Casino Firms, Union Near Pact

LOS ANGELES —  Three Las Vegas casino operators reached a tentative deal with the union representing housekeepers, cooks and restaurant servers Thursday, lessening the chances of a crippling strike in the gambling mecca as other casino groups continue their labor talks.

Park Place Entertainment Corp. and Aztar Corp. reached their initial agreement with the Culinary Workers union early Thursday, a Park Place spokesman said. Harrah’s Entertainment Inc. reached its tentative pact with the 50,000-member union later in the day, according to a source familiar with the situation.

Las Vegas-based Park Place’s resorts include Caesars Palace and Bally’s, and Aztar’s include Tropicana and Harrah’s Las Vegas.

Park Place said it agreed not to discuss details of the accord until a ratification vote is held by union members.

Other major casino operators, including MGM Mirage, Mandalay Resort Group and Harrah’s Entertainment Inc., are holding their own contract talks in a bid to avert a strike that could severely hurt Las Vegas’ economy.

Union members voted overwhelmingly last week to authorize their leaders to call a strike if a new agreement is not reached by the May 31 deadline.

The main issues in the current talks include rising health-care costs and working hours for housekeepers.

MGM Mirage spokesman Alan Feldman said his company is confident it will soon reach an agreement with the union.

A spokesman for the culinary union confirmed the tentative contract with Park Place but would not comment further.

The union estimates the economic effect of the first 30 days of a new strike would roughly equal that of the first month of the downturn after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, when casino occupancy rates plunged to as low as 50%.

The last time union workers on the Strip went on strike was in 1984, when they walked off the job for 67 days.

Casinos laid off thousands of workers in a bid to remain solvent after Sept. 11, but have hired many back in recent months as business improved.

In a new sign of recovery, Mandalay on Thursday announced plans to add a $225-million hotel tower to its flagship resort on the Strip.

The company also reported profit of 71 cents a share for its fiscal first quarter, a penny better than analysts expected, and said hotel revenue should be up modestly in the current quarter after about a year of decline.