The Las Vegas Strip

It's not that long ago that battling for control of the Las Vegas Strip meant exploding cars and people being thrown out of windows, but those days are over. Large corporations, private equity firms, and some of the wealthiest people in the world are fighting today's battle. The violence is gone, but the stakes are higher than ever.

MGM Mirage Corporation owns over half of the hotel rooms on the Las Vegas Strip. Their hotels include, from south to north as you travel on The Strip: Mandalay Bay, Luxor, Excalibur, New York-New York, MGM, Monte Carlo, Bellagio, The Mirage, Treasure Island and Circus Circus. MGM Mirage also developing CityCenter, an incredible collection of high-rise condominium in between Bellagio and Monte Carlo.

Harrah's Entertainment is the next largest owner of hotels on the Las Vegas Strip. Their holdings include, from south to north: Paris, Bally's, Bill's Gamblin' Hall, Caesars Palace, Imperial Palace and Harrah's. They also own the Rio, which is just west of The Strip. In the end of 2006, two private equity firms, Apollo Management and Texas Pacific Group, purchased Harrah's for over $15 billion. Before the sale it was rumored that Harrah's was going to implode all of their hotels from Bill's Gamblin' Hall to Harrah's and build a huge casino complex. Whether the rumor was true and whether the new ownership will make this bold move remains to be seen.

After these two corporations the remaining players are currently limited to one hotel-casino each, at least until the Sands Corporation complete Palazzo, the sister property to the successful and opulent Venetian Hotel. Major stockholder Sheldon Adelson is the third richest man in America, in a large part due to the Sand's wildly successful holdings in Macao. The Wynn is another stunning hotel built by Wynn Resorts under leader Steve Wynn, and they are also expanding. The Aladdin is now Planet Hollywood, and the already beautiful hotel has made needed changes and upgrades that will make them competitive. Other hotels include the aging Tropicana, Riviera, and Sahara.

Boyd Gaming is developing Echelon, a multi-hotel, entertainment, and meeting center located on the old Stardust property and on adjoining pieces of land. Boyd is a major player in downtown and local Las Vegas.

In addition to Mgm Mirage's CityCenter there are numerous other high-rise condominium complexes in development on the Las Vegas Strip, including one being built by Donald Trump on a site owned by the owners of the recently closed New Frontier. The success of these projects is not guaranteed at this time, although most look like they are going to be able to sell their condos at a steep price.

The days of the mob in Vegas are done. Federal scrutiny and the incredibly large amounts of capital required to open a casino have put an end to it. The era of maverick ownership isn't done yet, with individuals like Sheldon Adelson, Steve Wynn, and Kirk Kerkorian still involved (although none of them outright own a casino), but it seems like large corporations or incredibly well heeled private equity firms are the future of the Las Vegas Strip.