Monte Carlo

Lady Gaga Confirms Las Vegas Residency

December 19, 2017 by Marc Leave a Comment

I was told that Lady Gaga was in final negotiations with MGM Resorts for this residency over a year ago. The deal is finally done and she’ll begin a 2-year residency at the Park Theater at Park MGM in December 2018. You can read details from the press release below.

Press release:

LAS VEGAS (December 19, 2017) – Six-time GRAMMY Award-winner, Golden Globe Award-winner and Academy Award-nominee superstar entertainer Lady Gaga will bring her one-of-a-kind talent and creativity to the stage at Park Theater at Park MGM in Las Vegas beginning in December 2018. On the heels of a year that included a stunning Super Bowl performance and a wildly celebrated sold-out tour, Lady Gaga’s energy and raw talent will forever change the Las Vegas entertainment landscape. With a show designed specifically for this intimate venue, Lady Gaga will launch a two-year, multi-date love affair with Las Vegas.

Lady Gaga said, “It’s the land of Elvis, Tony Bennett and Frank Sinatra, the Rat Pack, Elton John, Judy Garland and Liza Minnelli. It has been a life-long dream of mine to play Las Vegas. I am humbled to be a part of a historical line-up of performers, and to have the honor of creating a new show unlike anything Vegas has ever seen before. I’ll tell you exactly what I told my MGM and Park Theater partners – you can count on this performer always for one thing…I’ll leave my heart on the stage every single night. Thank you to my fans for always believing in me. Meet me in Las Vegas baby, we did it!”

Bill Hornbuckle, President of MGM Resorts International said, “Our announcement today of Lady Gaga joining an amazing lineup of talent at Park Theater is monumental for Lady Gaga fans, MGM Resorts and the Park MGM brand. We have all been wowed by Lady Gaga’s raw talent, but the passion, commitment and creativity she is prepared to bring to this engagement will truly be transformational…Las Vegas, get ready to become the Entertainment Capital of the Universe.”

Lady Gaga has amassed an extraordinary 30 million global album sales and 150 million single sales, making her one of the best-selling musicians of all-time. Gaga is one of the biggest living forces in social media with more than 60 million likes on Facebook, over 75.3 million followers on Twitter and more than 26.9 million followers on Instagram. Her fifth studio album “Joanne” was recently released and debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Top 200, marking her fourth consecutive No. 1 album – the first female to do so in the last seven years. Lady Gaga has also seen incredible touring success with Live Nation producing and promoting all of her tours since The Monster Ball tour (2009-2011), which was the highest-grossing tour for a debut artist in history. Since then, she’s also entertained fans with her Born This Way Ball tour (2012-2013); the 2014 ArtRave: The ARTPOP Ball tour; her 2015 tour collaboration with Tony Bennett; as well as her current JOANNE WORLD TOUR which will wrap in 2018.

Performance dates and ticket information for Lady Gaga’s special engagement at Park Theater, promoted by MGM Resorts and Live Nation Entertainment, will be announced in the coming months. For future information, visit parktheaterlv.com or www.ladygaga.com.

New Name For Monte Carlo, Excalibur Expansion, Crystals For Sale, REIT and More From MGM Resorts Earnings Call

October 29, 2015 by Marc 6 Comments

Jim Murren, CEO MGM Resorts — Jim Murren

Earlier today I listened to the MGM Resorts quarterly earnings call. The company has so much going on that they’re easily the most fascinating of the Vegas casino companies to follow.

You can read press releases and listen to the MGM quarterly earnings call here for specifics. Below are my notes with lots of information.

Jim Murren said MGM would like to participate in DFS in the future. They’re waiting for clarity in the area. This was last question asked if you’d like specifics.
Excalibur is underperforming and Jim Murren discussed idea of mid-scale retail expansion on the Vegas Strip to draw people into property.
Murren restated that Monte Carlo will have a new name next year. Outlook is very optimistic for the property.
Small note given to the fact that customer booking windows are growing
Crystals still on the market by MGM Resorts. There’s plenty of interest. They’re sorting through investors. Murren says it’s worth over $1 billion.
Mandalay Bay now has the 5th largest convention center in the US after recent expansion. Details on the expansion here.
2016 should be best year ever for conventions at MGM Resorts. Even with Mandalay Bay expansion they still don’t expect to have enough capacity.
Press release on MGM REIT
MGM Resorts keeping 2 most profitable properties in Las Vegas out of the REIT (Bellagio & MGM Grand).
MGM REIT will be called MGM Growth Properties and be a separate stock offering planned for Q1 2016.
MGM Arena not part of REIT because it’s a partnership with AEG. REIT doesn’t include any partnerships like City Center.
Non-luxury MGM Resorts properties growing faster than luxury. For example REVPAR for non-luxury up 14%, lux up 6%
Aria hotel EBITA up 23% Year over Year. Vdara 0ver 40% EBITA increase.
MGM Detroit EBITA only ranks behind Bellagio, MGM Grand & Mandalay Bay. Better than The Mirage, New York New York, etc.
MGM hotel rooms had a 96% occupancy rate last quarter. Up 1% from same period last year.
Average Daily Room rate for MGM hotels was $141 last quarter. That’s up $10 (8%) from same time last year.
Circus Circus is interesting opportunity for MGM seemingly because it’s 100 acres of land on the Vegas Strip.

