operation: sands.

I haven't been here in awhile, so it's high time I fire it back up. For starters, Merry Christmas!

Now that we've got that out of the way...

I've been doing some soul-searching of late. I've got some irons in the fire just now, but it appears some of them may be cooling off. So I'm beginning to think it's high time I put together a definitive game plan for getting to Vegas.

I was talking to a dealer friend of mine who works at The Palms. I told her my tentative plans are to arrive in the desert sometime in 2k8. What'll it take? Well, a job is the lynch pin to any Vegas plan. I will not move until I've got something lined up. My dealer friend is of a mind that I could—with assistance from the right "juicer"—make my way to The Strip as a dice dealer. The fact that I haven't dealt any action since May 2k1 makes me think I'd need about six weeks of intense training to get my hands back.

But any dealing gig is strictly a Plan B; a "get me the hell out of here and the hell over there" Hail Mary pass. My goal is to land as a PR practitioner at a major casino operation, PR firm or University. Those are my three industry areas of choice.

So let's say my plan—we'll call it Operation: Desert Storm Sands—has a D-Day of 1 July 08. That's about 18 months away. That means I've got to get crackin' at figuring out the cost of moving the animals, myself and my essentials to Vegas.

Let's break it down:
* Cost of a moving fan/shipping
* Fuel costs of driving the rig to Vegas
* First month's rent, security deposits, start-up costs

The latter two will be in the $2,000 range, easily. Perhaps I'll look into ditching/selling lots of crap before loading up the truck and heading west.

But again, the only thing that makes the plan go is a job. And that means I'll need to be ready to jump anytime after 1 Jan 08. So, in summation, I've got about 12 months to get my financials to a place where I can pull up the tent stakes and get outta dodge at the drop of a hat.

Yikes.

That's all for now. I'll have to wait and see what Operation: Plainfield yields.

the color of dinero.

The Las Vegas Business Press has an interesting article about the new hot demographic for the gaming industry: Latinos.

Gaming execs to discuss burgeoning Latino market

BY DAVID MCKEE

They have seen the future and it speaks Spanish. That is the contention of many in the braintrust that has been assembled for the inaugural Hispanic Gaming Summit tomorrow, a one-day prequel to the annual Casino Marketing Conference, presented by Ascend Media Gaming Group and Raving Consulting Co. Still, with the casino business doing bigger numbers year after year, why worry about this particular subset of America?

"Long story short, that's where the young people are," stated Charles Anderer, Ascend's director of trade events, who added that the casino industry needs to "wean itself off a dwindling number of older players. They need to develop new market segments. (Latinos are) a young segment but will be maturing over the next decade."

We're in the learning curve. I include myself," said Charles Harrison of Harrison & Montoya, co-sponsors of the event. "We cannot just rely on caricatures of Speedy Gonzales and mariachis."

Harrison has been a casino general manager in Latin America. Read more.

That last quote is the money-quote. I can tell you first hand that people do NOT understand the Lation market....well, white people.

fly-fishin' w/ wayne.

From the Review Journal:

Nothing says Nevada like ...
Iconic Strip entertainers sell state's outdoor offerings in ads

By CHRIS JONES

It's been 29 years since Elvis Presley last left the building, but state leaders are betting $1.25 million that the King still rules when selling Nevada.

Wayne Newton and some feather-clad showgirls have also chipped in on the Nevada Commission on Tourism's latest marketing campaign, which rides the coattails of some familiar Strip favorites when touting the state's outdoor recreation industry.

"The more we do in-house research and test these ads ... the more we realize that there are certain icons in Nevada that will always be recognizable," commission Director Bruce Bommarito said Tuesday.

"We'll try to use those icons to introduce the adventure side of Nevada," he added.

The first new print ad shows a tuxedo-clad Newton fly-fishing in Pyramid Lake. The caption reads, "Without him we didn't think you'd believe it was Nevada." Read more.

don't do it! i'm warning you! i mean it! don't do it!

