Nov. 28, 2007
Big, bad and ugly: The four worst ideas in Vegas
By STEVE FRIESS
Most of the time, the brains behind the Strip and Las Vegas
get it right, at least when it comes to investing private money.
The really great, viable big ideas get built in record time-hello,
CityCenter and Palazzo-and the dumb ones-Las Ramblas and Ivana's
Tower spring instantly to mind-fade away before anyone is seriously
hurt.
And then there are the decisions and actions that baffle.
Lately, there have been quite a few. Let's take them out to
the woodshed, shall we?
1. Another Hard Rock Café. Of all the bizarre
ways to spend a few tens of millions of dollars, how about we
build a 41,000-square-foot, 700-seat tribute to an entity that
hasn't been hot since my Bar Mitzvah? No, really, they're serious.
Hard Rock International, the Orlando-based defender of the stretched-thin
brand, plans to open such a thing by summer 2009 just north
of GameWorks and the MGM Grand. I should clarify that the Hard
Rock Hotel in Vegas certainly remains important in the Vegas
zeitgeist, but the restaurant? Can't we get our offensively
overpriced burgers and cold fries amid increasingly obscure
memorabilia at any number of other places these days? Ah, defenders
will say, the new Strip edition of the Hard Rock-already referred
to as its future flagship!-won't just be a restaurant, it'll
have a "live concert venue." You know, because, well, there
aren't enough of those on the Strip, are there? Which brings
us to ...
2. The Harrah's-AEG arena. Hey! I've got
a neat thought! You know Flamingo Road east of the Strip where
traffic sits idle waiting for Kingdom Come at pretty much all
hours of the day? I think we ought to go and build a 20,000-seat
sports and concert arena right there behind Bally's! Since Harrah's
and Anschutz Entertainment Group announced a $500 million plan
for just that, complete with expectations that a sports franchise
of some sort can be kidnapped and forced to play there, there
has been virtually nothing in the local press about the traffic
disaster such a concept would yield. When it does come up, proponents
insist that lots of attendees to the stadium will be walking
from nearby hotels and taking the Las Vegas Monofail. Which
is a lie. A Las Vegas sports team will draw more local attendees
than anything else that happens on or near the Strip, and that
means kazillions of cars. All I can say is that any Clark County
commissioner who approves this development is proving once and
for all that they don't give a rat's ass about proper civic
planning. It's just common sense, it's ridiculous, and I can't
figure out why the casino companies themselves don't want to
avoid this insanity.
3. Mamma Mia! is closing next summer. That
is, the most important exception to the Broadway-fails-in-Vegas
rule is vacating its space at Mandalay Bay just as the story
is being made into a surefire blockbuster of a major motion
picture starring Meryl Streep. Huh? My sources tell me this
was the decision of the creative team behind the ABBA-scored
phenomenon, albeit largely made because they didn't want to
spend an eternity waiting for MGM Mirage to pull the plug in
favor of yet another Cirque du Soleil production. Mamma Mia!
makes solid profits in Vegas, and I personally love it. Hey!
Here's a thought: Maybe another property without a Cirque addiction
might pick it up! You know, one where a certain Mel Brooks comedy
is about to vanish!
4. Defacing iconic buildings for a few hundred thou.
When it comes to Vegas resorts, the most important branding
opportunity they have is that each has a distinct shape, color,
size and look. Which is why it's such a baffling move to drape
an Absolut vodka banner over the side of the Luxor's pyramid
or cover up a third of the Rio's rainbowed tower with a Jim
Beam ad. It was already annoying enough when properties started
wrapping buildings for their own events and shows, but at least
the connection was obvious and the advertising was self-serving
in a more appropriate manner.
Happily, sources within the Rio tell me they've now realized
the folly and probably won't be doing that sort of ad again.
Amazing, really, that a casino company could opt to leave big
money on the table in the interest of good taste. In fact, I'll
believe it when I don't see it.
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