“Showstoppers” gets it done; Soul-searching at Cirque

Posted on December 22, 2014 by David McKee

Basking in the afterglow of the opening night of ShowStoppers. (Or properly, Steve Wynn’s Showtoppers) Wynn Resorts CEO Steve Wynn called it the most satisfying creative ShowStoppers Chorus-Line-RGB_1experience he’d had to date. When he finishes a hotel, he said, all he sees are the things that could have been done better. Here he could just sit back and enjoy the ride. Few critical verdicts are in on the show yet. But if Wynn’s goal was to “exhaust” audiences, I’m happy to say he failed. When the show climaxes with a stunning (and upsized) recreation of Michael Bennett‘s choreography for “One” from A Chorus Line, one feels satisfied but not glutted, thanks in part to the show’s trim, disciplined, 72-minute running time.

The bigger question is whether a show that leans heavily on musicals like Continue reading →

Posted in Cirque du Soleil, Entertainment, Movies, Steve Wynn, The Strip | Comments Off on “Showstoppers” gets it done; Soul-searching at Cirque

Hello, Yellow Brick Road; Packer’s big plan

Posted on December 22, 2014 by David McKee

New York‘s Oneida Indian Nation was quick to counterpunch at last week’s private-sector casino expansion. They plan to open 436-slot, 250-job Yellow Brick Road Casino in L. Frank Baum‘s hometown of Chittenango, N.Y. Thanks to the terms of their compact Yellow Brick Roadwith the state, the Oneidas are at liberty to open as many casinos as commonsense dictates. The Chittenango site is on tribal land, so no local or federal approvals are needed. Besides, the union-built project already has the support of Chittenango Mayor Ronny Goeler, who says, “It will create jobs, and may even get people to move here.” The tribe has agreed, however, to share 25% of slot revenues with the state, an amount it calculates will come to $50 million.

The casino will fill out the part-empty Tops retail plaza and will include Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Australia, Harrah's, Horseracing, James Packer, Marketing, MGM Mirage, New York, Racinos, The Strip, Tribal | Comments Off on Hello, Yellow Brick Road; Packer’s big plan

Big and Little Caesars strike again; Atlantic City’s monopoly in danger

Posted on December 22, 2014 by David McKee

Last weekend, Caesars Entertainment confirmed what we already expected: It will file bankruptcy for Caesars Entertainment Operating Co. next month, in what the New gary_loveman-copy_compYork Times called “an ignominious milestone for what was one of the biggest buyouts of the private equity boom that preceded the financial crisis.” The move is intended to whittle $18.4 billion in debt into a mere $8.6 billion, according to Fortune. This will be followed by a REIT spinoff whose goals include reducing annual interest payments to $450 million. This move, said CEO Gary Loveman, would “significantly reduce [CEOC’s] leverage by creating two better capitalized companies with vastly improved cash flow generation.” Caesars’ $1.7 billion cash reserve will be all but drained into CEOC. All members of the first-lien steering committee are on board with the move, which also had a positive effect on Caesars’ stock price.

Meanwhile, in another of Caesars’ sleight-of-hand moves, Continue reading →

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Macao: Pressure for change; Stanley Ho into South Korea?

Posted on December 22, 2014 by David McKee

Despite having only one-tenth as many hotel rooms as Las Vegas, the enclave of Macao is feeling the pressure to develop a more tourism-oriented business model. China’s president, Venetian MacaoXi Jinping visited Macao last weekend and dropped a few strong hints. His desire: “to focus on building a global tourism and leisure centre and to promote appropriately diversified and sustainable development.” He warned that “while Macao has enjoyed rapid economic development in the past years, certain deep-seated problems have surfaced and development risks have also built up.”

Prior to President Xi’s speech, Central People’s Government Liaison Office Director Li Gang was less roundabout, Continue reading →

Posted in Cirque du Soleil, Harrah's, International, Macau, Marketing, New York, Politics, Sheldon Adelson, South Korea, Stanley Ho, Tourism | Comments Off on Macao: Pressure for change; Stanley Ho into South Korea?

The genius of Wynn; Wilmot charges ahead

Posted on December 19, 2014 by David McKee

Steve Wynn doesn’t wrap his hotels in bronze glass just because he likes the color. No, he has determined that the light passing through it makes his guests look more attractive “in macau_wynnrooms that have warmer light … One of the things that happens with glass is that the wavelength of the light affects the color palette on the inside of the room,” he told the Boston Globe, sounding anything like your standard-issue casino owner.