From the Review Journal:

LV council OKs homeless ordinance

The Las Vegas City Council this morning unanimously passed an ordinance that bans the feeding of homeless people at public parks. The law bans giving or selling food for a "nominal fee" to "a person whom a reasonable ordinary person would believe to be entitled to apply for or receive assistance" under state law. Councilman Steve Wolfson, who raised concerns that this would prohibit someone from giving a sandwich to a homeless person, said he felt comfortable with how the bill would be enforced after talking with City Attorney Brad Jerbic.

"The marshals will get specialized training on enforcement," he said. "If you bought a couple of burgers and wanted to give them out, you technically would be in violation but you wouldn't be cited."

So let me get this straight: you can't do it. It's against the law, but if you break that law, nothing's going to happen to you. Yeah, that's worth the time.

how much for the one on the right?

Well, there you go, then. From the Las Vegas Review Journal:

Talkin' Dirty
Sex industry is topic at convention

By DAVID KIHARA

Wearing a T-shirt with the words "Will Work For Sex" on the front, Robin Head stood outside Palace Station and proudly said that she worked in the sex industry.

Head, who said she was the former owner of an escort service in Houston, was among 150 sex workers, business owners, academics and social workers who gathered in Las Vegas this week for a convention that brought prostitutes, pimps and professors together to talk about the sex industry. Read more.

double-down in the heartland.

Some casino news closer to home. From the Indianapolis Star:

Casino school opens in French Lick

FRENCH LICK, Ind. -- The first round of training for future poker dealers at the new Orange County casino begins next week.

The French Lick Resort & Casino is scheduled to open in November, and officials have already offered jobs to about 350 people. Training for people who will run craps, roulette and poker tables begins Monday and will last for 10 to 12 weeks, while training for blackjack dealers begins in August.

The dealers were hired after a job fair in June, and another job fair was scheduled for August 18-19 to find about 600 more people to work at the facility.

"We couldn't be happier with the turnout we had for our June job fair," said Scott Spurlock, general manager of the French Lick Springs Resort. "With the additional job fair in August, we fully expect to have all positions filled before the resort and casino opening in November."

Hourly wages at the French Lick Springs Resort start at $8 an hour for housekeepers, but officials have said casino dealers may earn up to $50,000.

The French Lick Resort & Casino is a $382 million restoration and casino development project that includes the French Lick Springs Resort and the new French Lick Casino -- both scheduled to open in November -- and the West Baden Springs Hotel, which is slated to open in June 2007.

The resort and casino will include more than 650 guest rooms and suites, an 84,000-square-foot casino, 45 holes of golf and two full-service spas.

i am on the wrong side of the dice table.

Reading the following article from the Las Vegas Business Press might make me re-think this whole gambling-as-a-hobby thing:

May gaming win is another monster

By DAVID MCKEE

Gamblers in Nevada lost over $1.1 billion in May, giving the Silver State its fourth consecutive month of billion-plus of casino revenues. In Nevada, only January 2006 was more lucrative. Despite healthy competition from other domestic and international gambling jurisdictions, Nevada casinos also registered yet another month of revenue growth, up 9 percent from May 2005.

For the fiscal year ending June 30, casinos' gambling win is up more than 12 percent. Read more.

on your own.

I'm sure something of note can be said about Las Vegas...I'm just too tired to look it up.

Talk amongst yourselves for a little while.

from humble beginnings.

Carlos Diaz works for Extra and has a Vegas blog? Wha??? I remember him 12 years ago when he was a local DJ here in Indy, moonlighting as a PA announcer at Indianpolis Ice hockey games. He then went on to ESPN and that's the last I ever recall. And now he's doing the Vegas thing. Huh.

I guess I don't watch much TV these days; well, celebrity gossip TV, that is.

capt. jack will creep you out tonight.

I have to admit, this wax figure stuff kinda creeps me out. From Brett's Vegas View at the Las Vegas Leisure Guide:

Madame Tussauds at The Venetian has introduced a wax figure of movie star Johnny Depp as Capt. Jack Sparrow from Disney's "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest." to coincide with the international release of the new motion picture premiering this month.

chinese market "would fill every single hotel room for years."

