trueD
02-11-2007, 01:12 PM
The Maloofs are ready to cater to their star clientele during the NBA's midseason gala
By Scott Howard-Cooper - Bee Staff Writer
Published 12:00 am PST Sunday, February 11, 2007
http://www.sacbee.com/351/story/121862.html
What happens in Vegas, stays at the Palms.
The 24 identical two-bedroom suites are primped and ready for the biggest stars, along with the 576 or so other rooms contracted to the NBA.
Thirty local police officers have been hired for off-duty work to provide additional security on the grounds. The best driving routes to the arena to avoid the inevitable gridlock have been mapped out.
Now the Maloofs just need Thursday to arrive already.
Brothers Joe and Gavin run the Kings, and brother George runs the Palms, and together they are unofficial hosts of All-Star Weekend as the NBA brings its gaudy midseason showcase to a city without a franchise.
The role falls to them by default since the family owns the players' hotel -- and the role also falls to them by choice.
The Maloofs, knowing Sacramento doesn't have enough hotel rooms to lure the event, and that the league wouldn't have much interest in bringing the spectacle to an arena it's trying to leave anyway, lobbied for Las Vegas. The brothers, in turn, evolved into point people on the exhaustive planning for an event of this magnitude.
"If we had to speak to somebody in Las Vegas, and needed to either get to them or send a message, the Maloofs were very helpful to us if we asked them to do something," Commissioner David Stern said.
"Actually," deputy commissioner Adam Silver interjected, "it was George Maloof, as opposed to Gavin or Joe. George ... helped facilitate a deal with the mayor's office and the convention and visitors bureau in Las Vegas."
What it will mean in tangible terms for the hotel arm of the family business is not so definite, according to marketing experts. The potential exposure, and therefore free advertising, will be immense, to be sure, with approximately 1,200 journalists credentialed from the United States and another 300 from foreign outlets, all of whom will have the opportunity to mention the Palms as a center of activity. But it also could be short-lived.
"I don't think it will have much impact at all," said Stephen Pruitt, a finance professor at Missouri-Kansas City specializing in sports sponsorships. "The players have to stay somewhere, and it's not like people are going to believe they went to Las Vegas to stay at that hotel. It's an indication that it is a very good hotel because the NBA wouldn't use it if it wasn't. But it's not going to make that a destination hotel."
George Maloof doesn't expect it to.
"It's not going to be a turning point for us," the president of Maloof Hotels said. "We've been open almost six years. We've already been able to build our own brand. It's always been about the community of Las Vegas. It's such a special place that deserves all the positive publicity it gets."
The Palms already has been featured in a season of the long-running MTV series "The Real World" and has been bragged about as the host of a celebrity poker tournament on Bravo. The hotel has a marketing deal with Playboy, complete with a shop immediately off the casino floor, and if there's anyone that knows about exposure, it's Playboy. The NBA is there and gone within days and shuttling the most prominent of the clients of the long weekend two miles away to the Thomas & Mack Center much of Saturday and Sunday.
Besides, it almost certainly would have been a busy weekend for the Palms and other hotels anyway, with the Chinese New Year on Sunday and traditionally a major event for Las Vegas anyway. It's not like the city and the property haven't hosted large groups before.
"From an exposure standpoint," said George Maloof, a UNLV graduate, "it's nothing new to us."
And the possibility that being the players' hotel will be an opportunity for the special guests to drop huge amounts of money in the casino?
"That happens every day," he said.
Players, the players' individual security and the players' public relations representatives begin to arrive Thursday. All the main attractions are expected to be checked in by Friday, before an afternoon of group media availability and then lavish parties, appearances and whatever other activities the city might offer. That should take them through the Monday departure, with trips to the arena for practices, All-Star Saturday and the main-event game Sunday squeezed in.
The participants might leave Sunday night, immediately after the game, if past years are any indication, although, then again, the past years were never held in the desert playground. The itineraries might be a little more fluid this time around.
Checkouts are expected Monday at the latest, with most players scheduled to rejoin their teams that night for a possible practice in preparation for playing the next day.
Then the Palms will go back to its usual NBA relationship, as the host hotel for several Las Vegas summer-league teams. The Kings always stay there, naturally.
For the three or four days of the All-Star (so-called) Weekend, though, the buzz through all the casinos should be a constant, the way the city gets at these crescendo moments. The same three of four days when the Maloofs will have a role as hosts in an event that doesn't have an actual one.
