Category Archives: California

Weak quarter for Las Vegas Sands; Penn weathers a blow

Posted on January 29, 2015 by David McKee

There was definitely some grit in the 4Q14 financial results for Las Vegas Sands‘ Strip properties. Table play was down $102 million, or 16%. And those players who showed up played lucky. Table revenue was down 26%, or $37 million. … Continue reading →

Posted in California, Election, Harrah's, Indiana, Japan, Macau, Massachusetts, MGM Mirage, Penn National, Racinos, Sheldon Adelson, Singapore, The Strip, Tribal, Wall Street, West Virginia | Comments Off

Walker finally acts; Pessimistic about Japan

Posted on January 23, 2015 by David McKee

After numerous delays, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) finally was roused from inaction on the proposed Menominee Nation casino for Kenosha. The governor’s response to the tribe was a firm “no,” predicated upon forecasts of revenue losses from the state’s … Continue reading →

Posted in California, International, Japan, PokerStars, Politics, Sheldon Adelson, Taxes, Tribal, Wisconsin | 1 Comment

New Yorkers want a do-over; Another EuroVegas folds

Posted on December 29, 2014 by David McKee

Magnanimously, Traditions at the Glen partner — and losing casino bidder — Peter Walsh is throwing his support to racino mogul Jeff Gural. The latter is trying to pry New York‘s fourth and last new-casino license loose from New York State’s … Continue reading →

Posted in California, Delaware, Economy, Genting, Hard Rock International, Harrah's, International, Internet gambling, Lawrence Ho, Macau, Melco Crown Entertainment, MGM Mirage, New York, Pennsylvania, Philippines, Politics, Racinos, Tribal, Wall Street | Comments Off

Sayonara, Sam; Showstopping Steve

Posted on December 17, 2014 by David McKee

When the going gets tough, Sam Nazarian gets the hell out of Dodge, although he’ll try to take some of the revenue stream with him. That’s the moral to be drawn from his withdrawal from any operational role at SLS … Continue reading →

Posted in California, Entertainment, Geoff Freeman, Regulation, Sahara, Sam Nazarian, Steve Wynn, The Mob, Wall Street | Comments Off

Fixing Foxwoods, Perryville

Posted on December 16, 2014 by David McKee

Felix Rappaport continues to unveil a new strategy for Foxwoods Resort & Casino. Operations weren’t predecessor Scott Butera‘s strong suit, by the latter’s own profession. So, the restructuring having been done, enter Rappaport to commence the rebranding. Of oncoming competition … Continue reading →

Posted in California, Economy, Foxwoods, Internet gambling, Marketing, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mohegan Sun, Penn National, Regulation, Tourism, Tribal | 2 Comments

The war on Dotty’s; Ultimatum in Macao

Posted on December 8, 2014 by David McKee

In the wake of the Dotty’s brouhaha, I find myself wondering how this got to be such a big issue. After all, Nevada Restaurant Services had been buying up defunct bars and store fronts by the score and converting them … Continue reading →

Posted in California, Dotty's, Economy, Internet gambling, Macau, PokerStars, Regulation, Station Casinos, Tribal | 1 Comment

Palace coup at Full House

Posted on December 1, 2014 by David McKee

When you strike at the king, you must kill him — and dissident investor Dan Lee (left) was successful in deposing Andre Hilliou from his throne at Full House Resorts. “I would also like to thank Andre and Mark for their … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, California, Dan Lee, Entertainment, Indiana, Internet gambling, Marketing, Mississippi, New York, PokerStars, Regulation, Sam Nazarian, The Strip, Tribal, Wall Street | 1 Comment

Case Bets

Posted on November 20, 2014 by David McKee

A California tribe is getting into Internet gambling in a somewhat roundabout way. The Pala Indians are beta-testing PalaCasino.com, which will be run off the online platform of … Borgata. (Casinos in Atlantic City can host as many as five … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Boyd Gaming, California, Cosmopolitan, Economy, Entertainment, Harrah's, Internet gambling, New York, Ohio, Penn National, Regulation, The Strip, Tourism, Tribal | Comments Off

Station mixes candor, optimism; Adelson: What’s next?

Posted on November 13, 2014 by David McKee

Station Casinos CFO Marc Falcone wasn’t showing his cards in yesterday’s conference call with analysts. He would only say that, in the wake of Proposition 48‘s defeat in California, Station and the North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians would explore “other … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, California, Detroit, Economy, Election, Harry Reid, Internet gambling, MGM Mirage, Politics, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson, Station Casinos, Tribal, Trump Entertainment Resorts | Comments Off

Seminole talks to restart; Churchill Downs’ big play

Posted on November 13, 2014 by David McKee

Now that he’s assured of four more years, Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) can tidy up some unfinished business … like compact negotiations with the Seminole Tribe. The $1 billion/five-year deal currently before the two parties would reward that tribal … Continue reading →

Posted in California, Churchill Downs, Current, Florida, Genting, Hard Rock International, Internet gambling, Racinos, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson, Tribal, Wall Street | Comments Off

