GAMING CHIPS: MGM Grand lion nearing completion

     Work is expected to be completed this week on the 45-foot-high bronze-plated lion that sits at the front of the MGM Grand at the corner of the Strip and Tropicana Avenue.
      All of the statue's pieces are in place, and all that's left is for workers to smooth and polish what is believed to be the largest bronze statue in the United States, said MGM spokesman Bill Doak.
      Work remains to be performed on fountains, statuary and landscape that frame the lion. The entire effort is expected to be finished by the end of this month.
      The statue is part of an ongoing $700 million renovation and expansion of the 5,005-room Strip hotel. The additions include a 1,500-room Marriott Grand hotel to be opened in late 1999; a 380,000-square-foot conference center that is slated to open this spring; and a redesigned casino.
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      TRIVIA TIME ... How much baccarat revenue did the state's casinos generate in the 12-month period that ended in November?
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      HAWAIIAN PUNCH ... Despite the travails of Pacific Rim economics, Boyd Gaming Corp.'s downtown California hotel and casino continues to generate business.
      The 781-room hotel draws an estimated 90 percent of its lodging business from Hawaiian vacationers. The company, which owns the nearby Fremont and Main Street Station, operates a travel agency in Honolulu.
      "The Hawaiian economy is lagging in Japanese tourists, and that affects younger Hawaiians," said Boyd spokesman Rob Stillwell, "but California has an older clientele."
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      POTPOURRI ... Longtime Las Vegas hotel marketing executive Michelle Knoll has left the Las Vegas Hilton after her position, vice president of marketing, was eliminated in a corporate shuffle. Knoll said she plans to stay in Southern Nevada and would like to return to the industry.
      Hilton executives have declined to discuss the move.
      In December, Las Vegas Hilton spokesman Tim Chanaud was fired after the CBS news magazine "48 Hours" aired a story on Las Vegas high rollers. In one segment, Hustler magazine founder Larry Flynt was seen winning $1 million at the Las Vegas Hilton's blackjack tables.
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      TRIVIA ANSWER ... The state's 20 casinos that offer baccarat generated $534 million in revenue from baccarat players during the 12 months that ended in November, according to the Nevada Gaming Control Board. All of the state's casinos generated $8.3 billion in revenue during that period.
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      QUOTABLE ... "The consistent trend seems to be a tapering at the very high end, those you would characterize as $2-million-and-above-players will be down this year." -- CIBC Oppenheimer Inc. gaming analyst David Wolfe on gaming prospects for the recent Chinese New Year that observers say may have sustained a decline in high-roller play because of the Asian financial crisis.
     Gaming Chips is written by Review-Journal writer Dave Berns. Reach him by e-mail at Dave_Berns@lvrj.com or by telephone at (702) 380-4543.