The Wizard of the Venetian
Quote: EvenBobI started reading WoO in early 2006...
Good memory, I forgot about that question six years ago. I have no plans to change anything about what I say on the sites. My mission has always been to help players understand the odds and play as well as possible. That is not going to change. Comments about the gaming business in general are fine. So far I have never censored any posts about Bodog or Bovada, so don't think there will be a problem.
Quote: PaigowdanJesus, it is not an "us against them" type of thing, it is a "we are all playing here, and the result of the cards and dice decide."
And if I have an edge by keeping track of the cards dealt,
that's just fine, right? Fair is fair. Right, Dan? I mean the
casino has the edge most of the time, its only fair a player
gets it once in awhile. You just said you believe in 'fair gaming.'
Eventually when you work your way up to CEO you can eliminate their awful resort fees and maybe even convine them to build separate rooms for non-smoking gaming.
Oh, one last thing: Did they finally get their fragrance diluted? I never liked that perfume.
Quote: renoOh, one last thing: Did they finally get their fragrance diluted? I never liked that perfume.
My wife won't play there because of that sweet smell.
Its just as well, all she does is lose..
Well please let me be the 57th person to congratulate
you !
I think a change like this is great for re-energizing
and having fun at work. Lots of new issues, AND
I'm sure your perspective will be a HUGE help on
any issue that comes up.
NOW, one thing I don't understand is why wouldn't
the Venetian install a couple of 9/6 JoB machines,
since it is unlikely the average tourist has any
more than a random chance of playing there.
And it would bring in more of the "educated"
gambler as well.
Please have your report on this on my desk
by 9:00 tomorrow morning ! And ps, welcome
back to the corporate world.
Quote: WizardAs mentioned, I'm working at the corporate level, and as I understand it, will be working on issues with Macau and Singapore just as much as Vegas. Actually, the Venetian in Macau spells it Macao. That will be a hard habit to get into, as most people, including me, spell it with a U. So, I'm hoping to spend more time in Macau, but don't see moving there.
I'm hoping that you will have a WOVCON at ST. JAMES GATE IRISH PUB AND CARVERY at Sands Pennsylvania when they send you back east.
Enjoy traditional Irish fare, your favorite imported and domestic beers and daily drink specials in our authentic Irish pub. Celebrate good times with live Celtic entertainment Wednesdays through Saturdays.
Count me in!Quote: pacomartin
I'm hoping that you will have a WOVCON at ST. JAMES GATE IRISH PUB AND CARVERY at Sands Pennsylvania when they send you back east.
I think the scent is gardenia. I never cared for it. The last time I was there ( about two weeks ago ) the smell was all but gone.Quote: EvenBobMy wife won't play there because of that sweet smell.
Its just as well, all she does is lose..
Quote: pacomartinOne thing about working for Las Vegas Sands is that you should probably work on your Spanish a little harder. With the serious push into Spain, and the possible expansion into Central or South America your hobby may be useful for your vocation.
I was thinking the same thing. Hopefully I'll be able to hold a decent conversation in Spanish by the time they are ready to open.
Regarding the other comments, I assume they were made in jest, but I will not be discussing internal stuff at the Venetian.
Quote: CrapsForeverNow...PLEASE get the Sands to build a Casino that offers Craps in South Florida and I will be indebted to you forever...
Its the politicians you have to talk to about that.
Quote: WizardAdmin note: removed link to www.djteddybear.com/images/dark-side-cookies-lar.jpgAdmin note: removed image www.djteddybear.com/images/dark-side-cookies-sml.jpg
The Dark Side has cookies
I fixed the photo for ya!
Without looking at the original on page 1, anybody know what I changed?
Quote: DJTeddyBearQuote: WizardAdmin note: removed link to www.djteddybear.com/images/dark-side-cookies-lar.jpgAdmin note: removed image www.djteddybear.com/images/dark-side-cookies-sml.jpg
The Dark Side has cookies
I fixed the photo for ya!
Without looking at the original on page 1, anybody know what I changed?
If only wiping out the competition were that easy...
Quote: MathExtremistIf only wiping out the competition were that easy...
Ah.
I spent five minutes comparing the shots and I couldn't see any difference. I was focusing on the Wizard and the cookie.
shorts in the first photo and the cookie was black
on the right and white on the left, like in the
famous Star Trek episode.
Quote: WizardI was thinking the same thing. Hopefully I'll be able to hold a decent conversation in Spanish by the time they are ready to open.
Regarding the other comments, I assume they were made in jest, but I will not be discussing internal stuff at the Venetian.
but i want to know more about the sr vp that got fired a few years ago for rigging a free car raffle in favor of a Whale that lost alot of $...
