Sands Arena Opening Late 2018 or Early 2019

Las Vegas Sands reported their second quarter 2016 earnings earlier this afternoon.

As usual most of the earnings conference call centered on the company's primary casino operations in Macau and Singapore, but there was one tidbit about Las Vegas:

The Sands music arena which will be built with Madison Square Garden will begin construction in early 2017.

The arena located behind Venetian and Palazzo will take 18 to 24 months to build, which means the opening date will be Late 2018 or early 2019.

I suppose that timeline is perfectly reasonable for a new arena to be constructed, but 2019 seems like a long way off. I was looking forward to the Sands arena and T-Mobile Arena squaring off and competing for top musical acts, but I guess we'll have to wait a few years.

Sands Arena behind Venetian and Palazzo Announced

Las Vegas Sands and The Madison Square Garden Company have announced plans to build a new 17,500 seat arena behind Sands properties The Venetian and Palazzo.



The partnership was announced in a press release earlier today and will also involve Azoff MSG Entertainment, Live Nation, and Oak View Group.

At first glance this seems like a direct competitor to MGM's new T-Mobile Arena, however this venue will be slightly different as it will be designed for music concerts first and foremost. The arena won't be hosting an NBA or NHL team, but UFC and boxing might be a possibility.

The first question is whether Las Vegas really needs another arena like this. Along with the new T-Mobile Arena many other large music venues scatter the Strip including MGM Grand Garden Arena, Mandalay Bay Events Center, Axis at Planet Hollywood, The Colosseum at Caesars, and the upcoming new Monte Carlo Theater.

I'm guessing Sands and MSG have done their homework and determined the demand will be there. MSG has apparently had great success in the Los Angeles area by remodeling the Forum to a similar music centered arena.

It will also be interesting to see what kind of amenities will surround the arena. Sands will be building a walkway back, but it's not really clear if there will be any dining and shopping similar to The Linq Promenade and The Park.

Another angle is the arena's close proximity to the upcoming Wynn Paradise Park development. I suppose there could be some synergies if Wynn and Sands were willing to work together to create some kind of pedestrian access between the two.

Sheldon Adelson Republican Debate

The next Republican debate will take place on December 15, 2015 at the Venetian.

This will be the second debate of the year held in Las Vegas. One of the Democratic debates took place at Wynn Las Vegas in October.

Las Vegas will also host the final Presidential debate next year at Thomas and Mack Center on the UNLV campus.

Aside from these debates being held in Las Vegas, it's also been in the news lately that Las Vegas Sands CEO and Venetian owner Sheldon Adelson will be deciding soon which Republican candidate to support.

Adelson is famous for his gigantic campaign contributions, so it's being seen as a major advantage for the candidate who manages to gain his support.

Las Vegas Sands Reports Third Quarter 2015 Results

Las Vegas Sands reported third quarter 2015 earnings results earlier today. The weak Macau market caused gaming revenue to decline significantly, but that softness was offset by a strong performance at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore and at Bethlehem Sands in Pennsylvania.

In Las Vegas at the company's Venetian and Palazzo properties gaming revenue was down 22.5%. Non-gaming on the other hand was very strong with rooms up 19.4% and food and beverage up 33.9%.

Perhaps the most surprising thing about today's results was the Sands' decision to raise the quarterly dividend by 10.8% from 65 to 72 cents per share starting in 2016. With the weakness in Macau I was thinking the company might have to keep the dividend steady, or even cut the dividend similar to what Wynn Resorts did recently.

Speaking of Wynn, Steve Wynn's comments about the Macau government and the government's response were bound to be asked about on the Las Vegas Sands earnings conference call.

As expected Sheldon Adelson was overtly respectful to the government saying, "We're in China, let the Chinese decide what they want to do with the concessionaires. Again it's our privilege, it's not our right. So we'll do everything we can to justify getting the blessings from the Macau government. It's their government, it's their right and we'll do whatever they ask us to do."

