What's in a name?

Harrah's Entertainment, having already moved to acquire Jack Binion's Horseshoe casinos, is now casting a longing eye at the Horseshoe name in Nevada. Not the casino itself--apparently they have no real interest in acquiring the storied downtown landmark, which hosts the annual World Series of Poker. Rather, they just want the name. From an AP Exclusive:

Harrah's Entertainment is trying to acquire the Binion's Horseshoe name in Nevada, one of the best known and oldest brands in the gambling industry, a company official confirmed Thursday.
'We think Nevada is a growth market, particularly Las Vegas,' Harrah's spokesman Gary Thompson told The Associated Press. 'We'd also like the opportunity to rebrand a Harrah's property with the Horseshoe name. It's one of the most powerful brands in the gaming industry.'
Harrah's signed a $1.45 billion agreement in September to buy Jack Binion's Horseshoe Gaming Holding Corp., its properties and the Horseshoe name outside Nevada.

Jack Binion did not own any Nevada casinos, but as part of the sale Harrah's took control of a note valued at about $20 million with accrued interest that the Horseshoe Club Operating Co. owes Jack Binion, said Dominic Polizzotto, general counsel for his Horseshoe Gaming Holding Corp.

Polizzotto said the Horseshoe Club Operating Co. has defaulted on the 1998 loan, which was secured with the casino's assets.

Becky Binion Behnen, who owns the downtown Las Vegas casino, acknowledged Thursday that her company had been approached by Harrah's.
FULL STORY

This is one of the weirdest things I've heard in a while. Harrah's Entertainment has been all about brand loyalty and brand identity; they've invested a great deal in data mining technology to better exploit their famous brand name. And now they want to buy the Horseshoe name to rebrand an existing property. Which one?
First, there is Harrah's Las Vegas, the flagship of the national chain of Harrah's casinos. While its only been a Harrah's since the early 1990s (it was the Holiday casino before that), it is the company's only property on the Las Vegas Strip, the gaming capital of the world.
Then there is a Rio, which already has its own theme and identity, and renaming it the Horseshoe would make absolutely no sense.
Harrah's Reno and Lake Tahoe, the casinos originally built and run by Bill Harrah would hopefully be off the table entirely. Renaming them would be a complete slap in the face to the rich traditions of the company. Besides, Harrah's was operating in Reno about a decade before Benny Binion moved to Las Vegas, so that name has more value there.
Harrah's Laughlin is a possibility, but it raises the question of why a company that already has a well-defined brand would muddy the waters by acquiring a new name.
If it was a matter of acquiring a stake in the downtown Las Vegas market, which is definitely headed towards a revitalization, it's a great plan. but then there's this:

Jack Binion said Thursday that Harrah's had made "arrangements to get the note." He said he didn't know Harrah's plans, but suspected "they would take the name and leave the casino. They want the name."
STORY

I'm not sure exactly what value the Horseshoe name by itself is, particularly vis a vis the Harrah's name. The casino has been mired in financial and legal troubles for the past several years, whereas Harrah's is, if its own PR is to be believed, one of the best known and most respected names in the casino business.
What is a name worth, anyway? If a group of investors somehow leveraged the Bellagio name, bought the Riviera, and renamed it the Bellagio, it doesn't follow that they will be able to raise room rates to $220 a night and maintain 97% occupancy. The casino's name has a reputation as the best on the Strip, but that is because of its design, amenities, and superior service, much more than its name alone.
If Harrah's does acquire the name, what happens to the Horseshoe? It seems ridiculous that the casino that Benny Binion built would be stripped of the Horseshoe name. And if the name is so valuable by itself, wouldn't taking the name off the casino completely devalue it? So why not just sell the casino and be done with it?
As a further question for personal introspection, here's a pop quiz: What if Harrah's got a hold of YOUR credit card debt and offered to acquire your name in exchange for it? Let's say they want to rebrand a marketing VP with your name and its reputation for integrity and conviviality. They don't want to hire you--they just want your name. Would you part with it and try to forge a new brand identity?
More on this surreal story as it develops.
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posted by Dave at 9:26 AM

Casinos and higher learning in MN

A proposal is circulating in Minnesota that would use some of the revenues from a large casino to provide college and technical school scholarships. The plan is not without its controversy. from the Star Tribune:

