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Thread: New club opened at Rio called "172" -- why bother?

  1. #1
    Rio is a has-been property.

    In the '90s, despite its bad off-strip location, it had some degree of popularity due to its large rooms and party Mardi-Gras-like atmosphere.

    The large rooms still exist, but the Rio is now a shell of its former self. The Show in the Sky and the other forms of free in-casino entertainment have ended. The party atmosphere has been scrubbed.

    It's now a sleepy, depressing, rundown property with ongoing maintenance issues, and looks far older than its 28-year age.

    Despite this, they've opened a new club at Rio called "172", which has a $10 cover charge, serves sushi and other "high end gourmet dishes", and is supposedly going to be the home to "nationally acclaimed and promising up-and-coming bands".

    A look at their webpage shows that none of the bands scheduled for the remainder of 2018 are nationally acclaimed: https://www.caesars.com/rio-las-vega...2#.W-6cPuhKiUl

    Also laughable is the reason behind the name "172":

    When volcanoes erupt, they make a loud noise. No explosion has ever matched the one that occurred in 1883 on the island of Krakatoa. The volcanic eruption there registered the loudest sound ever recorded on the planet.

    The sound was so incredibly loud that it circled the earth four times and registered 172 on the decibel scale, which was recorded over 100 milesaway.

    Our goal? To become the loudest eruption to re-define the music scene since Krakatoa.

    Welcome to 172.

    Say what?
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  2. #2
    110% agree that it just keeps getting worse. I think it was two years ago I posted that I went in there for the first time in five years and I'd never go in again. Run down, depressing, empty, and we'll past it's prime are all appropriate words for it. The new "club" sounds like another misfire.

    Take it down.

  3. #3
    In real estate it's all about location, location, location. The new Palms will boost the value of the Rio, and they're putting new lipstick on the pig before selling it.

    Don't rule out that the Rio could be flattened for a baseball stadium and selling an operating hotel will mean a better price than a vacant hotel after the WSOP moves.

    By the way Dan, great job on the troll site.

  4. #4
    Should have just called it "Krakatoa."

    The Palms, by the way, must still have renovation issues. They are doing some third-party promos to get people in there that are unusually good values...if there aren't noise problems and such. Some nights, you can get travel points with partners that are worth almost as much as the price of the room.

  5. #5
    I think the days of the Palms being relevant are over.

    At one point, they overcame their bad location because they were the young, hip place to be.

    Then Cosmo took their business. I don't see people flocking back to the Palms.

    By extension, the Rio is also done. They've cooked the fun out of the property, and they've let it go to hell. Its one element of usefulness comes from the convention area. It's big, and the parking is plentiful and easy. That's why it's been the home of the WSOP since 2005 (something which will change in 2020 or 2021 when the new Caesars Convention Center opens mid-strip).

    I just laugh when they attempt to open some venue intended to breathe life back into dead properties. Never works.

    I will give Rio credit for leasing space out to sucker businesses which don't realize how low the foot traffic is, deep into the casino.

    The Rio has a funny layout. Most of the foot traffic comes in through the back entrance (near the buffet) or the front entrance (near the hotel front desk). That's also where the casino cashier and all the pit games are located. That area of the casino is at least somewhat lively.

    But when you start walking deeper into the casino -- toward the Masquerade Tower -- the place is quiet and dead. At one time it was bustling and crowded, back when The Show in the Sky and other free entertainment took place there. Now it's just a sad assortment of slot machines and failing businesses leasing space. Yet you know these businesses are paying top dollar for that space, remembering the Rio of 1999.
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  6. #6
    Dan have you missed what has happened at the Palms? Apparently so. Just as you missed what happened to your forum.

  7. #7
    I guess I have missed it. Go ahead and tell me.
    Check out my poker forum, and weekly internet radio show at http://pokerfraudalert.com

  8. #8
    Do a Google search. About a billion dollars has been spent on changing the Palms and the speculation is that Station Casinos spent the money in anticipation that the Rio will be leveled for a major league baseball park. This dovetails with Caesars moving the WSOP to the new Linq convention center.

    While no one would buy the Rio without the WSOP, it could be sold as a site for a new stadium. The land is larger than what the Raiders stadium is built on.

