"Clown-town"..Politics in Las Vegas

I have to admit, you never know what you are going to see in Las Vegas. No I did not see Matt Damon again:< I was standing in the parking lot of a convenience store and a bunch of cops came in and secured the perimeter. I asked the officers what was up,  "The Obama motorcade was coming down the road in a little bit". They gave me the option to leave,  I thought "What the hell" it isn't every day you get to see something like that.

Let me give everyone a brief history on the street they were traveling. The last two years they have been working on a 2-3 mile stretch of road (Durango) It stops, it starts, it stops again. It was a "stimulus" money project. The road finally gets completed about a week before Obama's visit, remember it's election time in Nevada and Harry Reid is "fighting for his political survival".

Back to the motorcade, i'm standing in the parking lot when I hear everyone say get ready. The next thing I know I am watching about 100 cars and motorcycles whiz by. About half-way through you see three limousines. The whole motorcade process took about 2-3 minutes. After the motorcade passed the police waited about five minutes and re-opened the road. The motorcade was a very impressive site.

How much attention do you pay to politics? When i lived in Kansas I didn't care anything about it. I used to think politics were boring. Not anymore! Watching the politicians in Las Vegas is "akin" to watching a three-ring circus. Some of the politicians of Nevada remind me of kids "drawing plays in the dirt." I have a nickname for all of it "Clown-town". It reminds me of when I was young and my Uncle Joe would take me to an amusement park in Hutchinson called Clown-Town, funny times.

I need to add politics to my list of favorite things in Las Vegas. Women, weather, opportunities, the strip, and politics. I now have five things that I find enjoyable about Las Vegas..Rob Astle

2,995 new hotel rooms on the Stip? What? The Cosmopolitan Hotel

A brief history on the Cosmo, it was built during the "go-go" years, for those of you familiar with Las Vegas. It is located between the Bellagio & City Center. The original builder went "belly-up". Deutsche Bank was holding the paper and instead of selling it off, they decided to hold and finish.

A soft opening is scheduled for December 15 with the grand opening over New Year's. I am excited about the opening because it will help create a bunch of new jobs, but on the other hand, it will be adding an additional 2,995 rooms to an already bloated market. How does a bank get into the casino business? It's not as hard as it sounds. They wait for a property to fail, foreclose on it, complete the project and then outsource the management. Basically, they were far to deep into the project to "mothball" it and decided it was a better course of action to complete. 

It looks like one of the new "major players"on the strip is going to be a German Universal Bank. What? A bank running a casino. That sounds like an oxymoron to me:> Rob Astle

"Three Great Ones"

How many people have seen the move A Bronx Tale? In the movie Sonny tells C that you will meet "three great women in your life." For those of you who have not seen this movie,  Chazz Palminteri portrays Sonny (the neighborhood mobster). Robert Deniro has a supporting role.

Personally, I have had the privilege of meeting two great women in my life. The first one was a long time ago. The second  was my ex-wife. Will there be a third? Who knows? A friend of mine in Las Vegas is an avid horse bettor. I told him about my thoughts and he said "Your trying to hit the trifecta" (parimutuel bet in which the bettor must predict which horses will finish first, second, and third in exact order). The odds of hitting a trifecta are very slim.

If you have not seen A Bronx Tale, check it out. It is one of my top ten favorite movies. They just finished a three week run at the Venetian (it was a one-man show of the same name before it was converted to a movie). For all of you who are searching for the "3 great ones". Good Luck and Happy Searching..Rob Astle

23 cents on the dollar for M casino? What?

I want to give everyone who is not familiar with Las Vegas and the casino game a better understanding of this deal. It is hard for me to translate the numbers. I'm not sure how many people would understand, so I am going to tell everyone in a layman's way how it works.

The M Resort was opened a few years ago, This casino was built specifically to capture the SoCal crowd. I have been to the M a number of times. Beautiful place with lots of scenery.

Long story short, the market crashed and the owners of the M were forced to do something. The outstanding debt was close to 800 million, the bank sold the debt for 230 million to Penn Gaming (23con$). Penn Gaming is the outfit that is building the casino at The Kansas Speedway. They own a number of non-Las Vegas gaming venues.

I have been trying to figure out what the re-sell price on a completed Vegas casino would be. I am starting to get a better idea. If you take into account Phil Ruffin's purchase of Treasure Island (roughly 30con$) and combine that with the M re-sell of (23con$). Currently, the re-sell value for a Las Vegas casino is somewhere between (25-27con$). Remember, I am giving  a very "layman's" view on the numbers, different locales will have different re-sell figures. This is only what I have seen so far.

I believe a number of Vegas casino's are destined to change hands over the next five years. I am making it a priority to get an accurate view on where they are going? Who is buying them? Whomever chooses to read my blog will be hearing a lot about the casino's in Las Vegas. Have a Nice Day..Rob Astle

Did you know a guy from Kansas owns Treasure Island?

