VEGAS INC Magazine - Latest Las Vegas business news, features and commentaries about gaming, tourism, real estate and more
Issue link: http://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/112509
24/7 Your Safety Our Priority For your safety, it���s important that everyone in your household know how to recognize and respond to a natural gas pipeline leak. Smell If you smell an odor similar to rotten eggs. A leak may be present even if the odor is momentary or slight. Hear If you hear a hissing or roaring sound coming from the ground or above-ground pipeline. See If you see water or dirt blowing into the air, or discolored vegetation surrounding a pipeline. Leave the vicinity immediately and don���t use an automated door. From a safe place, call Southwest Gas at 1-800-447-5422 and 911 immediately, day or night. Don���t turn off or on any electric switches, thermostats, or appliance controls, or start or stop an engine���or do anything that might cause a spark. Don���t light matches or lighters. In business the economy despite 4th-quarter loss, mgm optimistic for future By Richard N. Velotta���senior staff writer Executives at MGM Resorts International say that despite reporting fourth-quarter losses, the company has positioned itself to take advantage of a brightening economy this year and in 2014. ���We���re off to a very solid start in 2013,��� MGM CEO Jim Murren said in a conference call with investors last month. ���The Super Bowl was a great event for us in Las Vegas, and we���re still seeing people here celebrating Chinese New Year. The Year of the Snake appears to be a really good one for us.��� Murren and his management team listed a series of projects and events in the months ahead in Las Vegas and Macau that the company expects will move it from recovery to growth. One-time expenses in the fourth quarter paved the way for an improved outlook but made earnings results appear worse than they were. Losses widened for MGM in the quarter as revenue gains at its Macau property failed to counter weaker increases in Las Vegas. The largest operator of hotels and casinos on the Strip also had one-time land impairment and tax write-off charges associated with refinancing debt that dragged its financial performance for the quarter down. But even without those special charges, MGM would have shown losses. The company showed a loss of $1.22�� billion, $2.50 a share, on revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter that ended Dec. 31. That compares with a loss of $113.7 million, 23 cents a share, on revenue of $2.3 billion for the same quarter a year ago. In Las Vegas, occupancy rates dipped slightly while the average daily room rate and revenue per available room showed a slight increase. Slot machine revenue increased by 2 percent over the fourth quarter of 2011, but the table-game hold percentage fell from 22.8��percent in the fourth quarter of 2011 to 21.9 percent in the same period for 2012. Strategies that have resulted in additional traffic to some properties in 2012 will be redeployed at others this year. Murren said room remodel projects at the MGM Grand and Bellagio have improved occupancy there, and that���s what���s ahead in the fall at The Hotel at Mandalay Bay, which will be rebranded as the Delano. Bobby Baldwin, president of MGM���s CityCenter development, said an 88 percent occupancy rate for Aria���s Cirque du Soleil show ���Zarkana��� has driven additional restaurant and casino floor traffic at the property, and the new Javier���s restaurant has posted good results. The additional traffic led to Aria���s highest slot machine handle in the fourth quarter. The company is expecting similar results when the new Cirque du Soleil Michael Jackson show opens in May at Mandalay Bay. tourism expert: LVCVA handled shooting well www.swgasliving.com/safety Need Some Advice? Ask an Expert. Taking business to a new level with innovative advertising and marketing solutions. ASHLEY TERRELL Account Executive 702.990.8170 ashley.terrell@vegasinc.com Ask me how your company can gain a competitive edge. By Richard N. Velotta���senior staff writer Most tourism leaders say the highly publicized violence on the Strip last month that led to a taxi explosion and left three people dead will not hurt tourism. And a local expert in crisis communications said the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority did all the right things to assure the public that Las Vegas is a safe place to visit. ���What���s really important early on is to put everything in context,��� said Lori Nelson, vice president of corporate communications at Station Casinos and a crisis communications expert. ���It���s easy for a situation to get blown out of proportion, and it was good for the LVCVA to convey that what happened on the Strip (on Feb. 21) was an isolated incident.��� Nelson said entities must take ownership for anything they may have done wrong and explain to the public what steps are being taken to prevent them from happening again. ���It���s important early on to inform the public and have a voice in the situation,��� Nelson said. ���They have to have accurate information so that other sources don���t take over the story.��� In the case of the Strip tragedy, the LVCVA immediately touted its relationship with Metro, noting that it gave police whatever information it could provide. The tourism agency even went so far as to point out that Metro has a police station at the Las Vegas Convention Center, a reassurance and reminder to meeting planners that police are close if trouble arises. www.VEGASinc.com 20130304_VI10_F.indd 10 2/28/13 2:39:23 PM