5 worst fast-food meals marketed to kids

The most recent issue of Good Medicine lists what it considers the five worst fast-food meals marketed to children. The list was compiled by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine:
McDonald's Mighty Kids Meal – with a double cheeseburger, fries and chocolate milk: 840 calories and 37 grams of fat.
Wendy's Kids' Meal – A chicken sandwich, fries and a chocolate Frosty: 770 calories and 34 grams of fat.
KFC Kids' Meal – Popcorn Chicken, potato wedges, string cheese and soda: 800 calories, 1,800 mg of sodium.
A&W Kids' Meal – cheeseburger, fries and soda: 780 calories and 9 grams of saturated fat.
Burger King's BK Kids – Breakfast muffin sandwich meal: 95 mg of cholesterol, and it exceeds the recommended daily allowance of sodium.

Thieves Lasso ATMs, Drag Them Away

Two men who were videotaped using a Ford pick-up truck to tow away automatic teller machines at local businesses are wanted by Delaware State Police.

From Aug. 14 to Oct. 22, the ATM thieves have hit two restaurants and one gas station in Delaware. In the early morning hours, their method of operation has been to break the glass of the business’ front door, tie a tow strap around the ATM, and then drag the machine out of the building.

The two men successfully stole ATMs from Buffalo Wild Wings in Bear, Del., on Sept. 19, and the Shell Station on Limestone Road in Hockessin, Del. Oct. 22. They attempted to tow an ATM out of a Hooters restaurant in Newark, Del., but the machine was bolted to the ground.

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Long line for New Hooters in Japan



Yoree Koh/Wall Street Journal

Customers lined up five hours

 before opening hour to get a

seat in the first Hooters in Japan.

 Hooters has come to Japan. The U.S. food chain beloved for its saucy buffalo wings, pitchers of beer and other assets opened its first branch in Japan yesterday. Doors opened at 5 p.m., but early birds wanted to make sure they got the worm.
The restaurant said the first customer lined up at noon and a steady stream of hungry diners – mostly male – followed suit, growing about hundred deep and swirling down the from its second floor entrance to street level. With about a two-hour wait in front of them, those who showed up after 8 p.m. had bleak hopes of getting the chance to see the famous Hooters girls that night. The restaurant closes at 11 p.m.

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Starbucks defeats NY woman's tea burn lawsuit

(Reuters) - A Manhattan woman has failed to persuade a U.S. appeals court that Starbucks Corp should be held liable for severe burns she suffered after spilling tea served in a double cup.
The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld on Tuesday a lower court's dismissal of a $3 million lawsuit brought by Rachel Moltner against the world's largest coffee chain.

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The Most Exotic McDonald's Meals

The McRib may be back, but how would you like to try a Maharajah Mac, McCurry Pan, or Wasabi Filet-O-Fish?

They may sound like the kind of faux-McDonald’s dishes you'd see in a comedy film set in India or somewhere in Asia, but, believe it or not, they’re actual items served at McDonald's restaurants in - surprise, surprise - India and Asia.

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San Francisco bans Happy Meals

San Francisco's board of supervisors has voted, by a veto-proof margin, to ban most of McDonald's Happy Meals as they are now served in the restaurants.
The measure will make San Francisco the first major city in the country to forbid restaurants from offering a free toy with meals that contain more than set levels of calories, sugar and fat.

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Credit Cards With Computer Chips: Coming to a Wallet Near You This Month

We’ve been hearing the refrain for years: the US is losing the credit card technology race. In Europe they have microchips. In Asia, people pay with their phones.
You’d think it’s only a matter of time before the US dumps its ancient magnetic stripes and joins the 21st century.
“The US started deploying magnetic stripe readers in the late 60s,” says Jeff Mullen,CEO of Dynamics, Inc. According to a leading maker of credit card terminal parts, GAO Research, there are over 10 million magnetic stripe readers in the US today.


