Jeff
Simpson: Not All Stardust Workers Will Retain
Boyd Gaming Jobs
Pity the poor Stardust workers
who woke up Friday and read the Review-Journal
business story that incorrectly said Boyd Gaming
Corp. has developed a plan to retain all 1,899
workers after the property is demolished to
make way for the $4 billion Echelon Place.
While
owner Boyd Gaming is working on plans to give
jobs to as many of the Stardust's workers as
it can, it would be impossible for the company
to place each and every one of the employees
at its Las Vegas-area casinos.
No
Las Vegas casino has ever done so; some hotel
executives have offered to give workers at closed
properties priority when applying for jobs at
new resorts, and some have placed as many as
possible at sister properties.
Many
Stardust workers will undoubtedly be offered
jobs at other Boyd properties, but the company
just doesn't have the jobs to match up with
the skill and experience of every single worker.
Boyd
Gaming and its Chairman Bill Boyd have a history
of loyalty to long-term employees, so the R-J
story must have pained company executives who
knew that it was wrong.
•••
I
was a naysayer when the Las Vegas Monorail began
operation a year and a half ago; in fact I won
a (quite tasty) burrito from a co-worker when
my prediction that the MGM Grand-to-Sahara line
wouldn't attract nearly as much business as
its owners estimated came true.
But
the Las Vegas Monorail Co.'s plans for expansion
are a different matter. An airport expansion
and a new route on the west side of the Strip,
as reported Friday by Sun business reporter
Richard N. Velotta, would be a much more viable
business proposition.
Strip
hotel operators and other businesses will invest
in the idea and make it a reality.
As
MGM Mirage Chairman Terry Lanni told me a few
months ago, linking the hotels to the airport
is a no-brainer. And offering service to the
west side of the Strip also makes a great deal
of sense. The new route would touch many of
the Strip's best megaresorts, including Bellagio,
Wynn Las Vegas and MGM's soon-to-begin-construction
Project CityCenter.
The
Strip's tightly packed collection of hotels,
convention centers, shows, restaurants, nightclubs,
spas and other attractions make Las Vegas an
unbeatable lure for conventions and fun seekers.
Alleviating Strip-area traffic congestion and
making movement easy for our guests is a smart
idea.
•••
Expect
Station Casinos to quickly demonstrate its ability
to develop a couple of major casino projects
at once. Station Chief Development Officer Scott
Nielson said last week the company expects to
begin work early next year on its Aliante Station
in North Las Vegas, a casino that will be jointly
owned by the Greenspun family, which also owns
the Las Vegas Sun.
Station
is in an enviable position with a bunch of casino-approved
sites around the valley. Nielson said the company
can easily handle building two projects at once
and said the likeliest spots for a second project
are near the Las Vegas Beltway at Durango Drive,
on Las Vegas Boulevard South at Cactus Avenue
or in Reno.
•••
Casino
industry insiders wonder about Las Vegas' ability
to support the city's current breakneck expansion
of the poker business. Fueled by the incredible
popularity of televised poker and Internet poker
sites, almost every Strip and locals casino
has or plans to have a card room. Leaving aside
the shortage of trained dealers to staff the
added tables, the casino moves make some poker
bosses question the market's ability to absorb
so much poker, particularly at the top end.
Established kingpin Bellagio's in great shape,
and Wynn Las Vegas and Mirage are capturing
a lot of business. But I doubt there's enough
business for other properties that have recently
established high-end poker rooms, or plan to
soon do so. Among them: MGM Grand, Caesars Palace
and the Venetian.
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