Million Dollar Suites at the Cosmopolitan

The top four floors of the Cosmopolitan hotel in Las Vegas have been vacant since the day the casino opened in 2010.  But they’ve finally been furnished and opened to the public.  Well, sort of. The 21 Boulevard Penthouse suites that now fill those top floors have balconies overlooking the Bellagio fountains and Vegas strip, designs by Adam Tihany, and $56,000 bottles of Louis XIII Black Pearl cognac—and a minimum buy-in of $1 million at the Reserve, the Cosmopolitan’s high-roller lounge. According to travel specialist Jack Ezon of Ovation Travel, that may make them the most expensive hotel rooms anywhere in the world.

About that Price Tag …

In Vegas, a million-dollar buy-in isn’t unheard of—at least not on big weekends such as those that straddle the Super Bowl, the Chinese New Year, or New Year’s Eve. But even the nicest rooms in town—such as the villas at Bellagio and the Mansions at the MGM Grand, where built-in massage rooms, indoor swimming pools, and billiard rooms all can come inside the suite—are regularly available for far less money. MGM’s Mirage Villas? They hover around $20,000. The 10,500-square-foot, David Rockwell-designed villa atop the Nobu Hotel (which is part of Caesars Palace)? It’s dripping with gold, besides having an Instagram-worthy tub and piano—and it’s about $35,000 per night.  

Prices shift depending on time of year, who you are, and what kind of a relationship you have with the marketing manager, but sometimes these palatial rooms can go for as little as $5,000. Not bad, compared with the Cosmopolitan’s buy-in. From a business perspective, the move has helped the hotel compensate for midweek slumps, when whales aren’t working the baccarat tables.

A Risky Bet

Here’s why many Vegas managers have been ditching the “high roller” in their high-roller suites: According to the University of Nevada Las Vegas Center for Gaming Research, casino revenues have declined sharply, and consistently, since 1984. Back then, gaming represented nearly 59 percent of total revenue on the Strip, with hotels pulling in just 16 percent. By 2012, that had shifted to 36 percent casino revenue and 25 percent hotel business. Today, that gap has continued to narrow, with casinos now pulling in 34 percent and hotels yielding 28 percent.

It goes to show that whales aren’t the only big spenders in Vegas. The conference business, it turns out, is where MGM is putting its money. “It’s not always about the casino guests,” said Aria’s Bailey “It’s about functions and hosted events—a wedding or the launch of an app, or anything in between—and the importance of conventions.”

But hotels in Sin City can’t yet survive without a great casino—and high-roller suites are still a big catalyst for that key business. Since gambling has never been the Cosmpolitan’s strongest suit, investing in this weakening-but-still-strong industry is a play the hotel needs to make, even if it has already missed the boat on the industry’s best days.

Cosmopolitan’s Benowitz estimates that his 21 suites will add 10 percent to 20 percent to his bottom line. It’s not as much as MGM resorts like Aria make on their suite products—Bailey says her suites represent far more than 20 percent—but Benowitz sees it as an incremental play worth making.

The Value Proposition

It’s hard to argue that the Cosmopolitan’s suites are “worth” their million-dollar price tag—particularly when the competitors offer a similar range of amenities. But if what you want is exclusivity and style (at any price), the Boulevard Suites will win your affections.

Here’s what they promise: around-the-clock butler service, chauffeured airport transfers in a variety of luxury SUVs, and a full culinary team that will “create whatever our guests desire,” said Benowitz. “If a guest wants stone crabs for dinner in their Penthouse, we’ll go to Joe’s and procure them.”

Welcome amenities are selected based on each guest’s preferences and could include a hard-to-find bottle of bourbon or a humidor full of their favorite cigars. Living-room walls are swapped for resin panels trimmed in 24-karat gold, and bathrooms have floor-to-ceiling marble and pod-like soaking tubs. A white grand piano stands in the living room. And whereas Sin City’s other megasuites all conform to kitschy themes, the Cosmopolitan’s are worthy of the name.

