Green Felt Journal
Green Felt Journal
Bilingual is in the cards in Primm
October 28th, 2010
Forty miles south of Las Vegas, Herbst Gaming is using its Primm casinos as a crucible for new ideas. With nothing to lose—the casinos have been hard-hit by the recession and competition from California Indian casinos—the company is getting creative. One thing that has worked better than expected is marketing to Spanish-speaking Californians. On Oct. 1, the company began offering table gaming in both English and Spanish, with surprising results. Read more »
Green Felt Journal
Welcome to the 13th Floor
October 21st, 2010
About this time every year, theme parks around the country get a monthlong reprieve from the off-season as they re-theme themselves for Halloween. No one wants to float down a lazy river in October, but being chased by zombies through a maze is another story. Locally, Circus Circus is making the most of scare season with two attractions that promise to terrify patrons. Read more »
Green Felt Journal
Podcast-a-palooza comes to the Flamingo
October 14th, 2010
Las Vegas is bigger than the sum of its parts, particularly on the Internet. There are a host of websites, blogs, bulletin boards and podcasts that dissect every aspect of the city’s resort culture. And, later this month, three of the best-known Las Vegas podcasts are broadcasting together, live from the Strip. Read more »
Green Felt Journal
Four decades at the El Cortez
October 7th, 2010
If you want a lesson in Las Vegas history, you don’t have to go much farther than Liz Butler, who’s still serving drinks at the El Cortez. With an accent and attitude that betrays her East Coast roots, she’s been a fixture at the El Cortez for nearly four decades, and she doesn’t show any sign of leaving. Read more »
Green Felt Journal
Even with no NFL team, Vegas scores big during football season
September 30th, 2010
Even though Las Vegas doesn’t have an NFL team, football is a popular pastime in the city, and one that has a huge economic impact on the area. Yes, there are the Locomotives of the United Football League and the UNLV Rebels, but football’s real impact here isn’t felt on the field or in the stands—it’s in the sports books and bars of the Valley. To provide an idea of what this means, some perspective from the “real world” of big-city professional sports: Proponents of new stadiums have estimated the annual economic impact of a football team to be between $100 million and $150 million. Read more »
Green Felt Journal
Countdown to the Cosmo
September 23rd, 2010
With a glut of rooms and relative dearth of visitors, the last thing Las Vegas needs might be another luxury hotel-casino. But the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, about 90 days away from its Dec. 15 opening, is promising something different. It hasn’t been easy for the Cosmopolitan. When ground was broken in October 2005, it was one of a crop of planned casinos that were going to re-make Las Vegas. The Palazzo, Encore and Aria opened, but Boyd Gaming pulled the plug on Echelon in 2008, and the Fontainebleau’s post-bankruptcy owner, Carl Icahn, has no announced plans to resume construction on the partially built casino. Read more »
Green Felt Journal
Making sure the kids are all right
September 16th, 2010
Southern Nevada has had legal casinos for a long time—almost 80 years, to be precise. So while other states that have just legalized slots are learning how to integrate casinos into their communities, we’ve got a head start. That can translate into big differences in what people believe is and isn’t appropriate at casinos. Read more »
Green Felt Journal
Gaming show finds a new home
September 9th, 2010
Over the course of a week, Las Vegas hosts conventions and trade expos for industries from baking to sheet metal. So it’s not surprising that the world’s premier casino industry trade show, the Global Gaming Expo, is held here each fall. A recently announced change of venue for the convention highlights the important role the meeting plays in the national casino landscape. Read more »
Green Felt Journal
Selling luxury in the Great Recession
September 2nd, 2010
The laws of supply and demand aren’t sentimental, particularly when it comes to hotel rooms. No matter what kind of rate a suite might have gotten in the past, when there are more beds than bodies to fill them, the room rate will go down. But when running a luxury property, there are concerns beyond just filling rooms tonight: Long-term position of the hotel’s “brand” can make price-cutting a double-edged sword. Read more »
Green Felt Journal
Casinos now playing Facebook games
August 26th, 2010
Casinos in Las Vegas have been marketing through social media for some time now, mostly via Facebook and Twitter. Recently, however, two Las Vegas-based casino companies have taken their investment in social media to another level with Facebook applications. Facebook allows third-party developers to create applications, or apps, that users can access through their Facebook pages. Social games are some of the most popular apps available. Unlike sites that offer play-for-free (or play-for-cash), these games require no download and can be played in a standard Web browser. By definition, they allow players to invite friends to join games and compete in friendly competitions. Read more »
