Despite slow start, SLS boss confident in future

http://lasvegassun.com/blogs/kats-report/2015/jul/13/despite-slow-start-sls-boss-confident-future/

This guy is just treading water.

 

It's a decent place. I know they saved money by renovating instead of imploding/rebuilding but perhaps that would have been the way to go. Or maybe they should have waited until RW was almost done, if that place is popular it would help SLS. But I don't know if they'll make it that long.

 

I agree. After staying at the Cosmo for three years, I felt extremely claustrophobic in the SLS' rooms, and they even upgraded me to one of their larger rooms!

 

I still think SLS will one day be ripe for a Kirk Kerkorian-style takeover. In this scenario, they will be on life support by the time Resorts World come to save the North Strip, and a vulture will come by to offer SLS four cents on the dollar. This new owner will figure, hey SLS took on the cost and time to renovate the place, so all I have to do is spruce the joint up a bit, get the buffet up and running 24/7, and voila! Cheap conquest of a decent hotel on the by then rejuvenated North Strip.

 

Having just stayed there, I think it's a pretty nice place. Unfortunately, it's a trendy hotel in a non-trendy area (North Strip) with nothing in particular to attract tourists, locals, serious gamblers, value seekers or partiers that other casino/hotels don't do better (and have done so for much longer).

It feels like it's trying to be a hip North Strip Cosmo/Aria/Vdara/Palms type joint, but it's small, and while renovated, still isn't as nice as a new(er) hotel. And the location isn't great - even with the monorail station.

The casino is small and functional, but nothing about it feels particularly interesting or exciting. If you're going to travel for a better gaming experience, there are more fun spots mid/south strip and better odds off strip/downtown.

If you're looking for exclusive boutiques for shopping, they have Fred Segal, but in Vegas the best shopping in the world is everywhere, so I can't see a lot of people making the trek out to SLS just to go shopping. The same with restaurants. There are some really good ones there (Katsuya, Bazaar Meat) but again, it's Las Vegas and gourmet restaurants are EVERYWHERE. If you happen to be staying there, there are really good options, but nothing worth going that far out of the way for. In addition I do think that, lacking a great buffet, which even the most high end places now have, is a definite mistake in terms of foot traffic.

If you're a tourist, the location itself is a major drawback since you can't really walk anywhere. You can take the monorail, but the average tourist would just rather stay further south on the strip.

And locals, forget it. I don't think they really have anything to appeal to locals. (No buffet!)

So, all in all, I think SLS is a perfectly nice hotel/casino, but not a great one and because it's kind of out of the way, there's really no reason to venture out that way for most people. The employees were all super helpful and friendly though, which was nice. Unfortunately, I don't think that's enough for most people to make a special trip out there or book there instead of someplace else. I did like it though so I hope it survives.

 

And the unfinished ceiling makes me crazy. I like the look for a nightclub or restaurant (and I do like Foxtail and Sayers Club, having visited both on a recent trip), but the aesthetic in the casino just doesn't make me want to play there.

 

I like SLS and think the vibe there is a good one. I've always had excellent service - it really seems like staff tries to go out of their way to be pleasant and helpful. And, those restaurants! Every one of them is top notch and worth a visit.

It takes time to develop a successful business and SLS seems to be working on it. Keep in mind Stratosphere , up until six months ago, was losing money since the start of the recession. And, Cosmo hasn't turned a profit yet - though it has slowed the bleeding. I'd get into some of the others, but the list is long of casino/hotel/resorts that have taken time to make a profit.

Bill

 

Location is the biggest problem. If SLS was center strip nobody would have a problem with it. Linq and Cromwell had very similar renovations, but since they have good locations they are successful.

 

Location isn't the only problem. They sold their player database and they are starting at zero. They also thought all they had to do was open the doors. They need to do something dramatic to get people to make the trip. Team up with the monorail, start doing discounts for gamblers on those well praised restaurants and get a buzzy entertainer in there. They need to get aggressive. You can't compare this to anywhere else because even the unprofitable properties have a defined audience base to build on. SLS doesn't even have that.

