Category Archives: IGT

Boob job

Posted on August 5, 2011 by David McKee

Bankrupt, 38-year-old Hooters Hotel got a two-month reprieve yesterday, as owners obtained a judge’s permission to keep spending creditors’ monies to keep the place open for an additional two months. That will at least give employees time to update their … Continue reading →

Posted in Alex Yemenidjian, Architecture, Columbia Sussex, Current, Dining, Economy, Entertainment, Harrah's, history, Hooters, IGT, Macau, Marketing, MGM Mirage, Regulation, Riviera, Sahara, Sheldon Adelson, Steve Wynn, The Mob, The Strip, Tourism, Wall Street | 7 Comments

Raw deal

Posted on June 18, 2011 by David McKee

In the end two, casino operators bent over, grabbed their ankles and took it hard from Gov. John Kasich (R), who can claim a near-unqualified victory — and in blistering time. With money and pilings already sunk into Ohio, neither … Continue reading →

Posted in Bally Technologies, Boyd Gaming, Current, Election, Harrah's, Horseracing, IGT, Indiana, Isle of Capri, Ohio, Penn National, Pinnacle Entertainment, Racinos, Regulation, Taxes, Wall Street, WMS Industries | 3 Comments

Illinois’ suicide pact; Donald Trump, freeloader

Posted on May 31, 2011 by David McKee

Whether you spent Memorial Day grilling some bratwurst or, like me, crawling around with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a cleaning cloth, we did no harm. That can’t be said for the Illinois House of Representatives, which opened a can of … Continue reading →

Posted in Bally Technologies, Current, Donald Trump, Economy, Horseracing, IGT, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri, Penn National, Politics, Racinos, Regulation, Slot routes, Taxes, The Strip, WMS Industries | 3 Comments

Herbst Gaming: new name, familiar faces

Posted on May 23, 2011 by David McKee

No, the company hasn’t been dissolved. But with the various Herbst boys having been run off — plus the negative brand equity created by their eponymous casino firm’s financial collapse — new ownership decided it’s time for a new moniker. … Continue reading →

Posted in Aristocrat, Boyd Gaming, California, Carl Icahn, Current, Donald Trump, Downtown, Economy, Entertainment, Harrah's, Herbst Gaming, history, IGT, Illinois, International, MGM Mirage, Regulation, The Strip, Tropicana Entertainment | 1 Comment

Vegas in January: Dazed and confusing

Posted on March 10, 2011 by David McKee

It’s not as though there aren’t signs of hope for the Nevada economy. And even as empty storefronts continue to proliferate and housing prices tank in Las Vegas, there’s a “green shoot” or two, if you look for them. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Boulder Strip, Cosmopolitan, Current, Downtown, Economy, history, IGT, Lake Tahoe, North Las Vegas, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson, Taxes, The Strip, Tourism, Transportation, Wall Street | 3 Comments

Burnt out at Marina Bay Sands; Winners in Atlantic City

Posted on January 28, 2011 by David McKee

Another day, another Las Vegas Sands executive falls by the wayside. In the case of Marina Bay Sands, it sounds like CEO Thomas Arasi has been burned out in what must have been a pretty intense 18 months at the … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Boyd Gaming, Colony Capital, Cordish Co., Current, Dennis Gomes, Donald Trump, Economy, Harrah's, IGT, International, Macau, Marketing, Maryland, Penn National, Politics, Racinos, Sheldon Adelson, Singapore, Tilman Fertitta, Tourism, Wall Street, WMS Industries | 3 Comments

This just in …

Posted on January 26, 2011 by David McKee

An Illinois court of appeals has struck down a pair of Public Acts pertaining to the state’s gambling industry. One nullifies a deal that would have farmed out the state lottery to Scientific Games (luckily, SGMS stock withstood the bad … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, CityCenter, Current, IGT, Illinois, MGM Mirage, New York, Regulation, Wall Street | 5 Comments

Upsizing Illinois

Posted on January 7, 2011 by David McKee

Or would “capsizing” be the right word? Late Thursday, Wells Fargo released a study of the effects on Illinois‘ casino market if a massive expansion backed by state Democrats goes through. They’re under the gun, since the whole issue gets … Continue reading →

Posted in Bally Technologies, Boyd Gaming, Current, Don Barden, Economy, Harrah's, IGT, Illinois, Indiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Neil Bluhm, Penn National, Pinnacle Entertainment, Politics, Racinos, Regulation, Wall Street, WMS Industries | 6 Comments

Cosmopolitan: Towers of Babel

Posted on December 15, 2010 by David McKee

It’s here and it’s a sensory overload. If the severe CityCenter six-pack is a convent of Carmelite nuns, The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas is a drag queen. It’s unstintingly flamboyant, often fabulous, unremittingly outrageous and campy as all get-out. On … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, CityCenter, Cosmopolitan, Current, Dining, Entertainment, Fontainebleau, IGT, LVCVA, MGM Mirage, Movies, Sheldon Adelson, Steve Wynn, Technology, The Strip, Tourism | 8 Comments

Old Sixty Votes folds again; Butera’s blunder

Posted on December 8, 2010 by David McKee

Hey, Harry Reid, the casino industry called. It wants its money back. In all-too-predictable collapse, Old Sixty Votes threw in the towel on efforts to explicitly legalize online poker in the U.S. Since the issue is now dead for two … Continue reading →

