Quote of the Day

Posted on May 18, 2011 by David McKee

“I’ve dealt with a lot of big city PRs in my life and I’ve never, ever seen the kind of defensiveness I experienced in Las Vegas. Maybe they’re just not used to being asked actual questions, I thought: after all, the city’s most high profile entertainment ‘journalist’ is the guy who used to host Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous: a man who, had he been present for the killing of Osama bin Laden, would have felt compelled to praise the man’s history of charity work.” — Paul Carr, summing up his month in Vegas for The Huffington Post. In addition to Sin City’s small-town mentality, Carr also encounters its present-day symbol: the wild douchebag on the hoof.

Posted in Cretins, The Strip, TV | 1 Comment

Birthday wishes

Posted on May 18, 2011 by David McKee

… are due to the family of Golden Gaming CEO Blake Sartini, whose grandmother, Mildred Juanita Steely Myers, turns 100 tomorrow. The Clements, Calif., native has been behind the wheel long enough that her earliest cars included “a Model T and a brand new 1927 Pontiac. In 1933, she married Orville Myers, also from Clements, and became a wife and mother of three. In 1980, the Myers found their retirement spot in Las Vegas. They were among the first residents in Sartini Plaza, named for their son-in-law, Art Sartini. The couple was married for 56 years at the time of Orville’s passing in 1990,” according to publicist Verena King. The Summerlin resident has been a longtime member of Rebekka Assembly, an offshoot of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. (Anybody who knows Yr. Humble Blogger will insist Continue reading →

Posted in California, Current, Downtown, Golden Gaming, history, Oscar Goodman | Comments Off on Birthday wishes

Trump’d and skunked

Posted on May 18, 2011 by David McKee

Having predicted from Moment One that Donald Trump‘s TV ratings stunt masquerading as a presidential campaign was a traveshamockery and nothing less, please forgive me if I take one more victory lap, courtesy of Lawrence O’Donnell. The MSNBC pundit, who also knows his way around showbiz, was among those not fooled by The Trumpster’s cap-and-bells act, which seems to have the typically Trumpian purpose of fattening his teevee deal. (The relevant O’Donnell material is in the first few minutes, involving the NBC-TV upfronts.) That skeptical camp wouldn’t include Treasure %*@%ing Island owner Phil Ruffin, Trump’d twice over. He comped Trump a venue and endorsed the “candidacy” in the pages of the Los Angeles Times. If you see Ruffin down at the track, don’t take any racing tips from him.

Then again … at a time when people are cashing out of the Las Vegas real estate market at enormous losses, Ruffin’s trying to flip a 9.5-bathroom mansion at a $10 million markup. Shrewd or simply audacious? Everything about this palace screams, Grand! (Not least the industrial-size kitchen.) It should be, considering that it used to be the crib of the Sultan of Brunei‘s brother. Ruffin’s purchase was recorded on April 29 and Continue reading →

Posted in Donald Trump, Economy, Election, Florida, International, Phil Ruffin, Politics, Racinos, Sheldon Adelson, The Strip, TV | 1 Comment

Sahara, 1952-2011

Posted on May 17, 2011 by David McKee



UNLV‘s David G. Schwartz pronounces the last rites for the Sahara, whose darkened hulk is Sam Nazarian‘s bequest to the Strip. Plans to strip the property of furnishings are a gloomy portent and SBE didn’t even wait for the end of business yesterday to start fencing off the place.

As for the newly displaced workers, here’s what the future holds for them. And if you have an outstanding Sahara room booking, congrulations: There’s a room at Circus Circus with your name on it.

Posted in Culinary Union, Economy, Entertainment, history, Marketing, MGM Mirage, Sahara, The Strip | Comments Off on Sahara, 1952-2011

Quote of the Day

Posted on May 17, 2011 by David McKee

“[Donald] Trump argues that a trade deficit with a country means that American trade with that country is bad for America, that the amount of a trade deficit represents the amount of damage to America. He says that America has lost’ the amount of the trade deficit. This characterization is wrong and, to put it plainly, idiotic. I have a trade deficit with Walmart, Target, Safeway, and Toys ‘R’ Us. Does that mean I should not be permitted to trade with them?” — Ross Kaminsky, in The American Spectator, on the Trumpster’s “mindless, dangerous” grasp of economic matters. Meanwhile, Alyssa Rosenberg posits that — had it not been a TV-ratings stunt — Trump’s electoral charade wouldn’t have prevented him continuing to shill for Trump Entertainment Resorts … “though he might have dropped some clients in order to avoid conflicts of interest or to appear more substantive.” There’s a prospect that must have cost TER owner Marc Lasry and CEO Robert Griffin a few winks of sleep these last several months.