Touching off what promises to be the next big battle in Minnesota's political wars over casino proposals, an influential legislator said Wednesday that a giant Twin Cities-area gambling emporium would add $250 million a year to state coffers. She suggests that much of it to providing college and technical school scholarships.
While Rep. Lynda Boudreau, R-Faribault, said the operator and site for such a state-licensed casino should be determined through public bidding, much of her proposal pointed toward a Caesars Palace adjacent to the Mall of America in Bloomington.
That idea doesn't please everyone. 'Many people will tell you that Bloomington is the best place in the country for a casino,' said Rep. Ann Lenczewski, DFL-Bloomington, who has drafted a bill that would make it harder to put a casino there.
Caesars Entertainment Inc. recently released a study showing that a casino with 5,000 slot machines at the mall would generate $1 billion in annual revenues and 6,750 new jobs.
Boudreau distributed that study to reporters and highlighted its finding that, thanks to the megamall, Bloomington is the second-most-visited city in the United States, behind only Orlando, and ahead of gambling centers Las Vegas and Atlantic City. Direct and indirect tax collections spurred by a megamall casino would reach $530 million a year, the study said.
FULL STORY

This fits in with an idea that I've had for a while. I've been wanting to install slot machines at UNLV Special Collections to provide a new revenue stream, but I've been consistently rebuffed by the adminstration, who seem to see something untoward in a university running a gambling operation.
Personally, I think it would be great to merge the two worlds I inhabit, the university and the casino. I'm not talking about an extension program in a shopping mall owned by a casino--I already did that in 2000 back in Atlantic City. I mean a full scale, all-amenities casino resort with a fully-accredited major research university attached. Since school is out during the busiest times of the year, all students and faculty would have to work in the casino as well. That way, I could have that dual appointment in casino security and teaching American history that my resume qualifies me for. I've often thought that a defunct casino resort would be the perfect place for a university. The hotel rooms could be easily converted into dorms, and the casino and convention space into classrooms and lecture halls. Too bad Donald didn't sell the World's Fair/Regency/Atlantis/Playboy to the University of Pennsylvania to use as a satellite campus--I could definitely see that building with the Penn logo where the Trump logo used to be.
Anyway, to my way of thinking, merging casino and college is simply the logical extension of plans to divert casino revenue for higher education. Why not just cut to the chase and cut out the middle man? Big chunks of my undergraduate and gradaute careers were made possible by the Trump Taj Mahal, after all, although it was not a matter of the state taking money from the casino to pay me to go to school, it was just me working there and saving my money for school. With my casino/university plan, everyone can be so lucky.
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posted by Dave at 4:13 PM

Illinois revenues down

To the surprise of absolutely no one, revenues at Illinois's riverboats are down, thanks to a ruinous tax scheme imposed by the state legislature. From the Daily Southtown:

Almost halfway through the budget year, declining attendance and profits at riverboat casinos have virtually ensured that higher gambling taxes won't produce the money officials had counted on to balance the state budget.
Gov. Rod Blagojevich and state lawmakers hoped the higher taxes and admission fees would produce an additional $200 million to help fill a $5 billion budget deficit.

Now a lobbyist for the casinos says it will be no more than $70 million, and the Legislature's Economic and Fiscal Commission says it may be around $100 million. The governor's office acknowledges there's a shortfall but didn't provide its own estimate Tuesday afternoon.

"The revenue's not coming in," Dan Long, the commission's executive director, said Tuesday. "It's clear it's not going to make the mark."

The higher taxes and fees mean riverboat owners are paying tens of millions of dollars more in taxes to the state through the first five and a half months of the fiscal year than they did last year. But the increase has not been as large as expected.

Riverboats say the numbers show they have clearly suffered under higher taxes.

"The casino industry is good for Illinois, and these taxes are very detrimental to the casino industry, and therefore they're going to be detrimental to the people of Illinois," said Tom Swoik, executive director of the Illinois Casino Gaming Association.

Blagojevich's office said the state budget does not depend on getting any specific amount from the casino taxes. Any increase would be welcome in tight financial times, an aide said.

"I don't think that we considered an extra $100 million in a budget crisis a bad thing," said Becky Carroll, spokeswoman for Blagojevich's Office of Management and Budget. "That's new money. That's money that we did not have last year."

