Roy Horn Goes Home; Vegas Property Changes Hands
Updated: 11:26 a.m. EST January 12, 2004
Roy is home. More than two months after a tiger attack that left illusionist Roy Horn in critical condition, Seigfried's partner has come back to Las Vegas to continue his recovery at home. Horn spent the first few weeks after the incident at a Las Vegas hospital and was then transferred to a special facility at University of California, Los Angeles. Seigfried and manager Bernie Yuman continue to make appearances talking about how Horn is improving dramatically, giving the impression that it is only a matter of time before he's up and frolicking with the white tigers again. However, insiders quoted in everything from the Las Vegas Review Journal to the National Enquirer say Horn's injuries were so severe that a full recovery is doubtful.
Being on the duo's press list got me one of the much-coveted 2004 calendars, produced before the October incident, that feature a centerfold of Montecore, the tiger responsible for the attack on Roy Horn. It also has this quote: "Animals are reliable, full of love, true in their affections, predictable in their actions, grateful and loyal."
Three big sales happened just before the end of the 2003 that will affect the Vegas landscape. The first was the Desert Passage mall, sold to a group of East Coast investors for a cool $240 million. The Arabian-theme mall is inside the separately owned Aladdin, which was sold last year to Planet Hollywood. There is no official word on what the new mall owners plan to do with the place, but most people believe they will remodel it to match the upcoming Hollywood-theme renovation of the overall property. The second sale was of the venerable Las Vegas Hilton, which was sold by Park Place/Caesars Entertainment to Colony Capital for around $280 million. There's no word now as to what the new owners have in store, but reports have been bandied about that include everything from a total overhaul to building a new tower and even transforming the entire property into a time-share facility. Regardless, the Hilton name is expected to stay on the building somewhere. This isn't the first time Colony has been in the gaming biz. It owned Harvey's Resorts, sold in 2001 to Harrah's, and still operates Resorts Atlantic City. The LV Hilton purchase is widely viewed as a first step toward becoming a major player against Park Place and MGM Mirage. The third sale involved toy giant FAO Schwarz, which sank into bankruptcy for the second time in two years. While most of the nationwide outlets will close, both the famed New York store and the Las Vegas store at the Forum Shops have been purchased for around $20 million by a New York investment firm. The stores will close temporarily while undergoing face-lifts but will reopen in the summer with the FAO Schwarz brand still intact.
Magician Mac King has been nominated for a spot in the Guinness World Records for a stunt he performed last week centered around the classic "telephone" game. King started by telling one person, "Mac King is a comedy-magic genius." That person whispered it to the next person, and so on and so forth down the line of 614 people, breaking the previous record of 564 that was set at an event in Ireland in March 2003. When the message got to the end, it had morphed into "Macaroni cantaloupe knows the future." King then opened a locked briefcase where he had written his prediction of what the final message would be, and it matched. If you haven't seen King's show, do yourself a favor and go the next time you're in Vegas. You can find out more info by clicking here. The Weekly Trivia Question is sponsored by the Online Memorabilia Museum at Vegas4Visitors.com
Three big sales happened just before the end of the 2003 that will affect the Vegas landscape. The first was the Desert Passage mall, sold to a group of East Coast investors for a cool $240 million. The Arabian-theme mall is inside the separately owned Aladdin, which was sold last year to Planet Hollywood. There is no official word on what the new mall owners plan to do with the place, but most people believe they will remodel it to match the upcoming Hollywood-theme renovation of the overall property. The second sale was of the venerable Las Vegas Hilton, which was sold by Park Place/Caesars Entertainment to Colony Capital for around $280 million. There's no word now as to what the new owners have in store, but reports have been bandied about that include everything from a total overhaul to building a new tower and even transforming the entire property into a time-share facility. Regardless, the Hilton name is expected to stay on the building somewhere. This isn't the first time Colony has been in the gaming biz. It owned Harvey's Resorts, sold in 2001 to Harrah's, and still operates Resorts Atlantic City. The LV Hilton purchase is widely viewed as a first step toward becoming a major player against Park Place and MGM Mirage. The third sale involved toy giant FAO Schwarz, which sank into bankruptcy for the second time in two years. While most of the nationwide outlets will close, both the famed New York store and the Las Vegas store at the Forum Shops have been purchased for around $20 million by a New York investment firm. The stores will close temporarily while undergoing face-lifts but will reopen in the summer with the FAO Schwarz brand still intact.
Magician Mac King has been nominated for a spot in the Guinness World Records for a stunt he performed last week centered around the classic "telephone" game. King started by telling one person, "Mac King is a comedy-magic genius." That person whispered it to the next person, and so on and so forth down the line of 614 people, breaking the previous record of 564 that was set at an event in Ireland in March 2003. When the message got to the end, it had morphed into "Macaroni cantaloupe knows the future." King then opened a locked briefcase where he had written his prediction of what the final message would be, and it matched. If you haven't seen King's show, do yourself a favor and go the next time you're in Vegas. You can find out more info by clicking here. The Weekly Trivia Question is sponsored by the Online Memorabilia Museum at Vegas4Visitors.com
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