Tribal roundabout

Posted on November 12, 2014 by David McKee

Escalating the level of desperation in Connecticut, comes a proposal for the state’s two gaming tribes to gang-tackle Massachusetts by collaborating on a third casino of their own. So far, all of the noise seems to be coming from Mohegan … Continue reading →

Posted in California, Economy, Foxwoods, Internet gambling, Massachusetts, Mohegan Sun, Oklahoma, PokerStars, Taxes, Tribal | Comments Off

Election ’14: The day after

Posted on November 6, 2014 by David McKee

MGM Resorts International didn’t wait for the ballots to get cold. It had equipment on site in downtown Springfield yesterday, conducting “geotechnical soil assessments” on the future site of the parking garage. Laying out a timeline for the project MGM … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Boyd Gaming, California, Election, Georgia, Harrah's, Internet gambling, Massachusetts, MGM Mirage, PokerStars, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson, Tribal, Wall Street | 1 Comment

Election Special

Posted on November 5, 2014 by David McKee

Where gaming-related issues were concerned, there was one big race last night and a bunch of also-rans. The main event, of course, was Massachusetts, where casino repeal went down to defeat 60% to 40%, good news for Penn National Gaming, … Continue reading →

Posted in California, Colorado, Economy, Entertainment, Illinois, Isle of Capri, Kansas, Massachusetts, MGM Mirage, Penn National, Pinnacle Entertainment, Racinos, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Station Casinos, Steve Wynn, Tribal, Wisconsin | 2 Comments

Linking to The Linq; Tribal Internet push

Posted on November 4, 2014 by David McKee

After an unhappy interregnum as The Quad, the former Imperial Palace officially becomes The Linq today. (What was up with that Quad nonsense anyway?) It might as well be called “The Millennial,” given the number of amenities targeted to that … Continue reading →

Posted in California, Dining, Donald Trump, Environment, GTECH, Harrah's, IGT, Internet gambling, Technology, The Strip, Tribal | Comments Off

Mark your ballots; Trump Taj: Welfare queen

Posted on November 3, 2014 by David McKee

Tomorrow we get to exercise that precious franchise, the vote. So don’t oversleep, ‘kay? As everyone knows by now, the big rumble is in Massachusetts, where an attempt to repeal the state’s casino law is failing by a substantial margin in … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, California, Colorado, Election, Kansas, Massachusetts, MGM Mirage, Penn National, Politics, Racinos, Regulation, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Station Casinos, Steve Wynn, Tribal, Trump Entertainment Resorts | Comments Off

Election Special: What’s at stake; Fire sale at Trump

Posted on October 28, 2014 by David McKee

We know the big enchilada is Massachusetts, where repeal of the state’s casino law is on the ballot. It looks like it’s going to lose big-time, but anti-gambling sentiment runs deep in parts of the state. We’ve already been over … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, California, Charity, Colorado, Election, Environment, Kansas, Marketing, Massachusetts, Racinos, South Carolina, South Dakota, Station Casinos, Steve Wynn, Technology, Tribal, Trump Entertainment Resorts | 1 Comment

Warfare in California; Turnover at SLS

Posted on October 27, 2014 by David McKee

Fear of spreading off-reservation gambling are fueling opposition to Proposition 48, which would ratify a casino compact in the greater Fresno area. The North Fork Rancheria Band of Mono Indians, supported by Station Casinos, would be permitted to open a … Continue reading →

Posted in California, Charity, Detroit, Election, James Packer, Politics, Regulation, Sam Nazarian, Station Casinos, Tribal | Comments Off

Showdown at Chukchansi; Turnover at Caesars

Posted on October 14, 2014 by David McKee

As though the Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino didn’t have enough problems, it’s been closed following an armed confrontation on the casino floor. U.S. District Judge Lawrence O’Neill ordered the shutdown, seconded by the National Indian Gaming Commission, which deemed … Continue reading →

Posted in California, Election, Harrah's, Massachusetts, MGM Mirage, Regulation, Tribal, TV, Wall Street | Comments Off

Ivey loses & sundry Case Bets

Posted on October 9, 2014 by David McKee

Phil Ivey won’t be edge-sorting cards anytime soon. A British judge has ruled that, whether he knew it or not, Ivey was cheating when he won $12 million at Crockfords, a Genting Group casino in London. “He gave himself an advantage … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, California, Columbia Sussex, Election, Genting, Indiana, International, Japan, Lake Tahoe, Ohio, Penn National, Pinnacle Entertainment, Regulation, Station Casinos, Taxes, Tourism, Tribal, Wall Street, Warner Gaming | Comments Off

Study: Casinos bring down crime rate

Posted on October 8, 2014 by David McKee

“La, la, la, I DON’T HEAR YOU!” That’s the sound of casino opponents reacting to a new study that shows a 9% decline in murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny, motor vehicle theft and arson in a 30-mile radius of Foxwoods … Continue reading →

Posted in California, Economy, Foxwoods, Mohegan Sun, Regulation, Tribal | Comments Off