’t want to enrage people but open their minds before believing and acting aggressively in the name of religion. His methodology is simple: he shows an absurd fact about religion, then questions different believers who (most of the time) get entangled in their own explanations. Using this Socratic type of dialogue, he proves his point—but also makes people mad.

Religulous doesn’t spare any faith. It attacks Islam, Judaism and Christianity, claiming they have been made up in order to keep people under control. It also maintains that the Bible and the Quran were not inspired but written by real people who did not witness the events they wrote about (in other words, nothing in the books is true). He mocks stories such as “the talking snake” and Jonah and the whale.

To support his thesis, Maher asks authorities in religion and science about the logic behind absurd religious tales. Among them are an ex-gay-turned-straight priest, a person claiming to be the second coming of Christ, a human genome project scientist, a Vatican priest, a Muslim cleric and many more.

Many of his interviewees are enraged by the questions, and some viewers will feel the same. But Maher says he’s only trying to find answers, and despite its controversial stance, Religulous is a must-see, if only because it takes us far from our comfort zone.

By Casino Connection Staff   Tue, Mar 03, 2009

For the past eight years, Clark County has teamed up with local sponsors to deliver an action-packed music festival for Las Vegas youths: eXtreme Thing. The annual alcohol-free event features big name headliners in addition to smaller punk bands, all for the sake of providing value-priced entertainment for the under-21 crowd.

In past years, bands like Alien Ant Farm, Reel Big Fish, Yellowcard, Unwritten Law and Pennywise have graced the festival’s main stage. This year, the county has paired with House of Blues to up the ante with headliner Bad Religion and old-school favorite the Vandals.

The event takes place at Desert Breeze Skate Park, which makes it perfect for combining extreme sports and even more extreme music. This year, Adrenaline Unleashed will host professional wrestling exhibitions, while Ricardo Laguna plans to present a professional BMX dirt jump competition. There will also be a roller derby tournament and the Vegas AmJam Competition, which will feature more than 130 skateboard and BMX riders. Not to mention the plethora of local bands performing, plus food and beverages galore.

An action-filled day sounds like the perfect remedy for spring fever, so bring the kids to this year’s eXtreme event.

The 2009 eXtreme Thing Action Sports/Music Festival takes place at Desert Breeze Skate Park March 28 from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tickets are $17.

By Casino Connection Staff   Tue, Mar 03, 2009

In 1965, with Smokey Robinson behind the production wheel, a little song called “My Girl” began rising up the charts. The song was a perfect example of what pop music could be, and it was only the beginning for the Temptations.

Rooted firmly in Motown, the Detroit group began a 37-song stretch of hits that carried their smooth, sophisticated sound through the 1980s. There were ups, downs and lineup changes galore, but despite it all, the Temptations maintained their now-legendary style. With hits like “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg,” “Get Ready” and “Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me),” the group easily earned a slot in pop culture history.

Though only baritone Otis Williams remains from the original Temptations, the latest lineup continues to tour and record, releasing their latest album, Back to Front, in 2007. With the group’s stellar live performances, diehard fans get a chance to relive history—and what a past it was.

The Temptations play the Orleans March 12, 13, 14 and 15 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $55, $71.50 and $88.

By Casino Connection Staff   Tue, Mar 03, 2009

Blue October would have been categorized as nu metal prior to that genre’s sudden death earlier this decade. Now the hard-working band is called “post-grunge” by many critics, which means anguished vocals and thudding guitars are the order of the day.

Unlike many bands of its ilk, the boys of Blue October toiled at their craft for nine years prior to first experiencing success with the tortured single “Hate Me.” The hit song, about lead singer Justin Furstenfeld’s narcissism and his destruction of a past relationship, found the band earning comparisons to other earnest rock acts like Nickelback.

But Blue October’s breakout album, Foiled, contained a few surprises. “Into the Ocean,” the second single, is lighter and more playful than the feisty “Hate Me,” and “X Amount of Words” is an unexpected techno affair.

A new album, Approaching Normal, is in the works, and while the guys of Blue October may struggle to define themselves beyond the Nickelback-rock category, if Foiled was any indication, interesting work may still be up their sleeves.

Blue October appears at the House of Blues March 19 at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $30 and $35.

By Casino Connection Staff   Tue, Mar 03, 2009

In the early 1990s, hip-hop and R&B were just discovering each other in a new genre called new jack swing, which combined drum machine loops with light melodies and contemporary vocal stylings. The genre’s harbingers were super-producers Babyface and Teddy Riley, but its breakout stars were the boys from Jodeci.

Like many stars of the time, new jack swing boy band Jodeci was pushed to fame by Sean “Puff Daddy” Combs (now known as Diddy). Donald “DeVante Swing” DeGrate, Dalvin DeGrate, Cedric “K-Ci” Hailey and Joel “Jo-Jo” Hailey, two sets of brothers from the South, brought soulful songs and a bad boy swagger to the dull musical landscape of 1991.

Forever My Lady, the group’s debut, became a smash hit, spawning singles like “Come and Talk to Me” and “Stay.” Their second album, Diary of a Mad Band, was just as successful, and it seemed Jodeci would dominate the decade’s R&B charts. DeVante DeGrate began grooming other artists to join his “Swing Mob,” including Missy Elliott, Timbaland, Tweet and Ginuwine. DeVante also began producing tracks for Tupac Shakur.

Just as Jodeci seemed poised for the top tiers of success, it all came crashing down. The group released its final record, The Show, The After Party, The Hotel, in 1995, and just as their record label folded, the members of Jodeci set out to develop their own careers. DeVante DeGrate continued producing records for other artists, and K-Ci and Jo-Jo became a successful singing duo.

Ten years later, the DeGrates and the Haileys reunited for a greatest hits album, called Back to the Future: The Very Best of Jodeci. A reunion tour took three more years to organize, but now the men of Jodeci are back to prove the original new jack swing stars still have what it takes.

Jodeci performs at the House of Blues March 8 at 8:30 p.m. Tickets are $37, $50 and $60.