The True Cost of Entrance

Not everyone gets in to the Boulevard Penthouses. To do so, you have to prove your net worth, clear a few security hurdles, and have paperwork submitted to the Gaming Commission—which gets you into the high-roller lounge called the Reserve, where you’ll play your requisite million.

There are, and will be, exceptions to those rules—this is Vegas after all, where rules are meant to be broken. “Some of our slot guests don’t have as much as a bankroll per individual trip but they come often, so their value is still very high,” Benowitz said. “Anyone who spends over $100,000 on a given trip could be considered.”

As for the 98 percent occupancy rates that most hotels in Vegas like to brag about? They don’t apply here—which is to say, the Boulevard Penthouses will never be given away for next-to-nothing. “We’re not overly concerned if a room goes vacant because there’s an opportunity cost of getting someone in there,” Benowitz said. “They’re not at the same occupancy as the rest of the hotel, but on weekends? The demand is astronomical.”

Guess I won't be staying there anytime soon.  How about you ? 

To contact the author of this story: Nikki Ekstein in New York at nekstein@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: James Gaddy at jgaddy@bloomberg.net

David Hasselhoff Assumes Duties as Mayor of Funner

It's all fun and games in Southern California, and this past week David Hasselhoff, remembered best for his role in Baywatch and Knight Rider, was sworn in as Mayor of San Diego County's newest town, Funner California.  If you missed the inauguration and swearing in, don't worry, the Hoff will be returning to Harrahs SoCal every few months to carry out his duties and enjoy the Southern California sunshine and the casino's Lazy River.  Here's an article that appeared recently in San Diego Magazine you might enjoy....the video is fun too.

David Hasselhoff Puts the Fun in Funner, California

The tiny North County town gets a fun-loving new mayor

  

by Sanna Bowman Coates in San Diego Magazine.

Funner. According to the TV commercials you might have seen on local networks, “it’s not a word, it’s a place.” That place, specifically, is the 40-something acre lot that’s home to Harrah’s Resort SoCal in Valley Center.

 As part of a big rebranding campaign by the resort, its location was renamed Funner by the Rincon Band of Luiseño Mission Indians last year, and is now official with road signs, a GPS destination — and a new mayor.

This week, former Baywatch star David Hasselhoff was inaugurated as the first-ever mayor of Funner, California. “I won because nobody was running against me,” he joked in a quick interview before the inauguration ceremony. 

The ceremony was held at the Dive on May 18, with Baywatch Babes, aka fun enforcement, standing by to keep the looky-loos at bay.

Following the swearing in, the press sat down with “The Hoff” in the newly decked-out Mayoral Suite at Harrah’s, covered in Hasselhoff memorabilia from different stages of his career. The man himself was casually dressed in his vacation finest: white pants, a loosely buttoned shirt, and a blue blazer.

Being mayor of Funner is a tough job, but someone’s gotta do it. “My official responsibilities are to make sure that when you come to Funner, California, you have fun,” says Hasselhoff. Having fun, according to “The Hoff,” is the solution to most of the world’s problems. “I’ve learned to laugh at all my mistakes, laugh at everything. It’s really helped me a lot,” he says.

Since he doesn’t seem to take life too seriously, being appointed mayor of Funner is not necessarily the first step toward a career in politics. Although, there is one position he would consider.

 “Somebody asked me the other day — because Dwayne Johnson said he’s going to run for president — they asked me if I would be on his staff. And I said I probably would,” Hasselhoff says and laughs. “I would be on his staff. I’d want to be Entertainment Director, and make sure that everybody gets along.”  

  

As for his mayoral duties in Funner, Hasselhoff will be checking in at Harrah’s at least “four to five times a year, making sure that everything’s cool.” He also says he comes down to San Diego a lot, calling it “an untouched, secret paradise.”

