Category Archives: Boulder Strip

Save the whales; Boffo contract in Wisconsin

Posted on March 28, 2014 by David McKee

824 grand. That’s how much online poker revenue Nevada generated in February, the first month in which it has reported such numbers. (Sheldon Adelson‘s fear of Internet poker is like an elephant cowering before a mouse.) Since online play went … Continue reading →

Posted in Boulder Strip, Downtown, Economy, Foxwoods, Internet gambling, Lake Tahoe, Laughlin, Massachusetts, MGM Mirage, North Las Vegas, Sheldon Adelson, Steve Wynn, Tribal, Wall Street, Wisconsin | Comments Off on Save the whales; Boffo contract in Wisconsin

Buoyancy in Vegas, contentment at Wynn

Posted on January 31, 2014 by David McKee

Despite somewhat less money being dropped on the Las Vegas Strip, revenue was up 13% last December, closing out a strong 4Q13. Statewide, revenue was up 10%, slightly over a billion dollars. Tighter slot hold on the Strip helped fuel … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Boulder Strip, Boyd Gaming, Downtown, Economy, Lake Tahoe, Laughlin, Macau, Massachusetts, Mohegan Sun, Racinos, Reno, Steve Wynn, Taxes, The Strip, Tribal, Wall Street | Comments Off on Buoyancy in Vegas, contentment at Wynn

Nevada finishing year strong; Christie’s choler

Posted on December 31, 2013 by David McKee

With a little help from one extra weekend day, Nevada gross gaming revenues shot upward 12% statewide in November and 23% on the Strip. Baccarat players lost their shirts, with the house winning 94% more than the previous year. Less … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Boulder Strip, Cordish Co., Current, Downtown, Economy, Harrah's, Laughlin, Maryland, Massachusetts, MGM Mirage, North Las Vegas, Penn National, Regulation, Reno, Steve Wynn, The Strip, Tilman Fertitta, Trump Entertainment Resorts | 2 Comments

Falling upward in Nevada; MGM: The Lion meows

Posted on October 31, 2013 by David McKee

Helped by a wee bit of late-August slot revenue, Nevada posted a 7% revenue gain this month, for a $959 haul. The Strip performed spectacularly, up 13%, and Downtown edged 2% higher. Lake Tahoe vaulted 23% but Reno fell off … Continue reading →

Posted in Boulder Strip, CityCenter, Current, Downtown, Lake Tahoe, Laughlin, Macau, Mesquite, MGM Mirage, North Las Vegas, Reno, Sheldon Adelson, The Strip, Tourism, Transportation, Wall Street | Comments Off on Falling upward in Nevada; MGM: The Lion meows

Breaking Boyd

Posted on October 31, 2013 by David McKee

Boyd Gaming missed Wall Street expectations last quarter, posting negative earnings of eight cents a share, compared to the $0.01/share profit the Street was anticipating. Deutsche Bank‘s Carlo Santarelli blamed “softer-than-expected net revenues … below the low-end of management’s guidance.” Las … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Boulder Strip, Boyd Gaming, Current, Downtown, Environment, Greenwood Racing, history, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, MGM Mirage, Ohio, Penn National, Wall Street | Comments Off on Breaking Boyd

August: Hot on the Strip

Posted on September 30, 2013 by David McKee

Boy, did the house win big last August. Las Vegas Strip gambling revenues were up 20%, driven by exceptionally lucky baccarat play (win up 55.5%), in a month when 1.5% less was wagered on the game. (A modest increase in … Continue reading →

Posted in Boulder Strip, Current, Downtown, Lake Tahoe, Laughlin, North Las Vegas, Reno, The Strip | Comments Off on August: Hot on the Strip

Case Bets: Walker’s wager; “e” on the QT; Blue no more

Posted on August 20, 2013 by David McKee

One of the nation’s largest tribal casinos, Potowatomi Bingo, in Milwaukee, has been caught by the economic malaise that is dogging so many of the nation’s casinos. Although Potowatomi defied the Great Recession, peaking in 2009 and rebounding after a … Continue reading →

Posted in Boulder Strip, Cosmopolitan, Dining, Downtown, Economy, North Las Vegas, Politics, The Strip, Tribal | 2 Comments

Tilman’s Golden touch; Dotty’s gets respectable

Posted on August 5, 2013 by David McKee

Tilman Fertitta forked over $45 million to purchase Isle of Capri Biloxi. He is currently putting another $100 million into expansions and upgrades. From the look of things, he shouldn’t have any trouble making his money back. (Interestingly, parts of … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Boulder Strip, Current, Downtown, Economy, Environment, Internet gambling, Isle of Capri, Laughlin, Mississippi, Planet Hollywood, Riviera, Tilman Fertitta | 3 Comments

What’s new in Sparks?; Tomato King strikes again; Bluhm’s bad luck

Posted on August 2, 2013 by David McKee

Arising from the grave of the Silver Club, the brand-new Bourbon Square Casino was finished just in the nick of time for yesterday’s opening. Owner Nevada Casino Holdings has done well, delivering a “new” casino for just $5 million. It … Continue reading →

Posted in Boulder Strip, Columbia Sussex, Current, Don Barden, Laughlin, Massachusetts, Neil Bluhm, Penn National, Pennsylvania, Reno, Station Casinos, Steve Wynn, Tomato King Procacci | Comments Off on What’s new in Sparks?; Tomato King strikes again; Bluhm’s bad luck

Nevada: The recovery continues; Elsewhere: Not so much

Posted on May 10, 2013 by David McKee

After a boffo February, the Silver State also posted extraordinary numbers in March. As Deutsche Bank headlined its report, “Different Month, Same Tune.” Analyst Carlo Santarelli cautioned, “we believe the underlying trends are not as strong as the headline would … Continue reading →

