The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas News - Page 16

By early June, the resort's front desk, concierge, restaurants and bars will accept the new payment method.

For the year, the Cosmopolitan grew revenue 15.8 percent to $893.1 million.

The head of the New York-based private equity fund is wagering $1.73 billion it can make The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas a shining jewel on the Strip.

Casino operators in the north Strip area say development of a permanent, 33-acre, open-air concert venue by MGM Resorts International will facilitate increased business.

Eighteen months ago, the union and The Cosmopolitan weren’t very chummy.

The Cosmopolitan’s previous owners, Germany-based Deutsche Bank, wanted to sell the hotel-casino and didn’t want a union agreement potentially holding up a deal.

The Nevada Gaming Commission Thursday signed off on the $1.73 billion purchase of Strip resort by Blackstone Real Estate Partners VII, a division of New York City-based Blackstone Group.

Bill McBeath will take over the property once Blackstone Real Estate Partners VII takes ownership of the resort, possibly as soon as Friday.

The Gaming Control Board recommended that Blackstone Group be licensed to acquire the four-year-old Strip hotel-casino, which has never turned an annual profit.

The Cosmopolitan, which opened in December 2010, has never reported an annual operating profit.

Nazarian, 39, the visionary behind the Strip’s first major hotel-casino unveiling in four years, quickly learned he had support from the competition for the $415 million renovation of the Rat Pack-era Sahara.

James Packer is forming a company with ex-Wynn Las Vegas President Andrew Pascal and investment firm Oaktree Capital Management to construct a hotel-casino on the 35-acre site where the New Frontier once was.

The Strip resort, which operates as Nevada Property 1, said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission Thursday it lost $13.6 million in the quarter that ended June 30.

Spiegelworld has sued The Cosmopolitan for allegedly sabotaging its critically-acclaimed Vegas Nocturne show.

Bloomberg News Service reported Thursday that Australian billionaire James Packer had acquired a portion of the loan covering the 34.5-acre site and would consider building a hotel-casino on the land.

The deal is subject to approval of Nevada gaming regulators.

Last Tuesday, Caesars announced a five-step plan for eliminating the company’s 2015 financial obligations and reduce the upcoming debts due in 2016 and 2017.

Penn National Gaming, which owns M Resort, is again looking at the Strip for possible expansion opportunities.

Germany’s largest bank, which opened the 3,000-room Cosmopolitan in December 2010 after it foreclosed on the project’s original developer, is reportedly seeking a buyer for the resort.

Lines will be long at Las Vegas sports books when the NCAA Tournament begins today.