The first question in my mind was “Who is Phil Ruffin?” most people have probably never heard of him, but in the past few years he has started to make his mark in Las Vegas – maybe not to the general public like Steve Wynn and Donald Trump have, but he is starting to become an important player on the strip.

Ruffin, owner of the private Ruffin Companies located in Kansas, started out in the oil exploration business – they own over 100 oil wells, and from there have diversified into convenience stores, hotels, real estate and lately – gambling.

His website is sorely outdated, listing one of his hotel properties as the New Frontier – which has been sold and demolished; so its unclear how accurate it is, listing only three hotels a few office buildings and the Greyhound Racetrack. The latest press release is from the announcement of the Trump International Hotel & Towers – dated almost three years ago.

His first purchase in Vegas was the New Frontier hotel, which he bought in 1998 for $165 million. His intention was to build a resort called “Montreux” named after a town in Switzerland. Instead he sold the vacant land to El-Ad Properties for over $1.2 billion dollars last year (wow what a ROI). El-Ad was supposed to build the Plaza Las Vegas on the site but has temporarily suspended construction due to the economy.

Phil did keep a small portion of the New Frontier property for himself so he could go into a 50/50 joint venture with Donald Trump to build the Trump International Hotel Las Vegas. Currently that project is only half completed (one tower is finished – the other, identical tower hasn’t even begun construction yet).

He also owns a Greyhound Racetrack in Kansas that he has threatened to close down since his attempt to put in slot machines was shot down by the Kansas Government.

According to the press release from MGM Mirage – Ruffin stated he would have never been able to purchase Treasure Island if the economy wasn’t in the doldrums suggesting that MGM was looking to get rid of it at a very aggressive price. The Treasure Island property has always been in my mind as one of MGM’s second tier properties which were not given the same attention as their marquee properties such as Bellagio, MGM Grand, and New York, New York, so its not very surprising that this property was sold – but it is a little surprising that MGM was willing to let go of one of their prime strip properties.

A few weeks ago MGM announced it would look to sell some of its vacant land on the strip – the property which was expected to go first was its joint venture with Kerzner International at the north end.

This transaction brings two questions to mind – what is Phil Ruffin up to? and what other properties is MGM looking to get rid of?

If MGM is to get rid of any other strip casino properties – I’d fully expect the Mirage to be the next one to go. If the Monte Carlo wasn’t so integrated into City Center – I’d say that one would go as well, but since its in between New York, NY & City Center and will have direct access to the City Center project, it would be foolish for MGM to divest of the Monte Carlo. Since Mirage and Treasure Island were built as sister properties – almost seeming to share a lot of services, so it’s interesting that one was sold without the other. I have a feeling that Mirage will go to Ruffin next, or perhaps another buyer – ever since Siegfried & Roy’s show was shut down the Mirage has lost a lot of its luster.

Phil Ruffin is definitely a person I will be watching in Vegas right now. There’s no word if this is just a one-off purchase or if he is looking to take advantage of the depressed market prices and pick up other properties that companies such as Harrahs may be looking to sell to raise cash. This type of transaction demonstrates that people with the capital behind them are able to make a deal happen – especially when 75% is paid in cash.

I’m going to keep an eye on Phil – he’s someone to watch..

andrew@alconic-inc.com