Las Vegas Ranked 2nd Hottest Job Market

The hospitality and gaming industries continue to boom, and so does Las Vegas. It has tacked on more than 100 jobs every day since 2001, accelerating the pace to 130 per day during the past year. Only Boise surpasses Vegas' 2005-06 employment-growth rate of 5.5 percent.

Quick stats
Jobs as of mid-2006: 919,200
Unemployment rate as of mid-2006: 4.3%
Employment trend since mid-2001: Added 187,300 jobs
Five-year growth rate: 25.6%
Employment trend since mid-2005: Added 47,600 jobs
One-year growth rate: 5.5%

Playboy Comes to Vegas

It was late 1985 when Hugh Hefner walked into the grand opening of Playboy's Empire Club in Manhattan, the latest attempt by the magazine company to freshen its suave, sexy image.

A quarter century of success in running such clubs was on the wane and a new gimmick was thought to be needed to attract a new audience of women - male bunnies. "I thought, `This is the end of it,"' Hefner recalls, chuckling. "And indeed, within a year or so, it was."

Now, two decades after rising feminism and a fading nightclub scene helped close the last U.S. Playboy Club in Lansing, Mich., in 1988, a new Playboy Club is set to open Oct. 6 in Las Vegas, just as fresh and retro-hip as a pair of bell-bottom jeans. "Things that become old-fashioned in a certain time frame, in a new time frame take on a whole new kind of mystique," said Hefner, the 80-year-old founder and majority shareholder of Playboy Enterprises Inc. "That is exactly what happened to all things Playboy."

The original clubs, staffed by bustiered Bunnies and spurred by the sexual revolution, spanned the globe in their heyday in the 1960s and '70s, from Chicago and New York to Manila, London, Tokyo and the Bahamas. At their height, 22 clubs were in operation, employing more than 25,000 Bunnies and boasting more than a million "keyholders," or members. But they ran into feminism on one side and easily accessible explicit adult content on the other.

The Margaret Thatcher government challenged and then revoked the club's casino license in the U.K. in 1981. It forced the closure of the London club, once the company's most profitable operation, and led to the inability of Playboy to obtain a gambling license for a hotel-casino in Atlantic City, N.J., shortly after. "Once we lost the gaming, we were really not able to financially carry the rest of what we were doing," Hefner said. The last overseas club closed in Manila in 1991.

Today, Hefner's original idea of providing a roadmap to urban life by urging men to appreciate food, music, high ideas - and beautiful women - has taken on a new cachet. "If you look at the magazine even in the early days, there were features on decorating your apartment, cooking, buying nice clothes, buying wine," said James Beggan, associate professor of sociology at the University of Louisville. "I think that they've always been ahead of their time in advocating what later becomes known as the `metrosexual identity.' "Society has caught up with Playboy's view," he said.

The new club, on the top three floors of the Palms hotel-casino, pays homage to the past while introducing its swinging bachelor lifestyle to a new generation. Lounge seating is back, as are the famous Bunny outfits, complete with ears, bow tie and cufflinks, designed by Roberto Cavalli. "Ninety-five percent of the people who are going to end up spending all the money here have never been to a Playboy Club," said George Maloof Jr., the bachelor casino magnate who runs the Maloof family's $915 million resort. "So it's not even like your dad, maybe it's your grandfather (who) went. We wanted to create something that did remind people of the Playboy Club, but had a fresh new look."

Most important to the $55 million club's profitability, however, is its casino license, marking the first time in a half century that a Nevada club will be allowed to charge customers a cover to access gambling tables.

Playboy expects to make $4 million a year in mostly guaranteed licensing fees thanks in large part to the slot machines and blackjack and roulette tables to be staffed by Bunnies.

Licensing, Playboy's fastest-growing and highest-margin business, took in $16 million in operating profit last year. The club will provide a "meaningful lift" to the bottom line, chief executive Christie Hefner said.

Plus, Sin City seemed a perfect fit. "A town that's defining itself through an ad slogan that says, `What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas,' you could argue is a pretty good environment for a Playboy-branded product."

Thanks to Ryan Nakashima

Body English Indulgence Fridays

Beginning Friday, October 6th,

Indulgence Fridays at the Hard Rock's Body English.

