Category Archives: Current

N.Y. casino expansion pimped

Posted on June 1, 2010 by David McKee

Casinos in the Catskills have been touted as an economic panacea for nigh unto a decade. We all know the ensuing score: much hype, little accomplishment. Still, that has not prevented one New York gubernatorial candidate from dusting this idea … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Current, Economy, Election, New York, Pennsylvania, Politics, Taxes, Wall Street | Comments Off on N.Y. casino expansion pimped

“Wynn Agonistes”

Posted on May 28, 2010 by David McKee

Aka Wynn’s Struggle, a melodrama in three acts. In Act I, impervious to irony, Steve Wynn chides Washington, D.C., for overspending, overborrowing and artificial economic stimulation … as though nothing like that happened right along the Las Vegas Strip. He … Continue reading →

Posted in Current, Economy, Entertainment, Macau, Marketing, Politics, Steve Wynn, Taxes, The Strip, Tourism, Wall Street | 5 Comments

Quote of the Day

Posted on May 28, 2010 by David McKee

“Now to go with chicken on a stick, every new opening in town has the cast of Fantasy and Anthony Cools. Hope Angelica [Bridges] didn’t get a hernia from that bottle, it’s almost bigger than she is.”

Posted in Current, Entertainment, The Strip | Comments Off on Quote of the Day

The bad guys won

Posted on May 28, 2010 by David McKee

Applying yet another tongue bath to the management and bankers who drove Station Casinos into a brick wall at top speed, bankruptcy Judge Gregg Zive has decreed Fertitta Gaming‘s $772 million* stalking-horse bid “an adequate floor” for the auction of … Continue reading →

Posted in Boulder Strip, Current, North Las Vegas, Station Casinos, Wall Street | 3 Comments

How big is Deepwater Horizon?; How solvent is Archon?

Posted on May 28, 2010 by David McKee

This weekend, millions are fleeing a disaster of biblical proportions — I speak not of the epochal Deepwater Horizon spill but of Sex and the City 2. However, while we’re on the subject, Gulf Coast casinos can take at least … Continue reading →

Posted in Archon Corp., Current, Economy, Election, Entertainment, Environment, Laughlin, Louisiana, Mississippi, Movies, Politics, Station Casinos, Technology, The Strip | 4 Comments

Harrah’s, Penn & pols play chess in Ohio

Posted on May 27, 2010 by David McKee

Even as Harrah’s Entertainment was closing its purchase of an Thistledown Race Track, lawmakers were moving to foreclose the prospect of racinos in that state. This doesn’t preclude Buckeye State voters for approving as many as seven racinos this fall, … Continue reading →

Posted in Current, Harrah's, Horseracing, Ohio, Penn National, Politics, Racinos, Regulation, Taxes | Comments Off on Harrah’s, Penn & pols play chess in Ohio

Murren snubs Gibbons, goes to Peking

Posted on May 27, 2010 by David McKee

Even Gov. Jim Gibbons has realized the futility of his ill-conceived attempt to play The Great Mediator in the MGM Mirage vs. Perini Building war. As a courtesy, CityCenter CEO Bobby Baldwin met with Midnight Jim, to basically tell him … Continue reading →

Posted in California, CityCenter, Current, Economy, International, Labor, Macau, MGM Mirage, Midnight Jim Gibbons, The Strip | Comments Off on Murren snubs Gibbons, goes to Peking

“Wow”

Posted on May 27, 2010 by David McKee

No, that’s not the sound of the Las Vegas Review-Journal‘s Jennifer Robison going weak in the knees at the sight of CityCenter again. It’s J.P.Morgan‘s analysts getting turned on by early numbers from Marina Bay Sands. So excited were they … Continue reading →

Posted in CityCenter, Current, Economy, Entertainment, Genting, International, James Packer, Lawrence Ho, Macau, Marketing, Massachusetts, Melco Crown Entertainment, Sheldon Adelson, Singapore, Tourism, Tribal, Wall Street | Comments Off on “Wow”

Motley Crew

Posted on May 26, 2010 by David McKee

(Editor’s note: Whoever labeled the photo at left misplaced the captions. FF3 is the guy having the good hair day and brother Lorenzo is the one with the handkerchief in his breast pocket.) In my 15 years of following the … Continue reading →

Posted in Ameristar, Boulder Strip, Boyd Gaming, Cannery Casino Resorts, CityCenter, Colony Capital, Current, Downtown, Economy, George Maloof, Goldman Sachs, James Packer, Penn National, Pennsylvania, Regulation, Station Casinos, Tourism, Wall Street | 6 Comments

Shel & Bill, together again; Coup for HRH

Posted on May 25, 2010 by David McKee

As though yoked by karma, Las Vegas Sands CEO Sheldon Adelson and former sidekick William Weidner — the Jon & Kate Gosselin of the casino industry — seem destined to remain unwillingly chained together through eternity. Most recently, they’ve been … Continue reading →

