Here’s a quickie précis of Global Gaming Expo 2009, as culled from the S&G Twitter feed:
“G2E ’09 is G2E Lite. Upside: less walking, less crowding, less backache. Downside: less food. Also, seminar tracks more like Sominex … Slot floor @ G2E features a lot of real beasts, towering devices. Nothing like the endless rows & rows of small, low dumb terminals @ Aria … Slot-loving friend calls $IGT‘s Sex & the City slot a yawn, likes its Bombs Away, though. My 2¢: bonus rounds need work, not exciting … Did Robin Leach‘s mother never tell him not to talk w. his mouth full? Also, texting @ the dinner table is rude. No dessert for you!”
(Actually, that last bit is from an unrelated event that occurred during G2E week. No Leach sightings at G2E, although both Lily Tomlin and Navegante Group CEO Larry Woolf were among the notables spotted on the show floor.)
Here’s a tax we know Steve Wynn will despise and abhor. At the very least, it may give him cause to re-think his endorsement of Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV).
“An acid tongued little man”: Someone is not amused by my review of Wayne Newton‘s flop at the Trop.
“Here’s a tax we know Steve Wynn will despise and abhor.”
Why? Wynn says that his facial condition is a sorta-disease, so he shouldn’t have to pay the extra 5%.
Then again, given his past manipulation of the tax laws to his advantage (his personal $multi-million “lending/donation” of paintings to casinos’ ‘museums’), maybe he’d be philosophically opposed to ANY tax laws that he can’t profit from.
“acid tongued little man” review:
David, please reread the comment. I think it was sarcastic (or sardonic – I can never remember which is which)…
The author did not say you were wrong about the show, and went on to write some “acid tongued” criticisms of Vegas & Nevada.
Here is part of a newspaper article from The Las Vegas Review Journal that journalist Howard Stutz had in his INSIDE GAMING column from September 13, 2009:
Janney Montgomery Scott gaming analyst Brian McGill says his biggest concern surrounds airline capacity into Las Vegas. The average daily arriving number of seats into McCarran International Airport has FELL ALMOST 18 PERCENT IN THE PAST TWO YEARS. Airlines, notably US Airways, have eliminated flights in answer to the recession.
McGill, in a note to investors, estimates that airlines need to restore 10 percent of the lost flights to help Las Vegas fill the new rooms. Fat chance of that happening.
“The new supply, without an increase in airline capacity, will not allow for the required number of visitors,” McGill said.
The Strip, he said, will become more dependent on drive-in customers if the airlines don’t respond.
According to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, drive-in tourists spend about 15 percent less than airline customers.
“We expect this to continue to impact profitability across the Strip,” McGill said.
Other travel means, such as a high-speed train between Southern California and Las Vegas, are still years away. McGill said regaining lost airline capacity is key to the Strip’s survival as the number of rooms grows in 2010.
Hopefully someone talked about this during the G2E conference but I doubt it. This is a huge, huge problem facing Las Vegas today and in the near future.
The Wynn item was meant as an oblique reference to his famous plastic surgeries (some of which then-MGM Grand was chagrined to discover that it was liable for when it took over Mirage Resorts). That, and the verbal detonation that occurs whenever the word “taxes” is mentioned in Wynn’s general vicinity these days.
Re the Newton comment, I just wanted people to read it. I enjoyed it. There’s a real humdinger of a letter in the current CityLife from a Bronx woman who practically accuses me of crucifying Jesus Christ.
Mr. McKee I googled Donna Dunn (the lady who professed her love for Wayne Newton in the letter) and then Wayne Newton assuming she might be the president of The Wayne Newton Fan Club. Something came up and the title was NORCAL Blogs and a blogger named Joe Shaw had a blog entitled “God Keeps Taking our Celebrities….Don’t Stop Now!” Here is what Mr. Shaw had to say about two Las Vegas entertainers:
There are a couple of Las Vegas singers who I wish you would consider taking this week Almighty Father. Although like Cher, they no longer make records, they are still out there in the public eye bothering people. Of course I’m talking about Wayne Newton and David Cassidy. Although they do serve as a good reminder as to why nobody should ever get plastic surgery, they still make cameo appearances in movies and television shows from time to time, therefore, they got to go….if you please.(Obviously this is satire but Donna Dunn did not think so).
Here is what Donna Dunn had to say about this article in the Comments section of Mr. Shaw’s blog:
you’re a real riot!I think you’re disgusting, wishing that people would die! maybe its YOU that god should take!
Donna Dunn is one angry woman. It looks like you got off easy compared to Mr. Shaw. You better be careful Donna Dunn might hire the Cobra Kai (from the original Karate Kid movie) and send them after you and Mr. Shaw.