It is with a heavy heart that I inform readers of the impending departure of Pat Getter, the Imperial Palace’s public relations manager. Harrah’s Entertainment has wiped out Pat’s position, leaving her momentarily jobless. I have no idea why, but Ms.Getter was always friendly, helpful and prompt of response … obviously marking her for elimination in the arrogant, new Harrah’s of the Apollo Management/Texas Pacific era, where the watchword is "We’ll tell you what you need to know when you need to know it … and not one moment sooner." As for Pat, she will be sincerely missed.
Also soon to be missed is Sylke Neal-Finnegan, who is departing the Golden Nugget for the more hospitable climate of Oregon. Judging from the hellish heat that is settling in for the next several months, Sylke is picking the right moment to skedaddle. Another straight shooter (a dwindling breed in Vegas), Ms. Neal-Finnegan always provided as much assistance as she could. That wasn’t always easy once the iron hand of Tilman Fertitta fell upon the Nuggets; mircomanaging style meant his various PR flacks were often left with little or nothing to say.
The classic example is when Landrys issued a press release announcing that its Vegas Vic & Anthony’s steakhouse was open — two weeks after its actual debut. (Word on the street is Tilman insists upon signing off personally on every single press release.) This can’t have been the easiest environment for a PR person but Sylke showed no strain and bore everything with unfailing grace. Good luck to her in the Pacific Northwest. Oregon’s gain in Las Vegas’ loss.
Stranger Than Fiction Dept.: Adult diapers are being specifically manufactured and marketed to hardcore gamblers. We couldn’t make this stuff up if we tried.
Hooters sale set: Globe Street.com reports that the current ownership of the sagging Hooters Hotel & Casino has inked a pact to sell out in October. Casino operations will be temporarily leased back to the present ownership group, led by Neil Kiefer. Since scantily clad, curvaceous women are hardly a novelty on the Las Vegas Strip, the implantation of the Hooters theme appears to have been a bust.
So prospective owner Hedwigs Las Vegas Top Tier will get to try its hand at augmenting the hotel-casino’s small-bore performance, averaging $5.6 million in net operating revenue per month this year, along with 83 percent occupancy. Hedwigs Las Vegas, an affiliate of California investor Richard Bosworth’s NTH Advisory Group will pay $95 million for the assets and assume $130 million in debt, on top of unspecified royalties and liabilities.
Good & bad news for Barden: The bad news is Don Barden’s casinos continue to lose money. The good news is they’re not losing as much as they in late 2006. This dispatch is, of course, blood in the water for Barden’s Pittsburgh rivals, Forest City Enterprises and Pile of Debris, er, Isle of Capri Casinos, who seek to have Barden’s casino concession revoked for insolvency.
Barden’s people, meanwhile, blame the problems on the sorry financial performance of an Indiana riverboat bought from (surprise!) Donald Trump. When that Trump boat opened, in the late Nineties, it was doing gangbuster numbers, presumably on the strength of the Trump name. But, as with most of Trump’s gambling ventures, it eventually fell upon evil days. Is its potentially fatal grip Trump’s legacy is exerting on Barden’s casinos The Donald’s Revenge?
