Hello and welcome to the MTM Biggest Podcast. I'm Sean Coover, your host, joined as always
by Mark Osterman. We have a great show for you this week. As a reminder, you can watch
this entire show along with all the visuals that go with it at youtube.com forward slash
miles to memories. On this week's show, we have a lot to discuss, including Siegfried
and Roy's famous Jungle Palace, being for sale. Find out what it looks like inside.
We discovered a really cool 1980s Vegas vlog that you have to hear about. Plus, new
marquee's coming to the strip at Horseshoe and Fountain Blue's big screen is testing
as well. Tillman Fertita's new casino may officially be on hold. The Carousel Bar at
Plaza is progressing and that stuff is almost open as well. Plus, we have a lot more to
discuss. Stick around. As a reminder, you can find all of our biggest content that be posts,
podcasts and videos at mtmvegas.com. Thanks so much for listening. Let's hit it.
So Mark, did you see that fancy, fancy sign that Caesar's put up between Paris and the
old Bally's? The horseshoe looks like they called someone up, got it made in about five
minutes. Is there anything more Caesar's than that sign? Like Penny Pinching, Cheep-ness,
to its finest? At least paint the wall behind it so you don't see the old peeking out the
welcome to Bally's on each side. It's so crappy. I don't understand it. I have to hope it's
temporary, right? I mean, we have to hope that this is just a temporary sign. No, what do
you think y'all are on? I hope it's serious because it looks so terrible. Oh, man, it's
crazy. Let's talk about horseshoe a little bit more and give them some love for what
they deserve. We know that Caesar's is redoing the entire property and it seems like this
is weird because it's happening in different phases. Old Red is getting built. That's going
to open up. I think later, late this year, maybe early next year, the bottle blonde,
the grand bizarre shops getting completely redone, they opened up the new Steakhouse last
year. Some restaurants are still closed. They're still painting the building and the marquee
has been torn apart for months now. But we do know what the marquee is going to look
like and it looks pretty good. Of course, a big giant screen. It doesn't really fit in,
does it? Right? I mean, when you look at those pictures of the strip, everything looks old
fashion and then you have this giant LED sitting right out on the boulevard. I mean, we've made
the joke that the strip is becoming Times Square and this is just more to that. And that's
not a, I don't think that's a good thing. Like, we have enough ads. We have enough commerce
out there that we don't need to be seeing it as we're walking down the street. And this
is just a massive billboard on the sign, which is another money making scheme, you know,
from from Caesars to do this. And I understand that you got to, you know, make your money
where you can. But it just, I don't like that that that's where Vegas is going. It just
feels more corporate, you know, more less the atmosphere that you want in Vegas, like
the adult Disneyland type of feel that you get in the whimsical awe. You're losing that
because all you're going to see is billboard ads now.
Well, I was thinking billboards are a course or like a tradition, right? You had all the
headliners on there and of course they didn't used to be screens. And then, you know, I
think maybe in the 90s is when we saw our first screen, like maybe Treasure Island, Belagio,
they have the first versions, I remember of screens, but they were very low res and then
you mix them in and they still felt like attraction, Marquise. I agree you kind of lose something
when it's 100% screen. You know, this will just have the horseshoe name and then it's
his screen. It's 180 feet tall. And to your point, the same company that sells the ads
on those other screens, south on the strip are selling ads here. That's who made the announcement.
So yeah, you're going to get a lot of stuff for the property, but a lot of ads mixed it
as well. So yeah, time square.
Yeah, we need to go back to the lights, like the bulbs. Let's go like old school, bring
that back. Circa did it right. Let's just have that the whole strip get redone that way.
Now they also announced that they're opening their Asian restaurant. It's called MY Asia
and it's going to open on March 13th. It's going to feature like a bar and nightclub and
then it'll be like, it has a noodle bar and, you know, pan Asian food. So it looks pretty
good. And the restaurant is owned by Martin Yann, who's a celebrity chef. Apparently he's
done more cooking shows than anybody in history of cooking shows or something according to
the biggest eater article. I don't know. I've never heard of him. How about you?