It’s not any old bronze glass, either, but a custom-made blend, to be found only at Wynn Resorts properties. Likewise, when all types of artificial turf were inspected and found lacking, “Wynn lawn” was invented to Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Entertainment, LVCVA, Massachusetts, New York, Ohio, Regulation, Steve Wynn, Tourism | Comments Off on The genius of Wynn; Wilmot charges ahead

Blast from the past

Posted on December 19, 2014 by David McKee

It’s time to revive the S&G tradition of a Friday film festival. Thanks to Bellagio Director of Productions Frank Coccaro for pointing the way to these nostalgia-inducing clips.

Continue reading →

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Nazarian’s luck, Caesars’ hoard

Posted on December 19, 2014 by David McKee

Sam Nazarian won’t be able to have an operational role in the casino at SLS Las Vegas but he’ll be able to participate in its revenue stream now that he is finally the holder of a Nevada Nazariangaming license — albeit a heavily conditional one. Howard Stutz‘s Twitter feed contains such a vivid tweet-by-tweet account that any further synopsis feels almost superfluous. The hearing had a Kabuki-theatre quality to it: testimonials to Nazarian, statements of contrition from the man himself, pro forma scolding from the Nevada Gaming Commission and then a unanimous vote in his favor. However, the Commission imposed a couple of additional terms on Nazarian’s highly provisional license, including making the mandatory drug testing more … intimate. A bit of unplanned drama was added when Nazarian hanger-on Derrick “Smokey” Armstrong showed up, attempting to testify, only to be arrested on outstanding warrants. (Why couldn’t he have said his peace, then been cuffed?)

Among yesterday’s revelations was that Nazarian had fathered a child out of wedlock, which might explain help explain why Continue reading →

Posted in Harrah's, Regulation, Sam Nazarian, Wall Street | Comments Off on Nazarian’s luck, Caesars’ hoard

Icahn saves Taj, kinda sorta

Posted on December 18, 2014 by David McKee

Trump Taj Mahal‘s fate seesaws by the day, if not the hour. According to the New York Post, Unite-Here Local 54 “got pretty much what it wanted” from Carl Icahn and “all work rules” will be reinstated. Icahn did persuade Local 54’s Robert McDevitt to put pension payments icahninto a Taj-only fund, the one significant concession made by the union, other than the abandonment of its bankruptcy-court appeal. Gov. Chris Christie (R) and his gaming-industry liaison, Jon Hanson, were credited with bringing all parties together. According to the union, Trump Entertainment Resorts CEO Robert Griffin put his signature on the pact … and then Icahn got cold feet.

The mogul promises this won’t be the Taj’s doom. He’s ponied up $20 million, writing, “Even though I believe that Atlantic City will be great again someday, many people would still argue that it would be a better financial decision for me to let the Taj close. But I cannot be so callous as to let 3,000 hardworking people lose their jobs.” McDevitt’s reaction was, “We and everybody else thought we could start Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Carl Icahn, Donald Trump, Economy, Politics, Regulation, Sam Nazarian, Tropicana Entertainment, Trump Entertainment Resorts | 3 Comments

Many called, few chosen for New York casinos

Posted on December 18, 2014 by David McKee

Count mega-budget offerings from Genting Group and Caesars Entertainment among the marquee-name dismissals in the New York Gaming Facility Location Board‘s final HRH Albanycut of casino applicants. Also going into the circular file were a second Genting project (Resorts World Hudson Valley), along with a Penn National Gaming/Cordish Gaming joint venture, and proposals from Full House Resorts, Churchill Downs, Mohegan Sun and a Hard Rock-branded project (right). It was a bad day from brand names, who generally got swept from the board. Considering Mohegan Sun CEO Mitchell Etess‘ family’s decades-long connection to the Catskills, that rejection must have been especially painful.

Orange County went 0-for-six, as Continue reading →

Posted in Churchill Downs, Cordish Co., Economy, Genting, Hard Rock International, Harrah's, Horseracing, International, Mohegan Sun, Neil Bluhm, New York, Penn National, Racinos, Taxes, Tribal | Comments Off on Many called, few chosen for New York casinos

Quote of the Day

Posted on December 18, 2014 by David McKee

“Meanwhile, Americans continue to play cards on unregulated, off-shore poker websites. Americans also continue to place wagers through online, unregulated, off-shore sports books. And there are no signs that the collapse of the republic is imminent.” — from a Las Vegas Review-Journal editorial, criticizing proposed congressional bans on Internet casinos and poker.

