Your new Vegas casino

If you owned a new casino on the Las Vegas Strip, what would be its theme and your marketing strategy?

With the demise of the Tropicana, and the re-theming of the Mirage, I think there is room for a new "Tropical" themed joint. I would market heavily to Asia, and feature the most baccarat tables in Vegas.

Aww does it have to be on the strip.

If not on the strip, I could see a smaller casino with an all sports theme. For a strip casino, it may be considered tacky, and probably wouldn't get a large enough draw.

I hadn't heard that The Tropicana had breathed its last gasp yet, but agree that tropical theme would be okay but I think a bit passe.

I just try to keep it Yuppie Oriented with stylish furniture, clubs, pools, pianos, nooks, crannies. Sort of a Cosmo-wannabe.

And I'd go 3:2 all the time, miniBacc galore maybe but would not seek out Asian clientele with any faux oriental rooms or anything. All eateries would have American sounding names.

Most marketing would be via Facebook and Twitter. (Alas).

Quote: Knuckleball3

If not on the strip, I could see a smaller casino with an all sports theme. For a strip casino, it may be considered tacky, and probably wouldn't get a large enough draw.

Vegas Club downtown used to have a rather half-assed sports theme throughout...they've since sold off a lot of the memorabilia, but a few things remain.

A decent Sports "Hall of fame" would work for me, trading off like PHo and Hard Rock have done.

Make an great sports book, poker room and beer venue and you could fill it with the types that want to bet the game and watch it with a few brews.

I lament the passing of the themed casino with every where going for the "luxury biege" look... the theme's made Vegas cheesy and different.

I'd love to see a cheesily theme London Casino. If Paris, Venice and NY can have one....

Quote: thecesspit

I'd love to see a cheesily theme London Casino. If Paris, Venice and NY can have one....

If I remember rightly, there were plans for the Britannia Hotel and Casino, to be located near to the South Point at some point.

EDIT- turns out it was going to be called London Resort and Casino according to Vegas Today and Tomorrow, and it there were apparently no plans to be near the South Point.

Blame the timeshare saleswoman who showed us around a timeshare in 2007.

I'd make a "Mob-themed" resort. Giant block of concrete with an empty pair of shoes sticking out of it at the bottom of the pool. Complimentary limo rides to the brothels in Pahrump. Run the place like the hotels in the 60's: decent gambling, cheap but good eats, good lounge acts. You gotta problem with that, bud? :)

I would model it after airplanes and call it the Fly Away Zone

Quote: mantic59

I'd make a "Mob-themed" resort. Giant block of concrete with an empty pair of shoes sticking out of it at the bottom of the pool. Complimentary limo rides to the brothels in Pahrump. Run the place like the hotels in the 60's: decent gambling, cheap but good eats, good lounge acts. You gotta problem with that, bud? :)

I would actually visit that one!

Here are 20 old ideas that were never built. The list does not include the concepts of the last three years that have been abandoned. The list was assembled by VegasTodayand Tomorrow.

1) In 1993, the Desert Inn was purchased by ITT/Sheraton. Their first plans were a Balinese Resort called Desert Kingdom.
2) Beverly Hillbillies Resort: Max Bear (who played Jethro on TV's Beverly Hillbillies) was planning a Beverly Hillbillies themed (yes I said themed) resort, complete with flaming oil derrick, Granny's kitchen etc. in North Las Vegas (at least it wasn't on the strip).
4) There have been six proposed locations for a giant Observation wheel in Las Vegas. The 7th was for the park across from the Mandalay Bay.
5) London Resort and Casino: There have been two locations for the London Resort and Casino The resort was to include a Harrod's department store, Big Ben, the Tower Bridge, a Piccadilly Square shopping area and many other London themed attractions. On the Strip directly across the street from the Luxor.
6) London Resort and Casino (second try): On the old El Rancho site which is now the future home of the Fontainebleau Resort on the north Strip.
7) In 2003 Harrah's had promised an $86-million project : The 600 foot (worlds tallest) observation wheel had a nightclub in the hub structure and an entertainment center in the base.
8) The Palace of the Sea: The now vacant, 27-acre Wet and Wild water park site. The 3000-room The Palace of the Sea Resort and Casino looked very intriguing. The yachts in the harbor were to be high-roller suites. The casino/lobby building resembled the Sydney Opera House. The hotel weighed in at 60-floors and had a sail-like shape.
9) Addams Family Resort and Casino.
10 ) Xanadu: In 1975 Martin Stern Jr. proposed the Xanadu, an ultra luxury resort and casino, for the site now occupied by Excalibur. Xanadu was to have a soaring atrium (like the Luxor's), 1,730 rooms and many features which were then revolutionary (today's standard fare).
11) Stratosphere Ride: Protests from nearby neighbors helped to block construction of the original 800-foot (left) and the revised 510-foot ride at the Stratosphere. This Dream was proposed back in 2002. The roller coaster would have dropped passengers from the hotel's tower and across Las Vegas Boulevard at top speeds of 93 mph. Residents said the roller coaster would discourage new residents from moving in and contributing to the revitalization of the area.
12) Cascada: The Cascada resort has been on the books for 9 years. This five-star property was originally planed for the large parcel of land directly across the Strip from the Sahara. It appears that Steve Wynn must have seen this and liked what he saw as this model looks suspiciously similar to Wynn Las Vegas.
13) WWF Resort and Casino: One of the concepts for the large property directly across I-15 from the Mandalay Bay was the WWF, which would probably draw a rather rough crowd. The chances that this will be built are slim indeed. There was talk of a "sports" themed resort for that location. The land is now owned by Starwood.
14) Playboy Hotel and Casino: Originally planned for the site where the Cosmopolitan is being built, the Playboy Hotel and Casino was an interesting design concept, with its slender triad of towers. Hugh Hefner opted for the top two floors of the new Palms Fantasy Tower complete with a Playboy Club.
15) Asia Resort and Casino: This is a weird (and rather ugly) concept called the Asia Resort and Casino. The concept must have been presented to Sheldon Adelson as an idea for the Palazzo site. Adelson seems to have made a much better choice with the Palazzo.
16) Harley Davidson Hotel and Casino: A giant exhaust pipe shaped hotel.
17) Titanic: The Titanic resort, 400 feet long and containing 1,200 rooms, would have been one of the most heavily themed fantasy resorts in Las Vegas. The concept was rejected by the Las Vegas City Council. This was proposed for the big lot across the strip from the Sahara.
18) City by the Bay : The San Francisco themed City by the Bay Resort and Casino was planned as a replacement for the New Frontier.
19) Montreux (a Swiss and jazz themed resort) also planned for New Frontier site.
20) Moon: Michael Henderson came to Las Vegas with a dream, a scale model of his $5- billion casino resort called Moon and a video-tape pitching the idea.