 

I was just listening to a couple of pod cast talk about SLS the other day

as was stated above they basically have nothing to offer anyone and they had no starting point

people that went to the Sahara were pretty much told "not looking to cater to you go downtown bye"

"locals" like most people think of locals are looking for a cheap buffet and decent gambling odds and they are out on the Boulder Highway

the "locals" like the SLS is looking for are the broke dick douchbags that helped Hard Rock go broke several times in a short period of time and those losers are out of cash and probably have moved away from Vegas for the most part and they were never a real market to begin with which is why Hard Rock fails over and over

people from socal are not going there because sam nazarian is a no one and SLS actually had the audacity to pretend as though they were going to be a better "value" than the over priced cosmo and the like....the way to cater to stupid people and separate them from their money is to actually charge the shit out of them and shit on them in the process so they can make believe that they are getting an experience that others "can't afford" (even though most of them can barely afford it which is why they are crashed 8 to a room).....SLS would have been better off blowing the place up and spending 2X or 3X on a new property and really charging the shit out of idiots for all that "exclusivity" while giving them shit service in the process because the doorman crapping on you and shaking you down to get in after you have already paid to get in is a major part of a "high class experience"

 

Beautiful. This is approaching Wynn Has Ice Swans But I Can't Find Fucking Cup of Coffee Rant territory.

 

You can try and polish a turd, but in the end, it's still a turd.
I'd market to things that gamblers want. good VP pay schedules, higher odds on Craps. 3/2 low minimum Blackjack

 

I'm going to give it a try. On my last day, I have nothing planned, and I will have a monorail pass. SLS has offerred my 50% off at the burger place (with a beer garden, strip view - would like to see this) for my birthday, so why not. I'm really interested in the bar with the 3D thingie, so that is my main draw. I also like the idea of an empty casino that does not yet smell like ashtrays and coconuts. I will report back - from the land of "no expectations". I agree about the rooms tho - the ones in my price range seem tiny.

 

Honestly, having been inside both, I respectfully disagree. Cromwell is leaps and bounds ahead of SLS in terms of infrastructure; while I don't really gamble at non-MGM properties, and definitely don't stay at non-MGM properties, I've played blackjack at Cromwell a few times and grabbed a couple drinks, and it really is a beautiful space. Linq isn't as nice as Cromwell, but you can still tell that they put a lot of effort into the renovation. SLS and its unfinished ceilings, brick walls, and weird layout is just not a place that makes me want to spend money, and shouts "eh, this is good enough" to me. The location doesn't help, but as someone who oftentimes will not even leave the resort where I'm staying during a trip, it's not a deal-breaker. The physical space is.

 

a couple of other things

one of those pod cast did also talk about Alon and some of the difficulties they will face for similar reasons

as a smaller hotel (1,500 rooms it is said) they are not a "major convention hotel" even though they are close to two of the major convention centers

Alon also has no "players list" although who knows what Melco has

Alon will struggle to "out Wynn the Wynn" especially with so few rooms to spread all the other expenses/ambiance across to keep the prices reasonable (or in line with Wynn ect)

the club thing seems to be at the top right now (who knows it is Vegas maybe it will go higher before it blows up) and even then the club thing is here today gone to Maui as far as what is popular

Alon will probably not be a bargain property and even if they try look at what they are up against just on The Strip alone

Alon will not "out theme" resorts world and they appear to not be trying to do so anyway (unless the theme is bland from those renderings)

so this leaves Alon with a lot of unanswered questions about what markets they are going after and if they have enough rooms and space to successfully target and land two or more of those markets and hold them

they did all agree the location was light years better, but they also agreed that the location is not really the main SLS issue.....hell look at the Westgate/LVH/Vegas Hilton it is not exactly where the action is and they ditched the Star Trek, but they are easily large enough for landing major groups of conventioneers and they have a long history and a large "book" of people to target and they offer a "value" equation

