Tiger: On the game

Posted on December 9, 2009 by David McKee

Memo to the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority:

Boys, it’s time to re-retire that “What happens here …” slogan because it is so yesterday. Sure, there was an era when a man of privilege might come to Las Vegas to unleash his inner Don Draper, especially when it came to having carnal knowledge of women other than the one to whom he’s married.

But with all the prominent Vegas wankers that have been caught playing ‘hide the salami’ of late, perhaps it’s time for a slogan that more accurately represents the state of, um, affairs. Like, ‘What happens here will put your ass in a nationwide sling.’ (Or maybe, “There’s nothing wrong with that.”)

First it was a certain golfer (and occasional U.S. senator) who got his dad — casino baron Mike Ensign — embroiled in a pay-for-poontang brouhaha that was recently named the fifth-biggest scandal of the year. (We expected a better ranking but John Ensign always was kind of an underachiever.)

Now along comes another noted figure on the links, Tiger Woods, who’s sinking in a bunker of quicksand. Mr. Woods’ adventures in infidelity are starting to bring wider attention to an inconvenient Vegas truth: That casino hosts and nightclub hostesses have no difficulty or compunction about supplying their clients with a string of women of easy virtue.

This is scarcely a news flash around here. Heck, S&G‘s heard tell about high rollers getting blown on the casino floor (bringing a new meaning to the poker term “suck out”) and of prostitutes being allowed to peddle their wares in Strip casino bars, so long as security’s palm is greased. Heck, in the seamiest, sordid-est, most Columbia Sussexed days of the Tropicana Las Vegas, private investigators described encountering security personnel who were acting as the working girls’ protectors. The Nevada Gaming Control Board, per ancient custom, found nothing untoward in this.

Tiger Woods, obviously, doesn’t have to avail himself of the garden variety Vegas hooker. Besides, these women have standards. As one VIP host says, in praise of Rachel Uchitel: “She’s not a fucking floozy or nothing. She’s a real event planner. She’s not just some girl that lifts up the velvet rope and sucks guy’s dicks. She’s the kind of girl that when you talk to her, you know, she’s all business. She’s beautiful, she’s smart and her agenda is to land big clients — not big boyfriends.”

Very reassuring. I’m sure Mrs. Woods feels much better knowing that. And remember ladies: Don’t sleep with the “whales,” or your promising career in “event planning” will be — how shall we say? — screwed.

Posted in Columbia Sussex, Current, Regulation, Sports, The Strip | 3 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 take the Wayback Machine to December 2008, when the cover of Liberty Watch bore a fawning — and wisely anonymous — ode to “Our Top 10 Gamers: When Others Bust, These Guys Build.”

Given the parlous state of the casino industry in late 2008, Liberty Watch‘s pronouncements suggest the author was hunched over a crystal ball that was, if not cracked, exceptionally dusty. Of the 1oth man on the list, he writes, “[William] Weidner knows the right tone to adopt with every crisis, and he’s got what it takes to carry the [sic] Sands out of its funk and into another period of growth and prosperity.”

william_weidnerNever mind that Weidner’s testimony had recently sunk Las Vegas Sands‘ case against Richard Suen, who successfully sued for a “success fee” for helping get Sands into Macao. By early March, Weidner (left) would be history. Sands may yet emerge from its funk but ex-prez Weidner has done a disappearing act. As for always adopting the right tone, would that include Weidner’s witness-stand remark that all Chinese look alike? Perhaps the “witless stand” would have been an apter pulpit for such comments.

Harrah’s Entertainment CEO Gary Loveman (#6) is painted as “a leader who will speak the truth” and an apostle of fiscal restraint. Yes, and pay no attention to the $24 billion-plus debt load behind the curtain.

Frankie the ThirdStation Casinos supremos Frank III & Lorenzo Fertitta (#5) “always put their money where their passion lies.” (Like Orange County real estate, perhaps?) They were, we’re told, keeping the soon-to-go-bankrupt “Stations [sic] Casinos strong and credit-worthy.” The brothers “seem very likely to [but didn’t] loan the company between $450 million and $500 million” and — to be pedantic — most of the money would probably have come from hapless partner Colony Capital. The article also fails to ask why, if Station is the fifth-largest company in the business, CEO Frank Fertitta III (pictured) pays himself the highest base salary of any chief exec in the industry. (Strange that a magazine supposedly devoted to the ideals of fiscal conservatism would idolize some of the worst spendthrifts in gaming.)

As much as I admire Bill Boyd (#4), he’d long since vacated the chairman and CEO titles Liberty Watch re-appended upon him. Since January 2008, they’d been held by Keith Smith, and it is he who ought to be credited with having the huevos to call a halt on Echelon and with the successful relaunch of Blue Chip, up in Indiana. “Bill Boyd, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Boyd Gaming, [may have been] keeping up with the changing times instead of sticking too closely to the past models” but Liberty Watch sure wasn’t.

“[C]utting payroll is the first thing most corporate executives look to do in order to justify their cushy salaries,” the writer says by way of praising South Point owner Michael Gaughan‘s (#3) refusal to do so. And yet, MGM Mirage CEO Jim Murren (#7) is lauded for “an expense reduction program, which began as an initiative to streamline operations following a string of mergers but became more focused on cutting costs to offset earnings that have declined from a year ago. That’s what a leader does.” [Cue fanfare] That also sounds like a long-winded euphemism for “cutting payroll.” Intellectual inconsistency much?

Finally, there’s this plaudit for the #2 man on the list: “Don’t expect [Fontainebleau CEO Glenn] Schaeffer to cut any corners whatsoever in constructing what will surely be one of the most elegant pleasure palaces in Las Vegas.” One year and countless cost overruns later, truer words may never have been written. And say, whatever happened to that Schaeffer guy?

“Fontainebleau will be boldly going where few other hotels have gone before.” If F-bleau becomes — as some have recommended — the first Strip megaresort to be imploded prior to completion, yes, it will have achieved an historic first. But if Liberty Watch meant going into bankruptcy, F-bleau needn’t worry: It will find plenty of company there … including “Stations Casinos.”