Thanks Pacomartin, that was a very interesting post

Quote: mantic59

I'd make a "Mob-themed" resort. Giant block of concrete with an empty pair of shoes sticking out of it at the bottom of the pool. Complimentary limo rides to the brothels in Pahrump. Run the place like the hotels in the 60's: decent gambling, cheap but good eats, good lounge acts. You gotta problem with that, bud? :)

Cartoonish mobsters like Nathan Detroit from Guys n'Dolls. Zoot suits and other pre-WWII stuff. As funny and cartoonish as I think Junior Gotti is, I don't think i'd want to gamble against him in his house.

Given the massive popularity of competitive TV shows (cooking, deserts, baking, dress design, film making, singing, makeup design, talent shows, etc.) I am surprised that the concept hasn't worked it's way to a Vegas theme casino in a big way.

With Comic-Con attracting almost 150K people to San Diego, I think that a themed casino with the Comic-Con theme would work.

How about a Vegas-themed resort?

Nah, that would never work in vegas :P

Quote: pacomartin

Given the massive popularity of competitive TV shows (cooking, deserts, baking, dress design, film making, singing, makeup design, talent shows, etc.) I am surprised that the concept hasn't worked it's way to a Vegas theme casino in a big way.

With Comic-Con attracting almost 150K people to San Diego, I think that a themed casino with the Comic-Con theme would work.

I like the comic theme idea. Maybe Gotham City. There might be some complaints about appealing to underage gamblers, but there are plenty of overage comic fans.

Quote: pacomartin

20) Moon: Michael Henderson came to Las Vegas with a dream, a scale model of his $5- billion casino resort called Moon and a video-tape pitching the idea.

This died in Vegas, and he brought the idea to the Bahamas, (where it apparently died again.) But there is still a web site for it, with lots of renderings and things:

Mooonworldresorts.com

I like the idea of a mob resort. Perhaps each room should have a decomposing hooker under the bed.

Quote: PaulEWog

I like the idea of a mob resort. Perhaps each room should have a decomposing hooker under the bed.

Haha, unfortunately, The Luxor already tried this, but it didn't work out too well for them.

I tried to post a link to a history of the Xanadu project, but it doesn't seem to work. try this:

http://gaming.unlv.edu/Xanadu/index.html


It reminds me of the Acapulco Princess hotel

Quote: PaulEWog

This died in Vegas, and he brought the idea to the Bahamas, (where it apparently died again.) But there is still a web site for it, with lots of renderings and things:

Mooonworldresorts.com

I like the idea of a mob resort. Perhaps each room should have a decomposing hooker under the bed.

It had a brief life in Dubai as wel (as a non-gaming destination) as part of a 30K room Bawadi development (since cancelled).


The idea of 12,000 rooms, in a 5 star (presumably Mobil) 5 diamond (presumably AAA) hotel would by far be the most expensive resort ever built in the world.

I'd love an Entire Casino Complex with the Star Trek theme! (Still upset that Quark's closed a month before I went to LV last time!)
Yeah, it might do well for a little while, but I don't see it having a long shelf life.

Quote: Toes14

I'd love an Entire Casino Complex with the Star Trek theme!

Me too! I wonder if Star Trek fans gamble more or less than the average person?

Quote: clarkacal

Me too! I wonder if Star Trek fans gamble more or less than the average person?

Sensors indicate that participating in a negative expectation game would be highly illogical.

Quote: clarkacal

Me too! I wonder if Star Trek fans gamble more or less than the average person?

I don't know, but I always felt that Fitzgerald's would be a good purchase if the Star Trek Experience opened up next door at Neonopolis in downtown Vegas.

Don Barden, of Barden Nevada Gaming LLC acquired three Fitzgerald Properties in December 2001. He reported $48 million of gaming revenue in 2002, and after that made the property a privately owned company and never reported the earnings again. I have a pretty good idea of what revenue is today.

Personally, I think that Star Trek fans read sites like this one more than the average person. You could cater to them with the nearby casino.

On May 7, 2008 Standard & Poor's reported that Barden, through companies he owns, pledged $35 million. based on his ownership ofFitzgeralds to restructure debt on the Pittsburgh slots parlor. Don was subsequently shut out of the deal for the PA casino.

I'd have a building in the shape of giant pink pig. It would snort steam out its nostrils on the hour.

Well, it's a better idea than a giant roach hotel.

THE MOON Casino would have been very neat.

Quote: pacomartin

Personally, I think that Star Trek fans read sites like this one more than the average person.

We could poll for that...