 “San Diego to me is just perfect. It’s just so nice and so much fun and people are so friendly,” he says, adding: “I’m sorry you lost your football team.”

From Casino to Cannabis Cultivation

Santa Ysabel Casino

     On April 11, 2007 a tiny Indian-owned and operated casino opened its doors with the intention of incorporating a resort into the complex.  The casino had 349 slot machines and six gaming tables as well as live poker and live blackjack. It was located on SD Highway 79 near Lake Henshaw, Julian, and Warner Springs. Plans for constructing a resort were scrapped due to finding difficulties shortly after construction.

     On April 20, 2011, a gamer from nearby Ramona, CA, won a penny jackpot of $1,036,253 - the first Gold Series progressive won in California.  On July 2, 2012, the casino filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy following massive losses and unpaid fees.  Total debts were believed to have exceeded $50,000,000 according to the Union Tribune - San Diego.  On February 3, 2014 after a judge ruled the casino as ineligible to take bankruptcy as a federally recognized tribe, and Feb 3, 2014 the casino closed after eventually going out of business.

     So, what’s the tribe to do…well maybe the answer is the one found in the UT article excerpted below:  Medicinal Majijuana.

A small Indian tribe in a remote stretch of San Diego County has traded its failed dream of casino riches for what could be the next big payout — marijuana cultivation — according to an article by J. Harry Jones in the May 3 SD Union Tribune newspaper.  The Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel closed its 35,000 square foot gaming hall in February 2014, buried under $50 million in debt.  It has now transformed the vacant space into a high-tech medical marijuana operation, and it is leasing part of the property to growers who cultivate and distribute the drug to legal dispensaries throughout the state of California.  More than a dozen greenhouses are in various stages of construction on the building’s sprawling parking lot, awaiting more tenants.

The tribe is the first in SD county to embrace the marijuana industry.  This comes in the wake of a December 2014 memo by the US Justice Department that declared sovereign nations would not be prosecuted for growing pot on tribal land in states that had legalized the drug.

In 2007, when the Santa Ysabel Resort and Casino opened on a hillside off state Route 79 overlooking Lake Henshaw, the tribe envisioned building a hotel to serve the hordes of gamblers who would surely flock there.  But it never happened because there were too many other casinos closer to San Diego and major highways.  The 700 member tribe watched as its neighbors grew rich and their own prospects evaporated.

So, in early 2015 tribal leaders quietly jumped at the opportunity for a new revenue source.  They created laws regulating marijuana on the reservation and established a regulatory commission to oversee the venture.  For the past 18 months marijuana cultivated at the site has been shipped to legal dispensaries across the state, according the Dave Vialpando, head of the agency.  The operation is still very small.  Its two rooms house less than 1000 plants.  But it will not be all cultivation. There will be processing rooms and trimming rooms and storage rooms.  The testing lab is about to open and there is a possibility that other cannabis products such as lotions could be produced in the future.

Federal law prohibits the cultivation and distribution of marijuana, but current policy allows for pot to be grown on reservations as long as certain requirements are met according to the SD county Sheriff’s Department, which does not license, inspect, or regulate marijuana cultivation on tribal lands.  The Iipay Nation is operating tribal law and authority.  The DA’s office is aware of the grow operation at Santa Ysabel and has cautioned the tribe against breaking any state laws which might result in investigation and potential criminal charges.  Vialpando, who worked as an officer of the CA Justice department before retiring in 2011 to head the tribe’s gaming operations and now its cannabis ones says he is confident everything is being done by the book. 

Security is a priority. To get to the former casino requires a long drive up a paved road that is blocked by a security gate and an armed guard.

     California voters approved Proposition 64 in November, legalizing the recreational use and cultivation of pot.  The tribe’s laws only allow the cultivation of medicinal marijuana. They have no plans to expand those rules to include recreational marijuana.  No other local tribe in currently involved in the pot business.  The tribe has its eyes on Washington, and the new administration, but is moving forward with its plans.  Let’s see what happens in the months to come. 

