Kudos to the reader who caught my boo-boo regarding casinos built over interstate highways:
Regarding a U.S. casino sitting astride a highway, please note that John Ascuaga’s Nugget in Sparks (outside of Reno) sits astride Interstate 80.
He went on to say some nice things about S&G my Strip Podcast guest shots, which was awfully kind. I will readily confess to never having been in Sparks. I did spend a couple of days in Reno 
once (great city, BTW) but didn’t make it out to the legendary Nugget, which was regarded at the time — 1999 — as being one of the best-marketed casinos in the industry. As for the Nugget’s unusual — and very advantageous — positioning, I can only echo the late, great Johnny Carson and say, “I did not know that.” I stupidly figured that some tightass in D.C. would have thrown a fit about sinful gambling being conducted atop a sacrosanct federal highway and that would be the end of that. Like I always say, you learn (or should learn) something new every day.
Customer 1, Ruffin 0. Finally, a Treasure Island guest fought The Man and won. Yes, somebody actually refused to pay one of those onerous “resort fees” and persuaded his credit card provider to agree with him. Among the alleged “value” items, I would question whether the Las Vegas Review-Journal is worth a dollar a day but the best one is, “Access to VIP viewing area for Sirens of TI: Priceless!” In any event, George Lilley, you are inspiration to all of us.
Midnight Jim concedes. Yup, we’re less than a week from the primary and Gov. Jim Gibbons — who hopes to transition into being Cowboy Jim — is basically throwing in the towel to former Nevada Gaming Commissioner Brian Sandoval. (Being 22 points down in the polls and despised by the electorate will do that to you.) Win or lose, Midnight Jim’s June 8 agenda remains the same: Par-tay!
Tipping point? An S&G “Quote of the Day” that “outed” some gay-baiting rhetoric in a Nevada state Senate race continues to ricochet through the media weeks later. So does mean if Kathy McClain loses on June 8 that I’m taking credit for it? Totally, man. I gotta have something to brag about this year.
St. Louis quickie. Analysts from J.P. Morgan toured at least two of Pinnacle Entertainment‘s three St. Louis properties and expect River City to exceed Lumiere Place as a revenue-generator. However, there’s some upside for Lumiere, as its hotel occupancies are rising and the negative-cash-flow albatross that is the neighboring President will be jettisoned when it is decommissioned on July 1.
There’s still $25 million of unfinished capex at River City, though, including an as-yet-unbuilt parking garage. (Say what?) The locals-oriented casino has lit a fire under Harrah’s St. Louis, which has ramped up its promotional efforts, willing to sacrifice profit for improved cash flow — at least in the short term.
