Category Archives: Transportation

“In the beginning was The Mob …”

Posted on March 30, 2011 by David McKee

Following several delays and even more advance hoopla, the Las Vegas Mob Experience is open. And it’s, as my wife said, “a mob scene” (pun intended). At last night’s grand gala, a PR guy was overheard saying that — for … Continue reading →

Posted in Current, Dining, Downtown, Entertainment, Harrah's, history, MGM Mirage, Movies, Oscar Goodman, The Mob, The Strip, Tourism, Transportation, TV | 3 Comments

Quote of the Day

Posted on March 27, 2011 by David McKee

“Complaining about high gasoline prices in a free-market economy is a bit like doing the proverbial at the wind.” — Richard Quest on CNN‘s Your Money, last Saturday.

Posted in Current, Economy, Tourism, Transportation, TV | Comments Off on Quote of the Day

From the mailbag

Posted on March 24, 2011 by David McKee

Today’s “Question of the Day” about the future of the Sahara Hotel & Casino‘s monorail stop (and, by extension, the future of the Las Vegas Monorail itself) provoked a long and thoughtful response from an S&G reader. (By the way, … Continue reading →

Posted in Alex Yemenidjian, Arizona, California, Cannery Casino Resorts, Current, Downtown, Pennsylvania, Racinos, Sahara, The Strip, Tourism, Transportation | Comments Off on From the mailbag

Quote of the Day

Posted on March 20, 2011 by David McKee

“Paying there [sic] repsects [sic]” — onscreen graphic prefacing a 6 p.m. Saturday KSNV-TV news segment on a memorial service for victims of the fatal bus crash that killed 15 Mohegan Sun patrons. KSNV News Director Bob Stoldal really has … Continue reading →

Posted in Current, New York, Transportation, Tribal, TV | Comments Off on Quote of the Day

Trains to nowhere?

Posted on March 14, 2011 by David McKee

Spurning of federal high-speed-rail money by governors like Rick Scott (R-FL), John Kasich (R-OH) and Scott Walker (R-WI) might mean some of the multibillion-dollar largesse would be rechanneled toward Sig Rogich‘s and Sen. Harry Reid‘s Desert Xpress, bound for Victorville, … Continue reading →

Posted in California, Florida, Harry Reid, Ohio, Transportation | 1 Comment

R.I.P., Sahara (1952-2011)

Posted on March 11, 2011 by David McKee

Once the Riviera changed hands, the Strip casino for whom mortality seemed most imminent became the Sahara. The ‘death by a thousand cuts’ regime of nightclub impresario and absentee owner Sam Nazarian bled the place to the extent that there … Continue reading →

Posted in Boyd Gaming, CityCenter, Colony Capital, Columbia Sussex, Current, Dining, Economy, Entertainment, Fontainebleau, Goldman Sachs, history, International, James Packer, Macau, Marketing, MGM Mirage, Morgans Hotel Group, Pansy Ho, Plaza, Regulation, Riviera, Sahara, Stanley Ho, Station Casinos, The Strip, Tourism, Transportation, TV, Wall Street | 10 Comments

Vegas in January: Dazed and confusing

Posted on March 10, 2011 by David McKee

It’s not as though there aren’t signs of hope for the Nevada economy. And even as empty storefronts continue to proliferate and housing prices tank in Las Vegas, there’s a “green shoot” or two, if you look for them. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Boulder Strip, Cosmopolitan, Current, Downtown, Economy, history, IGT, Lake Tahoe, North Las Vegas, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson, Taxes, The Strip, Tourism, Transportation, Wall Street | 3 Comments

Pay no attention to the man behind the bow tie

Posted on March 7, 2011 by David McKee

While high-speed rail might be no more than a partial solution to expediting access to resort cities like Las Vegas and New Orleans, at least one of its naysayers used to be a vocal advocate. Who? Why none other than … Continue reading →

Posted in Current, Transportation, TV | 2 Comments

Banzai, Caesar!