The Judds Venetian Residency

Popular mother-daughter 80's and 90's country duo The Judds will be reuniting for a nine-show mini residency called "Girls Night Out" at The Venetian between October 7-24, 2015.

The Judds had a farewell tour in 1991 when mother Naomi left the duo due to illness. The farewell concert of the tour was one of the most watched pay-per-view events of all time. Daughter Wynonna went on to have a successful solo career throughout the 90's.

Over the years The Judds have reunited a few times, but it was widely thought they wouldn't do any more touring together. Given the small number of dates and the rarity of The Judds performing together I'm guessing these shows will sell out easily.

If you include Wynonna solo songs The Judds have 20 number one country hits, so there won't be a shortage of material at The Venetian in October.

Anchor Bar at Venetian Opens

With burgers and pizza taking over the Strip and Fremont Street, a buffalo wing joint might be a nice change of pace for your junk food craving.

Enter Anchor Bar. The world famous Buffalo, NY establishment actually invented the buffalo wing. They have a few locations in and around Buffalo, but a new franchise has now opened in Las Vegas.

Anchor Bar is located at The Venetian in the Grand Canal Shoppes. Despite having "bar" in the name, it's more of a fast casual spot with a few beers on tap.

Along with the wings, Anchor Bar will also be serving up another Buffalo favorite: Beef on Weck sandwiches. "Thin sliced Roast Beef dipped in au jus and served on freshly baked Kimmelweck Roll."

I can't wait to try one of those.

NFL bans Las Vegas Convention

A fantasy football convention organized by Tony Romo and set to take place at the Sands Expo Center at The Venetian has been cancelled. The NFL took issue with the convention taking place at a property with a casino.

Lately there has been a lot of discussion about the possible expansion of sports gaming. New Jersey is trying to legalize it. The National Hockey League and College sports are looking more and more into holding events in Las Vegas. And daily fantasy sports websites are all the rage.

The NFL is still staunchly against Las Vegas though, and that probably won't change anytime soon. The NFL will likely fight against New Jersey as well, so I wouldn't plan on betting on football in the Garden State anytime soon.

Lawsuit against Resort Fees

A California man has filed a lawsuit against The Venetian and The Palazzo alleging that the $28 a night resort fee was not disclosed at the time of booking.

While I don't think this particular lawsuit will go very far in eliminating resort fees, it's nice to see some mainstream media attention pointing out what loyal Las Vegas fans have known for a while - that resort fees are a nuisance with the potential to put a serious damper on a vacation.

Many people compare resort fees to airline baggage fees - but at least with the airlines you could theoretically choose to avoid the fee by not checking (or even carrying) a bag. With the hotel fees you are pretty much stuck with the fee no matter what.

Since resort fees are very profitable for hotels, they are probably here to stay. I just hope that actions like this lawsuit will at least make the public aware of the fees so they aren't totally blindsided when they check in to their hotel stay.

Human Nature moving to Venetian

Just as it looked like Human Nature might be leaving Las Vegas, they signed a new deal to remain on the Strip.

VegasChatter is reporting that Human Nature will be starting a two year residency at the Venetian in January 2013.

The Australian Motown singing group had just performed their last show at The Quad this past weekend. They will hit the road for shows in Florida and Australia before beginning their new gig at the Venetian.

Human Nature consistently gets good reviews, so it's not much of a surprise they were able to move up to a more prestigious hotel.

Ice Skating at Venetian and Cosmopolitan

Visitors will be able to ice skate on the Las Vegas Strip this holiday season, as The Venetian and Cosmopolitan have both constructed temporary rinks.

The synthetic Venetian rink is already open right in front of the hotel. Skating will continue until January 6th from 11 to 11 each day. Prices range from 9.95 to 14.95 and include free skate rental.

