HMVNipper
Jan 31, 2002, 04:18 AM
From a friend in Las Vegas...
http://www.lvrj.com/lvrj_home/2002/Jan-31-Thu-2002/news/17992658.html
***************
Thursday, January 31, 2002
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal
MGM Mirage scrambles to replace Tyson-Lewis
Executives hope McCartney, baccarat will fetch high rollers
By DAVE BERNS
lasvegas.com GAMING WIRE
MGM Mirage executives are negotiating with representatives of Paul McCartney to have the legendary rocker appear at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on April 6, the same day Mike Tyson would have fought Lennox Lewis in a heavyweight championship bout at the Strip megaresort.
The concert talks, revealed Wednesday by a knowledgeable source, would create one part of a two-pronged effort that also would see the MGM Grand host a high-end baccarat tournament that same weekend.
Both events would generate visits from hundreds of high-end gamblers who carry six-figure credit lines, creating a pair of money-makers to help the company recover from Tuesday's decision by the Nevada Athletic Commission to deny Tyson a state boxing license.
"We can only guess and imagine that this would have been not only the greatest fight in the sport's history but arguably the greatest fight from an economic standpoint," said Scott Ghertner, director of sports and promotions for MGM Mirage, who said he was unaware of a potential McCartney concert.
Negotiations toward a McCartney-MGM deal could be completed by Monday, the source said.
Citywide revenue projections for the fight weekend, with its allure for free-spending visitors, have ranged from $100 million to $300 million, enticing numbers for an industry and city that continue to suffer from the national recession and the Sept. 11 terror attacks.
But those are estimates that casino industry executives and analysts agreed Wednesday had been wildly inflated in numerous news media accounts.
"Who's saying that? If you can find out I'll challenge him to a boxing match," joked Terry Jicinsky, marketing research manager for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. "Those numbers are just unrealistic."
Jicinsky noted that each of the five major boxing matches held in Las Vegas between April and November 2001 generated an additional $6.5 million of nongaming revenue for the city. That was money spent on hotel rooms, meals, show tickets and in retail stores, among other venues.
A big fight weekend might generate an additional $10 million to $12 million of casino revenue throughout the city, said one top Strip executive who requested anonymity.
"It would be higher than the nongaming figure but not double," said the executive, characterizing his analysis as an estimate.
Despite the numerical uncertainty, observers say it is clear the city lost a much-needed payday with the decision by the athletic commission, which voted 4-1 to kill the potentially big money maker.
Earlier Tuesday, Park Place Entertainment executives said in a telephone conference call to discuss their company's fourth-quarter results that they expect the local economy to continue its struggles through the first six months of the year before beginning a third-quarter rebound.
On Wednesday, Park Place spokesman Robert Stewart declined to discuss alternatives to replace revenues lost by the canceled Tyson-Lewis fight.
Although MGM Mirage's MGM Grand would have hosted the fight, Strip competitors Park Place, Mandalay Resort Group, The Venetian and others probably would have benefited from the increased number of visitors drawn to the city.
"Whatever revenue the market has to forgo, we'll find a way to make up another way," Stewart said.
His 28-casino company has no plans to host the bout at one of its out-of-state casinos, as promoters seek a new site for the match.
"We don't believe that we have an appropriate venue for Mr. Tyson outside of Nevada," Stewart said.
One unidentified man could be heard lamenting the athletic commission's ruling as he left Tuesday afternoon's hearing at the Grant Sawyer Office Building.
"Man, that's not the result I wanted," he said while riding in an elevator. "I wanted to work that night."
UBS Warburg financial analyst Robin Farley issued a report Wednesday that attempted to analyze the "Tyson effect" on Las Vegas hotel room rates.
In April 1997, a Tyson-Evander Holyfield match was postponed from May 3 to June 28, reducing the number of sold-out Las Vegas hotels that May 3 weekend, according to Farley.
Advance bookings originally called for 13 sellouts, but that number fell to seven with the fight delay, she wrote.
The average nightly rate paid by travelers booking rooms for that weekend fell to $122 from $226, a sign that hotel operators were forced to reduce prices to fill their properties.
As for the now-canceled Tyson-Lewis bout, Farley said it would have been a boost for the local economy but its April date might have somewhat limited its profitability because it would have come so soon after the city's Chinese New Year festivities.
Many Asian high rollers who travel as much as 16 hours by plane for the February event do not return for several months, not wanting to repeat the lengthy trips.
Similarly, several top Strip executives have noted in recent months that their top Asian customers have remained close to home because of reported terrorist threats to U.S. sites.
"If this had been scheduled a month later, who knows?" Farley said of the fight's potential dollar impact. "It's even tougher to predict in this kind of environment."
------------------
Rooftop Sessions - The Finest In Beatles-Related Fiction. www.rooftopsessions.com (http://www.rooftopsessions.com)
Enter the Rooftop Sessions Fiction Contest! Rules and Guidelines can be found on the main Rooftop Sessions Page!