Posted on March 7, 2011 by David McKee

Although it will be putting its noble name to on the soon-to-be-ex-Centurion Tower at sprawling Caesars Palace, Nobu Hospitality will only pony up an (unspecified) portion of the (unspecified) cost. Actually, the Associated Press and Las Vegas Review-Journal differ on … Continue reading →

Posted in Dining, Harrah's, International, The Strip, Transportation, TV | 2 Comments

Idiocy Express

Posted on March 4, 2011 by David McKee

George F. Will is an @$$. I say this because he claims to intuit that my desire to travel to and from Las Vegas by rail is motivated by a desire to make my fellow Americans “more amenable to collectivism.” … Continue reading →

Posted in California, Cretins, Current, Louisiana, The Strip, Transportation | 6 Comments

Case Bets: Ferris wheel fetishists; Rail fail; “Aerotropolis” now?

Posted on March 2, 2011 by David McKee

Caesars Entertainment better get a move on with that Ferris wheel it wants to build out back of O’Shea’s. A rival project, slated for problematic (and fairly blighted) land opposite Mandalay Bay received approval from Clark County. Then again, getting … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, California, Dubai, Entertainment, Goldman Sachs, Harrah's, history, International, MGM Mirage, Phil Ruffin, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson, Silverton, Technology, The Strip, Tourism, Transportation | 5 Comments

Power shift at Ameristar

Posted on February 28, 2011 by David McKee

No longer will the Craig H. Neilsen Foundation be calling the shots at Ameristar Casinos. The financial needs of the nonprofit have led Ameristar Chairman Ray Neilsen to liquidate 83% of the foundation’s stake in ASCA for an above-market $17.50. … Continue reading →

Posted in Ameristar, Boyd Gaming, Harrah's, Indiana, Kansas, Marketing, Missouri, Penn National, Planet Hollywood, The Strip, Transportation, Wall Street | 4 Comments

Play Cosmo, get a car!

Posted on January 13, 2011 by David McKee

Enviro-friendly, too. I want it! (Funny how The Cosmopolitan, of which little was initially expected, looks like the feel-good story of the year, while CityCenter is a continuing disappointment, and Fontainebleau and sundry other projects have fallen on their faces.) … Continue reading →

Posted in CityCenter, Cosmopolitan, Current, Dining, Economy, Entertainment, Environment, Fontainebleau, MGM Mirage, Transportation | 1 Comment

Steelman: Small is profitable

Posted on November 15, 2010 by David McKee

Before he got elbowed aside in favor of ‘starchitects,’ Paul Steelman was one of the go-to designers on the Las Vegas Strip. He’s also one of the very few people who can say they’ve worked — without repercussion — for … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Atlantic City, CityCenter, Current, Dining, Economy, Entertainment, IGT, International, Macau, MGM Mirage, Morgans Hotel Group, Sheldon Adelson, Singapore, Stanley Ho, Steve Wynn, Technology, The Strip, Tourism, Transportation | 5 Comments

Murren: I heart CityCenter; Wynn: I heart China; Angle: I heart Latinos … plus Boyd’s new fragrance

Posted on October 29, 2010 by David McKee

MGM Resorts International and old ball and chain Dubai World have consummated a deal to extend $1.8 billion in CityCenter loans, a reworking that MGM CEO Jim Murren calls “a capital structure that’s much more … in keeping with a … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Boulder Strip, Boyd Gaming, Cannery Casino Resorts, CityCenter, Columbia Sussex, Current, Dubai, Economy, Election, Environment, Harrah's, Macau, Politics, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson, Steve Wynn, The Strip, Tourism, Transportation, TV, Wall Street | 6 Comments

Vegas as people imagine it to be

Posted on October 27, 2010 by David McKee

Judging by the misconceptions one has to fight off (somebody revived the old “Disney Land to Las Vegas” canard about the mag-lev train recently), it’s a lot like the Indianapolis envisioned in this satire of an anarchist campaign ad. And, … Continue reading →

Posted in Current, Indiana, Transportation | 2 Comments

Musical chairs at Trump (again)

Posted on September 29, 2010 by David McKee

High-ranking executive jobs at Trump Entertainment Resorts aren’t for “lifers.” Having steered Trump through yet another bankruptcy, CEO Mark Juliano is exiting stage right, “leaving to pursue other opportunities” — the latest executive to be purged. Nobody stays long atop … Continue reading →

Posted in Alabama, Atlantic City, Cordish Co., Current, Donald Trump, Economy, Election, Harrah's, International, Isle of Capri, Kansas, Marketing, Maryland, Penn National, Pennsylvania, Racinos, Regulation, Tourism, Transportation, Tribal | 2 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

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

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