Category Archives: LVCVA

Nevada’s November: rough sledding; Sunny Sheldon

Posted on January 11, 2011 by David McKee

If pressed for a prediction, I’d say 2011 will be a good year for the Strip, not so much for the rest of the Silver State. Just when I was feeling a bit queasy about November’s gaming revenues, Dr. David … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Boulder Strip, Boyd Gaming, California, Cretins, Current, Downtown, Florida, Horseracing, Laughlin, LVCVA, Macau, Massachusetts, MGM Mirage, North Las Vegas, Politics, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson, Stanley Ho, Station Casinos, Steve Wynn, Tourism, TV, Wall Street | 4 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

D-Day for Philadelphia

Posted on December 13, 2010 by David McKee

Investors in the stymied Foxwoods Philadelphia riverfront casino project have a date with the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board on Thursday. That’s where they’ll make their last-ditch pitch to retain custody of the project. State legislators and other officials have voiced … Continue reading →

Posted in Cosmopolitan, Current, Donald Trump, Economy, Harrah's, LVCVA, Marketing, MGM Mirage, Pennsylvania, Regulation, Steve Wynn, The Strip, Tourism, Tribal, Vdara Death Ray | 1 Comment

Crazy from the heat?

Posted on August 23, 2010 by David McKee

As the August sun beats upon our brains like a hammer on an anvil, it seems to be rendering us soft in the noggin. Reader kerr_mudgeon has aggregated a few instances, the pages of the Los Angeles Times, which seems … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Colony Capital, Cordish Co., Current, LVCVA, Marketing, Regulation, Tourism, Transportation | 5 Comments

Chrome Dome

Posted on August 5, 2010 by David McKee

Last weekend, as I ploughed into a pile of analyst reports, court filings, etc., I came across a Clark County Commission planning report on Christopher Milam, Paul & Sue Lowden‘s proposed Silver State Arena. As you can see, it would … Continue reading →

Posted in Archon Corp., Baseball, Current, Economy, LVCVA, MGM Mirage, Riviera, Sahara, Sports, Taxes, The Strip, Transportation, TV | 8 Comments

That’ll show ’em!

Posted on May 20, 2010 by David McKee

What do you do if a group of conventioneers is discomfited during their stay at your brand-new, “grand slam home run,” unfinished $5.7 billion megaresort? Sue the bastards! That ought to work wonders for Sheldon Adelson‘s convention traffic. (True, the … Continue reading →

Posted in Economy, LVCVA, Marketing, Politics, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson, Singapore, Taxes, The Strip | 1 Comment

Nevada: No recovery yet

Posted on May 11, 2010 by David McKee

“We hit the bottom and are slowly climbing out,” contends Nevada Gaming Control Board analyst Frank Streshley, trying to put the best spin on a flat March. There were definitely some silver linings. Who’da thunk Laughlin (2.5%), Reno (5%) and … Continue reading →

Posted in Boulder Strip, California, CityCenter, Current, Downtown, Economy, Lake Tahoe, Laughlin, LVCVA, Marketing, Mesquite, MGM Mirage, Reno, Sports, The Strip | 10 Comments

Big love

Posted on February 3, 2010 by David McKee

This latest tempest in a teaspoon has inspired a yawningly predictable reaction amongst Nevada politicians. The lone witty note was struck by Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority President Rossi Ralenkotter, who deployed irony in lieu of indignation: “While we … Continue reading →

Posted in Current, Detroit, Economy, Harry Reid, LVCVA, Macau, MGM Mirage, Movies, Oscar Goodman, Pennsylvania, Politics, Sheldon Adelson, The Strip | 3 Comments

Seen last night …

Posted on January 14, 2010 by David McKee

… on Tropicana Avenue: A pickup trick carrying two men and four sheep. Don’t worry; it’s probably just the latest chapter in the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority‘s “Whatever Happens Here …” campaign.

