Category Archives: Entertainment

Poultry in Motion

Posted on June 1, 2010 by David McKee

PETA is not amused — but you will be as the Best.Casino Promotion.Ever rolls into Pittsburgh. We speak of course of the Tic-tac-toe-playing chicken, Ginger. Given a choice between working the casino circuit, being cooked for dinner or laying eggs … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, Archon Corp., Current, Entertainment, Marketing, Neil Bluhm, Pennsylvania | 3 Comments

Case Bets: Station, Macao, Maryland, Missouri, Mississippi, Encore 2x, etc.

Posted on June 1, 2010 by David McKee

$864.5 million: That’s the magic number if you want to put in an opening bid on 11 Station Casinos properties (plus unspecified land and some tribal-casino-management contracts) come Aug. 6. Boyd Gaming‘s already made it clear that it’s good for … Continue reading →

Posted in Ameristar, Bally Technologies, Boulder Strip, Boyd Gaming, Colony Capital, Current, Economy, Encore, Entertainment, Harrah's, Horseracing, International, Isle of Capri, Macau, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Pinnacle Entertainment, Racinos, Regulation, Station Casinos, Steve Wynn, Taxes, The Strip, Tourism, Tribal, Wall Street | 1 Comment

“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

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

“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”

Quote of the Day

Posted on May 27, 2010 by David McKee

“I grew up on the Nevada Palace breakfast. The house I was raised in is only about a mile away, on Hacienda and Nellis. We used to come up here a lot in high school during the graveyard hours and soak … Continue reading →

Posted in Boulder Strip, Entertainment | 1 Comment

Quote of the Day

Posted on May 26, 2010 by David McKee

“I’m an artist. I’m not like other people.” — lachrymose Dancing with the Stars winner Nicole Scherzinger. You want fries with your ego?

Posted in Entertainment, TV | Comments Off on Quote of the Day

It never hurts to complain

Posted on May 24, 2010 by David McKee

We’ve been hearing the odd grumble or three about B.B. King’s Blues Club, but one intrepid LVA reader decided to go a bit farther than that. After posting it on our site, he forwarded his missive to various corporate powers … Continue reading →

Posted in Dining, Entertainment, MGM Mirage, The Strip | 3 Comments

Quote of the Day

Posted on May 24, 2010 by David McKee

“I would tell you that I have the same feelings about legalizing marijuana, not medical marijuana, but just legalizing marijuana. I feel the same about legalizing alcohol. The effect on society is so great that I’m just not a real … Continue reading →

Posted in Election, Entertainment, Politics | 1 Comment

You have been warned

Posted on May 24, 2010 by David McKee

Yr. Humble Blogger will be rising shotgun again on the next edition of The Strip Podcast. A sinus headache is enough to sop me cold, so props to Steve Friess for soldiering on despite having one and a nasty cold … Continue reading →

Posted in Election, Entertainment, Marketing, Slot routes, Steve Wynn, Technology, The Strip, TV | 1 Comment

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

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 …

“Run away! Run away!”

Posted on May 18, 2010 by David McKee

“We know there’s going to be drug sales and prostitution and that you can’t stop all of it,” is the rallying cry of the Nevada Gaming Control Board‘s top enforcer, Jerry Markling, basically running up the white flag even before … Continue reading →

Posted in Entertainment, Missouri, Pinnacle Entertainment, Regulation, The Strip | 1 Comment

Trop tour!

Posted on May 17, 2010 by David McKee

I’ll be spending late Wednesday with a hardhat atop my noggin, as I get a tour of the ongoing makeover at the Tropicana Las Vegas. The two big, outdoor signs have already been replaced, the marquee (left) is getting a … Continue reading →

Posted in Alex Yemenidjian, Current, Entertainment, The Strip, Tropicana Entertainment | 4 Comments

“Maudlin’s Eleven”

Posted on May 14, 2010 by David McKee

Since the recent inclusion of an SCTV clip went over so well (the troupe really had the old Vegas sensibility down cold), another S&G film festival seemed in order. In this case, it’s the complete Maudlin’s Eleven. For some bizarre … Continue reading →

Posted in Entertainment, Movies, The Strip, TV | 1 Comment

This just in …

Posted on May 13, 2010 by David McKee

Casino regulators in Iowa have dealt a sweeping rebuff to Gov. Chet Culver (D). While the Hawkeye State’s Racing & Gaming Commission gave its nod to a casino targeted primarily at the South Dakota market, it backhanded three other proposals. … Continue reading →

Posted in Colony Capital, Current, Economy, Entertainment, Iowa, MGM Mirage, Politics, Regulation, The Strip | Comments Off on This just in …

Quote of the Day

Posted on May 12, 2010 by David McKee

“The gentleman involved in Neonopolis is a wonderful salesman. He has been to the club one time, and he has an amazing skill. I’ve had several meetings with him, and he has a very positive approach and he gets you … Continue reading →

Posted in Downtown, Entertainment | 1 Comment