Category Archives: Mississippi

Wynn delivers

Posted on April 6, 2010 by David McKee

Surprising as ever, Steve Wynn showed up in Philadelphia yesterday bearing a sheaf of renderings for his proposed casinos — three weeks ahead of schedule. Wynn’s final design looks a mite grander than the one he let Steve Friess photograph, … Continue reading →

Posted in Alabama, Architecture, Bally Technologies, Current, Economy, Isle of Capri, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Neil Bluhm, Pennsylvania, Politics, Racinos, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson, Steve Wynn, Tribal | 1 Comment

Gold Strike Tunica exonerated; “Trek” frittered away

Posted on April 6, 2010 by David McKee

The honor of MGM Mirage‘s Gold Strike Tunica has been restored by reader Sin City Cyn, who writes: “Speaking of resort fees … I promised to report back on the pool fee situation at Tunica’s Gold Strike. I’m happy to … Continue reading →

Posted in Colony Capital, Current, Downtown, Entertainment, MGM Mirage, Mississippi, Station Casinos, Tourism, TV | 5 Comments

From the S&G Twitter feed …

Posted on April 5, 2010 by David McKee

It’s a crazy day here and I’m deeply enmeshed in reportage (hint: it involves Station Casinos) so I’d like to take up some of the blogging slack by once more pimping the S&G Twitter feed (@stiffsgeorges), which can also be … Continue reading →

Posted in Alex Yemenidjian, Archon Corp., Bally Technologies, Current, Election, Entertainment, Harrah's, Isle of Capri, James Packer, Lawrence Ho, Macau, Marketing, Melco Crown Entertainment, MGM Mirage, Mississippi, Pinnacle Entertainment, Planet Hollywood, Sheldon Adelson, Singapore, Steve Wynn, Technology, Wall Street | Comments Off on From the S&G Twitter feed …

Rose prophetic re: Macao

Posted on April 5, 2010 by David McKee

While Las Vegas newspapers have been reticent regarding the regulatory can of worms opened by recent findings about the Macanese operations of Las Vegas Sands and MGM Mirage, veteran gaming legal analyst I. Nelson Rose has felt no such compunction. … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Detroit, Economy, Illinois, MGM Mirage, Mississippi, Pansy Ho, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson, Stanley Ho, The Mob | 1 Comment

S**t hits MGM, Sands fan

Posted on April 1, 2010 by David McKee

Local newspapers — and bloggers — have been slow to pick up on a couple of Reuters dispatches that show — as some doomsayers prognosticated — that involvement in Macao is coming back to bite the U.S. casino industry in … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, CityCenter, Detroit, Illinois, Macau, Mississippi, Pansy Ho, Pennsylvania, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson, Stanley Ho, The Mob | 5 Comments

Dept. of Wishful Thinking

Posted on March 26, 2010 by David McKee

Whatever became of Elad Properties‘ metaresort-sized Plaza project, built upon the ruins of the New Frontier? Reed Construction Data Project Research claims it’s on. Never mind that Elad’s not put so much as a shovel into the ground … or … Continue reading →

Posted in Current, Economy, Environment, Gary Goett, Harrah's, M Resort, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New York, Phil Ruffin, Plaza, Racinos, The Strip, Tribal | Comments Off on Dept. of Wishful Thinking

From the S&G Twitter feed …

Posted on January 12, 2010 by David McKee

For those of you who aren’t following it, here’s what you’ve been missing: • Station [Casinos] shuts Cherry @ Red Rock [Resort], ends flirtation w. Strip-ish nightlife. In Summerlin? Right casino, wrong place. http://tinyurl.com/ye36uqm • @IOC_Brand Jim Perry, Virginia McDowell … Continue reading →

Posted in California, CityCenter, Current, Economy, Election, Entertainment, Florida, Harrah's, IGT, International, Isle of Capri, Kansas, Lyle Berman, Mississippi, Politics, Regulation, Station Casinos, Technology, TV | Comments Off on From the S&G Twitter feed …

They took away the Reading Room …

Posted on December 17, 2009 by David McKee

… only to give us Assouline, a store that specializes in big books with lots of pictures and can found in Crystals. However, you needn’t bother shopping there unless you have money out the assouline. Or as a company exec … Continue reading →

Posted in Arizona, California, CityCenter, Colorado, Economy, MGM Mirage, Mississippi, The Strip, Tribal | 3 Comments

Chutzpah, thy name is Loveman

Posted on December 1, 2009 by David McKee

Do the bondholders of Harrah’s Entertainment ever get tired of being played for suckers? After being asked to take haircut after haircut — whether in the form of distressed buybacks or deferred repayment — comes a new indignity. While Harrah’s … Continue reading →

Posted in CityCenter, Current, Downtown, Economy, Harrah's, Marketing, MGM Mirage, Mississippi, Planet Hollywood, Regulation, The Strip, Wall Street | 4 Comments

Steve Wynn drinks his own bathwater

Posted on November 3, 2009 by David McKee

I’ll confess to having been sufficiently out of touch not to have heard about the “Wynncore” parody site on which blogger Chuck Monster was laboring. Anybody who’s used the sluggish Wynn Resorts Web site will appreciate the home page (“Loading … Continue reading →

Posted in Alex Yemenidjian, Current, Economy, Encore, G2E, Marketing, Mississippi, Steve Wynn, Technology, The Strip, Transportation, Tropicana Entertainment, TV | 5 Comments

Quote of the Day

Posted on October 15, 2009 by David McKee

"In a lot of places along the coast it looks like the hurricane hit yesterday." — NBC reporter Charles Hadlock, reporting today on the condition of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, four and a half years after Hurricane Katrina.