By Greg Jones   Tue, Mar 03, 2009

Don Rickles is a legend in the comedy world as well as the gaming world. He has been performing in Las Vegas for more than 40 years, and he is a constant draw, bringing in a mix of young and old alike.

From the time he got his start—the legendary story of meeting Frank Sinatra at the Fontainebleau in Florida and telling him “I just saw your movie, The Pride and the Passion, and I want to tell you the cannon’s acting was great,” as well as “Make yourself at home, Frank. Hit somebody.”—he has never pulled any punches, making fun of anyone and anything.

It’s caused some people to classify him as an insult comic, but that isn’t entirely accurate. Instead, his nickname of Mr. Warmth is definitely more fitting.

When you first started performing in Las Vegas, the city truly was an entertainment mecca with performers like yourself, Frank Sinatra and Wayne Newton. How has that scene changed in the last 40 years?

There are not as many personalities that they’re using, it’s mostly big productions. From my day, the only difference was you had one kind of boss—they say mob but it wasn’t, it was gamblers that ran the place—so you had more of a personal relationship. Today it’s big corporate stuff so you don’t have the same one-on-one, “Hello, Don. How are you feeling?” kind of relationship. As time marches on, everybody has a different department but they still treat you good. The only difference is that at one time if you said you wanted to have a cocktail party, you just called the boss and he said fine. Today you have to get two rubber stamps.

It used to be that people got dressed up when they were going to see a show. These days, people wear flip-flops and shorts. Does that bother you?

No. That’s what pays the rent. Some of these guys in the flip-flops drop $100,000 in the casino playing keno or whatever the hell they play.

Times have changed. In my days, it was kind of nice. In Florida they came in in fur coats and jackets and ties. It was the same thing in Vegas. But, as time marched on, another generation moved up and they came in and dressed the way they feel and spent a lot of money and that’s all the casino is really interested in. I imagine if you came in in your underwear, that would be pushing it.

Have you found the PC movement has put any limits on what you feel comfortable saying on stage?

I’ve been doing this for almost 50 years now and I’m still hanging in there. I don’t sit around and worry about what this one thinks or what that one thinks. All I know is that I’ve been coming back to Vegas for 45 years so I’m doing something right. They show up to see me and I’ve never been mean spirited and as far as politically incorrect, I do what I do, but I do it in the sense that people enjoy it.

Is there any subject that is off limits?

I don’t know. It’s according to who is in the audience. If the pope came in, might make a crack at him. I’ve had people who have lost an arm or a leg or something, and if they’re good sports I will have a little bit of fun with them. I have no fear about different people. Anybody who comes to see me is not somebody who is either Hitler’s son or has a brain tumor and is going to die in 20 minutes.

And people know that if they’re going to see Don Rickles, everyone in the audience is fair game.

Absolutely.

The story about your first interaction with Frank Sinatra has been told a number of times, and it makes it sound like you were really taking a big risk talking to the Chairman like you did. Were you concerned he would take it the wrong way?

I knew Frank Sinatra’s reputation and I knew that he knew of me, whatever I do I believe in, and I knew it was funny, and in my heart and soul I knew he would laugh. So I did it and the joke came around the world. I think Eskimos in Alaska are talking about it. The place I did it keeps changing—I’ve heard Ethiopia for crying out loud. But it became a classic kind of remark for him and we were friends and it was great.

You’ve never pulled any punches. Has anyone taken something you said the wrong way?

I’m sure. I always say when you stand on the stage and you sell yourself you’re not going to please everybody. You could be the funniest guy in the world but if they don’t like your personality, you’re dead. They’re not going to respond as well. You can’t please everyone is the name of the game. Even Bob Hope, God rest his soul, I’m sure some people—very few people—said they don’t like Bob Hope. It’s not because he wasn’t a great man, but maybe it just didn’t appeal to them. I use Bob as an example because he was such a giant. Even Frank Sinatra, there are people who could find him rude or something like that. That’s the way it is when you sell yourself.

What has been the key to your longevity?

I think being different. I tell young people if they ever ask me—and I don’t sit in judgement of anybody—if you’re different, I think it’s a big help. I was always different and went through a great deal of rejection when I was a young man. But I kept at it and kept building on it and believed in it. There were a lot of setbacks in my career when I first started doing what I do, but I realized it was part of my personality and I belong on stage and it belongs with me. I continued and thank God I’m successful.

There is a romantic vision of Las Vegas in the ‘50s and ‘60s. Do you think Las Vegas is as glamourous as it used to be?

Definitely so. In my beginning it was great fun but it was strictly for gamblers. Today you’ve got families and big organizations. We didn’t have that in those days. We relied on the gamblers. They were great; it was a great time. But it is different today. You have all these big casinos, and you have these situations for children, playgrounds for them to have fun in and, you know, the care centers for the kids while the mother and father go see shows. It’s so modern; it’s really a big difference.

My day, the so-called mob-controlled days were wonderful because they treated acts royally. Today we are treated very nicely, but we don’t have that one-on-one relationship. It’s apples and oranges. Today, Vegas is at the top of its game. In the days of the so-called gamblers of my time, it was at the top of its game because we knew of nothing else. For that time it was really damn good.

Don Rickles plays the Orleans Showroom March 20-22 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $82.50, $99 and $110.

By Joe Reid   Tue, Mar 03, 2009

When you’re working to improve your health, you need a plan based on solid information, not supposition, fads or late-night infomercial claims. Here are seven prevalent myths, and the truth behind each one.

1. No pain, no gain.

There’s a difference between discomfort and pain; the latter is a surefire way to stay out of the gym. While you must push beyond your comfort zone for optimum results and to avoid the plateau effect, there should not be any pain. Slow and steady will win the race. A certified personal trainer can show you how to maximize results while minimizing risk of injury.

2. To lose weight, banish carbohydrates.

Your brain needs 120 grams of carbs a day, minimum, to function well. But all carbs are not the same. Look for food with whole grains (good carbs) rather than processed sugars (bad carbs). As a general rule, the closer a food is to its natural state, the better it is for you.

