Paula Deen’s ‘Today’ Show Appearance Ends In Tears

Despite her teary mea culpa on NBC’s “Today” show, two additional companies decided to part ways with Paula Deen Wednesday afternoon.

Caesars announced its decision to strip Deen’s name from four of its buffet restaurants, while Wal-Mart Stores Inc. disclosed shortly after its plans to sever ties with the culinary figure.  The world’s largest retailer said it will not be placing “any new orders beyond what’s already committed.”  The Bentonville, Ark.-based company has carried a range of products under the Paula Deen moniker since 2011.

Smithfield Foods dropped Deen on Monday, while the Food Network announced Friday that it was not renewing Deen’s contract after she had skipped her initial “Today’ show appearance that morning and released a series of apology videos via YouTube that afternoon.

The celebrity chef dissolved into tears during Wednesday’s interview with Matt Lauer as she attempted to explain how she wasn’t a racist- although a deposition filed and leaked last week revealed her use of racial slurs in the past.  It was an odd disparity between the Paula Deen known for her cheery, comforting disposition, and the Paula Deen who appeared on the “Today” show, defeated, exhausted and “heartbroken.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/entertainment/television/Paula-Deen-dissolves-into-tears-during-Today-show-interview.html#xzsWkWCDIPGfUZ1l.99

Atlantic City’s Aging Casinos, Storm Aftermath And A Glut Of Gambling Capacity Spell Trouble

English: Picture of the Tropicana from the Boardwalk. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

ATLANTIC CITY — Can this casino resort be saved?

Over Memorial Day weekend, it was easy to see all is not well here.  Eight of the 12 casinos predate the mid-1980s — carpets are grungy, paint is chipping off the walls, and far fewer employees are working the gaming floors.

As the sun broke through after a blustery Friday and Saturday, the Sunday crowds picked up on the Boardwalk. By midafternoon, it teemed with strollers and patrons at the outdoor restaurants.

But parking was available at several casino garages, a telltale sign it was not the hoped-for blockbuster weekend.  Business volume varied among properties.

At the newer Borgata, for example, there was a waiting list in the poker room and a steady stream of traffic throughout the casino.  At the barely year-old Revel, which just emerged from bankruptcy and opened new smoking lounges Friday, the sixth-floor casino parking level was filled with cars for the first time.  At dowdy Trump Plaza, meanwhile, an older generation half-filled the intimate gaming floor, and people in their 20s and 30s packed its outdoor beach bar.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/business/news/atlantic-citys-aging-casinos-storm-aftermath-and-a-glut-of-gambling-capacity-spell-trouble-689842/#ixzz2UsvznxAo