Caesars/Harrah's and maintenance of properties

[Alan Mendelson]

In another thread, forum member redietz made some comments critical of the operations at Caesars/Harrah's casinos, including these about the maintenance and upkeep of the hotel rooms and plant:

In addition, some of their properties are clearly not being reconditioned at former rates (most hotel rooms in LV are redone every 18 months or so). Bally's and the Flamingo are looking a bit ratty these days. And, oh yeah, the air quality in the Rio has gone from good to horrendous -- I was told it's because cleaning of filters and vents must have been cut drastically.

He's right. A couple of weeks ago I was invited to have dinner with one of the top Caesars execs in Vegas -- it was designed as a way for upper management to meet and learn about the concerns of guests.

But I think I asked him more questions than he asked me and I did ask what they would change if the budget would allow? First of all, everyone knows that Caesars is saddled with huge amounts of debt. And I was told that the debt has delayed much of the hotel improvements that they would like to make.

At Caesars Palace they recently started to change the carpeting in the casino -- section by section. And at Caesars improvements are ahead of the work at other properties in the system.

[regnis]

It extends beyond Vegas. In Hammond Indiana (which is actually the closest casino to Chicago), they built a magnificent casino (Horseshoe) that would rival or exceed any in Vegas. But they have no filtration and you smell of smoke for days. You can never sit at a machine and find it clean, whether it is ashes or sticky from drinks. Most of the bill changers don't work, and the voucher machines are always broken. Every month they send me a survey and I tell them the same thing, yet nothing changes.

[redietz]

I actually really like Caesars' Palace as a property and have always hoped Harrah's wouldn't muck it up too much. So far, they are treating it pretty well (except for cutting the video poker), as they should, considering it's their flagship. Their other properties, however, need some work.

The first property I noticed some unusual room wear-and-tear was Bally's. Flamingo rooms, in my opinion, may now be better maintained than Bally's, although Flamingo has had its own issues with utilities. Rio rooms are pretty well maintained, but other aspects of the casino itself are being neglected since Rio was redesignated as a lower tier property.

I just hope CP is kept up, and I think it will be. At one time, CP had arguably the best sports book in Las Vegas. I miss the helmet chairs. My fave memory of CP is staying in one of the old (now gone) suites for the World Cup of Handicapping. Giant round beds and mirrors everywhere (note to Alan: I must have had paper money at one point).

Caesars/Harrah's isn't the only place struggling. The LVH is finally recovering, as their room maintenance was wildly disparate. When they were full, you could get stuck with a room that hadn't been maintained at all, while others were top notch. Now they are getting things back to snuff -- this may be one reason why they were unbranded as a Hilton property.

[Alan Mendelson]

Just a quick note about Rio. Several execs at Caesars have told me this: they would just love to sell The Rio, but they can't find a buyer. Here's the problem:

Casino/hotels are priced based on revenue and a huge portion of the revenue at The Rio comes from the WSOP -- the casino/hotel's biggest period for bookings and handle. Any company that has looked at buying the Rio understands that once the Rio is sold by Caesars the WSOP will be moved out of that property. Caesars, for example, has a big conference center that could house the games. And because the Rio would lose the WSOP it's actual value would plummet.

So the situation comes down to this:

As a property with the WSOP the Rio is worth XX-dollars and that's what Caesars wants to sell it for.
As a property without the WSOP the Rio is worth YY-dollars and no company will pay XX when they realize a year later it's only worth YY.

Of course if Caesars lowered the price to YY then it could sell it, but they haven't deemed it necessary yet to lower the price to YY.

The biggest expense right now for the company is the make-over of Bills Gambling Hall into the Gansevoort Las Vegas which is going to cater to the young party crowd similar to Cosmopolitan.

[regnis]

No kidding here. I have had 2 bad room experiences in Vegas. One was a dead girl under the bed (usually the girls in my bed play dead). The other, my girl friend and I entered our room after checking in and there was an elderly Japanese gentleman watching porn and handling his merchandise. What happens in Vegas.....

[Alan Mendelson]

My two bad room experiences include the lack of housekeeping for two days during Super Bowl weekend, and then arriving at 2am and given keys to a room where the current occupants were sound asleep when I came through the door and turned on the lights.

I have not seen any dead people yet. But the craps tables have been both dead and deadly.

[Count Room]

I have not seen any dead people yet. But the craps tables have been both dead and deadly.

Would Don't Pass/Don't Come make those tables vibrant and invigorating?

[Dan Druff]

Caesar's is well-maintained. Customer service is hit and miss there, but the property itself looks good and there are rarely maintenance issues.

Rio is a complete mess, as is Harrah's. The elevator even has missing buttons at Rio.

It looks like they have just given up spending much money on their lower-end Vegas properties.

It is true that Rio would not sell for very much without the WSOP, as it has a bad location, and is considered a has-been.

It is the best/most convenient convention space for the WSOP.

Caesar's has a lot of convention rooms, but these are not on the first floor, and they also lack the convention parking that Rio has. It would be a mess to hold the WSOP at Caesar's, or really any of their other properties for that matter.

[Alan Mendelson]

thanks Dan. But do you know about the big convention building that is behind the pool area? the last time I was in it was during New Year's Eve about 12 years ago when there was a giant dinner and concert with Huey Lewis and the News. I think they had several hundred tables set up in there for the dinner guests.

That convention building is rarely used and is what could easily handle the WSOP.

Youre right about the convention floors on levels 2 and 3 of the Palace Tower -- they're okay for smaller conventions and for the Super Bowl parties but definitely not a WSOP.

[Dan Druff]

thanks Dan. But do you know about the big convention building that is behind the pool area? the last time I was in it was during New Year's Eve about 12 years ago when there was a giant dinner and concert with Huey Lewis and the News. I think they had several hundred tables set up in there for the dinner guests.

That convention building is rarely used and is what could easily handle the WSOP.

Youre right about the convention floors on levels 2 and 3 of the Palace Tower -- they're okay for smaller conventions and for the Super Bowl parties but definitely not a WSOP.

I didn't know about that building. Is it still there?

Even so, what would they do about parking? I don't think their self-parking structure could handle the influx of thousands of cars for the WSOP, in addition to their hotel guests. The lot already becomes a complete high-traffic mess on busy nights.

[Alan Mendelson]

Yes it is still there. As you drive along Flamingo from the Strip to the 15 you can see the side of it and depending on the trees and the wall (and your speed) you can get a pretty good view of it. Better -- if you are ever out at the pool area go to the back end of it and it is up a slight hill at the rear of the property. this is a separate building that you actually have to walk to. There is no covered walk -- it is in the fresh air.

Here's the map of the property. On the far right is the "Conference Center" http://www.caesarspalace.com/images/...t_Map_2012.pdf