Betting on Trump -- And It's Not an April Fools Joke

If you're the gambling type and you have a keen interest in American politics, your dream job has arrived.

The Irish gambling company Paddy Power is looking for a head of Trump betting to manage a surge in wagers related to the U.S. president.

At Paddy Power, you can bet on whether Obamacare will survive President Trump's first term. You can take 500-to-1 odds and bet that Trump will paint the White House gold. You can even bet on whether an American state will try to secede.

British and Irish betting houses accepted about £230 million ($286 million) in bets related to the U.S. election last year, making it the biggest non-sports event in industry history.

When Trump won, Paddy Power was burned badly. The company, lost a total of $5 million on the upset.

The election is over, but tens of thousands of dollars are still being wagered on the young administration, said Lee Price, a Paddy Power spokesman. Interest in Trump-related bets is about 50 times what it was when Barack Obama moved into the White House.

The company is already offering bets on how long members of Trump's Cabinet will serve, plus some more personal presidential wagers. They are looking for someone to manage Trump gambling and come up with creative bets.

"The job is to be an expert in all things Trump," said Paddy Power representative, Lee Price. "In the spirit of Donald Trump's presidency, we're saying no experience required."

The job is full time -- three months for now, with a possible extension.

"If demand continues, so will the role," Price said. "We're sure Trump will keep us busy."

The company listed the job in its online Careers section in March but recently began placing ads in the classified sections of two popular British newspapers to drum up interest.

Price said the company has received hundreds of applications but many were too "jokey" and the firm wanted more serious candidates. Paddy Power managers plan to start interviews by the end of next week.

This article was published in CDC Gaming Reports April 8, and was written by Alanna Petroff

Game Sense -- Does it Make Sense?

Game Sense - Does it Make Sense?

The Los Angeles Times ran an article in its travel and entertainment section Sunday, March 12, that I’d like to share with you.  It was sent to me by a good friend and fellow gamer who goes by the YoutTube moniker wlwal1 .  The report concerns MGM casinos and a new program they are rolling out this year to provide on-site help for problem gamblers.  The program is called Game Sense, and MGM hopes it will make sense to game players who are unable to control their urge to gamble when it’s time to stop. The company plans to put trained advisers in its casinos to share the message that gambling can be a dangerous and costly addiction. 

They will be installing kiosks inside the Bellagio, Excalibur, Luxor, MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay, and other MGM properties.  Trained advisors will educate visitors about problem gambling and try to dispel some of the myths and fallacies that surround casino games and how they work.  Gamblers need to understand that there is no such thing as a hot machine, or one that is ready to hit because it hasn’t paid out recently according to Alan Feidman, executive VP of MGM resorts. Instead of merely providing gamers with a brochure with the toll-free addiction help-line number 800-522-4700, Game Sense plans to set up staffed booths at MGM casinos nationwide.  

They will also donate $1 million to to research projects at the University of Nevada Las Vegas’ International Gaming Institute.  Data will be gathered at the casinos to help determine the effectiveness of the program.

 Recently, last December, the Atlantic magazine ran an eleven page article by John Rosengren titled “Losing it All”  pointing out that Americans now spend more money on casino gambling than movies, music, and sports events combined. The largest share of that money goes to slots and video poker they say. In the lengthy article, the Atlantic details true-life stories of addicted gamblers, many of whom ended up losing their jobs, their families, and even in one instance their lives. The story of Scott Stevens’ inability to overcome his addiction and resultant suicide causes the author to ask his readers to consider whether perhaps he was the victim of a system carefully calibrated to prey on his weakness … in much the same way as the tobacco industry, knowing their product was addictive, preyed on smokers’ weakness.