Facing a massive deficit and a governor opposed to expanding gambling, lawmakers chose to increase admission fees and boost several levels of the graduated tax rate, which requires boats to pay more taxes as they make more money. The new rates are in effect until the state sells its dormant 10th riverboat license, which the state hopes to sell for $350 million, or up to two years.

The boats have responded by cutting back hours and more than 1,200 jobs. Attendance at the boats was down 10 percent between January and October from the same period in 2002, and revenues were down 6 percent for the same timeframes, according to the Illinois Gaming Board.

Swoik said customers are heading to boats in neighboring states with fewer restrictions.

Blagojevich accuses the boats of manipulating their revenues to avoid the higher tax brackets, but Swoik said the casinos would be foolish to scare away customers when the tax is temporary. Swoik said the numbers should persuade lawmakers to consider adding more slot machines at the boats and other ideas to generate more revenue.

FULL STORY

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posted by Dave at 3:35 PM

Sin city? Don't go there

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority has used a "Vegas Stories" advertising campaign for the past year or so. With the tag line "what happens here, stays here," the TV spots include a woman arousing herself in a limo, a conventioneer getting a quickie wedding, and a group of hung-over partiers wondering what happened to a friend who was "missing in action" (i.e., probably hooked up). This is the image that Las Vegas presents to the public, and it's all good.
But don't call Las Vegas Sin City. from reviewjournal.com:

When it comes to promoting the state's tourism industry, the phrase "Sin City" is simply too taboo for Manny Cortez.

As president and chief executive officer of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, Cortez has spent much of 2003 championing his organization's controversial but successful "Vegas Stories" advertising campaign.

Cortez took exception when the term "Sin City" was used to describe Las Vegas as part of a new statewide tourism campaign previewed at Monday's Nevada Commission on Tourism board meeting at Caesars Palace.

"I've lived here for 50 years and have sold this city for 40, and I can say we've never used that kind of terminology in our ads," said Cortez, who is also a commissioner for the nine-member state tourism board. "You don't use that phrase."

Cortez's protest was supported by fellow board member Irwin Kishner, who added "a certain element of the population is not quite in favor of making Las Vegas a sin city."

Bruce Bommarito, the commission's executive director, said his staff will take steps to address the issue in future ads.

The flap began when Teri Gibson, an account executive with DRGM Advertising & Public Relations, showed the board samples of a current print campaign designed to lure more outdoor enthusiasts to the state. One print ad now in circulation called for a "Guy's Week Out" that included several days spent in the outdoors, or "God's country," followed by a "Sin City chaser."

Earlier in the meeting, DRGM Vice President Jennifer Evans and others said the spots were developed using extensive consumer research. After spotting the phrase "Sin City," Cortez asked members of the DRGM delegation if their research methods led them to use a term his organization staunchly avoids when promoting Las Vegas.

Once challenged, Gibson attempted to compare her company's "Nevada, Wide Open" ads to claims made in the convention authority's $58 million "Vegas Stories" campaign, a call Cortez rebutted by stating his group's spots only hint at risqué activities.

FULL STORY

We can look forward to even more "Vegas stories" in the future. As a Las Vegas resident, I consistently try to help visitors have their own unique Vegas stories whenever I can.
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posted by Dave at 11:53 AM

Casino behind the scenes

From yahoo.com:

Executive Producer Craig Piligian, of "American Chopper" fame has chosen Green Valley Ranch Casino Resort and Spa in Henderson, Nevada as the showcase for "American Casino," his newest installment in the Discovery Channel's wildly popular "American" series. Production for the first season of "American Casino" which includes 13 episodes begins January on location at the resort.
The success of the Discovery Channel's family drama-reality show "American Chopper," was the catalyst for Piligian's idea to produce "American Casino."

"We wanted to create a show that takes viewers behind the scenes of a casino operation. American Casino is a look at the hard work, pressure, and day-to-day business decisions the owners and managers must make for their operation to be successful," said Piligian.

Piligian said that Green Valley Ranch Station was a natural fit when choosing a location for the show. Green Valley Ranch operators Frank Fertitta III and his brother Lorenzo Fertitta are at the top of the game in Las Vegas. The family-run operation was attractive to Piligian, and fit the "American" series philosophy perfectly.

FULL STORY

The show will be on the air in June 2004. I'm sure people will be tuning in to see what REALLY goes on inside a casino.
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posted by Dave at 11:42 AM