| The Casino Reality TV
Show Mark Burnett is at it again. The Emmy Award winning
executive producer who has brought us such hits as "Survivor"
and "The Apprentice" is back again with The Casino Reality TV
Show.
This is the first reality show to give a behind the scenes look at the
inner workings of a Las Vegas casino. Set at the newly renovated and newly
purchased Golden Nugget Casino in downtown Las Vegas, this show promises
a step beyond the typical informational shows one might see on a travel
channel by adding that "reality show" drama so many Americans
have become obsessed with.
Enter Tim and Tom. Both are 34 year old multimillionaires who made their
fortune during the internet boom. Together they created Travelscape.com
then sold it to Expedia.com for about 105 million dollars.
They are the anxious new owners of The Golden Nugget. These two entrepreneurs
are now living the long time dream of owning a casino. The Casino will
let us behind closed doors Monday nights (9/8C) to see first hand as the
drama unfolds for these two new owners of The Golden Nugget. It is the
biggest gamble of their lives. Will it pay off?
TV makes stars of casino operators
With the June 4 debut of "American Casino," a televised series
about Station Casinos and the Fertitta brothers who run it, Las Vegas
will serve as the setting for five prime time series this summer and fall.
This comes on the heels of cable television's increasing coverage of Las
Vegas-based poker tournaments, such as ESPN's plans to air 16 hours of
this year's World Series of Poker.
Few other U.S. cities have ever had as much television exposure at one
time, said Billy Vassiliadis, chief executive officer for Las Vegas-based
R&R Partners, the largest advertising and public relations agency
in Nevada.
"American Casino," which is being produced by Craig Piligian,
will air for at least 13 weeks on the Discovery Channel with an estimated
audience of 5 million as part of the American Series he created.
He said no decision has been made on how the series will end, or even
when it will come to a close.
"Las Vegas is phenomenal. Vegas is just crazy. Vegas is great. And
everyone wants to (get into the action) because it has everything in a
very small sandbox," Piligian said.
In addition to "American Casino," CBS will be running "CSI:
Las Vegas" and NBC will be airing "Las Vegas." NBC also
will premiere a new series, "Dr. Vegas," in September.
This summer, Fox will start running "The Casino," featuring
the Golden Nugget and its new owners, Tim Poster and Tom Breitling.
"I've never seen a vacation destination of any city have the kind
of exposure at any one time that we'll be getting soon," said Vassiliadis,
whose company represents the Las Vegas Visitors and Convention Authority.
"In terms of exposure and impact, it's phenomenal. USA Weekend lists
us as the best place to come and have fun in the country," he said.
"All the exposure is great for us. I've been involved with the LVCVA
for 20 years, and I've never seen exposure like this. It keeps us hot,
and we should keep it up."
Jim Medick, CEO of the MRC Group Research Institute, Nevada's largest
market research and public polling firm, said the exposure reinforces
and enhances advertising messages the visitors authority and individual
properties send out.
"What's slowly happening is we're becoming Hollywood East. There's
an 'I want to be there' attitude. It's getting to be seen as cool and
hip," Medick said.
The television shows "add to the sizzle," and the free public
relations "is the best promotion and advertising we could have,"
Medick said.
In a recent interview, Station Casinos Chairman Frank Fertitta III and
company President Lorenzo Fertitta, his brother, dismissed thoughts that
they were particularly cool or hip, or that they are stars in any way,
despite being featured in the upcoming series.
Lorenzo Fertitta said he believed the national exposure would prove to
be a big boost for his company, however, and expand the potential customer
base for Station's new Green Valley Ranch hotel and casino, which will
be featured in the series.
He predicted the "American Casino" series will be successful
because Las Vegas is mesmerizing American audiences, and that it will
be good for Las Vegas because it will mesmerize even more viewers.
Both brothers said the Discovery Channel series will be more about their
new casino in Henderson, the team that runs it and the services it offers
than about them.
But Piligian said his American Series programs, which have included "American
Chopper" and "American Hot Rod," focus on American success
stories and the entrepreneurs who have lived them, such as the Fertitta
brothers.
"It's not about a building, a bike or a hot rod. It's about their
lives and working in a very different business" than most Americans
know, he said.
"We came in, lifted up their skirts a little bit. The program has
good characters, good drama and it's good TV," Piligian said.
But he conceded it also includes about a half dozen other characters who
run Green Valley Ranch with the Fertitta brothers.
Filming started Jan. 5 at Green Valley Ranch, and shooting for the first
13 episodes will wrap up in mid-July.
Scenes for "Dr. Vegas" also were filmed at Green Valley Ranch
during the spring, disrupting play in the casino but adding an element
of excitement for players.
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