Time to catch a cab for McCarren...

A goodbye, of sorts…

While we haven’t lost our love for the City of Las Vegas and everything related to it, the realities and responsibilities of our personal and professional lives have intervened, and VegasRy is something we can no longer maintain, even to the half-assed quality that you have all become accustomed.

There are other reasons as well…

I mean, we could write a post on how they are changing the name of the Luxor Buffet, or how many square feet the Kenneth Cole Store will be at the City Center Mall, and that might be interesting to some of you…but it wouldn’t be for us.

Look, we understand the Vegas obsession, we have it too, but it was eye-opening when 5 posts would show up on our RSS reader within about 20 minutes after an RJ story on Cosmopolitan defaulting on their loan, or Encore photos being leaked on Expedia, or any number of things…it’s just not us.

That’s not to say that we haven’t had fun. God know we’ve tried a ton of things, some have clicked, most haven’t. We’re most proud of the SlideCasts, which also seemed to resonate with the most people, those were really fun to do, and were something that we haven’t seen anywhere else.

We started this site to have a place to get our Vegas-related thoughts down on paper, (figuratively) but as any of you know that have tried running a blog or website of your own, there are times when it stops being recreation and starts being tedious. And for a site that was always meant to be fun, tedious is not good, and does not produce good results. There were also times when our time spent in Vegas would become (gasp!) work.

Also, as 2 tech guys, we liked having a place to try out some new things technically, outside of the drudgery of our day jobs. Designing and implementing the site was fun, (the ads are there just to make the site look legit…haven’t made a dime) but we’ve taken it as far as we can go right now.

We appreciate everyone who has dropped by, and we will continue to be a part of the Vegas Online Community, now as an interested observer. We will also leave the site up, as a testament to our mediocrity, and on the off chance that we will have something relevant or unique to say in the future…and as always, a place to let us know what you are drinking.

Cheers!

Ryan and Ryan

VegasRy is back!

But not really

SlideCast Test

Photo Quiz #13

Pretty hard this week, where was this picture taken? Post your answer in the comments.

Click to enlarge...


Photo by DBag

We've Moved

If you're reading this and haven't been redirected already, click below to visit our new home.

VegasRy.com

Any Excuse Will Suffice

In the past, I've never personally needed an excuse to go to Las Vegas. Since getting married though, a somewhat reasonable excuse has become required, but now with the formation of VegasRy.com, I always have a valid excuse. (Honey, I'm on business.) Having said that, Las Vegas has become home to many activity's "championships." This seems like just another excuse to travel to this great city.

These competitions include, but are certainly not limited to the annual Rock Paper Scissors National Championship at Mandalay Bay, Nathan's Famous Las Vegas Hot Dog Eating Championship Contest at NYNY, and the Legends Of Bartending World Championships at the Rio. These are just a few of the many odd events held there. There's no where else on Earth I'd rather be, so I can't fault anyone for needing such an excuse, but these are a bit ridiculous. I knew someone who even played in a video game tournament at the Aladdin last year. As we all know, Vegas isn't a cheap vacation, so if anyone wants to send me there to show off my Golden Tee or napping skills, I'm down for an all-expense paid trip to the city I love.

Dealers: 1, Steve Wynn: 0

Over the weekend the dealers at Wynn Las Vegas voted to unionize, by a fairly significant margin. (444-149)

Now this is just the first step in the organization process, as the Union still has a long way to go before it actually has a contract. Other Strip casinos have passed similar measures, but only one, the lowly Frontier, has actually had a Union contract put in place.

As we have written about previously, this issue stems from Wynn’s practice of including the floor supervisors (pit bosses) in the dealers tip pool, effectively taking money from the dealers, and giving it to their superiors.

Last week, Steve Wynn made a last ditch effort to plead his case to the dealers. Saying he made ‘a mistake’ when implementing the policy and urging a ‘no’ vote during a meeting with the dealers.

From that meeting:

"I did not realize the extent of the mistake I had made until yesterday," Wynn said, explaining his talk with a longtime employee who felt betrayed. "I was more focused on the right thing I did for the bosses, than the wrong thing I did to the dealers."