Get Ready To Say Goodbye To Monte Carlo

August 10, 2015 by Marc Leave a Comment

Monte Carlo Las Vegas Fountains — Monte Carlo Fountains

Way back in February, Vital Vegas was the first website that I saw mention that the Monte Carlo would be changing names. The hotel has pretty much been entirely been de-themed of its Monte Carlo roots over the past couple years of construction so a name change made sense.

I snapped the picture above of the fountain that used to be located near the Vegas Strip entrance a couple of days before it was removed. Today there’s very little that makes you think about Monte Carlo when you look at the property.

With that in mind it should come as no surprise that the name of the hotel didn’t test well with MGM Resorts customers since there hasn’t been any Monte Carlo at Monte Carlo for a couple of years:

(MGM Resorts, CEO, Jim) Murren said that after the Park project began moving forward, MGM did “a number” of studies and focus groups and found that the Monte Carlo brand did not resonate with customers as well as other MGM properties did.

Jim Murren went on to tell Vegas Inc. the following about Monte Carlo:

“a name change is almost a certainty.” MGM is evaluating the resort’s non-gaming amenities to determine what the rebranded Monte Carlo could look like, he said.

The name change made sense in February and makes even more sense today as Monte Carlo continues construction on new restaurants and a sports book. It makes sense for MGM Resorts to prepare that they will have an entirely new name for this almost entirely new hotel as new outlets begin to open next year.

The next question here is which bland SEO driven name will they choose? Maybe MGM Resorts will sell the name of the hotel to a company like Toshiba like they did the plaza by the new arena.

Photo: Vegas Photo Blog

Mandalay Bay Sports Book On Deck For Renovations

August 10, 2015 by Marc Leave a Comment

Hidden deep inside an awesome #LongRead article called “Evolution of The Sportsbook” on Covers last week was a nugget about which MGM Resorts hotel will renovate their sports book next.

Technically it won’t be next since Monte Carlo is closing and moving their sports book but it looks like Mandalay Bay is on deck for some well deserved changes.

Rood said Mandalay Bay will hopefully get that treatment next spring or summer, with a completion date ahead of the 2016 football season.

This isn’t a proclamation that Mandalay Bay will definitely have their sports book updated but it does fit into a timeline I heard about last year. This would make sense since for MGM Resorts as they’ve updated almost every facet of Mandalay Bay in the past few years (See Delano here, Mandalay Bay here).

A Mandalay Bay renovation would also make sense since MGM Resorts has renovated their other larger sports books at The Mirage, Bellagio, Aria and (soon) Monte Carlo, in the past few years.

The Mandalay Bay sports book space is huge and could be great but is very very dated. The TV screens and seating may be the same from when the property opened in 1999.

The Mandalay Bay sports book ushered in a whole new VIP level of sports book experience years ago. They were one of the first sports books, if not the first, in Vegas to offer bottle service (see Vegas Chatter article). You now see this type of VIP service available at many different sports books around Vegas.

Photo: ATI-AV

Sake Rok In, Monte Carlo Sportsbook Out

August 6, 2015 by Marc Leave a Comment

On July 8, I posted the rumor that the Monte Carlo sportsbook would be moving to a new location as MGM Resorts continued construction of park project.

Yesterday Eater Vegas found some renderings of a new restaurant called Sake Rok that gave a little more insight to the Monte Carlo sportsbook moving.

Before the announcement of the Monte Carlo building a $100 million, 5,300 seat, theater and concert hall, Sake Rok was positioned to be built as an addition to the southern side of the resort, taking over space at the rear of their sports book. The renderings also indicate an outdoor dining area was scheduled to The Park, minus the theatrical presentations inside. An official location for the sushi restaurant has yet to be announced.

Sake Rok Las Vegas — Sake Rok – Rendering RAYDE

Sake Rok is scheduled to open in the spring of 2016 but specific details like time and date of Sake Rok construction and sportsbook closure have not been released by MGM Resorts. You can see more renderings of Sake Rok at Ray Design Environments.

