David Mckee's Stiffs & Georges - Election

Quote of the Day

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 17:06:00 -0700

"I'd like to keep one strip of that airport as an airport. I think it closed prematurely. I think greed went nuts." -- Atlantic City mayoral candidate Joseph Polillo (I), on what to do with Bader Field. Incumbent Mayor Lorenzo Langford's idea for the former airport is -- wait for it -- another casino.

Goliath, computer nerd; Lowden Trek: The Wrath of Reid

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 15:09:00 -0700

As some may recall, the saga of Goliath, the LVA rescue kitten, had a happy ending. Not only has he found a new, loving home but the hyperactive little fellow (whose new owners renamed him "Murderface") has developed an interest in technology:

"Robin said he’s obsessed with the computer — he’ll shimmy up her leg or the back of the chair, then either perch on her shoulder or sit in front of the monitor and bat at the cursor on screen."

Since my two cats only acknowledge computers to the extent of sitting either A) on the mouse pad or B) in front of the screen, effectively blocking it, Goliath would appear to be part of that younger, techno-savvy generation.

Sue Lowden = Klingons? The senatorial candidacy of Archon Corp. Treasurer Sue Lowden is evidently being taken quite seriously by Sen. Harry Reid. So much so that Reid's office has threatened to "vaporize" Lowden, prompting some musings on the proper response to phaser fire. If Reid wanted to do Nevadans a service, shouldn't he instead vaporize Lowden's Pioneer Gambling Hall, a grind joint that's been likened to the barren, depressing, post-2004 Vegas Club downtown?

Ohio slots slip sliding away?

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 17:21:00 -0700

A sample conducted by the tag team of TruthPac and Strategic Polling finds support for the Ohio casino initiative backed by Penn National Gaming polling below 50%. Casinos still have a slight edge (48%/43%, with 8% undecided) ... so in theory the ballot measure should squeak through, so long as the undecideds split down the middle.

If, however, "likely voters" means so-called "values voters," then Issue 3 could be in serious trouble. Only 30% of Democrats polled were against putting casinos in Toledo, Cincinnati, Columbus and Cleveland -- but 58% of Republicans gave it the thumbs-down. It should be noted, though, that a Dayton Daily News poll released three weeks ago had Issue 3 winning in a 59%/38% wipeout.

From the mailbag: An East Coast reader writes, "I live in Washington, D.C. Only a tiny 1%-2% of the D.C. television market is in West Virginia, yet I'm surprised to be seeing several TV ads to legalize table games in Charlestown, West Virginia -- home of a racino (I've never been there). I hadn't even known that was on the ballot. Anyway, if they are buying D.C. TV for a Jefferson County, W.V. issue, they sure are spending boatloads of money -- not too surprising, I guess."

Well, this did come as a bit of a surprise to me ... but it makes sense in retrospect. Not in terms of influencing votes: However, with table games an inevitability in Pennsylvania, a push for casinos in Ohio, slot parlors (slowly) ramping up in Maryland, etc., the advertising blitz is probably a means of preparing ground for after the election. Should table games be voted in, D.C.-area gamblers will know Charlestown has them and may think twice about driving to Pennsylvania and points northeast.

Only in Nevada

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 18:17:00 -0700

To end the week on a note of levity: For the second time this year, both Gov. Jim Gibbons and Lt. Gov. Brian Krolicki got it into their heads to be out of state simultaneously. (One senses that they don't consult each other about scheduling or much of anything else.) Which means that -- also for the second time this year -- the Silver State was briefly helmed by state Senate President Pro Tempore Mike Schneider. Let's just say that, given this opportunity, Acting Gov. Schneider didn't let it go to waste.

Elsewhere in the Silly File, we find New York-New York holding auditions for a spokesman. They're being politically correct and saying "spokesperson," but considering that aforesaid person is going to be dubbed Vinny "The Man," I have a faint suspicion that members of the gentler sex aren't going to be in the running. The winning candidate must "have the most New York swagger" and be adept at gluttony: Winning a hot dog-eating contest is a prerequisite for would-be Vinnys.

I love New York. Seriously, Manhattan is my favorite place on Earth. (However, it is a poor vantage point from which to write about the casino biz.) Which is why I think promoting its Vegas knockoff through the persona of a dese-dem-dose palooka is a notion so creaky and archaic it needs a walker. Not for nothing has a colleague already dubbed this "the dumbest promotion of the year." I concur.