3. Some foods (celery, grapefruit) burn calories.

There are no magic foods, but some are better fuel. Celery, grapefruit and other foods with high water content can help manage weight because they tend to fill you without adding lots of calories. Eat them before a meal and you may eat less during the meal, leading to reduced calorie intake.

4. Working out on an empty stomach burns more fat.

It is always a good idea to have something to eat about 1.5 to 2 hours before beginning a workout. Without food to burn for energy, your body will metabolize both fat and muscle to keep you going.

5. Diet snack bars are better than other sweets.

The sugar content and calories in some supposedly “healthy” bars is often very high—sometimes higher than a candy bar! Read labels carefully. An apple with peanut butter is better for you, even compared to the bars with less sugar and calories. Keep in mind that diet bars sometimes contain sugar substitutes, which aren’t good for you.

6. Spot train to reduce belly fat or improve other problem areas.

Let’s get this straight once and for all: The only way to lose weight is to burn more calories than you take in. Just as you have no way of controlling where your body stores fat, you have no way of controlling which areas it will target to burn fat, either.

7.Low-fat foods are healthier as a rule.

Again, low-fat doesn’t always mean low-calorie. Beware of high sugar content in low-fat cookies, muffins and such. And keep in mind that the fat in processed baked goods and margarine (saturated and poly-unsaturated) is far worse for your body than the unsaturated fat in nuts and olives.

By Casino Connection Staff   Tue, Mar 03, 2009

Mike Allgeier experienced more of Vegas than most. The inner workings of El Cortez, Bally’s and Caesars Palace gave him small-, medium- and major-market insight. Thirty years of Las Vegas helped him bridge the eras of wise guys, corporate takeovers, a booming population and the revolutionized Strip. No wonder he was tapped last year to become general manager of Buffalo Thunder Casino in Santa Fe, New Mexico. It’s a Las Vegas-style casino with open spaces that bring back memories of his first gaming days.

“All properties are run similarly in the sense that everybody looks at the bottom line,” Allgeier said. “But the difference is that if you build one for $60 million and you have another one for $500 million, the interest on that payment puts intense pressure on you to increase cash flow.”

The age of expansion also shows the contrast between classic original operators and modern-day bean counters.

“The old-timers are dying off, but they brought such a great insight to the business,” said Allgeier, who broke into the business as an El Cortez dealer in the 1970s. “It was not so much their management style, which may have been a little rough, but their knowledge of the games that was tremendous, especially in the area of finding out who was cheating the casinos. They gave me a lot of mentoring. One of them liked the fact that I listened to everything he said, which to him was rare for a kid.”

Allgeier listened, learned and later went through a metamorphosis at Bally’s. As a pit manager, he actually had to guide his workforce through the strains of bankruptcy in the early 1990s. The casino remained open, but times were bleak.

“It becomes one of the best things for you,” the New York native said. “It teaches you how to spend money. We had to cut back on marketing expenses, on operations, and we had to make things last longer. We cut back contributions to 401(k) plans, but at the same time, instead of laying people off, we found a way to generate more customers and keep people working.”

Allgeier practiced a form of Russian roulette to maintain employment ranks. A squeeze here, a saved shift there—it all added up.

“If you look around and see a couple dead games, that’s one thing, but if you see five of them, that’s a concern,” he said. “You would tell somebody that if they were sick, or if they wanted a couple days, to go ahead and take them. You might even force people to take a day off now and then, but you rotate it, so it doesn’t fall on the same person all the time. As a result, you avoid laying people off. I’d rather stretch the process out over six days and keep somebody working than have to make a cut.”

Leadership, he discovered, meant treating the company’s financial future like it was his own. It also centered upon enforcing company policy, no matter what.

“A box person calls in sick one day,” he said, laughing now. “Says he won’t be in, but now we’re watching the basketball game from Phoenix on the big screen and there he is—at the game!—right on television. He comes back a couple of days later, and they suspended him. Then he objects. Now I had to go to the casino manager with this and ask him to define ‘sick.’ The guy had followed our regulations; he had called in sick, and we’d gotten somebody on the shift. It was his bad fortune that he went to the basketball game. The manager used a few choice words for me... but in our rules, he was protected. They overturned the suspension.”

Allgeier discovered that improvement occurred in baby steps, multiplied over long periods of time.

“If you want to get taller, put one piece of paper in your shoe every day for six months and watch how you grow,” he said. “A little bit at a time makes a big difference. For instance, all the games are mathematical equations. If a dealer is getting 20 hands per hour, you will make a lot more over time if you can get that to 30. Maybe the person just has to hustle more between hands. Holding people accountable and making them more efficient is a way both to increase the efficiency of the casino and let their toke rates go up. Everybody wins.”

By the time he left Bally’s, Allgeier was a casino administrator. He became vice president of gaming operations both at the Hilton and at Caesars. After leaving in 2001, he consulted for several gaming properties before Buffalo Thunder beckoned in 2007.

By Casino Connection Staff   Tue, Mar 03, 2009

Antonio Tarver lost handily to Chad Dawson in their 2008 title bout, but Tarver has done well in rematches. He knocked out Roy Jones Jr. and won a decision over Glen Johnson in return bouts.

This rematch could be more difficult, however. Dawson is a strong boxer in his prime. The March 14 rematch at the Palms marks the first significant boxing event this year in Las Vegas.

By Casino Connection Staff   Tue, Mar 03, 2009

The Wranglers sit in the ECHL’s most demanding travel section, evidenced by a season-making 10-game road trip. It took them from Idaho to Phoenix to Stockton to Utah, and then on to Alaska, bridging mid-February and March.

After playing three games in Alaska March 6-8, the Wranglers return to the Orleans Arena for a strong March schedule. They conclude a seven-game run by hosting Alaska March 21, 24 and 27. Idaho comes in March 13 and 14, while Phoenix invades on March 17 and Ontario comes in March 20. This is a make-or-break slate of games that could determine whether the Wranglers make the playoffs.

By Casino Connection Staff   Tue, Mar 03, 2009

Someone always forecasts the improbable, and last year that meant collecting a 60-1 payout for anyone who had Tampa Bay winning the American League pennant (in the process, the Rays also shattered their over-under win total of 75).