I thought it was just like another name for Gordon Ramsey because it's a Caesar's property.
A new restaurant. I was kind of shocked that they brought in. No, it's sound school. You
know, the bar area. I'm always good for another lounge type bar. Maybe they have some like,
you know, lower key music and stuff and a good night spot to hang out. The food pictures
look good, as they always do. So be interesting to see how it plays out. But no, I've never
never heard of them. I don't watch cooking shows. My kids actually love cooking shows,
but mostly like nailed it.
All right, speaking of nailed it, let's talk about this. A Tiktoker.
Segway.
You use this AI to generate pictures. You know, we know AI is all in the news for, you know,
chat GBT doing text. And there's also image generators. And he basically said, generate
what people from Las Vegas would look like. You know, he did this for a bunch of different
cities, but the Las Vegas ones are creepily accurate. And I think they look a little bit
like Winnie and Buck, the statue that hair is just removed.
Yeah, they definitely do. And I think it nailed it. I mean, I think it was pretty good on a
lot of them. It felt kind of like a grand theft auto ad almost. Some of the people,
which was kind of funny, especially when you get to Miami, it looked like grand theft
auto vice city type of feel, but Gary, Indiana one kind of died a little bit with that.
That guy is scary. Yeah.
The Vegas one, like, I can just imagine those two smoking a pack of cigarettes a day, hanging
out at the locals casino. Like, I've seen those people all around town my entire life.
I mean, I think, you know, if I was going to do it, I, I don't know how you could describe
Las Vegas better. I also, like you said, it looks like grand theft auto. If you look
really closely at the casinos in the background of those pictures, there's just like random
letters, but it's very stylized. I don't know. I dug it. Let us know what you guys think.
The only thing that would have been more perfect is if when that pick, when you get to the
end, because it's at the very end of the tick tock and then Chris Angel's face just popped
right up. How amazing would that be?
It would be even better if the AI just put a picture of Chris Angel when you said somebody
from Las Vegas. Because I mean, why not? Why not?
Yeah, I mean, AI is taking over the world. Now, speaking of art, resource world's bringing,
you know, we talked about how successful they had at their launch their first full year.
You know, it's not perfect, but their occupants is high and they've had a lot of success with
their entertainment offerings. And they're bringing the largest immersive art experience
display, you know, how they describe these things. Transfix, it's going to have 200,000
square feet of art. So, you know, it's immersive lights. It kind of reminds me of Area 15,
maybe. I don't, I don't know. I don't even know how to really.
Yeah, that's what I first thought when when I saw the pictures and you put in the show
notes, I'm like, Oh, then a new thing for Area 15, because it looks exactly like what
would fit in there. So I'm kind of looking forward to it. I think it's a really cool
edition. I don't know exactly that, you know, do you get where they're going to put this?
100,000 square feet? Is it like an outdoor thing? It kind of looks like it's outdoor,
but some's indoor. So I don't know where they're going to schedule all this stuff and how that
all works, getting through it, how long it will take. But it definitely looks something,
you know, something you might want to be a little higher drunk when you go in there.
We need more of that in Las Vegas, right? You know, it says that there's going to be
10 artists design bars and speakeasies along the north end of the Las Vegas strip. So,
yeah, it doesn't describe exactly where it'll be. It does feel like it's going to be an
outdoor sort of space, but I don't know. There'll also be a two acre labyrinth
that you can go through and, you know, all kinds of different arts. So yeah, it does seem like
perfect for Vegas. Another good move, I think, for Resorts World in bringing unique arts,
entertainment. They're definitely thinking outside the box when it comes to that stuff.
Yeah, 10 bars and distilleries and pop-ups and all that stuff. Yeah, sign me up. That sounds great.
And it kind of reminds me of Lost Distillery at Area 15, Lost Spirits Distillery,
but like in a much grander scale, how you just kind of roam around and find different areas,
different nooks, have a drink. I'm sure they'll have like some type of performance thing going on,
performance art. So I'm excited for it. I think this is a great move by Resorts World. Agreed.
