Amerikai Magyar Hírlap, 2006 (18. évfolyam, 1-50. szám)

2006-09-29 / 38. szám

went on for about 3 and a half years, and then one day my dad said, this isn’t working as well as I thought - let’s sell our stock here or buy everybody else out. Unfortunately - at least I thought at the time, it was unfor­tunate - instead of selling to us, and we had all the operating people in there, and together we owned about 20 percent, and we thought we could buy the other 80 percent out - a few weeks later our partners said, you know we changed our mind and we want to buy you out. I was very disap­pointed personally at the time, but with our offer we said we could go either way, and so we sold. And ironically, that was the best thing that ever happened to us, because not only did we get a very good price, but that allowed us to get the capital to buy other things. He and I had bought a piece of property - we were doing that a lot together when I was practicing - and we said, let’s go build on the California hotel, so that’s what we did. We put a group together, but my dad said, we have to make sure of a couple of things. Number one, we need to control the company, and then, we need to hand-pick all of the investors. As they say, more part­ners - more problems.- That’s true.- So we said, OK, let’s do that. So he and I each bought 26 and a half percent each of the stock, and the other 47 percent were all friends, most of them active in the business. Perry was one of our largest stockholders in the California. So we started our company that way. And at that time, as we were getting ready to open the California - we opened January 1st, 1975 - so probably sometime in 1974, my dad said, “you know, I’m 65 now, don’t you think you ought to consider leaving the law practice and come into this business full time?” I think that’s ironic because when I was a boy growing up, he said don’t be a dealer like your dad, go get an education - but that all worked out very well.- Now he wanted you in the business. Yes. So I made the decision - it was an easy decision, because we had everything, he had a lot more than I, and what we didn’t have we borrowed. So I invested in the California, and that was an easy decision. For a few years I represented the California, because we couldn’t afford an outside attorney anyway, so that worked out very well. We strug­gled at first, but the California became successful.- Then what was the “next big thing?”- After about a year my dad said one day: “You know, we need a niche market, and it’s Three generations: Bill Boyd (Center), his father Sam Boyd (right) and his eldest son Sam going to be Hawaii. The reason he picked Hawaii was because we had lived there before we moved to Las Vegas, and he was involved in gaming, although it wasn’t legal there.- You lived in Hawaii?- Yes, we lived in Honolulu.- And now you live here? Is this your base?- Yes, I’ve lived here since I moved here permanently. But we lived in Hawaii for several years, and I was in 3rd or 4th grade at the time. He said the Hawaiians had a game on every block, you know, they really love to gamble, so we’re going to make this their home away from home. And I said, sounds like a great idea. So we started going to Hawaii, myself, my dad and the senior people would go every other month or so, rumming up busi­ness, talking to travel agents, to airline people and we put together what we call a “Hawaiian Pack­age”. We still have that today, after 30 years. Now we have 6 charters a week, basically to fill our downtown rooms - nonstop.- Speaking of flying people in to Vegas - do you have shuttles from your other properties to the airport and to the Strip?- At the Stardust, no, but we have that shuttle from the Stardust to Sam’s Town to Downtown.- Yes, but you know I’m think­ing of the time when the Stardust will be gone. We’ll have to check out your other properties and find out how we can get there. This is the easy thing, to come to the Stardust, right on the Strip.- More recently, a couple of years ago, we bought - we merged with - the Coast properties.- I know, Sun Coast, South Coast - Barbary Coast used to be my favorite place.- Yes, and then there is the Orleans, and the Gold Coast. Anyway, we haven’t talked about it yet but we will probably run a shuttle between some of those properties. It will probably make sense to connect some of them.- I’m sure the Stardust has many fans - I call them the “Stardusters”, - and I hope you have some plans for them for the future.- Yes, yes. We have very mixed emotions about losing the Stardust, but from a business standpoint it’s going to be great for all of our cus­tomers and our employees when Echelon Place opens.- Isn’t it such a waste, though? How old is this place, the West Tower I mean, it couldn’t be more than 15 years old!- The West Tower opened in ‘91 I believe.- Everything works great, it’s so beautiful, so comfortable - wasn’t there a way to incorporate it some­how in the new development?- No, we looked at that very closely, but the way that it’s situ­ated on the property, it wouldn’t work. So it will have to come down, probably sometime in February we will implode the Stardust, and we’ll have a ground­breaking for Echelon Place. Rob: And what worked in 1990 doesn’t any more, the design has evolved so tremendously with all the different new resorts that have happened over the years, that we really needed a clean slate.- You have to build something fancy now, right?- The next 50 years, those are great properties that we’ll have to compete with: Wynn’s, Bellagio, Venetian, Mandalay Bay...- Everybody is building some­thing huge, right? - City Center, leaning towers... I don’t like those kind of things, I love the Stardust, the way it’s built. You get out of the elevator, walk a few steps and you are right there, in the pool. Or this building here... Aki, “showgirl for the 21st century” (Courtesy of “The Stardust of Yesterday”)- That’s one of the things that we kept in mind developing the Echelon. Even though it is going to be very large - Echelon Place will be 5300 rooms - but every­thing is going to be well located as far as customers are concerned. We kept in mind when designing it so you don’t have to walk too far from the elevators to the room, so no matter where you are, it will be very convenient to the customers.