Author Archives: David McKee

About David McKee

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Quote of the Day

Posted on July 6, 2010 by David McKee

“Clearly, there will be overbuilding and other costly mistakes if the boosterish mania for growth and promotion are not balanced by careful planning in the 1990s.” — historian Eugene Moehring, in his 1989 history of Las Vegas, Resort City in … Continue reading →

Posted in Downtown, Economy, history, The Strip, Transportation | Comments Off on Quote of the Day

Honey, I forgot the license!

Posted on July 2, 2010 by David McKee

Despite a record of failure, failure and even greater failure, three cronies of Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell still have a chance of holding onto the comatose “Wynnwoods” casino project in Philadelphia. Somehow, Wynnwoods (officially known as Philadelphia Entertainment & Development … Continue reading →

Posted in Economy, Harrah's, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Politics, Regulation, Steve Wynn, Tribal, Wall Street | Comments Off on Honey, I forgot the license!

Quote of the Day

Posted on July 2, 2010 by David McKee

“Isn’t that what he always says?” — my wife, a fairly staunch Democrat, reacting to a news clip of President Obama saying, “We are headed in the right direction.”

Posted in Current, Economy | 4 Comments

“Project Linq”

Posted on July 1, 2010 by David McKee

I’m not sure anybody but Gary Loveman could come up with such a preposterous handle as “Project Linq” (alas, not “Linc,” as in Clarence Williams III on the Mod Squad, although that would be pretty cool) for Harrah’s Entertainment‘s street … Continue reading →

Posted in Archon Corp., Current, Economy, Election, Harrah's, Marketing, Massachusetts, Politics, Sports, Taxes, The Strip, Tourism, Wall Street, World Series of Poker | 6 Comments

Quote of the Day

Posted on July 1, 2010 by David McKee

“Only in Massachusetts would we have a casino bill and try to build a politically correct casino. Have any of you people ever been to a casino, and [do you] understand what it takes for a casino to be successful … Continue reading →

Posted in Current, Massachusetts, Politics, Taxes | 3 Comments

Cosmo: Blueprint for failure?

Posted on July 1, 2010 by David McKee

Geez, I’ve not been feeling pessimistic about the Dec. 15 debut of the Cosmopolitan … until somebody forwarded me a copy of a Bill Lerner analysis of the property. Now I’m worried. After walking the place, Lerner found it to … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, CityCenter, Cosmopolitan, Current, Economy, Marketing, MGM Mirage, Planet Hollywood, The Strip, Wall Street | 5 Comments

Quote of the Day

Posted on July 1, 2010 by David McKee

“Let’s face it … Macau is a small city and its government is more like the town council of any moderately large town in other parts of the world, so it is time to strip out all the hype and … Continue reading →

Posted in Current, Election, International, Macau | Comments Off on Quote of the Day

Meltdown at Hooters

Posted on July 1, 2010 by David McKee

Too many Las Vegas shows are afflicted with a lack of spontaneity (the Celine Dion/Franco Dragone snoozer A New Day was the worst offender in my experience). No such worries where Hooters Casino Hotel headliner Todd Paul is concerned. Last … Continue reading →

Posted in Current, Entertainment, Harrah's, MGM Mirage, Regulation, The Strip | 1 Comment

“Lies, damned lies and statistics”

Posted on July 1, 2010 by David McKee

Former Nevada journalist Mark Twain popularized this quote, believed to have originated with Charles Wentworth Dilke. (I know: “Who?!?!?“) One rarely sees an object demonstration of what Dilke — and Twain — meant, but this gem literally fell into my … Continue reading →

Posted in Current, Minnesota | 1 Comment

Cosmo sets a date

Posted on June 30, 2010 by David McKee

Dec. 15 is the Cosmopolitan‘s date with destiny. That’s when it begins rolling out its room inventory and casino product. That doesn’t sound very exciting, does it? It’s hard to get worked up about a place so grammatically challenged it … Continue reading →

Posted in CityCenter, Cosmopolitan, Current, Economy, Entertainment, Genting, International, Sheldon Adelson, Singapore, The Strip, Tourism, Wall Street | 1 Comment

