Category Archives: Sheldon Adelson

Harrah's enjoys bailout

Posted on March 3, 2009 by David McKee

“Critics argue that the tax-law change rewards companies that took on too much leverage during the credit bubble, such as those that were bought by private-equity firms.” Sound like anybody we know? How about Harrah’s Entertainment, which played Russian roulette … Continue reading →

Posted in Colony Capital, Economy, Harrah's, James Packer, Macau, Melco Crown Entertainment, MGM Mirage, Politics, Sheldon Adelson, Station Casinos, Taxes, Wall Street | Comments Off on Harrah's enjoys bailout

"Sin City Express"

Posted on February 27, 2009 by David McKee

Expect to be hearing that catchy new canard a lot, not to mention the “Las Vegas to Disneyland” little white lie that Gov. Opie Jindal (R-LA) trotted out in his Tuesday-night audition for the 2012 presidential nomination. “Vegas to Disneyland” … Continue reading →

Posted in Boyd Gaming, Harrah's, Louisiana, Politics, Sheldon Adelson, Singapore, Technology, The Strip | Comments Off on "Sin City Express"

Sludge Report

Posted on February 18, 2009 by David McKee

Kudos to the Las Vegas Review-Journal‘s Howard Stutz for keeping an eye on an especially skanky provision of the economic-stimulus package, a sweetheart provision engineered by Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV). It awards companies — like vocal supporter MGM Mirage — … Continue reading →

Posted in California, Economy, Harrah's, MGM Mirage, Politics, Sheldon Adelson, Station Casinos | Comments Off on Sludge Report

Sign of the times II

Posted on February 2, 2009 by David McKee

This image, taken Saturday at the Plaza Hotel & Casino downtown, pretty much speaks for itself. Auction holders Real Estate Disposition Corp. were scheduled to hold another auction today. The choice of the down-on-her-luck Plaza as venue is apt … … Continue reading →

Posted in Downtown, Economy, Sheldon Adelson, Tamares Group, Tropicana Entertainment | Comments Off on Sign of the times II

Stanley Ho's comeback

Posted on February 2, 2009 by David McKee

Citing the Lusa news agency, J.P. Morgan says that Macao casino revenues for January came in higher than expected, at $1.1 billion. The shocker, though, is the revision of market-share figures, which previously had shown Stanley Ho and Sheldon Adelson … Continue reading →

Posted in Australia, James Packer, Macau, Melco Crown Entertainment, MGM Mirage, Penn National, Politics, Sheldon Adelson, Singapore, Stanley Ho, Steve Wynn, The Mob | Comments Off on Stanley Ho's comeback

Bargain$ tonight in Vega$

Posted on January 27, 2009 by David McKee

Suppose that you got a sudden urge to visit Vegas on a Tuesday night … tonight, to be specific. You’d find that the customer is king, at least as far as pricing goes. A few minutes spent browsing Travel.Ian.com yielded … Continue reading →

Posted in Boulder Strip, Boyd Gaming, Columbia Sussex, Current, Don Barden, Donald Trump, Downtown, Economy, Harrah's, Marketing, MGM Mirage, Sheldon Adelson, Station Casinos, Steve Wynn, The Strip | Comments Off on Bargain$ tonight in Vega$

Harrah's Chapter 11 Watch

Posted on January 12, 2009 by David McKee

Wait 'til the sun shines, Caesar. Every so often there's a news story to which the only appropriate response is, "Holy shit!" Then again, it wasn't so long ago on the Vegas Gang that Jeff Simpson was reporting finding whole … Continue reading →

Posted in Boyd Gaming, Current, Economy, Harrah's, MGM Mirage, Sheldon Adelson, The Strip | Comments Off on Harrah's Chapter 11 Watch

Good thing they don't gamble … do they?

Posted on January 9, 2009 by David McKee

(Well, only with their shareholders' money, perhaps.) Huffington Post, with the considerable assistance of VegasTripping.com, has sifted through the contributions of casino industry moguls during the last election cycle and all I can say is I'm sure glad these folks' … Continue reading →

Posted in Boyd Gaming, Columbia Sussex, Election, Fontainebleau, George Maloof, Harrah's, Kentucky, MGM Mirage, Phil Ruffin, Politics, Sheldon Adelson, Station Casinos, Steve Wynn, Tilman Fertitta | Comments Off on Good thing they don't gamble … do they?

