Viva Las Vegas!

Guess what just turned 50 this month? The world-famous "Welcome to Las Vegas" sign! Clark County, Nevada commissioned the sign back in May of 1959, and it has remained in place at the southern end of the Strip ever since with just a mimimum of change. Robin and I have probably passed that sign 30 times over the years, but we've never stopped to get a picture. But just this past winter, the county added a dozen parking spaces in the median, so you can be sure that when we visit with the kids this summer, we'll stop and grab a shot or two. The sign has just this week been added to the National Register of Historic Places, and there's now a plaque at the base of the sign to attest to that fact.

To read more about the Vegas sign and it's origins, click here, and to watch a video with the woman who designed it, click here!

Just seeing pictures of this sign gets my heart thumping - I can't wait to go back!

Visit Vegas - While It's Still There!

There is chilling news today from MGM-Mirage, the largest owner of casino resorts in Las Vegas. We get this from Bloomberg News:

MGM Mirage, the casino operator controlled by billionaire Kirk Kerkorian, said auditors questioned its ability to stay in business as the company won a two-month bank reprieve to restructure its debts.

Auditors raised “substantial doubt” about MGM Mirage’s ability to continue, the largest casino owner on the Las Vegas Strip said today in a filing. The company also reported a $1.15 billion fourth-quarter loss after writing down properties because of shrinking gambling revenue.

The auditor’s comments increase the likelihood MGM Mirage will seek bankruptcy protection from creditors.


Gambling revenue slid 17 percent across all of MGM Mirage’s properties because of a 17 percent slump in Las Vegas table game betting and a 12 percent decline in slot-machine takings.


Revenue per available room, a measure of rates and occupancy known as Revpar, tumbled 21 percent at MGM Mirage’s Strip properties in the fourth quarter, as occupancy dropped to 85 percent from 93 percent a year earlier, and the company charged on average $31 a night less for rooms in Las Vegas.

Gambling revenue in Las Vegas, the biggest betting center in the U.S., fell the most on record last year and continued to tumble in January, cutting sales at MGM Mirage, the owner of 10 casino resorts in the city including the Bellagio, Luxor and MGM Grand. MGM Mirage is the biggest employer in Nevada.

MGM Mirage is not alone. Harrah's - the other major casino player in Las Vegas, and the largest casino operator in the world - is also in danger of default. Las Vegas Sands, the owner of the Venetian resort, has lost 95 percent of its stock value this year, and many construction projects in the city that never stops growing are now abandoned - waiting for more money to come available some day.

I know from personal experience that times are tough in Sin City. Just this week, I made reservations at the Paris casino for later this summer, and was able to land three weekdays for FREE. Now, I do like to gamble when I go to Vegas, and I did receive the deal because the casino knows I will likely gamble a good bit at Paris. However, I am not obligated to gamble a single dime on the trip. Last summer, when I stayed at Paris, under the same circumstances, with the same level of gambling under my belt, I had to pay 59 bucks a night.

If you look at hotel rooms in Las Vegas for this summer, you will find LOTS of good deals. I found rooms at Bally's - for anyone - for 45 bucks a night. Bally's has really nice rooms, and it's in the middle of the action. There are tons of similar deals to be had!

I would hate to see any of the major casinos go under, and I don't mean to be crass, but hard times for the casinos often translate to good times for the small-time gambler. As I've already noted, hotel rooms are going for a song this summer, and casinos will go the extra mile to make sure you sit down at a table or a slot machine, too.

I remember back in 1995, I had a convention to go to in Los Angeles, and as long as I was flying all the way out west, I decided to detour to Las Vegas for a couple of days of gambling on my way out to L.A.. I remember reading in the Wall Street Journal that the Stratosphere was struggling to emerge from Chapter 11, and was pulling out all the stops to get people to visit - including cranking up the slot machines and guaranteeing a 98 percent payback on dollar slots. That means for every 100 dollars you churned through the slots, on average and over the long haul, you would receive 98 dollars back.

I decided to stay at the Strat, and within a couple of hours of arriving in town, I hit a dollar slot machine for 2500 dollars - the biggest jackpot I've ever hit - before or since!

Few places in America have taken this recession as hard as Las Vegas, because people out there bought into a dream. It's a place where even hotel maids were able to buy their own homes because of the steady tourism growth and constant need for labor. Between the mortgage crisis and the downturn in the economy, many of those homes are now in foreclosure, and many of those workers are out of jobs.

I'm going to make it my personal economic stimulus mission to contribute to the Las Vegas economy this summer, and help those folks out.

That is, unless I get LUCKY!

