Maxim on the Strip

[sageblue]

Apparently, Maxim magazine is announcing today their plans to build on the Strip, according to this New York Times article (http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/05/business/media/05casino.html?_r=3&th=&oref=slogin&emc=th&pagewanted=print).

It sounds like they're going to put it in just north of Stardust; forgive me, but I cannot remember there being that much room between Stardust and Circus Circus--and I even walked that stretch last weekend! They say there are 8 acres, so I suppose that is enough room to put something.

They have to be banking on Echelon boosting the area, because it's not exactly a high-rent district at this point.

[HoyaHeel]

That would be Westward Ho's acreage? I thought they had a lot (all the way back to Industrial?) I'll have to go look at that cool map that's around here somewhere....

[doctor_al]

www.vegastodayandtomorrow.com has a frequently-updated (and very detailed) map of who owns what and where.

As far as the original post about Maxim, that sounds like the outcome of a meeting where "how hard can it be?" got thrown around a lot.

[DBear]

Is it easy to open up a casino? I have a friend with a lot of money who already owns a couple of resorts in the Carribean. Can he just open up a hotel and casino in Vegas, just like that?

[HoyaHeel]

Getting licensed by the Gaming Commission is apparently the hard part....That and raising a billion +$.......

As far as "reality tv" goes, I liked the part of The Casino (the GN show that's dead a couple years now) where Tim & Tom were in front of the gaming commission trying to get their license....

[LearningVegas]

....

I hope they call their casino the "Maxim," to bring some of the glory of Old Vegas back to the Strip.

....

[xizor]

According to the map in Doctor_al's post, the location is just north of Circus Circus, not between Stardust and CC.

And I also hope they keep the name "Maxim". That magazine has give LV a lot of positive coverage and I for one will patronize their establishment when it opens.

[Hunter]

My take on this is that this idea is terrible and it will either not be built or it will fail shortly thereafter.

Thoughts?

[Bosco]

Bet they will "out hooter" hooters.

[sanonofresurfer]

Didn't the Westin used to be called Maxim? Did they sell the name, or have to change the name because of some name rights thing? I'm confused...

Doc> That's an awesome link to that map. I need to print that sucker out full size.

[blackjack]

My take on this is that this idea is terrible and it will either not be built or it will fail shortly thereafter.

Thoughts?

I'm remaining somewhat optimistic. With City Center and Echelon being built, I like the idea of a smaller place to hang out on the strip. It may just find a niche among the giants.

[doctor_al]

Yes, Westin used to be the Maxim, but I don't know why they changed.

I tend to agree with Hunter that this is unlikely to be successful, or even completed. For one thing, there are lots and lots of condo projects dropping off the map because construction costs are getting high. There is an art and a skill to doing construction, something Mandalay Resort Group got particularly good at. Of course, before that, you have to have capital not only to build but to cover initial operating losses, and Maxim magazine can't self-finance. Even if it does get built, there are many stories of folks who have never run a casino before getting their @ss handed to them.

[blackjack]

The casino closed in 1999 because of a dispute between the hotel & casino operators. The hotel finally went under in 2001. The competition from the mega resorts that went up in the 90s pretty much killed her. Columbia Sussex bought the property two years later for $38 mil ($4 mil less than the previous owners bought the property for). They dumped $40 mil into renovations & re-opened as the Westin.

Here's another article on the "new" Maxim plans:

http://www.bloggingvegas.com/lasvegas/news/maxim_mag_plans_to_maximize_its_image_with_las_veg-11058.html

[doctor_al]

Another take on the New Maxim:

Skeptics doubt the $1.2 billion Maxim magazine hotel-casino gets off the drawing board -- not as now planned. If built, it would be surrounded by Circus Circus' low-rise motel rooms and the hotel-casino's recreational vehicle park. That's hardly the allure you'd expect for a megaresort themed on a high-end men's lifestyle magazine. Plus, the awkward site configuration suggests either Maxim with its partner, Concord Wilshire Partners, really has its eyes set on buying Circus Circus or selling the land it bought last year to Circus Circus owner MGM Mirage, gaming insiders say. Either way, the fat lady hasn't sung yet.

http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2006/Jun-11-Sun-2006/business/7821879.html