Girls arriving before midnight drink free champagne all night.

Signs Suggest Prince to Rule Rio

Prince fans soon may be partying like it's 1999.

A Web site connected to Prince is hinting that his rumored Rio headliner deal is done. Since Monday, his www.3121.com Web site -- a reference to his "3121" album -- has been showing only a red-and-blue graphic in the shape of the Rio.

Recent sightings of Prince at the Rio and elsewhere with Harrah's executives have fueled the rumors, and he's known for sending cryptic clues to his fans.

"It looks good. Take it to the bank," said a source close to the Prince camp.

Thanks to Norm!

Congress Passes Law to Shrink World Series of Poker Field

Fallout from the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 may land hard on two of Las Vegas' biggest gaming companies, Harrah's Entertainment and MGM Mirage. Each has tapped poker fans who love Internet play and then turn to Vegas for the real action.

When those gamblers try to log onto their PartyPoker.com account, they'll soon discover they can no longer place a bet. And that will chill tournament play on the Strip.

For nearly a decade, the campaign by conservative members of Congress to outlaw online gambling remained on the fringes in Washington. But with Republican lawmakers nervous about the Nov. 7 elections and eager to find issues that will please conservative religious groups, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and other Republican leaders saw an opportunity to adopt the ban. They attached it to an unrelated port security bill, which was approved by Congress on Saturday.

Once a small, tight-knit group of hard-core sports bettors, Internet gamblers, attracted by celebrity players and incessant television coverage of poker tournaments, have grown into a largely mainstream group of amateur bettors. But in the eyes of the U.S, they have joined the ranks of people who transport illegal drugs or sell unregistered firearms .

Online operators had largely ignored the Justice Department's opinion that all forms of online gambling are illegal. It was a weak legal position, they said, that was unsupported by federal law and largely unenforceable because online betting operators are based outside of the United States.

With the bill , a "gray area" of gambling just got a lot clearer by making it a felony to process Internet bets generated by Americans.

British operator Partygaming, which owns PartyPoker.com, said it would cease operations in the United States by blocking American bets. Other companies publicly traded in Europe, trying to salvage shares that have already tanked by more than 50 percent, could follow suit. That means American players could soon be gambling on black market Web sites and reverting to a time when no-name sites operated in an online Wild West of sorts.

A more likely outcome will be an increasingly creative cat-and-mouse game between the remaining Internet gambling sites and regulators who now have the authority to shut down Web sites and go after third parties. Those include Internet service providers that link to gambling sites and a growing number of affiliate sites that make money from referring business to Internet casinos.

Nevada interests have been ineffective in fighting the legislation. State regulators don't want to run afoul of the feds. The state's most powerful legislator, Sen. Harry Reid, opposes Internet gambling on the basis that it can't be adequately regulated. Even Nevada casinos, which have reaped the benefits when online gamblers are teased to real poker rooms, weren't willing to go to the mat on a prohibition bill.

The American Gaming Association, which represents the largest land-based casinos, says the bill's passage won't mean much for its members, which aren't in the business of online gambling. That may be true for most members that aren't profiting much on poker. They may rather fill those rooms with more profitable slot machines. But that's probably not the case for the association's two biggest members, MGM Mirage and Harrah's Entertainment. Both companies host the world's largest poker tournaments and have lobbied for regulating and taxing Internet gambling.

As many as half of the entrants in Harrah's latest World Series of Poker qualified for their $10,000 buy in to the final event by playing satellite tournaments hosted by online gambling sites. Similarly, MGM Mirage hosts some events for the World Poker Tour, a global poker tourney that attracts big money from online bettors who qualified for the events online.

Both tournaments will likely now attract fewer entrants.

The ban will have further implications in Las Vegas, the de facto hub for online bettors and support industries such as magazines, Internet portals and other businesses that made money catering to the online poker and betting industry. "It's like a death," said Jan Fisher, a poker writer, tournament announcer and partner in a company that produces a cruise ship tourney for online operator PartyPoker. "This didn't just stop people from playing online. This touched literally everyone I know. I'm afraid for the industry."

