Harrah’s Entertainment’s newly announced deal to purchase the Imperial Palace is characterized by several Strip observers as a sensible real estate play.
The $370 million deal would see Harrah’s control all of the major casinos along Las Vegas Boulevard’s eastside from Paris to Harrah’s, except for the Barbary Coast, and would also give the company several options for its neighboring Flamingo.
Bear, Stearns analyst Joe Greff argues that the Imperial Palace will be imploded, potentially becoming part of a redeveloped Flamingo.
The deal announced after Monday’s stock market close awaits Nevada regulatory approval.
The not-so-subtle sexuality of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitor Authority’s “What happens here, stays here” campaign may offer a tremendous pull on the American travel pscyhe but don’t expect the Mississippi Gulf Coast to introduce a similar slogan any time soon, writes Tom Wilemon in today’s Biloxi Sun Herald.
“On the Coast, a few casinos have attempted to follow the trend. Grand Casino Gulfport this year became the first gambling property in Mississippi to offer a male burlesque show. Beau Rivage began racy advertising for its nightclubs,” Wilemon writes.
“Don’t expect much more. After all, this is the state where Treasure Bay had to cover the breasts of the mermaids perched at the bowsprit of its pirate ships.”
Wilemon’s story is the third of a seven-part series on the travel, tourism and real estate industries of Mississippi, Nevada and Florida.
America West is unveiling a new color scheme for US Airways, the two airlines are merging operations in a deal that could be completed as early as next month. America West executives will largely oversee the expanded airlines’ daily operations from Phoenix.
The Washington Post reports that the new color palete will be white with a blue belly, replacing US Airways’ mostly dark blue fuselage, with a gray belly. The US Airways name will remain, looking mostly the same.
A special flight sporting the new colors is scheduled to travel today from Philadelphia to Phoenix, with stops in Pittsburgh, Charlotte and Las Vegas.
Las Vegas finished third in 2004 on the National Insurance Crime Bureau’s national ranking for region’s with the worst auto theft rates. (Type “National Insurance Crime Bureau” in PR Newswire’s search box to find the full news release.) The valley was fourth a year ago.
Modesto, Calif., heads the list followed by Lodi, Calif., just south of Sacramento. Phoenix dropped from second to fourth.
For 2004 — with their 2003 ranking in parenthesis — the 10 metropolitan
statistical areas with the highest vehicle theft rates are:
1. Modesto, CA (1)
2. Stockton-Lodi, CA (3)
3. Las Vegas, NV (4)
4. Phoenix-Mesa, AZ (2)
5. Sacramento, CA (5)
6. Oakland, CA (7)
7. Visalia-Tulare-Porterville, CA (15)
8. San Diego, CA (9)
9. Fresno, CA (6)
10. Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, WA (11)
According to Hot Spots, its annual report on auto theft rates, NICB
reviewed data supplied by the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) for
each of the nation’s 336 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs). MSAs are
designated by the Office of Management and Budget and may include areas
surrounding a specific city.
Rockers Tommy Lee and Dave Navarro are looking to open a restaurant-lounge-dance club in Las Vegas, reports USA Today.
Rokbar Miami is a popular spot for the beautiful crowd, and the pair are opening a similarly branded club in Hollywood.
“If you’re going to open a rock bar, you’ve got to have Dave Navarro and Tommy Lee, because they’re the ultimate rock stars,” says Navarro’s wife, Carmen Electra, who adds that her husband has been exploring various investment opportunities, and the club is part of that effort.
