BetCRIS Boss Dire(rhea) Advice to Belagio Hotel: I Hope You Go To S***!

The Las Vegas economy is hurting.  We all know this.  But one online gambling exec had this piece of advice to offer up:

"The Bellagio can go to s***!" BetCRIS boss, Mickey Richardson, lashed out when discussing the state of the economy with Gambling911.com this weekend.  He can care less that the famed Las Vegas property has had to slash its rates in order to compete with other strip hotels.  "If that's a five star hotel, the rating system is seriously skewed."

Richardson, who runs one of the largest and certainly most established of the online sports betting firms, recounted his Bellagio horror story, which led him to leave a rather unpleasant parting gift in one of their high floor hallways.   

"I arrived in Vegas on a comp from a friend who plays at the Bellagio frequently," Richardson said.  "I told my casino host that I would not be playing much though from the start since I was in Vegas primarily to attend a funeral and was kinda in the dumps."

His words would soon become prophetic as we later learn.

"She assured me everything would be fine since my friend who got me the comp was such a big player there.  Anyway, at the time of my stay the Bellagio had just changed its key system and whenever I would get back to my room the card key never worked so I'd have to go all the way back downstairs, through the casino and to the lobby to get a new key made."

For anyone not familiar with the Bellagio and most Las Vegas hotels (with the exception of Alladins perhaps), the reception is typically a mile from one's room.

"This kept happening so eventually I got smart and started calling the security guard from the hallway phone.  He'd be there in less than five minutes to let me in.  Never was there a problem letting me into the room."

UNTIL THAT ONE NIGHT.

Richardson recounted how he and his high rolling friend decided to go out on the town and gorge themselves at various buffets.

"The hotel calls and tells me there is a problem and I needed to check out right away," he said.  "I had no idea what was going on.  I was not about to head back to the hotel now.  We were having a great time.  I had just finished at the buffet and the night was still young.

"My buddy was taking me everywhere.  We started drinking a bit.  He wanted to hit a few of the Strip sportsbooks.  Then it happened.

"I could feel my stomach start rolling.  My buddy kept insisting on dragging me everywhere.  My stomach had other ideas.  I had to get back to the hotel STAT or else there was going to be a serious accident.

"I get my friend to drag me back to the Bellagio.  He's still gabbing and my stomach felt as if it was going to explode.  I just needed to get up to my room.  I debated about using the lobby bathroom but felt I could make it up.  I get to my room and the f***ing key doesn't work again.

"I proceed to call security on the house phone thinking he would be up pretty quickly but it ended up taking him over five minutes, the longest five minutes of my life."

"'Let me in!' I demanded.  But the security guard would have none of this.  ‘Sir, I need to see some ID" he tells me.  Would you believe I did not have my ID with me and when the security guard calls down to the front desk, the room is in the name of my friend.

"At this point I am frustrated yelling back and forth with the guy to let me in the room.  Suddenly, I felt something dripping down the back of my pants.  It was very bad."

That something was the dreaded "number two", which had quickly escalated to number three, number four, number eleven, number twenty-five.

"It would not stop coming out and I finally told the security guard that if he did not let me into that room, I had just s*** my pants and he is going to start smelling something real bad real soon and I was going to force him to call 911 (not to be confused with Gambling911).

"Without hesitating, he puts the key in the door and lets me in," Richardson said.  "He did not say another word.

"The next day I got the ‘comped' bill...the bastards!"

They ended up charging Richardson for everything.

"There was a long line of people so I decided to argue that I was willing to pay the bill in full provided they pay for my ruined suit pants.  They refused.   Never again would I stay at the Bellagio.  They can burn in Hell for all I care."

For another great hotel horror story, be sure to read Woo's Bolt Cutters Shocker at the Hotel Kraplinsky in Amsterdam.  Gambling911 Senior International Correspondent, Jenny Woo, ironically received a comp at one of the Imperial Palace fine dining establishments after her first article was published in a casino magazine criticizing that property's buffet.  

Richardson then debated  whether those traveling to Las Vegas would be willing to pay that little extra to stay at the Bellagio or Wynn's new resort if they could get rooms for just over $100 compared to other decent Strip properties charging as little as $51 nights a night. 

A random search of hotel rates from March 27^th through the 31^st showed that Circus Circus and the Stratosphere (both rated a decent three stars) were charging an average of $51 per night.  Sunday and Monday rates were $21 each night.  Three and a half star rated Harrah's was charging $80 on Sunday and Free on Monday. 

The Bellagio, on average, was charging $194 a night over this period of the time with rates as low as $149 on Sunday and Monday.

"You can put me up in the Econo Lodge for $40 a night over the Bellagio," Richardson snarled.

BetCRIS.com was first established in 1985 and takes all size bets online.