Category Archives: Cosmopolitan

Cosmo: Yes, we have gambling!; Election Special 2: Palm Beach

Posted on October 30, 2012 by David McKee

For the umpteenth time, The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas has been obliged to go to the media and say, ‘Yes, we not only have gambling but we actually like it, we really do.’ It’s a message that got kicked under … Continue reading →

Posted in Arizona, Cosmopolitan, Current, Dining, Economy, Election, Florida, Isle of Capri, Marketing, Racinos, Sheldon Adelson, Taxes, The Strip, Tourism, Tribal, Wall Street | Comments Off

Shadow-puppetry at the Sahara; TropiHilton of LV; Melco goes southerly

Posted on October 26, 2012 by David McKee

“Lightweight” might be a apt term to describe the braintrust forming around the SLS/Sahara project. So would “miscast.” Reporting to casino novice and owner Sam Nazarian, its president will be J.P. Morgan investment banker Sam Bakhshandehpour. His main qualification for … Continue reading →

Posted in Alex Yemenidjian, Colony Capital, Cosmopolitan, Current, Goldman Sachs, Harrah's, International, James Packer, Lawrence Ho, Marketing, Melco Crown Entertainment, MGM Mirage, Planet Hollywood, Sahara, Steve Wynn, The Strip, Tourism, Wall Street | Comments Off

Seen at G2E …

Posted on October 22, 2012 by David McKee

No, not Russian hookers (you have to go to Macao for those) but Interblock‘s virtual casino dealers. The Slovenian company unveiled these robo-lovelies under high-security conditions that the Las Vegas Sun likened to Marquee “on a busy weekend night” … … Continue reading →

Posted in Cosmopolitan, Entertainment, G2E, Technology | Comments Off

Black man frightens Steve Wynn, Part Two; MGM: Time to forget Harmon?

Posted on October 10, 2012 by David McKee

As Yahoo‘s Jeff Macke cuttingly puts it, he “found a real, live businessman who creates jobs,” thereby providing a Steve Wynn-to-sanity translation, courtesy of CIO Advisors‘ Hugh Johnson. If Wynn were truly being honest, he’d cut to the quick: He’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Cantor Gaming, CityCenter, Colony Capital, Columbia Sussex, Cosmopolitan, Cretins, Current, Donald Trump, Economy, Election, Fontainebleau, Goldman Sachs, Hard Rock Hotel, Harrah's, history, International, Louisiana, Macau, Massachusetts, MGM Mirage, Morgans Hotel Group, North Las Vegas, Politics, Sports, Station Casinos, Steve Wynn, Technology, TV, Wall Street | 2 Comments

Black man frightens Steve Wynn, Part One

Posted on October 10, 2012 by David McKee

Update: Today, Wynn got into the act in the ongoing Big Bird charade. As Steve Sebelius points out, it’s meaningless posturing, nothing more. Life’s been good to Steve Wynn. How good? Well, if you or I talked like a crazy … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Cantor Gaming, CityCenter, Colony Capital, Columbia Sussex, Cosmopolitan, Cretins, Current, Donald Trump, Economy, Election, Entertainment, Fontainebleau, Goldman Sachs, Harrah's, Macau, Massachusetts, MGM Mirage, Morgans Hotel Group, North Las Vegas, Pennsylvania, Plaza, Politics, Regulation, Sports, Station Casinos, The Strip, TV | 27 Comments

From the mailbag; Now for a word from our sponsor …

Posted on October 8, 2012 by David McKee

Update: Full sets of links are now available for the DIY version of my USA Today ‘best of Downtown’ and best of the Las Vegas Strip guides, below. Thank you for your patience. A reader in Arizona has run the … Continue reading →

Posted in Alex Yemenidjian, Architecture, Cosmopolitan, Harrah's, Technology, The Strip, Tourism | Comments Off

USA Today’s best of the Strip

Posted on October 6, 2012 by David McKee

Pursuant to our last S&G dispatch, here are the USA Today choices for top attractions on the Strip (uniqueness and affordability being prime considerations). If you’re not staying at a Hilton property right now, you aren’t vouchsafed access to the … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, CityCenter, Cosmopolitan, Dining, Entertainment, Environment, George Maloof, Harrah's, MGM Mirage, Movies, Planet Hollywood, Steve Wynn, The Strip, Tourism, Transportation | Comments Off

Bacchanalia at Caesars; I’ll take the Mubarak Suite, please

Posted on September 28, 2012 by David McKee

Despite rampant neglect elsewhere on the Strip, Caesars Entertainment continues to take good care of its namesake, Caesars Palace. A Wednesday-night visit disclosed that myriad schlock retailers had been banished, as Jay Sarno‘s toga party tries to keep pace with … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, CityCenter, Cosmopolitan, Current, Dining, Entertainment, Goldman Sachs, Harrah's, history, International, Marketing, MGM Mirage, Sahara, Technology, The Mob, The Strip, Tourism, TV | 4 Comments

Non-quote of the day; After Harmon, what next?

Posted on August 28, 2012 by David McKee

As Hurricane Isaac forced the closure of 18 casinos in Louisiana and Mississippi (including the Silver Slipper [left]) and casino-expansion measures in Illinois and Michigan came to a head, what story did the American Gaming Association deem its highest priority today? … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, CityCenter, Cosmopolitan, Current, Detroit, Downtown, Environment, Illinois, Louisiana, Marketing, MGM Mirage, Mississippi, Slot routes, The Strip, Tourism, Vdara Death Ray | Comments Off

Clarkson 1, Cosmopolitan 0; ‘High Roller’ kaput?

