Barclays Center and Jay Z's Blueprint

The Barclays Center opened October 1 with Jay Z as the headliner. He perform several sold
out shows,one featuring an appearance by his wife, Beyonce. The concerts were a culmination
of Jay Z's vision of bringing a professional sports franchise and an international venue back to
his beloved Brooklyn.
The Barclays Center holds 18,200 and cost approximately 1 billion dollars to build. The areas
near the Center have new condos,shops and restaurants. Inside, there are 37 Brooklyn vendors
that will offer a variety of food options that are reflective of the area.
The Barclays Center has high tech amenities that cater to the next millennium fan. The most
innovative development is the app that enable the users to order food from their seats.The mobile application also has the capacity to provide event information. There are over 700 HDTVs
throughout the venue.
Jay Z  help create 11 exclusive suites that are called The Vault. The cost to rent a suite annually
is over 500,000 dollars. Jay Z's clothing store,Rocawear is also scheduled to open in the Center.
Some of the artists scheduled to perform at the Center include John Legend, Journey, Justin
Bieber and Rihanna. The Brooklyn Nets will also play their home games in the Barclays Center.
I plan to go to an event there. I am giving it a recommend to all that read this.

Rihanna and Beyonce News

Rihanna and Beyonce were both in the entertainment news this week for starkly contrasting
reasons. Rihanna is the hot topic of discussion for being seen publicly with Chris Brown.
The same Chris Brown that she was involved with some 3 years ago. When it  comes to matters
of the heart, the choices are our own. So too,are the consequences of our actions. Everyone has
that person in their life that your mom said was not for you. The one that your friends said is
no good. But you dealt with that person anyway. You wanted them and you had to find out on
your own. So why if you have millions of dollars,are beautiful and adored by thousands, should
Rihanna be any different.
.
Beyonce made headlines for having a fundraiser for the President. One's political preference is
not the issue. The fact that most people under 30 will take away from this is the right to chose
and vote for our leaders is something that we should cherish and exercise. In other countries,
there is no choice. There is no option. Beyonce highlighted the American way. The right to make
a decision.

Since Rihanna and Beyonce are both in the spotlight, I thought I would take a moment and
compare them. Rihanna is younger, edgier and more risque. Beyonce is renown for business
ventures and theatrical performances. This includes several movies and a stunning concert
performance at Revel earlier this year that, I was privileged to attend.I have tickets to Rihanna's
concert in Philadelphia in March, 2013. I plan to give a review and take pictures of that event.

Rihanna was declared the sexiest woman alive by Esquire earlier this year. Beyonce was cited
as the most beautiful woman in the world by People Magazine. No loser between them in terms
of physical presence. I shared pictures of them side by side. You make your choice.

G2E 2012 Review

The G2E has concluded and the 30,000 attendees have returned to their respective jurisdictions.
The online gaming took center stage as operators and technology providers prepare for the next
frontier. Nevada is clearly the leader in both areas with legislation in place to operate at a state or
federal level. A federal law governing online gaming would generate more revenue and create
more jobs.
The networking and marketing opportunities the G2E provides are,in the words of Mastercard,
"priceless". This is the only time that all these different groups are together under one roof. Ballys
Technologies, IGT and Shuffle Master are prime with the latest product developments.This includes
slots, table games and tech support.
Within 5 years, a $22,000 slot machine could be replaced by an I pad that could produce  more
revenue at a fraction of the cost. A dealer could deal to 50 people at one time opposed to 6. The
leaders of the gaming and casino industry that embrace the technological advances will be the
winners. Follow me and I'll keep you abreast of the forthcoming trends.

G2E 2012 and Entertainment News

G2E 2012 winds up with a survey of gaming executive projecting the growth potential of the
industry. The consensus is that online gaming is a point of when and not "if". Most are of the
opinion that nothing will happen within the next year. Poker will be offered online first. The
most revenue will be come from slot and table games play. If sports betting is ever approved,
the pie will widen substantially. Any online play should mirror the brick and mortar operations
model.

R.Kelly has announced his "Single Ladies Tour. He will perform in Philadelphia on November
29. His opening act will be Tamia.

Kevin Hart is performing at the Well Fargo Center in December.

Philadelphia Sixers tickets went on sale last Friday. The Lakers game scheduled for December 16
is sold out.

