Category Archives: Stanley Ho

Quote of the Day

“I think the Macau government has made it very clear that it will treat every junket application in a fair and equitable way. So if anybody gets a licence I don’t see any problem for any of the concessionaires to … Continue reading

Posted in Macau, Regulation, Stanley Ho, The Mob | Comments Off on Quote of the Day

Cosmo plunges again; Nevada signals surrender

Would somebody please sack the so-called casino management and marketing staff at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. Everything at the Cosmo is improving except the gambling floor, which took a 20% nosedive in 2Q13, to $31 million. Losses were 25% … Continue reading

Posted in Atlantic City, Colony Capital, Cosmopolitan, Current, Dining, Internet gambling, Macau, MGM Mirage, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson, Singapore, Stanley Ho, Steve Wynn, The Mob, The Strip | 5 Comments

Silly in Philly; Dinosaurs in Macao; New York’s choice

From the silly file. There’s no reason that any Joe Blow can’t apply for a casino license in Philadelphia. But I get a kick out of fruit-and-vegetable mogul Joseph “Tomato King” Procacci thinking he can actually outdo the likes of … Continue reading

Posted in Animals, Election, Isle of Capri, Macau, New York, Penn National, Pennsylvania, Problem gambling, Regulation, Stanley Ho, Steve Wynn, Taxes | Comments Off on Silly in Philly; Dinosaurs in Macao; New York’s choice

Early reckoning in Macao; Big Gaming’s growing pains

One shouldn’t read too much into anything the Macao government says about casino operators. It likes to keep them guessing — especially U.S. ones. Still, it’s worth noting that Secretary for Economy & Finance Francis Tam Pak Yuen has floated … Continue reading

Posted in Atlantic City, Delaware, Economy, Genting, Harrah's, Macau, MGM Mirage, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Problem gambling, Racinos, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson, Stanley Ho, Tropicana Entertainment | Comments Off on Early reckoning in Macao; Big Gaming’s growing pains

Hail, Caesars; Some roads lead to Foxwoods; Bluhm disappoints

It’s not every day that Caesars Entertainment CEO Gary Loveman has a good idea. But when he does, it’s a real brainwave. Such has proven to be the case with Caesars’ purchase of social-gaming Web firm Playtika. The latter has … Continue reading

Posted in Hard Rock International, Harrah's, IGT, Illinois, Internet gambling, Macau, Maryland, Massachusetts, MGM Mirage, Neil Bluhm, Pansy Ho, Penn National, Pennsylvania, Politics, Regulation, Stanley Ho, Station Casinos, Taxes, The Mob, Transportation, Tribal | Comments Off on Hail, Caesars; Some roads lead to Foxwoods; Bluhm disappoints

Macao: Light and darkness

If you read Bloomberg News last week, Macao is tantamount to Disneyland, at least if you visit Venetian Macao, which is “home to a fake grand canal, crooning gondoliers and brands from McDonald’s to Dior.” The amenity-laden style of Sheldon … Continue reading

Posted in Macau, Marketing, MGM Mirage, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson, Stanley Ho, Steve Wynn, The Mob, Tourism | 1 Comment

Penn: Start making sense!; Casinos clean up in Lege

Casinos in Ohio have not been living up to revenue expectations. Given such a fallow market, what has Penn National Gaming decided to do? Break ground on two racinos, of course! One is in the Dayton area, the other — … Continue reading

Posted in Boyd Gaming, Current, Dan Gilbert, Economy, Harrah's, Internet gambling, Macau, MGM Mirage, MTR Gaming, Neil Bluhm, Ohio, Penn National, Politics, Racinos, Sheldon Adelson, Slot routes, Stanley Ho, Station Casinos, World Series of Poker | 1 Comment

Bad day for Okada; Good month for Macao

It’s back to the starting point for Kazuo Okada, controversial former business partner of Steve Wynn and CEO of Universal Entertainment Corp. The latter’s attempt to enter the Philippines casino market (left) fell apart along with a deal with Robinsons … Continue reading

Posted in Current, Economy, International, Macau, Melco Crown Entertainment, MGM Mirage, Regulation, Stanley Ho, Steve Wynn | Comments Off on Bad day for Okada; Good month for Macao

Macao in five minutes or less

… starring our old friend Jonathan Galaviz, expert on gaming affairs along the Pacific Rim. But a life-sized Shrek in a casino? WTF?

Posted in Current, Economy, Entertainment, Sheldon Adelson, Stanley Ho, Tourism | Comments Off on Macao in five minutes or less

Adelson: Yes, we did! Wait, no, we didn’t! Well, OK, sorta … but not really!

“On the U.S. side … we view the State of Nevada as having uninspiring oversight of activities occurring in Macau. For every gap of oversight that exists from the Nevada Gaming Control Board or Nevada Gaming Commission, the U.S. Federal … Continue reading

Posted in Atlantic City, Current, history, International, Internet gambling, Macau, Movies, Politics, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson, Stanley Ho, Steve Wynn, The Mob, Wall Street | 3 Comments

An indispensable man; MGM’s two-front campaign

French statesman Georges Clemenceau once dryly remarked that the cemeteries are full of indispensable men. Clemenceau’s quip obtained fresh sting this week when the gaming world lost Dr. William Eadington. The industry scholar has been struggling with cancer for a … Continue reading

Posted in Atlantic City, Boyd Gaming, Current, history, Internet gambling, Macau, Massachusetts, MGM Mirage, Pansy Ho, Penn National, Problem gambling, Regulation, Revel, Stanley Ho, Technology | Comments Off on An indispensable man; MGM’s two-front campaign

MGM back into Atlantic City?