A plan for the new sportsbook at Monte Carlo has not been revealed yet. This Covers article about the “Evolution of Sportsbooks” will give you some insight how MGM Resorts has approached their recent sportsbook renovations.

History tells us that MGM Resorts will have a new Monte Carlo sportsbook ready in time for the first weekend of March Madness.

You may remember that The Mirage sportsbook renovations were finished just before March Madness in 2013. Moving the Monte Carlo sportsbook to become a part of The Pub seems more realistic by the day. I’ll share details on that as soon as they’re revealed.

Monte Carlo Sportsbook: Vegas Photo Blog
Sake Rok rendering: RAYDE

Monte Carlo Gets New Theater

July 15, 2015 by Marc 5 Comments

Monte Carlo Las Vegas Theater And Park Rendering

There are so many rumors about Monte Carlo that it’s hard to keep up with what I actually post. Last week I posted that a new theater would be built at Monte Carlo to replace the current Blue Man Group Theater. MGM Resorts confirmed that rumor today and also revealed where Blue Man Group would be moving.

Rumors about the sportsbook, poker room, name change and more are still unconfirmed. The park area between New York-New York and Monte Carlo continues to evolve. Here’s the press release about the theater and a blog post on where Blue Man Group will be moving:

LAS VEGAS, July 15, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM), one of the world’s leading presenters of live entertainment, today announced plans for an approximately 5,000-seat theater at Monte Carlo Resort and Casino. The new concert venue will amplify the vibrant entertainment district taking shape on the west side of the Las Vegas Strip with a robust calendar featuring special engagements by many of the music industry’s most-celebrated performers.

With more than 7 million entertainment tickets sold in 2014 alone, MGM Resorts’ offerings are unrivaled. The Company owns and operates two arenas; two Las Vegas Strip festival lots (62 acres); seven theaters housing Cirque du Soleil production shows; 14 theaters for concerts, headliners and comedy performances; and more than two dozen lounges and nightclubs. Additionally, it is currently developing a new world-class Las Vegas arena as well as integrated resort projects in Macau and National Harbor, Maryland, each of which will feature entertainment venues as central amenities.

Rumors: Cosmopolitan And Monte Carlo Sportsbook Moving

July 8, 2015 by Marc Leave a Comment

Rumors are all over the place with Monte Carlo heading deep into construction of The Park. This park-like area will be located between Monte Carlo and New York-New York leading to the new arena that’s scheduled to open next year.

Monte Carlo has undergone some major changes with its Vegas Strip frontage and now they’re moving to the side leading to the arena. Similarly (but not the same) the Cosmo is renovating its casino floor. Here’s the juice I’m hearing:

Monte Carlo Rumors

Vegas Eater says that the Blue Man Group Theater will be closing and becoming a larger theater to be used as a concert hall. Now comes rumor (on the Five Hundy By Midnight Podcast) that the Monte Carlo sportsbook will be closing and moving into The Pub. This would make The Pub more of a sports lounge and closer to what you see at Bellagio and The Mirage.

If this rumor is true it wouldn’t be surprising to see the poker room also close and move. The sportsbook and poker room occupy the same side of the casino so it might make sense to see both shuttered to make way for the planned restaurants and bars.

Possibility: Both make sense and sound logical.

Cosmopolitan Rumors

Last month I wrote about the rumor that Cosmopolitan may be getting a poker room on Vegas Chatter. That still hasn’t come to fruition but there’s another rumor about their tiny CG Technology sportsbook.

Word is that the sportsbook will be moving from the second floor to the first floor with the other casino gaming. I reached out to a CG Technology rep on twitter and didn’t receive a response like I have every other question I’ve asked.

Possibility: Not sure the majority of customers would care about either. I could make a case for both but I can also see bean counters not caring about such a small piece of gaming revenue (about 2%-3% total).

Closing

Rumors are a hit and miss proposition. Sometimes they’re true and sometimes they’re not. The success rate I’ve had with rumors that make sense is about 50%. If that holds true here then we should see two of the rumors mentioned above come true. Time will tell as construction is progressing at Monte Carlo and Cosmo is quietly making changes to their property.

Vegas Rumors: Monte Carlo Name Change, Riviera Bye-Bye

February 5, 2015 by Marc 4 Comments

Rumors about Vegas are fun. Especially when they come from good sources and make sense. Here’s a look at a couple of rumors floating around that seem too good not to be true.

Monte Carlo

Rumor: Earlier this week Vital Vegas dropped a rumor that the Monte Carlo would be changing its name.
Thoughts: This totally makes sense. They’ve de-themed most of the hotel to the point of where it’s so bland the name doesn’t make sense. A new name announcement after construction is complete around the property and shortly before they open the new arena would work nicely. Maybe they’ll renovate the rooms in time for the new arena too.

