Category Archives: Tourism

Girls! Girls! Girls!; Liberace has left the building

Posted on September 10, 2010 by David McKee

Columbia Sussex‘s Westin Casuarina, the place where shows go to be ignored, is trying again with one-two punch of bodaciousness. Our research staff is doing its best to uncover details on Burlesque: The Show, for which we have nothing more … Continue reading →

Posted in CityCenter, Columbia Sussex, Economy, Entertainment, MGM Mirage, Movies, The Mob, The Strip, Tourism, TV | 4 Comments

Harrah’s does it again (and again … and again)

Posted on September 9, 2010 by David McKee

Hey, Gary Loveman, don’t let the doorknob hit you in the butt as you skedaddle out of Kansas for the second time.  Ever-fickle, Harrah’s Entertainment turned tail and ran from the Sunflower State on the very date its Wichita-area proposal … Continue reading →

Posted in Alex Yemenidjian, California, Current, Economy, Encore, Entertainment, Harrah's, Kansas, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Planet Hollywood, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson, Shuffle Master, Singapore, Steve Wynn, Taxes, The Strip, Tourism, Tribal | 6 Comments

Western Passage & the new Rat (Rod) Pack

Posted on September 8, 2010 by David McKee

Let’s try this again … Today’s guest blog hails from the keyboard of reader Jeff_in_OKC who recently paid not one, not two but three (brave man!) visits to the Western Hotel, on the fringe of downtown Las Vegas. The Western … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Archon Corp., Boulder Strip, Boyd Gaming, Current, Dining, Downtown, Economy, Entertainment, Harrah's, history, Laughlin, Marketing, MGM Mirage, Michael Gaughan, Oscar Goodman, Sahara, Tamares Group, The Strip, Tourism, Transportation | 12 Comments

Labor Day Massacre in Atlantic City

Posted on September 6, 2010 by David McKee

Heading into the weekend, Trump Entertainment Resorts continued its reorganization by sacking six top executives. They were preceded by Trump Plaza General Manager Jim Rigot, who wasn’t pushed but gave his notice a fortnight ago. One of the Trump Six, … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Colony Capital, Columbia Sussex, Current, Don Barden, Donald Trump, Economy, Entertainment, Kansas, Neil Bluhm, Pennsylvania, The Strip, Tourism, Tropicana Entertainment, Wall Street | 1 Comment

M life … an insurance company?

Posted on August 31, 2010 by David McKee

Editor’s note: While I’m busy with other projects, S&G will be hosting a few guest bloggers. First up is Detroit_1051, who noted some discrepancies in the way MGM Resorts International handles its frequent-player program … A friend opened her mail … Continue reading →

Posted in CityCenter, Detroit, Dining, Marketing, MGM Mirage, Mississippi, The Strip, Tourism | 2 Comments

Objects in the photo may be emptier than they appear

Posted on August 31, 2010 by David McKee

Booking site Oyster.com is having a bit of fun with the gap between perception and reality at some Las Vegas hotels. Take for instance, that photo which shows you the Mandalay Bay wave pool as though you would have it … Continue reading →

Posted in CityCenter, Colorado, Current, Downtown, Economy, Election, Macau, Marketing, MGM Mirage, Riviera, Sheldon Adelson, The Strip, Tourism | 1 Comment

Venetian Oriental delayed again; Wynn & Drai divorce

Posted on August 27, 2010 by David McKee

Worker-recruitment problems in Macao are worse than Las Vegas Sands has been letting on. The company has now re-postponed its $4 billion, 6,000-room Venetian Oriental into late 2011, with its second phase debuting in mid-2012. The company’s verbiage, however, raises … Continue reading →

Posted in Current, Encore, Entertainment, James Packer, Lawrence Ho, Macau, Melco Crown Entertainment, MGM Mirage, Morgans Hotel Group, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson, Stanley Ho, Steve Wynn, The Strip, Tourism, Transportation, Wall Street | 3 Comments

Reid wusses out; Sucker bets, Sheldon & strippers

Posted on August 26, 2010 by David McKee

UIGEA repeal? Forget about it. Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) has chickened out again. Pressed on the issue, he said he’d support the legalization of online poker but faintheartedly drew the line there. That still wasn’t good enough for some independent … Continue reading →

Posted in Australia, CityCenter, Current, Dubai, Election, Entertainment, Harrah's, Harry Reid, International, Internet gambling, James Packer, Macau, Marketing, MGM Mirage, Morgans Hotel Group, Politics, Regulation, Reno, Sheldon Adelson, Steve Wynn, The Strip, Tourism, Wall Street, World Series of Poker | 3 Comments

Case Bets: Global Cash’s Access, Cosmo, Riviera, Oscar, Oregon & Banditry

Posted on August 25, 2010 by David McKee

Excessive Access? The casino industry gets closer and closer to the day when it simply hooks up a suction hose to your bank vault. While Global Cash Access doesn’t want to interface bank cards with slot machines — it would … Continue reading →

Posted in Colorado, Cosmopolitan, Current, Election, Environment, Harrah's, International, Marketing, New York, Oscar Goodman, Problem gambling, Regulation, Riviera, Technology, The Mob, The Strip, Tourism, Tribal, TV | 8 Comments

Last Resorts? Colony wins one

Posted on August 25, 2010 by David McKee

It still looks like Resorts Atlantic City is the casino most likely to close in that market, on pace to lose nearly $22 million this year. That’s the monumental challenge facing prospective new owner Dennis Gomes. In unadjusted dollars, the … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Atlantic City, Colony Capital, Economy, Goldman Sachs, Harrah's, Pennsylvania, Regulation, The Strip, Tourism, Transportation, Tribal, Wall Street | 3 Comments