Thanks to Liz Benston

Harrah’s Receives Acquisition Proposal

Harrah’s Entertainment, Inc. confirmed that its Board of Directors has received a proposal from Apollo Management and Texas Pacific Group to acquire all of the Company’s outstanding common stock for $81.00 per share in cash.

The Harrah’s Board of Directors has established a Special Committee consisting of all non-management directors to review the proposal. The Special Committee has retained UBS Securities LLC as its financial advisor and Kaye Scholer LLP as its legal advisor to assist the Special Committee. The Special Committee has not determined that a transaction is in the best interests of Harrah’s and its stockholders or that Harrah’s should not continue as an independent public company pursuing its business plan as the world’s largest provider of branded casino entertainment. Accordingly, there is no assurance that Harrah’s will enter into this or any other transaction.

Harrah's Entertainment, Inc. is the world's largest provider of branded casino entertainment through operating subsidiaries. Since its beginning in Reno, Nevada 68 years ago, Harrah's has grown through development of new properties, expansions and acquisitions. Harrah's Entertainment is focused on building loyalty and value with its customers through a unique combination of great service, excellent products, unsurpassed distribution, operational excellence and technology leadership.

Boyd Gaming Announces Agreement to Sell Barbary Coast to Harrah's Entertainment

Boyd Gaming Corporation announced that it has reached an agreement with Harrah's Entertainment, Inc. to trade the Barbary Coast Hotel and Casino in a tax- deferred exchange for approximately 24 contiguous acres of Las Vegas Strip property that Harrah's has contracted to acquire from third parties. The land that Boyd Gaming is to receive in the exchange is located directly to the north of its 63-acre Echelon Place development site. Boyd Gaming expects to recognize a non-cash gain of approximately $280 million in the quarter in which the transaction closes and plans to begin reporting the results of operations from Barbary Coast in "discontinued operations" in the third quarter 2006. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including receipt of regulatory approvals, and is expected to close in the first quarter 2007.

Bill Boyd, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Boyd Gaming, commented on the transaction, "This agreement provides additional Las Vegas Strip development opportunities for our Company and is strategically located next to Echelon Place. We are especially excited about the prospect of having 87 contiguous acres on the Las Vegas Strip. The additional acreage provides us with the opportunity to develop future phases related to our Echelon project, as well as extending our strategic growth pipeline well into the next decade."

The Playboy Club Opens at the Palms

For the first time in more than two decades, Playboy Enterprises, Inc. will open a new Playboy Club as part of a multi-faced entertainment venue at the Palms Casino Resort. The Playboy Club will officially open for gaming on Friday night, October 6th, when Playboy Founder, Editor-in-Chief and Chief Creative Officer Hugh Hefner, Playboy Chairman and CEO Christie Hefner, Palms owner George Maloof, and N9NE Group principals, Michael Morton and Scott DeGraff, will gather in front of The Palms’ new Fantasy Tower to light a giant-size Playboy Rabbit Head that is emblazoned on the Tower’s side, facing the Las Vegas Strip. Following the “Lighting of the Rabbit” event, there will be the first official bet and party at the Playboy Club. On Saturday night, October 7th, a red-carpet event will be held.

Located at the top of The Palms new Fantasy Tower, this modern interpretation of the iconic Playboy Club is a must-visit entertainment destination for visitors in Las Vegas. The Playboy brand, which for years has been synonymous around the world with the “good life,” brings a new level of excitement to the Playboy Club which is connected via glass enclosed escalators to the N9NE Group’s new restaurant concept, Nove Italiano, and Moon nightclub which pays homage to Playboy with a giant Rabbit Head as the centerpiece of the dance floor.

In a scene that merges the past with the present, The Playboy Club introduces a complete integration of lounging and gaming, which has never been attempted before in Las Vegas. Custom design elements from the bunny buttons on the sofas to the collage wallpaper featuring every centerfold from the last 25 years reflect the image of the Playboy logo and capture the Playboy lifestyle.

Sixty plasma screens display visual riches from the archives of Playboy Enterprises, Inc., while dozens of Playboy Bunnies don signature Bunny Costumes as well as a modern version designed by Roberto Cavalli.

