Quote of the Day

Posted on June 10, 2010 by David McKee

“Hands down, he will be remembered by historians as our worst governor.” — former Nevada state archivist Guy Rocha, on Gov. Jim Gibbons, who made history by becoming the first Silver State governor ousted in a primary rather than a general election.

Posted in Current, Election, history, Midnight Jim Gibbons | Comments Off on Quote of the Day

So long, Sue, and thanks for playing

Posted on June 9, 2010 by David McKee

It’s back to her day job for Archon Corp. Secretary-Treasurer Sue Lowden, whose political aspirations experienced an embarrassing meltdown that some would call karmic,  redefining “epic fail.” Now she can focus on repairing a corporate image which The Newspaper That Must Not Be Cited rather generously characterized as that of “a successful casino executive.” (C’mon, Sherm, the Santa Fe was never held in high esteem when Mrs. Lowden ran it and the Pioneer Gambling Hall is about as low in the Laughlin pecking order as you can get.)

Perhaps the Lowdens can repay the $350 million they want to borrow for a North Strip stadium with 43,750,000 orders of chicken wings at Sassy Sue’s Saloon. They can also revert to being best known as the people who tore down Wet ‘n Wild, beginning the ghetto-ization of the north end of the Strip.

But will this be the end of the bizarre 11th-hour plot twist in which Mrs. Lowden produced a letter from then-Gaming Commissioner Harry Reid vouching to Illinois regulators for her good character? Did Reid wink at an alleged Mob involvement in a deal that enabled Paul Lowden to acquire two Strip casinos? (This deserves much additional scrutiny.)

Would Mrs. Lowden’s apparent ingratitude and her pooh-poohing of a bombing attempt on Reid — and, by implication, one on a fellow commissioner — cause him to take a special interest in her downfall? As for belatedly citing Reid as a character witness after calling him a liar … well, Reno Mayor Bob Cashell (R) didn’t crown her “Suicidal Sue” for nothing. It’s all very House of Borgia.

Now we come to the part of our program where we form a circle around Continue reading →

Posted in Archon Corp., Boyd Gaming, Current, Downtown, Economy, Election, Harry Reid, history, Laughlin, MGM Mirage, Michael Gaughan, Midnight Jim Gibbons, Movies, North Las Vegas, Phil Ruffin, Politics, Regulation, Reno, Sheldon Adelson, Sports, Steve Wynn, The Mob, The Strip, Wall Street | 2 Comments

Dead governor walking

Posted on June 9, 2010 by David McKee

After three and a half years that felt more like three centuries, Nevadans gave the pink slip to Gov. Jim Gibbons. In a fitting end to a thoroughly incompetent tenure, Midnight Jim got an ignominious drubbing — a 28-point annihilation, in fact — from his fellow GOPers, finishing closer to third place than to winner and former Nevada Gaming Commission member Brian Sandoval.

In light of the political obituaries being written, there’s relatively little left to say about this bizarre, self-obsessed and deeply misanthropic individual. (I searched “the Google” for a conservative analysis of Gibbons’ immolation but couldn’t find any. That’s how inconsequential he’d become.) Midnight Jim’s rise and fall are a cautionary tale of Continue reading →

Posted in Economy, Election, Midnight Jim Gibbons, North Las Vegas, Oscar Goodman, Politics, Regulation | 2 Comments

“Complete disaster” at Marina Bay Sands

Posted on June 9, 2010 by David McKee

That’s what litigants allege about the premiere convention at Las Vegas Sands‘ $5.5 billion Singapore behemoth. In its countersuit to Sands’ opening broadside, the Inter-Pacific Bar Association essentially accuses Station of promising a five-star experience and delivering a Walmart one (imagine having to huddle under an umbrella at the check-in desk), then extracting payment by coercive means.

Sands President Michael A. Leven responded with Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, Current, Economy, Pets, Sheldon Adelson, Singapore, Station Casinos, Technology, The Strip | Comments Off on “Complete disaster” at Marina Bay Sands

This is what “recovery” looks like

Posted on June 9, 2010 by David McKee

Here’s our new business model: a Strip that hasn’t gotten past “dead cat bounce” yet and emaciated revenues elsewhere. Instead of longing for the snows of yesterday and invoking the magic number “2007,” the top minds in the industry are going to have to accept — presuming they haven’t already — that the half-decade of 2003-07 was great while it lasted but it can’t be wished back into existence. What were record levels of casino revenue six years ago now have to prop up the unsustainable growth and spending that ran amok in the years that followed, not to mention other attendant calamities.