I Stand Corrected. But I Was Also Right.

After I wrote my previous entry concerning the employee junkets being handed out by Wells Fargo, I received two responses from complete strangers. One was from someone who used a newly-created, presumably fake name. But the other was from some who identifies himself as Chad S. Trease. Mr. Trease identifies himself as a mortgage planner in Kansas City who is affiliated with Wells Fargo. Here are his comments in full:

If you're unemployed, then you no doubt have ample time to do some research. Wells Fargo tried to refuse the TARP funds, but they were forced to take them. They are the only recipient to make a dividend payment (371 million). Try doing some due diligence next time before you continue to crucify a company made made a profit of 3 billion dollars last year. What they spend their own money on is none of your business.

As a news professional, I hate making mistakes, but I did make one. Almost everything Mr. Trease says is essentially correct. Wells Fargo did not ask for a bailout. It was apparently foisted upon the bank by then-Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson. Thank you, Mr. Trease for pointing that out, and please accept my regrets for not checking into this further before I blogged.

Having said all of that - I stand by everything I said concerning how Wells Fargo has handled its PR nightmare concerning its employee junkets to Las Vegas. Whether Mr. Trease (or Wells Fargo) likes it or not, the bank DOES have 25 billion dollars of government money, and as a taxpayer, that DOES make it my business.

So here is my take. Wells Fargo has just handled this whole affair terribly from a public relations standpoint. Whether it used profit money or TARP money to pay for those trips is irrelevant. After seeing how the public reacted to the lavish parties hosted by other TARP recipients, Wells Fargo should have reconsidered holding its own trips this year. At the very least, it should have been on the PR offensive early on - explaining the trips before anyone had the opportunity to blindly criticize them.

Worst of all, after feeling the heat from the media, rather than going away quietly, the CEO of the company issues a full-page ad calling "media stories" criticisizing the trips "nonsense". The problem is - even if Wells Fargo is in the right... even if "the media" is wrong... the bank has already lost the PR battle.

Most of the people slamming Wells Fargo this morning are not members of the media. They are bloggers. They are people who have already made up their minds, and are now publishing their opinions. The "truth" - or Wells Fargo's version of it - has not reached the public, and the bank would have been better served trying to sell that instead of buying an inflammatory ad that only throws gasoline on the fire.

Being a TARP recipient and sending employees on junkets to Vegas during what is shaping up to be a severe recession is in poor taste. It's tacky. And yes, it's bad public relations.

What should Wells Fargo do now? Shut its trap, for one. Continue to pay back dividends to the government. Exercise restraint.

And get through these austere times like the rest of us.

Hump Day Stuff!

I have a few odds and ends to discuss today... My schedule is a little whack because I'm working the full week, which really screws with my routine of writing for free! Therefore, just a few quick thoughts...

• It's a good thing President Obama banked a whole lot of positive love during the inauguration, because he's looking positively human this week! Obama is taking his punishment for picking top job nominees with shady tax problems like a man, but when he says "I screwed up", he's not merely falling on a sword. This mess IS his mess.


• Loudoun County is spending 250, 000 dollars over two years for the right to call itself the official home of the Washington Redskins. I love the Redskins, but if I lived in Loudoun, I'd be calling my lawmakers and demanding an eviction! Nothing against the team... but do you really think any local jurisdiction has that kind of $$$ to throw around these days?


• I gotta figure out a way to get a Metro to give ME money! Read this:

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Justice Department has settled a lawsuit accusing Washington's transit agency of religious discrimination.

The complaint filed in federal court accused Metro of discriminating against a woman of the Apostolic Pentecostal faith because she was unable to comply with Metro's uniform policy.

Gloria Jones said she wasn't hired as a bus driver because her religious beliefs prohibit her from wearing pants, which are part of the uniform.The Justice Department announced Tuesday that Metro has agreed to pay more than $47,000 to Jones and $2,500 each to two others who say Metro didn't accommodate their beliefs.

• And finally, Wells Fargo Bank has reluctantly cancelled a 12-night junket for its top employees in Las Vegas after lawmakers on Capitol Hill howled to the moon about it. Wells Fargo lost 2.3 billion dollars in the last quarter, but the funniest thing to me is that the bank tried initially to KEEP the trip. "Recognition events are still part of our culture," spokeswoman Melissa Murray said Tuesday afternoon. "It's really important that our team members are still valued and recognized."In previous years, top Wells Fargo loan officers were treated to performances by Cher, Jay Leno and Huey Lewis. One year, the company provided fortune tellers and offered camel rides, said Debra Rickard, a former Wells Fargo mortgage employee from Colorado who attended the events regularly until she left the company in 2004. Every night when employees returned to their rooms, there was a new gift on their pillows, she said. "I was amazed with just how lavish it was," Rickard said. "We stayed in top hotels, the entertainment was just unbelievable, and there were awards - you got plaques or trophies." Kevin Waetke, another spokesman for Wells Fargo, said the Las Vegas trip provided a "unique opportunity" for employees of Wells Fargo and newly acquired bank Wachovia Corp. "to focus on continuing to do all we can for U.S. homeowners."