Once again, big media markets have impacted the pre-season odds. Action on the underachieving Mets (5-1) and Cubs (3-1) allowed the World Series champion Phillies to linger at 4-1. As spring training began, they were also an attractive 17/2 choice to repeat.

Wager futures early—the season starts April 6—and reconsider at the trading deadline. These bets always favor the savvy player. No futures odds maker can predict whether a team will freeze up in the short divisional series, as the Cubbies did last season against the Dodgers.

Tampa Bay earned a respectable 13/2 probability for winning the American League pennant. The Yankees, now sporting C.C. Sabathia, became a 7-5 no-fun wager. But the A-Rod steroids distraction makes them appealing to bet against.

Favor teams with strong eighth-inning setup men. An ace closer is worthless if he can’t get the ball. Will Francisco Rodriguez be another Mets bust?

And don’t forget the World Baseball Classic March 5-23. Anyone other than the United States or Dominican Republic (teams like Cuba or Puerto Rico) pays handsomely.

By Dave Bontempo   Tue, Mar 03, 2009

Boxing, baseball and hockey round out a strong lineup of money-making opportunities, complementing the action of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.

The tournament starts March 19, with 48 games being played over just a four-day stretch. Here are some important factors to take into consideration before stepping to the window:

•   Always respect your gut instinct.

•    The top-seeded teams generally win in the opening rounds. No top-ranked team has ever lost to a No. 16, although Michigan had to survive an overtime scare from Murray State in 1990. Only four No. 2 teams have ever lost to a No. 15; the No. 3 seeds win 84 percent of the time; and No. 4 seeds win 82 percent of the time. Underdog opportunities don’t present themselves until you get to the No. 5 to No. 12 matchups, in which one in three underdogs prevail. It only gets better when you add the No. 10 seeds (which win 38 percent of the time) and No. 9 seeds, which upset the No. 8 seed 54 percent of the time.

•  Run-and-gun teams often lose in the tournament. Championship teams show previous experience in nail-biting games. Good teams shorten the game by protecting the ball, squeezing the clock and getting to the foul line late in close contests. Teams used to blowing opponents out, by contrast, often fire panicky three-point bricks in the final minutes once they fall behind, especially with the season on the line. Remember the pressure facing these athletes, many of whom recently graduated from high school.

•  Take a pre-tournament flier. In early February, bodog.com had predictable odds for season-long frontrunners: UConn was 13-2, Oklahoma was 15-2 and North Carolina was an underlay at 5-2. Louisville was 8-1 (fair enough), but Xavier, No. 9 in the nation, was a 70-1 long shot. Granted, the Atlantic 10 hasn’t won a championship, but the avalanche of respectable teams ensures that some club will be overlooked.

•  Look to recent trends rather than long-range history. Yes, UCLA has the most titles (11), but they haven’t won anything since 1995. Champions in the new millennium include Duke, Maryland, Syracuse, UConn, North Carolina, Florida (twice) and Kansas. But Florida and Ohio State have also established dubious tournament history. Despite being 2007 finalists, they did not even make the tournament last year.

•  Lastly, for the hardcore player, there is also a women’s tournament.

By David Schwartz   Tue, Mar 03, 2009

In 1937, Bill Harrah, who’d previously run a bingo-like game in Venice Beach, California, relocated to Reno and opened Harrah’s Heart Tango, a small bingo club.

His first venture into Nevada gaming was a failure—Harrah realized that he had a lousy location, though, and continued to try to find a niche in the competitive Depression-era Reno bingo market.  He eventually was able to find a better location—Virginia Street—where he could open Harrah’s Bingo.

The rest, as they say, is history. Harrah’s attention to customer service differentiated him from the rest of the business, which was still dominated by a carnival “hello stranger, goodbye sucker” mentality. Harrah, on the other hand, believed that if you showed customers respect and provided a clean, friendly place for them to gamble, you’d be far more successful than joints built on the premise that “there’s a sucker born every minute.” Harrah’s Bingo quickly drew hordes of loyal customers.

In 1946, Harrah decided to branch out. He opened Harrah’s Club, a small casino dominated by slot machines.  As with his bingo hall, he opted to emphasize customer service.  He demanded consistency from his employees—customers were to have a great time, every time they walked through the door.  

Standardizing casino customer service was then a novel idea, and Harrah’s Club prospered. Adding a casino in Lake Tahoe, Bill Harrah could now boast that he commanded not just a gambling hall, but a casino empire.

Today that empire is much larger, but its managers should never forget their company’s roots—the simple game of bingo and an untiring devotion to customer satisfaction. Bill Harrah taught many lessons that are still valid, particularly in today’s challenging economic climate.

SOURCE: Harrah’s Collection, UNLV Special Collections

David G. Schwartz (www.dieiscast.com), is the Director of the Center for Gaming Research at the University of Nevada Las Vegas.  He is the author of  Roll the Bones: The History of Gambling.

By Caitlin McGarry   Tue, Mar 03, 2009

For entrees with a side serving of Southern soul, the House of Blues is a locals’ favorite. Many cities have an HOB branch, but those partial to the Vegas version insist that both the music and meals are better here.

Dining at the House of Blues is perfect for one of those nights when you want to relax and enjoy good food, drinks and music, all in the same venue. Located just next to the actual House of Blues, the chain eatery at the Mandalay Bay is everything you’d expect of a Creole-inspired rock ‘n’ roll restaurant.

If there’s a bit of a wait (which there always is during dinnertime at a Strip establishment), perusing the gift shop just inside the entrance provides plenty of amusement. Upon entering the main dining room, you can’t help but notice the restaurant is build around a giant shade tree, its roots disappearing beneath the floorboards. The House of Blues’ design aesthetic combines New Orleans sweetness with retro funk—a surprisingly winning combination.

The menu at House of Blues accurately reflects the eatery’s ambiance. Appetizers include down-home favorites like catfish nuggets and crispy sweet potato fries (order both; you won’t regret it), providing a perfect segue to the main dishes, the names of which seem directly lifted from a Louisiana cookbook.