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Vegas hits the jackpot & other Case Bets

Posted on December 17, 2014 by David McKee

We don’t know how much they’ve spent yet and how much of a blockbuster year this will be for Las Vegas but we know one thing for certain. We’ve finally broken the 40 million mark pinup-picin annual visitation, a Holy Grail long sought by the tourism industry. Heck, we may hit 41 million by the time midnight strikes on New Year’s Eve. We doubt that Visitor #40 Million was garlanded with roses or laurels. But, reports the Las Vegas Review-Journal, “To mark the milestone, tourism officials are giving away Las Vegas suite upgrades, dining and thrill experiences and beauty makeovers to random tourists with local entertainers Penn &Teller, Carrot Top and Claire Sinclair (above) making the presentations.” Carrot Top? We want people to come here, not scare them away.

* Cordish Co. got the deal it was looking for to build a Continue reading →

Posted in Cordish Co., Downtown, Entertainment, Harrah's, International, Sports, Tourism | 1 Comment

Taj at Icahn’s mercy; The wrath of Wynn

Posted on December 17, 2014 by David McKee

Trump Entertainment Resorts CEO Bob Griffin (below) has basically flung himself at the feet of Carl Icahn and begged the billionaire to keep funding Trump Taj Mahal “well into Griffin2015,” while Unite-Here‘s appeal of a bankruptcy court ruling is adjudicated, maybe longer. (If I were Icahn, I’d like to know what I’m getting in return.) Icahn’s ultimatum of ‘Give me tax breaks or I’ll kill this casino’ having fallen upon deaf ears in Trenton, there’s a serious danger the Taj will close this Saturday. This may not be cause for grief among other Boardwalk operators, all of whom stand to inherit what little business the Taj still does.

In yet another of his open letters, Griffin wrote, “The state, city and the union have all abandoned us. You are our last hope to find a solution that will keep the Taj open and save these 3,000 jobs.” Say what you like, the man has a flair for melodrama. However, he needs to work on Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Carl Icahn, Columbia Sussex, Entertainment, Harrah's, Macau, MGM Mirage, Mohegan Sun, Morgans Hotel Group, Steve Wynn, The Strip, Tilman Fertitta, Trump Entertainment Resorts | Comments Off on Taj at Icahn’s mercy; The wrath of Wynn

Sayonara, Sam; Showstopping Steve

Posted on December 17, 2014 by David McKee

When the going gets tough, Sam Nazarian gets the hell out of Dodge, although he’ll try to take some of the revenue stream with him. That’s the moral to be drawn from his withdrawal from any operational role at SLS Las Vegas, a property already Sam_Nazbesieged with rumbles of financial trouble. Nazarian had already been through a rough hearing before the Nevada Gaming Control Board and approval by the Nevada Gaming Commission is no slam dunk. The best Nazarian can hope for, it appears, is a provisional, probationary, one-year license. Hardly a ringing vote of confidence in this oft-proclaimed “visionary.”

“With the extremely talented executive team led by Scott Kreeger and our dedicated work force at the resort, I feel my professional efforts are Continue reading →

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Atlantic City: Fertitta wins, Taj too close to call

Posted on December 16, 2014 by David McKee

Score one for the Golden Nugget in Atlantic City and its peppery owner, Tilman Fertitta. Its threat to “blow up” a property-tax reform deal was sufficient to bring about a fertitta_webcompromise acceptable to all sides. Under the original bill and its fixed-payment system, annual levies would have risen for casinos that arguably need the help the most. Now, that overage will be credited toward their Casino Reinvestment Development Authority payments. Also subtract the $2 million a year the Nugget would have paid the defunct Atlantic City Alliance and you’ve got a package Fertitta can accept.

As Nugget corporate counsel Steve Scheinthal put it, “We’re protected for five years; that’s a good thing. At least we have some stability and we know our taxes aren’t going to rise.”

Elsewhere, negotiations have reached an impasse between Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Carl Icahn, Economy, Oklahoma, Politics, Regulation, Taxes, Tilman Fertitta, Tribal, Trump Entertainment Resorts | Comments Off on Atlantic City: Fertitta wins, Taj too close to call

Quote of the Day

Posted on December 16, 2014 by David McKee

James-Packer-030709L_0“JP Morgan analyst Matt Ryan questioned Crown‘s, timing given it is ramping up its exposure to the wagering industry at a time when increased racing fees are eating bookmakers’ margins.” What? Would James Packer ever make a bad business decision? Heresy!

Posted in International, James Packer | Comments Off on Quote of the Day

Fixing Foxwoods, Perryville

Posted on December 16, 2014 by David McKee

Felix Rappaport continues to unveil a new strategy for Foxwoods Resort & Casino. Operations weren’t predecessor Scott Butera‘s strong suit, by the latter’s own profession.