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 for two-thirds the amount. Penn CEO Peter Carlino suggests that Icahn might achieve the savings by dint of avoiding a complete build-out. And, given the Vegas economy (still in dead-cat-bounce mode), what’s wrong with that?

Penn itself is talking about repositioning F’bleau for the mid-market … but for the high-end, too. The latter demographic is, with all due respect, a market segment to which Penn is a novice. Then again, that’s what was said about Circus Circus Corp. when it built Mandalay Bay and again about Boyd Gaming pre-Borgata. So you never know. Penn also maintains it has “a company with some sort of resort expertise” lined up as a joint-venture partner, which is a bit different from what it told J.P. Morgan analysts.

Icahn 2While Icahn (left) keeps his powder dry, Carlino fires off a broadside of his own: “The potential for people to do something foolish is limitless.” He ought to know. After unsuccessful talks with MGM Mirage, which drove a hard bargain for The Mirage, Carlino kicked the tires on Planet Hollywood, letting it fall to Harrah’s Entertainment instead. He even floated the notion of purchasing Green Valley Ranch.

Considering that Greenspun Media Group and other Greenspun family entities are in a world of hurt, if Carlino didn’t make a play for their half-interest in Green Valley Ranch and Aliante Station, why not? Creditors trying to wring blood from the stone that is Station Casinos would surely welcome Penn — and its considerable liquidity — to the table, in hopes of wresting those two assets from Station’s grasp and placing them with a solvent foster parent instead.

Heck, even though he acknowledges that CityCenter‘s debut will set off a feast of cannibalization on the Strip, Carlino set his sights on the biggest, most expensive dog among unfinished/financially troubled Vegas properties. (Aptly, Penn boasts a CFO named Clifford.) Now that he’s got his long-sought casino in Kansas, plus at least one in Ohio (depending on whether Columbus is allowed to opt of a recent constitutional mandate), Carlino’s famous $1.5 billion war chest is going to be spread thinner and thinner.

I have to take issue with a few points in Liz Benston‘s analysis. Regarding Columbia Sussex‘s self-defeating $2.75 billion Aztar Corp. takeover: “Critics say that inflated price tag helped fuel the severe cost-cutting that led to the company’s downfall, especially in Atlantic City, where regulators revoked the company’s casino license for, among other infractions, failing to adequately staff the property.”

No, critics don’t say that. ColSux said it — promising potential underwriters in its “road show” presentations that it would recoup the purchase price through severe staff cutbacks; words that would come back to haunt CEO William J. Yung III when his New Jersey license was up for renewal.

“Icahn doesn’t build casinos, he trades them — profiting when formerly depressed properties are resold with leaner operating costs and once the overall market for casino investments improves.” True, he doesn’t build casinos per se, but he’s not a here-today/gone-tomorrow “flipper,” either. A dozen years ago, he snapped up what looked like one of Vegas’ biggest catastrophes ever, the Stratosphere, repositioned it and ran it for the better part of a decade before cashing out when the market was at its peak (and buyers were at their most foolish).

Icahn also took a bankrupt motel with a never-used casino, the Sunrise, reopened it and eventually expanded it as Arizona Charlie’s Boulder. So Icahn’s got some experience taking lemons and making lemonade. Sounds like just what the doctor ordered for F-bleau.

As for the increasingly blustery Carlino, he might do well to engrave the following words: “This is a classic case of … be careful what you wish for, because you’re going to have this thing and you’ve got to be prepared to write checks to see it through.” Because if he makes another run at F-bleau and gets it, Carlino might be the one regretting that for which he wished.

Heroes 1Anybody can build a $6 billion casino … in Photoshop.

Fort Fontainebleau? That should be the prospective title of an F-bleau-related inquiry about buying Big Bleau as a resort for military personnel and their families. First, try to erase from your mind the bizarre image of a casino floor filled with men and women in desert camo BDUs. Concentrate on the fact that this $350 million (uh-huh) pseudo-bid comes from a company with a revoked Nevada business license and its pet project is a loony $6 billion, six-tower military retirement community cum casino resort. This failsino was supposed to have opened at an undisclosed location four months ago. (Anybody care to guess what the “well-known off-strip [sic] 2,000 room [sic] Hotel/Casino [sic] with land and planning permit to build 4 new towers” might have been?

Before taking any wooden nickels from these folks, the bankruptcy judge might want to ask how they intend to finish F-bleau when they can’t even build a Web site. The company claims to have “a broad range of interests” — so broad as to be indefinable — and makes some extremely questionable financial projections.

If there’s ever been a casino operator who made “a 28% to 43% profit range within a 36 to 48 month period” the rest of the industry would sure like to meet him and pick his brain, wouldn’t it? Asked for particulars about its bid, Craig Road Development wrapped itself in Old Glory, dispensing vaporous self-serving, flag-waving bombast. Remind me: Just whose last refuge is patriotism?

On the other hand, if somebody’s willing to rush in and offer $350 million for something Carl Icahn (who didn’t just fall off the turnip truck) thinks is worth less than half that amount, who’s the bankruptcy judge to say those fools and their money shouldn’t be parted?

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

Quote of the Day

Posted on December 8, 2009 by David McKee

Aria low angle

“I really believe it is not a casino-hotel. I really would not be upset at all if people never visit Aria that live here.” — MGM Mirage CEO Jim Murren, appearing on Jon Ralston‘s Face to Face program.

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Quote of the Day

Case Bets: The Wayner, G2E, Packer & Kerzner

Posted on December 8, 2009 by David McKee

Wayne-Newton-cover-299x300Say what you like about Wayne Newton‘s Once Before I Go at the Tropicana Las Vegas, it has the biggest band you’ll see on the Strip: 20 strong, plus backup singers. Most Strip headliners have to make do with one-third that number. But Newton’s instrumental extravagance comes at a price: all-out war with the musicians’ union. The latter is posting online some of the critical brickbats, as well as several vocally constipated MP3s in which The Wayner — believe it or not — actually sounds worse than he did at the Trop.