Phil Ruffin graduated from Wichita North in 1953. Many people are familiar with his story. I will skip all the background and tell you how he made out like a "bandit" when most casino's are floundering.

Ruffin bought the Frontier Casino in 1999. For those of you not familiar with The Frontier, it was an old Vegas style casino located on the North strip. Ruffin sold the Frontier to El Ad Properties in 2007 (right before the market crashed). The 1.2 billion price for the 36 acre property was the largest per acre purchase in The Strip's history.

Ruffin than turned around and bought the Treasure Island from MGM/Mirage for a reported 775 million. . (MGM was struggling to raise funds for the completion of its CityCenter project and approached Ruffin about purchasing Treasure Island). Ruffin estimated that it would cost 2.7 billion dollars to build a resort like Treasure Island from the ground-up. Treasure Island is about 700 yards from his old casino. His old casino has been razed and the development of "The Plaza" (The new owners were going to build a replica of the Plaza Hotel in New York) has been indefinitely delayed because of the sour credit markets.

Mr. Ruffin's timing could not have been better. He got "top-dollar" for a property that has since lost a considerable amount of its value in the last three years. He then turned around and bought a property for a 1/3 of what it would cost to build new. Just when you thought things could not get any better for Mr. Ruffin, he married a former Miss Ukraine in 2008. She is 27 and he is 72:> Rob Astle

My dog is the best "wing-man" I have ever had!!

A friend of mine asked me to describe some of the women in Las Vegas and where a good place to meet them is?  Las Vegas is a place that "worships" beautiful women. So naturally tons of them flock too Vegas. Here is a perfect example of what you might run into in Las Vegas.

The weather was beautiful and it was my day off:> I grabbed the dog and said "were going to the dog park!" When I get there. I always let the dog run around and check things out for me. I will have to post a picture of her. Baby runs up to this one lady and starts "wagging" her tail. She was giving her dog a treat and Baby wanted one. The lady looks down at "Baby" and says "Your so precious" and ask me what her name was? I muttered "Baby". You should have seen this women. She belonged in a Victoria Secrets catalog! Mocha skin, brownish/blonde hair, sculpted body.  She was wearing  a yellow "sun-dress":)))). Whoever invented the "sun dress" THANK YOU!

I had a brief "chit-chat" with her. Her name was Sophia and her mother was German and her father was French.  I didn't ask her what she did for a living? I already had a good idea. For a "split-second" I thought about asking her out. I decided not to. I didn't want to come on to strong. I did however ask her if she came to the dog-park much. She told me every Tuesday & Wednesday afternoon. I will be sure to show up with my "wing-man" baby next Wednesday afternoon.

The moral of the story. If you want to meet a beautiful women in Las Vegas, GET A DOG AND GO TO THE PARK. I hope this answers my friends question? Rob Astle 

Why I love China.

"Your in love with China!"

My Uncle John in KC told me this a few months ago. For the record, I am not totally in love with China, but I do have serious feelings for her:> Why?

1. Economy- It is estimated that China will over take the United States as the world's largest economy by 2027. 

2. Consumerism- For years the Chinese relied on exports as their main economic engine. Due to the "world recession" they were forced to diversify their economy. The shift in the Chinese economy will preach more "consumerism" (spend,spend, spend). 

3. Middle class-China is in the midst of creating an "infrastructure" that will match the United States. They are building highways, bridges, trains, etc. When the recession started the government in China was very fast to respond. China for the most part is still an under-developed country. A majority of the population lives at or near poverty levels. The government is focusing hard on "equal-distribution" of wealth. By doing so, the Chinese can expect to see a huge gain in their "paltry" middle class. Having a solid "middle-class" is the key for sustained economic growth.  China is well on it's way to creating a "new" middle class..(By the year 2020 estimates are saying that 100 million people will be entering the middle-class status in China). 

4. Follow the leader- Walmart, McDonald's, Ford, Google, Wynn. All of  Corporate America is putting an extreme amount of emphasis on the emerging Chinese market. McDonald's is planning on opening 15,000 stores in China over the next 10 years. I just got finished reading an article about the gaming revenues in Macau (Chinese province where a number of Vegas casino's have a presence). Gaming revenue in Las Vegas  has stagnated the last few years. Gaming revenue in Macau is up 60% from last year. Total gaming revenue in Macau has surpassed revenue in Las Vegas!

5. Power in numbers- There are over 1.2 billion citizens of the People's Republic of China. The Chinese population is 3x greater than the that of the United States. Think of it this way "A country of over 1 billion people are preparing to shift their economy into a "consumerism" model. They are going to need something to spend their money on!"

I have a number of Asian friends in Las Vegas. The topic of China and how to get in-front of this consumer "avalanche" is discussed quite frequently. 

Confucius "It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop"

Rob Astle