The Las Vegas Business Press has a pretty interesting story about the Vegas gaming industry and the one market everybody wants a piece of....China!

Dancing with dragons
Nevada courting Chinese tourists

BY ARNOLD M. KNIGHTLY

One of the keys to a successful business is the ability to lure customers back while seeking out new ones. In Nevada, the business is tourism, and the ultimate prospective customer base is the growing middle- and upper-class of China.

According to a recent report by the World Tourism Organization, China is projected to have 50 million international travelers by the end of the decade, climbing to 100 million international travelers by 2020. Needless to say, Las Vegas desperately wants a cut of that market.

"This market is so huge for us," Lt. Gov. Lorraine Hunt said. "If only a small segment of that population would come to visit Las Vegas it would fill every single hotel room for years."

Sixty percent of visitors to Macau are Chinese, and Las Vegas officials are hoping to entice them to experience the Strip, not watching dragon boat races.

One of the great hurdles for tourism to the United States from China is that the U.S. does not have an "approved destination" status agreement with the Chinese government. That agreement would simplify visa and passport issues and the marketing process.

According to the World Travel Organization, the Chinese made 31 million international trips last year, but 91 percent were to Asian destinations. They tend to travel independently instead of in large groups. One of the places they visit in great numbers is the growing Asian gaming hub of Macau.

"What Macau is going to be doing in our hotel-casinos there is, basically, getting us a new audience," Hunt said. "Everyone wants to come to the real world, the mecca, and Las Vegas is the Mecca of gaming." Read more.

I swear, every major American industry can hardly contain itself over the prospects of gaining the Chinese market.

vegas.com and the vegas minute.

After watching Vegas.com's Vegas Minute, I'm thinking I want to check out The Palms.

I wonder if my friend Heather can get me into ghostbar. Hmm....

mgm mirage appoints hr point-people.

From the MGM Mirage Web site:

MGM MIRAGE Appoints Richard Vosburgh and Promotes Miriam Hammond as Senior Vice Presidents of Human Resources

LAS VEGAS, July 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- MGM MIRAGE has announced the appointment of Richard Vosburgh as Senior Vice President of Human Resources for Mirage Resorts. Vosburgh will oversee human resources at all Mirage Resorts properties including Project CityCenter, a $7 billion development project currently underway in Las Vegas. He will report to Bobby Baldwin, Mirage Resorts President and Chief Executive Officer.

According to Baldwin, Vosburgh's expertise will be a tremendous asset in helping the company address its current and future human resources needs. Project CityCenter will create 12,000 permanent positions when it opens in 2009.

“Richard's extensive background in recruitment, talent assessment, training, succession planning and organizational effectiveness will be essential in building a strong workforce that will provide first-class service to our guests,” Baldwin said. Read more.

Hmm...I wonder if Mr. Richard Vosburgh will Google his name and find my site...regard me as a witty, smart, forward-thinking and dashing young man who's worthy of a high-level communications position with MGM Mirage. Is it too early to start the sniveling?

oh yeah, boyd too.

My former employer, Boyd Gaming, scheduled its conference call too:

Boyd Gaming to Report Second Quarter 2006 Results and Host Conference Call and Webcast on July 25

LAS VEGAS, July 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE: BYD) announced today that the Company's second quarter 2006 conference call to review the Company's results will take place on Tuesday, July 25 at 4:30 p.m. Eastern. The conference call number is 800.237.9752 and the reservation number is 89335850. Please call up to 15 minutes in advance to ensure you are connected prior to the call's initiation. The Company will report its results on the same day at approximately 4:00 p.m. Eastern.

The conference call will also be available live right here.

Following the call's completion, a replay will be available by dialing 888.286.8010 on Tuesday, July 25, beginning two hours after the completion of the call and continuing through Tuesday, August 1. The passcode for the replay will be 53493631. The replay will also be available on the Internet at www.boydgaming.com.

harrah's second-quarter conference call coming soon.

