Sunday, February 17, 2002

USA TODAY: Says Vegas has abandoned the family-friendly rhetoric and gotten back to the business of gambling and nekkid ladies:

''We pretended to be a family destination,'' says Gamal Aziz, the president of MGM Grand, which opened an entire theme park next to its casino in 1993. ''The (core) gambling market had gotten to a point of stagnation, and it was just another way to expand.''

Alas, the family-friendly rhetoric ''really backfired,'' he says.


But do you really have to go all the way to Vegas to find a strip club? Oh wait --these are artsy strip clubs:

''The buzz is that one of the casinos will install its own strip club,'' says Curtis, who notes that way back to Vegas' mobster days, casinos have lusted after every dollar that tourists bring to town.

But while the finances make sense, MGM Grand's Aziz says it's not something his casino plans anytime soon. ''You can't chase every business that is lucrative,'' he says.

Aziz says such an operation undoubtedly would draw a howl of protest from certain customers and shareholders of the casino's parent company, MGM/Mirage. ''It's not a morality call (on strip bars), but it certainly does not fit into our business.''

Indeed, casino executives -- perhaps eager not to offend female gamblers, who make up nearly 60% of Las Vegas visitors -- are careful to differentiate their new topless shows from those at the gentleman's clubs. Aziz stresses that La Femme is tasteful, noting that two-thirds of ticket buyers are couples.


That 60% has to include a whole lot of old ladies sitting in front of slot machines to explain the skewing female of Vegas tourists, I'm guessing.

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