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Latest on Lucky Dragon... looks like they are on the right track.

Discussion in 'Off-Strip Hotels' started by Drewm1972, Mar 18, 2017.

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  1. gs32794

    gs32794 VIP Whale

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    My exposure to Chinese culture has been limited to Hong Kong, which is probably not representative of China overall, but this may reflect normal, expected interaction of patrons and service workers. I do know that many Americans who visit France complain about French waiters ignoring them, but they see it as they are leaving you alone and you will call them when you need something. This may be a similar situation. However, Lucky Dragons approach will do little to make westerners feel comfortable and welcomed. But as evidenced in posts here and elsewhere, westerners are not their target demographic.
     
  2. Grid

    Grid Well-Known Member

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    Oh I absolutely agree! It most certainly IS their culture and the LD appears to have gone out of their way to hire real China transplants. On their name badges it even says "Beijing" or whatever city they are from. I watched/read everything on the LD while it went from conception to open. The plan all along was to create an authentic environment and attempt to use that to bring Chinese High Rollers to the property, as well as to cater to the local Chinese community.

    But the High Rollers dont fly across the world to stay at a place that is just like what thy left. They want Vegas to be Vegasy & super upscale. And there are less then 5,000 people that identify as "Chinese" living in Las Vegas. And that number includes those too young to be in a casino. So both targets are apparently a miss.

    Leaving gamblers like me and tourists like OP. Neither of which will fit in with the environment that LD is currently cultivating.
     
  3. gs32794

    gs32794 VIP Whale

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    As far as flying from China to stay and play there.... That has been my point from the begining. Why fly 14 hours past Macau to get a much lesser version of what you can get there? There has been some talk that the target is Chinese living in America. The one time I went, they were loading a chartered Chinatown bus. I assumed it was a junket from Southern California as the bus company had an LA area address

    I can see the attraction to staying some place that is a haven of your native culture, e.g. tea makers instead of coffee makers in the room. Overseas, I will go well out of my way to have a good American-styled, filtered coffee once a day. About once a week I'll go to Burger King to have a burger. (BTW, BK in Asia is great!) The question is are the hotel guests playing at the casino? They weren't the one time as was there at 8 am, but SLS and Circus Circus was dead that morning, too. The way to find out would be to visit at 11 pm on a Saturday. I'm not that interested! But if someone does, I'd like to hear about it.
     
    Last edited: Nov 16, 2017
  4. DaiLun

    DaiLun R.C., L.C., and A.A.N.G.

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    Like I said, IMHO they were not expecting Resorts World to take so long and they expect their business to be the "overflow".

    At the back of the casino (the road that I drive in on), there is always a www.ctour.com bus parked outside.
     
  5. The Rumor

    The Rumor VIP Whale

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    This makes sense - market to North American Chinese customers, along with being a stop in destination for Asian players who may be on vacation in the US.

    As a consumer of only English language media, I suspect it would be interesting to see a split out of their marketing spend. Are they advertising in foreign language media in LA, Vancouver, SF, etc?

    I still think their biggest challenge is that, from the outside, I perceive a place like the Wynn to have a competitive product for Asian players when you consider their staff, their game offerings, their food offerings, etc. And they had a decade plus head start on building a player base. I'd be interested in understanding how Lucky Dragon is competing at the high end versus somewhere like that. And I suspect I have no ability to figure out how they are doing at it.
     
  6. mh0213

    mh0213 Low-Roller

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    I didn't know that "Resort World" will be in Las Vegas. It's a large resort group and own multiple resorts in multi Asia Countries. That make me since why "Lucky Dragon" is in the location and focusing on Asian population.
     
  7. DaiLun

    DaiLun R.C., L.C., and A.A.N.G.

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    https://rwlasvegas.com/
     
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  8. dmr

    dmr Registered Abuser

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    I gave up holding my breath on this one some time ago. I think the latest report we got on the progress was that some guy with a stepladder and a hammer was walking about the place.
     
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  9. whiskeyandslots

    whiskeyandslots High-Roller

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    We stayed at Lucky Dragon for five nights over New Year's Eve last year. The resort had just opened. We weren't sure we'd be able to swing a Christmas/NYE trip, but I actually found a coupon code for $28 a night at Lucky Dragon (INCLUDING New Year's Eve, at a time when rates for even the Fab rooms at Flamingo were jacked up to about $600 a night), so it was a done deal. (We did stay at Bally's for four nights before our five-night stay at Lucky Dragon).

