David G. Schwartz muses on the brave, new world at the Tropicana Las Vegas — soon with 100% more Penn National Gaming. He assesses it as a win for both parties. 
Penn gets a foothold at a strategic crossroads on the Las Vegas Strip. The Trop gets hooked up to Penn’s player database. When it comes to incentivizing players, Penn never before had a pot of gold at the end of its rainbow. Not even M Resort counts. Once it finds a nightclub formula that works (as Schwartz points out, Onex Corp. had three swings and struck out), maybe it can work on the entertainment, which currently consists of secondhand goods like Raiding the Rock Vault … well named, since the Trop purloined it right out from under Westgate Las Vegas‘ nose.
(Speaking of Westgate, it’s fallen to the tender mercies of Paragon Gaming, whose Vegas track record consists of being the caretaker the Sahara and later of the Riviera in the months leading up to its purchase and closure, increasing occupancy 33%. That means it’s out with Navegante Group and in with 150K orphaned room nights from the Riv plus a gaggle of conventions. Paragon’s expanded portfolio of responsibilities will extend to hotel and meeting operations, with Westgate curtailing its control to the property’s timeshare component.)
My only qualm with Dr. Schwartz’s history of the Trop is when he lists Colony Capital as a rejected suitor for the Trop in the auction that saw it ultimately go to Columbia Sussex. Colony said it was bidding on the Trop but never submitted anything formal. Cleverly, then-owner Aztar Corp. was able to leverage Colony’s phantom bid into a higher purchase price, as no one called Aztar’s bluff. Back then, there seemed to be no ceiling to what rival companies would pay for the Trop. By current, deflated standards, Penn’s $10.6 million/acre is steep … but worth the investment when you look across the street and see MGM Grand, just for starters.
* San Francisco Giants outfielder Hunter Pence‘s Triple-A rehab assignment brought him on a swing through Las Vegas. Since he had Wednesday night off, Pence headed over to the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino and took in a Journey performance. We hope it got him motivated for tonight’s Sacramento River Cats game.
* Donald Trump managed to wait one whole day before exploiting the latest Amtrak derailment for PR gain.
* While Sheldon Adelson recovers from a rough week on the stand in the Steven Jacobs case, he can drink in an ex-President George W. Bush painting of Marina Bay Sands, an excellent likeness recently presented to the casino mogul. As for Adelson’s testimony, he’s turning out to be Jacobs’ best witness.
* Station Casinos has scrapped an ill-advised plan to borrow $300 million to pay millions in ‘dividends’ to ownership (isn’t that what profits are for?) but is keeping mum on its reasoning. We’re just thankful Station came to its senses.
