Murren Leaving MGM

Well, a lot of the Vegas whales are gamblers from Asia who will have a hard time getting here..............................................

 

Whoever it is can’t be any worse.

 

He found out I'm staying at NYNY in May, didn't want to deal with my bullshit....

 

What % of their revenue comes from Asian based customers? Enough to justify a guide down? It's an easy excuse.

 

Having actually met with Mr. Murren on a couple of occasions some number of years ago, my impression was that he was anything but a "buffoon" and certainly hasn't "destroyed" Las Vegas. A new CEO will be named and you'll all have a new punching-bag. Man it's lonely for those folks at the top!

 

Regardless he kick started both resort fees, parking fees and the general nickel and diming that Vegas is about now.

We stayed at the Bellagio this weekend and the front desk agent informed us to not take the water as it’s $17!

To charge $17 for a bottle of water in the desert should be criminal. Murren signed off on all of this.

 

As a whole I’d say between Macau and Vegas Asian gamblers comprise over 75 percent of their revenue. I know that Macao brings in 4 times the gaming revenue of Vegas.

That’s why I’m really surprised Mlife hasn’t reached out to higher level Vegas players since their Macao operations are closed.

 

That’s a reason to mention Macau. My question is are they using it as an excuse for general Vegas softness not caused by a decline in asian to LV play

 

Probably. It's a convenient excuse. Macau is killing them right now, though. Wynn reports they are losing between $2.4M-$2.6M per day that they are closed.

 

Actually, resort fees in Vegas started years before Murren ascended to the top of MGM. But they did start the parking fees in Vegas trend

 

Excalibur was one of the first hotels to start charging resort fees in 2010. They were $4.50 a night. Murren has been CEO since 2008

 

Ukfanatic is correct. Station Casinos was the first to start charging resort fees in 2004. MGM Mirage/Resorts started charging the fees in 2008. Though I have no idea if Murren was running the ship at the time.
https://lasvegassun.com/news/2013/feb/21/caesars-hotels-will-start-charging-resort-fees/

 

Ah, yes. That classic "no resort fees" campaign that Caesars almost immediately regretted.

 

I ripped Murren by name in a recent review of MGM Grand. I have a tiny tiny bit of hope in me my review was the final nail in the coffin for that buffoon.

 

A little more near term color as far as Asia/casinos and coronavirus. Just to add, this is a pretty good site for those interested in the Asian casino market.

https://www.ggrasia.com/mgm-murren-to-leave-macau-closure-cost-us1-5mlnday/

 

Likely yes. Can anyone point to a single senior management change in the past 10 years in any Nevada casino corporation where it was stated that part of his/her philosophy was to improve comps or pricing to the customer?

 

Unless you want to get picky about the naming of the fee, the first resort fees easily predate 2010. The lawsuits against some of these fees resulted in their name being changed to "resort fee".

https://www.lasvegasadvisor.com/question/history-resort-fees/

I'm going the save the LVA link for the next time I see a thread talking about "I can't wait until the next economic downturn for comps/player perks to increase", which whenever I see, I already contend otherwise. (It is mentioned in this article that part of the reason for starting the resort fee was due to the economic downturn).

https://lasvegassun.com/news/2001/jun/26/letter-finding-new-ways-to-gouge-visitors/

 

I was loyal to Mlife, decided to give caesars some play couple trips ago. Fairly even play and I have a luarel collection room at CP comped everyday and hardly even a mid week day at Bellagio or Aria. Its to bad since I like the restaurant and show selection at mlife way more. I get a touch more resort credit at mlife but if i don't have the room it does not matter. There is a chance that mlife is a little slow to update offers from my last trip but as of now it looks like I will split my next trip between Wynn (due to slots app) and CP.

 

The CEO approved these mini fridges with the astronomical costs as well as parking fees (even for self park people!!!) and resort fees so I wouldn't be troubled one bit of I found him sitting on top of the Luxor with the pyramid shoved up his ass. This guy is the #1 reason I don't gamble that much in Vegas. Oh, you want to take $400 from me in fees for a room that cost me $75? Screw you then buddy.

 

I think Murren is a symptom of the problem, not the problem. Casino companies are now run by accountants and MBAs who didn't grow up in the casino business. They have added new fees, increased fees and raised prices on food, beverages and shows, and have seen their profits and visitation numbers continue to rise. They don't view gambling as inherently important to their business model. I don't think anything will change with a new CEO.