Jew

^No pandora's box...

Robb is currently on a cruise ship, so his access to internet is somewhat limited.

TPR members probably aspire to make more than minimum wage with no benefits.

Did mine last night! No real changes since I only rode one new wooden coaster in the past year.

It's easy to see where this is going...the former owners are going to buy it even cheaper out of foreclosure, sell everything off, and make even more money using other peoples money.

Pretty sure many of you saying it's all the kids fault would be pretty upset if a restaurant served you scolding hot food that literally burned you. I doubt it would written off as "oh, that's how food should be!". Food should be hot. But not scolding hot.

The one key difference making this situation unique is the fact they were in a back room. I would guess the intent behind the rule is to be safe in "stick-em-up" situations where a armed robber enters the store and demands money/merchandise/etc on the store floor. In that case it's obvious to everyone that the safe thing to do is give them what they want. The line gets blurred when you're talking about an armed man you had detained in a back room.

What building is that in Sci-Fi city?

I think this is a tough situation for both parties (Wal-Mart & the guys involved). The policy totally makes sense: provoke a guy with a weapon in the store and he is liable to open fire on the patrons and employees. Totally makes sense to let him walk away. That's a pretty standard policy for stores, restaurants, banks, and anywhere else with cash registers. On the flip side, Wal Mart could face just as much trouble giving an armed man free-reign of their store if someone had the ability to stop him and didn't However, I would imagine that when a gun is pointed at you in a backroom of the store...the LAST thing on their minds was what company policy is. Could you imagine being that situation? I imagine that adrenaline and instincts take over and they did what they thought was best given the immense pressure they faced. I imagine this will be settled relatively quick now that it is in the media. Really not fair to blame any party.

To be fair, I really don't think the blame was entirely on her. IMO, The Scream accident was the product of a bad system from top-to-bottom @ SFMM. This is only speculation, but I have always thought she was probably walking out of the track the "shortcut" way everyone on the crew used but technically were not allowed to after block check (thus creating the idea that it was OK). Her mistake was assuming that the person @ panel would start the ride... That's a failure on managements part to not be aware of the shortcut, a failure on the panel operators part for not verifying she was clear, and a failure on her part for not using more caution in being in the ride track. Just a real unfortunate accident that was easily preventable.

Could someone please explain to me who this guy is and why people keep giving him money?

Hmm, I'm not sure how I feel about anything being built in house. I can understand the reasoning behind it, but that's something I'd want to leave to the professionals. Who did they buy from in the past that made them want to build in house? So long as they have proper documentation, any certified machinist, welder, etc. could build them and they would work just fine.

Took this pic the other day. Gives a good idea of just how massive the building really is. Keep in mind that Stages 30/32 were a combined total of 25,000sqft before the walls were knocked down, pits were dug into the ground, and the building was expanded. Just in case you were wondering how to fit a big ride in a small space...

His shows are @ the Joint. Again, there's no doubt Hard Rock Hotel (and the Palms for that matter) have their own unique niche in the Vegas market. The problem is their niche is ever-shrinking with clubs (both day and night) to be found all over the strip. They're not the "it" spots anymore, and I doubt they had a huge list of "whales" to fall back on like strip casinos.

I assume you missed the article I just posted? They spent $1.36 billion dollars on the two new towers and are now unable to cover the debt. Probably because Hard Rock (and the Palms for that matter) have very little left to offer that the strip doesn't, but still continue to charge Strip rates for the rooms and suites. Rehab isn't going to save them with so many other pool clubs now open on the strip.

I think the Rio has survived because it was the first "all-suite" hotel and still offers dirt cheap rates for suites. The WSOP has only been at the Rio since 2005.

Hard Rock was the first to tap into the "trendy" crowd with modern rooms, nightclubs, music, etc. Followed by the Palms. Then all the casinos on the strip caught up with their own "megaclubs" and "pool clubs." So now both Hard Rock and Palms (which is also in financial trouble...don't be surprised if the Maloofs sell) are screwed. Bad locations and nothing to draw guests anymore.

