Category Archives: The Strip

We have a winner!

Posted on December 17, 2009 by David McKee

S&G reader Dawn was the first to guess which state in our great nation has the second-most casinos (after Nevada, natürlich). It’s the Sooner State, Oklahoma — where the wind comes sweeping down the plains, as native Jeff in OKC … Continue reading →

Posted in Arizona, Cirque du Soleil, CityCenter, Current, Entertainment, MGM Mirage, Oklahoma, The Strip, Tribal | 2 Comments

Quote of the Day

Posted on December 17, 2009 by David McKee

“So, are there any other new casinos opening?” — wire-service reporter, to UNLV Center for Gaming Research Director David G. Schwartz, at the end of a conversation about the debut of Boot Hill Casino, in Kansas. Ummm, heard of a … Continue reading →

Posted in CityCenter, Current, Kansas, MGM Mirage, The Strip | Comments Off on Quote of the Day

Live from CityCenter

Posted on December 16, 2009 by David McKee

I’m filing in haste from CityCenter, where I have Aria, Vdara and Mandarin Oriental tours scheduled. Hopefully, I’ll be back at the keyboard later this afternoon. I poked my head into Crystals long enough to see very, very light pedestrian … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, CityCenter, Current, Dubai, Economy, MGM Mirage, The Strip, TV | 2 Comments

Sign of the Times

Posted on December 15, 2009 by David McKee

Seen on Saturday, at the top of the Riviera‘s giant rear marquee, in huge letters: “VERSAILLES THEATRE.” Mind you, the Riv doesn’t have anything (according to its latest press release) actually playing in that space, Ice having gone the way … Continue reading →

Posted in Current, Entertainment, The Strip | 8 Comments

A Privé by any other name …

Posted on December 15, 2009 by David McKee

Rose, the new nightclub in Mandalay Bay, hasn’t even opened yet and it’s racked up its first scandal. MBay is trying to rework Rose’s lease on more favorable terms, given that the club’s owners are some of the, er, colorful … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, CityCenter, Current, MGM Mirage, Regulation, Technology, The Strip | Comments Off on A Privé by any other name …

Case Bets: Pinnacle, Macao, Sahara & Mirage

Posted on December 15, 2009 by David McKee

No trouble in River City: The opening of Pinnacle Entertainment‘s River City casino complex has leapt forward from May to March. Bully for Pinnacle, if this means that the project is going to be finished ahead of schedule. If this … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, CityCenter, Current, Dining, Economy, Entertainment, Herbst Gaming, Louisiana, Macau, Marketing, MGM Mirage, Missouri, Pinnacle Entertainment, Sahara, Sheldon Adelson, Stanley Ho, The Strip | 4 Comments

Quote of the Day

Posted on December 15, 2009 by David McKee

“Steve [Wynn] is a very interesting, creative guy and he has a wonderful view of the future and a view of the history which is not always aligned with my recollection of the history whatsoever or a lot of people’s.” … Continue reading →

Posted in CityCenter, MGM Mirage, Steve Wynn, The Strip, Wall Street | 3 Comments

Torrents of Greed

Posted on December 14, 2009 by David McKee

A few random musings … MGM Mirage CEO Jim Murren can wax eloquent on the subject of sustainable development but I suspect that any pensées he might have offered Dubai World on the subject would have been pearls before swine. … Continue reading →

Posted in Alex Yemenidjian, CityCenter, Current, Dubai, Economy, Encore, Entertainment, Environment, Harrah's, International, Marketing, MGM Mirage, The Strip, Wall Street | 2 Comments

Worth the money

Posted on December 14, 2009 by David McKee

Those three words are all you need to know about Garth Brooks‘ show at Wynncore. (Also, I’m pledged to cover it for WizardOfVegas.com, so I can’t spill all the beans here.) If you’re lucky — as we were — your … Continue reading →

Posted in Current, Economy, Entertainment, Planet Hollywood, Sahara, Steve Wynn, The Strip | 1 Comment

Bonuses for F-bleau; MGM plants flag in India

Posted on December 11, 2009 by David McKee

When your hopelessly over-budget resort project is bankrupt, stuck in the mud, mired in lawsuits and is basically a total writeoff, there’s only one thing to do. Award year-end bonuses, that’s what. Fontainebleau Chief Restructuring Officer Howard Karawan wants to … Continue reading →

Posted in Carl Icahn, Current, Economy, Fontainebleau, Genting, International, MGM Mirage, Penn National, The Strip | 6 Comments

Tamares: the can’t-do spirit

Posted on December 10, 2009 by David McKee

Downtown has quite enough problems without Tamares Group‘s continued rubbishing of several former Jackie Gaughan casinos adding to the malaise. Now Tamares — or its casino-management sock puppet, BRH Gaming — has sent LVA the following, very depressing bulletin: “The … Continue reading →

