Where Will Next Years BCA be Held? Riviera Going Bankrupt!

[watchez]

The Riviera is not going anywhere.

Every year we go through these rumors. IF they go BK - the doors wil still stay open.

And to those say that we should move - HAHAHAHAHA - try to get a decent deal from the other venues that can provide the square footage we need.

AND if you get a deal for this year - just watch how the rates skyrocket when the economy rebounds.

I do not agree with all of the decisin made by the Riv - but they have shown a willingness to work with our industry.

I still say the players should support those that support them. Without the Riv support, all of these events would not be still be in existence.

Mark Griffin
BCAPL

Mark-

We have had this discussion before. I truly appreciate what you do and if the Riviera works for your model and is the only source, then so be it. The ends justify the means, in my mind. I am just one of few but after my experiences there, I find it truly hard to still to support the Riv.

Please setup a lunch with myself, you and the President of the Riv for next May. We can go to Kady's. Invite akaTrigger as well as she states that she enjoys to wait. :grin: I'll take $100 for every minute we stand in line waiting and then another $100 for every empty table we see once inside. That will be the epitomy of the example of what needs to be fixed with the Riviera.

Respectfully,
Watchez

 

[stikapos]

I have real knowledge. What the Wynn, Encore, Bellagio, Venetian, Palazzo, etc. are doing now works.

While the casinos have TRIED to make their hotel rooms and restaurants into profit centers during the late 90's and early 00's, it surely isn't working right now, is it ? Especially the Wynn, Encore, etc. At $159/night for something that was supposed to be north of $300, you betcha they need casino revenues. Nevermind that the glut of hotel rooms is about to expand. No, when you realize that you can drive an hour down the road to Connecticut and look out over lush rivers bordering beautiful forests, a six hour trip to vegas to get bent over by some guy who can't serve a beer without attitude seems a bit silly.

tim

 

[watchez]

While the casinos have TRIED to make their hotel rooms and restaurants into profit centers during the late 90's and early 00's, it surely isn't working right now, is it ? Especially the Wynn, Encore, etc. At $159/night for something that was supposed to be north of $300, you betcha they need casino revenues. Nevermind that the glut of hotel rooms is about to expand. No, when you realize that you can drive an hour down the road to Connecticut and look out over lush rivers bordering beautiful forests, a six hour trip to vegas to get bent over by some guy who can't serve a beer without attitude seems a bit silly.

tim

Tim-

Let's see where your head is at. For the last year, what percentage of the Wynn's profits do you think was from the hotel/restaurants/entertainment and what percentage do you think was from the casino that you say has to be filled up?

 

[Williebetmore]

Mark-

We have had this discussion before. I truly appreciate what you do and if the Riviera works for your model and is the only source, then so be it. The ends justify the means, in my mind. I am just one of few but after my experiences there, I find it truly hard to still to support the Riv.

Please setup a lunch with myself, you and the President of the Riv for next May. We can go to Kady's. Invite akaTrigger as well as she states that she enjoys to wait. :grin: I'll take $100 for every minute we stand in line waiting and then another $100 for every empty table we see once inside. That will be the epitomy of the example of what needs to be fixed with the Riviera.

Respectfully,
Watchez

W-man,
The first year I was at the Riv, the hotel room we stayed in was very poor; my wife insisted on changing hotels the minute the tournament was over.

This past year our whole posse stayed in 3 different rooms. One was actually fairly nice, and the other two were very, very nice (new, recently completely re-done). Even my wife (who has high standards....one wonders why she married me....) was satisfied with the rooms.

I think the price for the accomodations was excellent, and the rooms were very nice - players might want to ask for one of the re-modeled rooms.

As far as the food goes, we eat at the Peppermill (next door) for breakfast, and at some nice Vegas restaurant for a second meal (just 2 a day).....I'm going to have to agree that the Riv's restaurants are way below average.

The BCA event is the greatest "kick-a$$" pool extravaganza on the planet, so I really don't care at all about the accomodations; I'd stay at the Riv even if it looked like Green Acres

 

[Sharkey]

Wrong again -

Watches, I am not really familiar with you, but you talk like you have had some experience with setting up with venues like the Riviera. I don't want to argue with you and I may be miss informned but my information came from setting up events at the Riviera and talks with the event coordinators and management. As well as a job interview that I had with them last year.

 

[UrackmIcrackm]

Seriously, who actually eats at the Riv? Just walk over to Peppermill. Best food ever.

Keep in mind that the Riv is working on a skeleton crew these days and to put on an event like the BCA, APA, VNEA or ACS nationals they have to bring in employees that would otherwise be laid off. They do there best to work with the billiard industry but they are in bad shape.

Like Trigger, I don't have a problem with the Riv, esp since they've remodeled the rooms. Like TimKrazyMon, I don't eat at the Riv, I walk over to the Peppermill. I've never had a good experience eating at the Riv. The food was never worth the money paid (IMO).

