The Las Vegas gambler sent an e-mail saying Boyd's and Coast Casinos are merging with Coast becoming a wholly owned subsiderary of Boyd's.

Bob

Not exactly a merger ...Boyd is paying $495 million in cash and 19.4 million shares of stock for Coast ..and assuming about $460 million of Coast's debt. Boyd says the new acquisition will be run as a separate unit, under current management.

I'm sure hoping they change some policies at the Coast properties; I think Boyd pays more attention to the local market, but it seemed like Coast had started to cater to the tourists and ignore the locals and moderate gamblers. I'm hoping to see a return to full-pay video poker in the near future ...like maybe by my visit in March<vbg>. Hopefully, the comps will improve too ... I easily qualify for free room nights at Sam's Town, but my Coast offers had just about dried up, even though I played about the same amount at each.

Wow. Orleans rooms with Boyd quality food sounds like a winner to me!

Senator - what other changes to you project?? For the better I hope??? Coast properties have always been a favorite of mine. Wendell

Boyd seems to treat their employees very well which shows in the way they treat the customers. I've nevr come across a Boyd employee with anything bad to say about their employer.

Boyd properties all have great restaurants,IMHO. Coast properties never had bad food but not up to Boyd standards. My motel experience with Boyd is limited to MSS and I said after my last trip that I was done staying there until they did a major renovation. Most Coast properties have had recent room renovations so it should be a good mix.

We stay at the "Fremont" and have for years! I know of no other Casino/Hotel(there well may be)that has so many employees that have been there so long and have nothing but praise for the "Boyd" management! There are many of the staff there that have been there well over fifteen or twenty years. I know a couple of their cocktail girls that have held no other jobs than there..Sherrie & Jenny..both around seventeen years...The host at their little coffee shop, "Bill", retired two years ago after twenty some years...24,I think? All this and their good words must mean something in this day and age, especially in "las Vegas"!!......... :rolleyes:

It's called "Boyd Style" Boyd offers it's employees a lot, and a chance to move up or laterial in the Company. Example, one of my favorite bartenders at the California, started as a Craps dealer or the BJ dealer at main street who was the phone board operator, but they deleted her job and told her they would retrain her in an position that became available. I also know of a bartender who (lets say, has a few demons in his past) and they gave him a chance.
While Boyd has a low tolerance for screw-ups, they do offer thier employees a chance and that produces employee loyality. As with any company, employee turn over is a killer in the expence department. Byod has very low turn over.
I like seeing the same smiling faces every trip. The cocktail waitresses at MSS are a prime example, they are friendly, they joke with me. I remember my first visit to MSS after my split with my wife. I was sitting at the bar near the waitress station with Sharon. It felt a little awkward and I kept my nose in my game....that is untill one of the waitresses threw some ice at me, and said "Lee, arn't you going to say hello to me?" what that did was break the ice and I introduced Sharon. Even while I'm sitting here typing this, I'm smiling, thinking of all the nice people I've met, who work at a Boyd property. I know these peoples names, how many kids they have, what type of music they like, what sports teams they bet on, what cars they drive. They make it personel, and they make you feel like you belong. I can think of no other hotel casino group, where I know so many names.

Now my concerns about this deal....well, like the Senator mentioned MSS needs a make over in the room department. I worry that funds for such projects will be put on hold. Boyd seems to be a "one project at a time" joint. With the new properties, I worry that the old properties will be neglected for longer periods of time. I also worry about tranfers, employees moving within boyd, and the great employees at the downtown properties tranfering out to a better paying job at coast, or worse, the downtown properties just becoming break-in joints to supply the new coast places.
Boyd may indeed win out with the personality issue differances but coast has a lot of people, and the saying, you can't teach an old dog new tricks, keeps coming to mind.
I hope I'm worng on all counts here!
M2C

Lee: Old dogs CAN be taught new tricks. Wendell

Maybe so Wendell, but the older us dogs get the longer it seems to take to learn! LOL