happy birthday, mirage!

Happy birthday to my favorite place on the Strip! From the Las Vegas Review Journal:

MIRAGE MIRACLE: The Mirage turns 20 today
Steve Wynn's tropical-themed resort-casino had its critics but kicked off building frenzy
By HOWARD STUTZ

Twenty years ago, The Mirage was the CityCenter of its time...But with the city still recovering from the economic doldrums of the early 1980s, many financial experts didn't think The Mirage would succeed.

Some wondered if The Mirage would really grow the market. Most expected it would just steal customers from neighboring hotel-casinos.

Sound familiar? Read more.

I know the building boom ushered in my the Mirage has its fair share of critics—too big, too garish, too corporate. But there's no denying the Strip recovered as a result of the larger-than-life mega resorts and helped rebuild the market. Thankfully, the idea of Vegas being a family-friendly vacation spot is no longer the brand identity.

Here's a very telling quote about how Steve Wynn built a game changer:

"The '80s were not an easy decade for Las Vegas. Casinos started going after a family friendly market; and Circus Circus (Enterprises) was the most profitable casino company on the Strip, because more people were betting $100 a trip rather than $100,000."
—David G. Schwartz, director of the Center for Gaming Research at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas

friday night tweets: the las vegas strip.

I spent a couple hours on the Strip last evening. No gambling, but I wanted to take in the atmosphere and see if anything was abuzz. I Twittered most of it. And it goes a little something like this...

10:28 p.m.: Pretty quiet night on The Strip tonight. Just nursing a beer, myself...not in the mood to gamble.

10:31 p.m.: And FYI, Casino Royale is kinda scary. But I have no shame. I'll stand in line for a $1 Michelob!

10:40 p.m.: Cops on horseback riding down Las Vegas Blvd.? Shoulda had my camera put for that one. O'Sheas is quiet tonight too.

10:48 p.m.: THOROUGHLY unimpressed with the surly bartender at Imperial Palace's Sake Bar. A little courtesy goes a long way, sweetheart.

11:02 p.m.: Apparently I'm cool enough to get "VIP" passes to the Revolution Lounge tonight, while last week I was ignored...I know. It's dead tonight. But I am dressed rather smartly in my tragically hip untucked black shirt and black blazer, so there's that.


11:33 p.m.: The Mirage did not disappoint. Still my favorite Vegas casino.

leaving on a jet plane...wondering when you're coming back to vegas!

Not terribly shocking, really. From the Review-Journal:

McCarran passenger counts fall 1.3 percent in October
By HOWARD STUTZ

Passenger counts at McCarran International Airport fell 1.3 percent in October. More than 3.51 million passengers came through McCarran during the month, compared with more than 3.56 million passengers in the same month a year ago.

For the first 10 months of 2009, McCarran has seen passenger counts fall 9.4 percent over the period in 2008.

No real surprise that passenger counts are down this year. The real meat-and-potatoes comparison will be 2k10 numbers vs. 2k9 and even 2k8. That'll give the clearest indication if the economy is rebounding. We already know Strip development is going to remain halted. That's old news. Let's see if people are ready to occupy the rooms already waiting for them.

boyd creating distance from echelon?

Telling, telling quote from Boyd Gaming's third quarter results statement:

Based on our current outlook, we do not anticipate that Echelon will resume construction for three to five years.

While Boyd claims to be committed to a Strip presence, their actions show all they're committed to is a dormant construction site. Unless, of course, they plan to divest from the project and look to purchase another Strip property. It would only surprise me because Boyd has never shown much interest in owning one of the larger Strip properties. But given MGMMirage's financial woes and all-in strategy with CityCenter, perhaps Boyd (or someone) could purchase a property on the cheap.