Author Archives: David McKee

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From the mailbag

Posted on May 11, 2010 by David McKee

A reader writes … “I have noticed a definite reduction of postings to this blog. Is there just nothing to write about or is everything going to Twitter? I don’t twitter and really miss the information from this blog.” Where … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Current, Station Casinos, Technology | Comments Off on From the mailbag

Quote of the Day

Posted on May 10, 2010 by David McKee

“Anybody who was not madly in love with Lena Horne should report to his undertaker immediately and turn himself in.” — actor/activist Ossie Davis, speaking of the legendary songstress who died yesterday at age 92. Here she is in unaccustomed … Continue reading →

Posted in Current, Entertainment | Comments Off on Quote of the Day

While Atlantic City burns …

Posted on May 7, 2010 by David McKee

While Atlantic City burns, Gov. Chris Christie fiddles. After coming into office saying the right things about helping the state’s casino industry, Christie has spent most of first months in office dithering uselessly. Having waited until A) the Revel project … Continue reading →

Posted in Alabama, Atlantic City, CityCenter, Colony Capital, Current, Dining, Donald Trump, Economy, Election, Environment, Harrah's, Louisiana, MGM Mirage, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, Planet Hollywood, Politics, Regulation, Steve Wynn, The Strip, Tourism, Tribal, Wall Street | 4 Comments

Quote of the Day

Posted on May 7, 2010 by David McKee

“It could never have worked if we had done it in phases. We could never have created what I wanted, which is this urbanization that is going to be so vitally important and makes it so different from another resort. … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, CityCenter, MGM Mirage, The Strip | 7 Comments

Illinois’ results are good, Sands’ are better

Posted on May 7, 2010 by David McKee

Praise be! Casino revenues in Illinois were actually flat (+0.5%) last month. It’s mainly a consequence of Penn National‘s Empress Joliet being back in the fray, raking in $40 million. (You’ll recall that, a year ago, its pavilion was but … Continue reading →

Posted in Current, Economy, Harrah's, Macau, MGM Mirage, Missouri, Penn National, Pennsylvania, Pinnacle Entertainment, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson, Singapore, The Strip | Comments Off on Illinois’ results are good, Sands’ are better

Or maybe Excalibur …

Posted on May 7, 2010 by David McKee

Former Mandalay Resort Group boss Mike Ensign‘s payoff of his son’s mistress (which is under investigation for “structuring,” i.e., tax avoidance) is but one of many salacious matters that have brought Senate Ethics Committee staffers to Sin City. They got … Continue reading →

Posted in Current, MGM Mirage, Politics, TV | Comments Off on Or maybe Excalibur …

Adelson does it again

Posted on May 6, 2010 by David McKee

Despite vigorous attempts by Singapore to discourage its own citizens from gambling, it’s not working. Even a $72 admission charge isn’t keeping them out. Better still, VIP junketeers are encountering smoother access than was expected. (Junket scrutiny in Singapore is … Continue reading →

Posted in Current, Economy, Genting, International, Macau, Pennsylvania, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson, Singapore | 4 Comments

Blasts from the past

Posted on May 6, 2010 by David McKee

Steve Wynn‘s been taking himself a mite too seriously of late, which makes me wonder whatever happened to this guy? At least the “hair helmet” look is a thing of the past. Sadly, so too is the Golden Nugget Atlantic … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Colony Capital, Harrah's, James Packer, Marketing, Phil Ruffin, Steve Wynn, The Strip, TV | Comments Off on Blasts from the past

How ’bout “Frankie & Lon’s Shack o’ Slots”?

Posted on May 5, 2010 by David McKee

So, will $10 billion Viva precede or follow those condo towers next to Palace Station in the grand Station scheme of things? There are any number of gaming companies about which one can write with approbation. Station Casinos is not … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Boulder Strip, Boyd Gaming, Cannery Casino Resorts, Colony Capital, Current, Economy, Station Casinos, Wall Street | 9 Comments

Girls, girls, girls!