From classics like jambalaya, gumbo and barbeque ribs to house specialties like the pulled pork sandwich with BBQ sauce and the shrimp po boy with spicy tarter sauce and coleslaw, the restaurant caters to every appetite with a distinctly Southern flair. Sides include mashed potatoes, asparagus and rosemary cornbread with maple butter.

The theme may seem heavy-handed at times, but the food is consistently flavorful, not to mention the heaping portions. And if you’re lucky, while you’re eating, listen closely: You may be able to hear strains from the sound check next door. If the music catches your ear, use your receipt to skip to the front of the line and enjoy a concert at one of the city’s best rock venues.

If gospel music is more your thing, the House of Blues hosts one of the most unique dining events in town. On Sunday mornings, diners have the opportunity to experience the Gospel Brunch. Half buffet, half choir concert, the Gospel Brunch takes place at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. each Sunday. For $39, patrons can choose from a variety of Southern breakfast staples—fried chicken and waffles, biscuits and gravy and cheesy grits among the best selections.

The House of Blues is one of the rare restaurants on the Strip that is casual without being in a food court and tasty without being overpriced. The average entrée price is $15, which is perfect for a nice dinner out without breaking the bank.

For great service and Southern cuisine, stop by House of Blues on your way to the next concert. You won’t regret it.

3950 S. Las Vegas Blvd.

Hours:

Sunday-Thursday

7:30 a.m. to midnight

Friday-Saturday

7:30 a.m. to 1 a.m.

702-632-7607

Thu, Feb 26, 2009

There has been little new construction in the Laughlin area, which puts the Aquarius Casino Resort, and newly named General Manager Paul Hobson, in a strong position.

Hobson got his start in the gaming world at Caesars in Lake Tahoe as a financial analyst, where he spent four years as he worked his way up to manager of financial planning. From that point, he transferred to Caesars Palace in Las Vegas before taking a position with Primadonna Resorts, which at the time owned the three casinos in Primm. After 10 years in Primm, he is now heading to Laughlin.

American Casino Entertainment Properties recently completed an overhaul of the former Flamingo Laughlin. The renovation included everything from the casino carpeting to a revamping of almost 2,000 hotel rooms.

While the city faces the same struggles as the rest of the nation, Hobson sees several promising signs for the Aquarius, as well as Laughlin itself, including better entertainment, better accommodations and a better overall product along Casino Drive.

Hobson recently spoke with Casino Connection Publisher Roger Gros and Managing Editor Greg Jones, at the sister property, Stratosphere, to discuss what is happening in Laughlin.

Casino Connection: Do you see any similarities in the Laughlin market and the market in Primm, in that you’re not so much competing with Las Vegas, but in a way, you’re sort of overshadowed by Las Vegas?

Hobson: There’s definitely a lot of similarities between the two. In the trying times that we’re in right now, we compete with Las Vegas for the same guests. I was talking to a Las Vegas friend the other day, and we were talking about minutiae of being down in Laughlin, and he said, “Is Laughlin in as bad a shape as Las Vegas?” I said, “We must be, because you’re trying to steal all my players.”

So I think it’s fairly global; I think that Las Vegas has certainly become an appealing alternative to some guests that they might not have looked at before. And those are the people that were coming to Laughlin and Primm.

That being said, both of those markets, and particularly Laughlin, has a dynamic going for it—a different vibe—than Las Vegas. It’s a more casual, laid-back atmosphere. I think that the river itself is a nice attraction that people are looking for. Its more manageable size and scale, people don’t feel like they’re lost in the mix. There’s a lot more individuality there.

Is there anything you picked up in Primm that you think you can apply in Laughlin?

Another way they’re alike is that they were impacted early on by the development of Indian gaming in Southern California. My experience in Primm was operating lean-and-mean for a long time. I think Las Vegas is just learning that lesson now. I think that Laughlin learned that lesson over the course of the last decade. So there’s certain efficient ways of running that business and executing that model that is common between the two. It comes down to efficiency, but being able to deliver on the promise that you’re making to the guest.

The Arizona casinos were always a challenge for Laughlin when they first started.  Are you over that hump now? Do you have a steady base of Arizona players, or has that market been cut off?

One of the first things that I did when I got to Laughlin was to walk the properties and walk through the parking lots to see where the cars were from. It’s actually a pretty fair mix between California, Nevada and Arizona.

I would say that California would be the primary market. Arizona certainly, too, is very close in terms of where the customers are coming from. And then the locals from Nevada. I think a lot of those Arizona plates are coming from Bullhead City, so there is a local component to it as well.

But if you look at our outer markets, Phoenix is still a strong market for us where we focus a lot of our marketing and advertising.

There hasn’t been any new casino construction in Laughlin, but prior to your arrival, they completed the pretty extensive renovation of the Aquarius. What sort of edge does that give you in marketing the property over the competition?

Well, we do call it the New Aquarius. I think that it is a new property in the market; when American Casino and Entertainment Properties bought it in May 2006, it was branded Flamingo. And unbranding it was a convenient jumping off point for rebranding it Aquarius.

So, what we have is a really outstanding casino product with very fresh equipment, cool lighting features, nice casino bars, great seating and that outside lighting element that you don’t see in a lot of casinos. It opens up to the river. Very comfortable, but yet accessible, casual atmosphere. We finished remodeling all 1,907 rooms in December; we’re going for an accessible, luxurious experience. So we got flat-screen TVs; we have granite countertops; we got comfortable furniture; pillow-top mattresses: just a really nice feel.

Right now we’re working on the swimming pool, which happens to be on the roof of the facility. It’s kind of a neat feature overlooking the river. We’re bringing that up to the standards that we’ve established in the casino and in the rooms to really create Laughlin’s only resort experience.

Have you been able to expand your market? I know they were talking about getting kind of a younger crowd. I don’t know if the younger crowd has arrived in Laughlin.

You see seasonally a lot of difference between the clientele. Over the winter, we have a lot of snow birds, retired folks that are spending the winter in Laughlin. And that’s a great customer base for us. In the summertime we’ll move into more of the boaters, the people that are there for the river, for the lake, and that’s a younger group. Certainly they’ll feel comfortable in our property as well. We have a Splash Cabaret with live music and dancing, that type of thing. We’re really going to try to promote that as sort of a club environment and atmosphere.