And while we're talking about art, let's talk about the Bellagio. They're bringing in
a new display called In Bloom. It's running through September 10th, and it's a curated art
collection of landscapes and still life. And it's all done in the New Mexico style of art. Sounds
kind of cool. Just a reminder that that art gallery is there and still has some fresh stuff as well.
Yeah, I've never actually been in there, never seen the entry to it. You know, the only reason I
know it exists is because Julia Roberts worked there in Ocean's 11. Well, Steve Win famously, I think
destroyed one of the paintings in there. Was it a Picasso or something like that? He damaged it,
and then he had to get it repainted or, you know, fixed. And so I know that was a big thing,
and then when it got sold, the whole transfer, the art collection was a big thing. A lot of people
thought MGM wouldn't keep the art collection around, wouldn't keep investing in it after,
you know, it went left, and they've done a good job with it. So, you know, good to see new stuff in
there, even though we don't talk about it a lot. And it's over by the pool, Mark. It's over by the
pool. Okay. That's exactly where I would expect an art gallery to be. It's a long walk out to the
pool at Bellagio. All right, so everything, everything at Bellagio is a long walk period.
All right. So this weird thing happened, I was walking with my friend Dave at Green Valley Ranch
the other day, and, you know, that's a beautiful resort. We've talked about it before. It's right
near the new Dollar Loan Center Arena in Henderson, and it's a great resort kind of Mediterranean
theme. They even have like great vines and stuff like that out there. But on the slot machines,
in a couple areas of the casino, they have this white sign that says Viva Hotel Resort.
And Viva was the hotel that Station Casinos was going to build on the Wild Wild Less Land
back in 2008, and that fell through. And now we know Wild Wild Less closed just last year. So,
they are going to redevelop it into something. Is this a hint by Station Casinos? I mean, have
people seen this around town? I mean, it's a very sort of basic looking sign, white background,
black letters. It says Viva, I think Hotel Casino Resort is what it says. I'm confused. I want
somebody out there to tell me why this exists. Are they bringing back even? They're just sort of
slyly telling us about it? I mean, you would want to think that like they maybe they made something
and they're just reusing it, but that's a long time ago to be holding on to it. And even had it
made because they hadn't, you know, broken in the ground or done anything. So, it does seem like
there's like a little Easter egg there. But, you know, I went back and read that old article from
OA and just how delusional they were about the whole project is. It cracks me up big time.
Yeah, that's an interesting article. I'll put the link in the description. I think it's from
The Las Vegas Sun and it's talking about, you know, how the frittitas wanted City Center to open,
to be able to prove Viva and how they thought they would be able to get funding as other projects
like Cosmo were struggling. So, it's really like a moment in time and a good look back at history.
But I'm confused about why Viva is in the middle of Green Valley Ranch. Now, the Green Valley
Ranch buffet, we talked about the fact that it got blocked off. It's still blocked off and the walls
have come way out. So, I don't know they're doing something there, but they haven't announced
anything yet. But it's a great resort if nobody's been out there. And then really quickly on an
update on Fiesta Henderson, I went over there just to see what it looks like now. The buildings are
completely gone. The garage is still there. Just a lot of dirt where a casino, hotel tower, movie
theater, all of that used to be. So, that's sad to see. Although, it looks like the City of Henderson
has taken over. They put their signs everywhere. So, maybe a park will be coming soon. I don't
think they've closed that deal yet. But, yeah, everything's done. The demolition complete.
Well, it's good that they'll have a big parking lot for the park. Hope it's popular.
Yeah, they'll have a, it'll be a park with a giant parking garage. So, there you go. It's still,
it's still there. They'll put a, they'll start charging for it 10 bucks for up for the bottom floor.