Beyond the camp-curiosity aspect, the important matter is the Sophie’s Choice faced by Local 369. Six hours’ pay for a 90-minute performance plus before-and-after rehearsals, doesn’t seem like a draconian offer on the face of it. But if the union accedes, then its series of agreements specifying discrete rehearsal and performance fees begins to unravel up and down the Strip. However, when productions like Peepshow are ditching live bands in favor of backing tracks, the dilemma may soon become moot.

DSCN1290Down is the new “up”: If you’re a buyer, Global Gaming Expo is still the place to go. G2E is touting a 7% increase in attendance to its exhibit hall this year. However, if you’re a vendor, it’s no longer the destination of choice, as this year’s attenuated exhibit floor made plain. For instance, Atomic had what I call “the virtual booth” (left), consisting of little more than some placards, a computer and a video display. However, if you were en route to the bathroom, it made a handy shortcut.

Seriously, vendor attendance was so far down that — despite more buyers on hand — overall turnout was -3.5%, even after the higher number of prospective customers is factored in. Since the American Gaming Association has gone transoceanic with ventures like G2E Asia, it was only a matter of time before the “mothership” began to suffer, a circumstance our dire global economy has been only too happy to accelerate.

Rare win for Packer. Degenerate gambler Harry Kakavas claimed that minions of James Packer illegally lured him into playing at Crown Casino, in Melbourne. An Australian court has ruled, in effect, “No dice.” Kakavas, who blew through obscene amounts of money at Crown, failed to demonstrate that his exclusion from a Sydney casino should have extended to other cities. He’s also now on the hook to Packer for $913K-plus. Given both men’s poor track record with gambling-related expenditures, perhaps they should entrust the cash to a third party who will invest it wisely.

Beating Adelson at his own game. Not only has Genting Bhd blown past lumbering Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, it’s also stealing a march on Sheldon Adelson‘s home state of Massachusetts. The Mashpee Wampanoag are well shot of Sol Kerzner and Len Wolman. Who’d plow $690 million into a racino in Rhode Island? That’s almost as much as Adelson spent on Phase I of Sands Bethlehem, which at least has the virtue of proximity to New York City, and far more than the combined sale prices of Trump Marina (unconsummated) and the Tropicana Atlantic City. Kerzner’s track record of U.S. casino investment is almost as bad as Packer’s … but not quite. Packer’s total crap-out will be a benchmark of ineptitude for some time to come.

Posted in Alex Yemenidjian, Atlantic City, Australia, Carl Icahn, Current, Donald Trump, Economy, Entertainment, G2E, Genting, International, James Packer, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Planet Hollywood, Problem gambling, Racinos, Sheldon Adelson, Singapore, Tribal, Tropicana Entertainment | Comments Off on Case Bets: The Wayner, G2E, Packer & Kerzner

Douchebags-R-Us

Posted on December 8, 2009 by David McKee

If you have a closetful of Ed Hardy apparel and fancy the lifestyle of a pimp, The Palms wants your business …

Of course, ever since George Maloof introduced his garish Fantasy Suites, The Palms has been pushing the envelope of decadence, even for Vegas.

Posted in Entertainment, George Maloof, Marketing, TV | 1 Comment

Harrah’s gets away with it

Posted on December 7, 2009 by David McKee

In a move certain to embolden scofflaws all over Clark County, District Attorney David Roger has cut a deal with Harrah’s Entertainment that lets the corporate behemoth slide on a variety of criminal charges in return for paying a $1.2 million fine — mere pocket change in the grander scheme of things — and promising to essentially play nice and never, ever do it again. Not only are some companies too big to fail, they are evidently too colossal to be bothered with the persnickety rules by which mere mortals have to comply.

Slide 1While Harrah’s was not convicted of any lawbreaking, a Las Vegas Review-Journal probe (that paper’s finest achievement in 11 years) caught the company red-handed in myriad evasions, violations and circumventions of the relevant building codes. Having weighed safety in the balance against getting things done on the quick, Harrah’s came down on the side of expediency — with the help of some astonishingly derelict county bureaucracy.

This is one of the two or three scummiest, sleaziest “juice jobs” of the last several years and Roger’s rationalization that he faced a choice between A) criminal convictions and B) compliance is what’s known as a false dichotomy. (Or, more colloquially, “bullshit.”) Imperial Palace, in particular, appears to have suffered from Harrah’s prolonged indecision over the property’s future, judging by the number of deficiencies that consultant Leo A. Daly found.

As to Roger’s explanation for his weak-kneed capitulation, I’ll leave the demolition job to CityLife Editor Steve Sebelius: “What, was Harrah’s going to refuse to identify or fix problems because it was irked that it was being hauled into court to face charges? If the company refused to allow county inspectors to examine its properties, the county should have revoked its occupancy permits until such time that Harrah’s had a change of heart. (We’d guess about 20 minutes of empty hotel towers in this fragile economy should just about do it.)”

Perhaps an even greater outrage is that Harrah’s chief enabler, county building inspector Rick Maddox, was able to get his job back despite having been at the epicenter of the scandal. The obvious winner in this is Harrah’s CEO Gary Loveman (above), who continues to enjoy his $1.9 million base salary while whistleblower Fred Frazzetta, who sacrificed his career in the interests of public safety, is left to ponder whether he did the right thing. According to the David Roger value system, no, he didn’t. And that’s tragic.

Fleeing Planet Ho. Yet another exec from Planet Hollywood is yielding to the blandishments of Alex Yemenidjian and jumping ship to the Tropicana Las Vegas. It’s quite a slap to Harrah’s that the mere threat of its arrival at Planet Ho is enough to send upper management scurrying for the lifeboats.

Posted in Alex Yemenidjian, Architecture, Current, Harrah's, Planet Hollywood, Regulation, The Strip | 1 Comment

Quote of the Day

Posted on December 4, 2009 by David McKee

“I have so much to do that I am going to bed.” — old Savoyard saying, to say nothing of my present state of mind.

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Crystals: Why?

Posted on December 4, 2009 by David McKee

Crystals 1252Spare. That’s the word I’d use to describe Crystals, which opened yesterday. Having been in a self-imposed cone of deafness, I wasn’t exposed to any of the opening-day press. Thus, I came to Crystals last night as a blank slate — which pretty well describes Crystals itself at this point.