Posted in Ameristar, Atlantic City, Boulder Strip, Boyd Gaming, Colony Capital, Current, Dan Lee, Donald Trump, Downtown, Economy, Harrah's, Illinois, Iowa, Isle of Capri, Kansas, Lake Tahoe, Laughlin, Marketing, Missouri, North Las Vegas, Penn National, Pinnacle Entertainment, Reno, Revel, The Strip, Tourism, Wall Street | 2 Comments

Today, it’s Boyd’s turn to shine

Posted on April 25, 2013 by David McKee

Even the illusion of a rising tide lifts all boats, it would appear. Yesterday’s big stock-pump by Caesars Entertainment carried Boyd Gaming up with it, as did much-better-than-expected first-quarter numbers from Boyd. Shares that closed Tuesday at $8.94 were riding … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Boulder Strip, Boyd Gaming, Current, Internet gambling, Wall Street | 3 Comments

A chilly wind in Atlantic City; They gave a casino and nobody came

Posted on April 11, 2013 by David McKee

One doesn’t really think of going to shore in March, so it’s no surprise that Atlantic City casino revenues were — excluding Revel — down 14% last month. The latter grossed $10 million, pulling it almost dead even with the … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Boulder Strip, Boyd Gaming, Colony Capital, Current, Donald Trump, Downtown, Economy, Harrah's, Oklahoma, Revel, Slot routes, Station Casinos, Texas, Tilman Fertitta, Tourism, Transportation, Tribal | Comments Off on A chilly wind in Atlantic City; They gave a casino and nobody came

Klondike, over and out

Posted on April 10, 2013 by David McKee

Although Jon Woodrum has been a minor fixture of the Las Vegas casino scene for decades, he and son Mike Woodrum are trying to cash out of the Klondike Sunset Casino for a tidy little $3.5 million. It appeared last … Continue reading →

Posted in Boulder Strip, Economy, Gary Goett, M Resort | 1 Comment

Revel: It was all downhill from here

Posted on April 8, 2013 by David McKee

Yeah, Beyoncé is a hard act to follow but who knew that Revel would fall so far, so fast? So enjoy this brief moment when things looked so very promising* …  in the meantime, I’m running down leads on some … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Boulder Strip, Boyd Gaming, Dining, Downtown, Entertainment, Gary Goett, history, Michael Gaughan, North Las Vegas, Revel, Station Casinos, Tamares Group | 6 Comments

December in Vegas: The house won; Sheldon of La Mancha

Posted on February 8, 2013 by David McKee

There are gambling markets … and then there’s Las Vegas. Players opened their wallets — oh, did they ever — and lost big. Casino winnings on the Las Vegas Strip were up 13.5% and Nevada casinos overall did 10% better … Continue reading →

Posted in Boulder Strip, Boyd Gaming, Current, International, Lake Tahoe, Laughlin, Marketing, Mesquite, North Las Vegas, Reno, Sheldon Adelson, The Strip, Tourism, Wall Street | 2 Comments

Best Casino Ad Ever (Not!); Another Pinnacle boo-boo

Posted on February 1, 2013 by David McKee

If you live in the greater Las Vegas metropolitan area, you’ve probably had a stiff dose of this ad, which is in heavy rotation during the morning news shows. I don’t know whether to be impressed that a grind joint … Continue reading →

Posted in Boulder Strip, Entertainment, Marketing, Pinnacle Entertainment, TV | 1 Comment

November in Vegas: The house lost; Players jilt Caesars in A.C.

Posted on January 10, 2013 by David McKee

There’s no other way of saying it (although many are trying). Strip casinos got their clocks cleaned in November as Lady Luck favored the punters, not the house. A 13% dropoff on the Strip was driven by a perfect storm … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Bally Technologies, Boulder Strip, Boyd Gaming, Colony Capital, Current, Donald Trump, Downtown, Economy, Harrah's, Lake Tahoe, Laughlin, North Las Vegas, Revel, Station Casinos, The Strip, Tourism, Tribal, Tropicana Entertainment, Wall Street | 5 Comments

Nevada disappoints but Atlantic City bombs

Posted on October 12, 2012 by David McKee

If there’s a saving grace to August’s rather glum Nevada gambling win (-3%), it’s that the month ended on a Friday, so there may be some as-yet-unreported slot revenue that will fluff the September results. (That optimism must be offset, … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Boulder Strip, Boyd Gaming, Colony Capital, Current, Donald Trump, Downtown, Economy, Harrah's, Laughlin, North Las Vegas, Politics, Racinos, Revel, The Strip, Tilman Fertitta, Tropicana Entertainment | 1 Comment

Journos muzzled in Sin City

Posted on August 17, 2012 by David McKee

Sheldon Adelson couldn’t do it but Las Vegas Sun Publisher Brian Greenspun could. The hard-money-lending business in Las Vegas is a dodgy, high-risk one at the best of times and close scrutiny of it by Sun-related publications is especially touchy. … Continue reading →

Posted in Boulder Strip, Current, New York, North Las Vegas, Racinos, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson, Station Casinos, TV | 4 Comments

Nevada: We’re skewed!; Dark Side of the Force

Posted on August 9, 2012 by David McKee

I always hate doing Nevada gaming numbers because A) it’s redundant with the coverage in the local dailies and B) almost every month you have to trot out the caveat that — as was the case in June — the … Continue reading →

Posted in Boulder Strip, Cosmopolitan, Current, Downtown, Economy, Entertainment, Harrah's, Lake Tahoe, Marketing, Mesquite, Movies, North Las Vegas, Reno, Tourism, TV, Wall Street | Comments Off on Nevada: We’re skewed!; Dark Side of the Force