http://www.sacbee.com/351/story/125277.html
Maloofs are cool as NBA hosts
Vegas has All-Stars now, but will it also be home to Kings?
By Mary Lynne Vellinga - Bee Staff Writer
Published 12:00 am PST Sunday, February 18, 2007
Story appeared in MAIN NEWS section, Page A1
LAS VEGAS - Sacramento has been a frustrating place for the Maloofs lately: Their Kings are struggling, and their bitter dispute with the city and county over a plan to build a new arena downtown last fall helped kill that proposal at the polls.
But in Las Vegas, they are the kings of cool, especially this week. Their Palms casino and hotel is serving as the hub for the NBA's All-Star week, which they were instrumental in bringing to town. Camera-toting fans lined the walkways in the Palms on Friday as star players such as Shaquille O'Neal and Allen Iverson strolled through the lobby.
"The Palms is the cool place to be," said Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman. And the Maloof brothers? "If I were a single girl, they'd be on my most eligible bachelors list," the mayor said.
By focusing on a young party crowd and the unique needs and wants of celebrities, the Palms has succeeded in creating a fresher image for the city, according to Joe Maloof.
"We're the ones that started all the parties," he said. "We brought Hollywood to Las Vegas."
The big question here this weekend: Will the Maloofs get involved in bringing the first NBA team to Vegas? And if they do, will that team be the now-Sacramento Kings?
Joe and Gavin Maloof, the brothers most visible in the Kings operation, insisted in media interview after media interview this past week that they have no plans to move the team. But in a private interview Friday in his Palms office, brother George Maloof, who runs the hotel, said he couldn't rule out an eventual move to Las Vegas or elsewhere if the lack of a new arena in Sacramento isn't addressed.
"I would say anything is a possibility," he said. "That's not our intention, though. That's what we've been saying for the past eight years."
George Maloof agrees with NBA Commissioner David Stern that Sacramento is a "great" basketball market.
"It's a good market; a team should be there," he said. "It's just a tough situation."
His brothers tend to get worked up when discussing last year's arena debacle, in which a proposal to raise sales taxes lost with an 80 percent "no" vote. George Maloof offers a calmer assessment. He said there were just too many people involved in the negotiations, trying to get things done too quickly.
The proposal to raise up to $600 million for a new arena in the downtown railyard was always controversial, but became even more so when the Maloofs publicly withdrew from the effort. They had developed qualms about moving downtown or loosening their grip on any of the revenue streams they now control at Arco, such as parking fees.
"Everything was done in the open and through the press, and in my opinion that never works," George Maloof said. "Every deal I've ever done, the less that's known about it, the better."
At this point, the Maloofs and Sacramento's political leaders say they are counting on NBA Commissioner Stern to come up with a saleable plan to replace Arco Arena. Stern swept into town in January and announced that he would develop his own plan to save NBA basketball in Sacramento.
Since then, however, he has said little about his progress. He had dinner with the Maloofs Wednesday evening at the Palms but otherwise has not been consulting with them.
In a news conference Saturday in Las Vegas, Stern said he has come up with a list of potential funding options.
He said he's going to check back with community leaders in Sacramento to decide which ones are most feasible.
"Maybe three months, four months, six months. Whatever it is, we'll have something to say on this subject," he said.
In a phone interview Wednesday, Stern said, "I know for a fact that the Maloofs are very appreciative of the support Sacramento has given them."
A tour of the Palms offers insight into the kind of arena the Maloofs might build in Sacramento and why they balked at ceding design control to the city and county, even as they were asking the public agencies to absorb cost overruns.
"If we ever get a shot at a new arena in Sacramento, we will make it the best," Joe Maloof said. "It will be the most fantastic, the most fun."
The family has spent $300 million in the past year expanding the Palms, which cost about $250 million to build in 2001.
A new Fantasy Tower features a state-of-the-art recording studio and various themed suites, which go for $2,000 to $40,000 a night. This weekend, Nike has taken over the Hardwood Suite, which contains a basketball court, scoreboard, locker room and beds that fold out of the walls. Some of the suites have "show showers" equipped with glass fronts and stripper poles, the sky villas have pools that cantilever off the side of the building, and the Kingpin Suite has two bowling lanes.
