Category Archives: Economy

Caesars: New wine in old bottle; The house that poker built

Posted on October 23, 2015 by David McKee

Starting Jan. 1 (What? No New Year’s Eve bookings?), guests at Caesars Palace will have the chance to stay in the new Julius Tower. Except that it’s not really new: It’s the old Roman Tower, given a dramatic, $75 million … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, California, Economy, Genting, Harrah's, Macau, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson, Singapore, Steve Wynn, The Strip | Comments Off on Caesars: New wine in old bottle; The house that poker built

Adelson crashes MGM’s party; More trouble for DFS

Posted on October 22, 2015 by David McKee

Sheldon Adelson has a genius for sucking the air out of whatever room he enters. After MGM Resorts International laid the groundwork for a casino debate in Georgia, offering to invest $1 billion in an Atlanta pleasure palace, Adelson has … Continue reading →

Posted in Boyd Gaming, Donald Trump, Economy, Election, Florida, Georgia, International, Internet gambling, Kansas, Macau, Maryland, MGM Mirage, Penn National, Politics, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson, Singapore, The Strip | Comments Off on Adelson crashes MGM’s party; More trouble for DFS

All’s well at Penn; Mulroy’s misdeed; Discomfort at Studio City

Posted on October 22, 2015 by David McKee

Penn National Gaming pleasantly surprised Wall Street, reporting third-quarter revenue of $739 million and $210 million in cash flow, exceeding projections by $8 million and $11 million, respectively. It paid out $109 million in rent to Gaming & Leisure Properties … Continue reading →

Posted in California, Economy, Galaxy Entertainment, GLPI, Illinois, Lawrence Ho, Macau, Marketing, Massachusetts, Melco Crown Entertainment, MGM Mirage, Missouri, Ohio, Penn National, Regulation, Sports, Steve Wynn, The Strip, Tribal, Wall Street | Comments Off on All’s well at Penn; Mulroy’s misdeed; Discomfort at Studio City

Quote of the Day

Posted on October 19, 2015 by David McKee

“It’s a shot in the arm. But it’s not the silver bullet that’s going to solve our financial woes.” — Binghamton Mayor Richard David, whose city ranked dead last in civic optimism, on the selection of nearby Tioga Downs for … Continue reading →

Posted in Economy, New York, Racinos | Comments Off on Quote of the Day

Steve Wynn’s an unhappy camper

Posted on October 16, 2015 by David McKee

A decade ago, Steve Wynn would badmouth doing business in Nevada and warble sweet hymns to that capitalist’s paradise, China. How times change. On yesterday’s quarterly earnings call, Wynn was apoplectic about the Chinese government’s shifting policies in re Macao. “In … Continue reading →

Posted in Economy, Galaxy Entertainment, International, Lawrence Ho, Macau, Marketing, Melco Crown Entertainment, MGM Mirage, Regulation, Steve Wynn, The Strip, Wall Street | 4 Comments

Station goes public; Florida compact near?

Posted on October 14, 2015 by David McKee

Having tried and failed to grow the company through an LBO, Station Casinos is returning to the public markets again, citing “favorable economic and market fundamentals” in support of an IPO. An executive shakeup that included the promotion of Rich Haskins … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Boyd Gaming, Economy, Florida, Fontainebleau, Horseracing, Internet gambling, New York, Pennsylvania, Politics, Seminole Tribe, Sheldon Adelson, SLS Las Vegas, Station Casinos, Steve Wynn, Wall Street | Comments Off on Station goes public; Florida compact near?

Mad slot skillz; Tribes at war with one another

Posted on October 12, 2015 by David McKee

Skill-based slot games are a long way from deployment but that didn’t discourage The Motley Fool‘s Jeff Hwang from scouting the Global Gaming Expo show floor in search of entertaining product. The games he saw the greatest potential in were … Continue reading →

Posted in California, Economy, G2E, IGT, Internet gambling, MGM Mirage, Pennsylvania, Scientific Games, Technology, Tribal | Comments Off on Mad slot skillz; Tribes at war with one another

Buckeye bounce; Macao’s woes a secret benefit?

Posted on October 7, 2015 by David McKee

Casino and racino revenues in Ohio were up nicely last month, +6.5%. We’re still at least a month away from having a full set of year/year comparisons but Gov. John Kasich‘s decision to supersize a four-casinos-only constitutional amendment into four casinos … Continue reading →

Posted in Dan Gilbert, Economy, Eldorado Resorts, GLPI, Hard Rock International, Harrah's, Macau, Ohio, Penn National, Pinnacle Entertainment, Racinos, Steve Wynn | Comments Off on Buckeye bounce; Macao’s woes a secret benefit?

Quote of the Day

Posted on October 7, 2015 by David McKee

“We believe sentiment has recently benefitted from comments made earlier this month by Li Gang, the director of the Liaison Office between Macau and Mainland China, where he stated that the central government is going to release more measures to … Continue reading →

Posted in Economy, Macau, Regulation | Comments Off on Quote of the Day

MGM sends emissary to Springfield; Florida tribe takes a loss

Posted on October 5, 2015 by David McKee

Undoubtedly realizing that it laid a public-relations egg with its scaled-down redesign of MGM Springfield, parent company MGM Resorts International is sending President William Hornbuckle to Springfield to mend fences with Mayor Domenic Sarno. Actually, Sarno has been in MGM’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Economy, Florida, Massachusetts, MGM Mirage, Penn National, Regulation, Steve Wynn, Tribal, Wall Street | Comments Off on MGM sends emissary to Springfield; Florida tribe takes a loss

