Category Archives: Economy

Girls! Girls! Girls!; Liberace has left the building

Posted on September 10, 2010 by David McKee

Columbia Sussex‘s Westin Casuarina, the place where shows go to be ignored, is trying again with one-two punch of bodaciousness. Our research staff is doing its best to uncover details on Burlesque: The Show, for which we have nothing more … Continue reading →

Posted in CityCenter, Columbia Sussex, Economy, Entertainment, MGM Mirage, Movies, The Mob, The Strip, Tourism, TV | 4 Comments

Singapore keeps on booming; Kudos to WMS, Golden Gaming

Posted on September 9, 2010 by David McKee

While it’s still a stretch that Sheldon Adelson is going to bank an annual $1 billion profit on Marina Bay Sands, as he predicts, he’s making money hand over fist there anyway. J.P. Morgan analysts say Marina Bay is on … Continue reading →

Posted in Boyd Gaming, Current, Downtown, Economy, Golden Gaming, Marketing, Morgans Hotel Group, Sheldon Adelson, Singapore, Station Casinos, Steve Wynn, Technology, Wall Street, WMS Industries | Comments Off on Singapore keeps on booming; Kudos to WMS, Golden Gaming

Harrah’s does it again (and again … and again)

Posted on September 9, 2010 by David McKee

Hey, Gary Loveman, don’t let the doorknob hit you in the butt as you skedaddle out of Kansas for the second time.  Ever-fickle, Harrah’s Entertainment turned tail and ran from the Sunflower State on the very date its Wichita-area proposal … Continue reading →

Posted in Alex Yemenidjian, California, Current, Economy, Encore, Entertainment, Harrah's, Kansas, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Planet Hollywood, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson, Shuffle Master, Singapore, Steve Wynn, Taxes, The Strip, Tourism, Tribal | 6 Comments

Western Passage & the new Rat (Rod) Pack

Posted on September 8, 2010 by David McKee

Let’s try this again … Today’s guest blog hails from the keyboard of reader Jeff_in_OKC who recently paid not one, not two but three (brave man!) visits to the Western Hotel, on the fringe of downtown Las Vegas. The Western … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Archon Corp., Boulder Strip, Boyd Gaming, Current, Dining, Downtown, Economy, Entertainment, Harrah's, history, Laughlin, Marketing, MGM Mirage, Michael Gaughan, Oscar Goodman, Sahara, Tamares Group, The Strip, Tourism, Transportation | 12 Comments

Murren vs. Angle

Posted on September 7, 2010 by David McKee

Taking a moment from fluffing Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV), MGM Resorts International CEO Jim Murren finally pointed out the elephant in the middle of the room, Sharron Angle‘s laughably primitive grasp of economics. (Except Murren used a nicer word than … Continue reading →

Posted in Cirque du Soleil, CityCenter, Cosmopolitan, Current, Economy, Election, Entertainment, MGM Mirage, New York | 5 Comments

The fiendish plot of Dr. Stanley Ho

Posted on September 7, 2010 by David McKee

Launching a frontal assault on Las Vegas Sands, archrival Sociedade de Jogos de Macau has requested that the Macanese government repatriate Sites 7 & 8 on the Cotai Strip™, and award them to — surprise! — Stanley Ho. There’s no … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Economy, Election, Macau, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Politics, Racinos, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson, Stanley Ho | 3 Comments

The Big Lie

Posted on September 6, 2010 by David McKee

As we’ve been taught, if you’re going to tell a lie then make it a whopper. Enter Republican Advocates President Jim Clark. Having called completion of CityCenter “throwing good money after bad”, Clark unloads this doozy: “The project is now … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Economy, Harry Reid, MGM Mirage, Politics, The Strip, Wall Street | 7 Comments

Labor Day Massacre in Atlantic City

Posted on September 6, 2010 by David McKee

Heading into the weekend, Trump Entertainment Resorts continued its reorganization by sacking six top executives. They were preceded by Trump Plaza General Manager Jim Rigot, who wasn’t pushed but gave his notice a fortnight ago. One of the Trump Six, … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Colony Capital, Columbia Sussex, Current, Don Barden, Donald Trump, Economy, Entertainment, Kansas, Neil Bluhm, Pennsylvania, The Strip, Tourism, Tropicana Entertainment, Wall Street | 1 Comment

Quote of the Day

Posted on September 2, 2010 by David McKee

“You cannot keep putting up hotels with 3,000 rooms and expect not to smother one another. They will suffocate one another to the degree that 20 years from today, they will not be in business. Talk to me in 20 … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Economy, Entertainment, The Strip | 4 Comments

Objects in the photo may be emptier than they appear

Posted on August 31, 2010 by David McKee

Booking site Oyster.com is having a bit of fun with the gap between perception and reality at some Las Vegas hotels. Take for instance, that photo which shows you the Mandalay Bay wave pool as though you would have it … Continue reading →

Posted in CityCenter, Colorado, Current, Downtown, Economy, Election, Macau, Marketing, MGM Mirage, Riviera, Sheldon Adelson, The Strip, Tourism | 1 Comment