Fascinating audio of this impassioned speech can be found at TwoWayHardThree.com:
http://media.ratevegas.com/wynn_union_apology.mp3

It’s interesting to listen to Wynn, as he seems to apologize for the WAY he implemented the policy, if not for the policy itself. Now he was not allowed to make promises, due to the pending vote, but it wasn’t clear if he was insinuating that he’d revoke the tip-sharing policy if the union vote fell through or not.

Our extremely uneducated guess would be that this all falls apart during contract negotiations. These are dealers at arguable the nicest casino in the world, and apparently make quite a bit of money, even before the tip-sharing. Our guess is that the union might be able to get the tip-sharing reversed, but in the end, the dealers would be worse off than before the vote to unionize. Either way though, this will be good theater.

Steve Wynn + Labor Unrest = Huge Story. So we will follow this very closely, and are anxious to see what the atmosphere is like at Wynn Las Vegas during our stay there in July.


Wynn Dealers Vote to Unionize

Dealers of the World Unite!

Steve Wynn vs. His Own Dealers

VegasRy Friday Update:

No Gin and Tonic Hour this week, as we have been concentrating on the roll out of our brand new website, so stay tuned.

In the meantime, here are a few stories that have flown under the radar this week:

It's official, Tom Selleck and his mustache will be on NBC's Las Vegas.
-CNN

HBO CEO has resigned after assualting his girlfriend...Ya don't say.
-Washington Post

Jersey Boys will be the latest Broadway show to fail in Las Vegas...this one at the new Palazzo.
-San Diego Union-Tribune

Luxor bombing victim was dating two women. This plot is sure to thicken.
-Las Vegas Sun

This is a decent idea...the Luxor has it's own DING
-Luxor Beam (Via VegasTripping.com)

Harrah's earnings up, miss expectations. Harrah's is in the process of being taken private, and with Casinos all over the country, not Vegas-centric enough to be of much interest.
-Las Vegas Review-Journal

Photo Quiz #5: Answer

So this picture of some random girl was taken outside of Light, the nightclub at Bellagio. That's the Snack Bar in the background.

Actually that is soon-to-be VegasRy sister-in-law Jamie with a Light bouncer. Bonus points if you guessed it was her 21st birthday!

See and be seen at Las Vegas' hottest nightclub - Light at Bellagio

"The Greatest Car Show on Earth" Headed to Vegas?

Now here is something we can see working in Las Vegas.

Every year, they have the Barrett-Jackson car auction here in Scottsdale, which is probably the biggest car aution in the world. As well as being televised on the Speed Channel, last Year it drew 225,000 visitors, and this year it shattered records with a 1966 Shelby Cobra going for 5.5 million dollars.

Anyway, looks like the owners aren't happy with their situation in Scottsdale,and may be looking at other options:

Barrett-Jackson’s $100-million Scottsdale car auction could be scaled back in favor of venues in Las Vegas or Palm Beach, Fla., if plans for a new exposition center at West-World fall through, company president Craig Jackson said Wednesday.

The Barrett-Jackson Auction is a huge event here, drawing many well-heeled bidders, as well as gawkers. I would think that this event would lend itself to Vegas; as Cars, Money and Las Vegas fit together perfectly.


Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auction (Wikipedia)

Barrett-Jackson considers scaling back at WestWorld over city decision on building

I Bet You

Professional poker players', Antonio Esfandiari and Phil Laak, have created a new TV show called "I Bet You." The premise is that they take their gambling addiction away from the felt and out into their daily lives. The entire show centers around them making wagers on various tasks and thus trading wads of money which are tallied up to show who is ahead.

These wages include betting on who can get to a certain destination faster, what type of panties a random female is wearing, who can earn more tips bartending for an hour, and who can blow closer to the legal limit of .08 on a breathalyser. It's not a bad idea for a show but it's painfully obvious that this is going to get old very quickly. Antonio and Phil have great chemistry though, as they are real life best friends, so the show may have some legs. (at least briefly) If you're not familiar with these two as the poker characters that they are, then the show may go right over your head. Don't expect much from "I Bet You," but it was somewhat entertaining. We'll see what the future holds and if the show deviates at all from the repetition it portrayed in the premiere.