Mothers of invention; Fernwood 2night

Posted on August 24, 2010 by David McKee

“Stacked” casino floors are a rarity in Las Vegas, usually necessitated by a limited footprint. That’s certainly the case with the Cosmopolitan, jimmied into a narrow slot just north of CityCenter (and often mistaken for part of that complex). However, … Continue reading →

Posted in Ameristar, Architecture, Cannery Casino Resorts, CityCenter, Cosmopolitan, Current, Dining, Economy, Entertainment, Harrah's, history, Isle of Capri, MGM Mirage, Mississippi, Missouri, Penn National, Pennsylvania, Regulation, Steve Wynn, The Strip, Tourism | 3 Comments

Strip rates bottom out

Posted on August 23, 2010 by David McKee

There was good news for hoteliers on the Las Vegas Strip today. Room rates for the second quarter and the first half of the third quarter average out to a 0% increase/decline from last year, following a -4% comparison in … Continue reading →

Posted in Economy, Harrah's, MGM Mirage, Regulation, Reno, Sheldon Adelson, Steve Wynn, The Strip, Tourism, Wall Street | 2 Comments

Crazy from the heat?

Posted on August 23, 2010 by David McKee

As the August sun beats upon our brains like a hammer on an anvil, it seems to be rendering us soft in the noggin. Reader kerr_mudgeon has aggregated a few instances, the pages of the Los Angeles Times, which seems … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Colony Capital, Cordish Co., Current, LVCVA, Marketing, Regulation, Tourism, Transportation | 5 Comments

Readers are genius

Posted on August 20, 2010 by David McKee

A big shout-out goes to the S&G subscriber who has the best solution yet for reviving interest in Atlantic City: “Just put the cast of Jersey Shore on view in glass cages on the Boardwalk (like the Snake Guy on … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, California, CityCenter, Current, Economy, Election, Entertainment, Marketing, Missouri, Pinnacle Entertainment, Regulation, The Strip, Tourism, TV | 5 Comments

How green is Vegas?; Harrah’s thinks globally, acts locally

Posted on August 19, 2010 by David McKee

A lot greener than you’d think, says Las Vegas Sustainability Officer (yes, we have one) Thomas Perrigo. Among those companies getting recognition of leading the way in “green” initiatives is Harrah’s Entertainment, which has reduced its energy consumption by vast … Continue reading →

Posted in Charity, Current, Dining, Economy, Entertainment, Environment, Florida, Harrah's, Marketing, Technology, The Strip, Tourism, Wall Street | 4 Comments

Peril on the Strip

Posted on August 19, 2010 by David McKee

You wouldn’t know if from the wrap on Luxor’s west side, but Angelica Bridges is out as Fantasy headliner, replaced by Lorena Peril (late of Sin City Bad Girls at the Las Vegas Hilton). This alone is sufficient to bump … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Carl Icahn, CityCenter, Donald Trump, Entertainment, Fontainebleau, Goldman Sachs, Harrah's, MGM Mirage, Sheldon Adelson, Steve Wynn, The Strip, Tourism, Tropicana Entertainment | 1 Comment

Suicidal in New Jersey

Posted on August 18, 2010 by David McKee

Atlantic City can just plain go to hell. That’s the message from several prominent — or simply loud — Democratic lawmakers who say Gov. Chris Christie‘s rescue plan for the city is spinach and to heck with it. Noisiest of … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Colony Capital, Current, Donald Trump, Economy, Entertainment, Genting, Harrah's, Horseracing, Internet gambling, Marketing, Maryland, Minnesota, New York, Pennsylvania, Politics, Racinos, Singapore, The Strip, Tourism, Tribal, Wall Street | 2 Comments

Lies, damned lies and Control Board statistics

Posted on August 18, 2010 by David McKee

One swallow doesn’t make a spring — unless you write for USA Today. Columnist Kitty Bean Yancey cherry-picked a lone statistic from the most recent set of Nevada Gaming Control Board numbers are proclaimed happy days are here again on … Continue reading →

Posted in CityCenter, Current, Economy, Election, Harry Reid, Mesquite, MGM Mirage, Michael Gaughan, Movies, Oklahoma, Politics, The Strip, Tourism, Tribal | 1 Comment

Quote of the Day

Posted on August 18, 2010 by David McKee

“The people who come to Vegas are not going to be the people who want to explore art galleries. There was a brief moment where I thought Vegas would grow into that. But I turned out to be mostly wrong … Continue reading →

Posted in Cosmopolitan, Current, Entertainment, The Strip, Tourism | 1 Comment

Who needs M most?; Station’s glass jaw

Posted on August 17, 2010 by David McKee

In a shocker of a scoop, The Newspaper That Must Not Be Cited revealed yesterday that a $700 million stake in $1 billion M Resort was being shopped around by the resort’s lead banker. While this probably says more about … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Boulder Strip, Boyd Gaming, California, Carl Icahn, Colony Capital, Cosmopolitan, Current, Downtown, Economy, Kansas, M Resort, Maryland, MGM Mirage, Michael Gaughan, North Las Vegas, Ohio, Penn National, Pinnacle Entertainment, Riviera, Station Casinos, The Strip, Tourism, Tropicana Entertainment, Wall Street | 8 Comments