Category Archives: Ohio

A comment on “Comments”

Posted on April 2, 2010 by David McKee

Due to an as-yet-inexplicable malfunction in our blogging software, all comments, regardless of provenance — yes, even mine — are shunted directly into “Spam.” Since I no longer receive notification of the arrival of a comment that may require moderation … Continue reading →

Posted in Current, Entertainment, Harrah's, Ohio, Station Casinos, Steve Wynn, Technology, The Strip, Tourism, TV, Wall Street | 2 Comments

Penn: “You stupid darkness!”

Posted on February 22, 2010 by David McKee

In one of my absolute favorite Peanuts strips, Charlie Brown finds Linus out in the night, carrying a taper. Asked to explain, Linus replies that it’s better to light a single candle than curse the darkness. Cut to Lucy, elsewhere, … Continue reading →

Posted in Current, Economy, Maryland, Ohio, Penn National, Pennsylvania, The Strip, Wall Street | 3 Comments

Harrah’s: too big to fail

Posted on February 16, 2010 by David McKee

Take a good look at that fresh-faced man to the left. His name is Jonathan Halkyard and he’s the CFO of Harrah’s Entertainment. If he seems like a kid who’s running up a reckless tab on Dad’s credit card, blame … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Harrah's, Herbst Gaming, James Packer, Lake Tahoe, Melco Crown Entertainment, Ohio, Planet Hollywood, Racinos, Station Casinos, The Strip, Wall Street | Comments Off on Harrah’s: too big to fail

Big payoff for Pennsylvania

Posted on January 12, 2010 by David McKee

Gov. Ed Rendell (D) and other state leaders have got to be feeling the love for the Keystone State‘s budding casino industry, which generated over $1 billion in tax revenue last year. That boffo return was achieved without table games … Continue reading →

Posted in Boyd Gaming, Cannery Casino Resorts, Economy, Harrah's, IGT, Indiana, Kentucky, MGM Mirage, Neil Bluhm, Ohio, Penn National, Pennsylvania, Politics, Racinos, Reno, Sheldon Adelson, Taxes, Technology, Tribal, Tropicana Entertainment, TV | 2 Comments

Penn vs. Columbus, Round II

Posted on January 5, 2010 by David McKee

Opponents of Penn National Gaming‘s Arena District site in Columbus are refining their message to sound less NIMBY-ish and Penn is hinting at (limited) flexibility on its part.

Posted in Current, Ohio, Penn National | 1 Comment

Mutiny!

Posted on December 31, 2009 by David McKee

One of the dirty little secrets of the “cruise to nowhere” business is that these vessels are crewed with seamen imported from foreign countries. (Americans, despite being citizens of one of the preeminent seafaring nations, apparently aren’t good enough.) So … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Boyd Gaming, CityCenter, Current, Economy, Florida, Harrah's, International, MGM Mirage, Ohio, Penn National, Planet Hollywood, Regulation, Riviera, Sahara, Station Casinos, The Strip | Comments Off on Mutiny!

Keep your hands off my slag heap!

Posted on December 30, 2009 by David McKee

If you look up “urban blight,” you’re liable to find images like these, which show the area in which Penn National Gaming wants to build its Columbus, Ohio casino. At present, the casino to be is but a bunch of … Continue reading →

Posted in Ohio, Penn National, Politics | 2 Comments

Wall Street hearts Penn

Posted on December 9, 2009 by David McKee

Table games having been approved for Charles Town Races & Slots by a 60/40 margin, stock analysts are lurving Penn National Gaming … so long as Penn’s infatuation with Fontainebleau turns out to have been a passing malady. While those … Continue reading →

Posted in Current, Election, Fontainebleau, Harrah's, Kansas, Missouri, Ohio, Penn National, Pinnacle Entertainment, Regulation, The Strip, Wall Street | 5 Comments

Who’s better for F’bleau: Icahn or Penn?

Posted on December 8, 2009 by David McKee

That’s the unspoken question hanging over a lengthy piece in yesterday’s Las Vegas Sun. While Penn National Gaming is willing to commit $1.5 billion or more to finishing Fontainebleau, lead bidder Carl Icahn may be able to do the job … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Boyd Gaming, Carl Icahn, CityCenter, Columbia Sussex, Current, Economy, Fontainebleau, Kansas, MGM Mirage, Ohio, Penn National, Planet Hollywood, Regulation, Station Casinos, The Strip, Wall Street | 2 Comments

Quote of the Day

Posted on November 27, 2009 by David McKee

“Cleveland, Toledo, and Cincinnati should not be in a position to make development decisions for Columbus any more than Columbus residents should be weighing in on Cleveland projects.” — Ohio state Sen. David Goodman, on a proposal that would allow … Continue reading →

Posted in Election, Ohio, Penn National, Politics | Comments Off on Quote of the Day

