Two Way Hard Three | Las Vegas Casino & Design Blog

I have to disagree with Jeff on the Trop remodel. Visiting there last week, it is amazing the difference from when I last visited in 2008. They have a lot of working going on; construction walls, front drive mess, etc but I like the simplicity of the new design and the intimate feeling the Trop has. Staff was night and day different from last time......eager to please and happy to be there. Much different than my visit across the street. It just has a nice feeling there...no doubt in my mind that the Trop is going the right direction and finally has someone in charge giving it some TLC.

Posted by AccessVegas.com

If the Tropicana pulls off this whole South Beach thing correctly, they'll be successful. Recouping $165 million isn't like trying to recoup what CityCenter cost. At the end of the day, they didn't tank $70 million (the cost of Encore Beach Club) into Nikki Beach here, so modest results will be very acceptable and deemed successful. If it catches fire, it will just be a bonus.

I appreciate the comment, TypeCast, and must confess I have not stayed in a remodeled room. I agree that the changes the Trop has made and plan to make are great for customers; I just think that the operator and some in the news media are exaggerating how much of an impact $165 million or so can make on a property that needs as much work as the Trop does.
I have warm feelings for the property as I spent many fun weekends there in the '80s, but to make the property something more than a bottom-tier Strip resort would take a lot more than what they're spending.
And thanks for the update on the workers. I'm not sure how much of the staff has persisted through the sale from Aztar to Columbia Sussex to its current operator, but I'm happy for any that have hung on through the horrible Columbia Sussex era and finally have an owner and management who care about the property and its staff.
Finally, I agree totally when you write: "It just has a nice feeling there...no doubt in my mind that the Trop is going the right direction and finally has someone in charge giving it some TLC." I just don't think it's enough to justify Alex Y. saying the project will "revitalize our brand while redefining the ultimate resort experience."

I'm with Simpson on the Trop. I don't think $165 million is going to get it to the top and I don't think it should aim for the top, in reality.
I wonder if Mr. Y. doesn't want to be associated with a mid-market project, since he may still feel that his rightful place in the world should be the chair that Jim Murren currently occupies? Or maybe his time in Hollywood has left him prone to hyperbolic overstatement?
I think the best property makeover I have seen in Las Vegas is what has been done to the El Cortez in the last 5 years, or so. I think Mr. Nolan & co. have done an excellent job of physical renovation and image enhancement on a reasonable budget & time frame.
The only thing I would advocate for is a premium remodel of the low-rise bungalows in the pool area, which could be a real "boutique" area on the Strip, if the Nikki Beach Pool is successful.
I sure hope the Trop renovation is successful. It would be a great story in a rough time in Las Vegas. A great story, and everyone is pulling for them.

Posted by Hunter

Jeff,

It's funny you mention the ElCo - one of the topics we didn't get to on the last Vegas Gang was the story about them opening up suite design to a competition judged by Todd Lenahan amongst others.

Hunter

Check kiting and check fraud are crimes for which many people serve time. I don't think it is unreasonable for the state to treat markers as financial instruments in the same way checks are treated. Besides, not many gamblers end up serving time for bad markers (probably because out-of-state residency significantly inhibits full enforcement).

I agree with Jeff in OKC about the El Cortez. When I used to write for the R-J (2000-2004) it was one of my favorite nearby downtown casinos (along with the Horseshoe and Golden Nugget), and it's amazing how much nicer the El Cortez is now. (A couple things I'm glad they didn't change are the neon "GAMBLING" sign on the Fremont Street facade and the script "El Cortez Hotel" sign on the roof.) Of course, the 'tez doesn't have that many rooms (364 plus the new annex compared with the Trop's 1,600-plus) or restaurants to drive up renovation costs. According to a column I wrote on the first phase of the renovation (they were almost done with the interior and the porte cochere) the tab was about $18 million. http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2007/mar/11/jeff-simpson-on-how-the-el-cortez-is-quickly-becom/

parchedearth is right that not many gamblers are imprisoned for unpaid markers, but not primarily because of out-of-state residency. Many foreign governments won't extradite, but most states will. The reason most gamblers don't serve time is because the threat of imprisonment is strong enough to get gamblers to repay or to agree to a repayment plan.
Certainly check kiting and check fraud are crimes for which many serve time, but my bone of contention is with treating markers as checks. I think most folks in the casino industry and our state lawmakers would totally agree with parchedearth that it is reasonable to treat markers as checks. For me, it's the time delay involved with markers (promise to repay in 30 days or more) that makes them more like a loan than a check.