It’s very spacious and airy, worlds away from the claustrophobia of Forum Shops. However, its design elevates form over function, as attested to by misdirection (the “Tram to Bellagio” signage actually led us to the Monte Carlo-bound monorail), dead space and an odd traffic flow that is wont to have you going in circles.

While slightly less than half of the retail space may be leased, far less than that is open. It’s very chi-chi and exclusive and, as of last night, very thinly patronized. It’s difficult to imagine why MGM Mirage opened Crystals when it did. The much-touted “treehouse” is well shy of completion, for instance, and other unfinished construction was exposed for all to see.

At least there are one or two nice free attractions (not including the Henry Moore sculpture just outside), such as the illuminated staircase, the giant ice phalluses and the glass-enclosed cyclones of water. Very Wizard of Oz, that. Otherwise it’s mostly a ginormous, ultra-expensive version of the Scotch Tape Store from Saturday Night Live.

About the only place where you could muster a crowd was the Eva Longoria/Todd English restaurant Beso. Since media-night buffets are almost never representative of the actual menu, I’ll just say that this one was much better than usual. That goes double for the finger-food platters which offered what I suspect to be actual Beso menu items, in which case the chow will be very good chez Longoria. However, the constant thwacka-thwacka-thwacka of “house” music makes it seem like you’re having dinner in a gay bar.

The upstairs club, Eve, can be summarized in six words: fugly lighting and fucking hip-hop. It’s for a different generation, obviously, although MGM CEO Jim Murren looked ready to get his groove thing on. (Also sighted discretely were a Marley Taylor-less Chris Phillips, Las Vegas Review-Journal fashionista Xasmin Garza, plus several very relieved-looking Greenspun Media Group staffers, clearly euphoric to have been spared in the recent corporate bloodbath. They had that “near-death experience” look.)

Judging by the number of young male couples strolling about, Crystals already has a head start toward being Vegas’ #1 gay hangout. If it achieves nothing else, CityCenter bids fair to become the Strip’s Ground Zero of gayness. Friends of Dorothy, you’re not in Kansas anymore.

mainstreetstation-picAt the other end of the Strip, literally and metaphorically, check out this enlightening — if very blurry — photo essay on Main Street Station. Something this charming and idiosyncratic couldn’t be recreated by all the consultants in Christendom. Boyd Gaming really lucked into a gem when it bought the place. (LVA members lurve its buffet.)

The Great Greenspun Massacre: In addition to exploring the nooks and crannies of Main Street Station, journalistic perpetual-motion machine Steve Friess has also been indefatigable in his coverage of Greenspun Media’s recent self-disembowelment, dubbed “Black Tuesday.” Since R-J Publisher Sherman Frederick finds it easier and more profitable to put out a mediocre newspaper than a good once, with GMG falling apart like a tarpaper shack, there’s no reason to believe that the Dogpatch Daily (journalism’s answer to the French civil service) won’t remain third rate or possibly aim for fourth-rateness. (You can do it, Sherm!)

Which is not to let Brian Greenspun off the hook, even if he’s already sealed a reputation as the man who unraveled almost everything that legendary father Hank Greenspun built. S&G has crossed paths (and sometimes swords) with many of Greenspun’s casualties and this is a very dark week for journalism in Nevada. For instance, GMG retained the  Las Vegas Weekly‘s four-person “Team Hangover” and continues to syndicate the sycophantic blather of Robin Leach, but could not find room in its budget for, in no particular order …

• Sam Skolnik, whose coverage of labor and Downtown issues was excellent.
• Ace investigator Jeff German, who kept up the heat on Ted Binion‘s suspicious death, which might otherwise have been swept beneath the nearest rug. (One could name any number of other stories that German has broken or taken the lead upon, but that is probably his most famous legacy.)
• Jeff Simpson, who befriended a rival journo back in ’01 and even tried to sell me on the virtues of joining him at the R-J. We’ve also chewed the fat on many of the early Vegas Gang podcasts.
• Jeff Haney, wagering columnist par excellence, and a great and valuable friend to LVA readers.
• Josh Bell, for many years the area’s only TV critic of significance.
Throw in Richard Abowitz, whose pink-slippage was already noted — and deplored — on the S&G Twitter feed, and you’ve got the makings of a helluva news staff. If the Dogpatch Daily aspired to excellence, it would snatch up some or all of these people forthwith (and prune some of its resident dead wood, too). But it doesn’t and it won’t, mark my words. And if have to eat them later, they’ll comprise a tasty meal.
At least GMG had the wisdom to keep (at random) Rick Velotta at his post on the tourism beat, not to mention retaining the best casino-industry reporter in the U.S., Liz Benston. Kudos also for seeing the worth of incisive political correspondent J. Patrick Coolican, theatre critic Joe Brown and Vegas One executive producer Dana Gentry. I’d also laud GMG for keeping its ties to Jon Ralston, polysyllabic purveyor of pungent punditry, but Ralston’s a franchise unto himself and I have good reason to suspect GMG needs him more than it would care to admit.
Posted in Boyd Gaming, CityCenter, Current, Dining, Downtown, Harrah's, MGM Mirage, The Strip, TV | 5 Comments

Scarlett, Princess of Wrath

Posted on December 4, 2009 by David McKee

scarlettAs you read this, Rachel Jessee, aka Scarlett, Princess of Magic, former Riviera headliner, is reflecting upon some quality time spent in the Henderson Detention Center. In what may be the best story of 2009, Scarlett threw down on her promoter/sugar daddy, John Lewis. (When you are a 67-year-old man, the term “boyfriend” no longer applies.) It is hard to decide which aspect of this sordid saga of domestic bliss and legerdemain gone wrong is more pathetic: that the 21-year-old Scarlett was able to kick Lewis’ ass or that he’s more than three times her age.

Ewwww! Blech! Brain bleach! On second thought, I know which part is squickier.

A good thing the Henderson constabulary fastened Scarlett “in double-locked and properly fitting handcuffs,” because as anyone who’s seen her act knows, she can slip single-locked manacles … underwater.

