Author Archives: David McKee

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Greetings for the day

Posted on December 25, 2009 by David McKee

… from ABBA! (What? Like you think I wasn’t going to work the Fab Swedish Four into our seasonal celebration?)

Posted in ABBA, Entertainment | Comments Off on Greetings for the day

Merry Christmas to all …

Posted on December 25, 2009 by David McKee

… and to all a good night! To send us along our way, here’s Johnny Mathis — somewhat diminished of voice but still bringing to this holiday song unmatched verve. Perhaps only Ebenezer Scrooge at his most sclerotic could resist … Continue reading →

Posted in Entertainment | 1 Comment

Quote of the Day

Posted on December 24, 2009 by David McKee

“This irresponsible legislation will bankrupt the state of Nevada and leave every working Nevada family out in the cold in the New Year.” — Gov. Jim Gibbons, in familiar Chicken Little mode. The context is irrelevant … this is Midnight … Continue reading →

Posted in Current, Economy, Harry Reid, Politics | Comments Off on Quote of the Day

‘Tis the season

Posted on December 23, 2009 by David McKee

Kansas Gov. Mark Parkinson cuts the ribbon on Boot Hill Casino. The gentleman at the rear in the red tie is the Kansas Lottery’s Ed Van Petten, taking time out from carrying water for Mike Ensign. Having been on the … Continue reading →

Posted in Alex Yemenidjian, Archon Corp., Boyd Gaming, Cannery Casino Resorts, Carl Icahn, CityCenter, Colony Capital, Columbia Sussex, Don Barden, Donald Trump, Economy, Election, Entertainment, Environment, Fontainebleau, Harrah's, Harry Reid, Internet gambling, Isle of Capri, Jack Binion, James Packer, Kansas, M Resort, Macau, MGM Mirage, Neil Bluhm, Oscar Goodman, Penn National, Pets, Phil Ruffin, Politics, Sheldon Adelson, Stanley Ho, Station Casinos, Steve Wynn, Technology, The Strip, Tourism, Tribal | 8 Comments

The unkindest cut

Posted on December 23, 2009 by David McKee

And for something totally random … Whilst gathering my thoughts this morning, I was watching a bit of MSNBC coverage of the latest Washington scandal. At the very moment a Roll Call reporter was saying Democratic senators would try “to … Continue reading →

Posted in Current, Politics, TV | 3 Comments

Quote of the Day

Posted on December 23, 2009 by David McKee

“Anyone who tells you they are expanding or improving on their existing property is lying. No one has any money right now to do that. We’re all just grinding it out, operating, trying to stay smart and ahead of it … Continue reading →

Posted in Current, Economy, George Maloof, The Strip | 9 Comments

“You can’t escape CityCenter.”

Posted on December 22, 2009 by David McKee

No, but I really wish I could when I read yet another story posing the boneheaded question, “Can CityCenter save Las Vegas?” The query is as dumb as the answer is obvious: No, it can’t. No one megaresort property can. … Continue reading →

Posted in CityCenter, Economy, MGM Mirage, Movies, The Strip | 5 Comments

Quote of the Day

Posted on December 22, 2009 by David McKee

“We make no pretense about being wealthy.” — would-be Baltimore casino developer Michael Cryor, whose project has been unable to muster its $19.5 million license fee, despite being given 10 months to do so.

Posted in Maryland | Comments Off on Quote of the Day

Case Bets: Greektown, Adelson, Philadelphia & Stanley Ho

Posted on December 22, 2009 by David McKee

If a management company increases your revenues in the teeth of the Great Recession — and despite your casino’s well-publicized financial problems — what do you do? Kick them out, of course, if you’re Greektown Casino and you’ve no further … Continue reading →

Posted in Current, Detroit, Macau, Massachusetts, Neil Bluhm, New York, Pennsylvania, Racinos, Sheldon Adelson, Stanley Ho, Steve Wynn, Tribal | 3 Comments

Loveman loves him some Macao

Posted on December 22, 2009 by David McKee

By now the saga of Harrah’s Entertainment‘s Macanese golf course is the stuff of legend: a $578 million golden albatross around the company’s neck and a metaphor for the company’s misfortune-prone international strategy. While some of CEO Gary Loveman‘s ventures … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Colony Capital, Current, Harrah's, James Packer, Lawrence Ho, Macau, Maryland, Melco Crown Entertainment, MGM Mirage, Planet Hollywood, Politics, Racinos, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson, Stanley Ho, Steve Wynn, Wall Street | 1 Comment

