Category Archives: Atlantic City

Those evil casinos; Lost in Yonkers; Found in Bethlehem

Posted on June 10, 2011 by David McKee

Floating down the river of DeNile, Sharron Angle says a senatorial seat that was rightfully hers was filched by “the casinos,” among other malefactors. Of course, this is the same woman who would have subtracted CityCenter from the local tax … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, CityCenter, Current, Election, Maine, New York, Pennsylvania, Politics, Racinos, Sheldon Adelson, Taxes, The Strip, Tourism | 1 Comment

After the flood; New captains at Tropicana Entertainment

Posted on June 8, 2011 by David McKee

What used to be the Horizon riverboat in Vicksburg is back in business as Grand Station (no relation to Station Casinos, in case you were wondering). While nearby riverboats owned by Neil Bluhm and Ameristar Casinos rode out the high … Continue reading →

Posted in Ameristar, Atlantic City, Carl Icahn, Columbia Sussex, Dennis Gomes, Harrah's, Indiana, Marketing, Mississippi, Neil Bluhm, Penn National, Station Casinos, Tropicana Entertainment | Comments Off on After the flood; New captains at Tropicana Entertainment

Ruffin it; Atlantic City: up in smoke?

Posted on May 31, 2011 by David McKee

“Nightclubs — we just didn’t fare well with them. There are so many nightclubs. Everyone’s got just one or two. Ours were just marginal.” That’s Treasure Island owner Phil Ruffin‘s argument for repositioning the pirate place for a mid-market, middle-aged … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Boyd Gaming, Cirque du Soleil, Dennis Gomes, Donald Trump, Economy, Entertainment, Environment, Hard Rock Hotel, Harrah's, history, Horseracing, Kansas, Macau, Marketing, Massachusetts, Morgans Hotel Group, New York, Pennsylvania, Phil Ruffin, Politics, Problem gambling, Racinos, Regulation, Station Casinos, The Strip, Tilman Fertitta, Tourism, Tribal, Wall Street, Warner Gaming | 1 Comment

Atlantic City on the mend; Trump: Fish or cut bait?; Mike Ensign’s woes

Posted on May 25, 2011 by David McKee

My apologies for attenuated bloggery today but a swarm of deadlines presses upon me, including coverage of the demise of 104-year-old Huguette Clark, daughter of Sen. William A. Clark, from whom Clark County takes its name. You’ll find a lengthy … Continue reading →

Posted in Alex Yemenidjian, Architecture, Atlantic City, Boyd Gaming, Carl Icahn, Charity, CityCenter, Colony Capital, Current, Dan Lee, Dennis Gomes, Donald Trump, Downtown, Economy, Election, Environment, Harrah's, history, Isle of Capri, Marketing, MGM Mirage, Missouri, Penn National, Pinnacle Entertainment, Planet Hollywood, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson, Steve Wynn, The Strip, Tilman Fertitta, Wall Street | 4 Comments

Atlantic City: Fertitta in, Trump out; Inside Pokergeddon

Posted on May 18, 2011 by David McKee

Trump Marina became “RUMP Marina” this week (watch the video), as workers began removing vestiges of the Donald J. Trump era from the property. New owner Landry’s Restaurants is wasting no time putting its Golden Nugget imprimatur on the last-place … Continue reading →

Posted in Ameristar, Atlantic City, Colony Capital, Cordish Co., Current, Dining, Downtown, Economy, Harrah's, history, Horseracing, Illinois, International, Internet gambling, Isle of Capri, Marketing, Penn National, Regulation, Station Casinos, Steve Wynn, Wall Street | Comments Off on Atlantic City: Fertitta in, Trump out; Inside Pokergeddon

Quote of the Day

Posted on May 17, 2011 by David McKee

“[Donald] Trump argues that a trade deficit with a country means that American trade with that country is bad for America, that the amount of a trade deficit represents the amount of damage to America. He says that America has … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Donald Trump, Economy, Marketing, Wall Street | Comments Off on Quote of the Day

A tale of three casinos; Explosive night at Monte Carlo

Posted on May 16, 2011 by David McKee

But first … put this in the ‘Told Ya So’ File. The flim-flam man can now resume his fiduciary duties to Trump Entertainment Resorts and doing what he does best: Making delusional claims about his net worth. Three Vegas casinos … Continue reading →

Posted in Alex Yemenidjian, Atlantic City, CityCenter, Cosmopolitan, Dining, Donald Trump, Economy, Entertainment, Hard Rock Hotel, Marketing, MGM Mirage, Monte Carlo fire, Morgans Hotel Group, Riviera, Sahara, Steve Wynn, The Strip, Tourism, Wall Street | 2 Comments

Johnny Casino, thug; Truce at the Trop; The T-Word

Posted on May 13, 2011 by David McKee

Although the Mob may have left Las Vegas, its strong-arm tactics are still in use. Respected casino architect Paul Steelman found that out when he wouldn’t give a job to John Ensign‘s borderline-illiterate former chief of staff, Doug Hampton. Drunk … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Carl Icahn, Colony Capital, Columbia Sussex, Culinary Union, Current, Dennis Gomes, Donald Trump, Economy, Harrah's, Harry Reid, Kansas, MGM Mirage, Penn National, The Mob, The Strip, Tourism, Tropicana Entertainment, Wall Street | 3 Comments

Trump’d

Posted on May 11, 2011 by David McKee

With his sham presidential “campaign” disintegrating faster than a hydrogen-filled zeppelin, inept casino operator Donald Trump‘s much-hyped Sunday announcement turns out to have been a put-on, too. Trump lackey Michael Cohen is still trying to pump air into the deflating … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Cretins, Current, Donald Trump, Election, Marketing, Penn National, Phil Ruffin, Pinnacle Entertainment, Politics, Sheldon Adelson, The Strip, TV, Wall Street | 2 Comments

Has Illinois finally bottomed out? Trop shakeup; Big markdown on Trump

Posted on May 6, 2011 by David McKee

Sorry to disappoint, but we won’t have the answer until June–August, three straight months with the same number of weekend days as last year. By that point we’ll know whether April‘s 2% increase was the beginning of a trend. Last … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Boyd Gaming, Carl Icahn, Colony Capital, Columbia Sussex, Current, Donald Trump, Economy, Entertainment, Environment, George Maloof, Harrah's, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, MGM Mirage, Missouri, Penn National, Phil Ruffin, Steve Wynn, The Strip, Tropicana Entertainment | 3 Comments

Trump™: asset or liability?