The Cosmopolitan Boulevard Pool will be transformed into a skating rink from November 30th to January 20th. Normal hours will be 3 pm to 11 pm with extended hours on Holidays. Prices range from $10-15 plus an additional $5 for skate rental. The Cosmopolitan will also offer themed skating nights on Monday, Wednesday and Thursdays.

Ice skating seems like a good way to bring some holiday cheer to these hotels. The rinks are also being used to draw locals into the properties. I wouldn't be surprised to see more hotels add ice skating in the future if these two rinks are popular.

Please contact each hotel for more detailed pricing and hours information.

Rattlecan opens at Venetian

When I heard about the new graffiti inspired burger/shot/beer bar opening in Las Vegas I thought it was likely going to be located at Cosmopolitan, or perhaps downtown on Fremont East. I was slightly surprised to hear that it's actually going to be at Venetian. A hipster bar seems slightly out of place at the high rolling Venetian, but looks like a pretty cool place to check out. It opens tonight. Here's hoping it sticks around for a while.



Check out Rattlecan on Facebook for more info.

Phantom at Venetian closing in September

Phantom - the Las Vegas Spectacular will be closing on September 2nd according to the Las Vegas Sun. The show has been running since June 2006, which is a pretty long run by Vegas standards.

This is the third major show to leave the Venetian / Palazzo complex in recent months.

It was announced back in February that Blue Man Group would be moving to Monte Carlo.

In September it was revealed that Jersey Boys is moving to Paris Las Vegas.

It will be interesting to see what ends up replacing these shows.

Venetian Palazzo Open Bar Package

A new open bar package is now available at Venetian and Palazzo.

The Bar Hop package is $75 per day from noon to midnight, or $150 for a weekend package that runs from Friday at noon to Sunday at 6 pm.

"Enjoy unlimited drinks, house wine, and domestic beer at Salute Lounge, Laguna Champagne Bar, La Scena Lounge, Fusion Latin Mixology Bar, and Oculus, plus complimentary admission to both V Bar and AzureTM Luxury Pool."

The $75 price tag seems a little steep, especially since the drink offerings are limited. I think I would rather just pay as I go and have the freedom to leave the property if I wanted to.

On the other hand getting the whole weekend for $150 could be a good deal if you are planning on using Venetian and Palazzo as your base of operations.

No telling how long this package will be offered, so be sure to check directly with Venetian / Palazzo before making any plans.

Cosmopolitan gets Sportsbook

Just in time for March Madness, Cosmopolitan has opened a sportsbook. Cosmo has partnered with Cantor Gaming to open the book on the second floor of the hotel next to Holstein's restaurant and Marquee Nightclub. The sportsbook is small by Strip standards, but with Cantor's mobile gaming devices customers won't need to actually be at the sportsbook to place wagers.

Cantor has some interesting new concepts for sports betting, including live betting throughout the game. They just opened a new book at Tropicana, and also have locations at M Resort, Venetian and Palazzo.

When Cosmopolitan opened in December it did not have a "traditional" sportsbook. Instead the Book & Stage lounge served as a place where you could place wagers. The betting terminals at Book & Stage will remain open.

I know Cosmo caught some flack for not having a real sportsbook. I wonder if this is a direct response to that, or if it was planned all along. It seems like sports weekends are a huge part of Las Vegas with the Super Bowl and March Madness. Having a legit sportsbook would almost seem like a requirement for any casino resort.



For more information, see the Press Release and Cantor Gaming.

Las Vegas Sands cuts Comps

In a conference call on Thursday, Las Vegas Sands CEO Sheldon Adelson stated that the company has cut comps at Venetian and Palazzo, instead charging full price for hotel rooms:

"We've essentially cut all of our comps except our most highly-rated players. No more comped rooms. No food and beverage. No showroom credits. We're selling rooms. We see it's resulting in a substantial increase in cash income."

Las Vegas Sands focuses heavily on convention bookings. Bookings have evidently been strong lately, so they apparently don't feel the need to lure in average customers with free rooms.