Well, my pictures really sucked...so no Cosmo update at the moment. The solution: go back to Vegas this month for a proper update with some of my tax return money. But anyways... Another Vegas casino is about to bite the dust: http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2011/feb/01/lenders-file-foreclosure-notice-against-hard-rock-/

^^Quite frankly, I think that says all you need to know about the project. When confronted with legitimate concerns, all you can do is respectfully back down. It is not the least bit surprising that the city of New Orleans would not want to do business with you if you handled their concerns in the same manner you are handling mine. I am not trying to argue. I just want answers. If you could give us ANY reason to believe this project was legitimate, we would all be celebrating the revival of the park. But you can't tell us who is helping you develop the project, you can't tell us what experience you have in the industry, and you can't get your story straight about any financing you may have had. I would like nothing more than for you to prove me wrong and for SFNO to be reopened (so I can get the credits AND get drunk in New Orleans!)...

^^Except it's all talk and no evidence to support his statements. While I applaud your service to our country...saying "I was a carny and worked for Walt Disney and been in this industry for so long..." hardly inspires ANY confidence. What exactly did you do? Have any proof or references? Prove me wrong. If that's the case, I imagine you have a copy of this letter you can scan for us. And again, explain to me how you couldn't convince an investor to hand over a $500,000 no risk investment (he either gets his money back, or you get $100 million dollars and the park allowing him to see a return on his investment), but a few months later made a public statement that you had $12.5 million ready to hand over?????? You don't have to have "years of industry experience" to be able to figure out that you could have used $500,000 of that money you allegedly had to make the good faith payment. Which of course would mean you could then go back to the city and say "I got $112 million dollars to work with now. Lets make this happen ASAP." If you really had it of course. I am going to guess they would get involved with anyone who theoretically should have received a $100 million dollar bond to pay their licensing fees. Naturally they backed out when it became obvious you wouldn't have any money to give them. Perhaps because they don't exist? Seems strange to me that contractors for Disney and Universal (you know, those major theme park companies who actually have trade secrets to protect) can proudly display their work, yet your top-secret NDA's prevent you from saying anything? I am not even going to bother to respond to the "publicly held company" comment, because there are thousands of major privately held companies that have no problem letting the world know who their executives are...

So...uhh... Where's the money coming from? You couldn't even get a $500,000 refundable deposit.

Die.

^Hard Rock/Freestyle Music Park wasn't that far from the beach either. There is no intention for this thread to be "abusive." I have serious doubts about your "work", so I am merely trying to fill in the gaps. One thing that still baffles me is how your "investor" was afraid to put up the $500,000 refundable deposit (held in escrow) at that October meeting, and then somehow the very next month (exactly one day before the next board meeting in which you could have gone for final approval of the bond) you are claiming to have $12.5 million to buy the property outright? With $12.5 million available to you, it seems to me like the logical thing to do would have been to put down the money to get the bond so your efforts could really take off? I would also like to know who the "best minds in the industry" working for you are what experience you and your team have in the industry. Lastly, you should be ashamed of yourself for dodging Robb's question!

Luke over at westcoaster nailed it: this is really the beginning of the next chapter in the parks life. The writing is on the wall. It's in everyones best interest that the football stadium and CGA be under one ownership group. I think all the parties involve realize this and are working towards a deal to make it happen. In fact, I would not be surprised at all if removing Invertigo is the first step in Cedar Fair's exit plan from the park before announcing a sale to the 49er's. Once the 49er's own it, I am sure they will find someone to manage it for them (perhaps CF will stay on in this capacity?) and throw some cash at the place to have a unique revenue stream available to them that no other NFL team has. Open the park up on game days as a "fan experience zone", host 49er events at the park, and so on.

This thread is great for comedic value.