Posted on May 5, 2010 by David McKee

Whereas, I have just finished (finally!) watching Firefly and am in deep withdrawal, and … Whereas, my girlfriend — who generally likes neither Westerns nor science fiction — has become even more of a newly minted “browncoat” than I, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Cirque du Soleil, CityCenter, Entertainment, Movies, TV | 2 Comments

Quote of the Day

Posted on May 5, 2010 by David McKee

“There was a time where I wouldn’t walk in there for fear of getting a secondary lung disease. Now, it’s as cool and neat as a place as there is in the entire downtown.” — Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, … Continue reading →

Posted in Current, Downtown, Oscar Goodman | 4 Comments

Vegas’ secret shame revealed

Posted on May 5, 2010 by David McKee

Thanks to last night’s episode of Dancing with the Stars, all America knows that Cirque du Soleil has unleashed a campy, fugly Elvis Presley “tribute” show upon the Strip. (I wonder which of the six credited choreographers was responsible for … Continue reading →

Posted in Cirque du Soleil, CityCenter, Entertainment, MGM Mirage, The Strip, TV | 1 Comment

Marina Bay Sands Film Festival

Posted on May 4, 2010 by David McKee

Welcome to soothing, serene Marina Bay Sands, in Singapore, where good feelings were the order of the day when Las Vegas Sands soft-opened the megaresort as only CEO Sheldon Adelson‘s flunkies can … … complete with luxurious transportation … … … Continue reading →

Posted in Genting, International, Sheldon Adelson, Singapore, TV | 6 Comments

New Brunswick has a casino

Posted on May 4, 2010 by David McKee

Move over, Atlantic City, here come “the Maritimes.” (Quoth the Mackenzie Brothers, “Zoom in on the Maritimes, eh?”) Not to be outdone by Nova Scotia‘s casinos or Prince Edward Island‘s racino, New Brunswick has struck back with a 22-table, 500-slot … Continue reading →

Posted in International, TV | 3 Comments

BoB still $29.99 … sorta

Posted on May 4, 2010 by David McKee

If you’re heading north out of McCarran International Airport on Swenson, be sure and have your digital cameras or cell phones at the ready. There, big as life, is a Harrah’s Entertainment billboard for the “Buffet of Buffets” (spotted at … Continue reading →

Posted in Dining, Economy, Entertainment, Harrah's, Station Casinos, The Strip | 1 Comment

Quote of the Day

Posted on May 4, 2010 by David McKee

“[Steve] Wynn does business in Las Vegas, where Gaming Inc. pays a 6.75 percent tax rate and casino bosses bray like thunderstruck donkeys when someone reminds them Mississippi casinos pay 8 percent, Atlantic City casinos contribute 9[%], and Louisiana riverboats … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Louisiana, Macau, Mississippi, Steve Wynn, Taxes | Comments Off on Quote of the Day

Macao’s best month ever

Posted on May 3, 2010 by David McKee

Pace T.S. Eliot, April was not the cruelest month for Macao. Quite the contrary: The protectorate posted gambling revenues of $1.72 billion, a single-month record. Galaxy Entertainment (whose new Cotai Strip™ pleasure palace is pictured, above) brought up the rear, … Continue reading →

Posted in Current, Economy, International, James Packer, Lawrence Ho, Macau, Melco Crown Entertainment, MGM Mirage, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson, Stanley Ho, Steve Wynn | Comments Off on Macao’s best month ever

Quote of the Day

Posted on May 3, 2010 by David McKee

“It’s not going to come back to 2006 and 2007, because people were spending more than they could afford then.” — Spectrum Gaming Group Managing Director Michael Pollock, administering a dose of realism to the casino industry.

Posted in Atlantic City, Economy | Comments Off on Quote of the Day

Sheldon’s smokin’ (something)

Posted on April 30, 2010 by David McKee

If any other gaming CEO than Sheldon Adelson opened the most expensive casino ever ($5.5 billion) and projected it would recoup its tab in five years — requiring a return on investment well above 20% when you take operating costs … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Colony Capital, Entertainment, Fontainebleau, Harrah's, International, Macau, Marketing, Penn National, Pennsylvania, Planet Hollywood, Sheldon Adelson, Singapore, Station Casinos, Wall Street, World Series of Poker | 2 Comments

Harrah’s big buffet bungle

Posted on April 30, 2010 by David McKee

Let it be said at the outset that $39.99 for X number of meals at (most of) Harrah’s Entertainment‘s Strip buffets — up from $29.99 — is still one heckuva deal. If you can manage, say, breakfast, lunch and two … Continue reading →

Posted in Current, Dining, Harrah's, M Resort, Marketing, Planet Hollywood, Technology, The Strip | Comments Off on Harrah’s big buffet bungle