Category Archives: Current

Flat in IN, coming back in IL

Posted on April 8, 2010 by David McKee

Despite being 2.5% below last year’s casino revenues, J.P. Morgan is calling the results in Illinois the best out of the previous 16 months. In other words, the decline was the smallest since November of ’09.  The restoration of Penn … Continue reading →

Posted in Ameristar, Boyd Gaming, Cordish Co., Current, Don Barden, Economy, Harrah's, Illinois, Indiana, Macau, MGM Mirage, Pansy Ho, Penn National, Pinnacle Entertainment, Racinos, Regulation, Tribal, Tropicana Entertainment | Comments Off on Flat in IN, coming back in IL

This just in: Wynn jilts Philadelphia

Posted on April 8, 2010 by David McKee

On Monday, Steve Wynn was making nice with Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter and vowing to glad-hand every civic leader in sight. He had a full set of renderings for how his Wynn Resorts makeover of the mortally wounded Foxwoods project … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Atlantic City, Boyd Gaming, Cannery Casino Resorts, Current, Don Barden, Harrah's, MGM Mirage, Neil Bluhm, Penn National, Pennsylvania, Politics, Racinos, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson, Steve Wynn, Taxes, Tribal | Comments Off on This just in: Wynn jilts Philadelphia

MGM, Sands & the cone of silence

Posted on April 8, 2010 by David McKee

While Las Vegas Review-Journal Publisher Sherman Frederick was fretting about the “troubling egg caper” in Searchlight, Nev., his newspaper wasn’t losing much sleep over a double-barreled casino scandal. Either a sudden malady had wiped out the gaming desk or somebody … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Current, Election, Harry Reid, Illinois, Macau, Marketing, MGM Mirage, North Las Vegas, Pansy Ho, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson, Stanley Ho, The Mob | Comments Off on MGM, Sands & the cone of silence

Condos in Vegas … still? Manilow in Vegas … again

Posted on April 8, 2010 by David McKee

Undeterred by the complete tanking of the high-rise-condo market in Las Vegas, joint-venture partners Station Casinos and Fisher Bros. had still planned a pair of condo towers on or very near where Richfield Village currently stands (above). That’s probably the … Continue reading →

Posted in Cirque du Soleil, CityCenter, Current, Entertainment, Harrah's, Michael Gaughan, Station Casinos, The Strip, Wall Street | 4 Comments

Flame not!

Posted on April 8, 2010 by David McKee

S&G readers are  a polite and thoughtful bunch of folks, ones from whom I’ve learnt a great deal over the years. They police themselves so well that I’ve almost never, ever had to articulate the unspoken rules of this forum. … Continue reading →

Posted in Current | Comments Off on Flame not!

An arena in every pot

Posted on April 7, 2010 by David McKee

A scrum of casino owners and would-be owners is swarming the Clark County Commission with proposed arenas. The Las Vegas City Council may be able to get into the act, as Cordish Cos. is studying the feasibility of a stadium … Continue reading →

Posted in Archon Corp., Cordish Co., Current, Downtown, Dubai, Economy, Entertainment, Gary Goett, Harrah's, Michael Gaughan, Oscar Goodman, Sports, Taxes, The Strip, Tourism, Transportation | 1 Comment

Adelson disappoints again, as does Kansas

Posted on April 7, 2010 by David McKee

“I don’t think we’re counting on them carrying the ball like we thought they would,” is the bottom line of a Wall Street Journal story on Las Vegas Sands‘ failure to complete $743 million Sands Bethlehem. Even though he once … Continue reading →

Posted in Current, Economy, Kansas, Lyle Berman, Pennsylvania, Racinos, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson, Steve Wynn, Tourism | 2 Comments

From the mailbag: Wynn in Philly

Posted on April 7, 2010 by David McKee

A longtime observer of the industry (and player) has this to say about Steve Wynn‘s revised sales pitch to the City of Philadelphia … “Unlike too many folks, I don’t worship Steve Wynn (in fact, I’ll never forgive him for … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Current, Harrah's, Maryland, Neil Bluhm, Pennsylvania, Steve Wynn, West Virginia | 2 Comments

Wynn delivers

Posted on April 6, 2010 by David McKee

Surprising as ever, Steve Wynn showed up in Philadelphia yesterday bearing a sheaf of renderings for his proposed casinos — three weeks ahead of schedule. Wynn’s final design looks a mite grander than the one he let Steve Friess photograph, … Continue reading →

Posted in Alabama, Architecture, Bally Technologies, Current, Economy, Isle of Capri, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Neil Bluhm, Pennsylvania, Politics, Racinos, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson, Steve Wynn, Tribal | 1 Comment

Gold Strike Tunica exonerated; “Trek” frittered away

Posted on April 6, 2010 by David McKee

The honor of MGM Mirage‘s Gold Strike Tunica has been restored by reader Sin City Cyn, who writes: “Speaking of resort fees … I promised to report back on the pool fee situation at Tunica’s Gold Strike. I’m happy to … Continue reading →