MGM Resorts International has a 50% stake in Borgata that nobody wants … except MGM. In bolstering move that Atlantic City sorely needs, MGM may get to reclaim its half of the resort (with the support of partner Boyd Gaming), … Continue reading

Posted in Atlantic City, Boyd Gaming, Current, Economy, Election, Horseracing, Internet gambling, Macau, Maryland, Massachusetts, MGM Mirage, Penn National, Regulation, Stanley Ho, The Mob | 1 Comment

Cap-and-trade at Sands; SkyFail: The sequel

Ever since the government of Macao put a hard cap on the number of table games in the enclave, casino operators have been forced to do a certain amount of cap-and-trade. In order to stock up Sands Cotai, 200 tables … Continue reading

Posted in CityCenter, Current, Entertainment, Environment, Harrah's, James Packer, Lawrence Ho, Macau, Melco Crown Entertainment, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson, Singapore, Stanley Ho, The Strip, Wall Street | 2 Comments

MGM Cotai clears final barrier; devil in the Maryland details

Although the government of Macao enjoys nothing better than to make casino owners wait and fidget for their land leases to be “gazetted,” today is MGM Resorts International‘s lucky day. MGM China received final approval for its Cotai Strip megaresort. … Continue reading

Posted in Boyd Gaming, California, Current, Macau, Marketing, Maryland, Melco Crown Entertainment, MGM Mirage, Penn National, Politics, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson, Stanley Ho, Station Casinos, Steve Wynn, Tourism, Transportation, Tribal, TV, Wall Street | Comments Off on MGM Cotai clears final barrier; devil in the Maryland details

Sunny summer in Pennsylvania; Stanley Ho seen!

Except for a 4% slippage in July, the motto around Pennsylvania might be, “Cannibalization? What cannibalization?” The Keystone State has shrugged off new competition from Ohio, from New York City, from Revel in Atlantic City, and even from within the … Continue reading

Posted in Atlantic City, Current, Dan Gilbert, Harrah's, Macau, Neil Bluhm, New York, Ohio, Penn National, Pennsylvania, Racinos, Regulation, Revel, Sheldon Adelson, Stanley Ho, Tribal, Wall Street | Comments Off on Sunny summer in Pennsylvania; Stanley Ho seen!

Macao: “This is decent”; Massachusetts slams door behind Adelson

Macao casino revenue grew ‘only’ 7% last month, which is bad … if you were thinking monthly, large double-digit increases (21% over the past five months) were a sustainable norm. “This is decent,” J.P. Morgan analyst Joseph Greff said of … Continue reading

Posted in Ameristar, CityCenter, Current, Economy, Election, Harrah's, International, Macau, Marketing, Massachusetts, Melco Crown Entertainment, MGM Mirage, New York, Penn National, Pennsylvania, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson, Stanley Ho, Steve Wynn, Tribal, Wall Street | Comments Off on Macao: “This is decent”; Massachusetts slams door behind Adelson

Sheldon Adelson, quitter; A Grand goof

This just in: It was pretty clear that Sheldon Adelson was cool toward his home state of Massachusetts and he officially called it quits today. His excuse? Three casinos and a slot parlor will “dilute the market.” In other words, … Continue reading

Posted in Architecture, Current, Florida, Genting, Harrah's, Macau, Massachusetts, MGM Mirage, New York, Problem gambling, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson, Stanley Ho, The Strip | 5 Comments

Lies, damned lies and Illinois statistics; SJM: Still hanging in there

If state Rep. Lou Lang (D), the economic Rasputin of the upper Midwest, and his allies in the horsey set were actually conspiring to topple Illinois‘ casino industry in favor of quick-and-dirty racinos, they’ve done it cunningly. Frontal attacks on … Continue reading

Posted in Atlantic City, Boyd Gaming, Current, Economy, Harrah's, Horseracing, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Macau, MGM Mirage, Missouri, Neil Bluhm, Penn National, Politics, Racinos, Slot routes, Stanley Ho, Wall Street | Comments Off on Lies, damned lies and Illinois statistics; SJM: Still hanging in there

People’s Republic of Steve; Sahara Sam’s big score

Although I was only joking when I suggested that Steve Wynn‘s long-sought Cotai Strip land grant would come in on May Day, some Communist Party bureaucrat wasn’t. After many false alarms, the 51 acres were finally ‘gazetted’ on May 1. … Continue reading

Posted in Alex Yemenidjian, Architecture, Boyd Gaming, CityCenter, Current, Dining, Economy, Encore, Fontainebleau, Harry Reid, Macau, Melco Crown Entertainment, MGM Mirage, Regulation, Sahara, Sheldon Adelson, Stanley Ho, Steve Wynn, The Strip, Tourism, Wall Street | 2 Comments

Gilbert, Caesars hit Ohio speed bump; Maple Leaf misadventure; Rearranging deck chairs on the WesCas

Rub a dub-dub, three companies in a tub called Rock Ohio Caesars. In emulation of Nevada‘s built-first-license-later system, the Ohio Casino Control Commission is just getting around to mulling the bonafides of Horseshoe Casino Cleveland‘s shareholders. Little-publicized minority partner Lyle … Continue reading

Posted in Columbia Sussex, Current, Detroit, Harrah's, Horseracing, International, Iowa, Kansas, Lyle Berman, Macau, Massachusetts, MGM Mirage, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Politics, Regulation, Sports, Stanley Ho, The Strip, Wall Street | 2 Comments