Category Archives: Boulder Strip

The bad guys won

Posted on May 28, 2010 by David McKee

Applying yet another tongue bath to the management and bankers who drove Station Casinos into a brick wall at top speed, bankruptcy Judge Gregg Zive has decreed Fertitta Gaming‘s $772 million* stalking-horse bid “an adequate floor” for the auction of … Continue reading →

Posted in Boulder Strip, Current, North Las Vegas, Station Casinos, Wall Street | 3 Comments

Quote of the Day

Posted on May 27, 2010 by David McKee

“I grew up on the Nevada Palace breakfast. The house I was raised in is only about a mile away, on Hacienda and Nellis. We used to come up here a lot in high school during the graveyard hours and soak … Continue reading →

Posted in Boulder Strip, Entertainment | 1 Comment

Motley Crew

Posted on May 26, 2010 by David McKee

(Editor’s note: Whoever labeled the photo at left misplaced the captions. FF3 is the guy having the good hair day and brother Lorenzo is the one with the handkerchief in his breast pocket.) In my 15 years of following the … Continue reading →

Posted in Ameristar, Boulder Strip, Boyd Gaming, Cannery Casino Resorts, CityCenter, Colony Capital, Current, Downtown, Economy, George Maloof, Goldman Sachs, James Packer, Penn National, Pennsylvania, Regulation, Station Casinos, Tourism, Wall Street | 6 Comments

Quote of the Day

Posted on May 19, 2010 by David McKee

“Sir, it’s a line charge. It’s the privilege of phone service, even if you don’t use it.” — response of Sam’s Town and Palms desk personnel to a patron’s complaint about being charged a dollar a day for the phone(s) … Continue reading →

Posted in Boulder Strip, Boyd Gaming, Economy, George Maloof, The Strip, Tourism | 1 Comment

Nevada: No recovery yet

Posted on May 11, 2010 by David McKee

“We hit the bottom and are slowly climbing out,” contends Nevada Gaming Control Board analyst Frank Streshley, trying to put the best spin on a flat March. There were definitely some silver linings. Who’da thunk Laughlin (2.5%), Reno (5%) and … Continue reading →

Posted in Boulder Strip, California, CityCenter, Current, Downtown, Economy, Lake Tahoe, Laughlin, LVCVA, Marketing, Mesquite, MGM Mirage, Reno, Sports, The Strip | 10 Comments

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

“It’s not Vegas”

Posted on March 31, 2010 by David McKee

Unfortunately, that’s all too evident from this TV spot, which looks an awful lot like the ones you’d see for a second-tier Las Vegas locals casino like the El Cortez or Renata’s, or maybe a P.T.’s Pub. If I were … Continue reading →

Posted in Boulder Strip, California, Downtown, Marketing, TV | 1 Comment

Wishful Thinking 101

Posted on March 24, 2010 by David McKee

“[Applied Analysis principal Jeremy] Aguero says the local economy will start recovering as soon as people across the country start spending money like they used to.” Yes, when they start having easy credit like they used to … which will … Continue reading →

Posted in Boulder Strip, Current, Downtown, Economy, North Las Vegas, The Strip | Comments Off on Wishful Thinking 101

Today’s Vegas: something for everybody

Posted on March 11, 2010 by David McKee

From Sin City Advisor: St Patrick’s Day now officially lesbian (Wasted Space) Mexican (Club Fortune) midget-wrestling (Velvet Lion) bikini contest (McFadden’s). And if you’re a bikini-wearing, midget-wrestling Mexican lesbian, you’ve truly landed in clover. Erin Go Bragh, señoritas!

Posted in Boulder Strip, Entertainment, Harrah's, Morgans Hotel Group, The Strip | 1 Comment

The best-paying gig in Las Vegas

Posted on March 5, 2010 by David McKee

It probably belongs to any of the army of lawyers toiling for Station Casinos … or for co-owner Colony Capital … or for individual board members, including director Dr. James Nave. The latter — who used to serve on the … Continue reading →

Posted in Boulder Strip, Current, Entertainment, Station Casinos, Wall Street | 4 Comments

Case Bets: “Viva Elvis,” Loveman in Macao, Icahn in A.C., etc.

Posted on February 24, 2010 by David McKee

Viva Elvis vs. Love. The Sun‘s John Katsilometes pivots it to a question of “Whose music is better?” I’m not going there but I think he really nails why one show seemed right up Cirque du Soleil‘s alley while the … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Boulder Strip, Boyd Gaming, Carl Icahn, Cirque du Soleil, CityCenter, Current, Don Barden, Donald Trump, Economy, Entertainment, Harrah's, Indiana, International, Isle of Capri, James Packer, Lawrence Ho, Macau, Melco Crown Entertainment, MGM Mirage, Penn National, Pennsylvania, Pinnacle Entertainment, Politics, Racinos, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson, Stanley Ho, Tribal, Tropicana Entertainment | 5 Comments

Lights, Camera, Mesquite!