Posted in Cannery Casino Resorts, Current, Dining, Downtown, Entertainment, Riviera, Tamares Group, The Strip, Tribal | 7 Comments

Rumpus @ The Rio, Vdara & other Case Bets

Posted on December 10, 2009 by David McKee

It’s shaping up to be a news-intensive day — and I have off-site commitments that will keep me away from the keyboard, but let’s see what we can cram in … “The kiss that rocked The Rio”: The steamy scene … Continue reading →

Posted in Charity, CityCenter, Current, Dining, Donald Trump, Economy, Entertainment, G2E, Harrah's, IGT, MGM Mirage, Missouri, Phil Ruffin, Sheldon Adelson, Steve Wynn, Technology, The Strip, Tourism, Tribal, TV | 6 Comments

Wall Street hearts Penn

Posted on December 9, 2009 by David McKee

Table games having been approved for Charles Town Races & Slots by a 60/40 margin, stock analysts are lurving Penn National Gaming … so long as Penn’s infatuation with Fontainebleau turns out to have been a passing malady. While those … Continue reading →

Posted in Current, Election, Fontainebleau, Harrah's, Kansas, Missouri, Ohio, Penn National, Pinnacle Entertainment, Regulation, The Strip, Wall Street | 5 Comments

Walking in Vegas

Posted on December 9, 2009 by David McKee

“Walking on the Vegas Strip, I was struck by the smell of sewage wafting between two of the fabulously opulent hotels, and I wondered whether this might be taken figuratively as a kind of miasma for a city going the … Continue reading →

Posted in Phil Ruffin, Sheldon Adelson, Steve Wynn, The Strip | 2 Comments

Tiger: On the game

Posted on December 9, 2009 by David McKee

Memo to the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority: Boys, it’s time to re-retire that “What happens here …” slogan because it is so yesterday. Sure, there was an era when a man of privilege might come to Las Vegas … Continue reading →

Posted in Columbia Sussex, Current, Regulation, Sports, The Strip | 3 Comments

Blast from the past

Posted on December 8, 2009 by David McKee

In this case, it’s a blast of hot air from the pages of the defunct and dreadful Liberty Watch magazine, whose back numbers still adorn the Web, but whose ink-and-paper incarnation has devolved into a loose smattering of blogs. Let’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Boyd Gaming, Colony Capital, Fontainebleau, Harrah's, Indiana, Macau, MGM Mirage, Michael Gaughan, Sheldon Adelson, Station Casinos, The Strip, Wall Street | 1 Comment

Who’s better for F’bleau: Icahn or Penn?

Posted on December 8, 2009 by David McKee

That’s the unspoken question hanging over a lengthy piece in yesterday’s Las Vegas Sun. While Penn National Gaming is willing to commit $1.5 billion or more to finishing Fontainebleau, lead bidder Carl Icahn may be able to do the job … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Boyd Gaming, Carl Icahn, CityCenter, Columbia Sussex, Current, Economy, Fontainebleau, Kansas, MGM Mirage, Ohio, Penn National, Planet Hollywood, Regulation, Station Casinos, The Strip, Wall Street | 2 Comments

Harrah’s gets away with it

Posted on December 7, 2009 by David McKee

In a move certain to embolden scofflaws all over Clark County, District Attorney David Roger has cut a deal with Harrah’s Entertainment that lets the corporate behemoth slide on a variety of criminal charges in return for paying a $1.2 … Continue reading →

Posted in Alex Yemenidjian, Architecture, Current, Harrah's, Planet Hollywood, Regulation, The Strip | 1 Comment

Crystals: Why?

Posted on December 4, 2009 by David McKee

Spare. That’s the word I’d use to describe Crystals, which opened yesterday. Having been in a self-imposed cone of deafness, I wasn’t exposed to any of the opening-day press. Thus, I came to Crystals last night as a blank slate … Continue reading →

Posted in Boyd Gaming, CityCenter, Current, Dining, Downtown, Harrah's, MGM Mirage, The Strip, TV | 5 Comments

Best Casino Commercial Ever

Posted on December 3, 2009 by David McKee

It seems like if you’ve seen one casino commercial, you’ve seen them all. Recent efforts by M Resort and Green Valley Ranch were state-of-the-art examples of the same old same-old. However, it was impossible not to be stopped in one’s … Continue reading →

Posted in CityCenter, Current, Marketing, MGM Mirage, Sheldon Adelson, Steve Wynn, Technology, The Strip, Tourism, Transportation, TV | 4 Comments