Cosmopolitan Sold...Thoughts.

The Cosmopolitan has been sold to a group that also owns and runs the Hilton and Wyndham hotel chains. Not a lot of details yet except that Blackstone now will own and presumably run the property.

Hoping that this doesn't see the property lose its "Identity". The Cosmo has carved out a niche as the "young, hip, edgy" venue on the Strip, and the place really does have a different feel to it than the other, mostly MGM resorts on that side of the Strip. The clientele is different, celebrities hang out there, the rooms are all pretty unique and modern (and pricey) and the vibe is amazing on a weekend night. You don't see a lot of older (i.e. older than me) guests and there are few of the mid-western shlubs in cargo shorts and fanny packs roaming about, and if there are, they're lost and don't stick around. Ladies tend to dress up (or down) to the nines.

When you walk into an MGM resort like the Bellagio, for example, it's nice and all, you feel comfortable and safe and the average age of the clientele is slightly less than something out of Jurassic Park. Everyone's in tan shorts and polo shirts and it's pleasant and pseudo-luxurious, but there's not really a sense of excitement. It feels a bit stale.

When you walk in the main Strip-facing front entrance of the Cosmo on a weekend night you're bombarded by the loud beats coming from Bond, go-go dancers on tables, dancers in wall cut-outs, live music in Chandelier bar, and a steady stream of beautiful people up and down the main walkways. There's a real sense of old-school Vegas edginess still in the place. You feel like you may well get laid or have a drink poured over your head or get into a fight or do all of the above and not remember it the next day.

As I've mentioned in other posts, I will always have a soft spot for The Cosmo as it was the first resort I stepped foot into in Vegas on my first trip 3 years ago. My first drink in town was at the great, comfortable Henry bar tucked just inside the front door, and I met several bartenders there who I now know by name and who recognize me and what I drink as soon as I walk in. The first Vegas slot I played was a quarter machine right off of Chandelier that payed me out $380 on my second spin. I've been back to Cosmo every time since and will go back every time in the future.

I can only hope the new ownership doesn't "corporatize" The Cosmopolitan too much. To get there and see the marquee outside say "Welcome to the Hilton Cosmopolitan" would diminish the experience for me, and would probably draw in a different clientele and vibe; "Oh look Martha, I can use my Wyndham points at The Cosmowhatziz now, grab little Jethro and let's get on the Greyhound over there!" While I stay at MGM resorts due to the fact that I get comped there for damn near everything, all the MGM resorts feel just a little too safe and easy, a just barely adequate amount of family-friendly "Right".

The Cosmopolitan still has "Just the Right Amount of Wrong", and that's rare and necessary in Vegas right now. Don't fuck it up, Blackstone.