Category Archives: Wall Street

Quote of the Day

Posted on January 28, 2010 by David McKee

“[President Barack] Obama‘s team, content to have bailed out Wall Street, seem to now run the rest of the economy on a cash accounting basis. That’s bad, self-defeating policy.” — The Washington Note Publisher Steve Clemons, accusing the White House … Continue reading →

Posted in Economy, International, Macau, Midnight Jim Gibbons, Politics, Transportation, Wall Street | Comments Off on Quote of the Day

Quote of the Day

Posted on January 27, 2010 by David McKee

“Once visiting Oceanus, one can see why it is not having a negative impact on Sands [Macao] (the quality of properties are vastly different).” — J.P. Morgan analyst Joseph Greff, politely dissing Stanley Ho‘s newest gambling den, built in a … Continue reading →

Posted in Macau, Sheldon Adelson, Stanley Ho, Wall Street | Comments Off on Quote of the Day

Planet Ho abdicates to Harrah’s

Posted on January 15, 2010 by David McKee

Sheraton Operating Corp. is bugging out of Planet Hollywood Resort — which has already lost some of its top management — and handing the keys to Harrah’s Entertainment. The latter will have something of a challenge filling the nearly 2,500 … Continue reading →

Posted in Carl Icahn, CityCenter, Cosmopolitan, Current, Economy, Fontainebleau, Harrah's, International, Marketing, Penn National, Planet Hollywood, The Strip, Wall Street | 4 Comments

Back to normal

Posted on January 12, 2010 by David McKee

For starters, let’s just write off 2006-7 as an aberration. While dancing in the streets is premature, Nevada‘s casino revenues from November ($873 million) at least give us an excuse to breathe a sigh of relief — especially when other … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Boulder Strip, Current, Downtown, Economy, Harrah's, Illinois, Indiana, Lake Tahoe, Missouri, North Las Vegas, The Strip, Wall Street | 1 Comment

Quote of the Day

Posted on January 8, 2010 by David McKee

“With table games, Sands Bethworks, which is an hour outside of Manhattan, should be able to draw a more lucrative customer. We believe Las Vegas Sands will now move forward with adding more nongaming amenities.” — Steven Wieczynski, of Stifel … Continue reading →

Posted in New York, Pennsylvania, Sheldon Adelson, Wall Street | 3 Comments

Quote of the Day

Posted on January 7, 2010 by David McKee

“PA table game approval a positive for PENN” — headline on this morning’s e-mail blast from J.P. Morgan. Who knew those Wall Street analysts would ever embed a jest like that within a stock recommendation?

Posted in Current, Penn National, Pennsylvania, Politics, Wall Street | Comments Off on Quote of the Day

Quote of the Day

Posted on January 5, 2010 by David McKee

“Wall Street analysts upgraded the prospects of two Las Vegas-based casino operators based on the companies’ holdings in Macau. Simultaneously, Macau media reported gaming revenue in the Chinese gambling market jumped 48 percent in December.” — Howard Stutz, of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Macau, Sheldon Adelson, Steve Wynn, Wall Street | Comments Off on Quote of the Day

Damsel in distress

Posted on January 4, 2010 by David McKee

Until 2005, when Harrah’s Entertainment devoured Park Place Entertainment, its flagship property in Las Vegas was The Rio. Since then the lady has fallen upon hard times. During the period 2007-09, while Harrah’s CEO Gary Loveman blew hundreds of millions … Continue reading →

Posted in Current, Economy, Entertainment, Harrah's, Penn National, Regulation, Wall Street, World Series of Poker | 4 Comments

Case Bets: Mohegan Sun, Alabama, Weidner, Dubai & a big bet on MGM Mirage

Posted on January 4, 2010 by David McKee

Could default or bankruptcy be in the offing for Mohegan Sun? The tribal supercasino’s attempts to get out from under an onerous fee arrangement with Sol Kerzner and Len Wolman are not only facing heavy weather, Mohegan Sun is also … Continue reading →

Posted in Alabama, Carl Icahn, Charity, CityCenter, Current, Dubai, Economy, Election, Entertainment, Fontainebleau, Harrah's, MGM Mirage, Pinnacle Entertainment, Politics, Riviera, Sahara, Sheldon Adelson, Station Casinos, Taxes, Technology, The Strip, Tribal, Wall Street | 1 Comment

Good news, bad news

Posted on December 30, 2009 by David McKee

Analysts at J.P. Morgan report that rates for mid-January (1/17-23) are +7% from the same period last year, mostly on the strength of better midweek ADRs. Unfortunately, this increase comes against a prior-year period when rates tumbled 38% … but … Continue reading →

Posted in Current, Economy, Harrah's, Sheldon Adelson, Wall Street | Comments Off on Good news, bad news

Loveman loves him some Macao

Posted on December 22, 2009 by David McKee

By now the saga of Harrah’s Entertainment‘s Macanese golf course is the stuff of legend: a $578 million golden albatross around the company’s neck and a metaphor for the company’s misfortune-prone international strategy. While some of CEO Gary Loveman‘s ventures … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Colony Capital, Current, Harrah's, James Packer, Lawrence Ho, Macau, Maryland, Melco Crown Entertainment, MGM Mirage, Planet Hollywood, Politics, Racinos, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson, Stanley Ho, Steve Wynn, Wall Street | 1 Comment

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

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

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

We *are* Dubai

Posted on December 2, 2009 by David McKee

“If anywhere is emblematic of the debt-fuelled extravagance of the past decade, it is surely [X], which strove to have the tallest, the biggest and the best of everything.” They’ve just got to be talking about Las Vegas, right? No, … Continue reading →

Posted in Alex Yemenidjian, Architecture, Boyd Gaming, Cirque du Soleil, CityCenter, Colony Capital, Columbia Sussex, Cosmopolitan, Current, Dubai, Economy, Entertainment, Harrah's, International, James Packer, MGM Mirage, Morgans Hotel Group, Plaza, Sheldon Adelson, Station Casinos, Steve Wynn, Taxes, The Strip, Tourism, TV, Wall Street | 6 Comments

Chutzpah, thy name is Loveman

Posted on December 1, 2009 by David McKee

Do the bondholders of Harrah’s Entertainment ever get tired of being played for suckers? After being asked to take haircut after haircut — whether in the form of distressed buybacks or deferred repayment — comes a new indignity. While Harrah’s … Continue reading →

Posted in CityCenter, Current, Downtown, Economy, Harrah's, Marketing, MGM Mirage, Mississippi, Planet Hollywood, Regulation, The Strip, Wall Street | 4 Comments

F-bleau: It’s Icahn’s … or is it?

Posted on November 24, 2009 by David McKee

True to form, Carl Icahn sprang when you least expected him to, sneaking up on Penn National Gaming in bankruptcy court to outbid it for the bankrupt Fontainebleau in the first round of bartering (a process that will drag into … Continue reading →

Posted in California, Carl Icahn, Current, Economy, Fontainebleau, IGT, Louisiana, Morgans Hotel Group, Penn National, Pinnacle Entertainment, The Strip, Wall Street | 6 Comments

Case Bets: Cullotta’s moll, squeeze on Sands, gay old UFC

Posted on November 17, 2009 by David McKee

Local radio chatterbox Heidi Harris recently set her pants on fire attempting to rewrite history about a Mob terror campaign against then-Nevada Gaming Commissioners (one of whom went on to become Sen. Harry Reid [D-NV]). The evidence seems pretty unambiguous … Continue reading →

Posted in Harry Reid, International, Macau, Politics, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson, Singapore, Sports, Station Casinos, The Mob, TV, Wall Street | 6 Comments