All right. So, let's talk about this, Mark. 1980s Las Vegas blog. So, I'm on YouTube the other day
and this thing pops up and it said 1987 Las Vegas. It's like 30 minutes long. Every once in a while,
watch a historic Vegas. Usually, it's people driving the strip. Usually, the quality isn't all that
good. But, for 1987, this was pretty good quality. And this guy was coming here for like a doctor's
convention and he was giving a talk, I think. So, at various points, you see him talking with his
friends. But, it goes everywhere from like starting at the airport. So, you're getting 1980s airport
vibes to, he was staying at valleys. Even mentions that it's the newly renamed valleys after it was
the MGM Grand. So, that kind of tells you the era that we're in. Lots of great shots of that area,
flamingo and Las Vegas Boulevard, which is completely different on every corner. And,
nighttime, daytime, so much good stuff in this thing. This guy is the first Vegas vlogger.
Yeah. I mean, he was way ahead of his time by, you know, like 30 years. It's kind of,
it's kind of crazy to see, you know, and then it throws you back to just like hotels in the 80s and
wallpaper man. I don't know why anybody ever thought wallpaper was a good idea. It looks
at the table. That wall paper man at the valleys room. Oh my god.
Oh, too bad he didn't give us any carpet shots for you. But yeah, the wallpaper was bad.
And it just shows you how, you know, how different Vegas, what there was no one,
there was no screens selling billboards. But, too, there really wasn't a lot going on, you know,
like flamingo was a marquee thing. And now flamingos just has been that you look down on. And
it was kind of like the centerpiece of this video. You don't see a lot on there's,
there's just vacant land around and you can see far out into the distance. And,
you know, I was like, what's that thing that looks like a football stadium at the end? And,
you're, that's the convention center. That looks completely different and kind of crazy.
Yeah, the convention center was what I was really excited about at the end of this video.
Great views of that old, I always call it like a spaceship. It looks like a flying saucer to me.
But the old original convention center building, which was very famous, I think it was the largest
building of that type in the world at the time. The Beatles performed there in 1964.
The UNLV basketball team played there for 20 years and so many big names came through there because
that was the first sort of big venue in Las Vegas for touring acts. So, it was cool to see that up
close. It got torn down in 1990. So this was the very end of its life. And then you get to see like
Bally's two, you know, two versions ago, right? Just when it was a parking lot out on the strip,
it wasn't even that moving walkway that we talked about on the last show. So it shows you how long
that's come. The Dunes, of course, is still there. The old moving walkway for Caesars, one of the two
that they had is still there. And then of course the Barbary Coast in its original form with that
maroon color. So everything was different. And Flamingo, Flamingo Hilton. That's the Vegas that
I grew up in. The Flamingo Hilton, all of that stuff. It's great to see it because he did such a good
job of doing it. You don't see every part of Vegas in this video, but what you see, you get great
looks at. Yeah, I was really excited to see Oasis because we've had a lot of people comment about
that, you know, like a fond memory of theirs that they ripped down, especially when we've been talking
about Caesars and the walkway and rotunda and all that stuff. And I never got to see that. So I didn't,
you know, they're like, oh, I loved it as a kid or loved it. You know, that was kind of like my big
Vegas memory. And I never got to go in it, see it, anything. So it was really cool to see that.
Somebody could fact check me, but I believe I've heard this as a fact that the entirety of the
Dunes and the Oasis Casino and all of that would fit on the Bellagio fountains footprint. So that's
where they were. So yeah, I mean, that shows you why they had to tear down those properties because
they were just at a different scale. And when we go into the area of the mega resort, there was
just no way to really add on to them because you end up with something like Caesars that's really
disjointed or Riviera back in the day. If anybody stayed there before closed where, you know, you
get mazed and lost. And so that's why they decided to tear these things down. But it was a different
time. There was tons of gas stations, little motels on the strip. And yeah, you get some
traffic was manageable. Yeah. It was cool. And to your point, those screens, just those big
Marquis big names up in writing. Yeah, it's a great look at Las Vegas in the 1980s or 1987
specifically. And I highly recommend it. I every once in a while, I've thought about
sharing one of these videos, but this is the best one that I've seen. And I guess if people out there
like it, then in the future, if I come up with good quality ones that I find, I'll make sure to
share them as well. But some things you just cannot see anymore in that video. And for that reason,
I recommend it.