Note to self....from Harrah's corporate Web site:

Harrah's Entertainment Sets Conference Call To Discuss Second-Quarter Results

LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 6, 2006--Harrah's Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:HET) will host a conference call Thursday, July 27, 2006, at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time to discuss its 2006 second-quarter results.

Those interested in participating in the call should dial 1-888-399-2695, or 1-706-679-7646 for international callers, approximately 10 minutes before the call start time. A taped replay of the conference call can be accessed at 1-800-642-1687, or 1-706-645-9291 for international callers, beginning at 10:00 a.m. EDT on Thursday, July 27. The replay will be available through 11:59 p.m. EDT on Thursday, August 3. The passcode number for the replay is 2629464.

Interested parties wanting to listen to the conference call may do so on the company's Web site - www.harrahs.com - in the Investor relations section.

Hey, they're the biggest gaming corporation in the world. I think I want to listen in; especially since I'm considering purchasing some stock. You heard me.

need a pr flack, mr. kennedy, sir?

Las Vegas Sands is calling in a heavy-hitter. From its corporate Web site:

Las Vegas Sands Corp. Adds One of Las Vegas' Top Executives to Management Team
Kevin Kelley Named Senior Vice President

LAS VEGAS, July 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS) today announced that Kevin Kelley has joined the organization as senior vice president.

Bringing to Las Vegas Sands Corp. nearly 20 years of hotel and resort experience, Kelley was most recently president and chief operating officer for Hard Rock Hotel and Casino where in his 3 1/2 year tenure they achieved record revenues. Prior to this, he served with Station Casinos for over nine years where he held many positions including president of West Las Vegas operations overseeing all aspects of five properties.

"Kevin is truly a unique individual with experience in all aspects of hotel and casino management, and we are delighted to have him join the organization," said Bradley H. Stone, executive vice president of Las Vegas Sands Corp. "Our company is growing, especially overseas and Kevin's extensive knowledge will help the team execute our vision for the future."

Mr. Stone said the company's growth plans include, The Venetian Macao, which is currently under construction on the Cotai Strip(TM), as well as the development of other hotels in Asia's Las Vegas(TM), including a Four Seasons, Sheraton, St. Regis, Shangri-La, Traders, Hilton, Conrad, Fairmont and Raffles hotels. Additional projects include the recently announced Marina Bay Sands(TM) in Singapore and the $1.8 billion Palazzo Resort Hotel Casino, adjacent to The Venetian on the Las Vegas Strip. Read more.

To me, and this is a no-brainer really, the money-graph is that last one more so than the Kennedy hiring. All the big gaming companies are taking aim at the Pacific Rim. Nevertheless, the Palazzo shows they know where their bread gets buttered.

Either way, Mr. Kennedy, sir...need a PR flack? You can pay me 100 orange cheques per year. Is that asking so much?

g-rated vegas? gambling is next to godliness?

Thank God Harrah's understands. From the Las Vegas Sun:

LOOKING IN ON: GAMING
Finding a family niche in an adult city

By Liz Benston

It's the thick of summer in Las Vegas, which means pool parties amid bikini-clad servers, afternoon boozing at extended happy hours and ¦ free kiddie movies and video games at the Four Seasons?

Bucking the Sin City image, the upscale, nongaming hotel has entered its fourth year of a family promotion that includes reduced rates for kids staying in a separate room and a package of perks to keep the young 'uns happy while Mom and Dad gamble.

Other Strip operators say they're not interested in luring families and won't be offering similar deals anytime soon.

"We are operating an entertainment business that is oriented toward adults," Harrah's Entertainment spokesman David Strow said. "We're pretty adamant about that."

I know, I know. Parents need to have fun too. I'm all for it. But it seems Vegas would be the last place I'd go if I had young children. From what I can see, there isn't much for little kids to do in Vegas. But I could be wrong.

Also from LOOKING IN ON: GAMING

The results from Harrah's annual survey of casino gamblers are in, and they suggest that, by some measure, gamblers are a bit more sophisticated - and less religious - than nongamblers...The survey, one of two major industry-funded gambler profiles, is intended to dispel myths about gamblers and has been a longstanding irritant to casino foes nationwide.