To your point, we do need to start developing that next generation of customer that will be comfortable in Laughlin and will want to come there for the various attractions that we have.

As I recall, they were offering some B-level entertainment—not the top-of-the-line, but still enough that it would attract baby-boomers and the younger generation.

We’ll certainly take our shots where we can. We have a 3,500-seat outdoor arena, which limits the seasons that we can use it. It’s a springtime, fall-time type of a deal for Laughlin.

The first show we have coming up this season is Montgomery Gentry, which is a big country act, which we expect to do very well with. That’s not a C-level act; it’s up there.

We’ll take the opportunities where we find them. There’s obviously a lot of variety in the entertainment that’s accessible to our customers. We need to look for acts that make sense for our venue for the season and for our guests. We typically do pretty well with country.

How about the city-wide events? Are they still planning those type of things through the tourism bureau? Certainly the River Run and some of the other things that they’ve done have been big attractions.

Yep, we sure do, we get together as a group. The general managers and the marketing directors of the casinos down there get together to brainstorm ideas for various events.

There’s some funding available from LVCVA, and we try deploy those community-wide to have the greatest impact. It is, just like everything else, getting to be a tougher sell on certain weekends, on certain events. But that is an important part of what we do down there: marketing Laughlin in its entirety as a destination.

When times are tough, sometimes employees are asked to deliver the same level of customer service, but there are sometimes less people around to do that, which doesn’t always lead to the happiest group of employees. How do you keep everyone on the same page and focused on the overall mission of delivering the service that people are expecting?

Well, I think that that is a dynamic that can come about if the employees aren’t engaged. If they don’t understand what it is that we’re trying to achieve and why we’re trying to achieve it, there might be a little of disenfranchisement on their part.

I haven’t seen that at all at the Aquarius. The employees are very engaged and engaging when you walk across our casino floor. The people who are working are making eye contact with you, they’re saying hello, they’re giving you a nice, comfortable feel. They understand that there are fewer customers in the market right now and that makes each customer that comes through a little bit more precious, a little bit more valuable.

I’m very happy with the way that everybody is responding in these difficult times, from the line staff to the management: looking for ways to do more with a little bit less. Honestly, I have more problems with employee issues when they’re not busy than when they are. They seem to be happiest when they’re busy. For a lot of the positions, if you’re staffed well, their toke rate is where it should be and that makes the people who are there happy.

The employees in Laughlin are like the employees down South; they have kind of a natural friendliness to them. And at Aquarius, you’ve got a lot of the old Flamingo employees, going back for many, many years in that property.

Absolutely. I think a lot of that has to do with processes, and not necessarily being process-driven, but being people-driven. I think that, by and large, they’re more comfortable dealing with folks on an individual level than dealing with tasks that they have been assigned to accomplish.

Most periods they can take the time to have a bit of a conversation with somebody they recognize on the slot floor, or when somebody comes up to the table game, and it’s somebody that you recognize—a dealer who actually greets them by name, that type of dynamic. It’s partially because of the community that we’re in, with a lot of the play coming from Laughlin and Bullhead City. The people that are on the other side of the table are their neighbors, and they treat them like that. And the people that are coming from the outside of the market get treated like their neighbors, too. So, it’s definitely a nice dynamic.

By Casino Connection Staff   Thu, Feb 26, 2009

The gaming industry had low expectations of President Barack Obama’s massive stimulus bill last month. After all, the bill contained a provision that prohibited any funding to companies involved in gambling. And Obama’s distaste for companies that had received federal bailout money holding meetings in Las Vegas actually resulted in several canceled gatherings in Sin City.

But provisions that reduced the tax burden on companies that sought to relieve some of their debt actually worked out in favor of many gaming companies laboring under huge debt loads.

Several versions of language modifying the discharge of indebtedness rules were considered at various times during the drafting of the bill. The measure centers on companies buying back debt at a lower rate than initially subscribed. For example, bonds that originally sold at $100 are now selling for $70. By buying back that debt, a company would realize a theoretical gain of $30. Prior to passage of the stimulus bill, the tax on that income was due in the first tax year following the transaction. According to proposals discussed as part of the stimulus bill, however, companies would not have to pay the tax for a number of years and would then have the tax spread out over another term of years.

The House-passed version contained no such measure, and the Senate-passed bill would only have permitted debt repurchased with cash to qualify for the deferment. This would not greatly have benefited the casino industry since most gaming companies have little free cash.

House and Senate conferees, at the urging of the Nevada delegation, improved the Senate language dramatically during the conference.  The compromise language included in the final bill allows for debt for debt exchanges, not just cash buybacks.  

It was all the industry had hoped. Companies that refinance their debt are granted a five-year exemption from paying taxes on the income gained, and then can spread the tax burden over an additional five years.

“This is a real win for our industry,” said Frank J. Fahrenkopf, the president and CEO of the American Gaming Association. “These tax incentives add up to billions in savings for our companies, allowing us to better deliver on our promises to our customers, shareholders and the communities where we operate.  We still have a long way to go to pull out of this recession, but this is a good step forward.”

There is some question about how much of an impact the bill will have because of the type of debt most casino companies hold. The bill says that debt will only qualify “in connection with the conduct of a trade or business by such person.” That provision prevents debt that is issued by a private equity partnership from qualifying for the tax break.

But the impact may be substantial because the debt that private equity firms use to acquire companies is typically “bootstrapped”—borrowing is done by the company being acquired, and equity from the private-equity partnership helps complete the deal, therefore qualifying for the tax savings.

Also included in the bill is a bonus depreciation provision, which permits companies to deduct 50 percent of the value of new equipment purchases or upgrades in the first year. This provision is expected to benefit slot manufacturers as well as operators, who will now have another incentive to upgrade existing equipment.

A carve-out was included in the appropriations part of the stimulus bill, prohibiting the use of appropriated funds for a “casino or other gambling establishment, aquarium, zoo, golf course, swimming pool, stadium, community park, theater, art center and highway beautification project.” This provision does not impact the ability of the gaming industry to take advantage of the tax benefits included in the bill.

