Category Archives: Melco Crown Entertainment

Clouds over Macao

Posted on July 30, 2014 by David McKee

Forbes‘ Muhammad Cohen has been reading the latest tea leaves from the world’s gambling capital and doesn’t like what he sees: a 1H14 revenue increase of 13% (“heady for anywhere but Macau“) but a sequential decline from 1Q to 2Q14 … Continue reading →

Posted in Delaware, Economy, Macau, Melco Crown Entertainment, Racinos, Singapore, Taxes, Wall Street | Comments Off

Penny pinchers; Tribal warfare in New Mexico; Who’s tops in Macao?

Posted on July 24, 2014 by David McKee

Although the hold on penny slots in Illinois casinos is grotesquely higher than that for quarter slots/video poker, the imaginary value of penny machines makes them by far the most popular genre in the state. Punters dropped $41 million into … Continue reading →

Posted in Election, Illinois, Macau, Melco Crown Entertainment, MGM Mirage, Neil Bluhm, Penn National, Sheldon Adelson, Stanley Ho, Steve Wynn, Technology, Tribal | 1 Comment

May in Macao; Brave new slots

Posted on June 5, 2014 by David McKee

Given “softer than expected” numbers out of Macao, expect Wall Street analysts to dial down their expectations for the balance of the year. Gaming revenues rose ‘only’ 9% instead of the expected double digits and there was a surprise leader … Continue reading →

Posted in Bally Technologies, Boulder Strip, Macau, Melco Crown Entertainment, MGM Mirage, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson, Stanley Ho, Station Casinos, Steve Wynn, Technology, Wall Street | Comments Off

Cosmo: Now comes the hard part

Posted on May 19, 2014 by David McKee

Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas CEO John Unwin is crowing in triumph over Blackstone Real Estate Partners VII‘s staggeringly lavish purchase of the megaresort over which he presides. “This marks the beginning of the next chapter for The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas … Continue reading →

Posted in Boyd Gaming, Cosmopolitan, Economy, Harrah's, James Packer, Japan, Melco Crown Entertainment, MGM Mirage, Penn National, Politics, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson, Steve Wynn, Wall Street | 1 Comment

Caesars: The day after

Posted on April 23, 2014 by David McKee

New York resort developers may be reeling from the sudden entry of Caesars Entertainment into the picture, but that doesn’t mean they’ve given up the fight. After all, Caesars’ move only impacts the Catskills region, not the Capital one nor … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Boyd Gaming, Cordish Co., Foxwoods, Genting, Harrah's, Horseracing, International, Macau, Melco Crown Entertainment, MGM Mirage, New York, Penn National, Pennsylvania, Racinos, Sheldon Adelson | Comments Off

Tribal power; A new contender in Japan

Posted on April 8, 2014 by David McKee

Talking Stick Resort may have only 752 slot machines and 51 blackjack tables but it’s powered an economic bonanza in the Scottsdale, Arizona desert. It’s the focal point of two baseball spring-training facilities (Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies), a 36-hole … Continue reading →

Posted in Arizona, Baseball, CityCenter, Election, Harrah's, Japan, Melco Crown Entertainment, Nebraska, Racinos, Tribal | Comments Off

Adelson: Sore winner; Good news from Atlantic City

Posted on March 12, 2014 by David McKee

Macao’s 2013 casino haul of $45 billion seems pretty mind-boggling on its own merits. That number could be $115 billion by 2018. Much of that growth will be driven by post-2015 projects of Melco Crown Entertainment and Galaxy Entertainment Group. … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Boyd Gaming, Current, Donald Trump, Harrah's, Internet gambling, Macau, Melco Crown Entertainment, Mohegan Sun, Revel, Sheldon Adelson, The Strip, Tilman Fertitta, Tropicana Entertainment, Trump Entertainment Resorts, Wall Street | 2 Comments

Stupid player tricks & other Case Bets

Posted on February 26, 2014 by David McKee

What do you do if the cops try to bust you for having $115K in phony casino chips (allegedly)? Throw them in the nearest body of water, naturally. “Fortunately for police, the chips floated.” Vuong Q. Truong and wife Rosa A. Nguyen supposedly … Continue reading →

Posted in Cordish Co., Cretins, Current, Japan, Lawrence Ho, Macau, Maryland, Melco Crown Entertainment, Mississippi, Penn National, Sheldon Adelson, Stanley Ho | Comments Off

Macao’s incredible jackpot; Execs on the move

Posted on February 11, 2014 by David McKee

If you think the emergence of Macao as the gambling capital of the world has been amazing, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet. That’s the essence of a new report from Nomura Securities. It predicts that the Macao market has the … Continue reading →

Posted in Affinity Gaming, Colorado, Harrah's, IGT, Internet gambling, Macau, Melco Crown Entertainment, Sheldon Adelson, Stanley Ho, Wall Street | Comments Off

Viva Macao; Battling for dollars in Maine

Posted on January 14, 2014 by David McKee

Hard as it may be to believe, Macao is on track to gross $77 million in 2017. That leaves Las Vegas hopelessly in the dust as a gambling destination, especially with non-gaming amenities taking up a bigger share of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Churchill Downs, Economy, Entertainment, Macau, Maine, Melco Crown Entertainment, MGM Mirage, Penn National, Sheldon Adelson, Steve Wynn, The Strip | Comments Off