James Bond is 50 years old. The movie series started with "Dr. No"  and continues with "Skyfall".
This is the 23rd installment. Daniel Craig returns to play the title role for the 3rd time. Adele  is
singing the movie theme song. The film opens November 9th.

G2E and Entertainment News

G2E started this week in Las Vegas. The emphasis the first two days were on Internet gaming

and technology advances. The key thoughts from the conference are that Sports betting is a good

3 to 5 years away at the earliest. New Jersey is waging a legal battle against the federal government

and the professional sport leagues for the right to allow sports betting.

The use of social media is continuing to advance the gaming industry. Facebook and Twitter are

being utilize to engage prospective customers. Gaming operators are now relying on third party

operators to manage retail outlets,restaurants and nightclubs. This allows the operator to concentrate

on the day to day gaming operations.

Organizations that embrace technology will advance and be the leaders of this millennium. The operators that are slow to change and innovate will lose market share.

 

John Legend canceled his concert tour scheduled to start this month. He gave the reason that his new

CD, Love in the Future, is not complete. Legend is keeping the concert appearance in Atlantic City

at the Borgata Casino.That show is scheduled for October 27.

 

Rihanna tickets went on sale Friday in Philadelphia. She is performing at the Wells Fargo Center on

March 14, 2013.

 

Jay Z is developing a game that will pit the Dream Team against the 2012 Olympic Basketball team.

This project will build on the speculation that Micheal Jordan and Magic Johnson would have

lost to the gold medal team led by Kobe Bryant and Lebron James.

 

 

 

Entertainment and Business Review of Summer 2012

It's been forever since I enter an entry on my blog. It has been a busy summer. I had the chance to
see Maze with Frankie Beverly,George Benson and Boney James,Robin Thicke and Chrissette Michele.
I topped the summer concerts off with the Queen of Hip Hop, Mary J. Blige last week at the Mann Music Center. This was a great show because it featured D'Angelo and Melanie Fiona as the opening
acts.
The shows featuring Benson and Thicke were held at the Robin Hood Dell East. George Benson relied
on Old school classics and Jazz during his performance.Robin Thicke and Michele were more contemporary with powerful vocals.
Maze perform at the Mann with several other Old School artists. The other performers were the O Jays,Patti Labelle and Babyface. Patti did not have her usual energized performance but the other
three acts were entertaining.

Mary J. Blige killed it. She is right there with Beyonce with energy and sustaining the crowd. Beyonce
edge Mary by giving a longer performance when I saw her at Revel. I would go see both of them again.

The Business Review of the summer is not as promising as I expected. Revel is an Awesome place, but alone can't be expected to revitalize Atlantic City. The Revel model can work but will required more time and planning. Atlantic City must do more collaborative events to grow the market.

Valley Forge Casino Resort is not faring as well as anticipated. They are a tough sell and so small that
they must create the vision of exclusivity to be successful. They have change marketing teams twice
since opening.

The Made in America concept caps the Labor Day weekend in Philadelphia. Jay Z has pooled an array of stars to bring international attention to Philly. Bruce Springsteen is also in town at a separate venue.
This is generating publicity for the region and filling the area hotels. I expect this to become an
annual event.

G2E is coming in October. I don't think I'm attending. My sights are set on the IGNA. I'm not sure when it is, but I'll post when I receive information.

Revel recap and review of Kanye West concert

When I was informed that Kanye West was coming to the Revel for two consecutive days, I instantly knew that I would be purchasing a ticket. Anticipating his arrival, I sat anxiously for him to come out on stage. The backdrop for the show had a cathedral theme with light beaming through the holes. Kanye, who came from the middle of the crowd, while levitating in the air, smiled in amazement as HAM played in the background.
As we know Kanye to be the Hip Hop fashion King himself, he was draped in all white with gold chains swarmed around his neck. He performed hits such as All Falls Down, Gold Digger, Flashing Lights, Jesus Walks and many more. The show was not only entertaining but inspirational and uplifting. With encouraging words from Mr. West about striving for your dreams and being an impact in the world, he truly had the crowd's attention. After many performances, Kanye later did his famous Runaway song and brought out Good Music member, Pusha T. The crowd went "bananas".
It's almost hard to pick which was my most memorable performance. Each song had power and much enthusiasm from Kanye. I can honestly admit this was been a show to remember.A brief video of the concert is pending.