The show airs on a channel called MOJO which I've yet to hear of. At any rate the premiere episode is available on their website.

I Bet you

Las Vegas is Smoke Free

Well, sort of.

In the November elections, Nevada voters passed Question 5, which basically banned smoking in all indoor places, except for Casinos...of course.

From the Review Journal:

QUESTION 5
• Passed by voters in November, Question 5 prohibits smoking in nearly all public places in Nevada, including grocery stores, restaurants and bars that serve food. Casino floors, brothels and smoke parlors are exempt.

The smoking ban is back in the news recently, as the first lawsuit regarding the ban has been filed against a business not in compliance of the new law. A local bar refused to remove ashtrays and matchbooks, claiming that they were exercising their right to advertise. This resulted in a civil lawsuit filed by the Health District.

The anti-smoking legislation is not unique to Vegas, as most states seem to have similar restrictions on smoking in public places. However, this is interesting as it relates to casinos and hotels in Las Vegas. We also ran across the article, regarding the Casino Lobby's stance on the issue:

After years of actively opposing smoking bans, the casino industry's primary lobbying organization is backing off as a wave of states pass indoor smoking prohibitions that include casinos.

Since the mid-1990s, the American Gaming Association has pushed for national building code standards accommodating tobacco smoke, arguing that prohibiting smoking would be bad for business.

But fighting smoking bans "is an uphill battle," says Judy Patterson, executive director of the American Gaming Association.

Even states that exempted casinos from no-smoking laws, such as Colorado and New Jersey, reconsidered those exemptions the following year, she notes.

Lobbying against smoking bans at a national level has become nearly impossible for the association, she said.

Seems like the industry views a national ban as an inevitability, and I imagine they would eventually support a nationwide ban. Instead of having some smoking and some non-smoking casinos, drawing customers towards those where they can smoke, I imagine they would eventually support a nationwide ban, one that would include Indian Casinos, leaving all casinos on an even keel.

So how long until ALL casinos have to be smoke free? Gambling, drinking, smoking...these vices seem to go together. As a non-smoker, I suppose that this is a good thing. But at the same time, it does bother me as it is one more right taken away from individuals and businesses, if a bar wants to allow smoking, that should be it's own decision. When I go to a casino or bar, I know I'm in for a smokey environment...if that bothered me, I'd go somewhere else.


Casino fight goes up in smoke

ENFORCING THE STATE SMOKING BAN: Public health vs. free speech

NASCAR Weekend Huge For Las Vegas

The NASCAR race held over the March 9-11 weekend this year has proven again to be an enormous moneymaker for Las Vegas. An economic impact of $198 Million is being attributed to the race itself.


...In terms of its impact on this community, the NASCAR Weekend at LVMS now ranks near the top with many of the major conventions and trade shows that visit Las Vegas every year...

I should mention that this weekend couples with the second weekend of March Madness, which has forever been a busier time there. We were in Vegas over this weekend and it really didn't appear all that busy. Our brief stint downtown though, made it clear where a significant portion of the NASCAR faithful were camping out.

Year Total expenditures for NASCAR weekend
2001 $97,163,700
2002 $121,425,500
2003 $133,451,000
2004 $142,673,400
2005 $167,127,800
2006 $197,891,200
2007 $198,077,500 (We are to blame for about $5k of this figure)

$198 mil is a helluva lot of gaudy NASCAR gear and Busch Lights.


2007 NASCAR Weekend in Las Vegas Has Huge Economic Impact: $198 Million

Great Moments in Race Betting

Here at VegasRy we don't even pretend to know anything about horse racing, our knowledge is limited to looking at the racing form for the coolest name. That and being beat over the head with horse racing coverage once a year during the Kentucky Derby.

However, even we wouldn't use this betting strategy:

According to witnesses, the man entered the parlor around noon and asked how much it would cost to buy every possible trifecta combination (a bettor must pick the first three finishers in exact order) in the 20-horse field. After being told it would cost $13,680, he left — presumably to visit his bank.

He returned shortly thereafter, purchased his tickets and left.