Macao rules

Posted on January 2, 2014 by David McKee

Today’s big story is pretty obvious: The 19% year-over-year revenue growth of Macao, which posted $45 billion in gross gaming dollars. (2012’s increase was similarly dramatic.) Analysts offer a somewhat cloudy picture for next year. No, there will be no … Continue reading →

Posted in Economy, Macau, Melco Crown Entertainment, MGM Mirage, Sheldon Adelson, Steve Wynn, Wall Street | Comments Off

Etess, Wynn cross swords & other Case Bets

Posted on December 18, 2013 by David McKee

Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority CEO Mitchell Etess is A-OK with Massachusetts casino regulation, as he made clear in a recent interview. (Mohegan Sun is vying for a casino license at Suffolk Downs.) “I think everybody who got into this process … Continue reading →

Posted in Alabama, Japan, Massachusetts, Melco Crown Entertainment, New York, Pennsylvania, Regulation, Taxes, Tribal | 1 Comment

Hasta la vista, EuroVegas

Posted on December 13, 2013 by David McKee

His demands having been rejected by the Spanish government, Sheldon Adelson has renounced EuroVegas, his $30 billion grand folly of 12 hotels, six casinos and 18,000 slots in Spain. Considering his hard-nosed stance that the company only concentrate on projects … Continue reading →

Posted in Greenwood Racing, International, Japan, Maryland, Melco Crown Entertainment, MGM Mirage, Penn National, Sheldon Adelson, Wall Street | Comments Off

Imbalances of power; Vegas to Israel?

Posted on December 6, 2013 by David McKee

It was another bonny month for Maryland, whose casino revenues grew 55% in November, up to $67 million. It’s not an apples/apples comparison, since neither Rocky Gap Casino nor table games were in play a year ago. Tables were responsible … Continue reading →

Posted in Charity, Cordish Co., Economy, Greenwood Racing, Harrah's, Illinois, Macau, Maryland, Melco Crown Entertainment, MGM Mirage, Neil Bluhm, Penn National, Pets, Sheldon Adelson, Stanley Ho, Steve Wynn | Comments Off

Most happy fella; Whither the Western?

Posted on December 4, 2013 by David McKee

If you added Melco Crown Entertainment to your portfolio of stocks, you’ve got a right to be feeling smart right about now. U.S.-traded shares of the stock are up 111% over the course of 2013. Weaker-than-expected high roller play has … Continue reading →

Posted in Downtown, International, James Packer, Lawrence Ho, Melco Crown Entertainment, Tourism | 1 Comment

Penn overboard!; Macao’s zenith

Posted on November 7, 2013 by David McKee

First the good news about Ohio: Gambling revenue was up 47% last month. Now, the bad news. One a same-store basis it was down 2% year/year. Who knew the Buckeye State would get saturated so quickly? The statewide gross was … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Boyd Gaming, Current, Dan Gilbert, Delaware, Economy, Harrah's, Illinois, Internet gambling, Macau, Melco Crown Entertainment, MGM Mirage, Missouri, MTR Gaming, Neil Bluhm, Ohio, Penn National, Racinos, Sheldon Adelson, Stanley Ho, Station Casinos, Tourism, Wall Street | 1 Comment

Case Bets: New York, Wynn, Packer, Atlantic City & Reno

Posted on October 30, 2013 by David McKee

In a positive omen for Tuesday’s casino vote in New York, shares of Castkills-based Empire Resorts (NYNY) leapt 29%, closing at $5.30/share. The company hopes to bring casino gambling to the Concord Hotel, although jostling for the probable two Catskills … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, California, Current, Genting, Harrah's, Illinois, International, James Packer, Melco Crown Entertainment, New York, Reno, Slot routes, Station Casinos, Steve Wynn, Tribal | 4 Comments

Casino explosion in the Far East

Posted on October 10, 2013 by David McKee

Now that they’ve seen what Macao and Singapore can do with casino resorts, practically everyone else in the Pacific Rim wants in. Gaming is already big business in the Philippines, but Lawrence Ho and others like him are convinced they … Continue reading →

Posted in Economy, Genting, Harrah's, International, James Packer, Lawrence Ho, Macau, Melco Crown Entertainment, MGM Mirage, Sheldon Adelson, Singapore | Comments Off

Atlantic City: Exit Pinnacle, turnover at Revel; Invading Japan

Posted on October 1, 2013 by David McKee

It took three years and a frightful loss ($239 million), but Pinnacle Entertainment is finally shot of Lee’s Folly, the Sands Casino Hotel site that ex-CEO Dan Lee bought for $270 million during the boom years … and which promptly … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, International, Japan, Lawrence Ho, Macau, Melco Crown Entertainment, Pinnacle Entertainment, Revel, Sheldon Adelson, Singapore, Station Casinos | 1 Comment

Japan’s in; Chaperoned at Caesars; D.C. gridlock strikes again

Posted on September 19, 2013 by David McKee

A pro-casino group of lawmakers plans to introduce gambling-enabling legislation in the upcoming session of the Japanese Diet. Steve Wynn was quick to plunk $4 billion-plus on the table, while MGM Resorts International promises unspecified “billions.” It’s like a gold … Continue reading →

Posted in Harrah's, Japan, Massachusetts, Melco Crown Entertainment, MGM Mirage, Ohio, Sheldon Adelson, Stanley Ho, Steve Wynn, Tribal | Comments Off