urbanSTL

I was at Lumiere this past Saturday night, and it was packed. I wanted to check out the lobby, lounge, etc. on the 8th floor of the Four Seasons, and it was to capacity, and they were only letting hotel guests into the hotel. At least that's what the doorman said...



Anyone know of some special reason for such a crowd?

Lumiere Place-St. Louis



For the quarter ended June 30, 2008, revenues at Lumiere Place were $49.2 million, which results include Lumiere Place Casino, Four Seasons Hotel St. Louis, HoteLumiere (the renovated former Embassy Suites Hotel) and The Admiral Riverboat Casino. Average daily casino revenue trends for the complex have been positive, as expected, except for the period from June 11 through the end of the quarter when The Admiral Riverboat Casino was closed due to flooding. Hotel occupancy has also risen steadily at both hotels since opening. Consistent with the ramp-up of operations at almost all new casino hotels, Lumiere Place incurred higher marketing costs and payroll than is anticipated in future periods. As a result, Lumiere Place-St. Louis had an Adjusted EBITDA loss in the quarter of $253,000. For the quarter ended June 30, 2007, which results included only The Admiral Riverboat Casino and a restaurant of the former Embassy Suites, revenues were $14.9 million and Adjusted EBITDA was $1.7 million.







--Ameristar Stock. Beginning in late October 2007, Pinnacle acquired approximately $40 million of Ameristar Casinos Inc. common stock at an average price of $32 per share. The founder of Ameristar, who owned approximately 55% of the common stock of Ameristar, passed away in November 2006 and left most of his shares to The Craig H. Neilsen Foundation. Federal law requires charitable foundations under most circumstances to diversify their assets. Pinnacle's management therefore concluded that there was a high likelihood that Ameristar would be sold.



Both Ameristar and Pinnacle build, own and operate high quality casinos in regional gaming markets. Other than St. Louis, where Ameristar and Pinnacle operate casinos that are approximately 20 miles apart, the operations of each company do not overlap. The combination of the two companies would have provided certain economies of scale and marketing efficiencies.



Pinnacle invested in Ameristar's stock with the intention of commencing discussions about the strategic acquisition of Ameristar. Shortly after such investment was made, the share prices of most casino stocks, including Pinnacle and Ameristar, fell sharply. Since October 31, 2007, the share prices of each of these companies have declined approximately 60%. Credit markets have also tightened, making it much more expensive and perhaps impossible to consummate such an acquisition. The acquisition of Ameristar by Pinnacle potentially would have, among other things, required refinancing of most of the debt of both companies. In the opinion of Pinnacle's management, the cost of doing so in today's market, if indeed it could be done, would offset much of and perhaps all of the value created by combining the two companies.

http://www.pnkinc.com/press-and-media-d ... id=1184239

^ 100% stupid huh......I guess that includes you too, since you were in the casino with the "idiots".

The Central Scrutinizer wrote:

goat314 wrote:^ 100% stupid huh......I guess that includes you too, since you were in the casino with the "idiots".

I'm guessing that reading comprehension isn't your forte.

Not really........I just felt like scrutinizing you, since you always have something insulting to say. I misread your post but I really don't care, because you were in the general vicinity of the moronic slobs and some of their characteristic obviously rubbed off on you. This is not the first time you've insulted gamblers.

Is it possible that the crowd was that because of the game? I expect the same after Rams games, only the crowd will be a bit older.

The Central Scrutinizer wrote:I walked through the place after the Mizzou-Illini game tonight. The one thing that kept popping into my head was the line from Animal House - "Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life". Because it fit the clientele perfectly. One look at the patrons of the gambling floor and I came up with the statistics of 90% fat, 70% drunk and 100% stupid.



I will go back and sample the restaurants at some point.

earlier on last evening this was definitely was not the case. The place was packed with large groups of younger good looking 20 and 30 somethings... TCS your observation is fairly accurate of most any Casino anywhere... Nothing out of the ordinary here.

The Central Scrutinizer wrote:I walked through the place after the Mizzou-Illini game tonight. The one thing that kept popping into my head was the line from Animal House - "Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life". Because it fit the clientele perfectly. One look at the patrons of the gambling floor and I came up with the statistics of 90% fat, 70% drunk and 100% stupid.