Turning point for Wynn; Breakthrough for PokerStars

Posted on October 1, 2015 by David McKee

Earlier this week, the Everett Planning Board unanimously assented to Wynn Everett‘s site plan. The Medford Patch described this vote as “the most critical local permit needed by Wynn.” The resort-to-be can start pulling building permits now, with the actual … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Economy, Environment, Harrah's, Internet gambling, Massachusetts, MGM Mirage, Mohegan Sun, PokerStars, Politics, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson, Steve Wynn, The Strip, Transportation, Tribal | 1 Comment

Malaise in Macao; Celebration at G2E

Posted on October 1, 2015 by David McKee

Wall Street analysts having revised their expectations downward well beforehand, Macao‘s 33% decline in gaming revenues hardly came as a surprise. If anything, they expected worse. Deutsche Bank analyst Carlo Santarelli even noticed some “pre-Golden Week malaise” toward the end … Continue reading →

Posted in Arizona, Economy, Entertainment, G2E, Harrah's, Macau, Melco Crown Entertainment, New York, Sheldon Adelson, The Strip, Tourism, Tribal, Wall Street, Wisconsin | 3 Comments

Baccarat slays the Strip; Do gambling and pot mix?

Posted on September 30, 2015 by David McKee

Lack of a Labor Day weekend had a minimal effect on Nevada statewide gaming revenues in August (-1%). Lower and luckier baccarat play — 17% less drop and 24% less winnings for the house — hurt particularly (especially when one … Continue reading →

Posted in Economy, Galaxy Entertainment, Macau, Maine, Massachusetts, Penn National, South Dakota, The Strip, Tribal, Wall Street | Comments Off on Baccarat slays the Strip; Do gambling and pot mix?

Big players accentuate the positive

Posted on September 29, 2015 by David McKee

Deutsche Bank analyst Carlo Santarelli has been a busy man these past few days, meeting with the top companies in gaming. In no special order … Boyd Gaming took the usual line on REIT conversion and acquisitions, basically saying, “If … Continue reading →

Posted in Ameristar, Boyd Gaming, Colorado, Downtown, Economy, Florida, GLPI, Illinois, International, Isle of Capri, Louisiana, Macau, Marketing, Massachusetts, MGM Mirage, Penn National, Pinnacle Entertainment, Sports, Steve Wynn, Texas, The Strip, Tilman Fertitta, Wall Street | Comments Off on Big players accentuate the positive

Problem gambling’s poster girl; Smoke gets in Macao’s eyes

Posted on September 25, 2015 by David McKee

Meet Dianna Duran, secretary of state for New Mexico and, as of this week, America’s most prominent gambling addict. She’s been hit with a 64-count corruption indictment for, among other things, alleged money laundering and embezzlement. Duran is accused of … Continue reading →

Posted in Economy, Environment, Galaxy Entertainment, Macau, Problem gambling, Taxes, Tribal | Comments Off on Problem gambling’s poster girl; Smoke gets in Macao’s eyes

Quote of the Day

Posted on September 22, 2015 by David McKee

“The current financial crisis… originated in a profound human crisis: the denial of the primacy of the human person! We have created new idols. The worship of the ancient golden calf has returned in a new and ruthless guise in … Continue reading →

Posted in Economy | 1 Comment

Tohono O’oh no!; Backlash in Macao

Posted on September 18, 2015 by David McKee

Judge David Campbell accepted the Tohono O’odham Nation‘s assertion that it could make as much money from Class II electronic-bingo machines as it could from conventional slots. And that’s bad news for the tribe. While it can open a Class … Continue reading →

Posted in Arizona, California, Economy, Macau, Politics, Regulation, Transportation, Tribal | Comments Off on Tohono O’oh no!; Backlash in Macao

A lesson from Ohio; Murren goes to Georgia; Big changes at Sands

Posted on September 16, 2015 by David McKee

Two years ago, Ohio was grappling with what J.P. Morgan analysts called “a sluggish ramp” for its casino industry. He may have been against casinos before he was for them but Gov. John Kasich‘s supersized version of predecessor Ted Strickland‘s … Continue reading →

Posted in CityCenter, Economy, Election, Foxwoods, Galaxy Entertainment, Geoff Freeman, Georgia, Harrah's, Horseracing, Isle of Capri, M Resort, Macau, Massachusetts, MGM Mirage, Midnight Jim Gibbons, Mohegan Sun, Ohio, Penn National, Politics, Problem gambling, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson, Steve Wynn, Taxes, The Strip, Wall Street | Comments Off on A lesson from Ohio; Murren goes to Georgia; Big changes at Sands

Savior for Showboat?; Steve Wynn to build locals casino

Posted on September 16, 2015 by David McKee

Bart Blatstein has emerged as the potential savior for the Showboat, currently a millstone around Stockton University‘s neck. If so, it will be a bittersweet coup for the developer, as it’s the second time he’s missed out on a gaming … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Charity, Economy, Glenn Straub, Harrah's, International, Marketing, Massachusetts, New York, Racinos, Steve Wynn, Taxes, The Strip, Trump Entertainment Resorts | 2 Comments

Georgia on their minds; How to kill a casino

Posted on September 14, 2015 by David McKee

MGM National Harbor President Lorenzo Creighton dangles some shiny objects and big numbers before Georgia newspaper readers, promising even bigger things for Atlanta, as MGM Resorts International tries to counter lawmakers’ congenital opposition to gambling with suasion and seductive dollar … Continue reading →

Posted in Boyd Gaming, Culinary Union, Derek Stevens, Detroit, Downtown, Economy, Georgia, Horseracing, International, James Packer, Maryland, MGM Mirage, Penn National, Politics, Sheldon Adelson, Steve Wynn, Taxes | Comments Off on Georgia on their minds; How to kill a casino