harrahs has bought planet hollywood
http://www.vegastripping.com/news/news.php?news_id=3083
There's no point complaining about it, or wishing that it's not gonna happen, Harrah's debt purchase of Planet Hollywood is a done deal.
In early September 2009, Harrah's began purchasing Planet Hollywood's debt. Forty-five days later, Harrah's filed application with Nevada Gaming Control to buy the joint. Harrah's CEO Gary Loveman sent this email message to Harrah's employees:
The Planet Hollywood resort is currently in default to its lenders. As a result of our purchase of their debt, we are working on a plan that also would allow Harrah's to own and manage the property. This is an attractive proposition because of Planet Hollywood's proximity to our other resorts on the Strip, its high-quality product offering and its strong brand name.
Within days, two high ranking executives brought in to manage the rebirth and repositioning of Planet Hollywood left to go fix the Tropicana. We expect even more defections as Harrah's looks for cost savings and redundancies.
Commenter David on Five Hundy's 5th Anniversary Show pointed out that Planet Hollywood is leaving Starwood Preferred Guest program (SPG).
Leaving Starwood on January 15, 2010 - The Planet Hollywood Hotel & Casino, A Sheraton Resort will be leaving the Starwood system on January 15, 2010. Reservations for dates on or after January 15, 2010, will not be eligible for Starwood Preferred Guest membership benefits, award redemption or accrual." - SPG
Twitter user @josephthomas asked @phvegas about this directly earlier today:
Welcome to Planet Loveman.
Sources have told us that Planet Hollywood will enter Harrah's property pecking order right below Caesars Palace directly above Rio and Paris. The Planet Hollywood name will remain on the property and become part of Harrah's global branding strategy along with the Horseshoe, Caesars, Ballys, WSOP and Flamingo names.
Much like you, we're always sad when Harrah's gobbles up yet another property, particularly when it was starting to look like the opposite was about to come true.
Would it be stupid for us to hope that Harrah's acquisition goonsquad will take the time to glean lessons from Planet Hollywood's success? Stupid is as stupid does and here's a whole lotta stupid: people are attracted to Planet Hollywood because it provides a great return on the value proposition... from dining to drinks to dice, nearly all offerings at P.Ho are a square deal. The sharp, bright and exciting atmosphere attracts smarter, bargain aware. middle tier players and stayers who will more likely start the day with a Mimosa than a Metamucil. Being footloose does not preclude being financially irresponsible.
Perhaps the most important part of P-Ho's success - and the one that will most likely be lost on Harrah's bean counters - is the shocking reality that it became the magnet property for those who have grown weary of the Harrah's marketing algorithm. Total Rewards in their eyes is a perfect demonstration of how total information awareness can turn your psychology into a mathematical equation. Harrah's infotechnologists have effectively reduced your entirety to an array of values in a database from which a marionette of enticements can built and choreographed.
In the old days, dealers knew your name, what you drank, what you played. Today, it's like checkin' into an airport. And if you order room service, you're lucky if you get it by Thursday. Today, it's all gone. You get a whale show up with four million in a suitcase, and some twenty-five-year-old hotel school kid is gonna want his Social Security Number." - Ace Rothstein
Tropicana or bust?
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I'll go back to my original post and make the change. 
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