Could the new SLS Las Vegas be the latest casino flop, a la Atlantic City’s Revel?
Only weeks after a garish and glittery opening over Labor Day weekend — which attracted plenty of Hollywood celebrities, at least one big-time rock star, and rave reviews from the fawning local and gambling press desperate to put a positive spin on languishing hopes for the long-awaited transformation at the northern end of The Strip — SLS Las Vegas appears to be in serious trouble. Already.
The problem: No one’s going there.
Some growing pains were expected. Problems were foreseeable. The casino is daringly planted on the former site of the famed Sahara, which closed down three years ago. Surrounded by tacky tourist traps, vacant lots littered with plastic bags and empty beer cans, and the maintenance ingress of the horribly planned Las Vegas Monorail, this sad and decaying corner of Las Vegas Blvd. and Sahara Ave. seemed destined to become the latest casino graveyard.
But shortly after shuttering its doors, a new buyer was found for the Sahara who willingly plunged more than $400 million into the crumbling relic, giving the 59-year-old property not just a noticeable facelift, but a total makeover. No doubt, an infusion of new (if naive) capital ignited fresh optimism.
The old Sahara looked like it hadn’t been touched by a paintbrush or a screwdriver since the 197os. All that was missing was the shag carpet and lava lamps. But following the glorious emergence of this butterfly from the cocoon of a time capsule, in fact, SLS Las Vegas may have gone too far in the opposite direction. It’s uber-modern to the point of being entirely antiseptic. Just like mouthwash.
Utterly lacking in warmth and comfort, the casino’s outer and inner appearance and grand design seems elusively futuristic — leading to my original conjecture that “SLS” doesn’t stand for “So Long, Sahara” — but instead hopes to become a deposit receptacle for an entirely new generation of “Stupid Loaded Sinners.”
Trouble is, there aren’t nearly enough of them. I mean, how many 26-year-olds drive Bentley convertibles and hang out in nightclubs on Tuesdays?
Indeed, everyone in the Las Vegas casino business seems to be chasing the same nevoux buck. How many new nightclubs open up before there are too many? The SLS Las Vegas alone boasts three nightclubs. I’m not joking. Not one. Not two. But three! I wonder — how many twits wearing $400 Kanye West t-shirts and skanks wrapped in body dresses will spend $15 on a specialty cocktail? Do you think these ass baggers are going to play Wheel of Fortune, or sit down at a blackjack table, or shoot craps? How many twentysomethings exist within the entire universe, the obvious targets of the annoying techno music piped right onto the main casino 24/7? Notice: Any electronic “music” with a voice distortion device playing over the house loudspeaker alienates a majority of customers.
Adapting to change certainly takes time and the casino industry is currently torn. More like ripped in half. Las Vegas casinos in particular are trapped in an abyss between the Purgatory of pleasing the cash cow of Baby Boomers. At the same time, they also want to bring a considerably younger crowd — which will inevitably become mainstream the gambling demographic within the next decade. To their credit, SLS Las Vegas seemed to get things very right on their opening night. Management invited international pop music superstar Lenny Kravitz to perform in a free impromptu concert right out on the casino floor. Nice move. Kravitz seemed the perfect multiracial and cross-generational avant-garde pitchman for a new kind of casino and a very unique Las Vegas experience. Too bad that momentum ended just as the last fireworks popped and fizzled.
Once Kravitz flew out of town after collecting an appearance fee, the casino became eerily quiet, not exactly the atmosphere that pays an electric bill or keeps tip-starved service employees satisfied. During my first visit to SLS Las Vegas which was two weeks ago, the main casino floor was virtually empty. No one was gambling. It was almost frightening, like a Twilight Zone episode where everyone in the town vanishes. Things didn’t improve the next time. On my second visit this past weekend, I scouted out a few of the new restaurants that had recently opened. Although it was 6 pm, prime time in the business of fine dining, three restaurants that I checked out had only a sprinkling of customers.
One major irritation (for me, and probably others) was the noticeable absence of televisions just about everywhere, except for the Race and Sportsbook. Perhaps there’s a market for casinos and restaurants with no televised sporting events being shown. But it certainly isn’t Las Vegas, where just about every male from 21 to 91 either has a bet riding on the game or at least is interested in Fantasy Football. I couldn’t help but notice that the sports bar and hamburger joint showing all the ball games were packed on both visits. But no one was gambling out in the pit or sitting in the restaurants. Perhaps everyone was resting up to go out later to one of the three nightclubs. Three nightclubs. I still can’t get over that.
I hope that the SLS Las Vegas makes it. I really do. The north end of The Strip could use some action and a major success story. However, as long as casino planners and marketers continue to stumble over themselves going after a niche market that lacks enough volume and spending power to sustain dozens of cookie-cutter DJ-driven decoys that produce no sense of allegiance to any brand or property, we’re very likely to read more stories like this one, which just announced that layoffs have already begun at the SLS Las Vegas. Read today’s article by Howard Stutz in the Las Vegas Review-Journal HERE.
What next? More layoffs? Budget cuts? Another makeover? When will they ever learn? After hundreds of millions of dollars are needlessly wasted and hopes get dashed, one has to wonder if history is repeating itself. Will Atlantic City’s problems will eventually pop up here in the west?
Might SLS Las Vegas become the dreaded disaster that was the Revel?
Let’s hope not.