By Casino Connection Staff   Thu, Feb 26, 2009

A total of $81.5 million was wagered on the Super Bowl, and Nevada’s sports books won a combined $6.68 million as a result.

The amount bet on the game was the lowest it has been in five years. Still, the books did better than they did in 2008 when they lost $2.6 million on the game.

Jay Kornegay, executive director of the race and sports book at the Las Vegas Hilton, told the Associated Press he expected about $90 million in wagers.

“That’s a huge drop,” Kornegay said. “Going into the weekend...we were a little concerned. By midmorning Sunday, we were pleasantly surprised by the volume that we saw coming through the windows.”

Last year, $92 million was wagered on the Super Bowl. The record in Nevada was the 2006 game, when $94.5 million was bet.

By Casino Connection Staff   Thu, Feb 26, 2009

Wynn Resorts announced a cost-cutting program that included shortened work weeks, reduced salaries, the elimination of bonuses and the suspension of the company match to employee 401(k) plans.

While corporate-level executives have already taken a pay cut, other salaried employees will see their pay drop 10 percent to 15 percent.

All together, the moves are expected to save the company up to $100 million a year.

Steve Wynn said the reductions were the alternative to large-scale layoffs.

“Everybody makes a little less money, but everybody keeps their job,” he said. “We don’t want anybody on unemployment here—or without insurance.”

Wynn’s announcement came during a conference call, during which he also said that his company has money to burn. Profits are down, but Wynn Resorts still has $1.1 billion in cash on hand and only $375 million in loans coming due over the next couple years.

By Casino Connection Staff   Thu, Feb 26, 2009

It takes just a few seconds to get from the base of the Stratosphere Tower to the observation deck some 1,000 feet above using high-speed elevators. It takes just a little more than seven minutes to climb to the top using the stairs—for the kind of athlete who regularly participates in stair-climbing events. For everyone else, it was somewhere around 10 minutes.

It’s a pretty impressive feat when you think about it: climbing almost 100 feet per minute for 10 or 12 minutes when there is a perfectly servicable elevator just a few feet away. But the reason people were running up the stairs was more than just to show that they could do it—and maybe make us couch potatoes feel a little worse about ourselves—it was to raise money for the American Lung Association.

There were some 400 climbers for the first day of the event, and on the second day the top 50 climbers from the previous day ran again.

When everything was done, the event raised more than $64,000 that will fund lung health research, education and advocacy in Southern Nevada.

By Casino Connection Staff   Thu, Feb 26, 2009

Last month, boyd gaming made an unsolicited offer to acquire parts of Station Casinos.

Whether the Boyd offer turns out to be a lifeline or a dead weight, Station now has a decision to make. Boyd is offering $950 million for seven of the 14 Station Casinos: Green Valley Ranch (above), Aliante Station, Texas Station, the Wild Wild West and the two Fiesta properties in Las Vegas and Henderson. In a letter to Station Chairman and CEO Frank Fertitta III, Boyd Chairman Bill Boyd and CEO Keith Smith said they would be willing to consider purchasing other assets of Station Casinos as well.

Boyd plans to use part of the $2 billion it has in a revolving credit line that it had arranged for the construction of the now-delayed Echelon project on the Las Vegas Strip.

The deal would be complicated by the fact that the Greenspun Group is part owner of both Green Valley Ranch and Aliante Station.

Station Casinos released a statement on the Boyd offer saying it plans to continue “to work with our lenders and bondholders to pursue our previously proposed plan of reorganization, but we will evaluate the terms of Boyd Gaming’s proposal.”

Station is asking its bondholders to approve a prepackaged bankruptcy plan that would see the company emerge from bankruptcy protection by the summer.

Station recently missed two payments of $14.6 million and $15.2 million. On February 3, the company submitted a second bankruptcy plan to its bondholders, who rejected an initial plan late last year.

The plan allows the company to continue operating as normal by requiring executives Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta—along with private equity partner Colony Capital—to contribute $244 million in cash to the company. Bondholders have until March 2 to approve the offer.

By Casino Connection Staff   Thu, Feb 26, 2009

Officials in Clark County ordered MGM Mirage to bring in an expert to recheck all the work done on the buildings at CityCenter, after work by a previous inspection firm proved to be essentially worthless.

Converse Consultants failed to discover errors in 15 of the 22 stories finished at the Harmon. In its reports, Converse noted that all the work since proven faulty was “in substantial compliance” with the approved building plans.

“There were 62 reports that later proved to be incorrect,” Phil Rosenquist, an assistant county manager, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Converse also had contracts to inspect portions of CityCenter’s Mandarin, Veer and Vdara towers.

The errors at Harmon consisted of incorrectly placing reinforcing steel in the concrete. The errors threatened the structural integrity of the buildings, particularly in the face of horizontal stresses such as high winds.

In addition to requesting MGM Mirage reexamine all the other buildings at CityCenter, the county has filed a complaint with the state Board of Engineers and Land Surveyors against Converse. The county also filed complaints with the state Contractors Board against Perini Building Co., the general contractor on the project, and Pacific Coast Steel, the subcontractor accused of doing the faulty work.

Perini is disputing the claim that it was construction problems that led to the faulty installation of the rebar.

In a statement, company President Craig Shaw said Perini “stands by its opinion that design conflicts contributed to the Harmon Hotel structural issues and that portions of the structural drawings, as designed and permitted, contained elements of reinforcing steel that could not be installed as drawn.”

Shaw said Perini and Pacific Coast Steel tried to resolve the problems by “modifying the placement of the reinforcing steel, as it was installed.”

The county said the design plans it approved were accurate. “If they had followed the plans, there would not have been an issue,” county spokesman Dan Kulin said Friday. “The subcontractor did not follow the approved plans.”

By Casino Connection Staff   Thu, Feb 26, 2009

The joining of unite, a union of textile and apparel workers, and HERE, the gaming industry’s dominant union, which includes powerful locals in Las Vegas and Atlantic City, in 2004 seemed to be a match made in heaven. The merger blended two disparate groups and built a huge influence pool in Washington. The leaders of the two unions, Bruce Raynor (UNITE) and John Wilhelm (HERE) are highly respected in the halls of Congress and give the combined organization a great deal of clout.