I’m not a prude but …

Posted on December 21, 2009 by David McKee

… doesn’t this push the envelope a bit far, even by Vegas standards? After all, a long time ago (i.e., pre-AIDS), “bathhouse” had but one connotation and not an especially sanitary one. So this ad for Mandalay Bay, tacitly promoting … Continue reading →

Posted in Current, Marketing, MGM Mirage, The Strip | 14 Comments

Free $100K @ Harrah’s

Posted on December 21, 2009 by David McKee

Yes, there is such a thing as “free money,” leastways if you’re Mount Hope, N.Y., resident Sheila Baisley. She is no doubt saying stuff like, “Yum-O!” and “Delish!” after she won $100,000 in credit from Harrah’s Entertainment on the Rachael … Continue reading →

Posted in Current, Harrah's, MGM Mirage, Sheldon Adelson, Steve Wynn, The Strip, TV | 3 Comments

Earth to Adelson, Earth to Adelson …

Posted on December 21, 2009 by David McKee

Las Vegas Sands CEO Sheldon Adelson claims he can finish his two resuscitated Cotai Strip™ casinos (below) and build three more in the next five years. Let the record show that Adelson currently also has casinos in various states of … Continue reading →

Posted in CityCenter, Cordish Co., Current, Economy, Florida, International, Macau, Maryland, MGM Mirage, Movies, New York, Pennsylvania, Politics, Racinos, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson, Singapore, The Strip, Tribal | 2 Comments

Quote of the Day

Posted on December 21, 2009 by David McKee

“No, we’re here to look at the art.” — sightseers, to a doorman in the North Valet area of Aria who’d asked if the couple was there to pick up a car. It’s a sentence probably not often heard heretofore … Continue reading →

Posted in CityCenter, Current, MGM Mirage, The Strip, Tourism | 4 Comments

CityCenter: succes d’estime

Posted on December 18, 2009 by David McKee

Enough procrastination! Such is the immensity and information overload that is CityCenter, that it may be some time before this spectator can fully wrap his brain around what is — for better or worse — the Strip’s equivalent to that … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, CityCenter, Current, Detroit, Dining, Encore, IGT, International, MGM Mirage, Movies, Sheldon Adelson, Station Casinos, Steve Wynn, Technology, The Strip, Tourism, TV | 7 Comments

We have (another) winner

Posted on December 18, 2009 by David McKee

Betcha they didn’t do this at Aria when the first decent-sized jackpot was hit. The gentleman on the right is Carlos Quintano, from Great Bend, Kan. Only 15 minutes after the doors of Boot Hill Casino & Resort* flew open, … Continue reading →

Posted in Archon Corp., CityCenter, Colorado, Kansas, Texas, Tribal | 1 Comment

Meanwhile in Singapore …

Posted on December 18, 2009 by David McKee

From the look of things, Sheldon Adelson‘s projected late-March opening date for Marina Bay Sands seems a mite optimistic.

Posted in Sheldon Adelson, Singapore | 2 Comments

They took away the Reading Room …

Posted on December 17, 2009 by David McKee

… only to give us Assouline, a store that specializes in big books with lots of pictures and can found in Crystals. However, you needn’t bother shopping there unless you have money out the assouline. Or as a company exec … Continue reading →

Posted in Arizona, California, CityCenter, Colorado, Economy, MGM Mirage, Mississippi, The Strip, Tribal | 3 Comments

CityCenter giblets

Posted on December 17, 2009 by David McKee

While I’m gathering my thoughts — and notes — from yesterday’s Orgy o’CityCenter (and trying to maintain a Cone of Deafness, as far as other commentators), here are a few stray tidbits: Even MGM Mirage CEO Jim Murren can’t hide … Continue reading →

Posted in Cirque du Soleil, CityCenter, Colony Capital, Cosmopolitan, Current, Donald Trump, Dubai, Economy, Entertainment, Fontainebleau, Station Casinos, Steve Wynn, Technology, The Strip, Tourism, Transportation, TV | 3 Comments

We have a winner!

Posted on December 17, 2009 by David McKee

S&G reader Dawn was the first to guess which state in our great nation has the second-most casinos (after Nevada, natürlich). It’s the Sooner State, Oklahoma — where the wind comes sweeping down the plains, as native Jeff in OKC … Continue reading →

Posted in Arizona, Cirque du Soleil, CityCenter, Current, Entertainment, MGM Mirage, Oklahoma, The Strip, Tribal | 2 Comments