“We are enthused to debut Playboy’s location-based entertainment in Las Vegas, which has continued to grow as the spot for entertainment and gaming,” said Christie Hefner. “An entertainment destination such as ours that integrates gaming, a club, food and beverage and merchandise is the next logical step in a market where 50 percent of revenues now come from non-gaming sources.”

“When Hugh Hefner opened the original Playboy Club in 1960, it redefined class and luxury in a way that set the standard for clubs all over the world for decades to come,” said The Palms owner, George Maloof. “The Palms is thrilled to take that style and sophistication and update it to cater to discriminating Las Vegas visitors who demand the classic vibe that was wholly created by Hef’s vision.”

“I am very pleased to see the return of the Playboy Club after nearly a quarter century,” said Hugh Hefner. “George Maloof, the Palms and the N9NE Group have gone all out in creating a remarkable modern-day Playboy experience.”

The Fantasy Tower is also home to a Playboy Boutique, which features the hottest styles from Playboy’s international lines such as Playboy Intimates and the Playboy Icon collection. In addition to Playboy-branded products and co-branded Palms merchandise, guests will find the extensive Playboy Beauty line, high-end jewelry, accessories, and lifestyle products for both men and women.

The 9,000-square-foot Hugh Hefner Sky Villa is the perfect accompaniment to the hotel’s Playboy Club. The floor to ceiling glass walls provides unparalleled views of the Las Vegas Strip and the impressive Spring Mountains, while custom furnishings and one-of-a-kind amenities provide guests with the utmost in luxury and truly memorable experiences including: an extensive collection of Playboy artwork selected by Hugh M. Hefner, indoor waterfall and reflection pool, personal glass elevator, private outdoor cantilevered Jacuzzi®, fully-equipped gym with sauna, full bar, media room, glass end walls and Playboy Rabbit Head logo, and a replica of the classic rotating circular bed that has been a mainstay in Mr. Hefner’s bedroom for decades.

“The N9NE Group has created a one-of-a kind destination that combines lounging and gaming in one intimate, entirely custom-designed venue,” says Michael Morton, co-owner of the N9NE group. “The most discerning of customers are going to be impressed with our world-class service and staff, something that the N9NE group has always been known for,” adds Scott DeGraff, co-owner of the N9NE Group.

The Playboy Club, located at The Palms Casino Resort, will be open to the public beginning Friday evening, October 6.

"Rainbow Girl" Contest at "Rock The Rainbow'' Band Competition

Quickly establishing itself as Las Vegas’ new, fun and casual must-experience spot for tourists and celebrity clientele, The Rainbow Bar & Grill is holding a weekly contest throughout the fall to find the first ever “Rainbow Girl.”

The “Rainbow Girl” contest will take place each Thursday (through October 26) between performances by some of the 16 finalists in the “Rock The Rainbow” Competition. Just as owners Jerry Greenberg and Bob Greenberg are seeking the next Vegas based superstar band in that contest, the restaurant is looking for one lucky young lady to become the face of The Rainbow Bar & Grill.

Rainbow Bar & Grill Director of Operations Steve Rothman says, “This will bring back what the legacy of the Rainbow is all about…rock and roll and gorgeous women!”

The “Rock The Rainbow” shows are scheduled to start at 11 p.m., followed by the “Rainbow Girl” contest at about midnight. Contestants will be asked to model in lingerie to be judged by Rothman and a rotating panel of music judges. Scoring will be done on a 1-10 scale, and each model will be given two spotlight opportunities on the runway to be evaluated on.

The best from each night will be invited to come back during the Finals and have a face-off to see who the new “Rainbow Girl” promo team will be and also to determine who the first ever “Rainbow Girl” is.

Prizes include paid photo shoots for the restaurant’s advertisements for a year; limo accommodations for the team and bottle service at various hotspots in Vegas; and the replacement of the Rainbow’s current logo with the winner.

Las Vegas’ Rainbow Bar & Grill, which is located on Paradise Road across from the Hard Rock Hotel and Café, recently celebrated its first anniversary. Its laid back, no snob attitude and growing reputation as a new playground for locals and tourists has also attracted an exciting celebrity clientele. Recently, Alice In Chains drummer Sean Kinney was there signing the “Drumhead of Fame.

