p4-12 news:News 19/01/2010 08:48 Page 3
CASINO NEWS
A room in City
Center’s Aria
Two more hotel towers
for Vegas
T
wo Las Vegas casinos have opened new hotel towers despite what some
see as an over-supply of rooms in the gaming capital.
Planet Hollywood Resort has 1201 rooms in its new PH Towers – about
200 of them marketed as timeshares for extended visits – while the HRH
Tower at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino has 374 rooms, intended to offer a
boutique option to older, premium customers.
Nearly 1600 new rooms are therefore being added to Vegas’s capacity just
weeks after MGM Mirage’s massive 4004-room Aria at CityCenter opened its
doors. And for Hard Rock, the HRH Tower comes only months after the debut
of the same complex’s Paradise Tower.
Fears have been expressed that a glut of capacity – caused by the launch
of Aria in particular – will keep down room rates, already depressed by visitor
numbers that have been generally falling for around two years.
Indeed, low demand has led the Sahara to close two of its three towers –
the Alexandria and Tunis – for the winter, with only Tangiers remaining open.
However, there may be grounds for cautious optimism. In November, hotel-
room occupancy across the city was down just 0.8 percent on the same
month a year earlier – the slightest year-on-year decline since the beginning of
2008. Some restaurateurs are also said to be reporting rising covers.
And on the revenue front, November figures from the Nevada Gaming
Control Board also suggest a modest revival, with a 4.35 percent increase on
the same month in 2008. On the Strip itself, revenue grew 8.3 percent.
888 could pay $97m for Wink
8
88.com has acquired the Wink online bingo business, which operates
networks including Wink Bingo, Posh Bingo and Bingo Fabulous.
Wink has enlisted more than 60,000 active players since its launch in
early 2008.
Its properties are based on a gaming platform supplied by 888’s
subsidiary Dragonfish.
888 is paying previous owner Daub ?11m ($18m) cash plus an earn-out
due in the second quarter of 2011 and based on a multiple of five to six
times EBITDA. The total price is capped at ?59.7m ($97m).
In the 11 months ending 30 November, Wink had revenue of ?15m
($24m) and pre-tax profit of ?1.3m ($2m).
6 FEBRUARY 2010
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66