The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas News - Page 17

The company is still assessing the damage from its recent fire, but does not expect them to exceed what is covered under the company's insurance policies.

This Week in Gambling, J Todd discusses the shutdown of more than 10 online casinos following their owners' recent arrests. He also dives into sports betting news, industry mergers and a fire at The Cosmopolitan Las Vegas.

The county requires cabanas to be made of non-combustible materials and placed at least 20 feet away from any fuel-fired equipment.

The fire shut down the Strip for about an hour and forced the partial evacuation of the Cosmopolitan.

The hotel-casino lost $5.39 million in the first quarter of 2015, compared to a loss of $12.7 million in the same quarter a year ago.

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.