"From a ceremonial perspective, no," George Maloof said. "From making sure that things get done, I'll be involved. This has our name on it."
By Scott Howard-Cooper - Bee Staff Writer
Published 12:00 am PST Sunday, February 11, 2007
http://www.sacbee.com/351/story/121862.html
What happens in Vegas, stays at the Palms.
The 24 identical two-bedroom suites are primped and ready for the biggest stars, along with the 576 or so other rooms contracted to the NBA.
Thirty local police officers have been hired for off-duty work to provide additional security on the grounds. The best driving routes to the arena to avoid the inevitable gridlock have been mapped out.
Now the Maloofs just need Thursday to arrive already.
Brothers Joe and Gavin run the Kings, and brother George runs the Palms, and together they are unofficial hosts of All-Star Weekend as the NBA brings its gaudy midseason showcase to a city without a franchise.
The role falls to them by default since the family owns the players' hotel -- and the role also falls to them by choice.
The Maloofs, knowing Sacramento doesn't have enough hotel rooms to lure the event, and that the league wouldn't have much interest in bringing the spectacle to an arena it's trying to leave anyway, lobbied for Las Vegas. The brothers, in turn, evolved into point people on the exhaustive planning for an event of this magnitude.
"If we had to speak to somebody in Las Vegas, and needed to either get to them or send a message, the Maloofs were very helpful to us if we asked them to do something," Commissioner David Stern said.
"Actually," deputy commissioner Adam Silver interjected, "it was George Maloof, as opposed to Gavin or Joe. George ... helped facilitate a deal with the mayor's office and the convention and visitors bureau in Las Vegas."
What it will mean in tangible terms for the hotel arm of the family business is not so definite, according to marketing experts. The potential exposure, and therefore free advertising, will be immense, to be sure, with approximately 1,200 journalists credentialed from the United States and another 300 from foreign outlets, all of whom will have the opportunity to mention the Palms as a center of activity. But it also could be short-lived.
"I don't think it will have much impact at all," said Stephen Pruitt, a finance professor at Missouri-Kansas City specializing in sports sponsorships. "The players have to stay somewhere, and it's not like people are going to believe they went to Las Vegas to stay at that hotel. It's an indication that it is a very good hotel because the NBA wouldn't use it if it wasn't. But it's not going to make that a destination hotel."
George Maloof doesn't expect it to.
"It's not going to be a turning point for us," the president of Maloof Hotels said. "We've been open almost six years. We've already been able to build our own brand. It's always been about the community of Las Vegas. It's such a special place that deserves all the positive publicity it gets."
The Palms already has been featured in a season of the long-running MTV series "The Real World" and has been bragged about as the host of a celebrity poker tournament on Bravo. The hotel has a marketing deal with Playboy, complete with a shop immediately off the casino floor, and if there's anyone that knows about exposure, it's Playboy. The NBA is there and gone within days and shuttling the most prominent of the clients of the long weekend two miles away to the Thomas & Mack Center much of Saturday and Sunday.
Besides, it almost certainly would have been a busy weekend for the Palms and other hotels anyway, with the Chinese New Year on Sunday and traditionally a major event for Las Vegas anyway. It's not like the city and the property haven't hosted large groups before.
"From an exposure standpoint," said George Maloof, a UNLV graduate, "it's nothing new to us."
And the possibility that being the players' hotel will be an opportunity for the special guests to drop huge amounts of money in the casino?
"That happens every day," he said.
Players, the players' individual security and the players' public relations representatives begin to arrive Thursday. All the main attractions are expected to be checked in by Friday, before an afternoon of group media availability and then lavish parties, appearances and whatever other activities the city might offer. That should take them through the Monday departure, with trips to the arena for practices, All-Star Saturday and the main-event game Sunday squeezed in.
The participants might leave Sunday night, immediately after the game, if past years are any indication, although, then again, the past years were never held in the desert playground. The itineraries might be a little more fluid this time around.
Checkouts are expected Monday at the latest, with most players scheduled to rejoin their teams that night for a possible practice in preparation for playing the next day.
Then the Palms will go back to its usual NBA relationship, as the host hotel for several Las Vegas summer-league teams. The Kings always stay there, naturally.
For the three or four days of the All-Star (so-called) Weekend, though, the buzz through all the casinos should be a constant, the way the city gets at these crescendo moments. The same three of four days when the Maloofs will have a role as hosts in an event that doesn't have an actual one.
"From a ceremonial perspective, no," George Maloof said. "From making sure that things get done, I'll be involved. This has our name on it."