Sunday, May 14, 2006

Proponents of downtown redevelopment are counting on new hotel-casinos to
spice up an entertainment district proposed for Las Vegas' 61-acre Union
Park site. But if local gaming companies' tepid early responses are an
accurate indicator, those hoping for Striplike gaming halls in the shadows
of Fremont Street are in for a tough sell. As city leaders prepare for
Wednesday's vote on downtown's latest master plan, an unresolved concern is
which, if any, gaming operators would invest in an area that's long
struggled to compete with the Strip's newer, flashier resorts. "This could
be a jackpot" for casinos, said Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, whose civic
interests convey a natural bias favoring the prospects of Union Park, a rail
yard west of Main Street near Grand Central Parkway.

Goodman said Tuesday he'd like the industry's largest companies to vie for
Union Park's three designated hotel-casino sites, which would be surrounded
by 3,600 residential units, high-rise offices and stores.

So far, however, only one operator contacted by the Review-Journal was
willing to publicly express interest in the area.

Tamares Group, a privately held international investment company, is open to
the city's plan to extend the Fremont Street Experience canopy into Union
Park, a step that would require demolition or reconfiguration of the Plaza's
north tower.

But managing director Michael Treanor said Thursday that Tamares has not
committed to such a deal, nor has it agreed to a new city hall site that
would be built on what is now a parking lot Tamares owns near Main and Lewis
Avenue.

"There ought to be a situation in which we can enhance the value of our land
and at the same time enhance the value of Union Park by providing for
connectivity" to Fremont Street, Treanor said. "We're interested in
continuing that conversation" with the city.

In exchange for such access, Tamares wants seven to 10 acres of Union Park
land to build a new $500 million hotel-casino connected to the Plaza.

With or without that deal, the Plaza will be renovated or rebuilt, he added.

"We want to be part of the revitalization. We have $100-plus-million
invested in downtown, and that number is only going to go up," Treanor said.
"If we redevelop our property and don't provide for connectivity with Union
Park, I think we'll be shorting ourselves ... and cause a huge blow to the
value of Union Park."

Tamares is working on plans for the new Plaza, which Treanor said will cater
toward middle-market gaming customers, a niche he believes is increasingly
underserved.

The company, which also owns several smaller properties on 35 acres
downtown, wants to create a Main Street entertainment district to enhance
downtown offerings.

"It's got great bones," Treanor said of downtown. "It just needs a little
TLC."

Other neighborhood players had less to say, however.

Boyd Gaming Corp., whose California, Fremont and Main Street Station
hotel-casinos do brisk business downtown, is interested in downtown
redevelopment.

Still, it hasn't studied the latest Union Park plans well enough to
speculate on future projects there, spokesman Rob Stillwell said Thursday.

A representative of MTR Gaming Group, which owns Binion's Gambling Hall,
said no one but Chief Operating Officer Bill Robinson could answer questions
on downtown redevelopment.

Robinson was traveling Wednesday and could not be reached for comment.

George Maloof, whose off-Strip Palms resort successfully lures a mix of
local and out-of-town customers, said downtown is "kind of tricky" because
so much is taking place elsewhere in the valley.

"If someone can come up with something really special, perhaps people will
go (downtown). But it's really going to need a clear vision," Maloof said.

Maloof added he'll never underestimate Goodman, but the Palms owner believes
access is a key stumbling block when luring visitors and locals downtown.

Representatives of Station Casinos and Harrah's Entertainment said their
companies continually evaluate growth opportunities, though each declined to
address downtown specifically.

MGM Mirage is not looking to do business downtown, though the company is
"enthusiastically watching the developments of Union Park" because of the
site's overall importance to the community, spokesman Alan Feldman said.

In the meantime, MGM Mirage will continue developing the 830-plus acres it
owns on the Strip, most notably the $7 billion Project CityCenter now rising
between Bellagio and Monte Carlo.

Las Vegas Sands Corp. will spend several billion on new resorts in Macau,
and hopes Singapore's government will tab it to build a major tourist
attraction in the Asian city-state.

Closer to home, The Venetian's parent company is focused on completing The
Palazzo, a $1.8 billion megaresort across from Wynn Las Vegas and Treasure
Island.

Beyond that, the company would not speculate on where, or if, the company
would launch another Southern Nevada project, spokesman Ron Reese said.

Goodman criticized local gaming icons Steve Wynn and Michael Gaughan for
selling their respective downtown Las Vegas properties rather than staying
on Fremont Street and working to improve its fortunes.

Wynn's Golden Nugget was sold six years ago to MGM Grand (now MGM Mirage) as
part of a $6.7 billion deal; the hotel-casino has been sold twice since,
with new owner Landry's Restaurants at work on a multimillion-dollar
renovation and expansion.

Golden Nugget management declined comment for this story.

Wynn has since opened the $2.7 billion Wynn Las Vegas, and broken ground on
Encore, an adjacent $1.74 billion Strip development. A third project will
open in Macau later this year, with more Asian developments set to follow.

In March 2004 Gaughan sold the Plaza and three other downtown properties to
Barrick Gaming Group and Tamares, which has offices in London, New York and
Tel Aviv, Israel. Tamares last year assumed 100 percent ownership of
Gaughan's former properties, plus two more smaller downtown hotel-casinos.

Gaughan's father, Jackie, co-founded the four properties with the late Mel
Exber. As Jackie Gaughan grew older and less able to work, his son sold the
family's downtown holdings, excluding the El Cortez, to focus on Coast
Casinos' locals casinos throughout the valley.

Boyd bought Coast for $1.3 billion in July 2004, and Michael Gaughan has
since run Coast as a Boyd subsidiary.