Posted in Atlantic City, Donald Trump, Economy, Marketing, Wall Street | Comments Off on Quote of the Day

This won’t play in Vegas; Second wind for Sands

Posted on May 17, 2011 by David McKee

Steve Wynn is singing his “we’re a Chinese company” refrain again. This never goes over well on the home front when he does it and his threat to move corporate HQ to Macao was met with a general chorus of, “How can we help you pack up and leave?”

But the Wynner has point. When it comes to revenue growth, China (and the larger Pacific Rim) is where it’s at nowadays. Las Vegas is years, perhaps many years away from justifying major new development. Domestic markets that are on the cusp of gambling expansion are either moving slowly (Massachusetts) or are otherwise problematic (Florida). So if you take China out of Wynn Resorts, its present and future dim considerably.

Photo finish. Table-game revenues have been reported in Pennsylvania and Sands Bethelehem (+8%) continues to exceed Wall Street‘s expectations by Continue reading →

Posted in Florida, Harrah's, International, Macau, Massachusetts, Neil Bluhm, Pennsylvania, Racinos, Sheldon Adelson, Steve Wynn, The Strip, Wall Street | 4 Comments

A tale of three casinos; Explosive night at Monte Carlo

Posted on May 16, 2011 by David McKee

But first … put this in the ‘Told Ya So’ File. The flim-flam man can now resume his fiduciary duties to Trump Entertainment Resorts and doing what he does best: Making delusional claims about his net worth.

Three Vegas casinos reported quarterly results at the tail end of last week and the results might be described as the good, the bad and the troubling.

The good: While a $9 million loss might not seem like good news for the Tropicana Las Vegas, all the monetary trends are good. The $17 net revenue represents a 28% increase from early last year. While still a work in progress, the Trop’s much-ballyhooed ‘South Beach’ retheming — plus the fact that the place just looks cleaner — is clearly paying dividends, validating Onex Corp.’s purchase and CEO Alex Yemenidjian‘s vision for a rejuvenated Trop. Room and F&B revs were up 51% apiece, reflective of new product in both departments.

A 12% boost in casino income might not seem so impressive by comparison. But consider: Casino revenue ($8 million) led all departments and represented 41% of the overall picture. Remember that figure.


The bad: New management is still finding its feet at the Riviera (and today’s demise of the Sahara should add a few room nights to the ledger). So it deserves a mulligan or two. Revenue is flat from early 2010, so that could be worse, and onerous interest payments that long handcuffed Riviera Holdings have been shed. But, were it not for that debt-servicing relief, losses would have increased 1Q11 to $6.1 million from last year’s $4.5 million. So turnaround is still a ways off. Continue reading →

Posted in Alex Yemenidjian, Atlantic City, CityCenter, Cosmopolitan, Dining, Donald Trump, Economy, Entertainment, Hard Rock Hotel, Marketing, MGM Mirage, Monte Carlo fire, Morgans Hotel Group, Riviera, Sahara, Steve Wynn, The Strip, Tourism, Wall Street | 2 Comments

Quote of the Day

Posted on May 16, 2011 by David McKee

“Pippa [Middleton]—Kate’s sister—yes, she’s attractive, but can the world’s media pump the brakes a little? Half the cocktail waitresses in Las Vegas make her look like she fell off the back of a royal carriage, got run over by a white horse and was patched up by a blind seamstress.” — British expat Ben Conmy, reporting on the recent royal wedding (no, not the contemporaneous Steve Wynn nuptials), as seen from the Queen Victoria British Pub at the Riviera. Incidentally, a reliable source informs me that the potatoes at Queen Victoria Pub are the real thing, not the made-from-powder stuff that the Riv’s been serving elsewhere.