    The Fertitas might have inside info or actually be part of a new MLB franchise.

    Follow the money, as they say.

  9. #9
    I heard about the baseball park. I don't believe it.

    Vegas does not have the market size nor the proximity to other markets to support an MLB team.

    It is better suited for NFL, which has very few games, so the stadium will be full regardless of the small market.

    And NHL is the smallest of the four major US sports, so less is required to support an NHL team compared to MLB/NBA/NFL.

    I understand why both of those sports came to Vegas.

    MLB has 81 home games. They will have a problem both drawing home crowds AND getting much money for the TV coverage.

    Vegas is not near any other cities. In fact, it's really far from everything. There is no city of any consequence within 200 miles, aside from Henderson. Every direction from Vegas is desolate with virtually no population for miles and miles. It's not like a market which is small, but picks up residual fans from suburbs 50-100 miles away. That doesn't exist for Vegas.

    I would be shocked if an MLB team moved there.

    Keep in mind New Orleans and Vancouver don't have teams at the moment, and they are much better markets for MLB than Vegas.

    The WSOP moving to the new convention center is simply a matter of timing. Caesars is building the new center, so the WSOP moving there is natural. It has nothing to do with plans to wreck the Rio.
    Check out my poker forum, and weekly internet radio show at http://pokerfraudalert.com

  10. #10
    Follow the money, Dan.

    A few years ago no one imagined the impact that the Knights would have on Vegas. Today there are MANY companies with the Knights logo on their trucks, and companies promote Go Knights, and Knights clothing is worn by seemingly everyone. Get a ticket for a Knights Game now? No way.

    If nothing else an MLB team would do well just getting the spillover from the Knights and the Raiders. Do you think you'll be able to even afford a Raiders seat?

    MLB might be the only chance for affordable seats in Vegas.

  11. #11
    Do they still have Penn and Teller? That's probably what's keeping them afloat

  12. #12
    Originally Posted by pepe View Post
    Do they still have Penn and Teller? That's probably what's keeping them afloat
    Yes. But I doubt many of the audience members actually stay at the Rio.

  13. #13
    CET can't sell it while the WSOP is still there, buyers want both, but not at a billion dollars. After the WSOP is gone the price will drop drastically and CET will sell to someone. As to the baseball field, that's a lot of hotel to tear down for real estate, esp. Stations owns the property bet. Flamingo and Trop near Valley View, used for trucking mostly, that could be your baseball field and it is very assessible to the Palms.

  14. #14
    Originally Posted by jpfromla View Post
    CET can't sell it while the WSOP is still there, buyers want both, but not at a billion dollars. After the WSOP is gone the price will drop drastically and CET will sell to someone. As to the baseball field, that's a lot of hotel to tear down for real estate, esp. Stations owns the property bet. Flamingo and Trop near Valley View, used for trucking mostly, that could be your baseball field and it is very assessible to the Palms.
    Also, if there is a baseball stadium near the Palms, that would suddenly make the Rio relevant again, as a great place to stay if you're in Vegas and want to walk to the game.

    Anyway, I still don't believe MLB is coming to Vegas. MLB teams mostly derive revenue these days from a combination of TV contracts and ticket sales/concessions. Nearly will be strong in Vegas for 81 home games.
    Check out my poker forum, and weekly internet radio show at http://pokerfraudalert.com

  15. #15
    If the Rio doesn't get torn down, what's the reason for keeping it up? It has very little traffic, the restaurants are awful, and the Chinese have mostly overtaken the place. Its rooms needed complete refurbishment years ago, and it's gambling is atrocious.

    Any MLB team in LV would do fabulous--if they were winners after their infatuation-driven first year there. The Golden Knights were spectacularly loved last year because they were the new flavor in town as the city's first major league sports team, plus they went to the finals. But they failed, and the lingering love affair between them and the city will soon disappear if they don't start becoming dominant again. Hockey fans will drift back into the casinos instead of to the games.

    Business 101 dictates that the Rio come down and its real estate be used for something more profitable.

  16. #16
    All Golden Knights tickets are sold out. There is a waiting list. Resale tickets only. Raiders tickets? I can't imagine what the prices will be and just to buy season tickets you need to pay $4,000+ for a "license."

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