Free The Slaves wrote on November 03, 2009 08:25 AM: Hahahaha, Boyd has the most respected people in the casino business? Thats like saying the Titanic had competent lookout before they hit the iceberg! Boyd Gaming has ALWAYS been late to embrace a trend or to pursue a change. They wanted to do their own "CityCenter" but waited too long and now got burned. You have to be kidding me if they think they can grab Stations now, what a joke that would be.

kevjandon wrote on October 29, 2009 09:37 AM: JayNYC,

Probably a lot. I just saw a commercial last night by Harry Reid citing that he "saved City Center and 20,000 jobs". All by himself he did this. The MGM Grand President said Mr. Reid did it.

So my guess is that the yield will come from our tax dollars subsidizing city center’s power rates, water rates, gas rates, property taxes and whatever other deals were cut to keep that project running. Something was done to maintain the proforma. That project was built based on a $200 to $300 per night room rate which they will be pressed to get now. So something was done to cut their costs otherwise they would have stopped too.

Seriously though, Boyd is in a different boat than City Center. IMO it is a much better boat. They chose to stop and cut ties with everyone. This gives them an opportunity to scale back, remove the bling, rebid, negotiate and save big money. City Center just kept on rolling, paying outrageous fees to Perini and their chosen subcontractors.

Boyd made the better decision, now they have to follow through on it. If they wait to long the costs to complete Echelon will come back up and the skeleton will never get built until they sell it off for pennies on the dollar.

JayNYC wrote on October 28, 2009 04:13 PM: kevjandon - what kind of yield do you think MGM and Dubai World are going to get on their $9+ billion CityCenter?

Wake up city council wrote on October 28, 2009 03:49 PM: "...Even if they seriously scale the property back or open in phases like MGM is planning with City Center, it removes the blight from the strip.."

Good point.

Try building a house in an upscale neighborhood, say you put up a couple of walls the stop construction for a year or so and have the gall to tell the city it may be several years before you start again and see how fast it comes down.

Having an eyesore like that rusting hulk in the middle of the Las Vegas Strip for years is totally unacceptable.

It's bad for every business in the area and makes the city look terrible.

It may be extreme, but the city should condemn it if they refuse to bring it into compliance with a decent building there.

douglas wrote on October 28, 2009 03:04 PM: in tough times, cash is king. and those with cash or available credit should be able to, and should, buy at dime on the dollar prices.

that boyd doesn't restart the stardust property project is sensible. to create the "6000" construction jobs is a *temporary* band-aid. same with most of the "change" oaf's "stimuli" like a wind farm or solar array. construction jobs are temporary only and surely are spin when boasting about employment.

John wrote on October 28, 2009 02:53 PM: Boyd needs to get their head out of the clouds with this Station property grab and get back on track with Echelon. Even if they seriously scale the property back or open in phases like MGM is planning with City Center, it removes the blight from the strip and gets the property they're paying major property taxes on back into the green.

I agree a local gaming company needs to buy Fountainbleau out of bankruptcy (at a huge discount) and open it as a hotel/casino.

We need to get these steel skeletons open or tear them down and force them to sell the land to someone who will build. Tourists don't come here to see vacant lots and construction sites.

Stuart & Robert Wyman-Cahall wrote on October 28, 2009 02:36 PM: Everyone here acknowledges that Boyd is hurting by not having any income revenue from the strip.
I still contend that Boyd has a GREAT oppertunity in purchasing the almost completed Fontainbleu, renaming it the Stardust, and appeal to the middle market consumer who won't fork out 200 bucks a night to party and play in Vegas.
One poster here wrote that Echelon is half finished....I DON"T THINK SO!!!
Tear down the sticks of Echelon, open the new Stardust (Fountainbleu) accross the street for pennies on the dollar and call it a day! The old Stardust, as nostalgic as it was, needed more than just a sprucing up.
They may even have enough left in their line of credit, (2 billion according to this article) to make a play for some of Station's assets.
Stuart & Robert Wyman-Cahall
Las Vegas, NV 89142

kevjandon wrote on October 28, 2009 01:59 PM: American Gamign Guru,

They are not that bright. Do you know how many hotels across the country would kill for the room occupancy rates we have even in this depressed economy? Hotels here are still 80 to 90+% full. While profits are down there are still profits to be made. Profits that have a much higher yield than any other investment out there.

From the construction standpoint, Boyd is in a great position to finish that project. They do a mild redesign and cut the bling out of the building and turn it into the "new stardust". On top of that construction prices are at an all time low. If they are bold enough they could get concessions from the Unions for their project. Hell, I bet even state and local governments would give them some concessions to bring that project back to life. They could finish the project for 40% less than the original construction cost which would make their proforma work allowing them to undercut the other "new" competition.

As for gaming, I would argue that Boyd made a bad business decision tearing down a functional property and not finishing its replacement. They are stuck with no revenue coming in and a construction loan. This type of poor management is how Stations got in trouble.

So now Boyd needs some revenue make up for the loss on loan and the lack of revenue from the Stardust. I say let someone else come in and buy the distressed Station assets. History is proving that monster companies like Stations, MGM, Harrah’s and others are to big and they do fail.

Even Boyd with their "Bright...respected...people" failed at Echelon.

They shouldn't be allowed to buy Stations.

Cooper wrote on October 28, 2009 01:25 PM: Why would Boyd waste their money on Stations? Everyone in town knows Stations is sunk, why chase good money after bad??

American Gamign Guru wrote on October 28, 2009 12:11 PM: kevjandon, your comment makes no sense. Why would Boyd add more gaming and room supply to a market that is already over-saturated? The Boyd team is bright and I might add, some of the most respected and respectful people in the industry. Their intent of buying up distressed assets will (1) buy good assets at discounted prices which in turn will save existing jobs and (2) provide an immediate realization of return on investment for BYD stockholders. They can finish Echelon when demand comes back and the financial markets are open again. The interim unfinished structure, while not pretty, is unfortunate and they know it. But there is really nothing they can do for now and the same situation exists for builders caught in this mess all over the country.

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