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Las Vegas Sands has much riding on Asian gaming

As befits the head of one of the world’s biggest casino operators, Sheldon Adelson likes a punt. Last year, the chief executive of Las Vegas Sands placed a multibillion-dollar treble on the future of Asian gaming. With two legs completed, the bet is looking good. But Mr Adelson may yet stumble before the finish line.
Las Vegas Sands spotted the potential of Asian gambling nearly a decade ago, when the former Portuguese territory of Macao, now a special administrative region of China, opened its centuries-old gaming market to foreign companies.

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Columbia Sussex Corp.'s Westin Resort in the Cayman Islands faces foreclosure

Columbia Sussex Corp.'s Westin Casuarina Resort & Spa in the Cayman Islands may face a foreclosure after demand slumped and the borrower said it can't cover debt payment shortfalls, according to Realpoint LLC.

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NH Hotels Reveals EBITDA More Than Doubled in the First 9 Months of 2010

MADRID, Nov. 2, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- NH Hotels has revealed that the adverse situation of the industry in 2009 underwent a major turnaround during the first 9 months of 2010 leading to a significant improvement towards recovery in the Group's basic activity. NH Hotels' revenues totalled euro 980.5M, a 9.4% rise, and its Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization (EBITDA) reflected both the strong recovery in the market and the remarkable increase in productivity. The company generated an EBITDA totalling euro 102.2M, more than double the figure for the same period in 2009, due mainly to an improvement in the hotel business in all the markets where NH Hotels operates.

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Gaylord Entertainment Company Reports Third Quarter 2010 Results

Consolidated revenue decreased 20.3 percent to $158.3 million in the third quarter of 2010 from $198.5 million in the same period last year, and included the impact of the temporary closure of Gaylord Opryland and certain of the Company’s other Nashville-based assets due to the flood damage suffered on May 3, 2010. Adjusted Gaylord Hotels total revenue (which excludes Gaylord Opryland, but includes the Radisson) increased 15.2 percent to $146.8 million in the third quarter of 2010 compared to $127.5 million in the prior-year quarter. Adjusted Gaylord Hotels and adjusted hospitality segment results exclude Gaylord Opryland, but include the Radisson for all periods presented unless specifically noted otherwise. Adjusted Gaylord Hotels revenue per available room¹ (“RevPAR”) increased 11.0 percent and Adjusted Gaylord Hotels total revenue per available room² (“Total RevPAR”) increased 15.1 percent in the third quarter of 2010 compared to the third quarter of 2009. Adjusted Gaylord Hotels Total RevPAR performance in the third quarter of 2010 was impacted by increases in outside the room revenue and by declines in attrition and cancellation fee revenues which were elevated throughout 2009, but declined in the first nine months of 2010 as occupancy levels recovered and demand built. Adjusted Gaylord Hotels Total RevPAR for the third quarter of 2010 included attrition and cancellation fees of approximately $1.6 million collected during the quarter compared to $3.8 million collected in the prior-year quarter.

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Wynn Resorts, Limited Reports Third Quarter Results

LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Wynn Resorts, Limited (Nasdaq: WYNN) today reported financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2010.
Net revenues for the third quarter of 2010 were $1.0 billion, compared to $773.1 million in the third quarter of 2009, driven by a 49.7% increase in net revenues at Wynn Macau. Adjusted property EBITDA (1) increased $76.3 million to $274.5 million for the third quarter of 2010, compared to $198.2 million in the 2009 quarter.
On a US GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) basis, net loss attributable to Wynn Resorts for the third quarter of 2010 was $33.5 million, or ($0.27) per diluted share, compared to a net income attributable to Wynn Resorts of $34.2 million, or $0.28 per diluted share in the third quarter of 2009. The decline was primarily attributable to a loss on extinguishment of debt of $64.2 million. Adjusted net income in the third quarter of 2010 was $48.7 million, or $0.39 per diluted share (adjusted EPS)(2) compared to an adjusted net income of $39.9 million, or $0.33 per diluted share in the third quarter of 2009.

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Wynn Resorts Declares $8 Cash Dividend

LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Wynn Resorts, Limited (Nasdaq:WYNN), announced today that its Board of Directors declared a cash dividend of $8.00 per share on its outstanding common stock. This dividend will be payable on December 7, 2010, to stockholders of record on November 23, 2010. The stock will begin to trade ex-dividend on November 19, 2010.