World Series of Poker Evolves into a Classic

There are other poker tournaments, but the World Series of Poker has evolved into the richest and most high profile of them all thanks to some clever marketing strategy on behalf of Harrah's Entertainment, which obtained the rights to the brand several years ago.

This year's WSOP, which ran for seven weeks from June 26 through Aug. 11 at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Vegas, brought out a total of 48,364 entrants for the 45 events, a 50 percent increase over last year.

Huge growth was experienced in other categories as well: 8,773 players participated in the Main Event, the $10,000 No-Limit Texas Hold'em World Championship, which had a gross prize pool of $82.5 million. In 2005 those numbers were 5,519 and $56 million.

ESPN's taped coverage of Final Table action aired weekly starting in late August and concluded last week. If you were able to catch any of the shows, you are witness to the entertaining reality television into which poker has evolved. The participants are even showcased in ways similar to athletes.

Gary Thompson, WSOP's director of communications and operations, has his own reasons for the tournament's success: "The ‘World Series' is the oldest and most tradition-laden poker tournament in the world," he said. "Our goal is to make sure that when we get good suggestions from our players we take them into consideration. I know that some other tournaments have different structures and faster levels, but our players have told us that they really like the fact that we play two hours per level, that blind structures increase very slowly, particularly for the main event, and it gives players a chance to play, which is our goal."

Jamie Gold's victory in the 2006 Main Event and his $12 million prize made news around the world several weeks ago, but less known is the fact that the first 12 finishers also became instant millionaires. The 13th through 63rd place finishers won six-figure prizes. In fact, the tournament paid down to 873rd place which was worth $14,597. This year's WSOP included poker players from 56 countries around the world.

Thanks to John G. Brokopp

Wynn Las Vegas Rolls the Dice on Toking Game

It's about 10 p.m., well into the swing shift at Wynn Las Vegas. At a blackjack table, a player is up a few hundred and tips the dealer a $25 chip

What happens next to that chip is the subject of a hot legal debate that has implications well beyond Wynn Las Vegas and the casino industry - including, perhaps, valets and housekeepers.

Should the dealer who receives that toke share it with the other dealers working in the pit? Or with a dealer he barely knows with a dull personality and a lousy morning shift? For years, casinos - and most dealers - have said yes. But what about the floorman who supervises the dealer and does little more for the gambler than shake his hand, watch him play and make sure there's a full drink in his hand?

State and federal laws are murky about how tips can be shared, triggering lawsuits here and around the country by workers who don't agree with the system. In Massachusetts, the law that forbids managers from sharing tips generated by service workers such as valet drivers and baggage handlers has been strengthened to impose criminal penalties.

Federal law allows employees to pool tips but defers to states on whether management can require tip pooling. Nevada law doesn't specifically address that issue, but the state courts have allowed management to dictate tip pooling.

The question is, who exactly can get their hands on that tip pool? Tip-pooling at Nevada casinos became the rule in the 1980s, to discourage the widespread practice of tip hustling and bribing supervisors for choice shifts as well as to attract dealers to tip-poor shifts.

At Wynn Las Vegas, all tips collected over a 24-hour period are split equally among the dealers who worked that day. When the hotel recently ordered that card dealers' immediate supervisors, called floormen or service team leaders, be included in the tip pool, dealers complained that because floormen were part of management, they didn't have a right to the tips. Two dealers filed a class action lawsuit this month on behalf of their co-workers. (Under the new deal, boxmen, who supervise craps, are also tapping the tip pool.)

One of the attorneys representing the dealers, Reno labor lawyer Mark Thierman, says the practice violates state law. "We have a statute that says you're not supposed to kick back tips to management. I think it's pretty clear. Tips belong to the employee, not the house." But the practice has precedent in Las Vegas.

In 1999 floormen at the Resort at Summerlin were allowed by the labor commissioner at the time to dip into the tip pool, reasoning that they directly contributed to customer service. After dealers complained that their tips were being used to subsidize management salaries, the ensuing sour publicity prompted the casino to exclude floormen from the dealer tip pool.