Less than 40 years ago casino gambling was illegal everywhere in the United States outside of Nevada and Atlantic City New Jersey,  But since Congress passed the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) in 1988, tribal and commercial casinos have rapidly proliferated, and today patrons bet more than 17 billion dollars annually in over 1,000 casinos in over 40 states in almost a million machines nationwide according to the Atlantic article. —  machines that are deliberately designed, some say, to lull players into the trancelike state known to manufacturers as as “continuous gaming productivity” and to writers as “the zone.”

Gambling affects some people in the same way that drugs or alcohol affects other addicts.  And like many other addicts,  users develop a tolerance. When they are unable to gamble, many show signs of withdrawal such as panic attacks, insomnia, headaches, and heart palpitations.  Some, they say,  have genetic predispositions to gamble.  And the National Council on Problem Gambling estimates that one in five gambling addicts attempts suicide.   You can read some of their stories in the Atlantic Magazine article.

According to some researchers 20% of regular gamblers are problem or pathological gamblers and studies show that 30 to 60 percent of gambling revenue comes from these problem gamblers.  Natasha Dow Schull, an NYU professor who spent over 15 years studying the addictive gambler, wrote a book in 2012 “Addiction by Design, Machine Gambling in Las Vegas”, detailing how casinos track their customer’s play and entice them to play more often and longer. We all know how this is done - we all receive their offers and free-play, and we know what draws us to these machines and what makes us stay long past the time we should have cashed out and gone home.  We know about frequent small rewards that make us feel we are winning all the time we’re losing our money.  We all experience the near-misses when 2 of 3 bonus symbols tease us into thinking a win is imminent. We eat their free buffets and stay the night in their free hotel rooms, and rationalize our losses by comparing these freebees to what we would pay to play at a similar resort.  We’re not addicted to gambling — we can quit any time we want —addiction is the other guy’s problem, not ours. Sure it is, 

Well, maybe Gaming Sense will help us make some sense out of problem gambling. I hope so.  But more likely it will be just like everything else — smoke and mirrors and the illusion of providing help to those players who deny they need any.  We’ll see.

Video Poker - Hospital Therapy Patients Enjoy

   Need an excuse to play a little video poker?  Here’s an article that was just published today about the medical benefits of the mental therapy of video poker slots for hospital patients.  I didn’t write the article.  It came to me from CDC to share with my readers.   

    “ Video poker machines are commonplace in Las Vegas and can be found in bars, supermarkets and even high-end restaurants. Now you can add hospitals to that list.

     The HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital of Henderson treats people who are recovering from a number of issues, including traumatic injuries, strokes, amputations, spinal cord issues and neurological disorders.

Against one wall of the facility’s busy 7,400-square foot gym, alongside the weights and exercise machines typically found in physical therapy rooms, sit two video poker machines, one with a chair you’d find in casino and one without.

     Because playing video poker is a sedentary activity, video poker machines in a rehab hospital may seem counterintuitive. But therapists at HealthSouth say the games help patients in a number of ways.

Sarah Tempest, a speech-language therapist at HealthSouth, said the video games help patients, many of whom require help with both mental and physical acuity, improve their cognitive abilities.

     “One of the areas (of the brain) we know is stimulated by gambling is the prefrontal cortex,” Tempest said. “The frontal lobes of the brain can be damaged by traumatic injuries; they can be damaged by substance abuse; they can be damaged by strokes.”

     If the brain can be considered an orchestra, Tempest explained, then the frontal lobes act like the conductor. When her patients play the video poker machines, they are retraining that conductor.

“What we’re really looking to improve with the games are executive-functioning skills,” she said. “The things we are really addressing with that are attention, mental flexibility, self-regulation and working memory.”

     Because the patients are playing video poker, she explained, they have to be able to retain information and then manipulate it in ways that can help them win. They also have to make different decisions based on the information, and they also get to relearn impulse control.

“They get to think about if it’s worth placing another bet,” Tempest said. “Should they see if they can get a full house or is it better to stay with a pair of kings?”

     And while video poker is certainly not the most physically demanding activity, it can also help patients with significant mobility issues.