The Fantasy Tower also contains a Playboy Club and the Moon nightclub, where the retractable roof -- the only one in Vegas, Joe Maloof says -- allows revelers to dance under the stars.
A third tower -- the 50-story Palms Place -- will feature condominiums.
The Maloofs' latest effort -- the Pearl performing arts theater -- will open next month. It is an old-fashioned looking playhouse that uses modern material such as perforated metal and will seat about 2,500. Already booked: Gwen Stefani and comedian Carlos Mencia.
"There's not a bad seat," Joe Maloof said. "We took a lot of time and effort to do this. If you see a concert here, you'll be in complete comfort."
Everywhere in the Palms, there are features designed to create atmosphere, like the palm reader who works in a cozy nook off the gambling floor, or the tattoo parlor that doubles as the set for a reality TV show.
Constantly updating is the only way to survive in the competitive Las Vegas market, the brothers say. They make much of the fact that theirs is the only independently owned casino left on the Strip amid a collection of large corporate owners.
"Maloofs like bright lights, colored lights, fog machines and anything else that makes you feel more excited about where you are," Joe Maloof said, leading Sacramento Bee reporters on a tour of the property.
Even if the Maloofs do harbor the desire to move their team from Sacramento to their Las Vegas base, they would face the same problem as they do in California: no new arena.
The Thomas & Mack Center, like Arco, is considered outdated. And while the ebullient Mayor Goodman said he has talked to "five very substantial groups" eager to build an arena with private money, some other local leaders are more skeptical.
MGM Mirage, which owns 10 casinos on the Strip, already has voiced opposition to the idea of spending public money on an arena, noted Pat Christenson, chairman of the arena task force. And nobody has really studied the viability of an NBA franchise in a market that's smaller than Sacramento and has a lot more entertainment competition.
Yet George Maloof said it's important to remember that this is Las Vegas, where the normal rules don't seem to apply.
"I think you could pull it off easier here than anywhere else," he said. "Vegas is just different. There's so much interest and corporate demand in this town."
Maloofs are cool as NBA hosts
Vegas has All-Stars now, but will it also be home to Kings?
By Mary Lynne Vellinga - Bee Staff Writer
Published 12:00 am PST Sunday, February 18, 2007
Story appeared in MAIN NEWS section, Page A1
LAS VEGAS - Sacramento has been a frustrating place for the Maloofs lately: Their Kings are struggling, and their bitter dispute with the city and county over a plan to build a new arena downtown last fall helped kill that proposal at the polls.
But in Las Vegas, they are the kings of cool, especially this week. Their Palms casino and hotel is serving as the hub for the NBA's All-Star week, which they were instrumental in bringing to town. Camera-toting fans lined the walkways in the Palms on Friday as star players such as Shaquille O'Neal and Allen Iverson strolled through the lobby.
"The Palms is the cool place to be," said Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman. And the Maloof brothers? "If I were a single girl, they'd be on my most eligible bachelors list," the mayor said.
By focusing on a young party crowd and the unique needs and wants of celebrities, the Palms has succeeded in creating a fresher image for the city, according to Joe Maloof.
"We're the ones that started all the parties," he said. "We brought Hollywood to Las Vegas."
The big question here this weekend: Will the Maloofs get involved in bringing the first NBA team to Vegas? And if they do, will that team be the now-Sacramento Kings?
Joe and Gavin Maloof, the brothers most visible in the Kings operation, insisted in media interview after media interview this past week that they have no plans to move the team. But in a private interview Friday in his Palms office, brother George Maloof, who runs the hotel, said he couldn't rule out an eventual move to Las Vegas or elsewhere if the lack of a new arena in Sacramento isn't addressed.
"I would say anything is a possibility," he said. "That's not our intention, though. That's what we've been saying for the past eight years."
George Maloof agrees with NBA Commissioner David Stern that Sacramento is a "great" basketball market.
"It's a good market; a team should be there," he said. "It's just a tough situation."