A blackjack dealer who didn't like sharing tips with floormen tried in 1995 to change state law but failed to win support with legislators after the casino industry opposed the idea. One sponsor of that bill, Assemblywoman Chris Giunchigliani, who is a Clark County Commission candidate, says state law needs to be clarified. "The whole premise is that you make less in salary because you earn your tips," said Giunchigliani, a special education teacher who once worked as a waitress. "You should not be told who to give your tips to, especially if those people didn't earn them. I think the Legislature needs to protect people from sharing tips with someone who's not normally in the line of service."

The U.S. District Court in 1975 ruled that multiple people can be in that line of customer service and deserve a cut of the tips. "For example, a busboy as well as a waitress contributes to the good service and well-being of a customer in a restaurant," it said. "Similarly, in a casino, the floormen, boxmen and cashiers all contribute to the service rendered to the player."

A California court similarly agreed recently that card-room shift managers were not entitled to a share of the tip pool but that floor managers - who work at the level between the dealers and shift bosses - were entitled.

Los Angeles labor attorney Dennis Moss, who is representing California dealers in class action suits, says his clients are different than, say, waitresses, busboys and bartenders who serve customers as a group. "When a winning player tosses a chip to a dealer ... he is giving it to the dealer" and not a group of people, he said, because it is a sign of appreciation to the dealer for lucky cards.

While federal courts have concluded that tips can be pooled among workers who interact with customers, they've been ambiguous about what amount of interaction qualifies for a tip.

Floorpeople watch over several tables, greet customers and enroll them in tracking programs that earn comps for gambling losses, among other tasks. But one of their primary duties is overseeing the game. Floorpeople are the first line of defense for the casino to make sure that games are dealt properly and that players aren't cheating or counting cards - both activities that can hurt the bottom line.

Floorpeople are supervised, in turn, by pit bosses.

Wynn executives believe floor supervisors will serve gamblers better if they get tips, which also will make it easier to recruit new floorpeople from the ranks of dealers. (While dealers' tip income will drop by at least 10 percent, Wynn says, he will reward dealers up to $6,000 a year for good service.)

In a town where tips account for more than 80 percent of many workers' paychecks, there are plenty of examples of line workers who make more than their salaried supervisors. "We're talking about this every day in my class," said Bill Werner, an assistant professor in employment law at UNLV's William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration. "Everybody who is making tips in Nevada should be paying attention to this."

Food and drink servers customarily - and voluntarily - tip others, such as busboys and bartenders, to show their appreciation for quickly cleaned tables and properly made drinks.

Where might tip pooling occur next? Some tip earners say it's just a matter of time before tips are pooled among bellmen, valets and housekeepers, but unions will make sure managers won't share in them. (Dealers are not unionized.)

Werner says the latest spat illustrates the continuing debate over who earns customers' tips. "Ultimately we have to deal legally with the question of when you throw money on the table, who are you giving it to? It's going to become a bigger issue before it goes away."

Thanks to Liz Benston

Oaktree Capital Management Now Owns a Stake in Cannery Casino Resorts

Oaktree Capital Management of Los Angeles now owns a 33% stake in Cannery Casino Resorts LLC, which owns the Cannery Casino & Hotel in North Las Vegas and operates the Rampart Casino at the Resort at Summerlin. The seller, Millennium Gaming Inc., a corporation equally owned by William J. Paulos and William C. Wortman, will continue to own a 67% stake.

Looking ahead, Cannery Casino Resorts is planning to pursue an undisclosed “gaming opportunity in Pennsylvania.” To that end, a subsidiary of the LLC has engaged Banc of America Securities LLC and Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc. to raise up to $275 million in a new senior secured credit facility.

Oaktree Capital Management manages about $30 billion in assets for Fortune 100 companies, large public pension funds, university endowments, private foundations and high net worth individuals. Its investment in Cannery Casinos was made through its Principal Opportunities Group, which manages in excess of $4.2 billion in committed capital and sponsors management buyouts and other private equity investments.
Cannery Casino & Hotel is located at the corner of Craig and Losee roads (2121 E. Craig Rd.) in the City of North Las Vegas. Rampart Casino is located within the JW Marriott Resort at 221 N. Rampart Blvd. in the master planned community of Summerlin.