S&G defines “flat,” for simplicity’s sake, as gains/losses of less than 1%. And “flat” — or “flattish,” as J.P. Morgan puts it — is what April was, at best (especially in Elko, down only by a few hundredths of a percent) plus or minus a few scattered glimmers of hope. As Wendover goes, so does Nevada and that market Continue reading →

Posted in Boulder Strip, Current, Detroit, Downtown, Economy, Lake Tahoe, Laughlin, MGM Mirage, Regulation, The Strip, Tourism, Wall Street | 3 Comments

Harrah’s still pining for Macao

Posted on June 8, 2010 by David McKee

While we’re on the subject of white elephants today, Harrah’s Entertainment still has a little boondoggle in Macao in the form of a $577 million golf course. Cornered by a reporter at G2E Asia, Harrah’s Asian viceroy, Michael Chen, conceded that his strategy for cracking the market consists of “patience.” What else can he or Harrah’s do when the Chinese government holds all the cards, shows no inclination to open the market to new concessionaires and is currently threatening to revoke planned casino sites if they’re not expeditiously developed?

There’s now speculation that Harrah’s could piggyback its way into the Macao market by taking over moribund Macau Studio City, from which Playboy as well as Taubman have defected. (Studio City’s slogan: “Where Cotai Begins.” No, really.) That would bittersweet, as Harrah’s would have to Continue reading →

Posted in CityCenter, Current, Dining, Economy, G2E, Harrah's, history, James Packer, Lawrence Ho, Macau, Melco Crown Entertainment, MGM Mirage, Movies, Pennsylvania, Regulation, Sports, The Strip, TV | 2 Comments

Sands Bethlehem breaks ground … again

Posted on June 8, 2010 by David McKee

No, that’s not a joke. Las Vegas Sands held a “grand re-groundbreaking” on the hotel portion of its white elephant, Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem. When money ran short, Sands ditched everything but the parking lot and casino, leaving the hotel unfinished. Hence Mayor John Callahan‘s sarcastic jab that “We have enough rusting buildings on that site.”

Even when the hotel is finished, Sands will have fulfilled but a small portion of its commitment to Bethlehem. Waxing both grandiose and vague, Sands prexy Michael A. Leven said the event center would break ground Continue reading →

Posted in California, Current, Economy, Marketing, Pennsylvania, Sheldon Adelson, Singapore, Technology, Tribal, TV | 1 Comment

Trailer Station strikes!

Posted on June 8, 2010 by David McKee

That elusive critter, native to Nevada, the “Trailer Station”* was sighted earlier today by visiting S&G readers. United Coin had set up shop on W. Charleston Boulevard, in the former Skinny Dugan’s Pub. (This is a mandatory ritual for gaming-enabled sites that don’t have 200 0r more hotel rooms, lest they lose their gambling entitlement.)

When I saw, I heard the immortal words of Steve Wynn: “There’s nothing worse than a dead porte cochere.” How true, Steve. How true.

Would-be players (all two of them) could enter ’round the back.

Nothing says “Trailer Station” like 12 machines and one desperately lonely attendant. Stay tuned for future Trailer Station visitations to the baked asphalt where the Queen of Hearts Motel and the Moulin Rouge once stood.

* — the nomenclature was invented by Continue reading →

Posted in Current, Downtown, Election, Politics, Slot routes, Station Casinos | Comments Off on Trailer Station strikes!

The heat is on

Posted on June 8, 2010 by David McKee

Temperatures in Las Vegas yesterday peaked at 110 degrees — the earliest date on record for hitting that mark. Today it’ll “merely” be 102 … and don’t tell me it’s “a dry heat” because I just got back from doing an interview at the Hard Rock Hotel and was sweating like a pig. This weekend brings a veritable cold snap: Saturday’s high is projected to be a frigid 85, so this may be your last shot at even relatively mild conditions until October.

Which inspires the following selection:

I’ve always wanted to insinuate that tune into S&G because of its Mandalay reference and — with summer hammering down upon us in earnest — what better time than now? (Not that there is ever a bad time to watch Agnetha Faltskog.)

Posted in ABBA, Current, Morgans Hotel Group, Tourism | Comments Off on The heat is on

Quote of the Day

Posted on June 8, 2010 by David McKee

“There’s no question … that [the Obama administration has] basically focused too much on making things good for Wall Street and ignored Main Street, and now we’re paying the price for that. This is a structural problem. This is not a cyclical problem, as Larry Summers has been claiming it is. It has been the loss of manufacturing jobs for over 30 years now. We need to throw everything at the problem, including a payroll tax holiday, including creating jobs the way we did during the Depression. Because what is happening is really the assault on the middle class.” — biographer and pundit-at-large Arianna Huffington, indirectly diagnosing one of the primary ailments afflicting Las Vegas (mainly) and other gambling jurisdictions … a shriveling of bargain- and middle-market spending. From ABC-TV‘s This Week.