    I thought the rooms were very nice (although to be fair, we do stay at lower-end properties on the Strip, like Bally's). All of our interactions with staff members were great. I thought everyone was very nice and friendly although not overly so, but I'll be honest and say that I'm someone who does get annoyed by "baby talk" and super-fake excitement/niceness that can sometimes be common in the hospitality industry, so I thought the pleasant and helpful yet not overbearing service was a bit refreshing in a way. I do enjoy the mega-resorts in Vegas, but it was kinda nice in a way, too, that we were able to find parking easily and get to and from our room without having a long trek to do so.

    Obviously, the casino is small. We played the slots quite a bit while we were there and really didn't have any luck. Also, we only really like Americanized Chinese food, so we found the shortage of food options to be a bummer. Luckily, we did have our car, and we used Lyft and Uber.

    Our visit was a part of a long road trip that was really exhausting and stressful (we ended up driving through very treacherous winter weather on the way there), and we did get to spend some time in a super-convenient location on the Strip beforehand (four nights at Bally's), so being able to relax a little in a small, quiet location and come and go to the Strip as we pleased was a bit relaxing for us, on that particular trip. In general, it's not what I envision for a Vegas trip at all. However, beyond the fact that it could be considered a pretty boring place, I don't have anything bad to say about it. I don't see us staying there again when there are so many options, but "never say never." I mean, if it ever came down to "$28 a night at Lucky Dragon or not going to Vegas at all because it's going to be $600 a night for a crappy room otherwise" again, I can't say that I'd choose "not going to Vegas." Luckily, we usually plan much further ahead than we did for that particular trip, so I doubt I'll have to make that choice again, either.
     
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  10. shokhead

    shokhead No big spender unless eating drinking having fun!

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    Lucky Dragon’s Up for Sale

    The Lucky Dragon is a quirky, Asian-themed hotel-casino that’s been waiting for fortunes to change on the north Strip. Now, word is out the resort is up for sale, and while there hasn’t been a flood of interest to-date, that’s likely to change as things pick up in the vicinity.vitalvegas
     
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  11. dmr

    dmr Registered Abuser

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    Yes, from the Not Surprised At All Department! :)

    I would think that Station might wanna buy it to shut it down, like they did with Castaways (nee' Showboat) so it did not draw away from one of their nearby properties, but on second though, I don't see this one attracting business away from ANYTHING.
     
  12. Mitkraft

    Mitkraft VIP Whale

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    I'm disappointed. I was hoping to check this place out for the food if nothing else. Not sure if it will still be there by the time I get back to Vegas.
     
  13. DaiLun

    DaiLun R.C., L.C., and A.A.N.G.

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    I will be dropping by on 12/3/2018 for the one year anniversary "celebration". I wanted to check out Phoenix (the new restaurant), but I have too many CET comps to burn.

    Also gotta pick up some $1 chips for Hoofy7.
     
    Last edited: Nov 30, 2017
  14. Mirageluvr

    Mirageluvr Let's Ride!

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    I'll drop a few bucks in a couple weeks...gotta check it out. :D
     
  15. Drewm1972

    Drewm1972 VIP Whale

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    I keep telling myself that I should stop here but never had time to do so.... and I realize that shit its really out of the way...and I m sure lots of people feel that way... its too bad casino is not doing well. perhaps next year I make time to go visit.
     
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  16. GeorgeJ.

    GeorgeJ. VIP Whale

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    If Station bought it, they should shut down Palace Station and move the name over to Lucky Dragon...Why shut down a new, bright casino in favor of the rather old, dark, Palace Station casino?
     
  17. Nevyn

    Nevyn VIP Whale

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    They are in the middle of a reno of Palace Station, so I think that would be a no.

    But I also doubt they buy it to shut it down. It is not trying to compete with their market.
     
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  18. dmr

    dmr Registered Abuser

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    That shiny new casino is puny compared to Palace Station! Besides, it's far less convenient to access by car. It's a pain if you're driving from the west or south.
     
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