Posted in Current, Economy, Louisiana, Mississippi | Comments Off on Quote of the Day

Gambling scandal ensares eight more

Posted on September 21, 2009 by David McKee

It’s not quite on the global scale of the Ultimate Bet brouhaha, but the Tran Organization‘s conspiracy to fleece dozens of U.S., Canadian and tribal casinos is racking up an amazing head count. To date, federal prosecutors have already nailed … Continue reading →

Posted in Ameristar, California, Colony Capital, Don Barden, Donald Trump, Harrah's, Indiana, International, Internet gambling, Iowa, Isle of Capri, Louisiana, MGM Mirage, Mississippi, Penn National, Pinnacle Entertainment, Regulation, Station Casinos, The Mob, The Strip, Tribal | Comments Off on Gambling scandal ensares eight more

MGM: Deal or no deal?

Posted on June 17, 2009 by David McKee

MGM Mirage CEO Jim Murren is re-mulling asset sales of MGM Grand Detroit, Gold Strike (Tunica, Miss.) and Beau Rivage. But all Strip assets are definitively off the market (yes, even Slots A Fun). Since the Detroit and Tunica casinos … Continue reading →

Posted in Baseball, Detroit, Downtown, Economy, International, Jack Binion, James Packer, Lawrence Ho, Macau, Melco Crown Entertainment, MGM Mirage, Mississippi, Politics, Sheldon Adelson, Steve Wynn, The Strip | Comments Off on MGM: Deal or no deal?

Case Bets: MGM Mirage, Harrah's, Wynn, Shuffle Master, Taxes

Posted on March 17, 2009 by David McKee

As we wait for the MGM Mirage earnings report, signs of desperation mount. If the company is willing to cast away a pearl like new, costly and high-yielding MGM Grand Detroit, what isn’t sacred? Not even the corporate jet, provided … Continue reading →

Posted in Columbia Sussex, Current, Detroit, Economy, Goldman Sachs, Harrah's, Labor, Lake Tahoe, Louisiana, MGM Mirage, Mississippi, Pinnacle Entertainment, Shuffle Master, Steve Wynn, Taxes, Technology, Wall Street | Comments Off on Case Bets: MGM Mirage, Harrah's, Wynn, Shuffle Master, Taxes

'Gang' at Encore

Posted on January 15, 2009 by David McKee

Yesterday saw an unusual — but altogether pleasant — change in the Vegas Gang routine, as we taped “on location” from a seventh-floor room in Encore, overlooking Echelon and the increasingly ominous Fontainebleau (so disproportionately massive it looms over its … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Cloverfield monster, Current, Detroit, Fontainebleau, Harrah's, Illinois, Macau, MGM Mirage, Mississippi, Phil Ruffin, Stanley Ho, Steve Wynn, The Strip | Comments Off on 'Gang' at Encore

'Gang' at Encore

Posted on January 15, 2009 by David McKee

Yesterday saw an unusual — but altogether pleasant — change in the Vegas Gang routine, as we taped "on location" from a seventh-floor room in Encore, overlooking Echelon and the increasingly ominous Fontainebleau (so disproportionately massive it looms over its … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Cloverfield monster, Current, Detroit, Fontainebleau, Harrah's, Illinois, Macau, MGM Mirage, Mississippi, Phil Ruffin, Stanley Ho, Steve Wynn, The Strip | Comments Off on 'Gang' at Encore

From A(ztar) to Z(ilch)

Posted on January 13, 2009 by David McKee

If Tropicana Entertainment management's bankruptcy plan is accepted by the courts (one bond analyst thinks otherwise), former CEO/sole owner William J. Yung III will be left with — what's the technical term? — diddly squat. (So will his unsecured creditors, … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Columbia Sussex, Economy, Indiana, Lake Tahoe, Laughlin, Louisiana, Marketing, Mississippi, Penn National, Pinnacle Entertainment, Regulation, The Strip, Tropicana Entertainment, Wall Street | Comments Off on From A(ztar) to Z(ilch)

Isle of Capri Biloxi previewed

Posted on December 15, 2008 by David McKee

Ironically, now that Isle of Capri has put its Biloxi plans on hold, we finally get a look at what the revamped Isle (minus the “of Capri” and the parrot) would look like. It’s not beauty-contest winner but, if it … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Isle of Capri, Mississippi, Wall Street | Comments Off on Isle of Capri Biloxi previewed

Butera up to old tricks; Dog days for Ruffin; Fowl play

Posted on November 17, 2008 by David McKee

Grasping at straws in his attempt to wrest control of the Tropicana Casino & Resort back from the New Jersey Casino Control Commission, the CEO of Tropicana Entertainment, Scott Butera, has seized upon a letter from state Sen. Richard Codey. … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Columbia Sussex, G2E, Harrah's, Kansas, Marketing, Mississippi, Regulation, Tropicana Entertainment | Comments Off on Butera up to old tricks; Dog days for Ruffin; Fowl play

Aztar sale flops

Posted on November 7, 2008 by David McKee

Tropicana Entertainment President Scott Butera had a $225 million deal to sell Casino Aztar in hand. Not good enough, he said. Thus, a second round of bids was solicited. The grand total number of offers received: one. This lays the … Continue reading →

Posted in Columbia Sussex, Indiana, Mississippi, Tropicana Entertainment | Comments Off on Aztar sale flops