So Mark, did you hear about those parents who put a unique strategy in place as they went to go
play crafts at the casino? Take your kid, you distract the security guard so that they're looking
the other way, then you leave your kid at the security booth, then you go hit the tables.
And of course, it happens on Fremont Street after we said, like, keep your kids off Fremont Street
at night. That's where it goes down. I mean, one of the comments, this is kind of a tragic story,
you know, because if you're that into gambling, that's a big problem. But they're like,
well, if he's age seven, you gotta, you gotta leave him behind.
Because you don't want to go to crafts with the seven.
Yeah, you can't bring your your bad luck kid there. That's terrible. Mark, get that
sterile.
Siegfried and Roy's famous house over on Rancho is now for sale. And it's listed online. So you can
get to see pictures of it built in 1954. It sits on 0.42 acres, 8,750 square feet,
selling for $3 million. And, you know, on Zillow, you have all the pictures. It looks incredible.
Some of these houses, we've seen some of celebrity from yesterday, their houses come up. Jerry Lewis's
house came up a few years ago. They always look very like dated and weird. And this one does too,
right? Because there's a lot of very.
I was just going to say, but no, but I did.
Yeah, but I feel like what they did is very themed and, you know, cohesive. I don't know. I
really liked it. I wasn't surprised. I was expecting to see something that was not quite as nice as it
was. Although I suspect it's going to be an acquired taste. As of the time of recording this,
it just went into contract. So somebody's buying it.
Yeah, I wonder like that would be kind of a cool Airbnb. And I'm sure they could name their price,
you know, to go to Siegfried and Roy's house and hang out there and ton of rooms, ton of space,
pools, all that stuff. What I found was really interesting is, you know, it's this big property,
but it looks like it's just in the middle of a normal subdivision with like regular houses all
around it, which I found kind of unique and weird. You think they would have like, you know, a big
gate around it or a property where they're kind of away from from people. And I'm guessing they built
this a long time ago, you know, and then maybe it grew up around there. But yeah, I was kind of
shocked by that that area off of Rancho and Alta, all those houses in there that used to be where like
the aristocrats of Las Vegas, the really rich people lived back in the day. And so that was where
all the people like Siegfried and Roy would have been. And that's where they lived as closer to the
strip. And that was sort of their main house. But they did have a house up in the northwest where
they kept all their animals. And it was on a much bigger piece of land. It was right across from
Santa Fe station, actually, rainbow in Rancho. And yeah, that one was another cool one because,
I mean, it just had so much land around it. And unfortunately, after their deaths that got sold
to a developer, and I don't know if it's been torn down yet or not, because I haven't been there
in the last six months or so. But it got approved to get torn down and they're going to build
a 330 unit, like apartment complex or condo complex in its place. So unfortunately, that piece of
Siegfried and Roy history is now gone. But this is their main home. This looks kind of cool. The
SNR on the front door, the gate, all that good stuff. Yeah, the other one looked more what I was
thinking, like a lot of land space, you know, no neighbors really kind of what you envision with
celebrities and what they want. And I mean, it's sad to see it tore down. But you know, we've talked
numerous times about the issue with housing and how there isn't enough in the Vegas area, and it
continues to grow. So they definitely need more, especially affordable apartments and stuff. I don't
know that these are going to be very affordable. But we definitely need to build more of those
out, you know, stop building casinos and start building some houses and apartments, please.
Yeah, when they built that, there wasn't much around there. And that was sort of the end of the
Valley. Anne Road was the end of the Valley. There wasn't much north of that. And the city has
extended probably 10 miles north, basically all the way to Mount Charleston or to almost to the
Lee Canyon exit. It's just gotten more and more north. And so yeah, I mean, this is almost like
more of a central location now where that new one is. And yeah, I mean, you can't argue replacing
one giant house with a 330 unit complex, getting more housing in an area where we have a shortage.
