Category Archives: Atlantic City

Boyd, Ameristar stable; CityCenter schedule revised

Posted on August 5, 2009 by David McKee

Second-quarter results from Boyd Gaming and Ameristar Casinos gave continued reason to be sanguine about each company. Both reported profits (12 cents per share at Boyd, double that at Ameristar) and both missed their revenue targets by an aggregate of … Continue reading →

Posted in Ameristar, Architecture, Atlantic City, Boyd Gaming, Colorado, Current, Downtown, MGM Mirage, Missouri, Station Casinos, The Strip, Wall Street | Comments Off on Boyd, Ameristar stable; CityCenter schedule revised

Donald Trump, comedian

Posted on August 4, 2009 by David McKee

This is a joke, right? Three Atlantic City casinos for a slim $100 million? Then again, if Trump Entertainment Resorts financial advisor Lazard only values unloved Trump Marina at $24 million, maybe exiled chairman Donald Trump isn’t so far out … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Donald Trump, Pennsylvania, TV, Wall Street | Comments Off on Donald Trump, comedian

McKee vs. Lerner

Posted on August 3, 2009 by David McKee

Actually, the headline misstates what was a very collegial — if occasionally dissenting — exchange of views between Union Gaming Group's Bill Lerner and Yr. Humble Blogger on Jon Ralston's Face to Face show. It was only my second-ever gig … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Boulder Strip, Boyd Gaming, Colony Capital, Current, Economy, International, Kansas, Labor, M Resort, Macau, MGM Mirage, Sheldon Adelson, Singapore, Station Casinos, The Strip, TV, Wall Street | Comments Off on McKee vs. Lerner

Bare-knuckle Boardwalk brawl

Posted on July 31, 2009 by David McKee

“Leaky windows. Broken air-conditioning. Missing kitchen equipment. A weather-beaten building … It also has missing kitchen equipment and broken air-conditioning units that have left guest rooms hot and unrentable. Further, it is plagued by a leaky roof, windows and skylights … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Donald Trump, Economy, Harrah's, MGM Mirage, Silverton, The Strip, Tropicana Entertainment | Comments Off on Bare-knuckle Boardwalk brawl

Aztar deal the worst ever: it's quantifiable

Posted on July 28, 2009 by David McKee

When he acquired Aztar Corp., back in 2006, Columbia Sussex CEO William J. Yung III also became one of the company’s debtors. So what’s his $36 million worth today? According to the Wall Street Journal, 100 grand or less. If … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Carl Icahn, Columbia Sussex, Cosmopolitan, Current, Economy, Genting, Harrah's, International, Macau, Sheldon Adelson, Singapore, Stanley Ho, The Strip, Tropicana Entertainment | Comments Off on Aztar deal the worst ever: it's quantifiable

A Trop by any other name

Posted on July 27, 2009 by David McKee

Icahn Capital, which purchased the Tropicana Atlantic City for $54 million, effectively, is projecting a conservative course for the property. Any sort of expansion is being ruled out for now, due to skepticism about “green shoots” of economic recovery. Speaking … Continue reading →

Posted in Alex Yemenidjian, Atlantic City, Carl Icahn, Columbia Sussex, Current, Economy, Harrah's, Illinois, Problem gambling, The Strip, Tropicana Entertainment | Comments Off on A Trop by any other name

Trop and tribulation

Posted on July 8, 2009 by David McKee

A pair of New Jersey lawmakers are hopping mad about the costly, dubiously competent Tropicana Atlantic City trusteeship of Justice Gary Stein. The solons are particularly het up over the way Stein was feathering his own nest. "It is unacceptable, … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Carl Icahn, Columbia Sussex, Politics, Regulation, Tropicana Entertainment | Comments Off on Trop and tribulation

Tropic(ana) of Confusion

Posted on July 2, 2009 by David McKee

News reports are at sixes and sevens of just how much of the Tropicana Las Vegas is now owned by Onex Corp. For instance, Bloomberg states that Onex's stake represents 60% of the $440 million owed on the property (or … Continue reading →

Posted in Alex Yemenidjian, Atlantic City, Columbia Sussex, Marketing, The Strip, Tropicana Entertainment | Comments Off on Tropic(ana) of Confusion

Case Bets: A.C. Trop, 21, Ensign, Boulder City, Jacko, etc.

Posted on June 29, 2009 by David McKee

After conservator Justice Gary Stein turned his trusteeship of the Tropicana Atlantic City into a $7.4 million gravy train, the New Jersey Casino Control Commission is belatedly bolting the barn door. It's going to petition the Lege to limit the … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Colony Capital, Columbia Sussex, Downtown, Politics, Regulation, The Strip, Tourism | Comments Off on Case Bets: A.C. Trop, 21, Ensign, Boulder City, Jacko, etc.

The Trop heist that wasn't

Posted on June 26, 2009 by David McKee

"An improvident indictment." That's what New Jersey officials are calling a case that was quietly quashed in May. Sacked Borgata veep John Conklin and two other men had been charged with plundering the Tropicana Atlantic City's database when they were … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Boyd Gaming, Donald Trump, Entertainment, Golden Gaming, Harrah's, Herbst Gaming, Kansas, Neil Bluhm, North Las Vegas, Pennsylvania, Politics, Sheldon Adelson, Singapore, Taxes, The Strip, Transportation | Comments Off on The Trop heist that wasn't

Case Bets: California, Packer pickle, Macao pix, Holy Cow!, Singapore, RoboPoker, etc.