Posted in CityCenter, Current, Downtown, Economy, Genting, Harrah's, Herbst Gaming, M Resort, Macau, Marketing, Massachusetts, Morgans Hotel Group, Pennsylvania, Politics, Racinos, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson, Stanley Ho, Texas, Tilman Fertitta, Tourism, Tribal, Wall Street | Comments Off on Shel & Bill, together again; Coup for HRH

Monte Carlo: running on empty

Posted on May 25, 2010 by David McKee

Confronted with this rather desperate plea from Monte Carlo, a colleague asks, “One of the stranger press releases in a while — the best they can find to up-sell the MC is to pitch it as a way to get … Continue reading →

Posted in CityCenter, Current, Dining, Marketing, MGM Mirage, The Strip | Comments Off on Monte Carlo: running on empty

When in doubt, hire a chef

Posted on May 25, 2010 by David McKee

That increasingly dubious X Train project doesn’t have first dibs on Union Pacific tracks, after all. And the on-board gambling (which S&G never took seriously) has been ixnayed. So whaddya do when you need a quick jolt of publicity? Hire … Continue reading →

Posted in California, Current, Dining, Marketing, Tourism, Transportation | Comments Off on When in doubt, hire a chef

Quote of the Day

Posted on May 25, 2010 by David McKee

“I wouldn’t do business with MGM again if they were the last owner on the planet,” — Tutor Perini Corp. CEO Ron Tutor, stating a resolve that will endure until the sands of time run out … or until MGM … Continue reading →

Posted in CityCenter, Current, MGM Mirage, The Strip | Comments Off on Quote of the Day

You read it here first …

Posted on May 21, 2010 by David McKee

“Mmm-hm,” muttered a Tropicana Las Vegas official when I asked if the exhibit which will be taking up half the newly vacated Trop pavilion (former indoor tennis courts that look like an airplane hangar) was indeed Antoinette Giancana‘s long-mooted Mafia … Continue reading →

Posted in Alex Yemenidjian, Current, Entertainment, International, MGM Mirage, Technology, The Strip, TV | Comments Off on You read it here first …

The Ribis Factor

Posted on May 21, 2010 by David McKee

Today’s a hectic one: four bylines due and not much time for S&G. However, I am the beneficiary of some number-crunching conducted by a reader, who’s been following the decline and fall of Colony Capital‘s two Atlantic City casinos under … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Colony Capital, Current, Donald Trump, Economy, Entertainment, George Maloof, Harrah's, Marketing, Mississippi, Planet Hollywood, Politics, Racinos, Taxes, The Strip, Wall Street | Comments Off on The Ribis Factor

The Hard Rock: fatal attraction

Posted on May 20, 2010 by David McKee

If you’d like to spend time playing casino games in solitude, you might try the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. For instance, while S&G does not condone this sort of thing, you could have fired off a blunderbuss in either … Continue reading →

Posted in Boyd Gaming, Current, Dining, Election, Entertainment, Morgans Hotel Group | Comments Off on The Hard Rock: fatal attraction

Hey, Gary Loveman …

Posted on May 20, 2010 by David McKee

… would it effing kill ya to send CFO Jonathan Halkyard down to Home Depot and pick up some Sherwin-Williams to slap on the old Paris-Las Vegas balloon? (If you think she looks bad from this angle, you should see … Continue reading →

Posted in Current, Dining, Harrah's, MGM Mirage, Steve Wynn, The Strip | 7 Comments

Once before I go

Posted on May 19, 2010 by David McKee

… to the Tropicana Las Vegas, that is. As you can see from this video and the accompanying story, Onex Corp. is making good on its promise to reinvest in the dowager, its first significant makeover since the early Reagan … Continue reading →

Posted in Alex Yemenidjian, Architecture, Columbia Sussex, Current, Movies, The Strip, Tourism, TV | Comments Off on Once before I go

News flash: And then there were three

Posted on May 19, 2010 by David McKee

If you’re headed through Mesquite, take a good look at the former Si Redd’s Oasis, which Black Gaming CEO Randy Black wants to demolish — in a metaphorical demonstration of what he’s done to that market (another beneficiary of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Current, Economy, Harrah's, Mesquite, Michael Gaughan, Regulation | 1 Comment

Paging Gary Loveman …

Posted on May 19, 2010 by David McKee

When it comes to bankruptcy, the Fertitta Brothers are pikers compared to magician Steve Wyrick, whose eponymous “entertainment complex” went “Poof!” last Dec. 10. At the time, Wyrick harangued LVA for announcing the closure, saying his return was imminent. We’re … Continue reading →

Posted in Archon Corp., Current, Election, Entertainment, Harrah's, Macau, Maryland, MGM Mirage, Pennsylvania, Planet Hollywood, Regulation, Station Casinos, Steve Wynn, The Mob, The Strip, Wall Street | Comments Off on Paging Gary Loveman …