The LVS (which stands for Las Vegas Sands) stock seems to be getting closer and closer to hitting rock bottom and perhaps even facing the unpredictable bankruptcy. While that is not for sure and only the guess of some analysts in the industry it seems so very hard to believe. Visiting the LVS hotels in Vegas being the Venetian and the newer tower called the Palazzo one would never say that the hotel looks even the slightest bit unpopulated. But the stock exchange doesn’t lie; the company is facing tougher times than ever before.

This time last year the LVS ticker was surely beyond the one hundred dollar mark while the same time this year the amount is lucky if it breaks the four dollar mark. Traders initially gave the company a buy recommendation as the predictions when the stock really fell back in September were that it would sooner than later go up to a minimum of forty dollars. Now the recommendation is simply a modest hold. Those that are optimists are happy that at least it’s not a sell recommendation.

Whether or not the stock goes up or down the hotel upper level management and executive team are doing everything that is possible in their power to turn the company around and create as much business as possible in this rough economic time. Cutting costs and making adjustments where absolutely necessary and possible are first on the list of improvements to make in order for the company to function at a gain rather than a loss.

In a survey taken by gamblers that play poker at least once a week, Las Vegas was crowned as the poker capital of the world. While this may not come as a big surprise it was a bit surprising to those people in the UK and Europe as they were lead to believe that poker was quite a popular game among the British and the European so they were thinking that the home of poker maybe closer to their home turf.

When taking the survey players were asked what city they thought of first when gambling in general came to mind, and again Vegas came in, in first place. Monaco and Macau were a close second and Atlantic City was also somewhere on the list.

Poker players said that while tournaments often occur abroad and on cruises and also in a remote warm location such as somewhere in the Caribbean, Vegas is still the first place that comes to mind when you think of anything that is gambling related.

Poker tournaments of the largest calibre are about to be in season as the WSOP and the WPT are around the corner. The tournaments place high among the favourites for poker players all around the world.

If you happen to be in Las Vegas and looking to catch a game most casinos on the strip offer a poker room for players to play in and often times there are posted tournaments that poker players can sign up for and participate in.

The Las Vegas mayor has expressed that he feels like he and the city are owed an apology from new president Obama for the his recent speech and address to corporate America with regards to spending the tax payers dollars on trips to Las Vegas.

In a speech made earlier this week the president made a clear point in discussing that desperate times call for desperate measures and companies simply cannot be spending money, especially the tax payers dollars on things such as private jets, trips to Las Vegas or off sites to the Super Bowl.

After a corporate bail out from the government for several businesses, financial and others, the president was clear that the money should not be spent on any lavish gallivanting but only on strategy to recoup all losses.

Since the beginning of January several trips that companies had planned to Las Vegas have been cancelled in an effort to appear professional and deserving of the helpful hand. However, the mayor of Las Vegas is saying that the president’s comments and suggestions are simply outrageous and that any convention that can take place in any other state and city can surely take place in Las Vegas as well.

The mayor really believes that Obama must apologize to the city and remit his comments. Las Vegas has long been the convention and meeting destination for many companies all throughout North America and since most of the cities income streams from travel and tourism having the president suggest that it is not a respectful business destination is not helping the economy in the slightest.

Goldman Sachs Group is now the second major financial institution to cancel a pre planned trip to Las Vegas. Las Week Wells Fargo announced that they would be cancelling an employee recognition trip to Las Vegas due to media hearsay that the company was blowing away money that they had just recently received in government sponsored funds to recoup from bankruptcy. Goldman Sachs has moved their trip to San Francisco.

When asked, the company did not say whether or not this was a cost savings effort or they were just relocating for another reason. They did mention that other than changing the location the conference will remain exactly the same. Rumour has it that in order to cancel the reservation that the company held with Mandalay Bay they had to pay a $600,000 dollar cancellation fee. The company will not confirm whether there were any fees associated with the change in plans.

It seems as though companies that have received federal funding and perhaps other companies that are alike as well will try to stay away from meetings and conferences in Las Vegas due to the public opinion that the meetings are held primarily as a retreat rather than a necessary business convention.

This would be one of the last things that Vegas needs as travel to the city brings in lower numbers than ever before this year. Companies are trying to spend less on rewards and more on focus in moving forward so anything that appears to be rewarding is likely to be put to the back burner.

Everyone knows that times are tougher than usual but while the travel budget may be much smaller than in years past, travel analyst are picking Vegas as the destination for those that are looking to travel on a budget.

Analysts that have watched prices to stay in Vegas sky rocket are the same people that are now saying there has never been a better time than now to try out a new Las Vegas hotel or take advantage of the lavish shopping and enjoy some of the world’s greatest eats at restaurants that are sure to create memories that last a lifetime.

Those that have been to Las Vegas in recent months are all saying that the deals that are available are somewhat unbelievable. Accommodations at the new Wynn hotel called the Encore are priced to encourage almost anyone to go. In fact, prices at all top tier hotels such as the Bellagio, the Venetian, the Palazzo and the Wynn have not been this affordable in years.

The deals on shopping are said to be unreal as well. Stores are having sales without ever displaying merchandise at full price. The usually wait for a sale is not even necessary and the entire mall has something for everyone on your trip.

Booking a few days in advance or a month in advance currently offers the same value as there are deals that are already prepared for the spring months ahead. The only thing left to do is find the best airfare deal and plan the rest of your vacation.