I have an idea. I think I'm going to sue my Dad for failing to push me into the banking business when I was a child. How the heck did I miss out on this? Dad - expect to hear from my lawyer!

Global Warming? Yes, Please!

You can count me among the skeptics that mankind has caused global warming, but I really don't want to debate politics here...

I DO want to point out that Las Vegas had 3 to 6 inches of snow on Wednesday, which was enough to shut the town down, and no doubt make the casinos happy to have a whole crop of captive gamblers! It was the worst snow storm in 30 years in Vegas, and it pretty much closed the airport. No planes could take off because McCarren Airport does not have snowplows or deicing equipment!

My sister, Jill and my nephews are spending Christmas in Vegas, which is expected to see temperatures near or below freezing well into next week. I bet she's praying for a little global warming about now...

And in this early winter season where it seems most of the U.S. is significantly colder than usual, there are a couple of hosers in Minnesota who are also wishing for some greenhouse gas buildup! Please enjoy their excellent video!

I'm Back!

The digital age is a wonderful thing, but it is not without its hazards. Ever since I launched this blog in early March, I have made it a point to produce new entries for every weekday(and often at least one weekend day as well), on the notion that maintaining the discipline of daily publishing would keep my writing skills and thought processes sharp. I've enjoyed the "work", but last week, my daily streak came to an end. I knew I would be missing a few days at the keyboard, but I dared not write about it in advance because the internet is a VERY public forum, and I didn't want to give any potential thieves the opportunity to plan a heist at my home while I was out of town. It's no big deal - just another hazard we all have to think about in the world today!

Now, with that preamble taken care of, I can tell you all about my latest adventure in the city of Lost Wages (or is that, in my case, the city of Lost Severance?)!

Now I know you're asking... an unemployed guy going on vacation in Las Vegas? Look - I planned this trip in January, a month BEFORE my job was eliminated. The airfare was paid for, I had already saved money for hotel and gambling, and I needed something to look forward to as I looked for my next career. There was nothing short of a new job offer that was going to get me to cancel the trip, so off we went with Lori and Randy Bernstein for five days and four nights of sin! I will share details by way of a list of likes... and a list of dislikes.

I liked (in no particular order):

• Discovering new things after perhaps a dozen trips to Las Vegas over a 20-year period… in this case, what it’s like to visit a casino for “locals”. We visited the Red Rock Casino, in Summerlin, about 10 miles northwest of the Strip, and found a resort that would have been the envy of the Strip if it was there. Beautiful casino… beautiful restaurants, a cheap and delicious buffet, along with a 16-screen movie theater, a bowling alley and a member’s club that was far more generous than anything either MGM-Mirage or Harrah’s would ever think about offering.


• Downtown Las Vegas on the 4th of July. Walking around at 10 o’clock at night in 100-degree weather with an interesting mix of drunk locals and drunk tourists, watching faux-patriotic America tributes on the overhead Fremont Street Experience screens, while 70-year-old women in bright green halter tops traipsed around with their breasts dangling to their belly buttons.


• Lucking out in both directions and having an empty seat between myself and the Missus on both plane flights. Almost made air travel seem civil again.


• Going to the pool for a dip, then sitting on a chaise lounge and drying off in 15 minutes or less under the broiling Nevada sun.


• Hash House a Go Go. You won’t find this restaurant in the tourist magazines, because it's a good 20 minute drive west of the Strip. We found it on the Food Network or the Travel Channel. This breakfast place has pancakes that are literally larger than an average dinner plate. One pancake can feed two people! Yum!


• Traveling with friends. There’s a caveat to this one. Traveling with friends can be great IF you and your friends are willing to be flexible, and willing to go off and do their own thing. Thankfully, Lori and Randy Bernstein are a wonderful couple for us to travel with. We managed to enjoy each others’ company and share many expenses – Plus - as an added bonus, Randy is a great blackjack coach!

• Multi-hand Deuces Wild draw poker. Nothing beats playing 50 hands at once… especially when you've drawn three 2's in a Deuces Wild game! I even finished ahead while playing it!


