internationalcasinoreview Comment


It’s a long way to Tipperary


Journalists in the casino sector are in the fairly privileged position of writing about a huge number of breathtaking, ground-breaking, never seen before, billion dollar projects that never actually see the light of day. Phil Martin keeps the curtains only slightly open for another, this time destined for Ireland.


longshot COMMENT


By its very nature of one- upmanship and the contin- ual need to create must-see, resort casinos to take custom from the must-see, resort casino already in operation just down the road, the casino sector is one of the most creative in the prop- erty world. The previous 99 issues of Casino Review have illus- trated the size and scope of some of the grandest of those not fortunate to make it past the planning stage yet. Land grab off the coast of Monaco, EuroVegas, Gran Scala, The Moon and, of course, a near infinite list of proposals kick- started and then kicked into touch by the British govern- ment’s courting and then dumping of the ‘Las Vegas- style super casino’ leap to mind. ‘Las Vegas-style super casino.’ I can still barely bring myself to type those ill-fated five words. They have, however, been appearing in headlines with increasing regularity in newspaper reports emanating out of Ireland in recent weeks. North Tipperary County Council have granted plan- ning permission to local amusement and arcade magnate Richard Quirke’s large-scale, E460m develop-


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ment called the Tipperary Venue in County Tipperary. The tick list for the proposal takes a familiar route, 2,000 jobs when complete, 1,000 jobs during construction, a 500-bedroom hotel and a 15,000-seat entertainment venue although there are a few added extras including an international equestrian centre, new turf and all- weather horseracing track, greyhound racing circuit and a replica of the White House. Other features include retail outlets, helicopter facilities, oh and a church. Planning permission has even been granted making the project as newsworthy as anything that has gone before. Inde- pendent politician and advo- cate of the project Michael Lowry describes it as ‘a beacon of light, an infusion of hope, set against a back- ground of economic crisis.’ The project has, though, been slammed by An Taisce, the National Trust for Ireland, as ‘an unsustainable develop- ment model of dependence on air travel from all over the world and car dependence for visitors Ireland.’


from within As much as I’d like the


project to take place, the cynic in me says it is unlikely. It would be wrong to call such proposals premature despite the critical fact that the Tipperary White House would need a complete rewrite of gambling legisla- tion in Ireland. First mover advantage is often crucial and whetting political appetite with economy boosting facts and figures is key to the opening up of any


casino market. But surely we need some inkling of politi- cal reform on such a grand scale. The sceptics have labelled the White House inclusion as some sort of theme to the casino. It isn’t. It’s a tribute to Kilkenny-born architect James Hoban and will act as a banqueting suite to what is predominantly a racing-based project. Experi- ence Stateside proves that racinos work, and if it does who’s to say the upper eche- lons of racing’s fraternity won’t make use of the heli- port. Quirke has happily put his money where his mouth is with an investment already in the region of E30m to secure land. Both he and Lowry point to new legisla- tion paving the way for the project in the New Year. It’s not beyond the realms of pos- sibility that they know some- thing we don’t but it’s going to have to be pretty radical reform.


Justice Minister


Dermot Ahern has confirmed the government will be drawing up a report on ‘reform right across the area’ but cleaning up the grey area of private members clubs acting as casinos, of which Ireland reportedly has around 50, and legislating Las Vegas are worlds apart both geographically and politically. I hope gambling reform comes. I hope Tipper- ary gets its White House. It would be a great project to write about and a kick in the budget to the UK govern- ment for the mess it made of its own gambling reform. I just won’t be holding my breath or the front page, even though I’d like it to happen.


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Las Vegas will never grow as fast again


Ten years before any new casino is built in Las Vegas? Whilst that might not quite be the case it will clearly never grow as fast as in years gone by, says Hugh Sorrill.


thelongview COMMENT


surprise given the huge eco- nomic ‘adjustment’ we’ve probably just about come to the end of.


Progress is never steady. The initial flowering of casinos in Las Vegas occurred in the 30s, grew considerably in the 60s thanks to Howard Hughes, and then shot through the roof in the 90s and most of the noughties, with signifi- cant lacunas in between. These things go in cycles, so the prediction, following the opening of Cosmopoli- tan, that there will be no new casinos in Las Vegas for the next ten years is not really a


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But to be honest, I can’t see a point at which con- struction of casinos in Las Vegas will ever reach the same pace as it did in the last 20 years. The situation has changed so much in the US. When casinos were legal in only a very few places, it was natural that concentrated markets would develop; now only two states forbid any sort of casinos - almost every American has or will have a casino within just a few hours’ drive, so the demand is largely met.


That does not mean that


Las Vegas will wither and fail (as long as the water holds out). It has reached a critical mass: beyond the appeal of casino gaming, it is a tourist destination in itself. It will


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have to renew and refresh itself from time to time, but I think the days of such heady expansion are behind us probably forever.


But no new casinos for ten years? A decade is a long time in any city; in Las Vegas it’s a lifetime. The Aladdin’s last reopening in 2000 was followed just seven years later by its Planet Hollywood redesign. Ten years will certainly be a long time for the 68-storey Fontainebleau to remain so close to finishing without some investor snapping it up for a fraction of its devel- opment costs so far and opening a bargain. The road to economic recovery is on the horizon and ten years just seems too long away, especially in Las Vegas terms. This is a city that will continue to reinvent itself, remarket itself and redesign itself.


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