CityCenter dodges bullet

Posted on November 27, 2009 by David McKee

Morton Grove, IL. Lying low while Black Friday sweeps Chicagoland … You will remember that, when CityCenter teetered upon the brink of bankruptcy earlier this year, it was saved by a compromise that put the onus on MGM Mirage for … Continue reading →

Posted in Ameristar, Atlantic City, Cirque du Soleil, CityCenter, Current, Don Barden, Economy, Entertainment, Harrah's, IGT, Illinois, Indiana, International, Kansas, MGM Mirage, Ohio, Penn National, Regulation, WMS Industries | 4 Comments

Strip bottoming out

Posted on November 10, 2009 by David McKee

September’s Nevada gaming revenue numbers are in and the good news is that the Strip is only -4% year/year. (Strip revs were down all of ’08 but didn’t fall off the cliff until October, when they tumbled 26%.) This makes … Continue reading →

Posted in Aristocrat, Boulder Strip, Boyd Gaming, Columbia Sussex, Current, Economy, G2E, Harrah's, Herbst Gaming, International, Isle of Capri, Macau, Mesquite, Ohio, Reno, Sheldon Adelson, Stanley Ho, Station Casinos, Steve Wynn, The Strip, Tourism, Transportation, Wall Street | Comments Off on Strip bottoming out

Best idea of the week … or year

Posted on November 6, 2009 by David McKee

From our Today’s News feed: “Until now, MGM Mirage exercised a policy of having each property in the group compete with the others, as if they were totally independent competing entities. It was a strategy designed to keep salespeople ‘on … Continue reading →

Posted in California, CityCenter, Current, Economy, Entertainment, Environment, Harrah's, Marketing, MGM Mirage, Ohio, Penn National, Plaza, Steve Wynn | 2 Comments

Quote of the Day

Posted on November 5, 2009 by David McKee

“It appears the U.S. gaming pie is not getting bigger, and the slices continue to get smaller.” — Moody’s analyst Keith Foley on the impact of Ohio casinos on an already-shrinking revenue base. Southern Indiana looks to get hit especially … Continue reading →

Posted in Current, Economy, Indiana, Ohio, Wall Street | 1 Comment

Quote of the Day

Posted on November 4, 2009 by David McKee

“It’s pretty obvious that the Ohio electorate bought into the whole culture of despair that’s going on with the economy.” — casino opponent and Ohio Policy Roundtable member David Zanotti, bewailing last night’s ratification of Class III gambling in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Current, Economy, Election, Ohio, Penn National, Politics, Taxes | 1 Comment

Meet the new Cincinnati Kid

Posted on November 4, 2009 by David McKee

For our purposes, the main headline comes from Ohio, where Issue 3 passed amid heavy voter turnout — if not by the wide margin pollsters had forecast. (At least they didn’t screw the pooch like all those pollsters who had … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Bally Technologies, Current, Economy, Election, Horseracing, IGT, Ohio, Penn National, Politics, Racinos, Regulation, Taxes, WMS Industries | 2 Comments

Case Bets: Kansas, Ohio & Singapore

Posted on November 3, 2009 by David McKee

Lyle Berman‘s casino project near Wichita is losing momentum. If you can’t afford to build even a 100-room hotel, times are dire indeed. Union Gaming‘s Bill Lerner makes the counter-argument that some casino is better than no casino. Raving Consulting … Continue reading →

Posted in Current, Genting, Kansas, Ohio, Penn National, Politics, Sheldon Adelson, Singapore, Tourism | 1 Comment

Case Bets: CityCenter, Boyd odyssey, Massachusetts & the “Admiral”

Posted on November 2, 2009 by David McKee

There’s continued apprehension about MGM Mirage‘s $8.5 billion, 7,200-unit CityCenter, especially now that hotel rooms there are going for less than ones at either the Venetian or Encore. (Thinking positively: Who knew CityCenter was going to be so affordable?) Business … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Boyd Gaming, CityCenter, Current, Economy, Encore, Harrah's, Kansas, Massachusetts, MGM Mirage, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Pinnacle Entertainment, Sheldon Adelson, The Strip, Tourism, Wall Street | 8 Comments

Quote of the Day

Posted on October 30, 2009 by David McKee

“What we’ve learned as a nation is that these casino monopoly licenses are incredibly lucrative. This is a cartel wanting to do business in Ohio for an unbelievably low price.” — TruthPAC spokeswoman Sandy Theis, making the usual baleful noises … Continue reading →

Posted in Economy, Election, Ohio | 1 Comment

Ohio slots slip sliding away?

Posted on October 19, 2009 by David McKee

A sample conducted by the tag team of TruthPac and Strategic Polling finds support for the Ohio casino initiative backed by Penn National Gaming polling below 50%. Casinos still have a slight edge (48%/43%, with 8% undecided) … so in … Continue reading →

Posted in Current, Election, Marketing, Maryland, Ohio, Racinos | Comments Off on Ohio slots slip sliding away?