Posted in Current, Economy, TV, Wall Street | 3 Comments

Recovery: Wait ’til next year

Posted on June 7, 2010 by David McKee

Executives at MGM Mirage haven’t exactly changed their tune but they’ve tweaked the lyrics a bit. Whereas they used to predict a second-half upturn in 2010, now they say 2011 is the magic number and that they’ve got the numbers to prove it. Although convention attendance is still in a slump, MGM projects a 23.5% increase in convention room nights next year. CEO Jim Murren (left) adds that conventioneers are paying “2007 prices,” although I hope that the mere invocation of 2007 doesn’t cause casino execs to start lighting cigars with $100 bills again.

According to J.P. Morgan analysts, Strip room rates were modestly better in the second quarter and are showing double-digit improvement (on weekdays, anyway) for 3Q10 … much of that driven by Wynn Resorts and Las Vegas Sands, it should be noted. This doesn’t come close to erasing the reverses of 2009 but it’s surely better Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, CityCenter, Current, Economy, Illinois, Iowa, MGM Mirage, Sheldon Adelson, Steve Wynn, The Strip | Comments Off on Recovery: Wait ’til next year

Quote of the Day

Posted on June 7, 2010 by David McKee

“You have no private life at all. You can’t go down to the store to buy a couple of tomatoes without having to talk to five, six, seven people who want to tell you their unemployment check didn’t arrive today, that their welfare check should have been more or how pleased they are that you kept the line on not raising taxes.” — Gov. Jim Gibbons (R-NV), explaining to Nevada Newsmakers why he’d evidently rather lose than win in the June 8 primary.

Posted in Current, Economy, Election, Midnight Jim Gibbons, TV | 1 Comment

The Adelson Curse

Posted on June 7, 2010 by David McKee

Eleventh-hour polling in Nevada puts Archon Corp. financial wiz Sue Lowden in an exacta with Danny Tarkanian … for distant-runner-up status in tomorrow’s primary. (Mason-Dixon has her third, Daily Kos places her second.) If this data bears out, rarely will anyone have gone from Anointed One to also-ran in such spectacular fashion, almost entirely through self-inflicted wounds.

(Interesting historical footnote: In his previous incarnation as a Nevada Gaming Commissioner, Sen. Harry Reid [D-NV] gave his blessing to a Lowden-led casino takeover, despite suspicions that the deal was mobbed up.)

However, one must consider the possibility that Lowden was hexed from the moment when, in his Face to Face debut, Las Vegas Sands CEO Sheldon Adelson gave her his explicit endorsement. Nevada candidacies backed by the CEO have a high mortality rate, dating Continue reading →

Posted in Archon Corp., Election, Midnight Jim Gibbons, Politics, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson, The Mob | Comments Off on The Adelson Curse

Jane, stop this crazy thing!

Posted on June 7, 2010 by David McKee

Thanks to a bit of last-minute perfidy by Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV), it looks as though Nevadans — and, mark my words, taxpayers — will eventually be stuck with Sig Rogich‘s Choo-Choo to Nowhere, the train that boards in Vegas and dumps you in … Victorville. The list of competing proposals has now swelled to four, the latest entrant being Desert Lightning, a project that’s long on ideas but short on dollars.

The basic concept is for a dedicated, Y-shaped line that begins (or terminates, if you prefer) in Los Angeles. Near the intersection of the California, Nevada and Arizona borders, a spur line would branch northward to Las Vegas, while the main route would continue into Continue reading →

Posted in Arizona, California, Current, Economy, Harry Reid, Technology, Transportation | 1 Comment

R-J cowers before kittens

Posted on June 7, 2010 by David McKee

Yes, a Web site that posts non-commercial items about cats and birds has become the latest target for The Newpaper That Must Not Be Cited and its errant anti-Internet jihad. Since the R-J‘s enforcer Righthaven LLC doesn’t send cease-and-desist letters but jumps straight into lawsuit mode, this looks more and more like a money-grubbing tactic. Ironically, one of the targets is local PR man Steve Stern, who’s been one of R-J reporter John G. Edwards‘ go-to sources for years.

Among Stern’s crimes, according to the legal filing, was to “exploit” an R-J story by various means, including a — horrors! — link. (On their own blogs, R-J Publisher Sherman Frederick and Editor Thomas Mitchell (left) constantly link to other peoples’ sites and quote material found there in extenso, paragraph upon paragraph, so they’re clearly unencumbered by intellectual consistency on this score.)

The R-J‘s illogical fear of kitty blogs aside, this is becoming a serious matter here at LVA. We’ve actually got people afraid to Continue reading →

Posted in Current, Pets, Phil Ruffin, Technology, The Strip | 1 Comment

Quote of the Day

Posted on June 6, 2010 by David McKee

“If you’re single and want a one-night, that’s the place to go.” — a friend’s assessment of the Hooters Casino Hotel.

