Murren vs. Angle

Taking a moment from fluffing Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV), MGM Resorts International CEO Jim Murren finally pointed out the elephant in the middle of the room, Sharron Angle‘s laughably primitive grasp of economics. (Except Murren used a nicer word than “primitive.”) To recap, Angle has a 747-sized bee in her bonnet about CityCenter, which she delusionally believes wrought vast harm upon the Nevada economy. She’s actually accused it of driving Silver State unemployment to the 14% level. (Seriously.) Yes, CityCenter’s dampened ADRs and occupancy on the Strip but only an idiot couldn’t have seen that coming when you drop multiple thousands of new rooms into the market, whatever your timing — and CityCenter’s couldn’t have been worse.

Tabula rasa. What do you do when your shopping mall is distinguished by vast stretches of blank wall where retail ought to be? It only took MGM nine months to answer that question vis-a-vis its white elephant, Crystals, but its response is commendably creative. Mark Reisser‘s vast graffiti mural, “Left Response,” isn’t a total solution but it’s a heckuva start. Well done.

Not so many kudos to the management of Cosmopolitan Las Vegas, which is sponsoring public art in New York City, a metropolis already well endowed in that department. Hey Cosmo, how ’bout underwriting public here in Vegas, thereby putting some of that long green back into the local economy?

Now with 100% less Lance Burton! The so-called “Lance Burton Theatre” at Monte Carlo finds itself without its titular tenant. Starting Oct. 7, dance troupe Jabbawockeez moves into the late-night slot there, presenting something called MÜS.I.C., with Frank Caliendo now performing at 7:30 p.m. whenever he’s in residence. (His weekend shows had been at 9:30 p.m.) Still no word on which of the extant MGM showrooms is going to be sacrificed for Cirque du Soleil‘s Michael Jackson show. Given how long it takes Cirque to mount a new production — not that it helped Believe — MGM management has plenty of time to ponder that quandary.