Issue 355
July 2 - July 8, 2007
Volume 7
page 2
 

Traffic at McCarran increases
by Benjamin Spillman, Las Vegs Gaming Wire

LAS VEGAS -- Nearly 4.2 million passengers hustled through McCarran International Airport in May, an increase of almost 7 percent from the same month last year, and it comes as airline flights nationally are more crowded than ever.

The rise at McCarran was nearly across the board with international airlines and low fare domestic carriers leading the charge. Legacy carriers such as Delta and Continental also posted strong numbers.

The busy month boosted the total number of passengers using McCarran this year to 19.5 million, roughly 4 percent ahead of the pace set in 2006.

Airport spokesman Chris Jones said leisure travel is on the rise with summer heating up and numbers posted by tourist-oriented carriers seem to bear that out.

Low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines, for example, hauled more than 54,000 passengers in and out of McCarran for the month, a 399 percent increase from May 2006.

"Four hundred percent growth is nothing to sneeze at," Jones said.

Las Vegas-based Allegiant Air moved nearly 137,000 passengers through McCarran during the month, a 36 percent increase.

International travel also posted strong gains. Traffic at terminal two, which hosts the bulk of the international flights to and from McCarran, increased almost 27 percent to about 200,000 passengers for the month. For the year terminal two scheduled service is up more than 13 percent to about 911,000 passengers through May.

Southwest, the airport's biggest carrier, showed a modest 4 percent increase from May, 2006. But US Airways, the second largest McCarran carrier, jumped 11 percent.

United, one of three legacy carriers in the top five at McCarran, fell almost 2 percent. Delta increased almost 10 percent and Continental climbed into the fifth spot by posting a 7.5 percent increase.

Nationally airline travel is notoriously cumbersome and crowded this summer. The Wall Street Journal reported the number of flights canceled during the first 15 days of June was up 91 percent from the same period last year.

Labor woes at Northwest Airlines took some of the blame as did summer storms and a computer glitch that wreaked havoc on United Airlines earlier this month. The crowded conditions worsen as airlines pack more people onto every flight, which means that when one flight is delayed or canceled there is little space on other flights to transfer passengers. Many flights are nearly 90 percent full.

 


Analysts pessimistic about Trump deal
As reported by the Press of Atlantic City

ATLANTIC CITY -- "Another Wall Street gaming analyst is pessimistic that Donald Trump's financially ailing casino company will be able to find a buyer.

"Carlo Santarelli, of Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc., predicted Thursday that Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc. will have a hard time selling itself, although its falling stock price in recent weeks could make it more attractive to suitors.

"...Earlier this month, analyst Dennis I. Forst, of KeyBanc Capital Markets Inc., said a sale of the entire company would be complicated by the enormous amount of money a buyer would have to spend to upgrade Trump's three aging casinos.

"...Trump Entertainment is in negotiations with a private investment group headed by former Atlantic City gaming executive Dennis Gomes and New York real estate developer Morris Bailey.

"...If there is no sale, Santarelli expects the stock price to dip to about $11 a share, far below its 52-week high of $23.80 in November..."

Mohegan expansion breaks ground
As reported by the Norwich Bulletin

MOHEGAN, Conn. -- "Ralph Sturges raised a margarita glass Thursday morning to toast the ground breaking of a $740 million addition to the Mohegan Sun Casino.

"The 88-year-old tribal chief had guided his tribe through federal recognition, the decision to open a casino and the announcement of subsequent renovations and expansions.

"...With the toast Thursday, the tribe celebrated its next investment with the start of its Project Horizon expansion, as well as a partnership with singer Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville chain that will bring a 16,000-square-foot restaurant to the new Casino of the Wind in summer 2008. A 1,000-room hotel with House of Blues-themed rooms as well as 115,000 square feet of additional retail space are also part of the project.

"...The project, scheduled to be fully complete in 2010, will add a fourth casino to the facility. The Casino of the Wind will incorporate billowing fabrics, smoke, glass and water to give a sense of that force, according to Robert Ashton, managing principal of the New York City-design firm Rockwell Group. The firm was responsible for previous themed interiors at the casino.

"...The expansion also will add 3,600 parking spaces to the casino, as well as a 1,500-person capacity House of Blues at Mohegan Sun music hall..."

 

B.B. King

Trump Taj Mahal, Atlantic City, N.J.: "Universally hailed as the reigning king of the blues, the legendary B.B. King is without a doubt the single most important electric guitarist of the last half century. A contemporary blues guitar solo without at least a couple of recognizable King-inspired bent notes is all but unimaginable, and he remains a supremely confident singer capable of wringing every nuance from any lyric. "

BRE Presents presents BB King, Etta James and Al Green in the Arena at Trump Taj Mahal on Sat., August 4, 2007. Doors are at 7:00pm and show time at 8:00pm. Ticket prices are $89 and $65..

Date: Saturday, Aug. 4, 2007
Time: 8 p.m.
Ticket Prices: $89 and $65
Ticket office: (609) 449-5150
For more information: Official Web site
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