I think one issue with SLS that is "location" related and also "stand alone entity" related is if you look at Cosmo, Crownswell (especially the Crowsnell), and even Wynn with major clubs bringing in money they are still located close to much cheaper properties where the masses can flop for a few hours in pools of their own vomit 8 to a room for dirt cheap (shout out the the Linq) and save their money for the club

Cromsneil does not have near enough rooms to service all the people they want to run through that club, but there are other CET dives within an easy walk for those club kids to get a cheap room to flop in.....CET still gets their money and more importantly CET does not have a bunch of nice rooms getting torn to hell by club kiddies......this is an issue that has been mentioned for Cosmo before.....the club kiddies are putting a beat down on their rooms and that will hasten the life expectancy of what a "nice" room should be

Wynn being Wynn and one of the first on the "club" bandwagon and with quality club operators was able to attract the club kiddies to the property and separate them from their money even if they were staying at the Best Western or Linq or the Motel 6 (the lights were on until you tore the lamp from the wall dude brah)

SLS has no bargain basement property close by where club kiddies can pile into a room, trash the place and still SLS can take most of their money from them and not suffer the collateral damage of actually housing them on property

maybe the SLS needs to buy a bunch of shipping containers and stack them deep (and high) in a parking lot and rent them by the 4 hour block cheap.....they could just throw open the large doors on the end and power wash them out and in Vegas they would be dry in 10 minutes and "next"

or they could by the Fontainebleau and just make crash/flop cubical with lots of dirt cheap eats like Subway and McDonalds on the lowest level and bare bones for the rest of it and easy to repair....they could hand out blow up mattresses and cots at check in and no phone service in the room (you have a cell phone fool) and just a concrete shower with tepid water and a hole in the floor for doing your business and puking in

then SLS could "charge" $1,000 per night for empty SLS rooms (outfit a few really really high end for the brochure and website) and they could keep their restaurant prices high, jack up the drink prices and the club admissions prices and degrade the service level and it would be the "most exclusive" place in town for low rent club kiddies to blow through their weekly paycheck from socal while the Hostel Blue and ContainerTel take all the damage

 

You won't go wrong with Umami. Probably my favorite burger in America.

 

You nailed it and that is how I view Hilton Hon Gold membership and why I dumped them,,,,,giving you overpriced sh*t and the customers / marks thinking they are special.
I find it amusing that Hilton Hon gold /platinum turn up there expecting the "experience & recognition".that's supposed to go with that membership,and I've dumped them as a result and now book with Amex or Hotwire
This hotel if they were going to remodel it should have stuck with the Sahara name

 

I'll expand on the above in bold. They did start from zero but it seems the approach was to poach gamblers from other casinos. Right out of the gate on day one they targeted players with a "show me your best offer" campaign and that drove in a ton of better players. But that blew up on them since they were matching slot play from other clubs it seems like most people took advantage, played their free play, and left. So they changed the rules making you stay the night in order to get the matched free play. I took advantage of this myself. But now they were giving out money and rooms and still more people burned them. I heard of players book the room, getting the play and booking out within an hour. Its sad but it happened since most gamblers are always looking for an edge.

They did in fact team up, somewhat, with the monorail. The last time I was there they had a promo where you showed them your monorail pass and they gave you that money back in free play. It was a smart move but I'm not sure what it did for foot traffic.

They had a buffet but it was too pricey and the selections way too few to make sense. But they did in fact give it away once you played thru a certain coin. I took advantage of this as well.

So they did try. Personally I thought the casino was way too small to keep me interested past a few hours and the slots seemed really tight. So I would never make the SLS my resort for an average trip. i did give them honest play. Almost $8K of coin in if I recall. But they only offered $50 and a world tower room to get me back. So their bounce back was shit compared to other clubs. With their marketing upfront they hooked me (Diamond with CET & Platinum with MGM) but they blew it with the return offers. 6 Months later and they are now sending me $100 in free play plus $70 in free dining. But I've moved on.

 

I got a mailer for two free nights and will be using them on my trip in August.

I will try to get as many details as I can, but the information already provided here is very useful.

I will be staying there on 8/12 and 8/13.