Category Archives: Archon Corp.

CityCenter, political football *du jour*

Now that the all-too-inevitable “Who screwed up CityCenter?” unpleasantness between MGM Mirage and Perini Building has escalated into full-blown litigation and subcontractors fend for themselves, Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) has been caught in the crossfire. His main rival, Archon Corp. … Continue reading

Posted in Archon Corp., CityCenter, Current, Election, Harry Reid, MGM Mirage, Politics, The Strip | Comments Off on CityCenter, political football *du jour*

Harrah’s red-headed stepchild

If we (you, me, everybody) had a dollar for ever time we heard a rumor that Harrah’s Entertainment was putting The Rio on the block, we could pool enough moolah to amortize CEO Gary Loveman‘s recent $100,000 pay cut. Our … Continue reading

Posted in Archon Corp., Atlantic City, Current, Economy, George Maloof, Harrah's, International, James Packer, Laughlin, Planet Hollywood, Station Casinos, The Strip, Wall Street | 10 Comments

Archonomics: Poultry in motion

All of cyberspace has been agog with Archon Corp. Treasurer Sue Lowden‘s chickens for health care proposal. Normally we’d chalk up this kind of Green Acres-inspired policy to spring fever and leave it at that — were it not for … Continue reading

Posted in Animals, Archon Corp., Economy, Election, The Strip | 4 Comments

Harrah’s robbing Peter to buy Paul

When executives of Harrah’s Entertainment credit “hard-nosed” negotiating tactics for their success is reducing the company’s preposterous debt level, one suspects that threats of default and bankruptcy serve as the rhetorical equivalents of the rubber hose and brass knuckles. It’s … Continue reading

Posted in Archon Corp., Current, Economy, Entertainment, Harrah's, International, Internet gambling, Macau, Mississippi, Planet Hollywood, Politics, Regulation, Riviera, The Strip, Wall Street, World Series of Poker | Comments Off on Harrah’s robbing Peter to buy Paul

An arena in every pot

A scrum of casino owners and would-be owners is swarming the Clark County Commission with proposed arenas. The Las Vegas City Council may be able to get into the act, as Cordish Cos. is studying the feasibility of a stadium … Continue reading

Posted in Archon Corp., Cordish Co., Current, Downtown, Dubai, Economy, Entertainment, Gary Goett, Harrah's, Michael Gaughan, Oscar Goodman, Sports, Taxes, The Strip, Tourism, Transportation | 1 Comment

From the S&G Twitter feed …

It’s a crazy day here and I’m deeply enmeshed in reportage (hint: it involves Station Casinos) so I’d like to take up some of the blogging slack by once more pimping the S&G Twitter feed (@stiffsgeorges), which can also be … Continue reading

Posted in Alex Yemenidjian, Archon Corp., Bally Technologies, Current, Election, Entertainment, Harrah's, Isle of Capri, James Packer, Lawrence Ho, Macau, Marketing, Melco Crown Entertainment, MGM Mirage, Mississippi, Pinnacle Entertainment, Planet Hollywood, Sheldon Adelson, Singapore, Steve Wynn, Technology, Wall Street | Comments Off on From the S&G Twitter feed …

Love Train

As in the flowering bromance between Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) and mouthpiece-for-hire Sig “The Fixer” Rogich. The former, a longtime supporter of a proposed maglev train betwixt Las Vegas and Anaheim, switched his allegiance to Rogich’s Choo-Choo-to-Nowhere, by the strangest … Continue reading

Posted in Archon Corp., California, Economy, Election, Herbst Gaming, Politics, Station Casinos, Taxes, Tourism, Transportation | 10 Comments

Case Bets: Lake Las Vegas, Todd English, the CityCenter smear, Harrah’s Chester, etc.

Far on the outskirts of Sin City, the Kingdom of Make-Believe (aka Lake Las Vegas) is the newest and — in terms of acreage — biggest metaphor yet for the unrealistic expectations and sometimes insane assumptions which have laid our … Continue reading

Posted in Archon Corp., CityCenter, Current, Dining, Dubai, Economy, Election, Harrah's, Harry Reid, Lake Las Vegas, Laughlin, Macau, Marketing, MGM Mirage, Pennsylvania, Sheldon Adelson, The Strip, TV | 14 Comments

This is getting nasty

Update: S&G sends its condolences to Sen. Reid after his wife and daughter were severely injured in an automobile accident this afternoon. Back when Archon Corp. Treasurer Sue Lowden (left) threw her hat into the 2010 U.S. Senate race, I … Continue reading