RappaportSo, the restructuring having been done, enter Rappaport to commence the rebranding. Of oncoming competition from Boston, Rappaport said, “We’ll certainly lose some people altogether, and we’ll lose some people in terms of frequency. But if we do our jobs properly, I think we can become even more compelling.” And he’s got two or three years to entrench. Both Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun are cutting back on slot inventory dramatically, prompting one pundit to say, “They have, in a sense, already closed the equivalent of two casinos.”

While Mohegan Sun has been targeting nearly every new casino market that comes along and, closer to home, is ramping up its concert program, Foxwoods is being a bit choosier with its comeback strategy. Gambling is still, far and away, the cash cow, but Continue reading →

Posted in California, Economy, Foxwoods, Internet gambling, Marketing, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mohegan Sun, Penn National, Regulation, Tourism, Tribal | 2 Comments

Much ado about Harmon

Posted on December 16, 2014 by David McKee

After endless months of maneuvering and legal posturing, MGM Resorts International and  Tutor Perini arrived at a settlement on what was to have been the opening day of an Harmoniniepic trial. (That’s seven weeks of jury selection down the drain.) The case revolved around the defectively constructed Harmon hotel and came down to where the finger for the fiasco should be pointed. Although the settlement was nominally confidential, Deutsche Bank analyst Carlo Santarelli got the nitty-gritty via the SEC. CityCenter will receive $110 million from contractors, insurers, MGM and sundry third parties. In addition to paying CityCenter $20 million, MGM lays Continue reading →

Posted in CityCenter, Current, Entertainment, Hard Rock Hotel, Harrah's, International, MGM Mirage, Morgans Hotel Group, The Strip, Wall Street | Comments Off on Much ado about Harmon

Captain Loveman’s sinking ship

Posted on December 15, 2014 by David McKee

Loveman_x220As was widely expected, Caesars Entertainment defaulted on a $225 million interest payment, setting the stage for a prearranged bankruptcy. Company spokesman Stephen Cohen said airily, “It’s clear Caesars has sufficient liquidity to make the payment, we just chose not to at this time.” In related SEC filings, the company alluded to an unspecified “oral agreement in principle” with certain parties to its debt negotiations. The plan is apparently to put Caesars Entertainment Operating Co. into bankruptcy and then reinvent it as a REIT, since it controls over 75% of the company’s real estate (and a hernia-inducing 10:1 debt-to-cash flow ratio). A managerial company would be spun off the REIT, enabling CEO Gary Loveman to keep calling the shots.

Making Loveman’s job harder, creditors keep leaving the sinking Caesars ship. KKR & Co. and Franklin Resources are among those Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Genting, Harrah's, New York, Regulation, Wall Street | 1 Comment

Hope and change in Atlantic City

Posted on December 15, 2014 by David McKee

Not everybody is on board with Gov. Chris Christie‘s and state Senator Stephen Sweeney‘s plan for a new, fixed-rate payment system for Atlantic City casinos, in lieu of chris-christieproperty taxes. Despite a floodtide of new revenue in recent months, the Golden Nugget is still one of the smaller fish in the Atlantic City pond. As such, its general counsel, Steve Scheinthal, says the Nugget would be penalized by the new proposal. “This is Robin Hood taking from the poor to give to the rich. It takes our taxes from $4.7 million to $8.1 million. We’re not happy. We are going to go to court and blow this whole thing up,” he vowed.

General Manager Todd Pohlman added his voice: “”As ecstatic as we are to lead the industry in revenue growth, this proves Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Boyd Gaming, Glenn Straub, Harrah's, MGM Mirage, Mohegan Sun, Pennsylvania, Revel, Taxes, Tilman Fertitta, Tropicana Entertainment, Trump Entertainment Resorts | 1 Comment

Reid’s treachery and Adelson’s myopia

Posted on December 15, 2014 by David McKee

As predicted here, Sen. Harry Reid (D) stuck a knife in erstwhile allies Caesars Entertainment and MGM Resorts International, embracing Sheldon Adelson harryreid_t178instead. If Sheldon, who holds all the cards at this point, cedes to a carve-out for online poker, Reid will support some iteration of GOP-birthed Restore America’s Wire Act, banning online gambling. In a ludicrous statement, Reid rhetorically wrung his hands, saying, “I think it is hard to control for crime when you’ve got brick-and-mortar places, let alone something up in the sky someplace, and it is very bad for children.”

Reid sounds as absurd and technophobic as Adelson when he frets about the Internet being “something up in the sky someplace.” One might rejoin that if Internet gambling is outlawed, only outlaws will have Internet gambling. How much harder will it be to “control for crime” is RAWA passes and Continue reading →

Posted in Harrah's, International, Internet gambling, MGM Mirage, Pennsylvania, Sheldon Adelson | Comments Off on Reid’s treachery and Adelson’s myopia