Quote: Wizard
Now that you have insider access, the first order of business will be to find out what's what with the sign on their "Rialto Bridge"...
Quote: 100xOddsbut i want to know more about the sr vp that got fired a few years ago for rigging a free car raffle in favor of a Whale that lost alot of $...
Actually three folks got canned over that, and the Sands Corp. had to pay a $1,000,000 in fines and restitution.
Quote: Wizard
By the way, this will be the second time the Sands offered me a job. The first time was when I was in the shopping area at the Venetian in Macau. There were two jugglers doing their act. Between tricks I asked to pass pins with one of them, which he kindly agreed to. Actually, he didn't speak English, but I managed to communicate my request in mime. Then a crowd gathered and lots of pictures were taken. Afterward somebody dressed in a suit with a Venetian badge said "How would you like job here?"
That is awesome!
Quote: AyecarumbaNow that you have insider access, the first order of business will be to find out what's what with the sign on their "Rialto Bridge"...
I wouldn't hold my breath waiting:Quote: Wizard's Review, Rialto Bridge sectionThe following table shows two errors between the original in Venice and the copy at the Venetian.
Venice Venetian
Venetiar Venehar
Conditae Conditat
I'm working hard at getting a Latin to English translation, so keep coming back.
That is what I'm here for, getting to the bottom of the issues that really matter.
Quote: Wizard, page 7 of this threadI will not be discussing internal stuff at the Venetian.
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1 Carlos Slim Helu & family
$69 B 72 telecom Mexico
2 Bill Gates
$61 B 56 Microsoft United States
3 Warren Buffett
$44 B 81 Berkshire Hathaway United States
4 Bernard Arnault
$41 B 63 LVMH France
5 Amancio Ortega
$37.5 B 75 Zara Spain
6 Larry Ellison
$36 B 67 Oracle United States
7 Eike Batista
$30 B 55 mining, oil Brazil
8 Stefan Persson
$26 B 64 H&M Sweden
9 Li Ka-shing
$25.5 B 83 diversified Hong Kong
10 Karl Albrecht
$25.4 B 92 Aldi Germany
11 Christy Walton & family
$25.3 B 57 Wal-Mart United States
12 Charles Koch
$25 B 76 diversified United States
12 David Koch
$25 B 71 diversified United States
14 Sheldon Adelson
$24.9 B 78 casinos United States
15 Liliane Bettencourt
$24 B 89 L'Oreal France
16 Jim Walton
$23.7 B 64 Wal-Mart United States
17 Alice Walton
$23.3 B 62 Wal-Mart United States
18 S. Robson Walton
$23.1 B 68 Wal-Mart United States
19 Mukesh Ambani
$22.3 B 54 petrochemicals, oil & gas India
20 Michael Bloomberg
$22 B 70 Bloomberg LP United States
Quote: AyecarumbaNow that you have insider access, the first order of business will be to find out what's what with the sign on their "Rialto Bridge"...
Asked and answered last year...
(I count 9 typos, not just 2...)
Quote: AyecarumbaActually three folks got canned over that, and the Sands Corp. had to pay a $1,000,000 in fines and restitution.
The Indians that run Spirit Mtn. Casino in Oregon did that with one of their promotions: they drew ten names out of a huge barrel, filled with entry cards, and wouldn't you know it, a known whale got chosen twice.
Shameful savages!
Wholly unregulated: whatcha gonna do?
Quote: AyecarumbaNow that you have insider access, the first order of business will be to find out what's what with the sign on their "Rialto Bridge"...
During the late 20th century, to maintain the economy of the aristocratic image of a city of palaces, the lagoon's coast at Mestre and Marghera was completely destroyed by industrial development, creating the densest and most polluted petro-chemical district in Italy. The water that is still being sucked from the underground sources for industrial purposes has jeopardized the stability of the islands. Meanwhile the regular floods, up to 100 days per year, have made Venice an even more amphibious place than it was in its origins. The ancient city is in danger of being flooded forever.
There are many replicas of Venice around the world. One of the most charming is in the theme park called «Italia in Miniatura» in the suburbs of Rimini (about two hours south of Venice). Perfect replicas of Venetian palaces at 5/8ths scale, modeled in silicon, have been arranged like stage sets along a 40-centimeter deep Grand Canal. A soundtrack supplies the calls of seagulls and voices from the windows. The seven-minute boat ride ends with a visit to a mini-Piazza San Marco (missing the famous pigeons)
When The Venetian in Las Vegas was built, the then mayor of Venice, Massimo Cacciari, publicly wondered how he could patent the city to protect it, and possibly raise some money to protect the original from the invading sea.