Posted in Archon Corp., CityCenter, Current, Economy, Election, Harry Reid, Labor, Laughlin, Marketing, MGM Mirage, Sheldon Adelson, TV | 1 Comment

Did my eyes deceive me …

… or was that the skeleton of Echelon which was used to illustrate Nevada’s economic woes in the TV spot that Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) is running this week? That’s no outrage in and of itself: Echelon was a casualty … Continue reading

Posted in Archon Corp., Boyd Gaming, CityCenter, Current, Economy, Election, Harry Reid, Marketing, MGM Mirage, Politics, Sheldon Adelson, The Strip, TV | 2 Comments

Chronicle of a Black foretold; River City looking good

Randy Black, that is. The CEO who ran the Mesquite market straight into the ground (with a sizable assist from the Nevada Gaming Control Board and Gaming Commission) and turned the former Si Redd’s Oasis into a slot route — … Continue reading

Posted in Archon Corp., Boyd Gaming, Current, Don Barden, Election, Harry Reid, IGT, Mesquite, Michael Gaughan, Midnight Jim Gibbons, Pinnacle Entertainment, Planet Hollywood, Politics, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson, Station Casinos, Steve Wynn, TV, Wall Street, WMS Industries | 1 Comment

Sue Lowden, socialist?

Archon Corp. Treasurer Sue Lowden has been called unflattering things in her life (mostly by the Culinary Union) but I’ll bet my soul “socialist” was never among them. Until now. Rival Danny Tarkanian flung the “S word” at her yesterday, … Continue reading

Posted in Archon Corp., Election, Entertainment, Harry Reid, Politics, The Strip | 2 Comments

Blast from the past

Since we’ve been talking about Archon Corp. this week — and because I didn’t want the last post of the week to be about feet — here’s an old ad for the Wet ‘n Wild water park, whose closure really … Continue reading

Posted in Archon Corp., Entertainment, Fontainebleau, Marketing, The Strip, Tourism | 6 Comments

Adelson, Earl & a paper tiger

Opening a drowsy eye, the Las Vegas Review-Journal belatedly took note of Las Vegas Sands‘ Singapore project, although the story was just a puff piece (perhaps because its writer used to toil in Vegas’ PR shops, including a stint at … Continue reading

Posted in Archon Corp., Current, Economy, Genting, Harrah's, Lake Las Vegas, Planet Hollywood, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson, Singapore, Station Casinos, Steve Wynn, Wall Street | Comments Off on Adelson, Earl & a paper tiger

Sheldon Adelson, TV star

There I was, wrapping up a two-day “staycation” with dinner at Metro Pizza when I looked up and … let’s say I’m lucky I didn’t choke to death from shock at what I saw. There was Las Vegas Sands potentate … Continue reading

Posted in Archon Corp., Current, Economy, Entertainment, International, James Packer, Lawrence Ho, Macau, Melco Crown Entertainment, Pennsylvania, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson, Sports, Steve Wynn, The Strip, TV, Wall Street, Wayne F. Newton | 1 Comment

Lowden’s interesting omission

Here, for your viewing pleasure, is Archon Corp. Treasurer Sue Lowden‘s newest ad spot. I saw it on the tube this morning and was struck by the euphemistic way it gets around having to describe her as a “casino executive,” … Continue reading

Posted in Archon Corp., Election, Marketing, Politics, TV | 5 Comments

Illegal casino bucks mar NV governor’s race

OK, with a candidate field that includes scandal-prone incumbent Midnight Jim Gibbons, you might ask, “What’s there to mar?” Well, how ’bout illegal overseas campaign cash funneled to former North Las Vegas Mayor Michael Montandon (left) by the reclusive owners … Continue reading

Posted in Archon Corp., Boyd Gaming, Election, Harry Reid, International, Midnight Jim Gibbons, North Las Vegas, Politics, Station Casinos | 2 Comments

That casino smell

As you step through the front doors of Aria‘s check-in foyer, a too-heavy musk is jammed up your nostrils. It smells like the same suffocating attar that’s employed in Venelazzo, except maybe heavier. The good news is that if you … Continue reading

Posted in Archon Corp., Atlantic City, Baseball, CityCenter, Current, Economy, Florida, Harry Reid, Marketing, MGM Mirage, Politics, Sheldon Adelson, Sports | 4 Comments

‘Tis the season

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

We have (another) winner

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