Vegas List and More Rumors too!

After my post last week, I got an e-mail asking me about some of the projects in Vegas. Which then gave me the idea to the following… the From the Fabricator TOP FIVE glass projects on the strip in Vegas. So without further adieu here they are from five to one…

#5- The exterior at Mandalay Bay

The Gold glass may be a turn off to some, but the way it’s used in this building works for me. Plus the glass looks great- it’s a clean looking, classy building. Plus they have been either lucky or had lots of attic stock because the mis-match issues that plague the other gold building in Vegas (The Mirage) do not get Mandalay. In addition, the gold glass with white exterior works nicely when placed next to the black pyramid of the Luxor.

#4- Mesa Grill inside Caesars Palace

Yes I am biased here, but the Mesa Grill uses several types of decorative glass and it sets this restaurant apart from all of the others inside. Sadly pictures do not do this project justice because of the lighting within the casino. But when you go there and see it in person it makes an impression.

#3- The exterior at Wynn

When this building was going up I did not like it. But once complete the chocolate brown glass looks spectacular. It’s a unique color and its very eye catching. Plus its classy, which is appropriate for that hotel.

#2- The interior, first floor of MGM Grand

The first floor of MGM is like a Deco Glass paradise. It was like all of the restaurants got together and said “I can out do you” and then they went through their various deco glass suppliers and did it. Walking the floor of MGM you will see virtually every style of decorative- from laminated interlayers, to textured, to colored and so on. Personally I think GANA’s next Decorative Glass Division meeting should be held there for a walking tour.

And #1 is….

The Exterior at New York/New York.

Now some industry elite may say I am crazy here but this building has always blown me away. I love the glass choices and the way they work within the theme of the building. Plus you don’t see dark green or violet glass very often, and on NY/NY its there and its outstanding. In addition, the days of the “themed” hotels in Vegas are over. (Treasure Island is now TI and Luxor is now being stripped of all of its Egyptian flair, trendy is in now, theme is out.) Next time you are in Vegas look at all the glass (once you get past the Statue of Liberty and Roller Coaster) and you’ll see what I mean. It’s simply a wonderful use of product that adds to the style of the building without going overboard or affecting the theme.

Elsewhere….

On the buying spree side….2 items…. And continuing unrest on the Aluminum side…

-- One is the on going Alcoa saga- first they lose out on Alcan and now according to the story on USGNN, they are the prey to be attacked. Wow. The second is rumors plowing around that EFCO indeed is in play, with the possible buyer being Pella. I heard it last week and it stunned me, but then I heard it again today and figured the fire is raging. In addition a very popular search term on line this week has been “efco rumor” so people are looking for it that’s for sure. And it makes sense as it seems like every residential guy out there is realizing that their business is a disaster and its time to come to wonderful world of commercial. So whether it’s a PGT, Pella, Marvin or so on- there’s no question folks with a major stake in residential want to differentiate.

-- The Dow is going to break 14,000. That is incredible wouldn’t ya say?

-- Did you see an Ohio waitress won the CNBC Stock picking contest? She won the prize beating out 377,000 other entrants. The best part… she has never bought stock in her life. Simply amazing. Where was she when I bought stock in Ford Motor? Anyway, I guess it shows you sometimes luck can do it and sometimes old fashioned intuition works too.

-- This weeks “Green” note… USA Today had a quick survey of Real Estate agents. The question was: Do you think using environmentally sustainable materials will be a significant factor in the US real estate market in the next 12 months? First off that question is somewhat bizarre and from a residential side, the “Green” movement is not quite off the ground yet. That said the respondents said:

60% said YES 22% said NO and 18% said the only “Green” they know is Kermit.

Just joking on the Kermit, the 18% were “Neutral”

The relevance is that at least the agents know that sustainable products exist and they are important, despite the fact there’s not that much going into the houses at this time.

-- Last… later this week for those NFRC junkies, I’ll be dedicating an entire post to their upcoming meetings next week in Denver….