Posted in Current, Entertainment, Riviera | Comments Off on Scarlett, Princess of Wrath

Best Casino Commercial Ever

Posted on December 3, 2009 by David McKee

It seems like if you’ve seen one casino commercial, you’ve seen them all. Recent efforts by M Resort and Green Valley Ranch were state-of-the-art examples of the same old same-old.

However, it was impossible not to be stopped in one’s tracks by a cryptic, 97-second spot that ran during the morning news earlier this week. It’s a free-associative succession of images, regularly punctuated by the distinctive geometric forms of CityCenter. However, that’s mixed with very un-Vegas shots of people yachting, lounging by the seaside or doing business in a distinctly older metropolis (New York? Chicago? San Francisco?). Woven through it all are stylized arm movements, reminiscent of tai chi, which are intended to express those aspects of CityCenter for which words are inadequate.

The commercial is so devoid of the imagery we’ve come to expect from a casino ad, that for once the overworked term “outside the box” actually qualifies. It’s better than anything that’s been done in this market, period — and, no, I’m not forgetting the Wynn Las Vegas and Encore rollouts. (As for The Venetian,  it’s still running spots from 1999. You can see them during that interminable wait for your baggage at McCarran International Airport, where vacations go to die.)

Unfortunately, MGM Mirage has not made this ad available in an embeddable form, so I snurched it off Aria‘s Facebook page and uploaded it on mine. I doubt MGM will mind the free “product placement.” Lord knows, this filmlet deserves to be seen. It’s somewhere in the jungle that is CityCenter’s Web site but given the processing power you need to mine that thing effectively, it’s probably not worth the safari.

Breaking news: A man generous with his time and expertise, UNLV economist and all-around class act Keith Schwer, died yesterday. He will be greatly missed. Schwer was the Cassandra who saw the Las Vegas recession coming while others scoffed, sometimes in a very crude and demeaning manner. Set against such jackasses, the dignity and restraint of Schwer shone the more brightly.

Posted in CityCenter, Current, Marketing, MGM Mirage, Sheldon Adelson, Steve Wynn, Technology, The Strip, Tourism, Transportation, TV | 4 Comments

Aria, Vdara discounting already

Posted on December 3, 2009 by David McKee

Aria VdaraIn its discussions with J.P. Morgan analysts, MGM Mirage has regularly been boasting that Aria’s room rates are running higher (very, very slightly higher) than Bellagio. Being a skeptical fellow by nature, my instinct was that Aria was being propped up through the end of the year for the sake of prestige.

Sho’ nuff. I just got an e-mail blast offering Aria rooms at the official $159 price — but with a $75 resort credit thrown in. Since it’s predicated on a two-night stay, we’re talking about a $122.50/night room here. The supposedly more exclusive Vdara is proffering a $50 credit on a $149/night rate (or an adjusted $124/night). Those “sweeteners” are still small enough, however, to keep Vdara and Aria in the top five of LVA‘s new room-rate survey, below (in ascending order) Four Seasons, Venetian and Wynn Las Vegas. (MGM has yet to run a promotional special for Bellagio.)

Room-rate exuberance, though, returns unabated for New Year’s Eve. For single-night rates, Bellagio and Aria top the list at $599 apiece. The California Hotel‘s $300 for three nights may be the best deal out there, while the Four Queens is going to find its holiday ADR ($134/night, for a two-night stay) seriously diluted by having to take in customers from the soon-to-be-shuttered Binion’s Gambling Hall hotel ($77 night, same terms). Even the Ellis Island Super 8 ($155/night) and the forlorn Greek Isles ($159/night) are getting caught up in the frenzy. And is it really worth saving 50 cents a night to stay at Hooters ($327/two nights) instead of the Tropicana?

westin-casuarina-hotel-las-vegas

Where the elite meet.

The Columbia Sussex people continue their delusional ways, charging a holiday rate of $368/night at the oh-so-exclusive Westin Casuarina. That’s more than The Palms or Vdara … and exceeded only by Palazzo, the Venetian, The Mirage, Aria and Bellagio. It must be nice to live in the ColSux world, where you can just pull room rates out of your ass, seems like.

However … the hotels at the top of the food chain might take warning by looking at which properties were switching on the “No Vacancy” light, as of Nov. 23. They’re mostly downtown (Fremont Hotel, El Cortez, the Plaza, Main Street Station, the Vegas Club) or out in the sticks (Buffalo Bill’s, Primm Valley Resort, Whiskey Pete’s, the Railroad Pass). Exceptions include two of the nicest properties in the “locals” belt: Green Valley Ranch and the Silverton, and just a handful of Strip hotels — Mandarin Oriental (only 392 rooms), the Four Seasons (also small) and the Flamingo.

Dare one suggest that it’s not too soon to start repricing downwards? Because at this point the only companies guaranteed a happy new year are Boyd Gaming and woebegone Herbst Gaming. Who’da thunk it?

Viva Elvis postponed. I failed to note earlier that Cirque du Soleil‘s new show is not only not making its scheduled Dec. 16 date, it’s not even starting previews until two days later. Since those run through 1/28/10, you won’t be seeing reviews of the newest Cirquetacular until February, most likely.

How can a show that was literally years in the making miss its opening by six weeks? Can you say “fixations”? I thought you could. Mind you, that’s not stopping Cirque from hitting you up for $87 a preview. As I’ve said before, if you’re going to be subjected to a work in progress, you ought to be given a “price in progress” — like an additional 50% off. Seems only fair.

Posted in Alex Yemenidjian, Boulder Strip, Boyd Gaming, Cirque du Soleil, CityCenter, Columbia Sussex, Current, Downtown, Economy, Entertainment, George Maloof, Harrah's, Herbst Gaming, Marketing, MGM Mirage, Sheldon Adelson, Silverton, Station Casinos, Steve Wynn, Tamares Group, The Strip, Tourism | 6 Comments

Quote of the Day

Posted on December 3, 2009 by David McKee

“I really feel sorry for Elin, since me and my wife were at fault for hooking her up with [Tiger Woods]. We probably thought he was a better guy than he is. I would probably need to apologize to her and hope she uses a driver next time instead of the 3-iron.” — golfer Jesper Parnevik, on what’s been termed Woods’ “Cocktail Waitresses Across America” tour — which has evidently played more than a few rounds in Las Vegas.