I will go back and sample the restaurants at some point.

It would seem that maybe you should spend less time in casino's passing judgment and stereotyping people since you find these places so depressing. Save yourself the time (and the space on the blog), don't go back to sample the restaurants at some point.

Not to mention, it was during the Mizzou-Illini game. Did you happen to notice that the entire downtown area was packed with people of similar demographics to the one you just described? The normal casino crowd does not fit that description.... Lumiere merely absorbed the football fans, especially now that the tunnel is open

I had some friends eat at Sleek this week and their review was just like all the rest (it wasn't very good).



I will be eating at Cielo this weekend. Hopefully I'll have a wonderful experience to share.

Moorlander wrote:I had some friends eat at Sleek this week and their review was just like all the rest (it wasn't very good).



I will be eating at Cielo this weekend. Hopefully I'll have a wonderful experience to share.

My experience at Cielo was quite positive. The food was good and the rooftop patio is a great view for dinner.



The waiter was friendly and attentive, and my wife got a dessert on the house when they heard we were there to celebrate her having taken a new job.



That was earlier this spring, so they might have become tired out by now, but I'd go back for dinner sometime.

well there is no shortage of beautiful people here today! Models everywhere. Thank you Fashion Week!

Has anyone been to the concert/performance venue at Lumiere yet? I'll be going to a show there next month.

I was there last month for the GoGo's. The best thing about it is that it's small and intimate. However, it's really just a big drape-lined banquet room with a platform and lights for a stage. They also have a bar set up in the back. The seats were just your typical movable banquet chairs. That being said, it was a rockin' show and the sound was surprisingly good.

A lady died in one of the Hotel Lumiere rooms last night/this morning... Seems she partied a little too hard...

Friday, November 14, 2008

Four Seasons named AAA Five Diamond hotel

St. Louis Business Journal







The Four Seasons Hotel St. Louis received the AAA Five Diamond Award, a first for St. Louis. The Four Seasons is Missouri’s only hotel to hold AAA’s highest honor.



This marks just the second time a Four Seasons’ hotel was recognized within its first year in operation. General Manager Thierry Kennel and his staff were unknowingly graded on 228 service benchmarks as well as 75 physical benchmarks for the property by AAA evaluators.



St. Louis currently has five AAA Four Diamond hotels, including the Ritz-Carlton, Chase Park Plaza, Renaissance Grand, Westin and Hyatt Regency at Union Station.



http://stlouis.bizjournals.com/stlouis/ ... tory8.html

Has anybody eaten at the buffet recently?



I went a couple times after they first opened, and it wasn't bad; one of which was a special meal they put on for a holiday and it was of fantastic quality.



Went back recently, and it was one of the worst meals I've ever had. The quality has taken a nose-dive, firmly taking hold of the standards of "St. Louis Good", food that would be laughable in other major cities. I thought Lumiere was trying to be something different and more upscale than the other area casinos, but this is a step in the opposite direction.



Especially embarrassing was the desserts. Fake whipped cream on plastic-pre bought desserts. Disgusting.



If casinos in Vegas can offer premium products, and Lumiere touted themselves as the "Vegas experience" in St. Louis, why dumb down your food offerings on your buffet so terribly.



I've tried other restaurants at Lumiere, and other than Burger Bar (which has been consistently decent), the others still fall flat (upscale Italian restaurant using Provel cheese? seriously now, give me a break...)

I have to agree. I have eaten at the buffet a number of times, and the last time I ate there, the quality of the food had sharply fallen. The rice of the sushi was rock hard and inedible, the bread rolls were stale, and the pizza was almost cold. Not to mention the selection was greatly reduced. To reiterate what 1000 said, if Lumiere wants to be the most high end casino in town, they should work on improving the quality in the kitchen. The food is generally a major reflection on the quality of the casino. Who cares about a comped buffet if the food isn't worth eating?

The Central Scrutinizer wrote:The blue hairs will eat whatever you put in front of them, as long as it is cheap enough. Remember, these are the same people who keep Ryan's and Old Country Buffett in business.

Old Country Buffet hasn't existed for more than a year.