HOSPITALITY HEADLINES

• Razzoo's will pay $1 million to settle discrimination lawsuit (Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Texas)
• BRIEF: Governor wraps up Gaming Summit with word on casino legislation (The Sun Herald, Biloxi, Miss.)
• Tribe wanting to buld casino granted 254 acres in Bay Area (Contra Costa Times, Walnut Creek, Calif.)
• Long Gaughan: El Cortez owner sells stake in downtown casino (Las Vegas Review-Journal)
• Pinnacle profits in first quarter (Las Vegas Review-Journal)
• Restaurants feel pinch as business expense accounts go on diet (Las Vegas Review-Journal)
• Millions at stake in Lawton casino fight (The Oklahoman)
• The Triangle's best restaurants (The News & Observer, Raleigh, N.C.)
• Kalahari Resort breaks ground on $15 million indoor entertainment facility (The Wisconsin State Journal)

INSIDE HOTEL ONLINE TODAY
DAILY EMAIL NEWS

• Examining the Findings of PKF's Inaugural Edition of Trends in the Hotel Spa Industry / John R. Korpi
• Real Conversations vs Rigid Scripting Increases Reservations Productivity / Doug Kennedy
• Southern California Resorts Eye More Guests With Unique, Specialized Services / Sandi Cain
• Kalahari Resort in Wisconsin Finds Guests Need More than a Waterpark, Adding a $15 million 24-lane Bowling Alley, 65-foot Ferris Wheel, Ropes Course, 200 Arcade Games
• Razzoo's Cajun Cafe Restaurant Chain Agrees to Pay $1 million to Settle EEOC Charges that it Discriminated Against Male Bartenders; Company Communicated to Managers by E-mail a Plan for an 80-20 Ratio of Women to Men Bartenders
• Whittle Development, Inc. Opening the 231 room Hilton Bella Harbor Hotel on Lake Ray Hubbard in Rockwall, Texas
• Orient-Express Hotels Reports a Net Loss of US$4.3 million for the 1st Qtr  2007 Compared with a Net Loss of US$3.7 million in Prior Year, Total Revenues Up 23% / Hotel Operating Statistics
• Red Lion Reports a $4.5 million Net Loss for the 1st Qtr 2008, System Wide Occupancy 51.2% Down from Prior Year 53.6% / Hotel Operating Statistics
• Viking Hospitality Fund to Build 119-room Springhill Suites by Marriott in Baton Rouge; The 119-room hotel is the first for Viking Hospitality Fund
• Strategic Hotels & Resorts Reports a First Quarter 2008 Net Loss to Common Shareholders of $7.0 million; 14 North American Properties Achieve an Average Daily Rate of $263.20 at 70.8% Occupancy / Hotel Operating Statistics
• The 527-room Miami Biscayne Hotel Now Operating as the Hilton Miami Downtown
• Trump Entertainment Reports a 1st Qtr 2008 Loss of $18.6 million, Markedly Worse than the $8.1 million Loss in Prior Year; Revenue Down to $227.6 million from the $234.3 million
• Frank Wetenkamp Named General Manager of the Wentworth By The Sea, A Marriott Hotel and Spa in New Castle, New Hampshire
• The Arlington Convention & Visitors Bureau Appoints Jay Burress to CEO Position; a 20 Year Veteran for the Dallas CVB
• Pennsylvania Governor Rendell Honors 18 Leaders in the Tourism Industry for their Contributions, Leadership
• George Ables, Guest Services Manager at Stonewall Resort in Weston, West Virginia Recipient of Benchmark's 2007 Chairman's Award of Excellence

• The Brandstand Alarm Clock Designed with the Hotel Guest in Mind; Clean Minimalist Look Will Compliment Any Hotel Guestroom
• Steve Wynn Contemplating Another Use for the Plush Golf Course Located Behind Wynn Las Vegas - Possibly Two Hotel Towers with a Combined 5,200 Rooms and a 1.8 million Sq Ft Convention Center
• 13 Properties Selected as the Best of the Best at Choice Hotels 54th Annual Convention
• Dial Family Resorts Selects Marcus Hotels and Resorts to Manage Proposed $150 million Hawaiian Themed Resort with 409 rooms and 75,000 sq ft Indoor Water Park Near Providence, Rhode Island
• Majority of Dallas City Council Members Favoring Outright City Ownership of $500 million Convention Center Hotel
• Hotel Visitors to Dubai Projected to Rise to Ten million by 2010, from Seven million in 2007
• Profit Declines at MGM Mirage: Cost of New Detroit Casino, Economy Cited for Poor 1st Quarter
• Red Lion Hotels Corporation Acquriring Fee Simple Interest in the 478-room Radisson Hotel Denver Southeast for $25.3 million; Following $8 million Renovation Property to be Rebranded Red Lion
• Under a Sale and Management-back Arrangement Accor Sells the Sofitel Grand Hotel in Amsterdam at a Enterprise Value of EUR92 million (US$ 142 million)
• HITEC 2008 Features Demonstrations and Discussion of the Hottest Hospitality Technology Trends
• Molinaro Koger Structures Sale of Residence Inn by Marriott Lubbock, Texas
• Hotel Vitale Announces Innovative Green Meeting Packages; "The Green Standard" Programs Incorporate Eco-Friendly Practices Throughout Every Aspect of Meetings and Events
• Carlson Hotels Worldwide Signs More Than 50 New Properties in the First Quarter of 2008
• Swissôtel Hotels & Resorts Opens Fourth Hotel in Turkey - the 402 room Swissôtel Grand Efes, Izmir 
• Resorts and Hotels On the Rise in the Pacific Coastal City of Mazatlán, Mexico
• New York's Tavern on the Green Opening 40,000 Square Restaurant in the Metreon Building Adjacent to San Francisco's Moscone Convention Center
• Mario Ferraro Appointed General Manager of the Hilton Molino Stucky, Venice, Italy
• Judy Hendrick Joins Aimbridge Hospitality as Chief Financial Officer

Top five viewed pages during April 2008

1. Top Twenty Hotel Brands in the World at January 1, 2008, Also Top Ten Hotel Groups in the World
2. Why Everyone Gets a Hotel Room Upgrade... But You / Daniel Edward Craig
3. Night Manager of the Regency Inn in San Bruno, California Brutally Attacked by Rowdy Hotel Guests
4. Hilton Recognizes the Top Performing Hotels of 2007; Hilton Showcases Best of the Best Hotels with the Brand’s Annual Awards
5. Ownership of the Westin Casuarina Charging Attendees of a Dental Conference for the Organizer's $57,000 Past Due Bill; Convention Industry Veterans Question the Ethics and Legality of the Decision