Category Archives: Current

Caesars in Boston

Posted on June 6, 2012 by David McKee

Oh, that Gary Loveman is hilarious! Sorry, folks, I had to stop that video so I could have a laugh when he boasted, “Caesars [Entertainment] stands for the ultimate in destination luxury resorts?” Since when? A bunch of forward-looking fellas … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Atlantic City, Current, Harrah's, International, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, Racinos, Sheldon Adelson, Steve Wynn, The Strip | Comments Off on Caesars in Boston

Bail, Caesar!

Posted on June 5, 2012 by David McKee

“I don’t like Caesars [Entertainment] because of its high leverage – the company has $21.2 billion in net debt and $1.7 billion per year of interest obligations. To manage cost, Caesar [sic] has reduced marketing and operating costs and limited … Continue reading →

Posted in Current, Economy, Harrah's, The Strip, Wall Street | 1 Comment

Quote of the Day

Posted on June 4, 2012 by David McKee

“I swear, folks: The Republicans here are better than any act on the Strip. It is not even close.” — Jon Ralston, upon learning that the Clark County GOP had rented a billboard — I kid you not — dissing … Continue reading →

Posted in Current, Election, Entertainment, Marketing | 2 Comments

Macao: “This is decent”; Massachusetts slams door behind Adelson

Posted on June 1, 2012 by David McKee

Macao casino revenue grew ‘only’ 7% last month, which is bad … if you were thinking monthly, large double-digit increases (21% over the past five months) were a sustainable norm. “This is decent,” J.P. Morgan analyst Joseph Greff said of … Continue reading →

Posted in Ameristar, CityCenter, Current, Economy, Election, Harrah's, International, Macau, Marketing, Massachusetts, Melco Crown Entertainment, MGM Mirage, New York, Penn National, Pennsylvania, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson, Stanley Ho, Steve Wynn, Tribal, Wall Street | Comments Off on Macao: “This is decent”; Massachusetts slams door behind Adelson

Ohio: Let the games begin!

Posted on May 31, 2012 by David McKee

How confident was MTR Gaming that it held a winning hand in the Ohio courts? Pretty darn confident, from the looks of things. It’s also quite impressive how quickly they whipped together that $152 million racino space at Scioto Downs … Continue reading →

Posted in Current, Ohio, Racinos, TV | Comments Off on Ohio: Let the games begin!

Another quiet evening on the Strip; Big noise in Atlantic City

Posted on May 31, 2012 by David McKee

You might call it “UFC Smackdown”: Police were summoned to Wynncore in the pre-dawn hours of last Saturday to break up the proverbial “domestic disturbance.” Former Playboy model and current UFC ring girl Arianny Celeste (née Arianna Lopez) and boyfriend … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Current, Dennis Gomes, Economy, Entertainment, Revel, Sports, Station Casinos, Steve Wynn, The Strip, Tourism | 2 Comments

Quote of the Day

Posted on May 30, 2012 by David McKee

“[Donald] Trump is a small man who has big thoughts about himself, a vulgar attentionophile who cares not what damage he causes or whom he might hurt so long as he is in the spotlight … his hardly veiled racism … Continue reading →

Posted in Current, Donald Trump, Election, Sheldon Adelson, Steve Wynn, The Strip | 4 Comments

Holy Toledo!; D-Day in Massachusetts

Posted on May 29, 2012 by David McKee

Citizens of Toledo put on their best wife-beater and queued up for opening day at Penn National Gaming‘s brand-new Hollywood Casino Toledo. Sure, Revel had Beyoncé but H’wood Toledo had … Jamie Farr (plus ABBA impersonators). So there, Atlantic City! … Continue reading →

Posted in ABBA, Architecture, Current, Dan Gilbert, Election, Entertainment, Harrah's, Massachusetts, Ohio, Penn National, Regulation, Tribal | 4 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

It’s not about pool parties

Posted on May 28, 2012 by David McKee

“But one thing that it’s always about — is how lucky we are to be Americans, to have the comfort of knowing that regardless of where our soldiers are or what we are doing, our families live secure, peaceful, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Current | 1 Comment

Quote of the Day

Posted on May 27, 2012 by David McKee

“The cost of appearing with this bloviating ignoramus is obvious it seems to me. Donald Trump is redundant evidence that if your net worth is high enough, your IQ can be very low and you can still intrude into American politics.” — … Continue reading →

Posted in Current, Donald Trump, Election | 1 Comment

Massachusetts: Another one bites the dust; Sands Cotai: Hit or miss?