Posted in Dining, Entertainment, International, Riviera, Steve Wynn, The Strip, TV | Comments Off on Quote of the Day

Kasich’s sneaky “juice job”

Posted on May 13, 2011 by David McKee

This just in (thanks in large part to a timely Tweet from Howard Stutz of the Review-Journal) …

One of Ohio Gov. John Kasich‘s costly casino consultants just got caught with its hand in the cookie jar. While Kasich piously claims to be seeking a better deal for taxpayers than the one for which they voted in 2008, he’s not averse to working some crony capitalism into his crusade. A big chunk of any additional casino taxes or upfront fees would be funneled into the pockets of Moelis & Co., up to $13 million. What? $200K a month wasn’t a good enough gig, especially when they could stretch it out literally for years? (The financial ramifications of a tax/fee hike are the subject of a fascinating analysis that places Ohio’s situation into context.)

It’s not clear how Moelis had this much mojo with Kasich but it was able to negotiate a deal whereby it gets 3.25% of “incremental value.” In a an e-mail sent to the Ohio Department of Administrative Services on (how apropos!) April 15, it advised the administration it would be possible for Ohio to extract more $$$ from Penn National Gaming and Caesars Entertainment/Rock Ventures … and that Moelis would be happy to Continue reading →

Posted in Current, Economy, Harrah's, Ohio, Penn National, Politics, Racinos, Regulation | 2 Comments

R.I.P., House of Lords; Boyd’s best asset; Poll party

Posted on May 13, 2011 by David McKee

My missus and I were going to make a farewell visit to the Sahara‘s charming fine-dining spot on Sunday. However, our reservation has been canceled because House of Lords will be closing a day early. The reason? They’re running out of food and won’t have enough to last the weekend. So this is how the Sahara ends … not with a bang but an empty fridge.

My man Al. Former Coast Resorts mascot and The Orleans icon Big Al hasn’t been seen in these parts for quite some time. Once a familiar sight on local TV commercials, the lovable green-felt gator used to be depicted running through farm fields and sailing the high seas of Lake Mead, in search of good buffet fodder. But the casino industry got a little too slick for Big Al and he was banished from view either before or during the absorption of Coast into Boyd Gaming. Like Coast CEO Michael Gaughan, Big Al just didn’t fit into that new, publicly traded world.

And then … there was suddenly a Big Al sighting last night at the Orleans, where my main man helped promote the eponymous new comedy club. (I’m showing a lot of forehead there, aren’t I?) Meeting the best mascot not named the Philly Phanatic was definitely the high point of the evening and my single favorite “red carpet” moment in 12 years here. (Yes, I do get out much. Why do you ask?) They mix a good Bloody Mary at the club but service is Continue reading →

Posted in Boyd Gaming, CityCenter, Cosmopolitan, Downtown, Entertainment, history, Marketing, MGM Mirage, Michael Gaughan, North Las Vegas, Station Casinos, Technology, The Strip, TV, Vdara Death Ray | 2 Comments

The doctor will see you now

Posted on May 13, 2011 by David McKee

Although stock blogger Frank Curzio seems to be talking out of one of his lower orifices, his musings are too bizarre not to repeat. He floats the notion that Apple is so flush with cash it might entertain some retail therapy in the form of MGM Resorts International, Wynn Resorts and Las Vegas Sands. Or at least has enough money to do it and “have a near-monopoly on the gaming industry.” (I’ve never understood the perennial Wall Street mentality of, “We’ve got all this money lying around, we just have to spend it.” Uh, no, you don’t. Have learned nothing from the Great Recession?)

Whoa there, cowpoke Curzio. Steady on, man. There’s only one place in the U.S. where that would be true and that’s Continue reading →

Posted in Economy, Harrah's, International, Lawrence Ho, Melco Crown Entertainment, MGM Mirage, Pansy Ho, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson, Stanley Ho, Steve Wynn, Technology, The Strip, Wall Street | Comments Off on The doctor will see you now

Johnny Casino, thug; Truce at the Trop; The T-Word

Posted on May 13, 2011 by David McKee

Although the Mob may have left Las Vegas, its strong-arm tactics are still in use. Respected casino architect Paul Steelman found that out when he wouldn’t give a job to John Ensign‘s borderline-illiterate former chief of staff, Doug Hampton. Drunk on power, “Johnny Casino” ordered his minions to “jack [Steelman] up to high heaven and tell him that he is cut off from the office.” (Sen. Harry Reid [D-NV], who owed Papa Ensign a “solid,” eventually lined up a six-figure sinecure for the hapless Hampton at Allegiant Air. Hmmmm. Would that make Reid an unindicted co-conspirator, to employ Watergate parlance?)