Posted in Carl Icahn, Columbia Sussex, Current, Election, Harrah's, Harry Reid, Horseracing, IGT, Indiana, International, Internet gambling, MGM Mirage, Mississippi, Politics, Sheldon Adelson, Station Casinos, Tribal, Wall Street | 1 Comment

Steelman: Small is profitable

Posted on November 15, 2010 by David McKee

Before he got elbowed aside in favor of ‘starchitects,’ Paul Steelman was one of the go-to designers on the Las Vegas Strip. He’s also one of the very few people who can say they’ve worked — without repercussion — for … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Atlantic City, CityCenter, Current, Dining, Economy, Entertainment, IGT, International, Macau, MGM Mirage, Morgans Hotel Group, Sheldon Adelson, Singapore, Stanley Ho, Steve Wynn, Technology, The Strip, Tourism, Transportation | 5 Comments

Election 2010: Around the horn

Posted on November 3, 2010 by David McKee

Let’s get to it, with some help from Wells Fargo gaming analyst Carlo Santarelli … Cordish Gaming won big in Maryland, where voters upheld an initiative to ratify the zoning of its Arundel Mills Mall casino project. Penn National Gaming, … Continue reading →

Posted in Ameristar, Bally Technologies, California, Cordish Co., Economy, Election, Harrah's, IGT, International, Iowa, Isle of Capri, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Penn National, Pennsylvania, Politics, Racinos, Tribal, Wall Street, West Virginia, WMS Industries | 3 Comments

Concord in Massachusetts; Mixed bag at Melco

Posted on July 30, 2010 by David McKee

It’s been leaked to the Boston Globe that a deal is at hand that would resolve the impasse currently holding casino-enabling legislation at bay. While still probably not to Gov. Deval Patrick‘s liking (he wants one racino, the compromise bill … Continue reading →

Posted in Arizona, Bally Technologies, Current, Detroit, Economy, Election, IGT, James Packer, Lawrence Ho, Macau, Melco Crown Entertainment, Politics, Racinos, Sheldon Adelson, Slot routes, Steve Wynn, The Strip, Tourism, WMS Industries | Comments Off on Concord in Massachusetts; Mixed bag at Melco

From the mailbag

Posted on July 30, 2010 by David McKee

A mystery illness has debilitated me off and on (more “on” than “off,” sadly) for the past seven days. Fortunately, lively reader debate in the “Comments” threads have kept things ticking over nicely in my absence. Also, I sometimes get … Continue reading →

Posted in Carl Icahn, Colony Capital, Current, Dining, Economy, Fontainebleau, Harrah's, IGT, Laughlin, MGM Mirage, Planet Hollywood, Riviera, Technology, The Strip, Tourism | 4 Comments

Quote of the Day

Posted on June 14, 2010 by David McKee

“Gaming industry observer William Thompson, a professor of public administration at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, said IGT is a credible, Nevada-regulated slot machine company that would be very careful about legalities.” — Yes, the same carefulness toward legalities … Continue reading →

Posted in Alabama, California, Current, IGT, Internet gambling, Technology, Tribal | Comments Off on Quote of the Day

Detroit sets pace for Vegas

Posted on June 10, 2010 by David McKee

Here’s PR blurb that just fell across the cyber-transom: Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas has signed a multi-product and systems agreement featuring sbX(TM), IGT‘s premier server based gaming solution; the majority floor share of games; plus an entire suite of IGT … Continue reading →

Posted in CityCenter, Cosmopolitan, Detroit, Harrah's, history, IGT, MGM Mirage, Morgans Hotel Group, Technology, The Strip | 1 Comment

“Vote for me or I’ll bust a cap …”

Posted on June 1, 2010 by David McKee

Dale Peterson – political ad @ Yahoo! Video It’s primary day in Alabama, the day we find out if any of the candidates who make it to November are more amenable to electronic bingo than is outgoing Gov. Bob Riley … Continue reading →

Posted in Alabama, Election, IGT | 1 Comment

Case Bets: Macao, Maryland, Internet casinos

Posted on May 24, 2010 by David McKee

April was a bonny month for Macao, where overall visitation rose 13% and mainland Chinese tourism rose 17%. Now if only Peking would take its hand off the spigot known as visa quotas, we might have some honest-to-god year/year comparisons … Continue reading →

Posted in Alabama, Cordish Co., IGT, Internet gambling, Kentucky, Macau, Maryland, Politics, Regulation, Sports, Taxes, Technology, The Strip, Tourism | 2 Comments

Chronicle of a Black foretold; River City looking good

Posted on March 2, 2010 by David McKee

Randy Black, that is. The CEO who ran the Mesquite market straight into the ground (with a sizable assist from the Nevada Gaming Control Board and Gaming Commission) and turned the former Si Redd’s Oasis into a slot route — … Continue reading →

Posted in Archon Corp., Boyd Gaming, Current, Don Barden, Election, Harry Reid, IGT, Mesquite, Michael Gaughan, Midnight Jim Gibbons, Pinnacle Entertainment, Planet Hollywood, Politics, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson, Station Casinos, Steve Wynn, TV, Wall Street, WMS Industries | 1 Comment

IGT quits Japan; Vdara goes bargain-friendly; Singapore opens

Posted on February 11, 2010 by David McKee

After losing $21 million in Japan last year, IGT is saying a not-so-fond farewell to the Land of the Rising Sun. Its sales of pachislot machines had been in decline and were nowhere near the volume needed to reach break-even. … Continue reading →

Posted in CityCenter, Genting, IGT, International, MGM Mirage, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson, Singapore, Technology, The Strip, Wall Street | 2 Comments