Posted on May 25, 2012 by David McKee

That Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribe effort to obtain the coveted southeastern Massachusetts casino license is quickly being exposed as a thing of smoke and mirrors. Sure, the tribe can get a Class II casino on Martha’s Vineyard — it’s a done … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Atlantic City, CityCenter, Current, Dan Gilbert, Detroit, Donald Trump, Hard Rock Hotel, Harrah's, Horseracing, Lawrence Ho, Macau, Maryland, Massachusetts, Melco Crown Entertainment, MGM Mirage, Ohio, Racinos, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson, Station Casinos, Steve Wynn, Tribal, Wall Street, Warner Gaming | Comments Off on Massachusetts: Another one bites the dust; Sands Cotai: Hit or miss?

Case Bets: Sands, Caesars, Boyd, MGM & Wynn

Posted on May 24, 2012 by David McKee

After blowing a half-million dollars on lobbying in Massachusetts, cantankerous casino owner Sheldon Adelson took his ball and went home, as reported earlier. Las Vegas Sands‘ rather weak excuse: “[Boston] didn’t synch up with our business model.” Sands fails to … Continue reading →

Posted in Boyd Gaming, Columbia Sussex, Current, Economy, Horseracing, International, Louisiana, Macau, Marketing, Maryland, Massachusetts, MGM Mirage, Missouri, New York, Pennsylvania, Racinos, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson, Steve Wynn, The Strip, Wall Street | 1 Comment

Sheldon Adelson, quitter; A Grand goof

Posted on May 22, 2012 by David McKee

This just in: It was pretty clear that Sheldon Adelson was cool toward his home state of Massachusetts and he officially called it quits today. His excuse? Three casinos and a slot parlor will “dilute the market.” In other words, … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Current, Florida, Genting, Harrah's, Macau, Massachusetts, MGM Mirage, New York, Problem gambling, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson, Stanley Ho, The Strip | 5 Comments

Dump that Trump!; Caesars takes big British bath; F-blew claims another victim

Posted on May 21, 2012 by David McKee

What took them so long? That has to be the operative question now that Trump Entertainment Resorts owner Marc Lasry and CEO Robert Griffin have belatedly put Trump Plaza Hotel & Casino on the market, at an undisclosed price. (Probably … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Current, Donald Trump, Election, Fontainebleau, International, Internet gambling, Planet Hollywood, The Strip, Tribal | Comments Off on Dump that Trump!; Caesars takes big British bath; F-blew claims another victim

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

Trouble in Wayne’s World

Posted on May 18, 2012 by David McKee

Dedicated to Mr. Charles Monster: Wow, I totally didn’t see this coming … not! See our May 1 “Question of the Day” on Casa de Shenandoah for some ominous foreshadowing of The Wayner’s latest financial pickle. Wayne Newton‘s contractor “claims … Continue reading →

Posted in Current, Tourism, Wayne F. Newton | Comments Off on Trouble in Wayne’s World

Boyd takes Peninsula, punts Echelon (again)

Posted on May 17, 2012 by David McKee

Ever since a highly quixotic and even nonsensical attempt to take over most of Station Casinos, the cards have been played very, very close to the vest at Boyd Gaming. However, like another second-tier major, Ameristar Casinos, it’s showing renewed … Continue reading →

Posted in Ameristar, Boyd Gaming, Columbia Sussex, Current, Economy, Harrah's, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, MGM Mirage, Mississippi, Pinnacle Entertainment, Racinos, Station Casinos, The Strip, Wall Street | 1 Comment

Tropicana Toronto? CityCentre? Horseshoe Etobicoke?

Posted on May 16, 2012 by David McKee

There’s a dark horse in the race for a Toronto megaresort … very dark. It’s Onex Corp., known to you and me as the owner of the Tropicana Las Vegas. Onex subsidiary Casino ABS owns four of the largest casinos … Continue reading →

Posted in Alex Yemenidjian, Current, Economy, Election, Harrah's, Horseracing, International, Kansas, Macau, Maryland, MGM Mirage, Midnight Jim Gibbons, Racinos, Sheldon Adelson, Singapore, Steve Wynn, Taxes, Tourism, Wall Street | Comments Off on Tropicana Toronto? CityCentre? Horseshoe Etobicoke?

Casinos in Ohio: We have liftoff

Posted on May 15, 2012 by David McKee

How’s that for flair? Vegas casino openings are going to have raise their — pardon the pun — game. Last night, Horseshoe Casino Cleveland opened with a hella big splash, packing all the nearby hotels and generating heavy media coverage. … Continue reading →

Posted in Current, Dan Gilbert, Harrah's, Ohio, Tourism | 1 Comment