That’s mighty big talk coming from a man who was, at one point, reduced to sleeping on former Mandalay Resort Group Chairman Mike Ensign‘s couch (or something of that nature) when his squalid behavior was “outed.” Papa Mike has his own fish to fry now. According to the Senate Ethics Committee, he may have perjured Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Carl Icahn, Colony Capital, Columbia Sussex, Culinary Union, Current, Dennis Gomes, Donald Trump, Economy, Harrah's, Harry Reid, Kansas, MGM Mirage, Penn National, The Mob, The Strip, Tourism, Tropicana Entertainment, Wall Street | 3 Comments

Riviera goes on nostalgia kick

Posted on May 12, 2011 by David McKee

As the Sahara wheezes towards the grave Sam Nazarian dug for it and the Tropicana Las Vegas goes “South Beach” in a blaze of blinding white, the Riviera is left in sole possession of the “old school” niche on the Strip. And its new owners and management are serious about pursuing nostalgic customers. The erstwhile La Cage Theatre will become the Starlite Theatre and a partial list of headliners includes: ex-Supreme Mary Wilson (6/22-73), Connie Stevens (right, 7/6-7/17), The Fifth Dimension (9/28-10/9) and — as previously reported in this space — David Brenner (10/26-11/6). Throw in Continue reading →

Posted in Alex Yemenidjian, Economy, Encore, Entertainment, Marketing, Riviera, Sahara, The Strip, Tourism | 4 Comments

Goett … Goett … gone

Posted on May 12, 2011 by David McKee

In addition to his core site of 100 acres across from M Resort, would-be Olympia Gaming mogul Gary Goett is also shopping around an additional 260 gaming-enabled acres directly to the north. Goett’s asking price? A cool million an acre, according to Colliers International. Before you go busting your piggy bank open, be aware that there’s a five-acre parcel smack-dab in the middle of Goett’s scrub land, held by different ownership. Lucky for you, it’s also on the market.

While the gaming entitlement on his land gives Goett an edge over Station Casinos, whose “Losee Station” parcel is zoned just for residential development, he’s picked a devil of a time to go to market. Who’s got the diñero to pony up $260 million-$360 million for land out past the southern fringe of civilization in Las Vegas and develop a casino atop it as well? Boyd Gaming has enough borrowing capacity but its Park Highlands casino project is still in limbo, at the mercy of Goett and the economy.

That’s just as well. Had that or the two other mid-decade casino projects in North Las Vegas, out near the north beltway (Aliante Station excepted) broken ground, they’d all be sitting high and dry, surrounded by empty desert and maybe a few light-industrial facilities. The “Alhambra” casino backed by a tight-lipped clutch of Hong Kong investors is a cinch to never, ever get built. Unfortunately, Continue reading →

Posted in Boyd Gaming, Current, Downtown, Economy, Gary Goett, Herbst Gaming, International, Marketing, Mesquite, Michael Gaughan, North Las Vegas, Penn National, Pinnacle Entertainment, Sheldon Adelson, The Strip | 2 Comments

Kasich screws casinos; Adelson screws the pooch

Posted on May 12, 2011 by David McKee

Our next-to-worst fears for Ohio have come to pass: Caesars Rock Ohio has temporarily pulled the plug on both its Cincinnati (above) and Cleveland casinos. It’s the latest escalation in a war between developers and state government, which wants to tax casinos on money wagered, not won. That’s not all. Gov. Jon Kasich (R) is still trying to shake down both Caesars Entertainment (and partner Dan Gilbert) and Penn National Gaming for as much as $100 million in extra upfront money, even though neither enterprise is legally obligated to pay one penny more. I’m sorry, but since when did Red China encompass Continue reading →

Posted in Cannery Casino Resorts, Current, Economy, Hard Rock Hotel, International, Kansas, Macau, Marketing, Ohio, Penn National, Politics, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson, Station Casinos, Steve Wynn, Taxes, The Strip, TV, Wall Street | 3 Comments

Quote of the Day

Posted on May 12, 2011 by David McKee

“I like it that [Donald] Trump is filthy rich but nobody told his accent. His whole life is models and gold leaf and marble columns but he still sounds like a know-it-all down at the O.T.B.” — Seth Myers at the 2011 White House Correspondents Dinner (transcript here).