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

Gossy-ed out; Peep-less Show; Phat Phantom

Posted on December 2, 2009 by David McKee

According to the latest issue of Las Vegas Advisor, bland-as-butter Palms headliner Matt Goss is not announced for any dates past Dec. 5. However, if Goss has Timberlaked his way across the lounge floor for the last time, S&G believes George Maloof should be required to leave the venue as “The Gossy Room” in perpetuity, as a reminder of all of the ridiculous “Gossyness” that swept Vegas in a brief moment of inanity.

Just think of the future generations of tykes who will see that plaque and ask, “Daddy, what does ‘Gossy’ mean?” “Well son, once upon a time, somebody thought up this really lame gimmick …”

O'DayP__psh_w. Word is that Planet Hollywood‘s wildly overrated topless extravaganza (soon with 100% less Aubrey O’Day! [above]) will attempt to hobble into the New Year with no headliner save for Holly Madison. Exactly who will assume the (more important) role of the “Peep Diva” is a question still unanswered. However, having jettisoned the live band and several members of the original cast, you have to wonder why Planet Ho still bothers. Mine is a minority view, but you might actually be better served spending your money at Fantasy or Bite, let alone the best of the topless revues in town Sin City Bad Girls. Madison has racked up enormous goodwill during her Vegas stint but, in the talent department, she’s not a patch on Lorena Peril, vocalist nonpareil.

At least one Strip show is looking strong at the wickets. Putting the “phat” in Phantom of the Opera, Las Vegas Sands just boosted ticket prices for all but the top tier. The two lower tiers have been hiked 3%, while the second-best seats have sustained a 9% increase. The $166 top, however, has been relaxed to $147.50. Whatever miscalculations he has made elsewhere, Sheldon Adelson bowled a dead-perfect strike with Phantom.

Posted in Colony Capital, Current, Entertainment, George Maloof, MGM Mirage, Planet Hollywood, Sheldon Adelson, The Strip | Comments Off on Gossy-ed out; Peep-less Show; Phat Phantom

Quote of the Day

Posted on December 2, 2009 by David McKee

Vdara 266

“Boutique? Vdara is a 57-story, 1,500-room property. It is to boutique hotels what Dolly Parton is to petite women.

“If a place can be lavishly understated, Vdara is that. It has abundant artwork and intriguing architectural lines, but no smoking or gambling. It’s essentially a Las Vegas hotel for people who don’t like Las Vegas.

“It’s breathtaking. It exudes so much class guys like me can barely breathe.” — John L. Smith on Sin City’s newest tourist attraction.

Posted in CityCenter, Current, MGM Mirage, The Strip, Tourism | Comments Off on Quote of the Day

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?

Burj Dubai

No, it’s Dubai. This is its very own version of CityCenter — Burj Dubai — one final reach for the sky before the emirate’s deranged construction boom goes into hibernation, the proverbial house built on sand. (Heck, Vegas almost got its own version in the form of the Burj Dubai-inspired Crown Las Vegas, one of many James Packer-backed ventures that came to naught.)

The resemblances don’t end there. The companies of which Dubai World might have to divest to stay upright including some awfully familiar Strip names — like MGM Mirage, Barneys, Cirque du Soleil and Deutsche Bank. In fact, if you look at this photo timeline (“The City on Crack“), what does the accelerated evolution of the Dubai shoreline look like? The Las Vegas Strip, that’s what.

Going further, Dubai’s post-1998 growth model sounds suspiciously like a coked-up version of what was to happen on the Strip just a few years later. Hmmmm …

dubai_161981sWhatever gave Boyd Gaming, Cosmopolitan, Harrah’s Entertainment, Fontainebleau, El Ad Properties, Triple Five, Morgans Hotel Group, MGM Mirage, Crown Ltd., Sol Kerzner, Colony Capital, Columbia Sussex and Station Casinos the cockamamie notion they could all build multi-billion-dollar resorts simultaneously (to say nothing of the 70-100 projected condo towers they and other developers were projecting) and it would be nothing but an economic boon? Could the execs in question have been taking their cues from … Dubai?

After all, both destinations were metamorphosing into getaways for the filthy rich, growing on borrowed money and a vast supply of emigré labor. Vegas offered low taxes, Dubai proffered no taxes.  Plus valet parking. Dubai was even viewed as an islet of comparative libertarianism — provided you didn’t have sex in public, in which case you could forget about due process. Sort of like being an advantage player back here.

So Dubai is literally crumbling back into the ocean from which much of its acreage was stolen. Its unsustainable growth, preposterous architecture and general aura of fantasy run amok stand as an expensive cautionary tale. Its debt-repayment schedules make those of Harrah’s and MGM seem a walk in the park. The current state of affairs in Dubai, though, looks uncomfortably like present-day Vegas writ large. So the next time we feel the urge to follow a bunch of decadent petrocrats off the deep end — in the immortal words of Nancy Reagan — just say, “No.”

The dark side of Let’s Make Deal. Hey, there’s a dark side to everything, man. Getting on the Tropicana-hosted show is easy. Getting paid … not so much.

Steve WynnWith all due respect to casino mogul and creative mastermind Steve Wynn (left), on the subject of high taxes, he needs to STFU stat. A new study by the Institute on Taxation & Economic Policy shows that Wynn’s comfortable Nevada lifestyle is bankrolled by — not to put too fine a point on it — his employees and those of his casino confreres. Your minimum-wage workers, those bringing in $21K/year or less, see  9% of their income sucked up by taxes. Those of us in the $34K-$53K bracket (i.e., still making less than a Wynn Resorts pit boss) are forking over 6%-plus. But somebody like Sheldon Adelson‘s Two Million Dollar Man, Las Vegas Sands President Michael Leven, pays but 1.6%.

