Norm! column

Feb. 19, 2006

Corporate rivals take off gloves

[hear the whole Wynn interview by clicking here]

Corporate potshots at the competition traditionally remain in the boardrooms of the gaming towers along Las Vegas Boulevard. That changed in a very public way last week. Steve Wynn and Bobby Baldwin, two giants of the gaming industry, slammed their rivals in national interviews.

Possibly smarting from the failure of his "Avenue Q," Wynn told Newsweek free-lancer Steve Friess that the local lineup of Broadway shows won't compare to his upcoming "Spamalot." Wynn said "Phantom of the Opera," due to open this year at The Venetian, has "played out."

Mandalay Bay's "Mamma Mia!" arrived in Las Vegas "late in its life" and is pulling in only 800 people per show, he said. And "Hairspray," which opened last week at the Luxor, "is not 'Spamalot,' " Wynn said.

Baldwin, who is in charge of MGM Mirage's $7 billion Project CityCenter, appeared to lambast actor George Clooney's Las Ramblas project. "I think that's been about as successful as me acting in movies," Baldwin told CBS reporter Sandra Hughes during Thursday's CBS News evening broadcast. Baldwin wasn't kidding when he told Hughes the current competitive climate is "a slugfest."

Wynn's jabs at "Mamma Mia!" ruffled some feathers at Mandalay Bay. Those in the know say the crowd numbers Wynn cited were inaccurate and that the Las Vegas show is not only the most successful of 12 worldwide, but it has recouped its original investment three times over. It was also pointed out that Wynn wooed "Mamma Mia!" for Wynn Las Vegas, something he acknowledged in his Newsweek interview.

Luxor honcho Felix Rappaport, in an e-mail, said he chooses not to comment about competitors and added he "couldn't be happier" with "Hairspray."

The Venetian was asked for a response but did not reply. .

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