August '08 Entertainment—The Vegas Eye Column

Watch, America, as Cher unveils an eyeful of glitter and sequins as she debuts a new ensemble at her Vegas show in the colosseum tonight. In other words, fans attending Cher’s show tonight will be in for a glittery surprise when the pop diva debuts a new Bob Mackie creation for her closing number “Believe.” Returning to the stage after a two-month break, Cher’s show continues her 3-year run at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace tonight Aug. 6, 2008. The 90-minute show is presented at 7:30 p.m. four nights a week on Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday (dark Monday, Thursday and Friday). Tickets for her show through Oct. 5 are now on sale and can be purchased by calling 1-866-510-CHER (2437) or online at www.ticketmaster.com, keyword “Cher”. Ticket prices are $95, $140, $175 and $250. Visit cher.aeglive.com for more information on Cher at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace.

Lauren Conrad Hits Town

It will be a night not to miss as reality darling Lauren Conrad returns to Las Vegas to host a hot happening at Christian Audigier The Nightclub at Treasure Island on Saturday, August 9. The blonde bombshell will bask in the spotlight as she enjoys a night on the town and celebrates the success of her clothing line The Lauren Conrad Collection inside Sin City’s sexiest nightspot. Christian Audigier The Nightclub is waterfront at Treasure Island, just north of the resort’s main entrance. Hey, Lauren, FYI, I was the guy who first contacted Max to get you appearances in Las Vegas! It would be nice if you would call every once in a while!

MGM Mirage Profit Falls as Vegas Gamblers Spend Less

MGM Mirage, the world's second- largest casino company, said second-quarter profit fell 69 percent as cash-strapped U.S. gamblers spent less at its Las Vegas casinos.

Net income dropped to $113.1 million, or 40 cents a share, from $360.2 million, or $1.22, a year earlier, the Las Vegas- based company said today in a statement. Net revenue slid 2.1 percent to $1.9 billion from $1.94 billion.

MGM Mirage owns 10 casinos on the Las Vegas Strip, where casino revenue slumped 16 percent in May, the fifth straight monthly decline. The sluggish U.S. economy, exacerbated by the worst housing slump since the Great Depression and soaring food and fuel costs, has hurt the biggest U.S. casino market.

MGM is half of the Las Vegas Strip, so it's hard to avoid,'' Dennis Forst, an analyst with KeyBanc Capital Markets in El Segundo, California, said in an interview July 28. He recommends holding the shares. ``Although the main Vegas numbers were dreadful, MGM is probably the barometer that everyone should be using.''

MGM, which owns The Strip's Bellagio and Luxor, said revenue per available room, a measure of rates and occupancy known as Revpar, fell 5 percent on the Strip as occupancy dropped to 97 percent from 98 percent a year ago, and it charged less for rooms.

Lower Room Rates

The casino company majority-owned by billionaire Kirk Kerkorian said property earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, an indicator of cash flow, declined 18 percent to $564 million in the quarter.

Guests continued to visit the company's resorts in high numbers, but at lower room rates, and current economic conditions led to lower visitor spending,'' MGM said. Gaming revenues were impacted slightly more than non-gaming revenues.''

MGM Mirage, which trails only privately held Harrah's Entertainment Inc. in size, rose $2.10, or 6.8 percent, to $33.10 at 10:34 a.m. in New York Stock Exchange trading. Before today, the shares fell 63 percent this year.

Gambling revenue declined 4 percent across all of MGM's properties, mainly because of a 7 percent slump in overall table game betting and a 10 percent slide in slot-machine takings at its Strip casinos. Food and beverage sales rose 2 percent and entertainment revenue fell 4 percent.

Meanwhile, Bellagio reported record quarterly hotel revenue and Mandalay Bay delivered record second-quarter Ebitda.

High-End Records

The high end has been so far less affected by the economy,'' said Forst. ``It's the lower-end properties -- Circus, Excalibur -- that have been facing more difficult times than Bellagio and Mandalay Bay.''

MGM Mirage opened its MGM Grand Macau in December 2007, a joint venture with Pansy Ho, daughter of gambling magnate Stanley Ho. In the second quarter the Macau property's Ebitda was $23 million, delivering an operating loss of $5 million.

We are still in the early stages of realizing the potential of this resort,'' Chief Executive Officer Terry Lanni said in today's statement. ``We have taken several steps to improve our operating performance over the past several months.''

MGM and Pansy Ho are planning a second Macau development site, they said earlier.

Kerkorian, Dubai World

Kerkorian and Dubai World, the government-owned investment group, have been buying MGM shares, boosting their stakes to 53 percent and 9.3 percent, respectively, according to regulatory filings.

The two are spending about $11.2 billion to develop the CityCenter complex of hotels, casinos and condominiums on the Las Vegas Strip. The investors spent $600 million financing CityCenter construction in the quarter, unable to raise a $3.5 billion loan MGM had expected before the end of June.

Banks including Bank of America Corp., Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc, UBS AG, BNP Paribas, and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. have agreed to lend CityCenter $1.65 billion, MGM said today. Deutsche Bank AG, Morgan Stanley, and the Bank of Nova Scotia have also made lending commitments, the casino company said.