Category Archives: Station Casinos

Kitty rescue at Caesars; Stingy Station

Posted on August 14, 2009 by David McKee

As we were driving to LVA HQ this morning, we spotted a disoriented-looking little cat running through the Flamingo Rd./I-15 interchange, across from Caesars Palace. We were in a quandary about what to do until it turned and started ambling … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, Architecture, Cirque du Soleil, CityCenter, Current, Dining, Entertainment, Harrah's, Marketing, MGM Mirage, Pets, Station Casinos, The Strip | Comments Off on Kitty rescue at Caesars; Stingy Station

Neverland Station?

Posted on August 7, 2009 by David McKee

So long Viva, hello Michael Jackson? According to NBC News, parts of Neverland Ranch are going to be dismantled and moved to — you guessed it — Las Vegas. Who owns Neverland Ranch? Colony Capital? Who has amassed enormous tracts … Continue reading →

Posted in Colony Capital, Current, Dining, Station Casinos, The Strip | Comments Off on Neverland Station?

Get 'em while they're young

Posted on August 6, 2009 by David McKee

One of the Atlantic City Hilton‘s most valued players was a 19-year-old from Brooklyn. This baby whale was sufficiently lucrative to the Colony C(r)apital property that he received a comped stay and qualified as a “rated player.” Better still, A.C. … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Colony Capital, Entertainment, International, Regulation, Riviera, Station Casinos, The Strip | Comments Off on Get 'em while they're young

Boyd, Ameristar stable; CityCenter schedule revised

Posted on August 5, 2009 by David McKee

Second-quarter results from Boyd Gaming and Ameristar Casinos gave continued reason to be sanguine about each company. Both reported profits (12 cents per share at Boyd, double that at Ameristar) and both missed their revenue targets by an aggregate of … Continue reading →

Posted in Ameristar, Architecture, Atlantic City, Boyd Gaming, Colorado, Current, Downtown, MGM Mirage, Missouri, Station Casinos, The Strip, Wall Street | Comments Off on Boyd, Ameristar stable; CityCenter schedule revised

McKee vs. Lerner

Posted on August 3, 2009 by David McKee

Actually, the headline misstates what was a very collegial — if occasionally dissenting — exchange of views between Union Gaming Group's Bill Lerner and Yr. Humble Blogger on Jon Ralston's Face to Face show. It was only my second-ever gig … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Boulder Strip, Boyd Gaming, Colony Capital, Current, Economy, International, Kansas, Labor, M Resort, Macau, MGM Mirage, Sheldon Adelson, Singapore, Station Casinos, The Strip, TV, Wall Street | Comments Off on McKee vs. Lerner

Quote of the Day

Posted on July 30, 2009 by David McKee

"Privé. Gibbons. Ensign. Rampant foreclosure. Half-built, hubristic casinos. Record unemployment. UFC. Mob Museum. Maybe Las Vegas 2009 is just Tom Wolfe's next novel." — Las Vegas Weekly Editor Scott Dickensheets, from Facebook.

Posted in Current, Downtown, Economy, Labor, Politics, Sports, Station Casinos, The Mob, The Strip | Comments Off on Quote of the Day

Case Bets: Hard Rock, Puck, Station, Greek Isles

Posted on July 29, 2009 by David McKee

Morgans Hotel Group has never seemed able to make up its mind about what to do with the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino (one of the stranger acquisitions of recent years). Then-CEO Ed Scheetz came in talking big about classing … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Colony Capital, Current, Dining, Economy, Entertainment, Harrah's, Marketing, Morgans Hotel Group, Station Casinos, The Strip, Tourism, Wall Street | Comments Off on Case Bets: Hard Rock, Puck, Station, Greek Isles

Strange happenings at Penn Nat'l, Harrah's

Posted on July 29, 2009 by David McKee

While everybody's been focusing on the implosion of Station Casinos, the analysts at J.P. Morgan snuck out one of the more unusual (and entertaining) reports I've ever come across. They pored over Penn's 2Q09 filing and had some tales to … Continue reading →

Posted in Ameristar, Boyd Gaming, Current, Economy, Harrah's, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Marketing, MGM Mirage, Ohio, Penn National, Station Casinos, Wall Street | Comments Off on Strange happenings at Penn Nat'l, Harrah's

Double-whammy for Planet Ho

Posted on July 23, 2009 by David McKee

True, Planet Hollywood is feeling some pain in the wallet after the Nevada Gaming Commission approved a $500,000 fine. But it's Clark County Department of Business License which fired the shot across the bow that will really get the casino … Continue reading →

Posted in Columbia Sussex, Current, Downtown, Economy, Labor, MGM Mirage, Regulation, Station Casinos, The Strip, Tilman Fertitta | Comments Off on Double-whammy for Planet Ho

The dream is dying

Posted on July 20, 2009 by David McKee

Just last week, UNLV‘s historical sage, Dr. Eugene Moehring, was taking a dim view of the fate of Las Vegas’ working class. Now comes the Wall Street Journal to back him up with some sobering reportage. Even at union salaries, Culinary … Continue reading →