So good to see that. But I was so happy to see all these pictures. The really,
they did a great job of just making sure this is documented. And I'm glad to see that before it
changes hands. Maybe we'll get a Siegfried and Roy museum and if that would be kind of cool.
Yeah, I mean, you always see listings. I mean, all this is $3 million listing. So they're probably
bringing in professionals. But it's amazing how bad pictures are on real estate listings like,
you know, all cock-eyed or dark and you can't see or tell what's going on. So it's nice to see clear
photos that had good lighting and all that. And you get, you know, hope in those, it's on the
internet. So they'll be there forever and ever, even if people change it. So that's pretty cool.
Yeah, and there's an amazing 3D tour too. So if you want to check it out, their link is down
in the description. So we got a little bit of an update on the Plaza construction. A good look
at what the carousel bar is going to look like now. Vital Vegas tweeted out a video of it. I
think Vegas Advantage tweeted out a photo of it as well. And we see the tile going in for the
floor, which I'm not the biggest fan of. I'll say, but I think it's, I was shocked by like all the,
you know, the plumbing and all the electrical and everything that they put in there. You know,
this area was just basically a driveway, right? So they're having to put everything out there.
But I think this is an incredible venue. I just think it's such a cool place to sit at a bar
right at the end of Fremont Street. I always thought Plaza's position on Fremont Street was
very special. And I think this kind of leans into that. Yeah, I mean, I think circa has a lot to do
with this, you know, because they brought another level to Fremont Street. And this is just kind of
playing into that. You know, Plaza's always kind of been like a good place to go if you want to do
something cheap or, you know, have a cheap room and the location's good. But there wasn't like a ton
drawing man and they've been adding, you know, you know, restaurants and bars. And this looks
really, really cool, unique, something that will draw people in. So I think it's a great move on
their part. It looks really cool. I definitely would check it out. And I think it's just kind of like
circa's bringing more people down there and they want them to stay down there more. So now,
so I think, you know, hopefully we see this happen at other properties too. Yeah, it's smart because
they're only steps away from circa, right? Especially this bar, it's just steps away from circa across
the street. And they're also, you know, as a reminder, building a pink box donuts, a new patio for
Oscars, and then that non-smoking casino, which is kind of themed to Brian Christopher Slodz or has
a tie in for social media influencers, the first non-smoking casino in downtown Las Vegas. So,
yeah, a lot's still going on. They're moving along. That bar seems like it'll be done pretty
quickly. Since they got, they got the slots, you know, for, we should have an empty,
empty MTM Vegas carpet room or something where you just like rub the furry wall and stuff. Come on,
put it together. Let's do it. I mean, we need the people at the plaza, Jonathan's off the wheel.
I don't think that they watch us, but hopefully they do. He did say that I guess it's a really
amazed to get into the property now because of the way everything's blocked off. He said that's
going to be done by the end of this week. So hopefully a little bit more accessible to get to the rest
of Plaza, but good to see that moving along. Now we talked on the last show, Mark, about Dally's new
huge sign on the strip and then their new Asian restaurant, M.Y. Asia. And apparently, we're the
only two people who don't know who Martin Yan is. Yeah, so we got a lot of hate in the comments for
not knowing who that guy was. And I did say you had the most cooking shows. Like he was on PBS for
like decades. So yeah, we failed on that and we're sorry. He's the Bob. What's the guy with the big
hair Bob Ross? Yeah, yeah, he's the Bob Ross at cooking shows. We messed it up. Yeah, we totally
did. So we apologize to all of you. But speaking of LED signs, Fountain Blue, they started testing
their sign this week. And you know, we talk last show about all the screens and how they're taking
over. So we won't talk about that. But it's good to see finally something come alive on this building.