Unfortunately for the hopeful bettor, the 2007 Derby $2 trifecta payoff of $440 was a far cry from 2005 and 2002 returns.

Over 13 grand to win $440, good times. At least he got to cash a ticket...


Encore: Yes for Street Sense; no for Oscar

Fight Weekend

The Floyd Mayweather Jr/ Oscar De La Hoya at the MGM Grand Garden arena was not the only publicized fight in Las Vegas over the weekend. Following Mayweathers' split decision victory late Saturday night, the chairman and CEO of HBO was found sparring outside the MGM Grand casino with his girlfriend. HBO's chief, Chris Albrecht was arrested on suspicion of assault. No word yet on who won this fight.

HBO chairman/CEO accused of assaulting girlfriend

Mayweather wins split decision over De La Hoya

VegasRy Stock Watch: Q1 Results

Losers: MGM, LVS
Winner: Wynn

The 3 major Strip Casino operators recently reported their first quarter earnings, and here is our amateur stock analyst take. While it might not be totally accurate given the massive construction projects undertaken by all 3 companies, or the question mark surrounding Macau, it’s kind of interesting to see where your money is going.

MGM-Mirage fell short of expectations; EPS rose from 49 cents to 57 cents, but missed forecasts of 66 cents. Revenue is up to $1,930 million from $1,770 during the equivalent quarter last year.

Terry Lanni, CEO of MGM-Mirage has harsh words when placing blame on the NBA for earnings shortfalls:

"The gang-bangers and others who came for purposes other than attending the game, they weren't very good for Las Vegas," chief executive Terry Lanni told The Associated Press.

Instead of gambling, many people stayed in their hotel rooms, Lanni said.

Lanni said the weekend soured the company's support for bringing an NBA team to Las Vegas, a move under consideration by commissioner David Stern.

"Mr. Stern can keep his basketball franchises out of Las Vegas as far as I'm concerned," Lanni said.

The company also had lower-than-expected revenue from its Macau operations, as the other US operators in Asia have superior products at this time. Las Vegas Sands failed to meet projections as well, seemingly due to the incredible expenses associated with pending projects, totaling 7.6 billion dollars. Revenue is up, but EPS is down to 26 cents from 34 last year.

Wynn Reports reported the first quarterly profits since its inception, EPS coming in at 54 cents, from a 12 cent loss per share last year. This is also better than analyst’s expectation of around 50 cents a share. Revenue was up to $635 million from $277 million.

Another interesting performance benchmark is Average Daily Rate, or ADR. This is the measure of the room rate per day for the company’s hotel properties. MGM’s ADR was $169, vs. LVS’s $276, given the company’s higher-end market. Wynn Las Vegas came in at an even higher $310.

MGM Mirage 1Q Profit Rises 17 Percent

Expenses drag down LV Sands earnings

Wynn Resorts posts profit, shares jump

Luxor Employee Killed by Backpack Bomb

Breaking News from CNN:

A backpack exploded in a parking garage attached to a Las Vegas hotel early Monday, killing a man who had picked it up and injuring another person, authorities said.

The man had removed the backpack from atop his car when it exploded shortly after 4 a.m. on the second floor of a parking behind the Luxor hotel-casino, said Officer Bill Cassell, a police spokesman.

We will keep you updated on this horrible event.

Exploding backpack kills man on Vegas strip

VegasRy Podcast: Gin and Tonic Hour #7

Thursday Night Musings

Not much going on this week, so we talk about:
-Our alcohol intake
-The NBA in Las Vegas
-We booked our trip!
-Tips for planning a trip
-O Review
-How many Cirque shows do we need?


Download Here

Subscribe to the Podcast!

Gambling Camaraderie

One of the initial lures of Las Vegas for me, and many others I'm sure, was the gambling aspect. The lack of much gambling content here at VegasRy so far is not necessarily on purpose. Instead, it is very reflective of what we truly love about this great city and gambling doesn't top that list. Having said that, I do still enjoy gambling and intend to make more mention of it in the future.

Gambling in general doesn't excite me like it used to. Striking it rich at the tables is no longer a fantasy as I've come to terms with reality. What does keep me coming back though is the camaraderie associated with gambling.

