Issue 232
February 21 - 27, 2005
Volume 5
page 2
 

Wynn Resorts to submit Singapore casino plan-report

As reported by Reuters

Singapore - Las Vegas gaming entrepreneur Steve Wynn's Wynn Resorts Ltd. is preparing to submit plans to build Singapore's first casino resort, The Straits Times said on Tuesday.

Wynn Resorts President Ronald Kramer told the newspaper that the firm would be among the international casino operators submitting concept plans to Singapore's government by Feb. 28.

Declining to give an exact figure, he said Wynn Resort's investment in Singapore would range between the size of investments in Las Vegas and Macau - US$2.7 billion and US$704 million respectively.

The newspaper, citing a source close to the company, said the casino would probably cost $1 billion.

The wealthy Southeast Asian state has not given the final go-ahead for a casino. The proposal has sparked rare vocal opposition from Singaporean religious and social groups who say the development would lead to a rise in social ills, including gambling addiction.

Singapore's founding premier, Lee Kuan Yew, said this month that the government was divided over the issue.

Unlike other U.S. gaming operators such as MGM Mirage and Harrah's Entertainment Inc. Wynn Resorts is submitting its plans alone, although it is not ruling out working with a local developer.

MGM Mirage said in January that it was working with leading Southeast Asian property developer CapitaLand Ltd. on a plan for a casino situated on the city's downtown waterfront.

CapitaLand is also working with Kerzner International Ltd. to come up with a plan for a casino on the resort island of Sentosa, the other of the two earmarked sites.

Harrah's has declined to comment on its local partner. Deutsche Bank analyst Marc Falcone said in a report last month that the firm could team up with Keppel Land Ltd.

He also said Las Vegas Sands Corp. could join Singapore's Hotel Properties Ltd. the company helping to develop the Sands facilities in Macau.

Other companies interested in Singapore include Malaysia's Genting Bhd., Star Cruises Ltd. and Melco International Development Ltd.

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Tahoe's Cal-Neva sold to investors for $30 million

As reported by the Associated Press

 

CRYSTAL BAY, Nevada - The Cal-Neva Resort on the north side of Lake Tahoe has been sold to Arizona investors for $30 million.

Owner Chuck Bluth, who owned the Crystal Bay casino for 20 years, said the property was sold Wednesday to a newly formed company in Phoenix called Namcal.

Bluth said the owners plan to continue developing time shares at the resort, part of Bluth's initial $20 million remodel project. The deal will become a joint venture between his construction company and the corporation.

"They plan to bring the facility up to a four-diamond rating," Bluth said. "They'll renovate rooms to bring it up to that level."

Bluth said he decided to sell the property because he was tired of dealing with the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, which is charged with enforcing environmental regulations in the Lake Tahoe Basin.

"I'm tired of their regulating everything I did, and I'm tired of dealing with them," Bluth said.

"The environment here is anti-business. Even when you're doing things to improve your property they fight you tooth and nails."

Bluth will lease the casino for the next four months, after which Larry Woolf, a managing member of the company that operates Casino Fandango in Carson City and former president of Caesars at Tahoe, will lease the casino, Bluth said.

"He knows the business well and will be successful at it," Bluth said.
Once owned by Frank Sinatra, the Cal-Neva was a haven for celebrities like the Rat Pack and Marilyn Monroe. It was closed for three years before Bluth bought it in 1985.

TRPA Executive Director John Singlaub said he's sorry Bluth feels the way he does.

"We've had a lot of success working with hotels at Lake Tahoe," Singlaub said. "We work very hard to keep this a nice place, and if Chuck doesn't agree with that, then I'm sorry."



New facility still set for completion in the fall

As Reported by Sun-Sentinal.com

HALLANDALE BEACH, Florida - With only a few support beams in the ground and tons of earth still to be moved, it's hard to believe Gulfstream Park's new state-of-the-art facility isn't several months behind schedule.

According to track president Scott Savin, the three-story, 300,000 square foot facility is still targeted for a fall completion.

"We're pretty much on schedule," Savin said Sunday. "We're still looking at it being done October or November [the original date was October] and to occupy the building 30 days before racing [which begins on Jan. 3, 2006]. Once the meet ends, they're going to do whatever it takes to have it ready.

"Right now we're concentrating on the exterior shell and we believe the majority of the shell will be done sometime before the end of this meet."

Magna Entertainment Corp., owners of Gulfstream, are hoping to have the shell in place before the rainy season begins so work can begin inside the facility. Although the shell of the building has not changed in the past several months, Frank Stronach, CEO of Magna, continues to review and make changes regarding the interior.

Last year, Stronach said an area of the building could be renovated for slot machines if a March 8 amendment passes in Broward allowing the expanded form of gambling. Some current plans call for the slot machines to now be on various levels of the building.


Kenny Wayne Shepherd

Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino: Blues-rock guitarist and singer, Kenny Wayne Shepherd performs at the Mandalay Bay.

Dates: April 09, 2005

Price: $25, $30, and $35 + tax

Time: 7:00 pm

For more information please call: (702)-632-7600
 
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