Author Archives: David McKee

About David McKee

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Japan: Another failure; Reading the Trump tea leaves

Posted on November 15, 2016 by David McKee

According to Morgan Stanley analysts, the chances of pro-casino legislation passing in Japan this year are “quite low.” Yes, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has booted the ball yet again. His big push [sic] to bring casinos to the Land of … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, California, Delaware, Donald Trump, Florida, Genting, Internet gambling, James Packer, Japan, Law enforcement, Macau, MGM Mirage, Nevada, Politics, Sheldon Adelson, Singapore, South Korea, Station Casinos, Tourism, Tribal | Comments Off on Japan: Another failure; Reading the Trump tea leaves

Ivey loses a round; Freeman loses it

Posted on November 15, 2016 by David McKee

Emboldened by a federal court ruling that Phil Ivey and an associate violated the New Jersey Casino Control Act by using “edge sorting” to alter the odds of baccarat in their favor, Borgata is upping its demands against the pair, … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Boyd Gaming, Donald Trump, Economy, Geoff Freeman, Law enforcement, MGM Mirage, Sheldon Adelson, The Strip, Tourism | Comments Off on Ivey loses a round; Freeman loses it

Wayne Newton’s peacock peril

Posted on November 15, 2016 by David McKee

If you live near Casa de Shenandoah, look out: The neighborhood is being terrorized by roaming peacocks who make their base of operations at the mansion/museum of Mr. Las. Vegas himself, Wayne Newton. The latter’s people are trying to have … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, Dining, Massachusetts, Penn National, The Strip, Wayne F. Newton | 1 Comment

Trump, Adelson make a deal; Brazil moves toward casinos

Posted on November 14, 2016 by David McKee

Donald Trump may have sold his soul to the Las Vegas Review-Journal and cheaply at that. Pro-Trump Global Gaming Business is reporting that the mogul promised not to oppose Sheldon Adelson‘s anti-Internet gaming legislation if only the R-J would endorse … Continue reading →

Posted in Dining, Donald Trump, Election, Entertainment, International, Internet gambling, Macau, Mohegan Sun, Pennsylvania, Politics, Stanley Ho, Taxes, The Strip, Tourism | Comments Off on Trump, Adelson make a deal; Brazil moves toward casinos

Florida: Scott loses, big time; Coup d’etat in Atlantic City

Posted on November 11, 2016 by David McKee

Fourteen more years. That’s how long the Seminole Tribe can have exclusive rights to blackjack in Florida, thanks to a ruling by U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle. It’s a huge win for the Seminoles and not entirely unforeseen, given how … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Donald Trump, Economy, Election, Florida, Geoff Freeman, Georgia, Glenn Straub, Hard Rock International, Japan, Lawrence Ho, Macau, Marketing, Maryland, Melco Crown Entertainment, MGM Mirage, Pennsylvania, Racinos, Rhode Island, Seminole Tribe, Sheldon Adelson, Taxes, Tribal, Wall Street | Comments Off on Florida: Scott loses, big time; Coup d’etat in Atlantic City

Mixed bag in Indiana; Don’t mess with Massachusetts

Posted on November 10, 2016 by David McKee

One less weekend day in October helped depress casino revenues in Indiana, down 3%. However, individual property results were all over the place, making generalizations perilous. For instance, Majestic Star II in Gary was down 9%, to $5 million, but … Continue reading →

Posted in Ameristar, Boyd Gaming, Election, Full House Resorts, Harrah's, Indiana, Law enforcement, Lawrence Ho, Macau, Majestic Star, Marketing, Massachusetts, Melco Crown Entertainment, Penn National, Pinnacle Entertainment, Racinos, Steve Wynn, Tropicana Entertainment | Comments Off on Mixed bag in Indiana; Don’t mess with Massachusetts

Riviera: Now they tell us!; Paddy Power’s bad electoral bet

Posted on November 10, 2016 by David McKee

Turns out there was more contaminated soil at the Riviera site than originally estimated … 23 times more. According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, what was originally estimated to be 430 tons of toxic dirt turned out to be 9,980. … Continue reading →

Posted in Arizona, Donald Trump, Election, Florida, Internet gambling, LVCVA, Movies, Racinos, Riviera, Seminole Tribe, The Strip, Tribal | Comments Off on Riviera: Now they tell us!; Paddy Power’s bad electoral bet

Straub makes some odd choices; Tiverton still up for grabs

Posted on November 10, 2016 by David McKee

Glenn Straub won one round, lost another in his quest to revive Revel as Ten. On Oct. 18, he received a certificate of occupancy, paving the way for him to reopen the property. (Last spring’s effort was a Chinese fire … Continue reading →

Posted in Affinity Gaming, Ameristar, Atlantic City, Election, Glenn Straub, GLPI, Hard Rock International, Isle of Capri, Kansas, Massachusetts, Missouri, Penn National, Pinnacle Entertainment, Regulation, Revel, Rhode Island, Tropicana Entertainment, Trump Entertainment Resorts | Comments Off on Straub makes some odd choices; Tiverton still up for grabs

The day after

Posted on November 9, 2016 by David McKee

This morning’s biggest winners are not politicians or pundits (certainly not the pollsters) but the punters who laid their money on a Donald Trump victory when sites like Betfair had him as a one-in-five underdog or worse. Their wallets are … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Donald Trump, Election, Florida, Harry Reid, Horseracing, Maine, Massachusetts, Nevada, Politics, Racinos, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson, Steve Wynn | 1 Comment