But heaven can now wait. Raynor has filed suit against Wilhelm, charging him with attempting to seize control of the international union. When the two unions merged in 2004, the two said they had arranged a power-sharing structure—as co-presidents—that would prevent either side from becoming too dominant.

Raynor’s suit charges that Wilhelm supporters at an executive committee meeting in January forced votes on internal administrative and spending measures that should have been addressed by the two co-presidents.

In February, Wilhelm supporters fought off an attempt by Raynor to split the union into its original components. Because HERE members make up more than 60 percent of the union, it’s unlikely that Raynor can prevail.

But it all should be decided in June when the union holds its once-every-five-years convention. The confrontation should be heated.

By Casino Connection Staff   Thu, Feb 26, 2009

El Cortez completed its $7 million renovation of the old Ogden House and is reopening the property as a boutique hotel called the Cabana Suites.

The new approach to the property features a state-of-the-art fitness center and upscale boutique-style rooms with 42-inch flat-screen televisions and custom-designed furniture.

“It’s part of a transition to a new attitude throughout the area,” said Alex Epstein, project coordinator of the Cabana Suites. “Until you see it for yourself, you won’t know what to expect.”

As part of the new attitude, the Cabana Suites will be more artistic, drawing on inspiration from the nearby arts district. Artwork from local artists will be displayed throughout the property.

“There are a lot of exciting changes happening Downtown, and we want to be apart of that,” Epstein said.

Another component of the expansion will include a new pool that will be coming soon.

Epstein said the Cabana Suites project will add value to the El Cortez, and hopefully attract more people to stay Downtown, particularly those who are design-savvy.

“Downtown and Fremont Street and Fremont East are all getting better and better,” Epstein said. “We want to take advantage of that.”

Thu, Feb 26, 2009

Everyone knows that service is one of the most important things that separates a casino, a hotel or a restaurant apart from the competition. There are obviously style differences, differences in design or in what is on the menu, but at the end of the day, it is customer service that really makes a difference.

In talking about what will set his new casino apart from others in Las Vegas, Anthony Marnell III focused on the service his team members will provide. He is proud of how the building looks, he likes the view and the dining options it offers, but nothing is as important as making people feel comfortable and important when they are on-site.

Bill Paulos and Bill Wortman both acknowledged before the opening of the Eastside Cannery that their team members are the most important part of that property. And before Aliante Station opened, General Manager Joe Hasson and Assistant General Manager Carol Thompson said very similar things about how their team members really set the tone for the property. Everyone acknowledges that their team members are the ones who really make a casino, or any business for that matter, come to life.

It is exactly the same at any other customer-oriented business, and yet that message seems to be lost these days. I don’t know if people are being forced to work longer hours, if they’re being asked to handle more tables, if they’re disgruntled about their pay or just plain bad at their jobs, but I have recently enjoyed such terrible service at two different restaurants that I just walked out. (Neither of these restaurants were in any way associated with casinos outside of having the mandatory video poker machines ringing the bar).

Both times I walked out because my 10-minute rule was violated. I have a theory that it should not take any more than 10 minutes for someone who is employed by the business I am trying to support to come and either bring me a menu, take a drink order or in some small way acknowledge that I am there. The first time, after being seated by a hostess, no one came to the table and I didn’t see a single server on the floor. The second time, I saw a group of people standing around joking with each other. We even made eye contact, but no one came over to the table. I don’t know if they were bussers and it wasn’t technically their job, or if they were servers in a different section and it wasn’t their job or, for whatever reason, they thought it wasn’t their job. They were wrong. Customer service is everyone’s job. And it is more important now than it ever has been to realize that every customer has a choice to take their money elsewhere. Letting someone walk out the door is effectively giving up money. It might mean you get fewer tips, and it might mean in short order that you don’t have a job.

A couple years ago, there were two customers lined up to take the place of every one customer who walked out upset. It is not like that anymore. And while the above situations happened in non-casino restaurants, the lessons hold true for anyone with any sort of a service job. And, in case you are unaware, just about every job is a service job.

Recently I was at Sierra Gold and was starting to watch the time on my phone, noting that it had been about seven minutes since I sat down, and no one had stopped by. A person who was not our server (and was in fact a bar back) walked up to the table, dropped off menus and apologized for the wait. He didn’t try to make any excuses—it was pretty busy that night—but simply said, “This is no way for us to treat our guests.”

He apologized again on the way out and said he hoped the experience didn’t discourage us from coming back again. It was such a simple thing to do, and it made a significant difference. Instead of walking out and vowing to never return, I was willing to let it go. Mistakes happen, and when someone owns up to them, they are a lot easier to forgive.

I was hardly surprised to see this individual take this approach. His name is Sean Cole and he was our At Your Service selection for February 2008. In talking to Rusty Oaks, general manager of Sierra Gold, he said Cole is one of the hardest working people he has ever seen, that he really gets what it takes to be successful in the service industry.

How many other people really do? It has been my experience that there are few other people who would do what Cole did. Many would avoid eye contact and just go about focusing on their work, perhaps missing the point of what their work really is.

I might be a cranky and crotchety customer, but I don’t think I am the only one who isn’t impressed when someone acts like I am bothering them by frequenting their business. I don’t know how many other people are out there who take the same approach as I do, but if there is even one, it is one too many to risk losing right now.

There are not shortages of businesses here in Las Vegas. I can cross off hundreds of restaurants from the list of places I will frequent, and there will still be places I will never get the chance to go to.

It is very similar with casinos. In case you haven’t noticed, there are a lot of them in town, and not everyone bases their decision on where to gamble on the décor or the theme. Sometimes it is whichever casino is closest, but more often, they will go where they feel like they are welcomed. All the operators talk about this fact, and they all know how important it is, but there are times when it seems to be lost by those on the front lines.

Don’t be one of those people who think that something is below you or something is not your responsibility. It’s bad practice in good times, and it right now it is unforgivable.