It is possible that Sheldon's lawyers advised not to copy everything literally, so that they had some defense in such a lawsuit.
Quote: Wizard's Review, Rialto Bridge sectionThe following table shows two errors between the original in Venice and the copy at the Venetian.
Venice Venetian
Venetiar Venehar
Conditae Conditat
I'm working hard at getting a Latin to English translation, so keep coming back.
The Rialto bridge was finished in 1591, centuries after the end of Latin. I would think the inscription would be in an older form of Italian. I can't find the word conditat in any language.
Quote: MrVThe Indians that run Spirit Mtn. Casino in Oregon did that with one of their promotions: they drew ten names out of a huge barrel, filled with entry cards, and wouldn't you know it, a known whale got chosen twice.
Shameful savages!
Wholly unregulated: whatcha gonna do?
what? thats legit?!
geez.. i know the Bureau of Indian Affairs doesnt have that tight of a leash as a state gaming commision, but thats ridiculous!!!
-loach
Quote: DJTeddyBearQuote: WizardAdmin note: removed link to www.djteddybear.com/images/dark-side-cookies-lar.jpgAdmin note: removed image www.djteddybear.com/images/dark-side-cookies-sml.jpg
The Dark Side has cookies
I fixed the photo for ya!
Without looking at the original on page 1, anybody know what I changed?
I guessed you'd changed his shirt from a Hawaiin one... I was wrong :)
Unless I'm mistaken, much of that comes from the ONE Hawaiian shirt he wore while taping ALL of the Wiz Videos he published recently.
Here's a photo from Sept. 2010's Coffee / Lunch meeting.
NOT a Hawaiian shirt.... although he WAS eager to jump into the tractor at Hash House A GoGo...
Have a great first day, Wiz.
If you're interested, I'll be trolling around the iTable Roulette table at Palazzo at around 5:00 Monday....
Tailors or Dry cleaners that day ?
Hmmmmm.......
Makes you think, doesn't it ?
Let's invite this guy to the next WOV-CON
Quote: WizardThanks for your understanding. Get ready for the stock price to soar.
Hawaiian shirted employees cause stocks to
plummet, not soar.
Quote: WizardGet ready for the stock price to soar.
What? What?! Are we getting insider information here? Is that legal? Is it an advantage play?
Quote: WizardThanks for your understanding. Get ready for the stock price to soar.
Is "Soar" Sand's Casinospeak for, "Slide On A Rumor"?
Which, unlike counting at Blackjack, is cheating !
Now I am wondering if WIZ had inside help ??
With your title, I assume you sort of
still have a lot of freedom to do what
you find interesting.
Quote: WizardThanks for your understanding. Get ready for the stock price to soar.
With an unprecedented in the industry $1 billion in EBITDA for last quarter, it is hard to imagine how much rosier this corporations outlook could get.
Quote: DocWhat? What?! Are we getting insider information here? Is that legal? Is it an advantage play?
I was just making a joke, based on my contributions to the company. I don't know anything the public doesn't.
Quote: WizardI was just making a joke, based on my contributions to the company. I don't know anything the public doesn't.
They did something very right in Las Vegas. You may remember that a year ago, they severely cut comps at the vegas casino, resulting in a huge drop in revenue. For the first quarter of last year, casino revenue in Bethlehem PA (with no hotel) was actually higher than in the Las Vegas Sands.
Las Vegas Sands Struggles After Cutting Comps (May 12, 2011)
Yet in first quarter 2012, a near miracle occurred.
Yet somehow the table games drop in Vegas soared to $609.0 million this year from $476.6 million in 1st quarter of 2011, and table games win went to 24.0% which is nearly double the 13.3% from last year.
One would think they reinstated the comps. But they raised their comps in Vegas only slightly from $18.4 million last year to $23.2 million this year (the comps were $51.8 million in 2010).
There is virtually no hint of bad news in their entire portfolio. They are hitting on all cylinders in nearly every area of the business, from slots, to table games, to hotel occupancy, to room rates, in all locations from Pennsylvania to every property in Asia.
In terms of gross revenue Las Vegas Sands hit $2.76 billion, exceeding Marriott's $2.55 billion. With the new Sands property opening on the Cotai strip, LV Sands will almost certainly pass Marriot as America's largest corporation in the Hotel & Casino (industry). Keep in mind that Marriot has 644K rooms and suites in all it's business areas (domestic/ international, full / limited service, and timeshares).