Plaza officially in trouble (or not)

Posted on January 6, 2009 by David McKee

It wasn't good news when El Ad Properties asked its bankers for a second extension on a $625 million purchase loan for what used to be the New Frontier. Now (by way of TheMarker, Reuters and Howard Stutz) comes a … Continue reading →

Posted in Cosmopolitan, Fontainebleau, Plaza, Sheldon Adelson, Tropicana Entertainment | Comments Off on Plaza officially in trouble (or not)

Happy New Year

Posted on January 2, 2009 by David McKee

Will it be a happy new year for the Strip? In terms of "supply shock," the timing could be a lot better, let's put it that way. Back on Aug. 14, JP Morgan issued an analyst report which showed 11,412 … Continue reading →

Posted in Cosmopolitan, Current, Economy, MGM Mirage, Sheldon Adelson, Station Casinos, Steve Wynn, The Strip, Wall Street | Comments Off on Happy New Year

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

Deep Red: Encore

Posted on December 22, 2008 by David McKee

As much as casino-watchers have been vexed by the total media clampdown on all but the smallest scintillae of revelation about Steve Wynn‘s Encore, it was worth the wait. Or, to put it differently, Aria and Fontainebleau have just been … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Cirque du Soleil, Cloverfield monster, Current, Dining, Economy, Encore, Fontainebleau, Harrah's, Macau, MGM Mirage, Planet Hollywood, Sheldon Adelson, Steve Wynn, The Strip | Comments Off on Deep Red: Encore

What'$ in a name?

Posted on December 10, 2008 by David McKee

A reader recently enquired as to what became of the plan to re-name Harrah's Entertainment as Caesars Entertainment. When I asked Harrah's as to whether that was still on, no response was forthcoming. My questioner wanted to know, "Do you … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Boyd Gaming, Detroit, Economy, Harrah's, Herbst Gaming, Indiana, Marketing, MGM Mirage, Sheldon Adelson, The Strip | Comments Off on What'$ in a name?

Shut up yourself

Posted on November 10, 2008 by David McKee

New York-New York‘s obnoxious new ad campaign, “comes right out of an honest voice,” says ad exec David Angelo. “Stop your whining and have a great time.” It’s “an honest voice,” all right: That of Phil Gramm, who famously called … Continue reading →

Posted in Ameristar, Marketing, MGM Mirage, Sheldon Adelson | Comments Off on Shut up yourself

Gaming bosses step up

Posted on November 7, 2008 by David McKee

While some casino companies we won’t name (coughBoyd Gamingcough) are responding this week to the bad economy with downsizing their workforce, others are setting a nobler example. Executives at both Isle of Capri Casinos and Trump Entertainment Resorts are literally … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Boyd Gaming, Isle of Capri, MGM Mirage, Sheldon Adelson, TV | Comments Off on Gaming bosses step up

Sanguine in Singapore

Posted on November 7, 2008 by David McKee

Marina Bay Sands: proceeding on schedule. Las Vegas Sands executives huddled with Singapore officials yesterday earlier this week to, as JP Morgan puts it, “discuss topics … including the pace of construction.” In other words, they were bracing Singaporean leaders … Continue reading →

Posted in Boyd Gaming, Sheldon Adelson, Singapore, The Strip | Comments Off on Sanguine in Singapore

Five years ago today …

Posted on November 6, 2008 by David McKee

 … Columbia Sussex came to town. Considering that CEO William J. Yung III purchased a dead, disreputable hotel-casino and put $90 million into reworking it into an attractive property (people whose judgment I trust swear by the comfiness of its … Continue reading →

Posted in Columbia Sussex, Economy, Election, Macau, Politics, Sheldon Adelson, Singapore, The Strip | Comments Off on Five years ago today …

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

Wisdom from Wall Street

Posted on October 30, 2008 by David McKee

"Any gaming operator that postpones spending and preserves capital in this environment should be rewarded, in our view." — Stifel Nicolaus & Co. analyst Steven Wieczynski, reacting to news that MGM Mirage had put its Atlantic City and north-Strip projects … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Boyd Gaming, MGM Mirage, Movies, Pennsylvania, Sheldon Adelson, The Strip, Wall Street | Comments Off on Wisdom from Wall Street

Case Bets: Sands bankruptcy?; California spite, Ted Binion still dead, etc.

Posted on October 24, 2008 by David McKee

The ‘B’ word. Yup, somebody finally said it. Stifel Nicolaus & Co. analyst Steven Wieczynski blames The Big Sands Sell-off on fears that “Las Vegas Sands is in jeopardy of running out of cash and going bankrupt.” Sands stock closed … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, California, Election, Harrah's, Marketing, MGM Mirage, Politics, Sheldon Adelson, The Strip, Tribal, TV, Wall Street | Comments Off on Case Bets: Sands bankruptcy?; California spite, Ted Binion still dead, etc.