Category Archives: Current

Quote of the Day

Posted on February 11, 2011 by David McKee

“I don’t suppose it’s occured [sic] to the smart crowd at MGM that luxury resort complexes designed for the ultra-wealthy in Egypt are exactly what the impoverished masses rebelling against [Hosni] Mubarak are against.” — “RussBBinVegas“, commenting on the Las … Continue reading →

Posted in Current, Economy, Genting, Harrah's, International, MGM Mirage | Comments Off on Quote of the Day

There’s a new(ish) resort in town

Posted on February 11, 2011 by David McKee

Dolce Hotels & Resorts, a small (27-property) hotelier, is trying to make a go of it out at the Kingdom of Make-Believe (aka Lake Las Vegas). A symbol of the hollow “prosperity” of the pre-crash years, Lake Las Vegas is … Continue reading →

Posted in Current, Economy, Lake Las Vegas | 2 Comments

Kyl: He’s outta there

Posted on February 10, 2011 by David McKee

Gaming executives may not be popping champagne corks at the news that Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) is joining a mass exodus of incumbents prior to the 2012 election. However, they’re undoubtedly happy to be rid of a longtime thorn in … Continue reading →

Posted in Current, Harry Reid, Internet gambling, Politics | 1 Comment

Quote of the Day

Posted on February 10, 2011 by David McKee

“Our job is to constantly refresh the notion that we are humble, proud and grateful to be allowed to be part of that scene, and the way to do that in China is to take good care of your employees.” … Continue reading →

Posted in Current, Dining, Entertainment, Harrah's, Macau, Politics, Steve Wynn, The Strip | Comments Off on Quote of the Day

Have you seen this man?

Posted on February 10, 2011 by David McKee

That guy, the fourth goombah from the left. That’s Milton Jaffe, onetime managing director of the Stardust and someone whose dusty trail I’m trying to retrace for LVA.com’s “Question of the Day.” (Second from the left is Joe DiMaggio and … Continue reading →

Posted in CityCenter, Current, Entertainment, Harrah's, history, MGM Mirage, Silverton, Sports, The Mob, The Strip | 3 Comments

Quote of the Day

Posted on February 9, 2011 by David McKee

“If Gov. Brian Sandoval could take the state’s checkbook to a Money Tree store, maybe he could borrow the $1 billion that would at least get Nevada back to the budget amount approved by the 2009 Legislature. The Money Tree … Continue reading →

Posted in Current, Economy, Politics | Comments Off on Quote of the Day

NorthStar’s Hard Rock bluff wins

Posted on February 7, 2011 by David McKee

While Yr. Humble Blogger is laid up with a fractured ankle, the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino caught a lucky break for once. Announcements of foreclosure auctions are sometimes brinkmanship, an attempt to get a recalcitrant borrower to the bargaining … Continue reading →

Posted in Current, Morgans Hotel Group, The Strip | 3 Comments

Programming note

Posted on February 4, 2011 by David McKee

You’ve probably noticed an attenuated output from Yr. Humble Blogger. A backlog of commissions, including LVA mini-bios of Jay Sarno (left) and former Desert Inn exec Milton Jaffe, has put me well and truly behind the 8-ball, and may continue … Continue reading →

Posted in Current, history, Sheldon Adelson, The Mob, The Strip | 1 Comment

Hard Rock: Oh no!; Bellago bandit busted

Posted on February 3, 2011 by David McKee

Is there anybody who could probably run the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino worse than hapless Morgans Hotel Group? We may soon find out as Navegante Group has been announced as operator-to-be by NorthStar Realty Finance Corp. The latter, as … Continue reading →

Posted in Current, Detroit, Entertainment, Herbst Gaming, history, Macau, MGM Mirage, Morgans Hotel Group, Regulation, Riviera, Sahara, Stanley Ho, Steve Wynn, Tamares Group, The Strip, Wall Street | 6 Comments

Hard Rock in foreclosure

Posted on February 1, 2011 by David McKee

Update: Taken by surprise, the Hard Rock’s owners swung into action with a countersuit. If you’re in New York City next Monday and have a little “mad money” in your pocket, like a hundred grand or so, you have the … Continue reading →

Posted in Boyd Gaming, Current, Genting, Harrah's, International, MGM Mirage, Morgans Hotel Group, Pansy Ho, Regulation, The Strip, Tribal, TV, Wall Street | 9 Comments

The sky is falling!

