Cosmo on the market (again)

There is a couple options.

CET and MGM being the big ones.
Wynn/Encore
Venetian/Palazzo

And in Old Vegas you now have
The D/GoldenGate/Circa

 

Yeah, I don't really think of Wynncore or V/P as bouncing options. They are just different towers and casinos of the same mega resorts. But if bouncing between those is the variety you're looking for, then

 

I haven't liked the casino for the past few years, not sure a management change will help though. I really liked it for the first few years it was open, but it seems to have gone down hill. I mean this as the casino itself goes, the rooms are still nice. Just get a bad vibe from the casino now.

 

I hope it remains a “stand alone” property if it is sold.

 

My only hope after a sale is that the employees I like are still there

 

Yeah, but they pay for their rooms (more than the casino pays for mine). Add in a hundred or two a day in other spend and the property as a whole is probably getting as much from them as they are from a player at my level.

 

Cosmo’s casino ops have certainly come into their own, especially compared to the dismal start, but the property runs on people spending money rather than gambling. They were ahead of the trend as far as that’s concerned. They collect a premium rate and have no trouble keeping the house full even with the limited event space and current lack of group/business clientele.

I used to have a bit more visibility into things on the financial side as I work with a few folks tight with Blackstone hospitality. With Covid, I haven’t seen them at my place in a while so I’m out of the loop. I know in 19 they were pretty close to a deal and were supposedly fighting over “pennies” given the size of the sale. Blackstone knew they weren’t going broke anytime soon by holding onto it though, so they held firm.

 

Remember that Venetian/Palazzo is set to be sold end of 2021. Sands is turning to its Macau operations and a REIT is going to purchase the property while a management firm will assume operations. So Sands itself is leaving Las Vegas market and likely wouldn't want to purchase Cosmo. Not sure about the organizations purchasing them - although I believe CET is a large holder of the management company that will control its operations.

 

Someone joked about circus circus..
But if they bought cosmo and joined them with TI and circus circus that would provide options to roam as well.
Not very likely but just saying there is other options to provide the ability to roam.

 

Not to drift on topic, but I think the V/P sale has closed. I know the employees there have already changed their email addresses (they no longer use the sands.com domain for emails)

 

Very likely has. I was working from memory (watching football so too lazy to actually look it up while hanging out on here, lol). Now that you mention it I had noticed that about my host's email but hadn't really thought much of it.

 

Speculation, like all of this

Also possible it will be just another in the trend of selling the land, leasing back, etc.

Should the rumor about MGM prove true, I expect that I'll use the transition period to play off my existing Identity credit, etc. In terms of tangible comparisons for me... I play about the same between MLife and Identity. I earn more spendable credits, get better rooms and more high-demand weekend availability, and airport transportation from Identity. I wouldn't abandon MLife, but I'd move most of my current Cosmopolitan play to Wynn.

 

With news the Cosmopolitan is considering selling to - possibly - MGM, what do you all think?

Personally, I think MGM sucks all the life out of any property they manage, skimping on payouts and maintenance. It might help cure me of my Vegas addiction.

 

Slow down.. I never said a bad word about Cosmo.. Simply stated casinos can’t loose when up charging on food and liquor.. As business owner everything is marked up..Just because Cosmo is cheaper than Bellagio doesnt mean Cosmo isn’t up charging 300%

 

+1000.

 

We like the Cosmo.

 

I couldn’t see Wynn buying it. I just don’t think they would invest like that in the US market like that as they have a tendency to be ground up developers whose brand properties all help create a strong sense of brand and I doubt their EBH Property has returned what they expected. They seem to want to do most of their investment in the Asian market. Unless Blackstone wants to sell the operation to MGM and hold onto the real estate like they have done with the other REIT investments I’m not really sure why MGM would buy the whole thing outright as they are trying to execute their “asset light” strategy. Perhaps an outsider is looking and perhaps Blackstone is just having people kick the tires to gauge interest and discover what value their could be. In either case I am truly hoping they don’t change hands or change management anytime soon as I have been quite happy since making them a prominent fixture in my schedule. I suppose if one of the big players were to buy them though I would certainly prefer MGM over Caesars.

 

Caesars as operators but they will sell Planet Hollywood. They are in serious need for a luxury property that's hip/modern for the future to drive young bettors to their sports book. Along with CP the two will form a dual flagship strategy.

 

Now that would be quite funny, especially with all the CET players jumping ship for the Cosmo. Would be more inclined to think it’s a company with no action on the strip currently, either way have the popcorn out.

 

I think C.M. Burns would be the perfect buyer. His last casino was imploded, so we know he is in the market