Posted in Boyd Gaming, Colony Capital, Cosmopolitan, Economy, Encore, Fontainebleau, Harrah's, LVCVA, M Resort, MGM Mirage, Morgans Hotel Group, Plaza, Station Casinos, Steve Wynn, The Strip, Tourism, Wall Street | Comments Off on The dream is dying

Case Bets: M Resort, bad debt, Wall Street's bomb

Posted on July 20, 2009 by David McKee

After fairly flying out of the gate, M Resort has hit the wall. Unfortunately, CEO Anthony Marnell III's response to economic adversity has been to sweat the value propositions. Not only is M fretting about card counters (hands down, the … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Cannery Casino Resorts, Current, Economy, Harrah's, Lake Tahoe, M Resort, Marketing, Regulation, Sahara, Station Casinos, Steve Wynn, Wall Street | Comments Off on Case Bets: M Resort, bad debt, Wall Street's bomb

Quote of the Day

Posted on July 14, 2009 by David McKee

“Did these companies come in and make Harrah’s and Station better companies? Not really. In the case of Harrah’s, they have made things worse.” — T. Rowe Price portfolio manager Joe Fath on the effects of private equity buyouts on … Continue reading →

Posted in Colony Capital, Harrah's, Station Casinos, Wall Street | Comments Off on Quote of the Day

Fertittas reinvest …

Posted on July 7, 2009 by David McKee

… not in Station Casinos but in Orange County real estate, it would seem. The neighborhood is popular with casino moguls who have run their companies into the ground: A nearby, $35 million crib is a domain whose master is … Continue reading →

Posted in California, Current, Herbst Gaming, Station Casinos | 1 Comment

House of wax

Posted on July 3, 2009 by David McKee

I call your bluff, comrade. As you may have heard, casinos in Russia can stay open by converting to poker rooms. A tip of the fedora goes to reader mike_ch for pointing out this story, which delineates some of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Donald Trump, Entertainment, Fontainebleau, International, Penn National, Planet Hollywood, Regulation, Riviera, Sheldon Adelson, Sports, Station Casinos, The Strip, Tourism, TV | Comments Off on House of wax

S&M at Station

Posted on June 25, 2009 by David McKee

Bondholders of Station Casinos must have an infinite capacity for suffering. Either that or CEO Frank Fertitta III is such a virtuosic Pied Piper that they'll follow him anywhere. It's difficult to rationally explain why they're letting a superior offer … Continue reading →

Posted in Boyd Gaming, Colony Capital, Massachusetts, Station Casinos, TV, Wall Street | Comments Off on S&M at Station

Case Bets: Colony Capital, Siegfried & Roy, Obama smacks poker players

Posted on June 15, 2009 by David McKee

“Bats hang over the doorway to the building that housed Mr. Jackson’s private arcade; guano stains the threshold.” That’s how the Wall Street Journal describes Michael Jackson‘s decaying Neverland Ranch. It gets even freakier from there, with the WSJ receiving … Continue reading →

Posted in California, Colony Capital, Entertainment, International, Internet gambling, Movies, Politics, Regulation, Station Casinos, The Strip, TV | Comments Off on Case Bets: Colony Capital, Siegfried & Roy, Obama smacks poker players

Making out like bandits

Posted on June 5, 2009 by David McKee

In Business Las Vegas has crunched the numbers in its annual survey of Sin City's most highly paid executives. Not surprisingly, the list prominently features two companies — Harrah's Entertainment and Station Casinos — whose overpaid leadership has steered them … Continue reading →

Posted in Ameristar, Economy, Harrah's, MGM Mirage, Sheldon Adelson, Station Casinos | Comments Off on Making out like bandits

Reid rewarded, Trop rescued

Posted on June 3, 2009 by David McKee

… Sen. Harry Reid's (D-NV) efforts on behalf of the casino industry have not gone unrewarded. If you can follow this formatting garble, you'll see that his donors include not only Tim & Tom, late of the Golden Nugget, but … Continue reading →

Posted in Alex Yemenidjian, Current, Economy, Election, Harrah's, Macau, MGM Mirage, Politics, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson, Station Casinos, The Strip, Tropicana Entertainment, Wall Street | Comments Off on Reid rewarded, Trop rescued

Station 1, Boyd 0

Posted on June 3, 2009 by David McKee

In a North Las Vegas proxy war, Station Casinos handed defeat to Boyd Gaming when its preferred candidate, Councilwoman Shari Buck, trounced a colleague, to become the city's next mayor. Both Boyd and Station contributed to both candidates but slight … Continue reading →

Posted in Boyd Gaming, Election, Gary Goett, Station Casinos | Comments Off on Station 1, Boyd 0

Rumble in Macao

Posted on June 2, 2009 by David McKee

Although an oft-promised loosening of visa restrictions by Peking stubborny refuses to materialize, an air of cautious hopefulness has crept back into Macao now that City of Dreams has opened on schedule — and it looks dazzling. Aggressive revenue projections … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Boyd Gaming, Cannery Casino Resorts, Cosmopolitan, Current, Economy, Genting, George Maloof, James Packer, Lawrence Ho, Macau, Melco Crown Entertainment, MGM Mirage, Penn National, Planet Hollywood, Sheldon Adelson, Stanley Ho, Station Casinos, Steve Wynn, Taxes, The Strip | Comments Off on Rumble in Macao