S&G hither & yon

Last weekend’s usual barrage of errands, veterinary appointments, etc., was interrupted long enough for Yr. Humble Blogger to guest-host another edition of The Strip Podcast. In it, I reveal my shameful ignorance of televised poker (something I literally tuned out years ago) and the new restaurant at Circus Circus. However, I do weigh in — and “weigh” is the operative word, I fear — on some new carb-friendly restaurants on the Strip. We also discuss the Harmon fiasco, Sheldon Adelson‘s recent success and whether (and why) Global Cash Access kiosks should displace the traditional casino cage, among sundry other topics.

Even without loss limits on table games and with new casino attractions at River City, June in Missouri was pretty much a wash. Revenues were up 6% statewide but once you allow for River City (left), everybody else was -4% from last year. All casinos not named “River City” were -10% in table game play, in fact. Also, the new Pinnacle Entertainment fun spot was cannibalizing Harrah’s Maryland Heights and Ameristar St. Charles -12% and -2%, respectively. Ameristar SC’s $23 million still makes it the top-grossing riverboat in the state.

Ameristar could, however, rejoice in an 11% surge in its Kansas City business, even as its Penn National, Harrah’s and Isle of Capri rivals slipped slightly. The small, outlying riverboats all fared well but Pinnacle’s President Casino ended its career dismally, raking in only $600K last month — a 66% decline, brought on when floodwaters forced the casino’s premature closure. Still, when the Mark Twain, berthed in La Grange, does as much in a month ($3 million) as President did it six, it was way past time for Pinnacle to put this charity case out of its misery, especially when the charitable “underwriters” are one’s shareholders.

It may not be funny but S&G gets to supply the punchline for a Portfolio.com piece on Bill Lerner‘s strangely euphoric Cosmopolitan prophecies. It includes what may be the oddball moment of 2010: Lerner’s out-loud wish for hotel price-fixing on the Strip, something that would surely endear the casino industry to the Justice Department, in the unlikely event it came to pass.

Rich Little hasn’t gotten this much attention since he was doing the nasty with Melinda Saxe. These days, he’s getting up people’s dander. Since Little’s no longer funny,* apparently he’s decided to try and be controversial instead. Considering that he’s working his way down the food chain from the Golden Nugget to The Cannery, isn’t it best to let him finish out a once-distinguished career in obscurity?

(*–I can’t find my CityLife review of Little’s crash-and-burn Nugget engagement online but it was one of the more memorably bad performances I’ve encountered in a Vegas showroom, which is going some.)