Sunday, May 16, 2004
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

INSIDE GAMING: Mandalay seeks way around slot titan

Why are Mandalay Resort Group Senior Vice President Steve Greathouse, Revive Partners and Gold Strike Aviation applying for slot making and route licenses? It seems Mandalay has 5,000 old slots International Game Technology won't upgrade. With licensing, Mandalay can use technology it has developed to replace the slots' motherboards itself, save millions in upgrades and even sell the motherboards to competitors. Operators have said they're fed up with IGT tactics, but Mandalay seems to be doing something about it.

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More than meets the eye. The silhouette of Wynn Las Vegas, already standing 50 stories over the Strip, still has a long way to go. A massive, ski jumplike facade sloping from north to south, sort of like Bob Hope's profile, is still in the works for mounting a huge Wynn (signature) marquee. The second tower, standing in "S" shape formation north of the first, will have a similar signature element, as will Wynn's Macau hotel-casino development. All three will feature the same brassy-glass look.

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Sources say the long-awaited $280 million sale of the Las Vegas Hilton should close by late June. However, there seems to be an intermission in Caesars' plots to sell Bally's Belle of New Orleans, the Reno Hilton and the Flamingo Hilton Laughlin. Meanwhile, Las Vegas Hilton buyer Colony Capital, a Los Angeles-based investment firm, is said to have big plans for the landmark property, but so far mum's the word on details. Why the secrecy? Beats us, even if partial conversion to time-share units is in the works, as some sources believe.

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American Indians might just take back their continent. In a broad declaration of American Indian land rights, a federal judge recently held that the Cayuga Nation can buy up property in its former central New York homeland, declare it "Indian country" and operate a casino immune from local building, zoning and tax laws. The first-of-its-type ruling enables the Indian nation to use real-estate purchases to gain control over land it once occupied.

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Every cloud has a silver lining. Some industry insiders say gasoline price spikes will help the local economy. Prices are hitting levels, corrected for inflation, not approached since 1985, U.S. Department of Energy data show. That has Americans who won't take no for an answer taking vacation hunting for bargains like never before. Since Las Vegas enjoys relatively cheap air fares and hotel rates, even more cost-conscious consumers than ever before should be headed our way, these optimists say.

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.