Sunday, October 19, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

INSIDE GAMING: Gaughan: Suitors lining up for Coast

Coast Casinos Chairman Michael Gaughan says three casino operators are sniffing around his four-casino Las Vegas operation. "Harrah's, Station, Ameristar," all have made at least preliminary inquiries, Gaughan said, but none has made an offer he can't refuse. So Gaughan's focusing on his fifth Las Vegas casino. "I'm working on the Southcoast now." Gaughan also says all such merger activity is fueled by investment bankers, including his own, Morgan Stanley and Banc of America, who need deals to earn their cut of the action.

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Station Casinos is once again more than just a local gaming company. In addition to its recent deals with California Indian tribes, we hear from lobbyists and local pols that the Station Casinos crew has been taking a look at the Michigan market with an eye on taking their locals product to the Midwest. The interest, however, seems mutual. It shows how appealing diversification can be for the gaming companies and how compelling Station's success is for political decision-makers across the country.

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Bill Richardson Jr., heir with his sister to his father's side of the Mandalay Resort Group fortune, is out as manager of the Ra nightclub at Luxor. No comment from the company about why or what the younger Richardson may be doing, although peers say he's taking a breather to enjoy his considerable trust fund. Remember his father and Mike Ensign, founders of the company, recently sold more than $600 million in shares, yielding their control. No word on whether they're abandoning the bureaucratic maze for more interesting developments.

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Join the crowd. A new magazine, Avery Cadoza's Player, is set to launch this month, and it's said to be chock full of advice for gamblers. One of the magazine's tips: Stay away from slots near buffet lines because they're set for low payoffs. Players are just looking for breaks from the line, so they're a captive audience, willing to lose, the magazine reports. True or false, it promises to turn losers into winners, or at least help cut their losses. The one thing it offers on advice on is how players can find their way out of casinos. For Las Vegas, the spirit seems to be any press is good press.

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The quote of the week goes to MGM Mirage spokesman Alan Feldman who went cosmic in the wake of the Roy Horn incident, with media descending from all over the world to cover the story. While being miked for yet another in the endless round of press conferences he simply had to endure, Feldman said: "It's just in my fantasies that this has any reality whatsoever."

The Inside Gaming column is compiled by Gaming Wire Editor Rod Smith. You can contact him by phone at (702) 477-3893, fax (702) 387-5243 or e-mail at rsmith@reviewjournal.com.