Sharkey, I do take one exception to your post. The bulk of the staff at the Riv have been atrocious and it was that way before we fell on hard times. Can't blame skeleton crew staffing on poor service this time. I still shudder when I think of some of the "bartenders" we had to suffer with at the Splash bar.

The Riv isn't perfect, I don't eat there, and I don't drink there, but I personally have no problem staying there or the BCAPL holding their events there.

 

[watchez]

Watches, I am not really familiar with you, but you talk like you have had some experience with setting up with venues like the Riviera. I don't want to argue with you and I may be miss informned but my information came from setting up events at the Riviera and talks with the event coordinators and management. As well as a job interview that I had with them last year.

I have some experience (or knowledge) of numbers that casinos in Vega$ do as a whole. How many rooms does the Riv have? How much square feet of casino space to they have devoted to table games either as a whole or for the high rollers, as you called them? Do they even have a high limit area or high rollers room for gambling? The Riv is now Slots of Fun filled with about 15 table games and 2 dice tables. You aren't going to attract high rollers with that no matter how nice the room they sleep in is. The last time I gambled at the Riv, I went to the cashier to cash in a $500 chip and it took a 3 minute phone call by the attendant to verify before I got my money.

Think about all of this and then tell me that you still think the Riviera is making a large majority of their money off gambling and not the hotel itself.

And I am still waiting for a response from Tim to see what his real knowledge is --- from the silence I think I already have my answer.

WillieBetMore - glad to hear that you will be back at the BCA in May. Should be fun hanging out.

 

[frankncali]

Tim-

Let's see where your head is at. For the last year, what percentage of the Wynn's profits do you think was from the hotel/restaurants/entertainment and what percentage do you think was from the casino that you say has to be filled up?

Tough question.. I know that their poker room was doing well but now is breaking about even.
I am going to guess that gambling Profits more but overall does less business.
The Wynn just like all other Vegas luxury resorts seem to be running at about 85-90% occupancy rates on average but with 2700 rooms thats still a decent percentage. Sidenite-- I question all occupancy rates. There are ways to make those appear higher on average.

Is the Wynn turning a profit right now? Thats what I would wonder.
Stock fell 9% recently

70% of all its operations are generated from the tables or slots. 3rd quarter figures show flat profits even with 10% more in revenues when comparing last year and this year. Big reason is that gambling is down.
Also the amount of money it takes to run something of that size and status
doesnt change that much.

I just read an article on the Wynn a couple weeks ago. Also some on other resorts and how the resort chains are struggling.

 

[watchez]

Tough question.. I know that their poker room was doing well but now is breaking about even.
I am going to guess that gambling Profits more but overall does less business.
The Wynn just like all other Vegas luxury resorts seem to be running at about 85-90% occupancy rates on average but with 2700 rooms thats still a decent percentage. Sidenite-- I question all occupancy rates. There are ways to make those appear higher on average.

Is the Wynn turning a profit right now? Thats what I would wonder.
Stock fell 9% recently

70% of all its operations are generated from the tables or slots. 3rd quarter figures show flat profits even with 10% more in revenues when comparing last year and this year. Big reason is that gambling is down.
Also the amount of money it takes to run something of that size and status
doesnt change that much.

I just read an article on the Wynn a couple weeks ago. Also some on other resorts and how the resort chains are struggling.

Sort right - mostly wrong.

The Wynn has run at about a 94% occupancy rate which is unheard of for any hotel, any where.

Since Tim won't answer - the Wynn split is 60% hotel/restaurant/entertainment, 40% gambling.

The stock might have fallen 9% recently but in the last twelve months has more than doubled ($32 to $67).

Other smaller casinos are doing quite well in the stocks. Check out Isle of Capri, for an example.

Also, when you say the amount of money that it takes to run something that size, doesn't change much - what would you consider percentage wise a big change in operating costs? Then I can reply to that as well.

 

[sjm]

I'm going to have to dissent from the views of many. I love the Riviera. Yes, their rooms and food are not up to the lofty standards of Vegas' swankiest hotels, most of which I've stayed in at some point, but the Riviera is pool's home in Vegas, and to get the full experience, you really need to stay there.

It's not just the pool, but it's the expereince of being in the same place at the same time as 10,000 pool fanatics. This makes a much more complete assembly of pool enthusiasts than the almost-as-magnificent Derby City Classic. When I get on an elevator to find that five of the six already on it have cuestick cases over their shoulders, I know I'm home, and that life couldn't be a whole lot better. When I go to breakfast and see dozens of my pool friends there, it puts a very wide smile on my face.

Embrace the Riviera, for they have embraced pool players in a very big way. I've stayed their about fifteen different times, and it has been a great experience every single time.