Posted in The Strip | Comments Off on Quote of the Day

Bargain-hunting at Harrah’s

Posted on June 4, 2010 by David McKee

But not in the way you might think …

Harrah’s Entertainment is $557 million richer — which effectively amortizes the Planet Hollywood deal — after the swap of a 16% ownership stake to three investment firms for $1.2 billion in debt. In addition to covering his Planet Ho outlay, CEO Gary Loveman offloads more debt at 67 cents on the dollar (in Paulson & Co.’s  case, anyway), and finds himself sitting atop $3 billion in cash and credit. Also benefiting was Paulson, which obtained a 10% slice of Harrah’s, continuing a buying spree in which it has taken large positions in MGM Mirage and Boyd Gaming.

The only downside is that another “goodwill” writedown seems to be looming on the horizon. If $1.2 billion in debt equals a 15.6% share of Harrah’s, what does that imply about the total value of a company that went private for nearly $31 billion two years ago? Let’s pass the hat, offer $5 billion (and change) for the other five-sixths of Harrah’s and see what answer we get.

Trop struggling. It’s disheartening to see Alex Yemenidjian and his lieutenants doing almost all the right things at the Tropicana Las Vegas, only to be rewarded with Continue reading →

Posted in Alex Yemenidjian, Boyd Gaming, Carl Icahn, Columbia Sussex, Current, Dining, Economy, Florida, Harrah's, MGM Mirage, Oklahoma, Regulation, The Strip, Tourism, Tribal, Tropicana Entertainment, Wall Street | 4 Comments

Steve Wynn scores 50 grand

Posted on June 4, 2010 by David McKee

If this story, heard through the grapevine, isn’t true then it should be: Supposedly, on opening weekend at Encore Beach Club business was sufficiently brisk that bungalows were fetching as much as $20,000 apiece. One man was so desperate — and so flush — that he approached Steve Wynn in his (Wynn’s) bungalow and offered him $50,000 for it — in cash. Wynn, no fool he, took the 50 dimes and split. When patrons have that kind of “flash money,” Wynn Resorts has very little about which to worry.

Posted in Current, Encore, Entertainment, Steve Wynn, The Strip | 3 Comments

Jason lives … at Station Casinos

Posted on June 4, 2010 by David McKee

Jason Voorhees (well, one of the many) is Station Casinos‘ general manager for the tribally owned Thunder Valley Casino, near Sacramento. No, I’m not making this up.
Uncle Sheldon says … that convention business will be “80% of normal” in 2011. Given that meeting biz was a shrinking market well before the Great Recession, even when the Strip was doing record tourism/gambling numbers, it would be helpful to know what the Las Vegas Sands CEO’s baseline for “normal” is. It’s like nailing Jell-O to a wall. He also claimed Asian revenues never declined, even as the Strip crashed and burned. How quickly they forget. (Chinese visa restrictions, anyone?) And yes, there’s “a lot of conversation in Japan about legalizing gaming” — as there was in 2005 … and 2006 … and 2007 …

Pennsylvania casinos hit the wall. Great Recession, meet casinos/racinos in Pennsylvania. Except for Continue reading →

Posted in California, Current, International, Macau, Massachusetts, Neil Bluhm, Oklahoma, Penn National, Pennsylvania, Politics, Problem gambling, Sheldon Adelson, Station Casinos, The Strip, Tourism, Tribal | 3 Comments

“Yup, it’s in bad shape”

Posted on June 4, 2010 by David McKee

That’s what a correspondent wrote after seeing a ginormous photo of the sadly faded Paris-Las Vegas “balloon” marquee. For the grisly details click here. Planet Hollywood, this could be you. Just give it a few years.

On the subject of upkeep, isn’t amazing that when the economy goes south, housekeepers get the chop but there’s always money in the kitty for executive bonuses and other corporate perks? And yet a distressed facility is going to be the second thing a guest notices (the unjustifiably long line at  the [understaffed] check-in desk being #1). Hey, guys, you’re in the “resort” business. You wanna run a Strip hotel like it’s the Western? Go buy a grind joint or two.

These thoughts were inspired by Vegas Chatter‘s recent visit to Luxor. Apparently “$36 room night” is a synonym for “scuzzy experience.” Chatter‘s report is best not read on a full stomach.

On a happier note (for customers, anyway), standard rooms at Aria are down to $99 midweek. But trust me, Continue reading →

Posted in Alex Yemenidjian, Atlantic City, Cirque du Soleil, CityCenter, Colony Capital, Current, Donald Trump, Downtown, Economy, Entertainment, Harrah's, MGM Mirage, Regulation, Tamares Group, The Strip, Tourism | 3 Comments