You know, we've seen the signage go up more and more of the facade is going up. So we're finally
seeing instead of that show, we're finally seeing what it might look like as it gets done. And I
really like how they built the marquee into the top of the building kind of looks neat. Yeah, I
like that it's less obtrusive and you know, kind of blends in a bit more, you know, we've
lamented how many signs there are and hump lights and times square and stuff. So I feel like this
fits in a bit better, you know, versus what we're seeing with valleys and how it's just going to be
kind of an eyesore and a money grab. So I kind of like that. I agree. You know, hopefully when it's
all said and done, it looks it looks great and it doesn't take over the skyline too much.
I wonder what percentage of people out there are still being naysayers about this project getting
finished. Like every occasion will all come and see somebody comment, Oh, that's never going to
get done. It's like, yeah, this is going to get done. It's going to open this year. I mean,
nothing's a sure thing, right Mark? But I mean, it's probably as close to that as possible. And
everything I've seen from the renderings, just to the facade, how they're doing it, the materials,
the colors, the designs. I really like this place. I think this is going to be right up my alley
and it's going to give wind competition for my favorite hotel. I'm going to put that out there
now. Of course, it could be terrible. But I think these people know how to do hotels, obviously,
the fountain blue in Miami and everything they do I'm excited about. So start to build up the hype
so we can get a property that's fun. It's talking about building up without you're building up a
segue there saying things that might not get done. Yeah. So for things that might not get built,
let's move further south on the strip and Harmon and Las Vegas Boulevard. We've talked about Tillman
for Tito's casino that he had said he's going to build there. We talked about the fact that he's
made tons of money since he bought wind stock and Mark, the wind stocks even higher than when
we talked about that. But apparently not enough money because one of his senior executives said
things are really expensive right now and they haven't made a decision when they're going to move
forward. Although we have seen updates from the south strip this week as the Hawaiian marketplace
got torn down and the other shops next to it as well. I think that Mexican restaurant on the
corner of Harmon Las Vegas Boulevard is still operating. Yeah, I'm not surprised to hear this
because everything's just more expensive now. It's really kind of the worst time to build.
If you assume that inflation is going to come down at some point in the next couple of years,
you know, cost of things and everything is or the economy is going to downturn. You definitely
don't want to start a huge expensive project. But it's also kind of annoying because they've already
locked up shop, started knocking down stuff and I don't want this to be like a huge eyesore of
a couple buildings here. Vacants there and it just looked really bad. Even though what was there
didn't look great before, but you'd hate to see that and just another type of thing that's like
a stalled start in Vegas. We've had enough of that. So hopefully they just pop. I mean, use that
wind money. You got it. Just come and build it please. Yeah, you just use the the wind money.
Yeah, I mean, I've been sort of surprised how many projects we've seen announced
given the inflationary, you know, environment we're in and how expensive everything is.
So this doesn't surprise me. It's actually surprised me that so many other projects have
gone forward. He did get approval for this. He went to the city council. They're tearing down
the buildings. I think they're moving forward. They're just trying to figure out the right time.
Of course, the economy could crash and that could all change. But yeah, we might just have a dirt
lot on the strip for a while. To bring in a Tonka trucks or the big trucks and like do a digging
thing like they do in Vegas where you rent big vehicles and dig pits.
Yeah, we have one of those or we did. I don't know if it's still. Yeah. It's where the it's where
Area 15 or was where Area 15's expansion is going. But I don't know if they bring it over to the
strip. There you go. All right, Mark. Now let's talk about the quote unquote Bellagio of Reno,
the Sands Regency. So I have stayed at this hotel. I've actually been there a couple of times,
but I stayed there. And this is like a couple of blocks off the main Virginia Street kind of strip
of Reno. And first time I stayed there, I want to say was like 2009. And when you would walk from
Virginia Street, the few blocks to get there, because again, I stayed there, it was like full
of homeless people. It was a very dangerous place. Let's just put it that way. I was just back in Reno
last year, totally redeveloped that area. They built a lot of like new housing and mixed use stuff.