I like that the Trop is putting some paint on the property and remodeling, but I definitely have to agree with most of the sentiment that this is just the precursor until the market improves. I think they are making a mistake in shooting for a high end market with the wear and tear on the building and the relatively small renovation bucket. But that's just my opinion. That small amount for renovations to combat the wear and tear on the place can make it a nice mid-market property, but high-end, absolutely not. The buzz though from the remodeling might bridge the gap until the market recovers though or when Gary Loveman decides that he needs a shiny new toy, thinking he can brand it all over the world.

Here's my quick take on the Trop renovations, forgive me if it's out of order. Already lost this message once as I was trying to post it.. don't want to write it a 3rd time.., lol

My fiance and I spent 4 days and 5 nights at the Trop two weeks ago.. and my reaction was very mixed as to the changes. I think that the overall changes so far on the casino floor are a huge improvement over what was there before. Just about every mirrored surface has or is being removed, a lot of the tackier aspects of the casino floor look like they are giving way to a more classic vibe, with large crown mouldings in the ceiling recesses replacing that tacky inversed plastic awning crap.. Overall, the changes are for the better... but I agree that they are going to have to shove a lot more money into this place to get it to a higher level.
Even with all the changes that have taken place thus far, there are some aspects that can never be changed. The Paradise tower only has 4 elevators, and it could have honestly used another 4. It got so crowded a few times, where people kept piling into the elevators, I thought the elevator was going to malefunction. On one day, we noticed that one of the elevator's doors had to pried open, probably due break down. So we had a full day of only 3 working elevators for all 22 floors.

It was really hard to imagine what the overall look of the place will be like, as a lot of it had yet to be touched.

We had a room on the 20th floor, right next to the elevator lobby. Usually this location in a hotel can get pretty noisy as most of you know, (TI and Mirage are a noise nightmare), but we hardly heard a thing. The room was pretty comfortable, the bed, while not the Wynn dream bed, or even the TI bed, was great. The furnishings seemed to be on the cheaper end, as there were already some chips in the finish and water stains on the dresser. The floor around the bed was very uneven, and everything slopped into the bed area. The bathroom is really only partially remodeled, as the tub and tile surround (even the fixtures) look to be original (the bathroom door and handle were also original, just with a fresh coat of paint. Overall it almost ranked up with the comfort level of TI, although the room was on the smaller size.

If I were Alex Y, I would tear down all the east Garden rooms and add a 50,000 sq foot casino expansion in this area, connected to a new east parking structure. Leave enough space to add another tower in this area, and maybe a new North east porte cochere. I'd try to level out the elevation of the main casino floor as much as possible, where possible.

I was at the Trop a few days ago and its hard to tell how well it will turn out as its still very much a work in progress.

I thought the new marquee was as bare bones as it gets. If they're going with a Latin theme they should have gone with a Rio like sign, something to draw attention to the exterior so it draws people visually to something new, thats the first step, to get people to look and see something innovative and fresh at the Trop, instead that sign doesn't give any eyes on the Strip a second look, its a joke, this is Vegas!! What happened to the visionarys when it comes to signs in Vegas??? Does the Yesco sign company have any sales guys that push innovative ideas or just bow to whatever they can get when a strip sign order comes up? Not to rip Yesco specifically, I don't know who did that sign, but you get my point.

Somebody brought up the idea I think of backlighting the Tiffany glass in different colors, perhaps even transitioning them every ten seconds to make it come alive and after seeing it how it fits with the new decor, I think lighting could make it work, but like many people say, it doesn't necessarily fit the new theme. I'd just hate to lose something very special for another bare bones light they'll buy at Home Depot.