Posted on June 25, 2009 by David McKee

Editor’s note: An item involving Crown Ltd. contained factual errors, which have been corrected (as you’ll see). I apologize for the misinformation. My thanks to the reader who pulled my head out of my @$$. California gamblers stay and play … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Australia, California, Columbia Sussex, Current, Economy, Entertainment, G2E, Genting, Harrah's, Holy Cow, International, Lake Tahoe, Laughlin, Louisiana, Macau, New York, Penn National, Phil Ruffin, Problem gambling, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson, Singapore, Technology, The Strip, Tribal, Tropicana Entertainment | Comments Off on Case Bets: California, Packer pickle, Macao pix, Holy Cow!, Singapore, RoboPoker, etc.

Seven essential Web sites … and other news

Posted on June 25, 2009 by David McKee

Yes, you too can can be a gaming-industry blogger, with the help of but a few absolutely indispensable Web sites. The ones that I check Monday-Friday without fail (and, as they say on Dancing with the Stars, “in no particular … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Atlantic City, Current, Entertainment, G2E, Harrah's, International, Macau, Movies, Steve Wynn, Technology, The Strip, Tribal, TV, World Series of Poker | Comments Off on Seven essential Web sites … and other news

Harrah’s Azov?

Posted on June 18, 2009 by David McKee

Bloomberg News reports the following: Harrah’s Entertainment, the world’s biggest casino company, may build a resort on the Azov Sea, Vedomosti reported Tuesday. Harrah’s may join U.S. construction company Asati in building a complex in Azov-City, one of four gambling … Continue reading →

Posted in Alaska, Atlantic City, Charity, Colony Capital, Columbia Sussex, Culinary Union, Harrah's, International, Regulation, Tropicana Entertainment | 1 Comment

Pansy passes the buck

Posted on June 3, 2009 by David McKee

An understandably sheepish-looking J. Terrence Lanni toasts the opening of MGM Grand Macau alongside business partner Pansy Ho and, front and center, project co-financier Stanley Ho. MGM Grand Macau co-owner Pansy Ho says it's entirely up to MGM Mirage to … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Columbia Sussex, Macau, MGM Mirage, Regulation, Stanley Ho | Comments Off on Pansy passes the buck

Rumble in Macao

Posted on June 2, 2009 by David McKee

Although an oft-promised loosening of visa restrictions by Peking stubborny refuses to materialize, an air of cautious hopefulness has crept back into Macao now that City of Dreams has opened on schedule — and it looks dazzling. Aggressive revenue projections … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Boyd Gaming, Cannery Casino Resorts, Cosmopolitan, Current, Economy, Genting, George Maloof, James Packer, Lawrence Ho, Macau, Melco Crown Entertainment, MGM Mirage, Penn National, Planet Hollywood, Sheldon Adelson, Stanley Ho, Station Casinos, Steve Wynn, Taxes, The Strip | Comments Off on Rumble in Macao

Margaritaville wastes away

Posted on June 2, 2009 by David McKee

In an utterly (not) shocking development, the interminably protracted sale of Trump Marina has given up the ghost. This deal was on life support for months, so today’s bulletin merely ratifies the inevitable. The would-be reinvention of the Marina as … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Carl Icahn, Colony Capital, Current, Donald Trump, Economy, Harrah's, Silverton, Tropicana Entertainment | Comments Off on Margaritaville wastes away

By request …

Posted on June 1, 2009 by David McKee

A reader from the heartland of this great country wanted to know whether LVA HQ provided a good vantage point for a United Way car wash at The Rio last Friday. Since I have but an obstructed view of The … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Charity, Harrah's, Labor, The Strip | Comments Off on By request …

Macao: Genting in, MGM out?

Posted on May 29, 2009 by David McKee

I’ve speculated elsewhere — I believe it was on the TwoWayHardThree forum — that Genting Bhd might be a logical, even inevitable successor, should MGM Mirage bail out of Macao. Seems that while I was laid up, news surfaced that … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Boyd Gaming, International, Macau, MGM Mirage, Singapore, Stanley Ho | Comments Off on Macao: Genting in, MGM out?

Pansy Ho: time for Plan C

Posted on May 22, 2009 by David McKee

In my usual cart-first, horse-later fashion, I elicited a legal opinion regarding the scenario I postulated the other night: MGM Mirage spinning off either its Atlantic City holdings or MGM Grand Macau into a quasi-autonomous entity, much as Sheldon Adelson … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Boyd Gaming, Carl Icahn, James Packer, Lawrence Ho, Macau, Melco Crown Entertainment, MGM Mirage, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson, Stanley Ho, Taxes | Comments Off on Pansy Ho: time for Plan C

Surrender in Atlantic City?

Posted on May 20, 2009 by David McKee

Yesterday, I mis-reported New Jersey state Sen. James Whelan's proposal for downsizing the state's regulatory apparatus. He didn't call for elimination of the New Jersey Casino Control Commission in favor of the Division of Gaming Enforcement, merely an unspecified removal … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Boyd Gaming, Colony Capital, Donald Trump, Economy, Harrah's, Penn National, Pennsylvania, Politics, Regulation, Station Casinos | Comments Off on Surrender in Atlantic City?