It's an interesting strategy. While I'm not sure I would have made such a bold statement to the public about cutting comps, if they can fill their rooms and still charge full price, why wouldn't they?

If MGM or Caesars had done this I think it probably would have been a bad move, but LVS only has 2 hotels in Las Vegas and they're making more money overseas anyway, so I think they can get away with it.

Rita Rudner moving to Venetian

Rita Rudner will be moving from Harrah's to the Venetian starting in January 2011.

Rudner has been working almost exclusively in Las Vegas for almost ten years starting in 2001 at New York New York. She moved to Harrah's in 2006.

Rita Rudner is the biggest headliner at Harrah's so it will be interesting to see what they come up with to replace her. It seems likely they will move a show over from one of their other properties to fill the gap.

LVS is on a Roll

Las Vegas Sands (owner of the Venetian and Palazzo) reported strong third quarter results today, including a 67% year over year increase in revenue that totaled $1.91 billion. Most of the success can be attributed to the company's Macau and Singapore operations, although Las Vegas seems to be doing marginally better as well.

In March 2009 LVS stock was trading at under $2 a share. Today it closed over $41 a share, and in after hours trading it was as high as $45.

Source: Las Vegas Sands - Press Release.

St. Regis at Palazzo Capped at 5 Floors?

A recent Reuters article announced that the Venetian and Palazzo will join the portfolio of InterContinental Hotels Group. The group is best known for their Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza brands. By joining forces with InterContinental Venetian and Palazzo will become part of the Priority Club program, which has 52 million members.

While this is a nice development for the Las Vegas Sands properties, there was another item in the article that caught my eye.

It appears that the Sands agreement to build St. Regis-branded condos in front of the Palazzo is close to expiring. Given the state of the Las Vegas condo market it's clear that LVS won't be building any condos if they don't have to. COO Michael Leven revealed that the building might be capped at the current five stories. "We might finish it off there to get rid of the eyesore."

If the building is completed at five stories I wonder what they will use that space for. There is already a Walgreens on the ground level, and five floors probably isn't enough to be a separate hotel tower. Perhaps they will just complete the outside until they figure out what they want to do, similar to the Octavius tower at Caesars.

Story: Reuters.

Venetian Show News - Wayne Brady and Chazz Palminteri

After a hiatus from doing his improv show, Wayne Brady will be back at the Venetian with a more relaxed schedule. Brady had been taking time off from this show to film episodes of Let's Make a Deal.

When Wayne Brady isn't using his showroom, Chazz Palminteri might be. His one man show version of A Bronx Tale will be playing from now until May 9th, and again from October 7-18.

Robin Leach interviewed Chazz, and he had this to say about the show:

"I’m excited to bring my show back for all the people who missed it the first time here. I always enjoy visiting Las Vegas and feel right at home in The Venetian. I really felt strong that it would go over with Vegas audiences, but I never thought the reaction would be so fantastic. I’m ecstatic that it worked so well. I didn’t dare dream or think that way, but I am so pleased. It’s a great story like a Shakespearean play, and people can relate to the characters. It worked on Broadway. It worked in the 30 cities I took it on tour. I just never thought it would work as well as it has in Vegas -- and that’s incredible and amazing. It connects with everyone from 14 years of age up to 90 years of age, be they male or female. It works even more effectively because the audience is seeing me on the stage. There’s that presence -- it’s visceral. They can say, 'That is the guy. This is his story.' If we keep having this success with it, there will be several return engagements. If I can come here on and off for 12 weeks of the year, I couldn’t be happier. I’ve always liked Vegas. It’s now becoming my second home. I love the restaurants, the beach clubs and the night action. I’m fanatical about being healthy and staying healthy, but the play is a real physical workout each time, so there can’t be any double shows in one evening."

Personally I'm happy to see this show in Las Vegas. I have heard very good things about it. I might be in Vegas in October so I might have to go see it.

Source: Vegas Deluxe.