Jim Murren to the rescue. The CEO of MGM Mirage is going to bat for Sen. Harry Reid. The latter's got the casino moguls (Sheldon Adelson, excepted) in his corner, if nothing else.

Leaving Las Vegas

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 18:17:00 -0700

At least 28,000 have done so over the two years-plus (probably more when you allow for the people still moving here). What are the likely consequences of Las Vegas' pegging its future on a one-trick economy? And is it going to be like one of those Rust Belt cities (like Pittsburgh) that turned it around or one of those (say, Detroit) that continues to decline?

Those questions and others are posed in a splendid article that connects most of the dots regarding Vegas' economic plight. One of the most disturbing points raised by Las Vegas Sun reporter J. Patrick Coolican is that cities doing well at present tend to be ones that possessed robust institutions of higher learning -- and invested in them. Neither can be said of Nevada's dismal education system, the recipient of savage budgets, thanks to our governor and the ever-feckless Lege.

If Las Vegas' future hinges on well-funded and -respected academic institutions, then the near-term prognosis is grim.

Speaking of Detroit, casino owners and politicians there may be casting a wary eye on rising pro-casino sentiment in Ohio. In whichever form casino gambling is legalized by Buckeye State voters, it stands to take a big bite out of Motown casino receipts -- and sap state and local revenue collection, too. A helpful Detroit News map shows precisely which Detroit, Indiana, Pennsylvania and West Virginia casino operators have reason to be fretful about the emergence of a casino industry next door.

Like their Strip brethren, tribal powerhouses Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods Resort Casino went all-in ... into debt, that is. Now that it's time to pay the piper, they find themselves in binds comparable to those facing non-tribal casinos. However, they have fewer options for relief, as they discover the downside of being a tribal operation.

Dog's breakfast at Tiffany's. Few readers of this column can probably afford to buy anything at the Tiffany mega-boutique that will be part of the Crystals mall at CityCenter. However, it will make for some lovely window-shopping. (Click on the pictures to see them in a larger size.)

Atlantic City reprieve. Although New Jersey's three-way gubernatorial race is up for grabs, casino owners can take one consolation. Whichever of the two leading candidates is elected, continued opposition to racinos is promised.

Case Bets: Reid, Goodman, Madison (Holly) & a kegger

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 16:06:00 -0700

As they say on Dancing with the Stars, in no particular order ...

Eight against Harry: For a speedy primer on the myriad challengers to Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV), you can't go wrong with Jon Ralston's droll and speedy primer. It even gets props from John Chachas (R-Central Park West), who recently tossed his homburg into the ring. At least one among the posse Ralston calls "Snow White [Archon Corp. Treasurer Sue Lowden] and the Seven Dwarfs" has a sense of humor.

Reason vs. rage: While Steve Wynn was ranting on the boob tube this weekend, Thomas Krugman's column offers an indirect rebuttal to Wynn's Johnny One-Note ("Tax policy!") table-pounding.

Run, Oscar, run! If these poll numbers don't nudge the World's Happiest Mayor into the 2010 gubernatorial race, perhaps nothing will. Oscar Goodman not only has the highest favorables among Nevada politicians included in the survey, he wins one theoretical electoral matchup and ties for first in the other.

Gov. Jim Gibbons' political future looks bleak (read: borderline nonexistent) and there's not much comfort for Hapless Harry, either. Just think how much worse it would be if Reid had an opponent possessing genuine gravitas. Besides, given the rising tide of discontent among Nevada's progressives, there's a good chance that much of Hapless Harry's old base will just stay home on Election Day.

In Oscar's domain, an architect suggests ways to revitalize Downtown by decreasing energy use, increasing sustainability and generally targeting long-term cost savings. The proposal makes a lot of sense -- a virtual guarantee it will be ignored.

Holly Madison tapped an Oktoberfest keg at Siegfried & Roy hangout Hofbrauhaus last Friday. [Your punchline here.]

"Serpent Head" Jr.: If CNN ever has to let James Carville go on vacation, don't worry ...

... SNL's Bill Hader can fill in and nobody will notice a difference.

Case Bets: Corzine, Penn vs. MTR, Pinnacle, Manilow & strippers

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 15:06:00 -0700

Forbidden by New Jersey law from directly contributing to political campaigns, casino companies are making an end run through Virginia. Harrah's Entertainment, Boyd Gaming and IGT are among those funneling campaign cash into a reverse version on the Underground Railroad. No wonder Gov. Jon Corzine (D) is able to carpet-bomb his opponents with advertising, if he so chooses.

