Las Vegas News Januar 2005

30.01.2005, Lesen Sie hier den Bericht über «Las Vegas News Januar 2005».

- Private Gaming Salons at Venetian Approved - Analysts: Wynn Will Be Able to Charge More For Rooms - Bellagio Presents Chocolate Fountain -----------

- Private Gaming Salons at Venetian Approved by Richard N. Velotta LAS VEGAS -- Like a gambler on a win streak, the Venetian was on top when the Nevada Gaming Commission approved its plans Thursday for its new private gaming salons.

Commissioners unanimously praised the Strip resort for its marketing plan to reach out to Asian high rollers. But minutes later, the Venetian took one on the chin, having to apologize for letting an underage player gamble and drink alcoholic beverages in its casino. Commissioners approved the settlement agreement between the state Gaming Control Board and the resort and an accompanying fine of $10,000. "We take these matters very seriously," said Carol Wetzel, an associate general counsel for the Venetian in her apology to the board.

Wetzel and regulators noted that the resort self-reported the violation after six staff members came into contact with the 19-year-old who played table games for an hour and was served a drink before he was finally caught when cashing in his chips.

Wetzel said she did not know how much the minor had won, but it was termed a small amount. Asked how the resort would prevent underage gambling from occurring in the future, Wetzel said staff members had received "verbal coaching" on how to spot potentially underage players. She said the six employees who came in contact with the boy -- three different dealers, a cocktail waitress, a floor person and a security guard overseeing a chip fill -- were not disciplined for the mistake.

The Gaming Control Board's complaint said the minor had a California driver's license showing his birth date as May 16, 1984, and stating that he turned 21 in 2005. While the underage gambling matter was a low point for the Venetian on Thursday, minutes earlier commissioners were singing the praises of the resort for its plans to develop two private salons, including one on the resort's 36th floor marketed as the Paiza Club.

Frederick Kraus, vice president and general counsel for the Venetian, explained that the Paiza Club name is a tribute to the historic link between China and the Italian city of Venice. In 1266, Kublai Khan was said to have given Italian explorer Marco Polo a foot-long golden tablet known as a "paiza" that served as a VIP passport in his travels throughout China.

Members of the Venetian's Paiza Club will get a humidor full of gifts and will be allowed to play behind closed doors. State lawmakers approved legislation that allows players with $500,000 in front money of a $500,000 line of credit to gamble in private parlors. Officials are hoping the closed-door perk would encourage them to gamble in Nevada.

Kraus said that when the Venetian made plans to develop the Paiza Club, the resort envisioned it would result in additional annual revenue of more than $5 million. That's when the resort expanded its plans and decided to build a second private parlor on the ground floor off the casino's baccarat pit.

Commissioners approved both parlors in a unanimous vote. In other business Thursday, the commission approved a second disciplinary settlement against a small Las Vegas restaurant for operating more slot machines than they were permitted to have and agreed to overturn a Control Board ruling on a claim for a tax refund.

Commissioners unanimously approved a settlement between the state and the Mayan Bar and Grill and a $5,000 fine against the restaurant for operating 10 slot machines when only five had been authorized.

In another matter, commissioners approved a tax refund of about $100,000 for the Barbary Coast Hotel and Casino and restaurant lessee Drai's on the Strip. The dispute involved the resort's claim that it had overpaid taxes in late 2003 when a new entertainment tax took effect.

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Analysts: Wynn Will Be Able to Charge More For Rooms

by Liz Benston LAS VEGAS -- After a preliminary tour of the $2.7 billion Wynn Las Vegas resort under construction, some analysts say the property will be able to charge more for rooms than expected and will command among the highest rates on the Strip.

The property will offer several rooms ranging from standard rooms at $200 to $220 per night, suites at $400 per night, an 1,800 square-foot suite at $750 per night and 18 villas at $2,000 per night, analysts said. Deutsche Bank Securities analyst Marc Falcone said he estimated the average room rate for Wynn Las Vegas could be $25 to $50 higher than previous estimates of $212 per night, especially given that room rates on the Strip have risen 15 percent to 20 percent over the last several years.

Rates for Wynn Las Vegas are running from $299 midweek to $329 for the weekend during the first week in May, Falcone said in a research note to investors today. That compares with $133 and $174, respectively, for the average Las Vegas Strip room rate last year, he said. Those rates put Wynn Las Vegas ahead of Bellagio but in line with the Venetian on the weekend, Falcone said. The average daily room rate in Las Vegas last year through November was $90.40, a 9 percent increase from the prior year.

Venetian and Bellagio were among the Strip's most expensive rooms last year. Venetian reported an average room rate of $219 and an occupancy rate of 98.3 percent for the nine months ended Sept. 30. Bellagio reported an average room rate of $239 at an occupancy rate of 95.2 percent for the same period. Falcone also said the property's convention space "has already experienced high demand" could run at full capacity in its first year of operation. "Rooms and suites will command premium pricing on the Strip," Goldman, Sachs & Co. analyst Steven Kent said in a research note to investors today. "From a quality perspective, the physical plant was more Four Seasons-like and will redefine the high-end market and set a new standard on the Las Vegas Strip."