This, of course, is the legacy of a revenue system one of whose two primary pillars (the other being gaming revenue) is sales taxes. And when the preponderance of your tax burden falls on those with the least discretionary income and Nevada retail sales are on a two-year-plus slide, is it any wonder that the Silver State scarcely has a pair of wooden nickels to rub together?

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

CityCenter Fever II

Posted on December 1, 2009 by David McKee


For those very few people who may never have heard of CityCenter, the basic exposition is laid out by Steve Friess. The Los Angeles Times goes heavy on the “urbanization” meme, although it strangely assigned its piece to a travel writer, not to Vegas-residing Richard Abowitz. The Crystals general manager, Farid Matraki, is pretty candid when he says, “God knows that Las Vegas doesn’t need another mall, so Crystals is going to be a very, very unique destination,” though he ought to have amended that to, “going to have to be …”

(The LAT also runs riot with not one but two photo galleries.)

Mandarin 3

On another planet resides Mandarin Oriental GM Rajesh Jinghon, who sniffs that — vis-a-vis $545/night rates — “People will want to pay that extra premium [for] the tangible and intangible service elements that they actually receive.” (Mandarin Oriental later slashed $200 off that price.) That the mega-project was finished largely on schedule is credited to CityCenter prexy Bobby Baldwin, who’s the subject of a rare profile — a real eye-opener and education for those of us who mistakenly saw him as a poker-playing crony to Steve Wynn and have been somewhat baffled by his being put in charge of MGM Mirage‘s biggest gamble.

Wynn dismisses former MGM CEO J. Terrence Lanni (and, by implication, current CEO Jim Murren) as “a hood ornament.” However, the more memorable quote is Baldwin’s Wynn-like explanation for why CityCenter had to be done: “This was conceived five years ago, see, and it was set way out ahead of what then was known as the marketplace. Even if it’s out a little too far, the world will grow into it right away. The world is a moving target.”

Not to be outshone, Murren gives his side of the story to the Las Vegas Sun.

Donny Osmond returned to the Flamingo in triumph from his Dancing with the Stars win. Savoring his triumph, he brought the coveted Mirrorball Trophy onstage, compelling sister Marie Osmond to caress it, as though to say, “Feel my power, sis!”

Posted in Architecture, CityCenter, Current, Entertainment, Harrah's, MGM Mirage, Steve Wynn, TV | 2 Comments

CityCenter Fever

Posted on December 1, 2009 by David McKee

Vdara_

For all the trepidation about $8.5 billion CityCenter and its prospects, today’s opening of Vdara has been enough to set “the Internets,” the blogosphere, the teevees and even traditional newspapers aflame with excitement. After all, who can resist the scrotum settee (photo #10)? The plethora of coverage is more than Yr. Humble Blogger can aggregate at one fell swoop, but here’s an opening salvo.

The Las Vegas Sun‘s Liz Benston explains the somewhat byzantine workings of Aria‘s server-based slot floor. Given Nevada‘s congenital aversion to economic diversification, state leaders are banking everything on CityCenter sparking an economic turnaround. Financial boon or no, standards for architecture on the Strip will never be the same again. That was part of MGM Mirage CEO Jim Murren‘s goal and to that, S&G says, “Mission accomplished.” The days when Paul Steelman Cos. could just phone in a design are well behind us.

The Bad Timing Award goes to whoever at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino chose this moment to trot out a photo of a new Tower Suite. The HRH (aka Scheetz’s Folly) is already so yesterday.

Posted in Architecture, Bally Technologies, CityCenter, Current, Economy, IGT, MGM Mirage, Morgans Hotel Group, Regulation, The Strip, Tourism, TV, WMS Industries | Comments Off on CityCenter Fever

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 lacks the wherewithal to make its own debtors whole, it somehow has the capability to acquire the debt of Planet Hollywood. This would remove one more obstacle from the path CEO Gary Loveman‘s dream of a Strip empire bridging nearly everything from the Venetian to MGM Grand.

octaviustowerrendering_011209Perhaps it’s the consequence of too much time spent in Caesars Palace, but Loveman’s ambitions increasingly bespeak a Caesarian grandiosity untethered to reality. He can’t afford to finish the Octavius Tower at Caesars (above), couldn’t spring for a relatively cheap casino in Kansas, has put his Biloxi project on indefinite hold, can’t bother to repaint the peeling Rio … but an acquisition of Planet Ho that could cost as much as $870 million? That’s somehow priority #1. Since Loveman sits atop a corporate board otherwise populated by private equity drones from Apollo Managment and Texas Pacific Group, neither of which has demonstrated a whit of perspicacity where the casino industry is concerned, there’s evidently no restraint on his reign of error.

For the record, Apollo’s Leon Black is the crown prince of private equity excess and stupidity, the proud overlord of eight defaulted acquisitions and five more non-performing ones — 65% of his portfolio. And, thanks in large part to Loveman and Black, Harrah’s life expectancy is now described as “limited at best.” Heckuva job, Blackie.

Whether or not one disagrees with MGM Mirage‘s decision to go all in on CityCenter, it’s part of a larger, (mostly) defensible strategy that encompasses all market segments. Loveman, by contrast, appears to be just running loose. Funny that he should cite Planet Ho’s “strong brand name” as a reason for obtaining the joint. Harrah’s owns a sackful of strong brand names and has done little in terms of deploying them. The most obvious case was the Barbary Coast acquisition, which was a gift-wrapped opportunity to plant the Horseshoe flag on the Strip. Loveman whiffed, opting for the generic “Bill’s” moniker instead.

Planet Ho 1247

In what may be the “No shit, Sherlock” moment of the decade, Nevada Gaming Control Board Chairman Dennis Neilander told the Las Vegas Review-Journal “Harrah’s financial position also will need to be investigated before a deal is approved.” Ya think? Over $19 billion in debt and it wants to extend its oligopoly on the Strip? Yeah, I’d say that “will need to be investigated.” But don’t expect much from Nevada’s see-n0-evil excuse for regulatory oversight, even with regard to a company whose “capital structure appears unsustainable.”