Posted on August 16, 2012 by David McKee

On the one hand, I applaud The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas for setting itself apart from the pack by centering much of its appeal upon leading-edge musical acts (like Adele and Florence + The Machine [twice!]). However, it makes Deutsche … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Cosmopolitan, Cretins, Current, Downtown, Entertainment, George Maloof, Hard Rock Hotel, Harrah's, Marketing, The Strip | 5 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

Isle knows how to sell it; “Gamming” at the Cosmo

Posted on June 28, 2012 by David McKee

If you’ve been watching casino-preview videos for the last dozen years, you’ve become inured to all the usual tropes, including the de rigeur, 3-D flyby and the glowing executive testimonials. Give Isle of Capri Casinos credit for realizing that the … Continue reading →

Posted in Cosmopolitan, Current, Entertainment, Isle of Capri, Marketing, Missouri, Technology, The Strip | 2 Comments

Hot “chics” at Cosmo

Posted on June 22, 2012 by David McKee

If you want to be considered ‘with it,’ it wouldn’t hurt to display a modicum of literacy, as yet another painfully clueless Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas promotional short demonstrates. Don’t you just love the unwitting (Unwin-ing?) implication that the “hot … Continue reading →

Posted in Cosmopolitan, Marketing, The Strip, Tourism | 3 Comments

Insanity in Illinois, Philadelphia

Posted on June 1, 2012 by David McKee

If insanity is doing the same thing over and over (and over) and expecting a different result, then we have outbreaks of it in both the Illinois Legislature and the Philadelphia casino market. In Pennsylvania, lawmakers have the disposition of … Continue reading →

Posted in Cosmopolitan, Harrah's, Horseracing, Neil Bluhm, New York, Penn National, Pennsylvania, Politics, Racinos, Regulation, The Strip, Tribal, Wall Street | 2 Comments

Beyoncé 1, Revel 0.5; Meet Harrah’s Philadelphia; Riviera realities

Posted on May 29, 2012 by David McKee

So the big, official, grand, this-time-we-really-mean-it opening of Revel Resort & Casino came and went … and all the media has been talking about is Beyoncé and how bootylicious she looks so soon after giving birth. (Seven-plus pages of YouTube … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Boyd Gaming, Cosmopolitan, Current, Economy, Entertainment, Fontainebleau, Harrah's, Marketing, Neil Bluhm, Pennsylvania, Racinos, Revel, Riviera, Sahara, The Strip, Tourism | 5 Comments

SLS Las Vegas: Pretty pictures and propaganda

Posted on May 18, 2012 by David McKee

To celebrate the first anniversary of his cold-blooded, premeditated murder of the Sahara, nightclub owner Sam Nazarian trotted out freshly hired casino boss Rob Oseland, along with some models (no, not of the runway ilk) and even a rendering that … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Archon Corp., Boyd Gaming, California, Cosmopolitan, Current, Dining, Encore, Entertainment, Fontainebleau, Goldman Sachs, Harrah's, Marketing, MGM Mirage, Morgans Hotel Group, Plaza, Sahara, Steve Wynn, Taxes, The Strip, Tourism, TV | 4 Comments

Get over it, Vegas; Fat City

Posted on April 27, 2012 by David McKee

Some local businessmen busted out the crying towels last weekend and threw themselves a pity party in the pages of the Los Angeles Times. Now, the wipeout of the Las Vegas economy is — or should be — old news … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Atlantic City, CityCenter, Cosmopolitan, Dining, Economy, Encore, Environment, MGM Mirage, Politics, Sheldon Adelson, Steve Wynn, Taxes, The Strip, Tourism | 4 Comments

Revel gets a rave review

Posted on April 4, 2012 by David McKee

Deutsche Bank‘s Carlo Santarelli took a jaunt down to Atlantic City to check out Revel, the biggest noise on the Boardwalk in almost a decade. He thought … well, let him tell it: “From the check in reception area, complete … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, Architecture, Atlantic City, Boyd Gaming, Colony Capital, Cosmopolitan, Cretins, Current, Dennis Gomes, Dining, Donald Trump, Economy, Entertainment, Environment, Genting, Harrah's, Marketing, New York, Tilman Fertitta, Tourism, Tropicana Entertainment, TV, Wall Street | 2 Comments

Finally …

Posted on March 26, 2012 by David McKee

… a set-in-Vegas commercial that’s really funny (with the Plaza Las Vegas making a cameo appearance). This would make make me want to come here a lot more than that hopelessly twee “Bohemian Rhapsody” spot for The Cosmopolitan that’s making … Continue reading →

Posted in Cosmopolitan, Downtown, Marketing, Tamares Group, TV | Comments Off

Bad timing; The wrong amount of WTF?; Uncle Sheldon speaks

Posted on March 23, 2012 by David McKee

Surely the worst entertainment coverage in Vegas is Wayne’s World, penned by former Lance Burton flack Wayne Bernath. A copy of his April effort (pictured) is available upon request, as it’s sure to be a collector’s item — along the … Continue reading →

Posted in Cosmopolitan, Current, Downtown, Entertainment, Marketing, Sahara, Sheldon Adelson, Tamares Group, Technology, The Strip, Wall Street | 4 Comments