Posted on May 3, 2011 by David McKee

If you’d like to wager on Donald Trump‘s sham presidential “campaign” and you like long odds Paddy Power is the place for you. It’s taking action on the 2012 presidential race and Trump is now a 33-to-1 shot, along with … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Colony Capital, Current, Entertainment, history, International, Marketing, Movies, Sports, Steve Wynn, Tilman Fertitta, TV, Wall Street | 9 Comments

Nazarian totally busted …

Posted on April 29, 2011 by David McKee

… by Chuck Monster, who’s learned that SBE Entertainment‘s deal with MGM Resorts International includes dumping the Club Sahara loyalty program database into the lion’s “low roller walled garden,” Circus Circus Players Club. Which is pretty much what S&G expected … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, California, Carl Icahn, CityCenter, Columbia Sussex, Current, Dennis Gomes, Economy, Entertainment, Fontainebleau, Harrah's, Lake Tahoe, MGM Mirage, Pennsylvania, Racinos, Sahara, The Strip, Tropicana Entertainment, Wall Street | 6 Comments

Why Trump won’t run

Posted on April 29, 2011 by David McKee

Two words: Mob ties. Yes, Donald “100 Percent Clean” Trump did business — repeatedly — with a man he believed (or, best case, seriously feared) to be the murderer of Jimmy Hoffa. He also employed an individual identified by U.S. … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, California, Current, Donald Trump, Economy, Florida, history, Isle of Capri, New York, Politics, Regulation, Riviera, Sahara, Sheldon Adelson, The Mob, The Strip, Tribal, Tropicana Entertainment | 2 Comments

Big Brother is watching you … at Cosmo; Trump vs. Trump

Posted on April 28, 2011 by David McKee

So much for that “right amount of wrong.” The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas put itself on the map with a batch of pervy-looking TV spots touting itself as the Ground Zero of decadence in Sin City. So how much wrong … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, CityCenter, Cosmopolitan, Current, Donald Trump, Marketing, MGM Mirage, Movies, Phil Ruffin, Regulation, Steve Wynn, The Strip, Tourism, TV | 3 Comments

Quote of the Day

Posted on April 23, 2011 by David McKee

“I first met Donald Trump a couple of months ago at a cocktail party. Someone introduced us, and he immediately started in on a speech about how beloved he was among blacks. He said that everywhere he went, blacks were … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Current, Donald Trump | Comments Off on Quote of the Day

Blockbuster month in Pennsylvania; Resurgence in Atlantic City; Douchebag of the Decade

Posted on April 20, 2011 by David McKee

You want good news? We’ve got your good news right here: Casino revenues in Pennsylvania rocketed 24% last month. (35% if you include SugarHouse but that’s an apples-to-oranges metric.) Since, on a same-store basis, slot winnings were just slightly down, … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Cannery Casino Resorts, Cretins, Current, Dennis Gomes, Dining, Donald Trump, Economy, Entertainment, Harrah's, Marketing, Neil Bluhm, Penn National, Pennsylvania, Racinos, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson, The Strip, Tribal | 3 Comments

The Flim-Flam Man

Posted on April 20, 2011 by David McKee

If anything salutary emerges from Donald Trump‘s “cynical branding exercise,” it’s that it may finally expose an epic “scam” once and for all. I refer, of course, to the Trump-generated myth that he is a successful casino operator. True, he … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, California, Charity, Cretins, Current, Donald Trump, Economy, Election, Indiana, Marketing, TV, Wall Street | 6 Comments

Low-rolling at Aria; MGM ups China ante; That doggone Desert Xpress

Posted on April 14, 2011 by David McKee

A SoCal-based player kindly shared this image from the latest Aria/M life offer: My friend ran an experienced eye over the chips on the rail and concluded that it “must be the lowest-minimum craps table Aria has ever seen,” as … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, California, Cantor Gaming, CityCenter, Current, Harry Reid, Lawrence Ho, Macau, Marketing, Melco Crown Entertainment, MGM Mirage, Movies, Pansy Ho, Problem gambling, Regulation, Stanley Ho, Technology, The Strip, Transportation, Wall Street | Comments Off on Low-rolling at Aria; MGM ups China ante; That doggone Desert Xpress

Quote of the Day

Posted on April 12, 2011 by David McKee

“I’m really encouraged by the summer. Bookings are great. The big news is, we’re all working together.” — Don Marrandino, president of Caesars Entertainment‘s four Atlantic City casinos. Cooperation on the Boardwalk? Now there’s a new (and welcome) trend.

Posted in Atlantic City, Current, Harrah's, Tourism | Comments Off on Quote of the Day

Blast from the past

Posted on April 11, 2011 by David McKee

Has Steve Wynn taken voice lessons? The unmistakable, mellifluous baritone that soothingly emanates from the mogul’s prerecorded messages to hotel guests and Web site visitors is a far cry from the high-pitched, nasal tones heard in this ancient TV interview. … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, history, Steve Wynn, The Mob, The Strip, TV | Comments Off on Blast from the past