• Margaritaville. The weather is here… wish you were beautiful. ‘Nuf said!


• Bette Midler. The Divine Miss M is still belting out her great voice and telling really funny (if old) dirty jokes at the age of 62. God bless her!


• The 6.99 Steak Dinner special at Ellis Island. I had read about this, one of the most notorious cheap food specials left in Las Vegas, for years – but I never had the nerve to actually try it! For 7 bucks, I enjoyed a 10-ounce sirloin, baked potato, green beans, salad and a 20-ounce homebrewed light beer. As I enjoyed my dinner, I was serenaded by the city’s most popular karaoke bar about 25 feet away. Definitely a must-do experience at least once (and perhaps just once) in your life!


• The blackjack dealers at Paris, where we stayed this trip. They were - without exception - friendly and eager to help... rooting us on to beat the casino!

I was NOT crazy about:

• Tipping everyone for everything. Forget gambling… tipping is the biggest industry in Las Vegas. I don’t mind tipping for good service, but sometimes workers conspire to hold you up for money. When we checked out of the hotel, I called for a bellman to come to my room and deliver my bags directly to my rental car. When he arrived, the bellman told me he was not allowed to leave the hotel, so my bags would be delivered to the bell desk, where another bellman would then deliver my luggage to my car. Yes, I tipped twice… Which bellman was I going to screw over?


• Trying to get comps. When one spends four days churning out literally thousands of dollars worth of bets at a casino, he should be able to expect more than $7.28 worth of comps for his trouble. Now that Las Vegas (well, the Strip, anyway) has become a two-player town (Harrah’s and MGM-Mirage own almost everything) , it is nearly impossible to even get a lousy free buffet!


• Having my minivan spat upon by a drunk teenager in a wife-beater, sporting gang tats and carrying a 16-ounce Bud. He was crossing the street downtown against my green light and apparently didn’t appreciate my little horn toot. I didn’t appreciate his DNA soiling my car window. No matter. The spit evaporated in about a minute.


• Having a “low tire pressure” sensor come on in my rented minivan, even though none of the tires looked low at all. The missus insisted on trading in the van for another, even though I was willing to fuggedaboudit.


• Sticking on a soft 18 against a 6, rather than doubling down as I should have. The move, an ill attempt to protect my bankroll, instead cost me more than a hundred bucks. STUPID ME! Textbook blackjack play exists for a reason!


• Hitting on 16 (although I do).


• Staying on 17 against a 10 (although I do).
• The Economy Taking Its Toll. Las Vegas was jammed with visitors over the holiday weekend, but business was noticably off compared to last year, when we also visited for July 4th. Our first two days in town, it was almost quiet in the casinos, and there were notably few table games even open. Traffic on the strip moved at the speed limit, which is NOT a good thing for Vegas. And the most telling sign of the lagging times was at the World Gaming Expo at the Rio resort, home of the World Series of Poker. We stumbled on this free "convention of vices" last year... A convention hall full of poker vendors giving away free playing cards, magazines, coupons for lap dances, alcohol, energy drinks, magazines, poker chips, baseball caps - any and everything related to the world of poker and all FREE! We eagerly planned to go back this year, but we were in and out in less than 15 minutes - and with NONE of the freebies we grabbed last year. There were, at most, one quarter of the vendors we saw in 2007, and the ones that were there were giving away almost nothing. I walked out with 3 magazines and a sample size bottle of sunscreen - and none of it came home with me. Companies that were hoping for exposure last year are now presumably just hoping to survive - if they are still around at all.

All in all, it was another memorable Las Vegas trip! I wish I could say when the next one will be, though... Even if the new job comes through, who knows when fuel prices will drop low enough for me to consider buying tickets to fly out west again! Vegas used to be about 225 dollars round trip, but you'd be pressed to find a fare for less than 450 bucks these days - That's a hell of a lot of money to put up when you've gotta plan to lose even more in the casino!

My Kind Of Job!

There was definitely a time when THIS would have been for me!

Aggressive Street Reporters – Sin City

Oh the stories from Vegas. Celebrities, corruption, school violence, making ends meet, boom town, etc. If you’re a bust-your-tail, want-to-lead-each-newscast-because-your-stuff’s-so-compelling reporter…then the KDWN 24/7 local news team needs you in the entertainment capital of the world. Tools?…no problem. People?…professionally stimulating. Weather?…great.

Too bad I have a mortgage and a wife and two kids - and more to the point, an unfortunate affinity for blackjack! I fear splitting on aces and eights would be the death of me!