Attendance is up

[MHIROTSU]

Originally Posted by jr7110 I am sure there are dozens of behind the scenes things going on at any given time that the average person is unaware of - look at the whole overhaul of Bill's Gamblin' Hall that I posted about - that is a surprise! But I doubt that the increase in visitors has pushed up the date of resuming construction on Echelon Place - Boyd does not care about foot traffic in Vegas - it all comes down to how much money they are actually taking in and only a huge spike in profits would prompt any consideration for resuming the project. I do not think there has been enough of a jump in consumer spending to warrant that kind of expense at this time. Companies are being a lot more cautious after they flirted with disaster during the recent building boom after the economy took a tumble. You have probably never seen a madhouse in LA because it is not known as a major fireworks destination during the Fourth of July (not that I ever heard of) - but NYC (where the most famous fireworks display of all takes place), Boston, even Vegas - all these places are known for fireworks, which people gravitate to on the Fourth. I have never been to Vegas on the 4th of July but everyone I have ever spoke to who has says it is very crazy on the streets. Maybe not as bad as New Year's but still a mess! I have a feeling that the powers that be in Vegas are going to be cautious for a very long time before any new major construction projects are announced or resumed - they learned a hard lesson when they jumped on the whole building boom and spent recklessly like drunken sailors until the economy bottoming out gave them a serious wake up call. You are correct that the better indication (and probably what Boyd is looking at) is the amount of money spent as to whether any new construction will be had. That's what the article said. However, another viewpoint is that if the money spent per person remains the same but the attendance increases, then the total money spent increases. I don't know whether that's necessarily a good number to look at, either. But more money spent is more money spent. But you said all major tourist destinations are crazy on the 4th. I was only mentioning that I think Los Angeles is a major tourist destination but isn't very crazy on the 4th. And my mention of Las Vegas being crazy on this last 4th of July was to confirm that I thought more tourists were coming. That still does not mean that more money is being spent. I guess another question is whether Boyd was expecting this increase of tourists when it made the statement that it would not be undergoing any new construction for 5 or so years. If not, then maybe they have to huddle up and make some new (tentative) plans. If Bill's is renovating (?), maybe Boyd might be right behind. I also said a long time ago, that Boyd shouldn't build the entire Echelon (or whatever it will be called). I think they should build it bit by bit. That might cost more for the entire project, but maybe it will minimize their initial costs and get some income while doing additional building. Again, I'm making a major jump from the increase in tourists to them making money on the project. Mike

[jr7110]

Originally Posted by MHIROTSU You are correct that the better indication (and probably what Boyd is looking at) is the amount of money spent as to whether any new construction will be had. That's what the article said. However, another viewpoint is that if the money spent per person remains the same but the attendance increases, then the total money spent increases. I don't know whether that's necessarily a good number to look at, either. But more money spent is more money spent. But you said all major tourist destinations are crazy on the 4th. I was only mentioning that I think Los Angeles is a major tourist destination but isn't very crazy on the 4th. And my mention of Las Vegas being crazy on this last 4th of July was to confirm that I thought more tourists were coming. That still does not mean that more money is being spent. I guess another question is whether Boyd was expecting this increase of tourists when it made the statement that it would not be undergoing any new construction for 5 or so years. If not, then maybe they have to huddle up and make some new (tentative) plans. If Bill's is renovating (?), maybe Boyd might be right behind. I also said a long time ago, that Boyd shouldn't build the entire Echelon (or whatever it will be called). I think they should build it bit by bit. That might cost more for the entire project, but maybe it will minimize their initial costs and get some income while doing additional building. Again, I'm making a major jump from the increase in tourists to them making money on the project. Mike Well I still stick to my statement about tourist destinations being crazy on the 4th but maybe I should have said "most" instead of "all"....and this is partially because many people consider that weekend to be the true start of summer and with children out of school, many families choose that long holiday weekend to kick start a family vacation. The one factor that you have to consider is that no matter how many people flock to Vegas, Boyd can only get so much of the profits - the Station Casinos are more of a locals draw than the average Vegas visitor, and there are only a few Boyd properties in the Downtown area. With all the MGM and Harrahs properties and restaurants that are not even casino-affiliated, there is a huge pie that has to be split and the largest slices of that pie are inevitably going to end up in the pockets of Harrahs, MGM, Adelson, Wynn etc.

[MHIROTSU]

Originally Posted by jr7110 The one factor that you have to consider is that no matter how many people flock to Vegas, Boyd can only get so much of the profits - the Station Casinos are more of a locals draw than the average Vegas visitor, and there are only a few Boyd properties in the Downtown area. With all the MGM and Harrahs properties and restaurants that are not even casino-affiliated, there is a huge pie that has to be split and the largest slices of that pie are inevitably going to end up in the pockets of Harrahs, MGM, Adelson, Wynn etc. Assuming this to be true (and I too believe it is true), what was Boyd thinking in the first place about building Echelon? Yes, it owned the Stardust. But if it wasn't going to get the Strip dollars, why tear down what was there? Except what was there wasn't very nice. And it traded the Barnaby Coast for Westard Ho(?). Yikes. But Boyd is still alive. I guess the Hawaiians are spending a lot of money downtown? My end thought was the Boyd believed that whatever money was left over from the biggies was good enough (before the recession) for it. Mike

[vegasbabe]

yes, things must be getting back to normal. The east bound traffic jam between Rio and Caesar's is back. That short stretch of road took me 25 minutes this afternoon. Yes, it's friday, but I haven't seen it that bad in a long time. I just sat there and watched cabs navigate though 6 lanes of traffic to get out of the Bellagio, and make the left turn onto the strip. I don't even think Lori would try that! I know I sure wouldn't!!

[Lori R]

Something must be going on. It took me close to a half hour to get to work today (I live 11 miles away and I can make it from home up to the office in approximately 16 minutes). Leaving was almost as bad and, you're right Jane, I didn't even try the left turn into traffic, made the right and drove around some side roads to get to the freeway. It wasn't worth the risk to get home 5 minutes earlier.

[Scottie]

Quantity vs. quality. Vegas may be full(er) at times now, but my guess is that it's not the demographic mix the city needs to be successful. Aria can't survive long-term on $100/night room rates to non-gamblers who trek across the highway to In N Out for lunch.

[Y2J2006]

Originally Posted by Scottie Quantity vs. quality. Vegas may be full(er) at times now, but my guess is that it's not the demographic mix the city needs to be successful. Aria can't survive long-term on $100/night room rates to non-gamblers who trek across the highway to In N Out for lunch. Hey what is wrong with In n Out Burger? But it is a trek I don't feel like making even when I stay at NYNY. Aria? Not in my budget ever. I'll go to Gold Coast's buffet for $5 too LOL.