Posted on January 28, 2010 by David McKee

Call me Captain Video today. After 21, with Kevin Spacey doing his rent-a-Satan act, anyone would be understandably leery of movies about card-counting … especially ones directed by someone named Delaney Dragon. (Would he be any relation to The Eiger … Continue reading →

Posted in Boulder Strip, Current, Downtown, Mesquite, Movies | 1 Comment

Back to normal

Posted on January 12, 2010 by David McKee

For starters, let’s just write off 2006-7 as an aberration. While dancing in the streets is premature, Nevada‘s casino revenues from November ($873 million) at least give us an excuse to breathe a sigh of relief — especially when other … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Boulder Strip, Current, Downtown, Economy, Harrah's, Illinois, Indiana, Lake Tahoe, Missouri, North Las Vegas, The Strip, Wall Street | 1 Comment

2.5 Cheers for Harrah’s

Posted on January 8, 2010 by David McKee

As erratically as it has been run since the departure of Phil Satre, they still get some things right at Harrah’s Entertainment … and not in the sense that a stopped watch is correct twice a day. For instance, Harrah’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Boulder Strip, Harrah's, MGM Mirage, Minnesota, Planet Hollywood, Station Casinos, Technology, The Strip, Tourism, Tribal | 5 Comments

Isle of Capri is back

Posted on January 6, 2010 by David McKee

While I was taking a cat to the vet, Isle of Capri was throwing a spanner into the Boyd Gaming works. Its bold move complicates Boyd’s proposed takeover of Station Casinos … or does it? Should Boyd succeed, it will … Continue reading →

Posted in Boulder Strip, Boyd Gaming, Colony Capital, Current, Isle of Capri, Station Casinos | 5 Comments

Aria, Vdara discounting already

Posted on December 3, 2009 by David McKee

In its discussions with J.P. Morgan analysts, MGM Mirage has regularly been boasting that Aria’s room rates are running higher (very, very slightly higher) than Bellagio. Being a skeptical fellow by nature, my instinct was that Aria was being propped … Continue reading →

Posted in Alex Yemenidjian, Boulder Strip, Boyd Gaming, Cirque du Soleil, CityCenter, Columbia Sussex, Current, Downtown, Economy, Entertainment, George Maloof, Harrah's, Herbst Gaming, Marketing, MGM Mirage, Sheldon Adelson, Silverton, Station Casinos, Steve Wynn, Tamares Group, The Strip, Tourism | 6 Comments

Now *this* is a scandal

Posted on November 24, 2009 by David McKee

During the early years of tribal gaming expansion, Native Americans had to go to Malaysia and South Africa for their startup capital — and it came at a hefty cost. Now Mohegan Sun is reeling from the delayed effects of … Continue reading →

Posted in Boulder Strip, Boyd Gaming, CityCenter, Economy, Harrah's, International, Isle of Capri, MGM Mirage, New York, Racinos, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson, Station Casinos, Steve Wynn, Technology, The Strip, Tourism, Tribal | 3 Comments

Strip bottoming out

Posted on November 10, 2009 by David McKee

September’s Nevada gaming revenue numbers are in and the good news is that the Strip is only -4% year/year. (Strip revs were down all of ’08 but didn’t fall off the cliff until October, when they tumbled 26%.) This makes … Continue reading →

Posted in Aristocrat, Boulder Strip, Boyd Gaming, Columbia Sussex, Current, Economy, G2E, Harrah's, Herbst Gaming, International, Isle of Capri, Macau, Mesquite, Ohio, Reno, Sheldon Adelson, Stanley Ho, Station Casinos, Steve Wynn, The Strip, Tourism, Transportation, Wall Street | Comments Off on Strip bottoming out

Boyd: A waiting game

Posted on October 27, 2009 by David McKee

That’s the economic forecast of J.P. Morgan analysts after Boyd Gaming came in slightly under its cash-flow projections for the third quarter. Borgata remained a bright spot, reaching record levels of market share in Atlantic City (a staggering 19%) in … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Boulder Strip, Boyd Gaming, Current, Downtown, Economy, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Morgans Hotel Group, Neil Bluhm, New York, Pennsylvania, Racinos, The Strip, Tourism, Wall Street | 6 Comments

Ya think?

Posted on October 26, 2009 by David McKee

From the latest news bulletin "blasted" by the Las Vegas Review-Journal: "Las Vegas police are investigating a shooting on Sahara Avenue near Nellis Boulevard in which a man was struck in the head by gunfire today. "Police spokesman Ramon Denby … Continue reading →

Posted in Boulder Strip, Current | Comments Off on Ya think?