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Friday March 6th
Depart Las Vegas today for Miami via Dallas Texas.
I’ve never been to Dallas before and I recall watching the hit TV show from the 80s called Dallas about the oil rich families of Texas.
I squeeze in a conference call before I depart the hotel at 12pm with a US Company I market in Australia.
I was meant to meet them in Texas for a meeting however due to my tight schedule this was not going to be possible so we settle for a conference call which ends up being productive.
I started this company 2 years ago promoting a US product and turned over almost $10million in its first year and has been a very successful company.
I had been considering selling it and had been meeting with several Public Companies who were interested in acquiring the company from me.
Before the Global Financial Crisis it was valued at $12million, however, due to the downturn, $5 to $6million Australian was the best I could expect to get for it so I’ve been in two minds whether to sell. It has a lot of potential and if supplier relations can be improved then its worth more to me to keep for now, until the market rebounds.
Many people ask do I gamble especially when I’m in Las Vegas.
I’ve got to admit I’m a far better investor then a gambler.
My partner tends to do well whenever she goes into a casino and made $2,000 US last night at the roulette table.
To me gambling is a bit of fun and I’m quite conservative when it comes to gambling.
I’d bet no more than a few hundred dollars and be happy to make $300.
I find it a hard way to make money gambling, when I can do trades in the share market with a far greater degree of certainty of make money. So gambling makes little sense to me other then occasional fun.
At least in Vegas you get free drinks while at the tables, unlike Australian casinos.
A good friend of mine joined us in Vegas from LA who is a big roulette fan so him and my partner hit the tables at every chance to boost their winnings
My partner has a general rule, that any money she wins she has to donate to the dress or shoe stores within 24hours. So at least she helped out the American economy.
My dad was always very anti gambling. Thus growing up I’ve always been reluctant to ever spend much at the gambling tables, however if I do play it will generally be blackjack.
We fortunately get to meet Steve Wynn for a short chat and photo on our way to dinner.
For those who don’t know who Steve Wynn is he virtually built Las Vegas including casinos, such as Bellagio and Mirage, which he then sold and now has Wynn’s Casino in Vegas which just opened Encore next door where we are staying.
We stayed also in Macau last year in his replica Wynn casino there.
He recognises our Australian accent and asks if we know Solomon Lew from Australia who must be well known at his casinos.
Kerry Packer is still well known in Las Vegas with most taxi drivers still able to share legendary stories about Kerry’s huge gambling days.
Apparently the night Kerry passed away he had his Lear jet on standby for one last trip to Vegas to go out with a bang.
I’m not sure how Kerry would feel about his son James Packers huge gambles with buying US casinos, which has cost the Packer Empire a large fortune with the Stock Market Crash reportedly reducing Packers wealth from over $7 billion to $2billion. Many in Vegas don’t understand why he has bought such casinos which tend to be low profile smaller operations and at such high prices.
I’m sure his dad would have had more fun betting $5billion at the casinos and probably would have come out better.
Steve Wynn mentions he is very good friends with Tony Robbins and Sage his wife and they were staying as guests of Steve only last week.
I recall when I was in Las Vegas several years ago Tony mentioned him and Steve were good friends.
After dinner we headed off to Tryst nightclub at the Wynn which is one of the best clubs in Vegas overlooking a huge waterfall.
In the 15 years I’ve been going to Vegas it’s the quietest I’ve ever seen it and its clear the recession is taking its toll on Vegas.
The Trump Tower which is now complete across the street from Wynn’s casino is apparently offering rooms from only $69 US a night.
They believe soon the casinos from Mondays to Wednesdays will start giving rooms away for free to simply get people to them as they make their money on food drinks and gambling.
The huge Venetian casino next door is apparently about to file for bankruptcy.
So if you’re looking for an inexpensive holiday then Vegas should soon be that.