- All these rooms, all these new developments - HOW MUCH CAN LAS VEGAS ABSORB??? Rob: You have heard that question a lot, haven’t you? - I remember when Atlantic City legalized, people said, this is the end of Las Vegas, everybody will start going to go to Atlantic City. Well, it just made LV better, because it taught more people how to gamble. I think Las Vegas keeps reinventing itself, and I think we get more and more people all the time who are finding this - as obviously you do - a great place to vacation and relax. I think this is going to con­tinue, and we see a tremendous opportunity in China. We think in the next few years it will become much easier for the Chinese to travel, that will open up, there is a tremendous amount of wealth now in China, and people who will want to get out will be able to come to a place like Las Vegas. When you think of some sta­tistics, like “last year 25 percent of Americans visited a casino”, - well, that means you’ve got an untapped market out there of 75 percent!-1 remember the early nineties, when everybody said, Vegas is full, it can take no more! And then came the big boom, begin­ning with NewYork New York in 1997, two or three new casinos opening each year.- I think when Wynn opened the Mirage in 1989, I think that opened up everyone’s eyes. I’d say every operator in town said, he must be crazy! He must make a million dollars a day to break even, how is he going to do that?- I think he is a man with a vision.- But, you know, we just had never seen anything like what he did before, and it opened every­body’s eyes.- Do you guys invite each other to your openings, like, were you there when he opened the Bellagio, or now Wynn’s? Do you go to their events and vice versa?- Oh yeah, we invite all of the people in the business, and years ago, you were expected to make a courtesy play, and I’ve done that a few times, just because if you are invited, well, that seemed the right thing to do, give them a chance to get started.- Let me ask you, Mr. Boyd, is there a book out about you? I’ve seen several books about Mr. Wynn (all scandals, of course) and I saw one about your father, “Sam Boyd: Nevadan”, but not a thing about you. Could it be that they found nothing to pick on you about, that you were too nice?- Well, I’ve got a Players Book, if you’d like, I’ll send a copy to you. Its about my father more than me, and about the early years of Las Vegas, and the people who made it. I think you would enjoy it.- I don’t think you can com­pare anybody to Wynn, I think we are all pretty laid back com­pared to him. He has a lot of publicity - deservedly though - he has done a tremendous amount for this community, he deserves everything that he gets, a very-very talented person when it comes to vision.- I know - that Bellagio he created is incredible...- Also, he is a very vocal guy. Myself, and a lot of us in the business are much more laid back, we go about our business, and don’t look for publicity. We think more importantly of running the business and being successful and taking care of our customers and our employees. Rob: Keeping your eye on the ball. I know we only have time for a couple more questions, Susan, so one of the things I did want to point out is that Bill and Steve Wynn had been colleagues for many-many years, you know Wynn started in downtown...-1 know, you were neighbors, he had the Golden Nugget...- Right, and ultimately Steve Wynn called Bill and got us involved in Atlantic City, and we became partners that way.- How is that Borgata place?- Oh, that is a wonderful, wonderful place. I think it com­pares very well with our real nice hotels here on the Strip, and it’s the nicest in Atlantic City by a long shot. We are using a lot of the same people in Echelon that we had used in Atlantic City to develop Borgata, a lot of the same designers, construction people, consultants, etc. And we learned a lot in building the Borgata, and that experience will be very help­ful here. You are bringing someone back from the Borgata... Yes, Bob Boughner. He is back already, and he was in Atlantic City for 7 years. He got the Borgata started, it was a very long process in New Jersey, and he’s been back since the 1st of the year, and he is actively develop­ing Echelon Place. The whole 63 acres will be called “Echelon Place”, and our part will be called “Echelon Resort”.- Will there be anything that can be called a landmark? Some­thing spectacular?- Well, at this point I can’t say, but in order for us to compete with Wynn, Bellagio, Mandalay Bay, Venetian, we will have to have a spectacular place.- When do you plan to finish it? 2010?- Yes, 2010 we’ll be opening, and our start will be in February, after we implode the Stardust. We will have to move out from here in March or April, and this will be part of the whole complex.- What is the last time people can make reservations for?- October 31st is the last night you can stay here. And those nights are going real fast, so you better grab them soon.- Mr. Boyd, before I leave, could we take a picture together? Perhaps in front of that picture?- Sure. That’s my father, myself and my oldest son Sam. I’ve got two sons and a daughter.- Do they help you in the busi­ness?- They are all in the business, all three.- Mr. Boyd, I am so thankful to you for doing this, to let the Stardust go in style - the book and the dinner and saying good­bye in style to the faithful patrons of the Stardust.- Thank you for taking the time to talk to us, Susan. ALL PICTURES courtesy of BOYD GAMING Szeptember 29,2006

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