Posted in Current, Entertainment, LVCVA, Marketing | 4 Comments

Blimps on the radar

Posted on September 10, 2009 by David McKee

Dipping into the dispatch box, S&G finds the following tidbits, courtesy of the nice people at J.P. Morgan: Alex Yemenidjian is serious about revamping the Tropicana Las Vegas. He's just inked a contract with Bally Technologies for a player-tracking system … Continue reading →

Posted in Alex Yemenidjian, Atlantic City, Bally Technologies, CityCenter, Detroit, Economy, Lake Tahoe, Laughlin, LVCVA, Marketing, MGM Mirage, North Las Vegas, Reno, Sheldon Adelson, Station Casinos, The Strip, TV | Comments Off

Colony Capital comedy

Posted on August 21, 2009 by David McKee

Having borrowed money to buy the Las Vegas Hilton five years ago at a dirt-cheap $200 million, Colony Capital — those financial wizards — borrowed $250 million more to retire the first loan. (Does Colony intend to pay off the … Continue reading →

Posted in Boyd Gaming, Colony Capital, Fontainebleau, Harrah's, LVCVA, Penn National, Phil Ruffin, Plaza, Regulation, Steve Wynn | Comments Off

The dream is dying

Posted on July 20, 2009 by David McKee

Just last week, UNLV‘s historical sage, Dr. Eugene Moehring, was taking a dim view of the fate of Las Vegas’ working class. Now comes the Wall Street Journal to back him up with some sobering reportage. Even at union salaries, Culinary … Continue reading →

Posted in Boyd Gaming, Colony Capital, Cosmopolitan, Economy, Encore, Fontainebleau, Harrah's, LVCVA, M Resort, MGM Mirage, Morgans Hotel Group, Plaza, Station Casinos, Steve Wynn, The Strip, Tourism, Wall Street | Comments Off

Oscar Goodman, Voice of Reason

Posted on May 21, 2009 by David McKee

Even as MGM Mirage CEO Jim Murren and Treasure Island owner Phil Ruffin are preparing to stomp out any incipient recovery in Las Vegas by jacking up room rates, words of restraint are coming from the unlikeliest of sources: Mayor … Continue reading →

Posted in Columbia Sussex, Economy, Harrah's, LVCVA, Marketing, MGM Mirage, Phil Ruffin, The Strip | Comments Off

Quote of the Day

Posted on May 13, 2009 by David McKee

"We don't see them getting worse. The problem is we don't see them getting better." — Boyd Gaming CEO Keith Smith on 2009-10 tourism statistics for Las Vegas.

Posted in Boyd Gaming, Downtown, Economy, LVCVA, The Strip | Comments Off

First, some good news

Posted on April 16, 2009 by David McKee

In a refreshing change of pace comes news of a casino that’s on schedule for its opening. OK, so it’s in Dodge City, Kansas, but we’ll take good news wherever we can get it these days. Whoever thought avionics firm … Continue reading →

Posted in Downtown, Economy, Entertainment, Herbst Gaming, Kansas, Labor, LVCVA, Marketing, Mesquite, Sheldon Adelson, Station Casinos, The Strip | Comments Off

Unwanted Vegas bargain

Posted on January 5, 2009 by David McKee

So, after making the big bad Fire Department the fall guy for Dec. 31's sucktastic fireworks display (more of an obfuscation than a display, really) it turns out that the culprit was organizer Las Vegas Events. Perhaps, in a new … Continue reading →

Posted in Current, Downtown, LVCVA, The Strip | Comments Off

Vegas Right Now = Bargain Country

Posted on July 2, 2008 by David McKee

While the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority may blanch from peddling bargain-oriented messages, we don’t. While it wasn’t that long ago that some of us were mourning the apparent demise of on-Strip bargains — or redefining said bargains as … Continue reading →

Posted in Boulder Strip, Harrah's, LVCVA, Macau, MGM Mirage, Riviera, Sheldon Adelson, Station Casinos, The Strip, Wall Street | Comments Off

Bargains? Shhhhhhhhhhhh!

Posted on May 28, 2008 by David McKee

Liz Benston takes a look today at the newest message from the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority and finds the LVCVA “thinks it’s bad form to make references to ‘affordable’ and ‘cheap.’” Oh yes, God forbid anybody should think … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, California, Downtown, Harrah's, LVCVA, Marketing, MGM Mirage, Sheldon Adelson, Station Casinos, The Strip | Comments Off

Columbia Sussex sinks to new low

Posted on April 2, 2008 by David McKee

Let’s say you’re Columbia Sussex, owner of the Westin Casuarina and notorious for your pinch-penny ways. What do you do if a convention organizer can’t pay up on its $50,000 tab? Why simply — and sneakily — bill it to the … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Columbia Sussex, Indiana, Louisiana, LVCVA, Regulation | Comments Off