Aladdin LV: ?Bankruptcy
Sep 24th, 2001, 10:34 AM
#1
Guest
Posts: n/a
Aladdin LV: ?Bankruptcy
From the first month the Aladdin in LV opened, I felt very strongly that the property was in for a short lifespan. Too cheaply done and rates too high to hold up against its local competition, small cheesy casino, no Wow factor, Desert Passage shopping center wilting away.
News reports are that the Aladdin has now missed a large loan payment and is in danger of being forced to seek bankruptcy protection. Last week's attacks in NYC/DC could not have come at a worse time for the Aladdin.
The casinos in LV are laying off hotel employees for the first time in recent memory.
Anyone have a bundle of left over dot-com cash who is interested in buying a slightly used Vegas strip casino for cheap??
News reports are that the Aladdin has now missed a large loan payment and is in danger of being forced to seek bankruptcy protection. Last week's attacks in NYC/DC could not have come at a worse time for the Aladdin.
The casinos in LV are laying off hotel employees for the first time in recent memory.
Anyone have a bundle of left over dot-com cash who is interested in buying a slightly used Vegas strip casino for cheap??
Sep 24th, 2001, 12:17 PM
#2
Guest
Posts: n/a
The entire casino industry in Las egas is at risk from my perspective. THe number of rooms that have been added in Vegas since the last recession indicated that casino operators felt like the good times would never end. Now that we are in a recession, Las Vegas is doing poorly and the casinos will drop like flys.
Sep 24th, 2001, 02:22 PM
#3
Guest
Posts: n/a
Vic, you sound so happy you were right! So what if a hotel/casino is out of business? There are so many others! Or is there some personal involvement? It's not the first time the business is down whatever the reason is. Cool down, give it some time, everything will be back. Or are you mad the creators of Alladin did not ask you for your opinion before opening? Well, THAT'S too bad 
Sep 24th, 2001, 04:45 PM
#4
Guest
Posts: n/a
Many hotel development projects in many places go through financial restructuring. It's just uncanny how the math improves after a property is sold for far less than its original cost! Bankruptcy does not often mean shuttering and closing in cases like that. It's an issue for investors, but customers would often never know the difference.
Sep 24th, 2001, 05:00 PM
#5
Guest
Posts: n/a
Actually Faina, if they'd only asked me for my opinion they wouldn't have lost all this money!! Ha!
I'm kidding, of course.
The reason I find it interesting is that when I, as an average everyday tourist, can spot a business that just screams "blunder", and I know that somewhere there are developers and bankers and researchers and architects and on and on, who have invested millions of dollars and untold hours of work, but apparently they can't see that the business is off target, I just find that very odd.
Haven't you ever driven past a new business in your town and said to yourself, "Hmmmm, look, dear, "Oscar's Organic Sauerkraut and Bunion Removal"....now that's a business with 'tax writeoff' written all over it"?
Just like that new Hyatt way outside of Las Vegas. Nice place, but not a chance in heck it's going to avoid a slow agonizing death, or simply sale to a lower end owner at a big loss to Hyatt.
Have you seen those new 'peanut butter and jelly slices' for sandwiches? Like individually wrapped sliced cheese, you buy 'slices' of PB&J and slap them on a sandwich. Yuck! How much money do you think was spent researching and marketing this toad of an idea? There is no way in the world it will fly in the real world.
So the moral of the story is that Aladdin is like a huge slice of PB&J.
And there you have it.
I'm kidding, of course.
The reason I find it interesting is that when I, as an average everyday tourist, can spot a business that just screams "blunder", and I know that somewhere there are developers and bankers and researchers and architects and on and on, who have invested millions of dollars and untold hours of work, but apparently they can't see that the business is off target, I just find that very odd.
Haven't you ever driven past a new business in your town and said to yourself, "Hmmmm, look, dear, "Oscar's Organic Sauerkraut and Bunion Removal"....now that's a business with 'tax writeoff' written all over it"?
Just like that new Hyatt way outside of Las Vegas. Nice place, but not a chance in heck it's going to avoid a slow agonizing death, or simply sale to a lower end owner at a big loss to Hyatt.
Have you seen those new 'peanut butter and jelly slices' for sandwiches? Like individually wrapped sliced cheese, you buy 'slices' of PB&J and slap them on a sandwich. Yuck! How much money do you think was spent researching and marketing this toad of an idea? There is no way in the world it will fly in the real world.
So the moral of the story is that Aladdin is like a huge slice of PB&J.
And there you have it.
Sep 26th, 2001, 08:05 AM
#6
Guest
Posts: n/a
I appreciate the Aladdin report. Vic, have any idea where I can find better rates for hotels. I just called Mandalay Bay and they wanted $189. The Bellagio is still giving us a $99 players rate but I haven't seen any air/hotel packages for a quick weekend.
Sep 26th, 2001, 08:18 AM
#7
Guest
Posts: n/a
It's interesting that the Aladdin was a bust as its first incarnation as well. The original hotel was a money loser from day one, despite many ownership changes, and despite all the casinos around it doing well. Now they've rebuilt a much more expensive money loser in its place.
Sep 26th, 2001, 09:39 AM
#8
Guest
Posts: n/a
Mel, as you no doubt realize, business has been way down in LV the past 15 days or so. As such, there should be some red hot deals to be had, right?
I haven't seen any advertised, but I'm wondering if that's because this sudden turn of events has caught the casinos unprepared, and it takes more than a few days to come up with ad strategies to increase business.
The best you can do, I would guess, is to call the hotels directly and ask what the best deals are that they're offering. Don't just ask for rates for specific dates. The phone operators often have different options they can 'sell', but they want to push the higher rates if possible. "Is that the best deal you have available?" is a helpful check phrase.
But I'd call several places...there have to be some deals floating around (though I do know that the Mirage was to be sold out either this weekend or next for a convention...but plenty of no shows, I'll bet).
I haven't seen any advertised, but I'm wondering if that's because this sudden turn of events has caught the casinos unprepared, and it takes more than a few days to come up with ad strategies to increase business.
The best you can do, I would guess, is to call the hotels directly and ask what the best deals are that they're offering. Don't just ask for rates for specific dates. The phone operators often have different options they can 'sell', but they want to push the higher rates if possible. "Is that the best deal you have available?" is a helpful check phrase.
But I'd call several places...there have to be some deals floating around (though I do know that the Mirage was to be sold out either this weekend or next for a convention...but plenty of no shows, I'll bet).