Posted on February 1, 2011 by David McKee

Or so you’d think, to hear the reaction to the news that Florida is contemplating bringing a micromanaged form of casino gambling to its fair shores. S&G readers are well rehearsed in the flaws of the bill being contemplated in … Continue reading →

Posted in Boyd Gaming, Current, Economy, Entertainment, Florida, Harrah's, Hawaii, history, Ohio, Sheldon Adelson, The Strip | 1 Comment

The Four Families of Stanley Ho

Posted on January 31, 2011 by David McKee

It’s Monday, which means that Stanley Ho either is or isn’t suing the wife and children who tried to wrest control of his financial empire last week. (Or he’s still telling each side what it wants to hear.) The tug … Continue reading →

Posted in Current, International, Lawrence Ho, Macau, Melco Crown Entertainment, MGM Mirage, Pansy Ho, Stanley Ho | 1 Comment

R.I.P., John Barry

Posted on January 31, 2011 by David McKee

Composer of far too many good soundtracks and title tunes to name (Goldfinger ought to suffice), John Barry‘s music defined the sound of the Sixties, in a large extent — and nobody wrote for Shirley Bassey‘s thermonuclear vocal cords so … Continue reading →

Posted in Current, Movies | Comments Off on R.I.P., John Barry

Burnt out at Marina Bay Sands; Winners in Atlantic City

Posted on January 28, 2011 by David McKee

Another day, another Las Vegas Sands executive falls by the wayside. In the case of Marina Bay Sands, it sounds like CEO Thomas Arasi has been burned out in what must have been a pretty intense 18 months at the … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Boyd Gaming, Colony Capital, Cordish Co., Current, Dennis Gomes, Donald Trump, Economy, Harrah's, IGT, International, Macau, Marketing, Maryland, Penn National, Politics, Racinos, Sheldon Adelson, Singapore, Tilman Fertitta, Tourism, Wall Street, WMS Industries | 3 Comments

Fun with geography, Adelson-style

Posted on January 27, 2011 by David McKee

Thanks to a tip from reader detroit1051, S&G customers can avail themselves of this handy online tool. With it, you can pretend to be Sheldon Adelson, scissoring the State of Florida into 75-mile zones of exclusivity (because, being a super-patriot … Continue reading →

Posted in Current, Economy, Florida, Politics, Sheldon Adelson | 1 Comment

The decline and fall of Stanley Ho

Posted on January 27, 2011 by David McKee

As predictable as the sunrise, today’s headlines brought yet another reversal in the Stanley Ho vs. His Wives & Kids saga, “an ugly and Byzantine family squabble” that is also driving down the value of Sociedade de Jogos de Macau … Continue reading →

Posted in Current, International, Lawrence Ho, Macau, Melco Crown Entertainment, MGM Mirage, Stanley Ho | 2 Comments

Quote of the Day

Posted on January 27, 2011 by David McKee

“Needless to say, gambling can indeed be a safe activity, gambling is common, and state-regulated casinos are not inappropriate locations for gambling.” — federal Judge Renée Marie Bumb, rejecting the claim of disbarred New Jersey attorney and compulsive gambler Arelia … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Current, Problem gambling, Regulation | Comments Off on Quote of the Day

This just in …

Posted on January 26, 2011 by David McKee

An Illinois court of appeals has struck down a pair of Public Acts pertaining to the state’s gambling industry. One nullifies a deal that would have farmed out the state lottery to Scientific Games (luckily, SGMS stock withstood the bad … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, CityCenter, Current, IGT, Illinois, MGM Mirage, New York, Regulation, Wall Street | 5 Comments

Stanley Ho abdicates

Posted on January 26, 2011 by David McKee

So this is how Stanley Ho‘s world ends: Not with a bang but with the ancient casino vizier giving a televised address in which he laboriously delivered lines from a cue card and ceded control of his Sociedade de Turismo … Continue reading →

Posted in Charity, Current, G2E, history, International, James Packer, Lawrence Ho, Macau, Melco Crown Entertainment, MGM Mirage, Pansy Ho, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson, Stanley Ho, Steve Wynn | 1 Comment

Another one bites the dust

Posted on January 25, 2011 by David McKee

Whoever gets the three resort casinos that Gov. Deval Patrick (D) wants to bring to Massachusetts, it probably won’t be Fall River and it certainly won’t be the Mashpee Wampanoags. The city has pulled a controversial land deal with the … Continue reading →

Posted in Charity, CityCenter, Cosmopolitan, Current, Economy, Harrah's, International, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Pinnacle Entertainment, Politics, Regulation, South Carolina, The Strip, Tribal | 3 Comments