This year's survey says gamblers are more likely to have tasted various ethnic foods, used new technology, redecorated their homes and taken long trips, among other consumer-friendly activities.

Gamblers aren't much more heathen or hedonistic than the rest of the population, Harrah's contends.

Forty-four percent of gamblers said being a good parent coincided with their personal expression of success, compared to 40 percent of nongamblers.

Both gamblers and nongamblers volunteered time for social causes at the same rate, though a greater percentage of gamblers said they donated money to a social good. Read more.

what's next? a bridge tournament on tv?

Well, they'll make a tournament out of anything these days, won't they! From PR Newswire:

PartyGammon.com to Stage First Ever $1 Million Backgammon Tournament
The First PartyGammon.com Million Will Draw 128 Competitors to The Bahamas, Half Qualifying Online-Event to be Filmed for Worldwide Television

GIBRALTAR, July 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Offering the largest guaranteed prize pool in the history of backgammon, PartyGammon.com today announced that it will stage the PartyGammon.com Million at the famous Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island in The Bahamas, on January 21st-25th, 2007. Half of the field of 128 players will be filled by online qualifiers
and the other half from players who directly buy-in to the tournament.

The location will be familiar to long-time backgammon enthusiasts because it was the venue where the World Championships of Backgammon was at its pinnacle of popularity between 1975 and 1978, when the legendary Paul Magriel reigned as the leading champion. That event has now moved to Monte Carlo, but the $500,000 guaranteed first prize of the PartyGammon.com Million is estimated to exceed this year's World Championship top prize five times over! Read more.

I haven't played backgammon in ages. I used to love this game! However, a TV show? Isn't it bad enough that we have 10,000 poker TV shows? Then again, those poker players are such lookers for TV! Ugh!

boyd needs a third-quarter rally.

Looks like my old employer had a rough quarter. From the Las Vegas Business Press:

Report: Boyd's revenue will be worse than Street

BY DAVID MCKEE

Second-quarter revenue at Boyd Gaming will fall short of even Wall Street's lowest-end projections, predicts a Majestic Research report that shows play continuing to decline at South Coast Hotel & Casino and Boyd losing market share downtown, once its traditional stronghold. Wall Street's consensus on Boyd net revenue for April-June ranges from $614 million to $655 million, said Majestic Research, which foresees numbers 5 percent to 9 percent lower, falling somewhere between $585 million and $599 million...

Another riverboat facility, Blue Chip Casino & Hotel, Michigan, Ind., unveiled a $163 million expansion last January, prompting 38 percent revenue growth over early 2005. The novelty of an augmented Blue Chip may be wearing off, as revenue growth has slowed, albeit to a still-robust 24 percent in April and May.

Boyd declined to comment on the Majestic Research forecast, citing prohibitions against intra-quarter revenue commentary. In 10 of the past 14 quarters, Boyd has come in slightly above Majestic Research's profit projections.

The news was better for Harrah's Entertainment, with tracking data showing it on pace for $2.3 billion in net revenues for the second quarter. Highlighting that performance was the one-two punch thrown by Harrah's Las Vegas and the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino, overperforming to the tune of 56 percent above average for the market. Read more.

Back when I worked at Blue Chip, we were Boyd's most profitable property. That always struck an odd chord with me, since we were a small riverboat in NW Indiana and Boyd has such deep Vegas roots. I think they represent "old" Vegas and are still trying to re-define themselves in an age where their end of the Strip is getting pummeled by the north end, where Harrah's owns nearly everything of consequence.

dream job, revisited.

This is why R&R Partners is my dream job. From PR Week:

Harrah's taps R&R for branding mission

LAS VEGAS: In an effort to redefine and differentiate its recently merged roster of hotel properties, Harrah's Entertainment Las Vegas has teamed with R&R Partners to craft a series of brand-building PR initiatives.

There's no more news to go to, unless you're a subscriber to PRWeek. I read about this merger a couple weeks ago. What I wouldn't give to work for them on these accounts.