OpenTable Mobile Apps Drive a Quarter Billion Dollars in Revenue for Restaurant Partners

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--OpenTable, Inc. (NASDAQ: OPEN) (http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.opentable.com&esheet=6494966&lan=en-US&anchor=www.opentable.com&index=1&md5=f1edaaf6baeb0a5ed77340babca859dc), a leading provider of free online reservations for diners and guest management systems for restaurants, announced that as of September 30, more than 5 million diners have been seated via reservations booked on its mobile applications. OpenTable estimates that diners using its mobile applications have generated more than $250 million in revenue for its restaurant partners. Since the company introduced its first app in May 2008, mobile has grown to account for 10 percent of all diners seated via OpenTable.

“OpenTable diners are increasingly counting on their mobile phones to find and book dining reservations when on the go,” said Jeff Jordan, CEO of OpenTable. “Whether they’re traveling, coming out of a meeting or a movie theater, or just looking for a new dining spot while out on the town, diners can use our mobile apps to find and book available tables at nearby restaurants.”

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Dennys reports 3rd quarter 2010 results

Third Quarter Summary

• Same-store guest counts rose 2.3% at company units, the strongest performance since the first quarter of 2005
• Same-store sales decreased 0.7% at company units and 1.2% at franchised units
• Opened 61 new units, including 48 Flying J conversion sites and 4 units at university locations
• Secured industry veterans for the Chief Marketing Officer and Chief Operating Officer positions
• Net income of $9.9 million, or $0.10 per diluted share

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Hotel scale back Spas

There was a time in the not-so-distant past when every big hotel needed a spa. Leisure travelers demanded it, and business travelers did, too — to reward themselves, their clients or their employees with lavish massage and steam-filled weekends in opulent settings.

No more. . . .

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Las Vegas Westin Casuarina faces hardships amid economic downturn

The owner of the Westin Casuarina Hotel, Casino & Spa in Las Vegas isn’t commenting on how the property is performing during the recession, but real estate watchers say the 826-room property may face foreclosure.
Fitch Ratings today downgraded a class of Wachovia Bank Commercial Mortgage Trust securities issued in 2005, citing several problem loans around the country.
One of the loans that was pooled and sold to investors in the Wachovia securities is secured by the Westin Casuarina on Flamingo Road just east of the Las Vegas Strip.

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Pizza chain offers $31,000/hour part-time job

As part of a series of events commemorating the 25th anniversary of its arrival in Japan, Domino's Pizza Japan is set to hire one lucky person at the rate of 2,500,000 yen ($31,030) for an hour's worth of work in December.

A company spokesman declined to provide further details until November 10, but the company's website said that anyone who wants the job will need to file an application. Those passing to the next stage will undergo an interview.

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Las Vegas City Center scrambling to fix financial situation

The massive City Center casino complex opened in Las Vegas last December amid the steepest decline in tourism there in decades. Now, its owners are still scrambling to figure out how to fix the 67-acre development's financial problems.

The $8.7 billion project, with its hotels, condominiums, casino and giant mall designed by Daniel Libeskind, is the largest privately funded construction project in the U.S. It was supposed to usher in a new era of sophistication and urban living in the gaming capital. But it almost collapsed before it opened, and because of its huge scale, its fortunes and those of Las Vegas are closely linked.

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Gansevoort New York Tipping Policy Update

November 2, 2010 (Hospitality Business News) In response to a recent news story in the New York Post, Gansevoort Meatpacking NYC clarified today that the bar does not include an automatic 20 percent tip on all beer, wine, and cocktails ordered, and has never done so. "Gansevoort Meatpacking NYC has the utmost respect for its customers and gives them the choice to tip hotel and bar staff as they deem appropriate" , stated a company spokeswoman.

Since its opening this summer, Gansevoort Park Avenue NYC, the newest hotel from the Gansevoort brand, has included a 20 percent gratuity on all bar tabs. the company stated that "as of today, this automatic gratuity has been eliminated. Moving forward, neither Gansevoort property in New York City will include a gratuity on bar bills, and an automatic gratuity will only be added for large parties and bottle service."