Riviera

Rumor: Riviera has been sold and new owners will close and demolish in favor of something unrelated to gaming.
Thoughts: This rumor about the Riviera sounds legit despite rumors about renovations. Despite these mainstream media outlets reporting about $20-$100 million dollar in renovations to the property in recent years the parent company is still having financial problems post bankruptcy. With Resorts World Las Vegas being delayed and SLS Las Vegas having its own problems revitalization of the north end of the Vegas Strip doesn’t look so hot right now.

Both of these are still rumors right now. Both bits of news make too much sense not to happen. We’ll see if they’re true shortly.

Update: 6/16 – Rumors are both finally confirmed. Monte Carlo will become MGM Park and Riviera will be imploded 6/14 and 8/14.

Random Vegas Info From MGM Resorts

January 14, 2015 by Marc Leave a Comment

I’m easily amused. I find random information like the infographic above and the notes below fun and relatively useful. Thanks to this blog post you can now amaze your friends with useless Vegas knowledge from MGM Resorts like:

“Hey, did you know that Nine Fine Irishmen at New York-New York served 100,000 pints of Guinness?”

7,982,550 pillows fluffed at MGM Grand
3.2 million people who visited The Adventuredome at Circus Circus
1 million Hershey’s Kisses distributed across Las Vegas to celebrate the opening of Hershey’s Chocolate World at New York-New York
729,753 pizza slices served at Shawn McClain’s FIVE50 Pizza Bar at ARIA
267,436 toilet paper rolls used by the Blue Man Group at Monte Carlo
100,000 pints of Guinness gulped at New York-New York’s Nine Fine Irishmen
96,719 pounds of crab legs cracked at The Buffet at ARIA
52,640 massages and facials enjoyed at Spa Bellagio
46,363 margaritas sipped at Hecho en Vegas at MGM Grand
34,580 costume changes by the Jabbawockeez at Luxor
11,336 shows performed by The Fountains of Bellagio
8,464 ice cream flavor combinations offered at BLVD Creamery since its May 2014 opening at Monte Carlo
5,704 corks collected at Rock ‘n Roll Wine Amplified Festival at MGM Resorts Village
5,472 roses distributed by Boyz II Men during “I’ll Make Love to You” at The Mirage
$5,000 – The most expensive dish purchased; 26 Fleurburgers sold at Fleur in Mandalay Bay
1,117 ice buckets in the shape of FDR’s hat box, in the suites at Delano Las Vegas
520 victories at Excalibur’s Tournament of Kings
360 pounds of caviar spooned at The Buffet Bellagio
3 new white lion cubs at Siegfried and Roy’s Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat at The Mirage

The Case Grows To Stay Away From The Middle Of The Vegas Strip

May 21, 2014 by Marc 1 Comment

Grand Bazaar Shops Bally's Las Vegas — Grand Bazaar Shops

I love Vegas but I don’t love masses of humanity in my way. I’m a New Yorker and always in a rush even when I don’t have somewhere to be. The Vegas Strip is already too crowded with slow walkers and tourists just stopping for no reason. Blech.

As details about the Grand Bazaar Shops in front of Bally’s continue to emerge my desire NOT to be near that part of the strip grows too. You may know that from a blog post from last year about the Grand Bazaar Shops.

Vegas Chatter dug up some of the fancy flea market vendors that will be at the Grand Bazaar Shops and they’re exactly what you might expect from a flea market – jewelry, handbags, sunglasses and other stuff you’d find at a rest stop in New Jersey.

Check out these hideous renderings of the Grand Bazaar Shop.

On a side note, who let Caesars artists into a Bellagio to sketch that point of view?

While people stop on the, already crowded, Vegas Strip to look and decide whether or not to check out the “stores” they’ll just be in standing in the middle of the sidewalk clogging traffic. At least the Park area in between Monte Carlo and New York-New York and The Linq are designed to draw people away from the Vegas Stip.

The sidewalks can’t be widened because there’s already too much car traffic on the Vegas Strip so the human traffic will only get worse. The only way to avoid traffic in the middle of the strip is to avoid it.

Thankfully Delano Las Vegas at Mandalay Bay will complete renovations soon. Some of the hotel rooms at Delano Las Vegas are already finished. We should expect the public spaces to be completed on time. SLS Las Vegas is working 24/7 to ensure that they will be opening at the end of summer. Both of these hotels on opposite ends of the Vegas Strip give a good excuse for someone like me to avoid the middle of the crush of people in the middle.

I understand that not everyone is like me. There are people who actually like to do things other than eat, drink and gamble when they’re in Vegas. GASP! I understand the Vegas Strip’s need to evolve but I’m happy that there will still be new hotels and casinos for people like me to enjoy.

Learn more about the Grand Bazaar Shops here.