Category Archives: Boulder Strip

The prodigal son

Posted on January 19, 2009 by David McKee

Poor Kerry Packer; the late Australian mogul and famous high roller must be doing all his rolling in the grave now. Reputed for being daring at baccarat and cautious in business, the media baron is at least spared the indignity … Continue reading →

Posted in Aristocrat, Boulder Strip, Cannery Casino Resorts, Cosmopolitan, Economy, Fontainebleau, International, James Packer, Macau, Melco Crown Entertainment, Pennsylvania, Singapore, Station Casinos, Steve Wynn, The Strip | Comments Off on The prodigal son

MGM CEO sez, "Make me an offer"

Posted on January 8, 2009 by David McKee

“We are certainly not looking to aggressively sell assets, but the point is that we do have assets that are attractive and we are going to be very responsive.” That's MGM Mirage CEO Jim Murren's way of saying that he's … Continue reading →

Posted in Boulder Strip, Cannery Casino Resorts, Cirque du Soleil, Economy, James Packer, MGM Mirage, Pennsylvania, The Strip, Wall Street | Comments Off on MGM CEO sez, "Make me an offer"

Nevada in October: It was the pits

Posted on December 10, 2008 by David McKee

Taken at face value, October's revenue numbers for Nevada casinos were calamitous. Looked at in context (i.e., coming off a 10% increase from October '06 to '07) they were … still bad. But I'm going to resist the temptation to … Continue reading →

Posted in Boulder Strip, Current, Downtown, Economy, Harrah's, Lake Las Vegas, Laughlin, Station Casinos, The Strip | Comments Off on Nevada in October: It was the pits

Station gets it; In defense of Boyd

Posted on September 25, 2008 by David McKee

Kudos to Station Casinos for agreeing to give its employees first dibs on apartments to be built near Fiesta Henderson. This is a story that fell through the cracks recently but deserves to be highlighted. The land was originally set … Continue reading →

Posted in Boulder Strip, Boyd Gaming, Harrah's, Morgans Hotel Group, Sheldon Adelson, Station Casinos, Steve Wynn, The Strip | Comments Off on Station gets it; In defense of Boyd

Mont-blew it; more E-Can; Trump struggling

Posted on September 5, 2008 by David McKee

"Montbleu screwed our pooch." That's the conclusion of Chuck Monster, who chronicles a bait-and-switch at the former Caesars Tahoe. It's now part of the prospering casino fleet that is Columbia Sussex and its "pet friendly" package turned out to be … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, Boulder Strip, Cannery Casino Resorts, Columbia Sussex, Donald Trump, Lake Tahoe, Pets, The Strip | Comments Off on Mont-blew it; more E-Can; Trump struggling

E-Can debuts

Posted on August 29, 2008 by David McKee

We got out of the way of the front doors of Eastside Cannery last night just in the nick of time. For all the apprehension about opening new casinos in the current economy (especially when locals' gambling budgets have taken … Continue reading →

Posted in Boulder Strip, Boyd Gaming, Cannery Casino Resorts, George Maloof, James Packer, Station Casinos | Comments Off on E-Can debuts

Eastside Cannery update

Posted on August 28, 2008 by David McKee

Yesterday, I asked how William Paulos and William Wortman were able to bring in Eastside Cannery (which opens tonight) for 250 million clams — $425 million less than Station Casinos is splurging on Aliante Station. In today’s Sun, Liz Benston … Continue reading →

Posted in Boulder Strip, Cannery Casino Resorts, Current, Harrah's, Station Casinos | Comments Off on Eastside Cannery update

Durango Station, slightly downsized

Posted on August 27, 2008 by David McKee

Station Casinos has filed its latest set of plans for Durango Station and it looks like they’ve pulled back a bit, although you can judge for yourself. Hotel inventory has been reduced from 1,040 rooms, then 1,000, to 726; the … Continue reading →

Posted in Boulder Strip, Cannery Casino Resorts, Station Casinos | 1 Comment

Case Bets: Luxor, Excalibur, Cannery East

Posted on August 8, 2008 by David McKee

MGM Mirage has provided a little more insight into just how much it’s doing in terms of spending on renovations to Luxor and Excalibur. “We are spending around $100M in improvements on each of these properties this year, and we … Continue reading →

Posted in Boulder Strip, Boyd Gaming, Cannery Casino Resorts, James Packer, MGM Mirage, The Strip | Comments Off on Case Bets: Luxor, Excalibur, Cannery East

Ola, Amigo!

Posted on August 4, 2008 by David McKee

As of yesterday, I'm a newly minted Amigo card holder, having joined Station Casinos' spinoff players club for its Fiesta properties. (Chalk up a very modest victory for Fiesta's spirited marketing efforts.) Why Station, having put nearly a decade of … Continue reading →

Posted in Ameristar, Boulder Strip, George Maloof, Harrah's, MGM Mirage, Station Casinos, The Strip | Comments Off on Ola, Amigo!

Lamest casino promotion. Ever

Posted on July 29, 2008 by David McKee

Not long ago, I received an oversized postcard in the mail from Eastside Cannery Casino Hotel (or E-Can, in LVA parlance). They want me to go to www.cannerycasinos.com and sign up for a players’ card. And what do I get … Continue reading →

Posted in Boulder Strip, Boyd Gaming, International, Michael Gaughan | Comments Off on Lamest casino promotion. Ever

Vegas Right Now = Bargain Country

Posted on July 2, 2008 by David McKee

While the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority may blanch from peddling bargain-oriented messages, we don’t. While it wasn’t that long ago that some of us were mourning the apparent demise of on-Strip bargains — or redefining said bargains as … Continue reading →

Posted in Boulder Strip, Harrah's, LVCVA, Macau, MGM Mirage, Riviera, Sheldon Adelson, Station Casinos, The Strip, Wall Street | Comments Off on Vegas Right Now = Bargain Country

Case Bets: Airport, Encore, Pahrump, Roadhouse

Posted on June 25, 2008 by David McKee

You know things are bad when McCarran International Airport offers space for three hotel-registration kiosks (ranging from 525 to 935 square feet, starting at $200/foot) and can’t find takers for all of them. Fifteen possible candidates were solicited and, when … Continue reading →

Posted in Boulder Strip, Current, Harrah's, MGM Mirage, Sheldon Adelson, Steve Wynn, The Strip | Comments Off on Case Bets: Airport, Encore, Pahrump, Roadhouse

The Alystra is toast

Posted on May 14, 2008 by David McKee

OK, so it was a derelict that's been closed for 10 years and unlikely ever to reopen. But the Alystra is now officially "a total loss." Too bad. It was an attractive building that happened to sit in a sort … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Boulder Strip, Election, Harrah's, Penn National, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson | 1 Comment