His brothers tend to get worked up when discussing last year's arena debacle, in which a proposal to raise sales taxes lost with an 80 percent "no" vote. George Maloof offers a calmer assessment. He said there were just too many people involved in the negotiations, trying to get things done too quickly.
The proposal to raise up to $600 million for a new arena in the downtown railyard was always controversial, but became even more so when the Maloofs publicly withdrew from the effort. They had developed qualms about moving downtown or loosening their grip on any of the revenue streams they now control at Arco, such as parking fees.
"Everything was done in the open and through the press, and in my opinion that never works," George Maloof said. "Every deal I've ever done, the less that's known about it, the better."
At this point, the Maloofs and Sacramento's political leaders say they are counting on NBA Commissioner Stern to come up with a saleable plan to replace Arco Arena. Stern swept into town in January and announced that he would develop his own plan to save NBA basketball in Sacramento.
Since then, however, he has said little about his progress. He had dinner with the Maloofs Wednesday evening at the Palms but otherwise has not been consulting with them.
In a news conference Saturday in Las Vegas, Stern said he has come up with a list of potential funding options.
He said he's going to check back with community leaders in Sacramento to decide which ones are most feasible.
"Maybe three months, four months, six months. Whatever it is, we'll have something to say on this subject," he said.
In a phone interview Wednesday, Stern said, "I know for a fact that the Maloofs are very appreciative of the support Sacramento has given them."
A tour of the Palms offers insight into the kind of arena the Maloofs might build in Sacramento and why they balked at ceding design control to the city and county, even as they were asking the public agencies to absorb cost overruns.
"If we ever get a shot at a new arena in Sacramento, we will make it the best," Joe Maloof said. "It will be the most fantastic, the most fun."
The family has spent $300 million in the past year expanding the Palms, which cost about $250 million to build in 2001.
A new Fantasy Tower features a state-of-the-art recording studio and various themed suites, which go for $2,000 to $40,000 a night. This weekend, Nike has taken over the Hardwood Suite, which contains a basketball court, scoreboard, locker room and beds that fold out of the walls. Some of the suites have "show showers" equipped with glass fronts and stripper poles, the sky villas have pools that cantilever off the side of the building, and the Kingpin Suite has two bowling lanes.
The Fantasy Tower also contains a Playboy Club and the Moon nightclub, where the retractable roof -- the only one in Vegas, Joe Maloof says -- allows revelers to dance under the stars.
A third tower -- the 50-story Palms Place -- will feature condominiums.
The Maloofs' latest effort -- the Pearl performing arts theater -- will open next month. It is an old-fashioned looking playhouse that uses modern material such as perforated metal and will seat about 2,500. Already booked: Gwen Stefani and comedian Carlos Mencia.
"There's not a bad seat," Joe Maloof said. "We took a lot of time and effort to do this. If you see a concert here, you'll be in complete comfort."
Everywhere in the Palms, there are features designed to create atmosphere, like the palm reader who works in a cozy nook off the gambling floor, or the tattoo parlor that doubles as the set for a reality TV show.
Constantly updating is the only way to survive in the competitive Las Vegas market, the brothers say. They make much of the fact that theirs is the only independently owned casino left on the Strip amid a collection of large corporate owners.
"Maloofs like bright lights, colored lights, fog machines and anything else that makes you feel more excited about where you are," Joe Maloof said, leading Sacramento Bee reporters on a tour of the property.
Even if the Maloofs do harbor the desire to move their team from Sacramento to their Las Vegas base, they would face the same problem as they do in California: no new arena.
The Thomas & Mack Center, like Arco, is considered outdated. And while the ebullient Mayor Goodman said he has talked to "five very substantial groups" eager to build an arena with private money, some other local leaders are more skeptical.
MGM Mirage, which owns 10 casinos on the Strip, already has voiced opposition to the idea of spending public money on an arena, noted Pat Christenson, chairman of the arena task force. And nobody has really studied the viability of an NBA franchise in a market that's smaller than Sacramento and has a lot more entertainment competition.
Yet George Maloof said it's important to remember that this is Las Vegas, where the normal rules don't seem to apply.
"I think you could pull it off easier here than anywhere else," he said. "Vegas is just different. There's so much interest and corporate demand in this town."