Besides, while it would lovely from Harrah’s to own every blessed acre betwixt Flamingo Road and Harmon Avenue, the company is anywhere from five to 10 years away from doing anything with its massive Vegas holdings … and has a raft of other unfinished business, besides. (Don’t forget the street of stores leading to a Ferris wheel behind the Imperial Palace.) The vast wasteland of vacant, idle scrubland extending from the Monorail to Koval Lane, behind the IP, O’Shea’s, etc., is stark testimony to the consequences of Loveman’s outsized ambitions. If you thought the Great Recession might produce a chastened leadership style at One Harrah’s Court, think again.


A previous victim of Harrah’s is having hard times, too. Back when Becky Behnen‘s business methods proved too unstable for even the Control Board to overlook, it forcibly shuttered the-then Binion’s Horseshoe. Harrah’s was a temporary savior, providing a cash infusion and managerial oversight, on a short-term basis. But such salvation came at a high price, namely the forfeiture of the Horseshoe brand name and the appropriation of the World Series of Poker.

Eventually, the now-Binion’s Gambling Hall passed into the hands of Four Queens owner Terry Caudill. The latter made a good start on freshening the old gal up and bringing her into the 21st century. Unfortunately, Caudill’s pockets were starting to look a little shallow and the Great Recession has temporarily put paid to his ambitions. Binion’s will limp along with its casino (of course), its handsome new sports book and, of course, its poker room and famous steak house. But forget about playing any keno, patronizing the coffee shop or spending a night there. Thanks to its grandfathered status, Binion’s will be able to take its 365 hotel rooms off line without fear of penalty. It’s also putting 13% of its workforce onto the street. (Sobering afterthought: What does it say if all of Binion’s post-National Finals Rodeo guests and all of the Four Queens’ can be fit into one hotel? Occupancy rates downtown must be horrific.)

There’s no silver lining in this … well, unless you’re Tilman Fertitta and have 500 new hotel rooms (going for $39 a pop, according to LVA). In which case, this might be just the moment to goose those Golden Nugget ADRs. Our subscribers, though, can stay at the Golden Gate for $9.95/night, through Christmas Eve. It’s our way of saying, “Thanks for your support.”

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

Is Adelson mad? Trump trumped & Kerzner booted

Posted on December 1, 2009 by David McKee

ShellyIn an interview with Reuters, Sheldon Adelson said Las Vegas Sands might launch operations in India, Thailand and Japan as soon as 2010. Given the ropey financial condition of his company, the fact that Marina Bay Sands will open at least two months behind schedule (Adelson is predicting March) and his Hong Kong IPO is a dud, the notion that LVS might start building casinos in three additional countries … well, you have to wonder what medications his wife has been prescribing.

Although he’s great at emitting vast amounts of hot air, former casino mogul Donald Trump is rarely able to back up his loud talk. Such is the case with Trump Entertainment Resorts. Poker player and banker Andrew Beal outplayed The Donald for the trio of Atlantic City casinos. Beal Bank and Beal Bank Nevada‘s offer to convert $486 million of debt into an equity stake proved a stronger hand of cards than Trump’s offer of a comparatively modest equity infusion. Congratulations, Mr. Beal — and good luck, given the very mixed bag of casinos you’re on the verge of inheriting.

Here today, Trop tomorrow. Rarely would one think that the presidency of the Tropicana Las Vegas was preferable to that of Planet Hollywood, but that’s proven the case for Thomas McCartney. With Harrah’s Entertainment extending its tentacles toward Planet Ho, McCartney is fleeing the embrace of Gary Loveman for that of Trop CEO Alex Yemenidjian. This is no small coup for Yemenidjian, who has made a number of headlines in very short time.

Another scummy deal involving a New England tribal casino and South African businessman Sol Kerzner has been uncovered and laid to rest. Kerzner and cohort Ken Wolman would have received something quite similar to the 5% rake of gross gambling revenues they currently enjoy at Mohegan Sun. Exit Kerzner, enter Genting Bhd. Of course, there’s still the not-inconsiderable matter of getting Massachusetts to approve casino gambling. And while Genting parent Kien Huat has a record of getting things done — running rings around Adelson in Singapore, for instance — its lucrative back-end deals at Foxwoods Resort Casino and Seneca Niagara Casino were the source of lingering resentment. So the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe may have gone from the frying pan to the fire.

All that money that’s coming in the front door of Greektown Casino, thanks to improved performance is going right out the back, in the form of much higher-than-average payments to law firms, consultants and restructuring companies. Las Vegas-based Fine Point Group is one of the beneficiaries, mainly because it gets a hefty cut of whatever revenues exceed projections. Those who stand to lose, of course, are the unsecured creditors. Nor are the outgoing owners, the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa any too thrilled about the big tab being run up. Fine Point recently suffered a setback of its own when its marketing wiz, Amanda Totaro, was compelled to withdraw her Michigan gaming license application. That’s bound to hurt Greektown down the road.

Rivers Casino
A hellish time for expansion. If any doubts remained that this is the worst time in living memory to be opening new casinos, just look to Pennsylvania. Already, casinos in the Pittsburgh area are cannibalizing one another. Despite the fact that Rivers Casino sits cheek-by-jowl with the Steel City’s two sports arenas and has been the subject of years of headlines, its marketing director straightfacedly laments, “I kind of feel like we’re Pittsburgh’s best kept secret.” (No, people just don’t seem terribly excited by your product, sir.) Meanwhile, thanks to high tax rates, state and local goverments are laughing all the way to the bank.

Closer to home, only one hurdle remains between Penn National Gaming and a Kansas casino. Wyandotte County has endorsed a proposed Hollywood-branded casino for the Kansas Speedway. Now Penn’s love/hate relationship with the Sunflower State market is in the hands of the Kansas Lottery Gaming Facility Review Board, with whom Penn has had turbulent relations in the past.
Posted in Alex Yemenidjian, Atlantic City, Current, Detroit, Donald Trump, Economy, Genting, Harrah's, International, Kansas, Macau, Massachusetts, Neil Bluhm, Penn National, Pennsylvania, Planet Hollywood, Racinos, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson, Singapore, Stanley Ho, Taxes, Tourism, Tribal | 1 Comment