Family fun has NOT failed

If there's anything I've had my fill of, it's glib media assessments of Las Vegas. This is probably symptomatic of glib media assessments of everything, in which case it is amazing that we ever learn anything about anything. If it can't be expressed in a soundbite, it isn't said. Well, the new soundbite is that family-friendly Vegas is out and "Sin City" is back. Well, both the Washington Post and the New York Times ran stories along these lines this weekend, and the Post's had some glaring inaccuracies. For another commentary, check out Love and Casino War. Here's some of the offending material, and then my take:

With dozens of white lions and tigers, a massive Thai elephant disappearing into thin air, and scores of dancers in glittering costumes, the Siegfried & Roy show was the hallmark of the new, family-oriented entertainment center Las Vegas sought to become in the 1990s. When local magnate Stephen A. Wynn lured the magicians in 1989 to his new Mirage Resort -- a 3,000-room project with a volcano erupting 60 feet into the sky beside the front door and a Taj Mahal-style zoo and dolphin tank inside -- he said the hotel was specifically designed to be "a property which would help set a new direction for Las Vegas, one which would appeal to the entire family audience."

It was a visionary idea for a city built on blackjack and bare breasts. The only problem was, it didn't work.

This is so ridiculous that it almost doesn't warrant a response. If Steve Wynn failed with the Mirage, then I wonder what he would have to do to be successful. That resort entirely changed the direction of the gaming industry, and has been tremendously profitable. The only hotel that has been more successful than the Mirage is the Bellagio, which Wynn himself built, using many of the lessons learned with the Mirage.

Let's compare the Mirage not to the "old Vegas" of the Copa Lounge, which was gone by the 1980s anyway, but to Excalibur, which was under development when the Mirage opened. In a parallel universe where Steve Wynn decides to leave Nevada and build the Mirage project in Atlantic City, or just doesn't build the casino, the Excalibur opens the 1990s as the newest, biggest, casino hotel and the new paradigm. Like Mirage, it is big, but unlike Mirage, it is decidedly down-scale, with a food court and midway rather than four star restaurants. It definitely caters to families, something that seemed like a logical move at the time, and is still valid.

But the sense that the Post gives is that Mr. Wynn had an idea to cater only to families, and that he failed. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Mirage was notable for enshrining the principle that high overhead=high profits.

But there's more nonsense. Take this nugget of wisdom:

The 1990s effort to build a "family-oriented" Las Vegas was always a challenge to the town's flamboyant history. Ever since mobster Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel opened the Flamingo hotel and casino in 1946, Las Vegas has been a place for adult pursuits -- and it remains so today.

Beneath its flaming rainbow of neon, the Strip of massive hotels along Las Vegas Boulevard is perhaps the last place in America where people are allowed to smoke and drink anywhere, any time.

Visitors can gamble until the break of dawn, ogle the exposed body parts of statuesque dancers of both genders, jump up on the bar and dance wildly in their skimpiest miniskirts -- and nobody will bat an eyelash.

First of all, anyone who read Suburban Xanadu knows that the Flamingo was the third Strip casino to open, and the Siegel wasn't even...ah, forget it.

But where else can Americans smoke, drink, and see nudity? Ummm, maybe Strip clubs. Going back to the 1950s, casinos were not deviant places, but actually bastions of cultural conservatism. Don't believe me? Later this month, the Casino Legends Hall of Fame at the Trop will be inducting a new class, including Frankie Valli, Connie Francis, and Jack Carter--not exactly the deviant edge of American popular culture. Part of the problem might be that writers who aren't familiar with casinos get so wigged out by the lights and the sounds that they can't consider any of this rationally.

Anyway, the Post story is here.

The New York Times story is about a proposed theme park near Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun, and also alleges that the family-friendly approach has "unraveled" on the Strip. Who is the arbiter of all this, anyway?
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The OTHER big Vegas story

As you may have read elsewhere, during Friday's Siegfried and Roy show at the Mirage, magician Roy Horn was mauled by a performing white tiger. The LVRJ put up a special section on the attack and it's aftermath. It shows the cycle of reporting on the unfortunate, from the initial shock to expressions of hope to retrospectives on the past to assessments of the economic impact. There are even reports that cast members are offended by the show's quick closure and their terminations.

