Category Archives: Regulation

Lanni: The official story

Posted on January 12, 2009 by David McKee

My favorite exchange in one of my favorite current TV series, Mad Men, takes place when weasel-like junior exec Pete Campbell (Vincent Kartheiser) goes to rat out his boss, Donald Draper (Jon Hamm), to company owner Bertram Cooper (the cunningly … Continue reading →

Posted in Columbia Sussex, Current, Detroit, Harrah's, International, MGM Mirage, Phil Ruffin, Regulation, Station Casinos, The Strip, TV | Comments Off on Lanni: The official story

Bobby Ray Who?

Posted on January 7, 2009 by David McKee

Tamares Group's raggle-taggle bunch of downtown Vegas casinos is onto its third management company in four years. Its first stalking horse, Barrick Gaming, made a lot of grandiose noises but turned out to be a big bag of hot air. … Continue reading →

Posted in Downtown, Regulation, Tamares Group | 1 Comment

A house divided

Posted on January 7, 2009 by David McKee

Give credit where it’s due to the Las Vegas Review-Journal for today’s interesting revelation that Columbia Sussex had been running the Las Vegas Tropicana with rival GMs overseeing the casino and hotel operations, respectively. This appears to confirm rumors I’d … Continue reading →

Posted in Ameristar, Columbia Sussex, Cosmopolitan, Indiana, Regulation, The Strip, Tropicana Entertainment | Comments Off on A house divided

21

Posted on December 31, 2008 by David McKee

That's the number of predictions for 2009 issued by Spectrum Gaming Group, an Atlantic City-based outfit. They are, in no particular order: • Advancements in technology that impact revenues and cut costs will continue to be attractive to operators even … Continue reading →

Posted in Boyd Gaming, Colony Capital, Columbia Sussex, Cosmopolitan, Current, Don Barden, Economy, Harrah's, Herbst Gaming, IGT, International, Internet gambling, Isle of Capri, Macau, Marketing, MGM Mirage, Morgans Hotel Group, Pinnacle Entertainment, Politics, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson, Station Casinos, Steve Wynn, Technology, Tribal, Wall Street | Comments Off on 21

Fear of flying

Posted on December 5, 2008 by David McKee

There may have been more to James Packer‘s inability to attend his scheduled Nevada Gaming Control Board appearance than not having a plane ticket (which was more or less the official excuse). Today’s Sydney Morning Herald reports that Packer’s Crown … Continue reading →

Posted in Cannery Casino Resorts, International, James Packer, Macau, Regulation | Comments Off on Fear of flying

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

Quote of the Day

Posted on November 26, 2008 by David McKee

"The massive staff layoffs, the turnover in senior management accompanied by their replacement with personnel with less extensive casino management experience, the cleanliness crisis experienced in the late winter-spring 2007, the regulatory violations directly related to inadequate staffing, and the … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Columbia Sussex, Regulation | Comments Off on Quote of the Day

Sally Rand has left the building

Posted on November 26, 2008 by David McKee

That corpse you may have stumbled across while strolling the riverbanks of Pittsburgh is Pennsylvania’s ‘one and one-third‘ rule. It was a legislative fig leaf whose ostensible purpose was to prevent the prime casino/racino opportunities in the state from being … Continue reading →

Posted in Don Barden, Downtown, Harrah's, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Regulation, Tropicana Entertainment | Comments Off on Sally Rand has left the building

Case Bets: Hooters; Defection at Borgata; Yung vs. Butera

Posted on November 25, 2008 by David McKee

"All of the economists who gave us information predict 2007 is going to be a year where the economy slows throughout the country and Nevada. Then we will see a pickup in 2008-09." — Deborah Pierce, CFO, Hooters Hotel, Las … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Boyd Gaming, Columbia Sussex, Economy, International, Regulation, Tropicana Entertainment | Comments Off on Case Bets: Hooters; Defection at Borgata; Yung vs. Butera

Quote of the Day

Posted on November 22, 2008 by David McKee

“If they don't [know how], it strikes me that they lack sufficient business judgment to be in the industry in the first place.” — New Jersey Supreme Court Justice Roberto Rivera-Soto on Columbia Sussex's inability to form an independent audit … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Columbia Sussex, Regulation, Tropicana Entertainment | Comments Off on Quote of the Day

Atlantic City Death Watch II; Banquo's Ghost

Posted on November 22, 2008 by David McKee

Wow, I never thought we’d have our second installment so hard upon the first. But no sooner had S&G ticketed Resorts Atlantic City for a visit to Intensive Care comes word that it’s going to miss a $10 million loan … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Colony Capital, Columbia Sussex, MGM Mirage, Regulation, Steve Wynn, The Strip, Tropicana Entertainment | Comments Off on Atlantic City Death Watch II; Banquo's Ghost

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

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

Butera to NJCCC: Your people are dopes

Posted on October 23, 2008 by David McKee

Tropicana Entertainment has formally petitioned the New Jersey Casino Control Commission for the return of its former Atlantic City casino. Oh, to be in the room when the arguments are thrashed out! Short of conducting an exorcism of the spirit … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Columbia Sussex, Current, Regulation, Tropicana Entertainment | Comments Off on Butera to NJCCC: Your people are dopes

Up in smoke

Posted on October 14, 2008 by David McKee

Few issues involving the casino industry cause such a conflict between intellect and emotion as that of second-hand smoke. Personally, I think even manure is less offensive to the nostrils than cigarette smoke — and it has fewer carcinogenic side … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Colorado, Environment, Harrah's, Illinois, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson, The Strip | Comments Off on Up in smoke

Quote of the Day

Posted on October 10, 2008 by David McKee

“It really wasn’t about a quarter. It was really a matter of understanding the slot payout tables.” — Boyd Gaming spokesman Rob Stillwell, on the subject of a 25-cent dispute that began at The Orleans and ended in front of … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Boyd Gaming, Current, Labor, Regulation | Comments Off on Quote of the Day

Trop this!

Posted on October 9, 2008 by David McKee

The fourth time’s the charm — at least if you’re Justice Gary Stein, the tortoise-powered conservator of the Atlantic City Tropicana. Having prolonged the timeline for selling the mammoth hotel-casino three times already, he’s asking the state for a fourth … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Columbia Sussex, Harrah's, Regulation, Tropicana Entertainment | Comments Off on Trop this!

Control Board changes its tune

Posted on October 9, 2008 by David McKee

Waaaaaaaaaaay back in 2000, the Aladdin 2.0 was struggling into being, and Jack Sommer and London Clubs International were at each others' throats. Sommer's shallow pockets had forced LCI into taking a much bigger stake in the megaresort than it … Continue reading →

Posted in Cannery Casino Resorts, Regulation, Station Casinos | Comments Off on Control Board changes its tune

Still more Trop follies

Posted on October 3, 2008 by David McKee

Just when I was ready to get behind Tropicana Entertainment CEO Scott Butera's quest to reclaim the company's eponymous Atlantic City casino, he goes off his meds, so to speak. He blustered that "Our creditors, our employees and our neighbors … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Columbia Sussex, Regulation, Tropicana Entertainment | Comments Off on Still more Trop follies

Lipstick on a pig

Posted on September 30, 2008 by David McKee

That’s how Atlantic City Tropicana conservator Justice Gary Stein is trying to pass off a deal that continues to make a loud “Oink!” He’s trying to spin the media that his $700 million agreement with Cordish Co. is really an … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Columbia Sussex, Regulation, Station Casinos, Tropicana Entertainment | Comments Off on Lipstick on a pig