[von949]

They should just add slot machines and table games to the pods.

I rode it once and don't plan on ridding it again unless a visiting friend/family member makes me. My kids didn't really enjoy it that much either.

[GeorgeJ.]

Originally Posted by Willy702

Such utter nonsense. Can't expect journalists to get it.

Here is how a business thinks about it. Caesars had all this basically underutilized land. Spend $500m to build on it and generate cash flow. Once cash flow is proven, they sell the land and the project. Meanwhile the project draws people to the property and you monetize that traffic on top of it.

Project is nowhere near potential cash flow so they still own it. They are making changes as expected to retail mix. At current ridership they are making maybe 50m in revenue a year, probably hoping it goes to 75m soon. Add in 25m in rents from retail and it's a 100m revenue project in a premium location. Add in the land and they probably could sell this for 700m in a year or two.

Caesar's bought up the land behind Flamingo-Imperial Palace-Harrahs, including buying an apartment complex on Koval Lane, refurbishing all the units and then trading the land for the parcel behind the Flamingo that the Desert Club Resort originally sat on. They spent a good deal of money for that land and a good part of it is just used for parking these days. It wasn't a cheap deal for Caesar's to put up the Linq and the High Roller.

[Willy702]

Originally Posted by GeorgeJ.

Caesar's bought up the land behind Flamingo-Imperial Palace-Harrahs, including buying an apartment complex on Koval Lane, refurbishing all the units and then trading the land for the parcel behind the Flamingo that the Desert Club Resort originally sat on. They spent a good deal of money for that land and a good part of it is just used for parking these days. It wasn't a cheap deal for Caesar's to put up the Linq and the High Roller.

All the more reason to sell it. Look when this came out there was the public statements which people want to hold them to, but there were a lot of not public discussions going on that I was privy to. They may not have said it, but others around them spoke for them in saying this was intended to be sold. They admit they know little about how to build and operate this but saw how much LVS got for their malls. This was never meant to be a long term holding. Because they have bondholders at every turn asking them where's our money they had to put a positive spin on the investment saying it would yield free cash flow and that required higher visitor counts. But they knew all they had to do was get to a certain revenue level, hope the market was still valuing things in the same range and they could recoup their costs, get a return on investment and benefit from more traffic to their properties.

[BBMW]

I have to wonder what plans long trrm plans CET (or whatever they're calling it this week) has for this assemblage of properties, if they actually have any.

If the Vegas Strip has any future beyond squeezing out whatever revenue can be had from the existing properties with minimal improvements, redevelopment of this block has to be part of it. Selling this small, but central parcel would be idiotic.

[MovingtoLVinAugust]

Originally Posted by von949

They should just add slot machines and table games to the pods.

I rode it once and don't plan on ridding it again unless a visiting friend/family member makes me. My kids didn't really enjoy it that much either.

Maybe they could add a few different themes to each pod - would make it a bit more "fun" & might encourage people to ride again

[shellymdnv]

Originally Posted by MovingtoLVinAugust

Maybe they could add a few different themes to each pod - would make it a bit more "fun" & might encourage people to ride again

I've been twice because of the Happy half hour car. It also makes for a great quick date, after 30 minutes of drinking in a confined space you'll know if you want to get to know the person more.

[C_A_Braun]

Originally Posted by shellymdnv

I've been twice because of the Happy half hour car. It also makes for a great quick date, after 30 minutes of drinking in a confined space you'll know if you want to get to know the person more.

Why wait the full 30 minutes to determine if you want to know the person more? If you can pull it off in 5 try some of these tips - 11 Vital Tips for Having Sex on the High Roller Ferris Wheel

[Willy702]

Originally Posted by BBMW

I have to wonder what plans long trrm plans CET (or whatever they're calling it this week) has for this assemblage of properties, if they actually have any.

If the Vegas Strip has any future beyond squeezing out whatever revenue can be had from the existing properties with minimal improvements, redevelopment of this block has to be part of it. Selling this small, but central parcel would be idiotic.

The economics no longer support giant parcel development. Could change in a decade, but for now no one will build much beyond very focused projects which could fit on the Flamingo or Harrah's footprint. Plus operators are learning to live well with each other, the build a moat around your property mindset is changing. Only Wynn and Adelson still subscribe to this and that's just a function of having the biggest and best in the market today.

[BBMW]

That make sense, and I could agree with that. They can, in fact, just bank the land, and get what revenue they can out of what they have on it, or can put on it cheaply. Then, down the line a while, look what the market it doing, and reassess. Linq could fall into that strategy, if they hold it.

I just think taking a key divot out of the block would have a huge impact on the value of the holding long term.

If they wanted to sell it off, they should have shoehorned it in between Harrah's and the Venetian, so that when the sell it, it doesn't screw with the rest of property. Note: I have no idea if that would have been physically viable. I'm just using it of a example of what could be done to generate a salable asset that wouldn't screw with everything else.

Originally Posted by Willy702

The economics no longer support giant parcel development. Could change in a decade, but for now no one will build much beyond very focused projects which could fit on the Flamingo or Harrah's footprint. Plus operators are learning to live well with each other, the build a moat around your property mindset is changing. Only Wynn and Adelson still subscribe to this and that's just a function of having the biggest and best in the market today.

[MountainBiking]

I think most people will only ride the wheel once. Price matters. If the operators lower the price they will make it up on volume. More people will head over that way. The shops and restaurants will have more business as foot traffic is increased. The property will be worth more.

-Cheers.