One of the first things that I thought of, after Roy's health, was that a score of Strip performers would have to come up with something to replace their Siegfried and Roy material. Norm's Sunday column mentioned at least 5 acts that use white tiger humor. These comedians and magicians will now have to think of something creative to fill the time.

At least there's a political carny show next door to riff on.
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Fighting the good fight (but not booking action on it)

The National Coalition Against Legalized Gambling kicked off their annual conference recently, vowing to fight against the expansion of gambling. From the LV Sun:

"Our best days are ahead of us," Grey told the gathering of about 100 anti-gambling organizers from more than 30 states. "In the early '90s it (gambling) was inevitable. Now it doesn't even look desirable."

But casino industry observers are wondering why Grey is so optimistic.

While Grey's spirited network of volunteers has won a few victories here and there, Grey and his coalition are badly losing the war against the expansion of gambling on a national level.

Despite Grey's best efforts, gambling is growing dramatically in the United States, winning over a nation that depends on lottery money to fund basic services and views slot machines and casinos as reliable tax and job generators.

Some form of gambling has now been approved in all but two states, with consumers spending more on wagers each year than they do at the movies.

Gambling revenue ballooned 570 percent from a decade ago -- and 7 percent from 2001 -- to a record $69.7 billion in 2002, according to casino analysis firm Christiansen Capital Advisors.

FULL STORY

There's already a lot of gambling going on legally, and even more illegally, which morally complicates any attempt to limit gaming. Why not legalize casinos in Maryland if the money is going to go to Delaware or New Jersey anyway? For that matter, why not just put a slot machine in everyone's house? Oh, the Internet has already done that.
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Dancing waters dance on

As you may know, there's a drought here in Southern Nevada. This has affected thousands of local residents who must deal with restrictions on when and how they water their lawns. I know that my apartment complex has drained its fountains and slips weekly reminders on my door chastising me against excess water use. But the casinos of the Strip have been given free reign to keep their fountains running, chiefly because money talks. From the LVRJ:

Strip hotels and other resorts will be allowed to operate man-made water features while office parks, housing developments and other private businesses will be prohibited from operating a fountain or water feature during the day, according to a proposal to be considered today.

The resorts will not be subject to the same restriction because they are essential to Las Vegas' tourist-driven economy, said Chuck Pulsipher, zoning administrator for the county. Combined, he said, their water use supplies the equivalent of about 130 homes.

"The actual amount of water that these features use is pretty insignificant," Pulsipher said. "From a cost-benefit standpoint, we're getting the economic benefit of worldwide publicity for a world-class tourist destination in exchange for enough water for 100 to 130 homes."

Commission Chairwoman Mary Kincaid-Chauncey and Commissioner Myrna Williams, who serves as president of the Las Vegas Valley Water District Board of Directors, said the success of Strip resorts is essential to maintaining jobs and keeping taxes low for residents in Southern Nevada.

Water features and fountains outside other local businesses do not contribute like the resorts do to the local economy, Williams said.

"Gaming is the major source of revenue for those of us that live in Nevada, so we need to do everything we can to protect it," Williams said. "They're (fountains) an important enticement for tourists. If you go down the Strip, you see people hovering and watching those things."

Kincaid-Chauncey acknowledged many residents do not appreciate why water restrictions are not applied uniformly.

But most do not realize that some of the larger casinos receive water from their own aquifers rather than the public's water supply and that they recycle the water, she said.

"It's really hard for people to understand when we are asking them to not put in lawns and to cut down on water features," Kincaid Chauncey said. "But, there is more at stake here than just water."

FULL STORY

From the days of the Mormon Trail, water has been the lifeblood of Las Vegas's economy. It is only appropriate that it be recognized now, when we face a severe water shortage.
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That's all for today

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posted by Dave at 5:02 PM