Posted in Current, Donald Trump | 3 Comments

Road to Hong Kong

Posted on May 12, 2011 by David McKee

I. Nelson Rose, the cosmos’ leading expert on gaming law (and a real mensch) is taking his facts and hitting the road on a round-the-world tour. The Whittier Law School professor will be speaking at the Global iGaming Summit & Expo, May 17 in San Francisco, before heading to Tulsa to headline at CasinoFest9 (May 19). From there, it’s on to Ireland for the iGaming Super Show, May 25 in Dublin (plenty of time to get over that jet lag), thence to Macao for a June 7 University of Macao seminar. Playing an extended run in the Far East, Rose appears at G2E Asia on June 9, then jetfoils over to Hong Kong for the CCH Seminar on Gaming Law. It all sounds like the location-shoot itinerary Continue reading →

Posted in California, Current, International, Internet gambling, Macau, Oklahoma | Comments Off on Road to Hong Kong

Quote of the Day

Posted on May 11, 2011 by David McKee

“If publishers really hope to expunge the ‘original sin’ of giving away content free online, they may be best positioned to do so not on the computers where they first gave away their wares, but on mobile devices that offer a more welcoming environment.” — from a Columbia Journalism Review report on the news business’ slowness to adapt to new technology.

Posted in Current, Marketing, Technology | 1 Comment

Trump’d

Posted on May 11, 2011 by David McKee

With his sham presidential “campaign” disintegrating faster than a hydrogen-filled zeppelin, inept casino operator Donald Trump‘s much-hyped Sunday announcement turns out to have been a put-on, too. Trump lackey Michael Cohen is still trying to pump air into the deflating dirigible but it turns out the big “revelation” was as phony as Trump himself. An NBC-TV flack calls the whole thing “misinformation.” S&G would call it another mendacity from the blow-dried blowhard, one of many.

The Trump balloon began leaking gas soon after Trump’s head exploded into flames during his now-notorious tirade at Treasure [expletive] Island. As usual with the Trumpster, the damage was all self-inflected. The likely coup de grace was his mockery of stammerers, after Seth Myers‘ expert skewering punctured Das Donald’s famously thin skin during a Washington, D.C. gala. Beltway pundits then noticed what S&G has been saying Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Cretins, Current, Donald Trump, Election, Marketing, Penn National, Phil Ruffin, Pinnacle Entertainment, Politics, Sheldon Adelson, The Strip, TV, Wall Street | 2 Comments

Has Illinois finally bottomed out? Trop shakeup; Big markdown on Trump

Posted on May 6, 2011 by David McKee

Sorry to disappoint, but we won’t have the answer until June–August, three straight months with the same number of weekend days as last year. By that point we’ll know whether April‘s 2% increase was the beginning of a trend. Last year, T.S. Eliot‘s “cruelest month” saw Illinois casinos creep microscopically upward and 2011 had one more weekend day than 2010 — which may neutralize this year’s apparent upswing. However … this was accomplished in an April that saw Harrah’s Metropolis (-21.5%; its hotel is seen at left) shut down by floodwaters, shaving $2 million off the Land of Lincoln’s casino gross. Had Ol’ Man River not intervened, we’d be talking a theoretical 4% increase.

Metropolis won’t reopen until May 23, so Caesars Entertainment has to batten down the hatches and ride out a long financial squall on its Southern Illinois front. But what’s to explain Harrah’s Joliet ($20 million, -6%) losing business Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Boyd Gaming, Carl Icahn, Colony Capital, Columbia Sussex, Current, Donald Trump, Economy, Entertainment, Environment, George Maloof, Harrah's, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, MGM Mirage, Missouri, Penn National, Phil Ruffin, Steve Wynn, The Strip, Tropicana Entertainment | 3 Comments