CASINO NEWS: STRIKE COULD CRIPPLE LAS VEGAS & MONTE CARLO IS NOW PARK MGM

50,000 Las Vegas casino employees are set to hold a strike vote on May 22. It is a move that has the potential to cripple the entire city.

MGM Resorts International and Caesars Entertainment operate more than half of the properties that would be affected by a strike.

A strike would empty 34 casino-hotels on the Strip and downtown Las Vegas of kitchen employees, food and cocktail servers, housekeepers and other workers – all members of the Culinary Union.

The workers’ existing contracts will expire at midnight May 31. Negotiations for new five-year contracts began in February.

A citywide strike last happened in 1984 and lasted 67 days. Union members lost an estimated $75 million in wages and benefits, while the city lost a similar amount in tourism revenue. Millions more were lost in gaming income.

Sources: Casino Smartbrief / Las Vegas Review

 

OLD MONTE CARLO BECOMES THE NEW PARK MGM

The Monte Carlo Casino is no more. The 22-year-old Strip resort was renamed the Park MGM last Wednesday.

The Monte Carlo would be well known by many Australians as it was the favoured accommodation for G2E attendees for many years.

The transformation of the complex, which is still ongoing, began with the opening of the Park Theatre in December 2016 and has been undertaken while the property remains open.

MGM Resorts International Chief Executive Officer Jim Murren said earlier this month that the company has never carried out such a large renovation while a resort remained open.

The aim of the project is to bring the outdoors inside, with touches such as a sculpture by Brazilian woodworker Henrique Oliveira of a tree with its roots stretching across the ceiling.

Park MGM amenities that are now open to guests include revamped hotel rooms, three restaurants, a remodelled casino and three pools. The complex also features a 77,000-square-foot conference centre.

Also due by the end of the year is a new dining offering from Roy Choi and an Eataly marketplace, which will feature sit-down and on-the-go dining options and will serve as the pedestrian entrance to Park MGM from Las Vegas Boulevard.

The Park MGM is part of a “neighbourhood” of projects that include T-Mobile Arena and CityCentre.

“The neighbourhood is very important where we’re at right now,” Miller said. “There was really one last piece of the puzzle to complete that, and that’s this property.”

Sources: Las Vegas Review Journal / Las Vegas Sun