Jacked around in Ohio; Wrong about Trump

Posted on November 8, 2016 by David McKee

At this point, we don’t know jack about Dan Gilbert‘s new “Jack” casino brand. In September, it appeared to be gaining traction with players. Then the bottom fell out. Jack Cleveland‘s $15 million take was a 14% fall while Jack … Continue reading →

Posted in Dan Gilbert, Donald Trump, Eldorado Resorts, Election, GLPI, Hard Rock International, Internet gambling, Marketing, Ohio, Palms, Penn National, Pinnacle Entertainment, Racinos, Reno, Sheldon Adelson, Station Casinos, Tribal, Wall Street | Comments Off on Jacked around in Ohio; Wrong about Trump

Election Special; Station Reno project approved

Posted on November 7, 2016 by David McKee

Preoccupied with stumping for legalized sports betting, the American Gaming Association fell down on the job and failed to deliver a promised (yes, they literally promised us) election roundup. By this shortcoming, the AGA flunked one of its mandates, which … Continue reading →

Posted in Arkansas, Atlantic City, Election, Entertainment, Harrah's, Internet gambling, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New York, Politics, Regulation, Reno, Scientific Games, Station Casinos, Steve Wynn, Technology, Wall Street | Comments Off on Election Special; Station Reno project approved

LV Monorail lives; MGM shatters expectations

Posted on November 7, 2016 by David McKee

Whether or not you consider the Las Vegas Monorail a while elephant, its trunk is going to grow a bit longer. Clark County is diligently pursuing the permits that would enable it to extend the Monorail to Mandalay Bay, where … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Boyd Gaming, Detroit, GLPI, Harrah's, Illinois, Macau, MGM Mirage, Mississippi, Neil Bluhm, Penn National, Sheldon Adelson, Slot routes, The Strip, Transportation, Wall Street | 1 Comment

Quote of the Day

Posted on November 7, 2016 by David McKee

“It’s just like Christmas Eve, except that Santa will grope the reindeer and delete your e-mails.” — Stephen Colbert on the night before the election.

Posted in Election, TV | Comments Off on Quote of the Day

Paris goes dark; A Bennett returns

Posted on November 4, 2016 by David McKee

In the first major Strip power outage in 12 years — the last was at Bellagio in 2004 — players at Paris-Las Vegas saw the entire casino resort go dark before their very eyes. Not even the auxiliary power kicked … Continue reading →

Posted in Columbia Sussex, Harrah's, Hooters, International, Lake Tahoe, Paragon Gaming, Penn National, Pennsylvania, Regulation, Taxes, The Strip, Tourism, Westgate LV | Comments Off on Paris goes dark; A Bennett returns

Atlantic City rescue rejected; Klondike lives!

Posted on November 3, 2016 by David McKee

A New Jersey takeover of Atlantic City seems all but inevitable. Although Mayor Don Guardian (R) is vowing to “fight this until we cannot fight any longer,” the state has tentatively rejected his bailout plan for the city. The kibosh … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Boulder Strip, International, Marketing, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson | Comments Off on Atlantic City rescue rejected; Klondike lives!

Trump’s Mob buddy; Cubs win!

Posted on November 3, 2016 by David McKee

As we mentioned yesterday, despite no longer being in existence, Donald Trump‘s fallen casino empire continues to make news. Today it’s his relationship with Robert LiButti, a figure so mobbed up that he was barred from New Jersey casinos in … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Baseball, Donald Trump, Election, New York, Regulation, The Mob, TV | 1 Comment

Boyd: The big squish; Trump’s double-dip

Posted on November 2, 2016 by David McKee

“Squishy.” That was how JP Morgan analyst Joseph Greff described Boyd Gaming‘s third quarter. The soggy verbiage was probably inspired by flooding that has vexed Boyd in Louisiana. The company is also facing stiff, new competition for IP Biloxi on … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Boyd Gaming, Cannery Casino Resorts, Culinary Union, Donald Trump, Economy, Geoff Freeman, Illinois, Louisiana, Mississippi, Regulation, Sports, Station Casinos, Taxes, Trump Entertainment Resorts, Wall Street | Comments Off on Boyd: The big squish; Trump’s double-dip

Quote of the Day

Posted on November 1, 2016 by David McKee

“Just because blackjack is played on a computer doesn’t mean it’s OK.” — Seminole Tribe attorney Barry Richard, arguing against the electronic table games deployed at Florida parimutuels. The Seminoles have/had a compacted exclusivity on table games. Tribal exclusivity is … Continue reading →

Posted in Florida, Technology, Tribal | Comments Off on Quote of the Day

MGM hearts Japan; Atlantic City aims for total victory

Posted on November 1, 2016 by David McKee

According to Reuters, if casinos are legalized in Japan, then MGM Resorts International would be willing to build the world’s second $9.5 billion megaresort. (Las Vegas Sands has already brandished $10 billion.) That’s leading with your chin. However, MGM believes … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Election, Genting, Japan, Marketing, Massachusetts, MGM Mirage, Politics, Sheldon Adelson, South Korea, Station Casinos, Steve Wynn, Taxes, Tribal, Unite-Here | 1 Comment

Turnaround in Macao; Trop claims another victim

Posted on November 1, 2016 by David McKee

There’s finally solid ground for optimism with regard to Macao, admittedly a good market to be in even at the worst of times. October gaming revenues surged 9%. Deutsche Bank analyst Carlo Santarelli took the numbers with a couple of … Continue reading →

Posted in Economy, Entertainment, Macau, Melco Crown Entertainment, MGM Mirage, Penn National, Pennsylvania, Politics, Sheldon Adelson, Sports, Stanley Ho, Steve Wynn, Taxes, The Strip, Tourism, Wall Street | 1 Comment