A few years ago at a local casino in Illinois, I had an interesting experience. I found myself in the middle of a $10 blackjack table just to the right of a husband and wife who seemed to be doing well because the husband had a stack of black chips ($100) much much larger than my red ($5) ones. I always liked to find tables where people were winning or seemingly winning by the amount of money on the table. The husband, who I'll refer to as the 3rd basemen for the duration of this story, would play small denominations like $10 or $20 per hand and then all of a sudden as if "the count" was significantly in his favor, he would bet upwards of $100. This, in and of itself, is nothing new but he played much differently when he had such large amounts on the line versus when he played the minimum. For instance, one hand in general comes to mind. I put out my measly $20 while he lays $100. I found two face cards for 20 while the 3rd basemen showed 12. The dealer showed a 10 and for whatever reason (be it "the count" or just nerves of the amount of money on the line), he stopped on 12. Naturally, this sparked my attention and sure enough the dealer flipped over a 6 and then pulled a 5 to make everyone a loser. Quietly, I sat back disgusted over the measly $20 that the 3rd basemen essentially cost me. At this point, his wife leaned over to me and the following dialogue transpired:

3b's wife: "Did that upset you?"
me: "Well, I can't say I'm pleased."
3b's wife: "I'm sorry."
3b's wife (whispering to her husband): You're upsetting the rest of the table.
3b (loudly): As if I care. If this is a team sport, then get me a jersey.

Shortly thereafter, I colored in and was on my way. This event never really upset me or scarred me in any way, but it made me realize what I truly love about gambling. I love playing blackjack like we are a team vs the dealer and thus the house they represent. This is of course a natural feeling when you sit with a table full of your friends, but I treat it similarly when I'm sitting with all strangers. I enjoy rooting people on as if I have a stake in their success. Generally nowadays, I'm on the lookout more for "fun" tables as opposed to those with lots of money on them as was common years ago. Don't get me wrong, winning makes everything fun, but I win so infrequently that this sense of team camaraderie makes it much more fun.

Similar to blackjack, craps is played even more like a team sport. This is probably why it is my favorite pit game, while I'm bored by games such as slots. Nearly everyone these days plays the pass line. This promotes people to root for the shooter and generally puts everyone on the same team. There is nothing more fun that experiencing a "hot" craps table. Three tables in my lifetime ring a bell and I'll never forget them. High-fiving strangers when the shooter hits a difficult point such as a 4 is always a euphoric moment.

Enjoyment in gambling can only come from winning for so long because inevitably the house has a big edge and we're all likely to become lifetime losers. That's why I find my enjoyment in the camaraderie and team-like atmosphere created.


Put me in coach! I've got my jersey on and I'm ready to play.

What If We Ran Vegas: Children Not Allowed

Full Disclosure: My parents actually took me to Vegas when I was about 13 or 14, however it was part of a larger trip out West. It wasn’t as if we flew in so my mom could put in 14 hours a day at the slots (Like she does now). That said, I actually did enjoy Las Vegas, it was at the beginning of the Disney-fication of the town, as the Excalibur had just been built, and we stayed at Circus-Circus. I liked to play at the arcades, and walk around and see these incredible giant buildings in the middle of the desert.

Boy how things have changed, although Circus-Circus hasn’t. Fast forward 15 years; the kid-friendly theme has come and gone, prices have gone through the roof, and even the Visitors Bureau’s (“What happens here, stays here”) motto promotes the risqué, sleazy side of things.

So, at the risk of sounding like a hypocrite, or a child-hater, Vegas is most definitely not a place for kids. Do you want to try and explain this to your children?

Click to enlarge…


Anyway, a couple trips ago, I actually saw an unsupervised boy pick up a beer bottle from the side of the street and drink from it. I guess my argument isn’t against kids in Vegas, but for unsupervised kids in Las Vegas. There are things that a child might interested in town, such as the Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay, but these can be seen during the day, before the debauchery really begins when the sun goes down.

So, we aren’t about to tell anyone how to raise their kids, but at least until they are old enough to look after themselves, take them to the real Disney World (or here), and leave the Adult Disney World to those of gambling age.