“Sometimes we’ll have patients stand and play the video poker machines to work on standing tolerance,” said Sandy McGinnis, one of the hospital’s occupational therapists. “We can also have them put wrist weights on, and they’re playing for a whole 15 minutes (a session). It can get you tired after doing it for 15 minutes.”

     A bonus? The patients are working on their physical and mental skills while doing something they enjoy, McGinnis said. Tempest said 10-12 patients use the slot machines, which HealthSouth CEO Sam Billig purchased for $1 each in November. The patients don’t need money to use them, and they can’t win money either. The games are set to run 15 minutes at a time, regardless if the “credits” accumulate or dwindle.

     “Sometimes, it helps the patients come down to their sessions,” McGinnis said. “They could be in pain or having a bad day and you can tell them, “‘Hey, you know what? We can play video poker as part of your therapy.’ And they are more likely to engage in it instead of refusing because of medical issues that are going on.”

     HealthSouth is a 90-bed hospital that, according to its website, “provides care for people who are ready to be discharged from a hospital but not ready to return home.”

It’s why the gym includes a full-size supermarket checkout counter, a machine built to resemble the interior of a car and a replica of a cafe. It’s also why the gym has skee ball, an air hockey table and other activities patients can enjoy while developing cognitive and physical skills.

     Angela Ingerson, a special-needs teacher in the hospital who is dealing with several health issues, said the video poker and other activities motivate her to participate in her therapy.

“The things they are doing here, especially with the new games, give me an opportunity for me to do things I enjoy,” she said. “For example, they want me to sit up more. But if all I’m doing sitting in a hospital bed, what’s motivating me to sit up more?”

Scientific Games to showcase slots featuring James Bond

By DAVE MCNARY
REUTERS

LOS ANGELES — The owners of the James Bond franchise have struck a multi-year licensing deal with gambling products specialist Scientific Games Corp., which will lead to the super-spy’s image being used on casino slot machines.

The exclusive agreement was announced Wednesday between Las Vegas-based Scientific Games with Eon Productions Limited, Danjaq LLC and MGM Interactive, a subsidiary of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The deal gives Scientific Games the rights to leverage all past and future James Bond films, as well as the film’s talent portraying James Bond.

Scientific Games said it expects to showcase the first James Bond-themed slot games at the Global Gaming Expo on Oct. 3-5 in Las Vegas. That means the first machines could begin appearing in casinos next year.

Created in 1953 by novelist Ian Fleming, Bond was a frequent patron of high-end casinos in the books and two dozen films that followed — including two versions of “Casino Royale.”

Seven actors have played Bond, starting with Sean Connery in 1962’s “Doctor No,” followed by David Niven in 1967’s “Casino Royale,” George Lazenby in 1969’s “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service,” Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig. It’s unclear whether Craig will sign on for another Bond film after starring in the last four.

Scientific Games Chief Executive Officer Kevin Sheehan said, “The Bond franchise is clearly a long sought-after and incredibly exciting brand for our industry. James Bond is synonymous with action, excitement, and next-generation technology. We look forward to harnessing the power of the Bond brand to drive innovation across the company in the years ahead.”

Ronald Perelman, chairman of Scientific Games, said, “We have been excited about this license opportunity for a very long time and are thrilled that Kevin Sheehan and his team at Scientific Games were able to secure the exclusive licensing rights.”

Variety reported in 2015 that another studio could supplant Sony as MGM’s distribution partner for the franchise. Sony’s has handled distribution on “Casino Royale,” “Quantum of Solace,” “Skyfall” and “Spectre.” “Skyfall” was the highest-grossing 007 film in franchise history.

Danjaq LLC is the holding company responsible for the copyright and trademarks to the characters, elements, and other material related to James Bond on screen. It’s currently owned and managed by the family of Albert R. Broccoli. Eon Productions is a sister company of Danjaq and the production company responsible for producing the James Bond films.