Fulcrum Global Partners analyst Joe Greff said he estimates tourists will spend an average of $271 per night for standard rooms from the opening through Nov. 26, "well ahead" of earlier estimates. Every $10 increase in rates translates into a cent in annual earnings per share or $2 million in earnings before taxes and other fixed costs are paid. Several days around the opening of the resort and around major conventions in May and June already are sold out, Greff said.

The 2,700-room resort will feature 18 restaurants, an 18-hole golf course, an 111,000 square foot casino, 200,000 square feet of meeting and convention space, a spa and salon, an art gallery, boutiques and two shows. The restaurants are located on the edge of a man-made lake facing a mountain that will feature a light and entertainment show every 20 minutes.

The suites are accessible through a separate atrium entrance with a private pool overlooking the rest of the resort's pool deck, Falcone said. All of the meeting rooms look out over either the pool or the golf course to "maximize pricing," Kent said.

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Bellagio Presents Chocolate Fountain

LAS VEGAS -– (PRESS RELEASE) -- From far down Bellagio's promenade in the luxurious new Spa Tower, a mesmerizing figure entices curious guests with visual splendor and aromatic wafts: jutting out into the main corridor like the prow of a ship is a glass-enclosed, floor-to-ceiling chocolate fountain emerging from Jean-Philippe Patisserie. Displaying a spectacular series of melted chocolate cascades, this first-of-its-kind spectacle is the tallest chocolate fountain in the world.

Designed by award-winning Executive Pastry Chef Jean-Philippe Maury and Norwood and Antonia Oliver Design Associates, Inc., the fountain took a year and a half in planning and design. The result is a genius work of kinetic sculpture and a daring feat of engineering. Standing 27-feet tall, the masterpiece circulates more than 2,100 pounds of melted dark, milk and white chocolate at a rate of 120 quarts per minute.

"I've been creating sculptures out of chocolate for years, but exploring the particular properties of melted chocolate has been fascinating," said Executive Pastry Chef Jean-Philippe Maury. "Each of the three types of chocolate behave very differently, and we had to be aware of this in the design. It's been a wonderful challenge!"

The visual impact of the fountain is as compelling as its chocolate is appetizing: six spouts in the ceiling initiate the lyrical descent of rich dark, velvety milk and glistening white chocolate streams through a maze of 25 suspended glass vessels. Cast in 1/2-inch thick, rough-hewn aqua glass and held in position by anchoring cables, each vessel was built to precise size, shape and design by Montreal artist Michel Mailhot. Some oblong, some rounded, each irregular, the vessels hover mobile-like to capture and coax the paths of free-falling liquid chocolate.

Three rivers of dark, two of milk and one of white twist and swirl from vessel to vessel, flood across then spill down to the next carefully positioned receptacle. The colored streams and vessels are staggered, creating a mosaic effect in earthy shades of cocoa, gleaming viscous surfaces and refracted light. Having finished their acrobatic tumble down the tiers of this colossal chandelier, each rivulet funnels into hidden melting tanks, recollects and begins the journey once more.

Surrounding all this glory is a protective, multi-faceted cloak of 300-pound glass panels that rise in a funnel shape as the fountain expands toward the ceiling. "We've made glass a central design component of both the fountain and the Patisserie," said Designer Norwood Oliver. "Glass maximizes the visibility of chocolate's color and the multiple cascades as they flow from vessel to vessel. Glass also was an ideal medium to take the fountain's physical presentation to another level -- sculpture."

Built under Oliver and Chef Maury's guidance by Perfect Equipements of Montreal, the fountain's power plant is an elaborate system of pipes, pumps and valves located beneath the floor of the Patisserie. There, three tanks of chocolate -- dark, milk and white -- melt all 2,100 pounds to 120 degrees Fahrenheit. Six pumps join forces to transport the molten delight to the top of the fountain through two-inch diameter, stainless-steel pipes hidden within the walls of the shop. Surrounding each pipe is an additional three-inch pipe through which flows hot oil to keep the chocolate thinned as it journeys up the wall to make its entrance. More than 500 feet of these double pipes circulate chocolate 24 hours a day. From the tank room below to the pipes above, the fountain's full height is 27-feet, yet only 14-feet is visible within the shop.

"The scope of this team's vision and their expertise are nothing short of genius," said Randy Morton, vice president of hotel operations at Bellagio. "Jean-Philippe Patisserie will become a sightseeing destination in itself and is a stellar addition to Bellagio's collection of elegant amenities. This one-of-a-kind fountain, Chef Maury's exquisite confections and the refined elegance of the decor and packaging all combine to make an experience our guests will never forget."

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