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Posted At : April 29, 2008 09:06 AM | Posted By : D McKee
Related Categories:
Macau,Baseball
For those of you who don't click on the "Comments" link, my last update on the casino freeze in Macao prompted a response that left me, momentarily, at a loss for an answer (other than "I'd hate to pass up an opportunity to make fun of Stanley Ho, that's why.")
The question was: Why should we care about the international misadventures of companies who flee American affordability while chasing the Chinese dollar?
Somebody else want to take a crack at that? Anyone?
In bobblehead veritas. In case 15 seasons (and counting) of sub-.500 baseball haven't gotten the message across, Pittsburgh Pirates ownership makes sure Pirates fans get the message. Mutual, I'm sure.
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Really. That's about it. It's not like MGM-Mirage is moving it's corporate headquarters to some tax shelter island. Americans are money at China every day at a store that shall not be named (hint: Always.) so why not try to grab some of it back?
That's the reason for my very limited interest in Macau: It's one of the few avenues I know of where money flows from Chinese hands to American ones, instead of vice versa.
However, I have very strong emotions about the major companies leaving secondary Nevada markets, especially Downtown and Laughlin. I take that to mean they've kinda forgotten where they came from, so to speak. Las Vegas is what made these giants, and Downtown is a worthy part of that. I do feel the giants have a patriotic duty to help Downtown. Obviously, I'm not in the majority. The gains and investments shown by the new operators Downtown, like Msrs Caudill and Fertitta, lead me to believe a company can make good money Downtown with only average focus and attention.
I fear that there has become a Strip and Macau orbital axis that has created an arms race that has made cost and crowding on the Strip unbearble. Locals avoid it like the plague, and many tourists find it less and less enjoyable, not in a "it was better when the mob ran things" way, it just isn't as much fun because of the cost and crowding.