Category Archives: Pinnacle Entertainment

Pinnacle's Bahamas debacle

Posted on December 19, 2008 by David McKee

It wasn’t so long ago that Pinnacle Entertainment was the fair-haired boy of the casino industry, especially after it hit a home run in the Lake Charles, La., market with tony L’Auberge du Lac. Then it nearly followed Columbia Sussex … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Columbia Sussex, Harrah's, International, Isle of Capri, James Packer, Pinnacle Entertainment, Planet Hollywood, The Strip, TV | Comments Off on Pinnacle's Bahamas debacle

Collapse in Kansas; Herbst is toast

Posted on December 5, 2008 by David McKee

And then there was one. A Cordish Co./Kansas Speedway joint venture has pulled the chicken switch on a $400 million casino project. This leaves avionics firm Butler National Service Corp., with its Dodge City concession, as the only company with … Continue reading →

Posted in Ameristar, Economy, G2E, Harrah's, Herbst Gaming, Horseracing, International, Kansas, Macau, MGM Mirage, Penn National, Pinnacle Entertainment, Regulation | Comments Off on Collapse in Kansas; Herbst is toast

Case Bets: Ho Tram, Shuffle(d) Master, Ameristar

Posted on November 18, 2008 by David McKee

Tout le monde may be at G2E (albeit 10% less le monde than last year, I’m told) but the big news is happening elsewhere. MGM Mirage has emerged as the “angel” for the Ho Tram Strip in Vietnam. It’s a … Continue reading →

Posted in Ameristar, Current, Economy, Harrah's, International, Isle of Capri, MGM Mirage, Missouri, Pinnacle Entertainment, Shuffle Master | Comments Off on Case Bets: Ho Tram, Shuffle(d) Master, Ameristar

Indiana: It's all relative

Posted on November 11, 2008 by David McKee

Sifting through my massive pile of unwritten Questions of the Day and unstudied analyst reports, we come to Indiana's October revenues. Ultimately, whether any particular metric is good or bad depends on context and perspective. To start with the big … Continue reading →

Posted in Ameristar, Boyd Gaming, Columbia Sussex, Don Barden, Economy, Harrah's, Illinois, Indiana, Pinnacle Entertainment | Comments Off on Indiana: It's all relative

Casino Vote '08: Dan Lee's the big winner

Posted on November 5, 2008 by David McKee

JP Morgan has proclaimed Pinnacle Entertainment “the biggest winner this election day.” By voting to both lift the cap on buy-ins and the close Missouri to additional casinos, Show-Me State voters delivered a gift to Pinnacle CEO Dan Lee, who … Continue reading →

Posted in Ameristar, Colorado, Current, Election, Gary Goett, Horseracing, Indiana, Maryland, Penn National, Pennsylvania, Pinnacle Entertainment, Politics, Regulation, Taxes | Comments Off on Casino Vote '08: Dan Lee's the big winner

Winners & Losers

Posted on November 5, 2008 by David McKee

And now the obligatory post-Election, What’s-it-all-about-Alfie roundup … Culinary Union 1, Casino CEOs O: True, the Culinary tripped all over its own feet in the early going, leading to Democratic caucuses that weren’t so much “Barackular” as “debacular.” But D. … Continue reading →

Posted in Alaska, Ameristar, Atlantic City, California, Colorado, Current, Donald Trump, Economy, Election, Florida, Gary Goett, Harrah's, IGT, Internet gambling, MGM Mirage, Mississippi, Missouri, Pinnacle Entertainment, Politics, Sheldon Adelson, Steve Wynn, Taxes, The Strip, Tribal, Wall Street | Comments Off on Winners & Losers

Missouri amendment to pass: JP Morgan

Posted on November 3, 2008 by David McKee

Analysts at JP Morgan like the chances for a Missouri constitutional amendment largely bankrolled by Ameristar Casinos and Pinnacle Entertainment. While Ameristar stands to benefit in tangible ways, JP Morgan focuses on what it could for Pinnacle: a 15% increase … Continue reading →

Posted in Ameristar, Atlantic City, Indiana, Louisiana, Missouri, Penn National, Pinnacle Entertainment, Wall Street | Comments Off on Missouri amendment to pass: JP Morgan

'Show Me' more money

Posted on October 31, 2008 by David McKee

Missouri voters are being asked to approve a constitutional amendment, submitted by Ameristar Casinos executive Troy Stremming, which would make a couple of significant changes in how business is done in Show-Me State casinos. (The full version is here, but … Continue reading →

Posted in Ameristar, Election, Missouri, Pinnacle Entertainment | Comments Off on 'Show Me' more money

Smoke-filled room

Posted on October 21, 2008 by David McKee

Maybe all this fussin’ and frettin’ (some of it from yours truly) about casino smoking bans is masking the real issue: Casino expansion in the U.S. has finally hit the wall in the form of one big-ass recession. Five states … Continue reading →

Posted in Colorado, Harrah's, Louisiana, Mississippi, Pinnacle Entertainment, Tropicana Entertainment | Comments Off on Smoke-filled room

Smoke-filled room

Posted on October 21, 2008 by David McKee

Maybe all this fussin’ and frettin’ (some of it from yours truly) about casino smoking bans is masking the real issue: Casino expansion in the U.S. has finally hit the wall in the form of one big-ass recession. Five states … Continue reading →

Posted in Colorado, Harrah's, Louisiana, Mississippi, Pinnacle Entertainment, Tropicana Entertainment | Comments Off on Smoke-filled room

Pinnacle: "We're the boss here!"

