The South Strip is DYING - Mandalay Bay, Luxor, Everything's Failing скачать в хорошем качестве

The South Strip is DYING - Mandalay Bay, Luxor, Everything's Failing

Mandalay Bay is struggling. Opened March 1999, so successful Circus Circus renamed company after it (June 1999). Now it's dying. Lost identity, lost attractions, stuck on declining south Strip. Here's why. LOST ITS COMPANY: June 1999 (3 months after opening) Circus Circus Enterprises renamed to Mandalay Resort Group. Mandalay Bay became flagship, corporate headquarters moved there. Company started 1968 with Circus Circus, 31 years later renamed after 3-month-old property. April 2005 MGM bought Mandalay Resort Group ($8B). Mandalay Bay went from flagship to one of dozens MGM properties. Lost special status, became generic MGM property. Specialness died when MGM took over. ATTRACTIONS DISAPPEARED: House of Blues (opened with property, live music venue) gone, replaced with generic Michelob Ultra Arena. Beach/wave pool (11 acres, real sand, surfing) not special anymore (every Strip property has elaborate pools now - Cosmo, Aria, Wynn, Encore Beach Club better). Shark Reef ($40M cost, June 2000, 1M+ gallons) still there but struggling ($29 admission, reviews say "one and done", takes 60-90 minutes, not worth repeat visits, expensive to maintain, 80 employees including 35 aquarists, maybe $10-15M revenue = break-even). Michael Jackson ONE (July 2013, 13 years same show, dated, tired, other properties rotate shows, Mandalay Bay keeps it because cheap). SOUTH STRIP DYING: Tropicana closed April 2024, imploded Oct 2024, replaced with A's stadium (opens 2028, construction site for 4 years, then 81 games/year, half year empty). Luxor next door failing (dated pyramid, budget). Excalibur budget (medieval castle, embarrassing). Across street: two 247-ft concrete towers in dirt lot (failed SkyVue wheel project 2011, Howard Bulloch built foundation then stopped, ran out money, towers standing 14 years, eyesore). East side south Strip blighted (empty lots, failed projects, boarded motels, nobody developing, property values low). RENT BURDEN: Feb 2020 MGM sold 49.9% Mandalay Bay + MGM Grand to Blackstone ($4.6B). Oct 2022 VICI bought MGM's 50.1% stake. VICI + Blackstone own real estate, MGM operates, pays $292M/year rent combined. Mandalay Bay share probably $100-120M/year. MGM covers operating costs + capital expenses + $100M+ rent then profit. Pre-sale MGM owned (no rent, all profit). Post-sale landlords take $100M off top every year forever. Limits investment (can't renovate Shark Reef properly, can't bring new Cirque show, easier keep running Michael Jackson ONE). Rent squeezes everything. CONVENTION CENTER PROBLEM: Opened 2003 (1.2M sq ft, huge, one of largest private convention centers). Drove revenue for years. Then Las Vegas Convention Center expanded (now 4.6M sq ft, dwarfs Mandalay Bay). Resorts World 2021 (350K sq ft convention, brand new). Venetian Expo (2.3M sq ft, largest private, renovated). Mandalay Bay convention center now old (built 2003, 23 years, technology outdated, layout rigid). Still has convention business but growth gone, fighting for scraps, can't charge premium rates, lower margins. W REBRAND FAILED: THEhotel opened 2003 (1,117 rooms, all suites, ultra-modern, stylized lowercase "thehotel"). Ran 21 years. 2024 rebranded W Las Vegas (because THEhotel wasn't working - occupancy declining, rates soft). When properties rebrand = struggling. W Las Vegas generic, corporate, no Vegas connection. Rebrand didn't fix problem. THE SHADOW: Oct 1, 2017 tragedy. Won't dwell but must mention. Forever changed perception. Some guests refuse to stay, some avoid south Strip. Affects bookings, group sales, convention business. Not quantifiable but real. Can't escape it. FUTURE: Survives (too big to demolish - 4,400+ rooms, 1.2M sq ft convention, 11-acre pool). But won't thrive. Mediocrity. Cheap rates, budget tourists, declining conventions, aging attractions. Shark Reef might close (too expensive vs revenue). Michael Jackson ONE runs until attendance dies. W Las Vegas struggles, maybe rebrand again. Convention center loses business, MGM renovates minimally. Room rates stay low (competes with Luxor/Excalibur on price not Wynn/Bellagio on quality). Becomes budget, dated, ignored. MGM won't invest heavily (paying $100M+ rent, need cash flow not prestige). Exists, operates, generates profit after rent. Property that was so successful they renamed company? Dead, gone, never coming back. #mandalaybay #struggling #dying #southstrip #mgm #declining #shark reef #failing #rent #vegas