Category Archives: Columbia Sussex

Palace more ‘impotent’ than ever

Posted on November 26, 2008 by David McKee

More nails are being pounded into the coffin of the Imperial Palace. The official word is that eateries The Ming and Cockeyed Clam are closed for good. As for the others, operating hours are being truncated “periodically. Nothing is written … Continue reading →

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Case Bets: Hooters; Defection at Borgata; Yung vs. Butera

Posted on November 25, 2008 by David McKee

"All of the economists who gave us information predict 2007 is going to be a year where the economy slows throughout the country and Nevada. Then we will see a pickup in 2008-09." — Deborah Pierce, CFO, Hooters Hotel, Las … Continue reading →

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Quote of the Day

Posted on November 22, 2008 by David McKee

“If they don't [know how], it strikes me that they lack sufficient business judgment to be in the industry in the first place.” — New Jersey Supreme Court Justice Roberto Rivera-Soto on Columbia Sussex's inability to form an independent audit … Continue reading →

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Atlantic City Death Watch II; Banquo's Ghost

Posted on November 22, 2008 by David McKee

Wow, I never thought we’d have our second installment so hard upon the first. But no sooner had S&G ticketed Resorts Atlantic City for a visit to Intensive Care comes word that it’s going to miss a $10 million loan … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Colony Capital, Columbia Sussex, MGM Mirage, Regulation, Steve Wynn, The Strip, Tropicana Entertainment | Comments Off on Atlantic City Death Watch II; Banquo's Ghost

Butera up to old tricks; Dog days for Ruffin; Fowl play

Posted on November 17, 2008 by David McKee

Grasping at straws in his attempt to wrest control of the Tropicana Casino & Resort back from the New Jersey Casino Control Commission, the CEO of Tropicana Entertainment, Scott Butera, has seized upon a letter from state Sen. Richard Codey. … Continue reading →

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Quote of the Day

Posted on November 12, 2008 by David McKee

"I was ahead of the curve." — Columbia Sussex CEO William J. Yung, taking credit for being the first casino owner in Atlantic City to engage in massive layoffs and service reductions.

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Indiana: It's all relative

Posted on November 11, 2008 by David McKee

Sifting through my massive pile of unwritten Questions of the Day and unstudied analyst reports, we come to Indiana's October revenues. Ultimately, whether any particular metric is good or bad depends on context and perspective. To start with the big … Continue reading →

Posted in Ameristar, Boyd Gaming, Columbia Sussex, Don Barden, Economy, Harrah's, Illinois, Indiana, Pinnacle Entertainment | Comments Off on Indiana: It's all relative

Aztar sale flops

Posted on November 7, 2008 by David McKee

Tropicana Entertainment President Scott Butera had a $225 million deal to sell Casino Aztar in hand. Not good enough, he said. Thus, a second round of bids was solicited. The grand total number of offers received: one. This lays the … Continue reading →

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Five years ago today …

Posted on November 6, 2008 by David McKee

 … Columbia Sussex came to town. Considering that CEO William J. Yung III purchased a dead, disreputable hotel-casino and put $90 million into reworking it into an attractive property (people whose judgment I trust swear by the comfiness of its … Continue reading →

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Winners! We've got winners!

Posted on November 6, 2008 by David McKee

Yesterday’s Columbia Sussex contest produced an unprecedented flurry of responses — and I learned a lot about the bond market, too. Our S&G readership is a veritable V-8 engine of knowledge. As you’ll recall, the question concerned the “defeasance” of … Continue reading →

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Columbia Sussex contest

Posted on November 5, 2008 by David McKee

I’ve got to confess that bond-market lingo is hardly my strong suit. So can anyone out there explain what this bulletin means for casino industry pariah Columbia Sussex? One loan remains in the pool: Columbia Sussex, which has been fully … Continue reading →

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Butera to NJCCC: Your people are dopes

Posted on October 23, 2008 by David McKee

Tropicana Entertainment has formally petitioned the New Jersey Casino Control Commission for the return of its former Atlantic City casino. Oh, to be in the room when the arguments are thrashed out! Short of conducting an exorcism of the spirit … Continue reading →

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Adelson's megaphone muted

Posted on October 22, 2008 by David McKee

If Sen. John McCain pulls off the Nov. 4 comeback he’s predicting, it won’t be any thanks to Sheldon Adelson, who puts his mouth where his money is. (Hence those queasy-making odes to Chinese totalitarianism: “People seem to be living … Continue reading →

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He's baaaaaaaaaack!

Posted on October 10, 2008 by David McKee

Score one for Columbia Sussex CEO William J. Yung III. The New Jersey Supreme Court will hear his appeal of the New Jersey Casino Control Commission's revocation of his license, even though a lower court booted it, 3-0. ColSux has … Continue reading →

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Trop this!

Posted on October 9, 2008 by David McKee

The fourth time’s the charm — at least if you’re Justice Gary Stein, the tortoise-powered conservator of the Atlantic City Tropicana. Having prolonged the timeline for selling the mammoth hotel-casino three times already, he’s asking the state for a fourth … Continue reading →

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Still more Trop follies

Posted on October 3, 2008 by David McKee

Just when I was ready to get behind Tropicana Entertainment CEO Scott Butera's quest to reclaim the company's eponymous Atlantic City casino, he goes off his meds, so to speak. He blustered that "Our creditors, our employees and our neighbors … Continue reading →

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Lipstick on a pig

Posted on September 30, 2008 by David McKee

That’s how Atlantic City Tropicana conservator Justice Gary Stein is trying to pass off a deal that continues to make a loud “Oink!” He’s trying to spin the media that his $700 million agreement with Cordish Co. is really an … Continue reading →

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$150 million

Posted on September 25, 2008 by David McKee

That’s at least how much money was left on the table by Tropicana Atlantic City‘s state-appointed conservator, Justice Gary Stein, when he chucked out all the first-round bids last spring. One of the lower known offers at that time was … Continue reading →

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Kansas, Round 2: It's Cordish!

Posted on September 19, 2008 by David McKee

OK, I was wrong. Incredibly wrong. As you’ll hear on the next Vegas Gang podcast, I stuck by my prediction that Kansas‘ largest casino contract, the one for the greater Kansas City area, would go to Mohegan Sun. Why? Biggest … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Columbia Sussex, Current, Golden Gaming, Kansas, Mississippi, Penn National, Pinnacle Entertainment, Sheldon Adelson, Tribal, Tropicana Entertainment | Comments Off on Kansas, Round 2: It's Cordish!

More Trop tomfoolery

Posted on September 16, 2008 by David McKee

Justice Gary Stein's trusteeship of the Atlantic City Tropicana continues its slide toward disaster. The UAW has filed a charge with the National Labor Relations Board, accusing Stein of a lack of good-faith bargaining. Stein has said in the past … Continue reading →

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