Unfortunately for the select few Wells Fargo employees that were looking forward to celebrating their successes in Las Vegas the trip will no longer occur. In an announcement made yesterday executives at Wells Fargo announced that the trip to Las Vegas has been cancelled due to the undeserving reviews that this trip is nothing more than a lush and expensive waste of company resources for top level execs to have a good time.

The trip was planned in an effort to have several business meetings while simultaneously rewarding those executive individuals for a years’ worth of hard work and dedication to the mortgages being lent even throughout the beginning of the tough economy.

The negative publicity surrounding the planned event and trip resulted in the cancellation of the trip altogether but the company stands strong to their point. They explain this trip was truly supposed to be a meeting convention designed so that the employees on the trip would have a good time but were still able to complete the mandatory communications.

The company explains that had the trip been one year ago it probably would have gone completely unnoticed, much like many other companies were doing. Conventions are held in Las Vegas all the time and this happens for the same exact reason. Companies want to offer their employees a relaxing atmosphere so that they could look forward to leaving home for a few days while also learning new things and attending meetings that are useful to the rest of their career with the particular organization.

The city council has approved plans for a new hotel to be built in the downtown city core of Las Vegas. The center part of the city was quite a popular tourist attraction in the early seventies but has since settled and become more than old news. In an attempt to revive some of the city core there was a suggestion made to build a brand new hotel in the center.

The one hundred and fifty million dollar project was approved but a strong suggestion was imposed that said that during a time of recession such as the time we are in right now it would be considered wise to put a hold on the project due to the demanding costs associated with the building.

The builder of the projected has been contracted to developer Forest City who has agreed to take on the building of the structure in a not so shabby exchange for over a 6 acre portion of Union park.

Construction in the entire city of Las Vegas has come to a bit of halt in recent months but as the economy betters the city argues that fixing up the downtown area would be essential to bettering the entire city as a whole.

Perhaps attracting tourists to the area of downtown will make for a larger amount of visitors in the city and expand the parameters for visits to areas other than the strip which currently attracts 90% of all those that fly into the Las Vegas airport on a daily basis.

The Elton John concert entitled “The Red Piano” will be going on the Las Vegas stage for the last time this coming April. The exact date of the last show will be April 22nd 2009. Elton John will be performing his concert for the last time as he has not resigned with Caesars Palace.

The Red Piano show began in February of 2004 and has been a hit show ever since its first stage performance. The show was originally scheduled for just seventy five performances in total. Elton John had resigned the deal and extended it on by way over the 75 original shows.

The total amount of shows that will occur once the last show goes on stage will be just under 250. The show has been a hit with Elton John fans all throughout the world. People have travelled far and wide to come visit Vegas and attend the musical like concert.

Caesars Palace reports that there is currently no exact plans of a replacement for the show and although they are in the process of searching for one. It is unclear of what or who is being targeted to be the next performance but the hotel promises to reveal who will be booked into the spot once that is determined and confirmed.

Elton John representatives report that he does not plan to book any other long term engagements and will likely take a least a year off of any recording or concert booking. To get tickets and catch him while he is still in concert please visit the ticket office or contact the hotel directly.

Everything was supposed to change with the new government in power. The stock market had actually looked like it was on the way up after the inauguration and the morning bell had a more promising ring. But things are now dropping back into the pattern that had established itself previously.

The Las Vegas Sands has experienced some of the worst down turns in history.
Currently the stock is trading at a very low 4.06 dollar mark and has no evident promise of returning back to its once over hundred dollar point. To that end there seems to be nothing but gloom in sight for the company all together as layoffs continue and Vegas all together continues to dry out.

The economy always largely affects the companies associated with travel and tourism but this time around seems to have affected Las Vegas much more than ever before.

All Vegas based casino stocks have lost immense amounts on the stock markets and are just losing more and more.

The plans to expand any casinos have all come to a complete halt and any expansions that are currently under way have almost all stopped in their tracks. People are spending less and the blow is definitely being felt.

This is affecting sister companies throughout the world as well. The expansion of the casino in Asia has also slowed down and the American led growth halt is being experienced there as well. All in all if you were thinking of a casino stock as a good investment perhaps now is the time to give that another thought.

Unlike the previously slow weekends that Las Vegas experienced for the first few weeks of the year of 2009, this weekend proved to be a very popular one for Las Vegas. Perhaps the big UFC fight and the Super Bowl had something to do with it but either way bets were flying in the direction of every fighter and sports team and fans were in the sports book and of course at the MGM watching the events as they took place.

The madness began on the Thursday before the weekend as more than usual amounts of people turned up in the city of lights. Clubs were busier than normal. Restaurants and malls felt a little relief as people hit the streets for some entertainment and the casinos were happy to see people excited to make a bet.

The sports book was likely the most popular and profitable place in Las Vegas this weekend. With the fight between Canadian mixed martial artist George St. Pierre and B.J Penn took place at the MGM on Saturday night. The super bowl also brought in its fair share of people wanting to make a wager.

Over all the weekend seemed to be a hit. Those that could not get tickets to see the UFC 94 fight were able to watch it from the sports book at any casino on the strip and those that stayed in town to catch the super bowl on TV were also quite happy to toast to their favourite teams with a few beers.