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.

vegas on a shoestring.

Thanks to a flabby US economy, the Strip casinos have to scale back their collective plans to cater strictly to the affluent, upscale travelers. From Sunday's Las Vegas Review Journal:

RELAXING DEALS, FUN DEALS, FOOD AND DRINK DEALS: Vegas on the Cheap
Sour economy could be sweet deal for savvy shoppers

By SONYA PADGETT

If there's anything positive about Las Vegas' struggling economy -- and that's a big if -- it's the return of the good casino deal.

While we're nowhere near the $3.99 all-you-can-eat buffets of yore -- yet -- there are some decent deals to be found, even for those whose budgets are tighter than a Rio cocktail waitress's uniform. Read more.

I observed the struggling economy in action when I was in Vegas last month. I had a chat with a pit boss table games manager at The Mirage who told me, "we're starting to pick back up right now."

She's a veteran of the Strip for many years, I gathered. I was somewhat surprised that the Mirage was feeling the pinch, since it's one of the more lavish destinations.

But that's the problem. When the economy is doing better, middle America has more disposable cash to throw around. And where better to throw money than the desert? But when gas is running twice as much as it was from four years ago...well, you get the point.

The economy will pick back up. And when it does, bye-bye deals.