Resort Jobs Not Coming Back Soon

Since the recession started few places were hit as bad as Las Vegas with the huge collapse in real estate there as well as the drop in visitor spending since the downturn. The hotel resorts have laid off thousands of employees and this started before the downturn as the casino’s used technology to get rid of positions such as people in change booths or change runners. The companies are also trying to use technology such as mini roulette which only uses one employee instead of several and slot point’s redemption machines which will cut down people in the slot club desks. I don’t see the casino companies slowing down on using technology to replace employees where possible these jobs won’t return. In recent week there has been a lot of press about the “Plaza” reopening with 800 new jobs and the Octavuis Tower opening at “Caesars Palace” but that won’t take up the slack for the thousands laid off before. The “Plaza” reopening is good for downtown and the city but you have to remember when it closed to remodel the employees were laid off as well as the employees in the “Lady Luck”,“Binion’s” hotel the “Sahara” and this week the loss of up to 90 jobs at the “Western.” Las Vegas will come back it always does but it could take longer that the rest of the country, time will tell on that note.

"Stratosphere" Remodel Under Way

With the continuing recession many hotels have differed maintenance or closed whole wings of there hotels such as the "Sahara" or even closed their hotel rooms such as "Binions"; But a few companies are using the time to upgrade there rooms so they are ready when the economy picks up such as the Tropicana, the Plaza downtown and the "Stratosphere" on the north strip. The "Stratosphere" was known for its cheap and basic rooms which like many in Las Vegas was starting to look dated and now they are remodeling them in a $20 million dollar remodeling program which if works out will should cost $15-$20 per room per night than the older rooms. Its tough times in Las Vegas and $20 million isn't a huge amount for the number of rooms but any company that is willing to spend money to improve there product in these tough times should be applauded. If the remodel goes have as well as the "Tropicana" remodel it should do very well.

Did Harrah's Kill Binion's?

I see the comments in Las Vegas blogs that Harrah's recently renamed as Caesars pushed Binion's in to a tail spin that they haven't been able to recover from in the short time Harrah's owned them. Binion's is a downtown casino with a long and storied history but it fell on tough times long before Harrah's took them over and the current downturn in the economy. The property had become rundown and had issues with the landowners as several people own the land under Binion's. The property has a casino which is two half's the original part has low ceilings the other half which years ago was the Mint casino has high ceilings. The property has a good steakhouse and tiny snack bar with good food deals it also had a good coffee shop which was closed in cost cutting. Harrah's bought a Binion's which had been shut down and put people back to work which is a good thing without Harrah's moving in there is a good chance Binion's could be closed for an extended time. In the short time Harrah's owned Binion's they stripped Binion's of the Binion's Horseshoe name and took the horseshoe off the side of the building and now use the name in other hotel casinos. The loss of the Horseshoe name although sad didn't harm Binion's, also Harrah's kept the rights to the World Series Of Poker which they moved to the Rio. Losing the World Series Of Poker did harm Binion's a little because it was free publicity but my guess most of the contestants didn't stay in the small but okay rooms at Binion's. The World Series of Poker had outlived its home at Binion's and had become too big for the property although it was sad to see it leave downtown. The issues with Binion's are many and not caused by Harrah's however much the blog comments like to say and hopeful under current owner Terry Caudill also owner of the Four Queens things can improve.

Was Binion's Closing The Hotel A Bad Idea?

A few months ago Binion's downtown on Fremont Street closed its hotel rooms while still keeping the casino open. The home of the World Series Of Poker for many years was struggling even before the latest economy downturn. The owner of the Four Queens who now owns Binion's drew a lot of flack at the time when it closed the hotel; The comments at the time included that once the economy picks up people wouldn't think about Binion's anymore because the hotel is closed. These comments are stupid because once the economy picks back up and if the rooms are reopened people will stay there even if the rooms are just overflow rooms for the Four Queens customers. Right now there is too much room capacity in Las Vegas and, by taking the rooms offline they cut their costs in a bad economy. The rooms in Binion's were always okay but on the small side and weren't in my top choices for rooms downtown. By selling these rooms at $20 a night as there were at the time of there closure wasn't sustainable as the costs of staffing, cleaning and maintenance on the room are mostly fixed costs weather they sell the room at $100 or $20 a night. I feel bad about the people that lost there jobs but it most likely was the best move to make in the current climate.