Last Resorts? Colony wins one

Posted on August 25, 2010 by David McKee

It still looks like Resorts Atlantic City is the casino most likely to close in that market, on pace to lose nearly $22 million this year. That’s the monumental challenge facing prospective new owner Dennis Gomes. In unadjusted dollars, the … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Atlantic City, Colony Capital, Economy, Goldman Sachs, Harrah's, Pennsylvania, Regulation, The Strip, Tourism, Transportation, Tribal, Wall Street | 3 Comments

Mothers of invention; Fernwood 2night

Posted on August 24, 2010 by David McKee

“Stacked” casino floors are a rarity in Las Vegas, usually necessitated by a limited footprint. That’s certainly the case with the Cosmopolitan, jimmied into a narrow slot just north of CityCenter (and often mistaken for part of that complex). However, … Continue reading →

Posted in Ameristar, Architecture, Cannery Casino Resorts, CityCenter, Cosmopolitan, Current, Dining, Economy, Entertainment, Harrah's, history, Isle of Capri, MGM Mirage, Mississippi, Missouri, Penn National, Pennsylvania, Regulation, Steve Wynn, The Strip, Tourism | 3 Comments

Strip rates bottom out

Posted on August 23, 2010 by David McKee

There was good news for hoteliers on the Las Vegas Strip today. Room rates for the second quarter and the first half of the third quarter average out to a 0% increase/decline from last year, following a -4% comparison in … Continue reading →

Posted in Economy, Harrah's, MGM Mirage, Regulation, Reno, Sheldon Adelson, Steve Wynn, The Strip, Tourism, Wall Street | 2 Comments

No concord in Massachusetts

Posted on August 21, 2010 by David McKee

There won’t be casinos in Massachusetts this year and a lot of people are hopping mad. It’s understandable, given that state leaders had all the time in the world to get enabling legislation together, only to see it thwarted at … Continue reading →

Posted in Current, Economy, Massachusetts, Politics, Racinos, Tribal | 2 Comments

Readers are genius

Posted on August 20, 2010 by David McKee

A big shout-out goes to the S&G subscriber who has the best solution yet for reviving interest in Atlantic City: “Just put the cast of Jersey Shore on view in glass cages on the Boardwalk (like the Snake Guy on … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, California, CityCenter, Current, Economy, Election, Entertainment, Marketing, Missouri, Pinnacle Entertainment, Regulation, The Strip, Tourism, TV | 5 Comments

Quote of the Day

Posted on August 20, 2010 by David McKee

“Go a block off the Boardwalk and you’re in Beirut, basically.” — Hudson Securities analyst Robert LaFleur, on Atlantic City.

Posted in Atlantic City, Economy | 5 Comments

Crisis point in Atlantic City

Posted on August 19, 2010 by David McKee

If nothing else gets recalcitrant legislators off their duffs and behind Gov. Chris Christie‘s intervention on behalf of Atlantic City, maybe these numbers will. In the last quarter, only four casinos turned a profit. Harrah’s Entertainment‘s Showboat and Harrah’s Marina … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Boyd Gaming, Carl Icahn, Colony Capital, Donald Trump, Economy, Harrah's, Penn National, Politics, Sahara, The Strip, Tropicana Entertainment | Comments Off on Crisis point in Atlantic City

How green is Vegas?; Harrah’s thinks globally, acts locally

Posted on August 19, 2010 by David McKee

A lot greener than you’d think, says Las Vegas Sustainability Officer (yes, we have one) Thomas Perrigo. Among those companies getting recognition of leading the way in “green” initiatives is Harrah’s Entertainment, which has reduced its energy consumption by vast … Continue reading →

Posted in Charity, Current, Dining, Economy, Entertainment, Environment, Florida, Harrah's, Marketing, Technology, The Strip, Tourism, Wall Street | 4 Comments

Suicidal in New Jersey

Posted on August 18, 2010 by David McKee

Atlantic City can just plain go to hell. That’s the message from several prominent — or simply loud — Democratic lawmakers who say Gov. Chris Christie‘s rescue plan for the city is spinach and to heck with it. Noisiest of … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Colony Capital, Current, Donald Trump, Economy, Entertainment, Genting, Harrah's, Horseracing, Internet gambling, Marketing, Maryland, Minnesota, New York, Pennsylvania, Politics, Racinos, Singapore, The Strip, Tourism, Tribal, Wall Street | 2 Comments

Lies, damned lies and Control Board statistics

Posted on August 18, 2010 by David McKee

One swallow doesn’t make a spring — unless you write for USA Today. Columnist Kitty Bean Yancey cherry-picked a lone statistic from the most recent set of Nevada Gaming Control Board numbers are proclaimed happy days are here again on … Continue reading →

Posted in CityCenter, Current, Economy, Election, Harry Reid, Mesquite, MGM Mirage, Michael Gaughan, Movies, Oklahoma, Politics, The Strip, Tourism, Tribal | 1 Comment