A few years ago the Rampart was in bankruptcy, or close to it. The
paper described the problem, basically, as a failure to attract
locals. That was probably correct. Anyway, we decided to go there
New Years Eve for the buffet, some VP, and the free champagne at
midnite. Well, it was completely jammed! I know it's New Years Eve,
but I doubt the previous owners ever saw anything like it. We
discovered the buffet was closed to ordinary mortals ... they threw a
invitation only thank you buffet for their best customers. Closed
from 1PM to 9PM ... that's a lot of best customers! So we checked at
Ceres and Spadini ... both totally booked with reservations. We left
and went to a restaurant somewhere else (Agave, a new mexican eatery
on Charleston near the beltway). Then we returned to the Rampart and
it was even more packed ... the huge parking lots were completely
full. I think it's safe to say the Rampart has "turned the corner"
financially. I'm glad, actually, because it's a very very beautiful
facility ... and there aren't any teenagers and pre-teens walking
through to the bowling alley or theatre (think SunCoast). Now, if
they just improved the VP!
New Years Eve at the Rampart
I think it's safe to say the Rampart has "turned the corner"
financially.
I was at the Suncoast early this morning. I heard the bartenders at the Sports Bar telling each other that last night (New Year's Eve) was not that much different than any other Friday night. So maybe everyone went to the Rampart instead?
-- Steve in LV who stayed home NYE
The whole property was in bankruptcy. When Marriott came in, they
decided to lease out the casino to Paulos and Wortman for 10 years.
Most of the cash flow goes into improvements at the Cannery. Which
makes sense; no reason to put money into a place you don't own.
Thus, the Rampart has the same filthy carpeting; I think it's the
original, and I don't know if I have ever seen it cleaned. My
other beef with the place is the lighting is kind of weak and the
air quality could be improved. But I still get a kick out of going
in there when it is raining and seeing buckets on the floor in
places, as well as some machines shut down and covered with plastic.
Given all that, at least some new machines were added in 2004. I was
there late last night and was pleased to discover that my favorite
10/7 DB back by the cafe had been upgraded with new "guts". Or maybe
it was a completely new machine; I haven't gone there much in the
last three months. But the machine was clean, the screen was sharp,
all the buttons lit up, the sound worked, and it was now a TITO
machine. I actually felt that I was in a modern casino.
Also, I distinctly recall that on NYE last year, the place was
jammed, as was the deck. I ended up watching the fireworks from the
top of the deck, and considered myself lucky to have gotten a
parking space. On the other hand, many times during 2004, you could
walk in the casino and see no craps players, and very few players at
other table games.
ยทยทยท
--- In vpFREE@yahoogroups.com, "brumar_lv" <brumar_lv@y...> wrote:
A few years ago the Rampart was in bankruptcy, or close to it. The
paper described the problem, basically, as a failure to attract
locals. That was probably correct. Anyway, we decided to go there
New Years Eve for the buffet, some VP, and the free champagne at
midnite. Well, it was completely jammed! I know it's New Years
Eve,
but I doubt the previous owners ever saw anything like it. We
discovered the buffet was closed to ordinary mortals ... they threw
a
invitation only thank you buffet for their best customers. Closed
from 1PM to 9PM ... that's a lot of best customers! So we checked
at
Ceres and Spadini ... both totally booked with reservations. We
left
and went to a restaurant somewhere else (Agave, a new mexican eatery
on Charleston near the beltway). Then we returned to the Rampart
and
it was even more packed ... the huge parking lots were completely
full. I think it's safe to say the Rampart has "turned the corner"
financially. I'm glad, actually, because it's a very very beautiful
facility ... and there aren't any teenagers and pre-teens walking
through to the bowling alley or theatre (think SunCoast). Now, if
they just improved the VP!