Aqueduct: Then there were three

Posted on June 30, 2010 by David McKee

As the contentious racino contract for Aqueduct Racetrack is rebid, the field has narrowed to three suitors, all of whom are in enviable cash positions. Penn National Gaming‘s bankroll has taken on Holy Grail status, Genting Bhd has a money-spinner … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, California, Columbia Sussex, Cordish Co., Current, Election, Florida, Genting, Harrah's, history, Lake Tahoe, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Ohio, Penn National, Pennsylvania, Politics, Problem gambling, Racinos, Regulation, Reno, Taxes, Tribal | 1 Comment

Brad Garrett: Enter at your own risk; Bargains & magnanimity

Posted on June 30, 2010 by David McKee

First, the good news. After going null for two with Paul Rodriguez (PR nightmare) and Wayne Newton (artistic disaster), the Tropicana Las Vegas appears to have swatted an 0-2 pitch into the bleachers. Brad Garrett‘s eponymous comedy club is a … Continue reading →

Posted in Alex Yemenidjian, Architecture, Current, Detroit, Economy, Entertainment, Marketing, Movies, Regulation, Reno, The Strip, Tourism, Wayne F. Newton | 1 Comment

Quote of the Day

Posted on June 30, 2010 by David McKee

“‘Champagne wishes and caviar dreams’: Sounds kind of faggy, don’t you think?” — Brad Garrett, at the Tropicana Las Vegas last night, in reference to local blogger Robin Leach (who was in the audience).

Posted in Alex Yemenidjian, Current, Entertainment, The Strip, TV | Comments Off on Quote of the Day

Dick Cheney, casino headliner

Posted on June 29, 2010 by David McKee

It’s no joke. The ex-veep is part of a new entertainment regime at the Atlantic City Hilton. After nearly mismanaging the property into extinction, owner Colony Capital has given President Michael Frawley $20 million, which Frawley’s plowing into a new … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Colony Capital, Dining, Economy, Entertainment, Marketing, Politics | 5 Comments

Penn’s door prize: toxic waste!

Posted on June 29, 2010 by David McKee

Penn National Gaming got a little something extra when it bought an old General Motors site for its Columbus, Ohio casino: 81 sites’ worth of toxic waste, so much sludge it takes 3,000 pages to catalog. Penn didn’t have to … Continue reading →

Posted in Colony Capital, Current, Detroit, Election, Entertainment, Environment, Harrah's, Massachusetts, MGM Mirage, Ohio, Penn National, Politics, Racinos, Regulation, Sahara, Technology, The Strip, Tribal, TV | 3 Comments

Quote of the Day

Posted on June 29, 2010 by David McKee

“You say you’re honoring the chips? I say honor the employees.” — unidentified, unemployed President Casino worker, one of several accusing Pinnacle Entertainment of leaving them high and dry. Pinnacle has published a detailed rebuttal of the workers’ accusations.

Posted in Economy, Missouri, Pinnacle Entertainment, Regulation | Comments Off on Quote of the Day

The casino Angle

Posted on June 29, 2010 by David McKee

Nevada senatorial aspirant Sharron Angle got off to an odd start a few weeks back by warning balefully of “unwarranted influence” from the casino industry. (Which is, after all, one of the Silver State’s two primary sources of revenue.) Then … Continue reading →

Posted in Current, Economy, Election, Harry Reid, Politics, Sports, Station Casinos, Taxes, The Strip | 6 Comments

Still catching up in Margaritaville

Posted on June 28, 2010 by David McKee

Eight days of vacation have left me deep in the hole, research-wise, so I hope you’ll forgive the slender output of recent days whilst I plough through dozens — if not a hundred or more — of unread news stories, … Continue reading →

Posted in Current, Economy, Harrah's, Mississippi, Sheldon Adelson, The Strip, Wall Street | Comments Off on Still catching up in Margaritaville

Quote of the Day

Posted on June 28, 2010 by David McKee

“People ask me: What are you going to do to develop jobs in our state? Well that’s not my job as a U.S. senator, to bring industry to this state. That’s the lieutenant governor’s job. That’s your state senators and … Continue reading →

Posted in Economy, Election | 4 Comments

That giant flushing sound …

Posted on June 28, 2010 by David McKee

… you hear coming from the offices of Texas Pacific Group is a 46% writedown of its equity stake in Harrah’s Entertainment. As detailed in the Financial Times (registration req’d), $1.4 billion has turned into $759 million at the stroke … Continue reading →

Posted in Current, Economy, Harrah's, James Packer, TV, Wall Street | 1 Comment