And a lot of this is because of this one developer who also bought the Sands Regency.
And now he said, now this property is like a lower tier property. It was sort of added on to over
the years, very low ceilings, very smoky, very old style casino. And he's going to spend $400
million to renovate it. The thing I know that you like about this story is he said he's going to
knock out the ceilings and they're going to be 40 foot tall casino ceilings. So I think,
I don't know why Bellagio of Reno. Why, why build that? I don't know.
Yeah, I mean, when I saw the price tag, I was like, circus circus only putting in like 40
million, you're going to put 400 million in Reno. I don't know. I just don't see how it makes sense.
You know, we just talked the last story is about not making sense to build on the Vegas trip. I
can't see spending $400 million in Reno. I mean, I hope it happens. I've always wanted to go to
Reno, never been. And everybody's like, you know, it's not really worth the trip unless you're,
you got to be there anyway. So maybe he's trying to make it worth the trip, but I don't see this
playing out well. But I hope it does. Yeah, the Reno area has changed so much when it comes to
casinos. Virginia Street used to have a ton of casinos. And you know, over the years, a lot of
them closed. Now you're basically down to just a few, the sands regency behind that. And then you do
have some nicer casinos kind of spread out like the Grand Sierra, like the Pepper Mill. So there
are some nicer casinos. What was interesting about this was that they're going to spend $150,000
per room to renovate it. Like when I first read this, I was thinking 15,000, that made sense,
but 150,000 per room seems bananas to me. He's building this neon line district that basically
extends out. He's building housing, all of this stuff. And so this is going to be the anchor of
that. So it does sort of make sense, I guess. But this property is a weird one. And it'll be
interesting to see how they transform. And I'll look forward to it. Hopefully I have some video.
I'm not sure how much video I have of it from my stays. I was just there last year. So I know I
have a little bit of video of it. So hopefully I can throw that up here so people can see what
it looks like. Oh, you just said, you just said throw it up on screen again. Like you do with not just.
I'll work on it. So,
so our last story, Cosmo, apparently the signage is now getting changed. We know that Cosmo
had some different stuff when MGM bought them, right? They had their own casino loyalty program
called Identity. And then they also had a partnership with Marriott on the hotel side. And MGM has a
partnership with Hyatt on the hotel side. And of course, MGM rewards. And so it's a little confusing,
but Cosmo is going to remain with Marriott on the hotel side. But on the casino loyalty side,
they're going to merge into MGM rewards. We knew that's going to happen. But apparently,
signage is getting changed out. We were always sort of told the rumor was April. So that's probably
what we're looking at. If you have comps or any offers on your identity account, book them now.
Because when that goes away, then you'll be subject to MGM rewards and whatever you have there.
On the flip side, if you're an MGM loyalist, you soon should be able to book Cosmo.
Yeah, I guess it depends where you're at. Like if you've been the MGM loyalist,
this is great news. If you've been a Cosmo loyalist, this is the day you've been dreading. So,
you know, like you said, get it in while you can book what you can. Even if you don't know,
if you're going to be able to make it book like five trips, if you have comps and use them up and
get it locked in. On the side note, I was looking at the site last night. I'm in Mexico right now.
And so I go to the site and looking at Jasmine's offer, she doesn't have any comps or anything,
but she has like a $79 a night no resort fee offer, which is pretty good for Cosmo.
So I started looking and I clicking through and then all of a sudden I'm seeing numbers,
like $13,000 a night and all this stuff. And of course, the site was converting at the pesos.
And I didn't realize it to make it five minutes. So like, what the hell is going on in Vegas where
the Cosmo is like, is there another F1 race I forgot about that day? Yeah, seriously, it's
it was insane. Speaking of F1 on the next show, we're going to talk about the new renderings for
the F1 race that they release. Looks really cool with the sphere. So we'll talk about that on the
next show. Thank you for listening to this episode of the MTM Vegas podcast. As a reminder,
you can find all of our Vegas content at MTM Vegas.com. Thanks for listening. Have a great week.