Posted in Colony Capital, Current, Downtown, Entertainment, MGM Mirage, Mississippi, Station Casinos, Tourism, TV | 5 Comments

From the S&G Twitter feed …

Posted on April 5, 2010 by David McKee

It’s a crazy day here and I’m deeply enmeshed in reportage (hint: it involves Station Casinos) so I’d like to take up some of the blogging slack by once more pimping the S&G Twitter feed (@stiffsgeorges), which can also be … Continue reading →

Posted in Alex Yemenidjian, Archon Corp., Bally Technologies, Current, Election, Entertainment, Harrah's, Isle of Capri, James Packer, Lawrence Ho, Macau, Marketing, Melco Crown Entertainment, MGM Mirage, Mississippi, Pinnacle Entertainment, Planet Hollywood, Sheldon Adelson, Singapore, Steve Wynn, Technology, Wall Street | Comments Off on From the S&G Twitter feed …

Phrase of the Day

Posted on April 5, 2010 by David McKee

“Elongated length of play metrics.” That’s Wall Streetspeak for, “We think additional hotel rooms [at City of Dreams] are causing people to stay and play longer.” I expect we’ll be hearing a lot about ELPM “going forward,” as they say … Continue reading →

Posted in Current, Economy, James Packer, Lawrence Ho, Macau, Melco Crown Entertainment, Tourism | 1 Comment

Could Steve Wynn jilt Philadelphia?

Posted on April 2, 2010 by David McKee

What’s Steve Wynn supposedly doing in Atlantic City this weekend and why is he allegedly kicking the tires on casino properties there? Well, it is a buyer’s market and half of Borgata is up for grabs (as would be Trump … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Boyd Gaming, Colony Capital, Current, Donald Trump, Entertainment, International, Macau, MGM Mirage, Pansy Ho, Pennsylvania, Phil Ruffin, Pinnacle Entertainment, Politics, Regulation, Steve Wynn, The Strip | 10 Comments

The trio that ate Las Vegas

Posted on April 2, 2010 by David McKee

Attention all Vegas-friendly gourmands: Huntington Press has inked a pact with three of Sin City’s top food critics. Al Mancini (Las Vegas CityLife), John Curtas (KNPR-FM/KLAS-TV/Las Vegas Weekly) and Max Jacobson (Vegas Seven) have been signed to pen Eating Las … Continue reading →

Posted in Current, Dining, The Strip | 2 Comments

My work is done

Posted on April 2, 2010 by David McKee

What is left to be said about Harrah’s Entertainment after this brilliant April Fool’s satire by Pulse of Las Vegas? Through humor, it says in a few paragraphs what pages of earnest analysis labor to convey. My favorite part encapsulates … Continue reading →

Posted in Current, Harrah's | 1 Comment

A comment on “Comments”

Posted on April 2, 2010 by David McKee

Due to an as-yet-inexplicable malfunction in our blogging software, all comments, regardless of provenance — yes, even mine — are shunted directly into “Spam.” Since I no longer receive notification of the arrival of a comment that may require moderation … Continue reading →

Posted in Current, Entertainment, Harrah's, Ohio, Station Casinos, Steve Wynn, Technology, The Strip, Tourism, TV, Wall Street | 2 Comments

Quote of the Day

Posted on April 1, 2010 by David McKee

“I am the one person who when I call, John Ensign will answer.” — Doug Hampton, husband of Sen. Ensign’s mistress, to execs of BioDiesel (a company trying to convert casino cooking oil into car fuel). It looks like Mrs. … Continue reading →

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

Sands’ strength, weakness inseparable

Posted on March 31, 2010 by David McKee

Ka-ching! The price tag on Marina Bay Sands has just gone up again. According to a Singapore Press Club and Asia Journalism Fellowship panel discussion, the über-megaresort has now hit the $6 billion mark. One participant pegged Sands’ 12-month gambling … Continue reading →

Posted in Alex Yemenidjian, Current, Economy, Macau, Pennsylvania, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson, Singapore, The Strip, Wall Street | Comments Off on Sands’ strength, weakness inseparable

Confidence or desperation?

Posted on March 31, 2010 by David McKee

Casino operators must be feeling very bullish about recent, incremental increases in visitation to Las Vegas, even though customers continue to spend less. (This is the new business model which the industry as a whole is loath to acknowledge: being … Continue reading →

Posted in Cirque du Soleil, Current, Donald Trump, Economy, Entertainment, Harrah's, Marketing, MGM Mirage, Pennsylvania, Phil Ruffin, Planet Hollywood, Sahara, The Strip, Tribal, TV | 2 Comments

Quote of the Day

Posted on March 30, 2010 by David McKee

“[Grand Casino], which is situated virtually on the Swiss and French borders, is no longer protected by border guards because Switzerland recently joined the Schengen visa-free area in Europe.” — Which is how 10 hoodlums struck a Basel casino in … Continue reading →

Posted in Current, International, The Mob | 1 Comment