NYT: New York Property Is a Steal

This important breaking news just in: http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/08/26/in-monopoly-new-york-property-is-a-steal/index.html?hp In the new World Edition of Monopoly, New York was not honored with the premier spot, Boardwalk or even Park Place. London or Tokyo or Paris did not claim those dark blue trophy lots, either, in the great worldwide Monopoly vote. In the online contest that began... [more]

This important breaking news just in: http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/08/26/in-monopoly-new-york-property-is-a-steal/index.html?hp In the new World Edition of Monopoly, New York was not honored with the premier spot, Boardwalk or even Park Place. London or Tokyo or Paris did not claim those dark blue trophy lots, either, in the great worldwide Monopoly vote. In the online contest that began in January, both New York and London were relegated to the red properties, ranking in ninth and 10th place, in the international edition of the board game. Montreal, a charming and cosmopolitan city, represents Boardwalk, the most expensive property. And in a surprise finish, Riga, Latvia, takes Park Place. New Yorkers were somewhat blasé about this contest. NYC & Company, the city’s marketing arm, was approached by Hasbro, the maker of Monopoly, about rallying votes for New York and politely declined. After all, “Sex and the City,” the movie, was coming out around that time, and that was a marketing bonanza. The Latvians were apparently mobilized to vote. And though Riga is not quite the tourist destination yet, this is what you can do in a place with the edgy, electric appeal of a European boom town. (The capital of the former Soviet empire of which Latvia was once a part did not make it on the Monopoly map at all. Take that, Moscow!) New York is the only American city to make the list. No Los Angeles, no Chicago and no Las Vegas, which itself can feel sort of like a life-size Monopoly board. Here is the new Monopoly board: Dark Blue: Montreal (Boardwalk), Riga (Park Place) Green: Cape Town (Pennsylvania), Belgrade (North Carolina), Paris (Pacific) Yellow: Jerusalem (Marvin Gardens), Hong Kong (Ventnor), Beijing (Atlantic) Red: London (Illinois), New York (Indiana), Sydney (Kentucky) Orange: Vancouver (New York), Shanghai (Tennessee), Rome (St. James) Magenta:Toronto (St. Charles), Kiev, Ukraine (States), Istanbul (Virginia) Light Blue: Athens (Oriental), Barcelona (Vermont), Tokyo (Connecticut). All of these cities have hosted Olympics games. Brown: Taipei (Baltic), Gdynia, Poland (Mediterranean) There are other changes for this new game. Monopoly is no longer denominated in dollars (but it hasn’t gone to euros). Instead, the game’s central bank is issuing a new ‘M’ currency, with the M having two little horizontal lines crossing through it. Instead of hotels and motels, the buildings now include the pyramids, a yurt, a pagoda and various skyscrapers. The game pieces include a koala bear, a soccer ball, a pretzel, King Tut’s head and a cowboy hat. And the utilities have gone green: Solar Energy replaces Electric Company. And something that Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg will like: Wind Energy replaces Water Works. If you are a Monopoly fan, Hasbro is trying to set a world record for the most number of people playing Monopoly at the same time on Aug. 27, 2008, or Wednesday, at 10 a.m. Eastern time (or 2 p.m. Greenwich Mean Time). [less]