"O superb! O Manhattan, my own, my peerless! O strongest you in the hour of danger, in crisis! O truer than steel!" -- Walt Whitman
http://www.lvrj.com/lvrj_home/2002/Jan-31-Thu-2002/news/17992658.html
***************
Thursday, January 31, 2002
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal
MGM Mirage scrambles to replace Tyson-Lewis
Executives hope McCartney, baccarat will fetch high rollers
By DAVE BERNS
lasvegas.com GAMING WIRE
MGM Mirage executives are negotiating with representatives of Paul McCartney to have the legendary rocker appear at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on April 6, the same day Mike Tyson would have fought Lennox Lewis in a heavyweight championship bout at the Strip megaresort.
The concert talks, revealed Wednesday by a knowledgeable source, would create one part of a two-pronged effort that also would see the MGM Grand host a high-end baccarat tournament that same weekend.
Both events would generate visits from hundreds of high-end gamblers who carry six-figure credit lines, creating a pair of money-makers to help the company recover from Tuesday's decision by the Nevada Athletic Commission to deny Tyson a state boxing license.
"We can only guess and imagine that this would have been not only the greatest fight in the sport's history but arguably the greatest fight from an economic standpoint," said Scott Ghertner, director of sports and promotions for MGM Mirage, who said he was unaware of a potential McCartney concert.
Negotiations toward a McCartney-MGM deal could be completed by Monday, the source said.
Citywide revenue projections for the fight weekend, with its allure for free-spending visitors, have ranged from $100 million to $300 million, enticing numbers for an industry and city that continue to suffer from the national recession and the Sept. 11 terror attacks.
But those are estimates that casino industry executives and analysts agreed Wednesday had been wildly inflated in numerous news media accounts.
"Who's saying that? If you can find out I'll challenge him to a boxing match," joked Terry Jicinsky, marketing research manager for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. "Those numbers are just unrealistic."
Jicinsky noted that each of the five major boxing matches held in Las Vegas between April and November 2001 generated an additional $6.5 million of nongaming revenue for the city. That was money spent on hotel rooms, meals, show tickets and in retail stores, among other venues.
A big fight weekend might generate an additional $10 million to $12 million of casino revenue throughout the city, said one top Strip executive who requested anonymity.
"It would be higher than the nongaming figure but not double," said the executive, characterizing his analysis as an estimate.
Despite the numerical uncertainty, observers say it is clear the city lost a much-needed payday with the decision by the athletic commission, which voted 4-1 to kill the potentially big money maker.
Earlier Tuesday, Park Place Entertainment executives said in a telephone conference call to discuss their company's fourth-quarter results that they expect the local economy to continue its struggles through the first six months of the year before beginning a third-quarter rebound.
On Wednesday, Park Place spokesman Robert Stewart declined to discuss alternatives to replace revenues lost by the canceled Tyson-Lewis fight.
Although MGM Mirage's MGM Grand would have hosted the fight, Strip competitors Park Place, Mandalay Resort Group, The Venetian and others probably would have benefited from the increased number of visitors drawn to the city.
"Whatever revenue the market has to forgo, we'll find a way to make up another way," Stewart said.
His 28-casino company has no plans to host the bout at one of its out-of-state casinos, as promoters seek a new site for the match.
"We don't believe that we have an appropriate venue for Mr. Tyson outside of Nevada," Stewart said.
One unidentified man could be heard lamenting the athletic commission's ruling as he left Tuesday afternoon's hearing at the Grant Sawyer Office Building.
"Man, that's not the result I wanted," he said while riding in an elevator. "I wanted to work that night."
UBS Warburg financial analyst Robin Farley issued a report Wednesday that attempted to analyze the "Tyson effect" on Las Vegas hotel room rates.
In April 1997, a Tyson-Evander Holyfield match was postponed from May 3 to June 28, reducing the number of sold-out Las Vegas hotels that May 3 weekend, according to Farley.
Advance bookings originally called for 13 sellouts, but that number fell to seven with the fight delay, she wrote.
The average nightly rate paid by travelers booking rooms for that weekend fell to $122 from $226, a sign that hotel operators were forced to reduce prices to fill their properties.
As for the now-canceled Tyson-Lewis bout, Farley said it would have been a boost for the local economy but its April date might have somewhat limited its profitability because it would have come so soon after the city's Chinese New Year festivities.
Many Asian high rollers who travel as much as 16 hours by plane for the February event do not return for several months, not wanting to repeat the lengthy trips.
Similarly, several top Strip executives have noted in recent months that their top Asian customers have remained close to home because of reported terrorist threats to U.S. sites.
"If this had been scheduled a month later, who knows?" Farley said of the fight's potential dollar impact. "It's even tougher to predict in this kind of environment."
------------------
Rooftop Sessions - The Finest In Beatles-Related Fiction. www.rooftopsessions.com (http://www.rooftopsessions.com)
Enter the Rooftop Sessions Fiction Contest! Rules and Guidelines can be found on the main Rooftop Sessions Page!
"O superb! O Manhattan, my own, my peerless! O strongest you in the hour of danger, in crisis! O truer than steel!" -- Walt Whitman