Thursday, Feb. 3, 2000 | 11:07 a.m.
Stogies and slot machines proved an unlucky combination for Hamilton's Lounge in the New York-New York hotel-casino.
The cigar bar closed for good Monday.
"The owners just made the decision the time was right to close the bar," said Hamilton's manager Jeffrey Landesberg. No further explanation for the decision was given, he said.
Actor George Hamilton was the majority owner of the lounge, which originally opened in January 1997, and at the time of closing employed 35 people.
Offering private parties, nightly jazz entertainment and an ambiance geared to the cigar lover, the lounge provided cigar smokers an opportunity to sit back and inhale amid the frenzy of the casino.
The main lounge had a capacity of 175 people, while a "private car" afforded 30 more smokers a more secluded environment to enjoy their cigars.
When it opened three years ago, Hamilton's Lounge sailed into operation on a national wave of cigar bar popularity.
Industry watchers say in the ensuing time, that tide has ebbed.
"I would definitely say the popularity of cigar bars has leveled off over the last couple of years," said Sharon Wayne, show manager of the International Tobacco Expo. "The peak years for the trend were really in 1996 and 1997. Since then, you've also seen a decline in the sales of cigar-related items such as humidors."
Still, Wayne said cigar sales remain relatively strong, with their popularity traversing generational lines.
"These days, cigars are seen as part of a lifestyle for people ranging from their mid-twenties to older retired folks," she said. "Cigar bars are just not as big a part of that anymore."
Hamilton's Lounge may have also been the victim of the upscale epicurean competition along the Strip.
"The arrival (on the Strip) of all these celebrity chefs and upscale restaurants in the last two years means that competition is getting really tough," said George Connor, retail broker with Colliers International of Las Vegas.
"The competition for those upscale (Strip) customers is tenfold what it was a few years back. There are lots of people hoping to attract the premium bar crowd."
Connor pointed to the recent arrival of high-end resorts such as the Paris hotel-casino as the turning point in the fight for the upscale consumer dollar.
"Two years ago, it might have been cool to sit in a cigar bar and look down at slot machines," he said. "But these days, you can have a drink while overlooking Lake Bellagio at Paris."
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