First, I know it's a little early, but I want to wish everyone happy holidays and good luck for the New Year. I may not get a chance to do so next week because it's Santa Eve, and I may be busy buying my wife last minute gifts. As I am going to Vegas in January with friends, it's a good idea to keep her happy. Anyway, may all your double-downs pay off, and may all your come-out rolls be seven in 2009.
Ok, now on to some more Vegas-specific stuff:
- TI has been sold from MGM to the dude who used to own the Frontier (Phil Ruffin) for a cool $775 million. Don't know what this means in terms of the property yet, but MGM still has a lot of properties, and it does not sound like it's one of those deals where the place will be imploded and built anew. However, that's just my guess and is pure speculation as there are no details about what will happen to TI as of yet.
- Not to say "I told ya so" but I told ya so. For years now, I've been predicting that the Strip would soon start to price itself out of the average joe market, which would leave lots of opportunities for downtown. A December 2 news item from the Las Vegas Advisor reports that cab drivers are frequently driving tourists off Strip to places like In-n-Out burger because Strip prices are too high. It looks like downtown is starting to benefit from budget-conscious travelers due to recent economic conditions. I think that downtown has a unique (but probably limited) window here to really capture some of the Strip visitors. If they can provide top-notch entertainment, spiff up the streets and casinos a bit, and offer a great bargain, they'll make converts out of some Strip-only folks. It could happen. Will it? Stay tuned...
- Finally, please don't forget that you still have two weeks to fill out a survey to win a free, cool luggage tag. Good luck!
Thanks all and again, Happy Holidays!
Viva,
Mike
No comments:
Post a Comment