Posted on September 26, 2008 by David McKee

“Pinnacle tells store owner to lower his price” reads the headline in the Press of Atlantic City, and it’s no exaggeration. Although the owner of the Atlantic City News Agency (a bookstore) has dropped the asking price for his property … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Boyd Gaming, Downtown, Pinnacle Entertainment, Sports | Comments Off on Pinnacle: "We're the boss here!"

Kansas, Round 2: It's Cordish!

Posted on September 19, 2008 by David McKee

OK, I was wrong. Incredibly wrong. As you’ll hear on the next Vegas Gang podcast, I stuck by my prediction that Kansas‘ largest casino contract, the one for the greater Kansas City area, would go to Mohegan Sun. Why? Biggest … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Columbia Sussex, Current, Golden Gaming, Kansas, Mississippi, Penn National, Pinnacle Entertainment, Sheldon Adelson, Tribal, Tropicana Entertainment | Comments Off on Kansas, Round 2: It's Cordish!

More Trop tomfoolery

Posted on September 16, 2008 by David McKee

Justice Gary Stein's trusteeship of the Atlantic City Tropicana continues its slide toward disaster. The UAW has filed a charge with the National Labor Relations Board, accusing Stein of a lack of good-faith bargaining. Stein has said in the past … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Columbia Sussex, Labor, Missouri, Pinnacle Entertainment, Tropicana Entertainment | Comments Off on More Trop tomfoolery

On the other hand …

Posted on August 25, 2008 by David McKee

… if Illinois casinos are sucking wind (which they are), why hasn't this redounded more to the benefit of neighboring states? For instance, it looks like Indiana had a good July, but once you back out two new racinos, a … Continue reading →

Posted in Ameristar, Boyd Gaming, Columbia Sussex, Don Barden, Harrah's, Horseracing, Illinois, Indiana, Isle of Capri, Missouri, Penn National, Pinnacle Entertainment | Comments Off on On the other hand …

Trop sale stumbles forward … sorta

Posted on August 18, 2008 by David McKee

If Justice Gary Stein, the state-appointed trustee for the Atlantic City Tropicana Casino & Resort, isn’t the most inept public servant in America, it’s not for lack of effort. Add nepotism to his string of failings, as his ever-less-credible pronouncements … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Columbia Sussex, Harrah's, Indiana, MGM Mirage, Penn National, Pinnacle Entertainment, The Strip | Comments Off on Trop sale stumbles forward … sorta

Don't tax me, bro!

Posted on August 6, 2008 by David McKee

Guess who's kvetching about his property tax bill? Why it's our old buddy, Columbia Sussex CEO William J. Yung III — or at least his surrogates at Horizon Vicksburg. It's been the better part of a year since Yung announced … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Columbia Sussex, Kansas, Mississippi, Morgans Hotel Group, Pennsylvania, Pinnacle Entertainment, Sheldon Adelson, Taxes, Tribal | Comments Off on Don't tax me, bro!

Ameristar: What makes sense?

Posted on August 1, 2008 by David McKee

Perhaps this is what happens when you outsource your business coverage to India, but Reuters had a story yesterday positing MGM Mirage and Harrah's Entertainment as two of the likeliest buyers for Ameristar Casinos. Uhhh, I hate to break this … Continue reading →

Posted in Ameristar, Boyd Gaming, Downtown, Harrah's, James Packer, MGM Mirage, Mississippi, Missouri, Penn National, Pinnacle Entertainment, The Strip, Tribal, Wall Street | Comments Off on Ameristar: What makes sense?

The Ameristar war begins

Posted on July 17, 2008 by David McKee

Just a quick hit on my way out the door to spend an evening prepping for The Dark Knight by watching Batman Begins … Ameristar's in play. No news flash there and, for the life of me, I can't figure … Continue reading →

Posted in Ameristar, Boyd Gaming, Columbia Sussex, Harrah's, Illinois, Indiana, Isle of Capri, James Packer, MGM Mirage, Penn National, Pennsylvania, Pinnacle Entertainment, The Strip, Wall Street | Comments Off on The Ameristar war begins

Indiana: It sure could be worse

Posted on July 8, 2008 by David McKee

… because you could be Illinois, where June gambling revenues went into the toilet (-21%). Which isn’t to say that Indiana‘s numbers look good only by comparison. In fact, the Hoosier State may be benefiting from the Land of Lincoln’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Boyd Gaming, Columbia Sussex, Harrah's, Indiana, Penn National, Pinnacle Entertainment, Tribal, Wall Street | Comments Off on Indiana: It sure could be worse

"Raking" it in at Trump

Posted on June 27, 2008 by David McKee

Once I'd read that Trump Plaza had gone to automated no-dealer poker, my first thought was, "What becomes of the 'rake'?" Not to worry: The machines have taken care of it. Or, as Casino Manager Anthony Spagno was kind enough … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Columbia Sussex, Donald Trump, Louisiana, Penn National, Pinnacle Entertainment, Sahara, The Strip | Comments Off on "Raking" it in at Trump