One thing the locals or regular visitors may not be aware of in regards to the Latin theme is there is a strong community of latin dancers in this town. Dance schools and their students that attend are a tight community and of course we as a town have a strong Hispanic base. The various Latin dance get togethers with bands at places like South Point, Gold Coast .....etc. all get big turnouts and more importantly, they're locals so my point being is they would be wise for the Tropicana brass to investigate a latin dance club maybe with Gloria Estefan's name on it to lend credibility, just my 2 cents.

As I was walking around I saw the coffee shop next to the pool is still closed. I'm not sure where they're temporarily holding it. Also noticed whatever shops were left near the old Folies Begere theatre have been wiped out. The italian joint in that walkway upstairs was packed for a weekday. Looks like they eliminated the lounge acts at the bar at the end of the walkway too. Also, I found it odd that the large room that you enter from the walkway linking MGM and Trop was vacant. It used to have some activity, but now its a ghost town. Maybe a dance club could go there.

Posted by Hunter

Pretty sure YESCO did do the new marquee because when I watched them installing it, YESCO guys were there working on it.

When we were at the Trop, that two story foyer area was being used a staging area for the casino renovations, there were tons of new slot machines and seating ready to be installed on the casino floor. I believe they are reworking access from the pedestrian bridge into the foyer currently. I think the garden cafe by the pool could be replaced with a new concept or even new retail as the Havana a Go Go coffee shop and the cafe next to the Cellar downstairs seem to fill the cafe/coffee shop niche.

I have to defend the YESCO guys. They did some amazing work for FB that we'll never get to see.
They have an amazing portfolio and some really creative people working there; but they also do whatever the client tells them to do.

Speaking of YESCO at CityCenter they did tons of installs for companies that went out of business or "disappeared" right before opening so a YESCO install might not necessarily be a YESCO design.

Treating a marker like a bank cheque was a brilliant move on the part of the casinos. With the threat of criminal prosecution, not only does it insure they get paid before other creditors, but in the event of bankruptcy I believe they have the option to fall back on the criminal justice system for restitution.

Does anyone know if Wynn, Sands, etc. were able to set up a similar marker system in Macau? I believe they extend credit, but I'm not sure if they have a system similar to Nevada, or something else entirely.

OK, I'm still catching up on all I missed, and it's good to see Mr. Simpson helping with all the goodies in this week's column. Here are my (I'll do my best to stay right on topic) thoughts:

- IMHO Simpson is right on markers. Why not just treat unpaid markers like other debt? Impose liens and ding the debtor's credit rating, but imprisonment??!! That's just too 18th century "debtor's jail".

- I'm wondering how The Trop intends to limit renovation costs to just $165 million, considering how much they say they're doing, but so far it looks promising. Those rooms do look much better, and considering how hot the "pool day club" trend has become, Nikki Beach may just work out nicely. And it's not like they're really aiming for "the top", but just a mid-level 4 star hotel (somewhere in between Mirage and TI). IMHO that's attainable for them.

- I guess Aria is making some progress, as the latest rounds of complaints aren't as universally negative, but it's still sad to see problems persist there. I hope it doesn't take too much longer to FINALLY work out the kinks there.

Here is the reason Nevada should be criminally prosecuting the cases of unpaid markers. The casino gives a person money with the expectation that money is paid back before they leave. A person does not pay it back and leaves, he just stole that money. That is theft, and should be punishable by criminal prosceution since that person is willingly depriving the casinos of what is rightfully theirs.

To Duffman's point, a credit card works the same way. The issuer loans you the money with the promise that you will pay it back. If you decide not to, you are stealing from them. However, the credit card company does not get the protection of the criminal courts but only civil actions. If credit card companies were responsible for such a large portion of the state economy in Nevada, I imagine they would have a fighting chance to get the kind of support that the casinos have gotten. This was a smart move by the casinos from a while ago to convince the legislature that the marker is a check and not a loan.