By Dan Reed, San Jose Mercury News, Calif.
Jan. 29--SAN FRANCISCO--For decades wandering tourists have been drawn to the majestic beauty and bustling vibrancy
of San Francisco -- the splendor of the Golden Gate Bridge and Coit Tower, the teeming districts of North Beach
and Chinatown, the mystery of Alcatraz and the quirky fun of the cable cars.
Attractive, but, what if, what if... How about shrinking the city, cleaning it up, tossing in some showgirls and
some gambling -- presto! San Francisco Las Vegas-style, possibly times three.
Fog City, the City by the Bay, the place where everyone left behind a heart -- and, if developers have their way,
soon all the contents of their wallets -- is the model for three competing mega-casinos in Las Vegas.
Yes, the city that brought you faux New York, Egypt, Venice and Paris, have faux San Francisco on the boards. And
the going is getting heated and nasty.
Expect some lawsuits before plaid-clad Kansans step onto an ersatz Lombard street and say, "Dang, that's the
crookedest street in the world!"
Each of the entrepreneurs who are angling to build a world-class casino based on San Francisco say their project's
the best, and, that their idea was either stolen by another or already in the public domain.
Even booming San Jose doesn't pique much interest among these high-rollers. Why not San Jose, it's bigger than
San Francisco? "No landmarks," said Phil Ruffin, one of the three developers competing to build the San
Francisco-theme city. "Why not Wichita?"
San Francisco -- not the real one, but the idea of a fake one -- is the hot property now in the city of sin, neon
and artificial reality.
It's been a couple of years since Mark Advent, who conceived the plans for the successful New York-New York hotel-casino,
began trying to build a resort based on San Francisco. Unfortunately for him, he's not gotten far and the competition
has gotten thick. He blames Ruffin for pirating his idea.
That may be so, but one problem with Advent's idea is this: he plans on calling it Frisco, a nickname that makes
most San Franciscans cringe. Calling it The City is OK, or calling it San Francisco is OK, but most locals have
yet to even forgive Chuck Berry from referring to their beloved home as "Frisco Bay" when he strummed
out "Sweet Little Sixteen."
Ruffin is going with the safe "City by the Bay." And he regards his competitors as posers.
"Anybody whoever thought of the name San Francisco thinks they have the rights to the city," he said,
"but our lawyers say that cities are public domains and there's no problem."
Ruffin's vision can be seen by clicking on www.frontierlv.com. As the owner of the Frontier Casino, he plans on
plugging it with explosives and flattening it in July to make way for his new vision of San Francisco.
In his mind, he sees a $700 million structure on 25.5 acres, including a miniature Golden Gate Bridge walkway into
the casino. Once there, gamblers can squander their money on the tables or slots, or eat at Alcatraz Island --
in their own personal cell.
One can imagine that croupiers there will take away your money faster than do actual Market Street sidewalk chess
hustlers.
Other planned features include mock ups of Chinatown, Fisherman's Wharf and even, ranging north, Napa Valley's
wineries.
In a press release, Ruffin makes at least one bone-headed connection. He refers to Chinatown as saying it "will
be the quickest trip you can make to Hong Kong past and present" -- something that might surprise the many
immigrants from China and Chinese Americans who visit or live in the area.
Ruffin's plans have totally teed off competitor and self-proclaimed San Francisco native Luke Brugnara. He owns
a number of downtown San Francisco high-rises, and believes he, like no one else, knows what his hometown is all
about.
He'd never make such geographical errors, said Brugnara, who plans to open his resort, the San Francisco Resort
and Casino, in mid-2002. Brugnara purchased the Silver City Casino in October, which he plans to keep running with
a '49er theme as he develops his own Las Vegas-style San Francisco. He says he's a third-generation native of this
land, and can replicate its beauties like nobody else.
"What he should do is a resort based on Wichita," Brugnara said noting that Ruffin's real estate business
is based in Kansas. "He could have a Wizard of Oz theme, with the underground hideouts and Dorothy and everything
else."
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