Hey, big spender. The New Jersey gubernatorial race may be chump change compared to the cash being expended in the battle over Issue 3, which would permit four Vegas-style casinos in the Buckeye State. This is boiling down to a proxy fight between Penn National Gaming (pro) and racino specialist MTR Gaming (con). You'll recall that the Ohio Supreme Court nixed Gov. Ted Strickland's plan to unilaterally add slots to the state's horse tracks, which might have given MTR a level playing field with Penn.

While I can understand why Penn or Harrah's would be willing to pay 23% in taxes in Iowa or 27% in Kansas, it's mind-boggling that Harrah's would be chomping at the bit in Rhode Island, where the rate is 73%. Oy vey!

A green shoot. The Baton Rouge Business Journal reports that Pinnacle Entertainment is inking contracts to begin driving piles for its Lake Charles project. Called "Sugarcane Bay" and budgeted at $407 million, this is the first positive movement we've seen out of Pinnacle in a while (unless you count its hijinks with the President license up in Missouri). Good on them.

Manilow on the move. The Las Vegas Hilton has confirmed what all suspected: Barry Manilow's contract expires Dec. 30 and will not be renewed. As we reported in Question of the Day, it's nearly a done deal that he will now set up shop at Paris-Las Vegas, whose main showroom has gone long unused.

Good luck trying to get the Vegas constabulary interested if your car is stolen or your home burglarized. They're too busy going undercover to get lap dances. As Richard Abowitz notes, rampant prostitution on the Strip goes unchecked in the meantime. It's an open secret around here, although many of the "working girls" look downright scary, so you have to wonder how they turn tricks, especially in this economy.

Want your ass kicked?

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 17:16:00 -0700

Then go hang out at Stack. If they don't like your looks, the in-house goons will be sicced on you. And Las Vegans wonder at the schadenfreude so many people feel with regard to Sin City's current doldrums.

No magic bullet. Liberalization of casino rules in Colorado will raise considerably less revenue than expected. Whoever made the projections that are now coming up 60% short obviously didn't take the recession into account.

Opposition grows. An effort by Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn to saturate the state with video gambling devices is encountering widening opposition. Chicago suburbs Evanston and Naperville are among the areas that have nixed the prospect of slot routes.

Don't like our roads? Mail your thanks to Gov. Jim Gibbons, who just got his knuckles rapped by the chairman of the House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure for laggard deployment of federal highway funds. It's pretty slow around Carson City once the Lege decamps, so what's Midnight Jim's excuse this time?

Sanity 1, Drunks 0. A trio of boozing bozos who rampaged through Buffalo Bill's before piling their car into a ditch can't sue MGM Mirage for their own asshattery, Nevada's high court rules. Since they were drunk off their asses and getting into fights, the trio of boozehounds maintained, casino management had an obligation to keep them on-property ... presumably so they could have continued terrorizing other patrons and otherwise letting the good times roll. In an unrelated victory for common sense, it is no longer a crime in South Carolina to play poker in the privacy of your own home.

Keystone stalemate. Casino owners like Las Vegas Sands who have gone ahead with preparations to add table games will soon be rewarded -- but not until endless legislative machinations play out. House Democrats appear to be backing off a 34% tax rate for tables (J.P. Morgan reports that leadership is now floating a 21% figure) and may even come down to the 12% rate favored by their GOP colleagues. The $10 million upfront fee, though, appears to be a done deal.

All that said, solons managed to spend much of a special weekend session dickering over matters that ought to be none of their business. Like: Should casinos be allowed to serve free drinks to their patrons? Or: Can they operate on Christmas? Now, nothing sounds more depressing than spending Christmas Day at Harrah's Chester, but aren't these matters that ought to be the prerogative of the individual casino owner? Also, ostensibly pro-business Republicans wanted to put table games before the voters, which could render the whole legislative exercise moot ... and relief can't come soon enough for racinos like Penn National Gaming's Hollywood Casino, which is starting to slash its payroll.

From the mailbag #8

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 15:08:00 -0700

"Doesn't the IOC realise it will be winter in Brazil in August, 2016?" -- comment Blackberried in by a reader, regarding the award of the '16 games to Rio de Janeiro. Y'know, I'd been wondering about that myself. The average August temperature in Rio hovers between 66 and 78 degrees. Not frigid but not exactly torrid, either. Meanwhile, the IOC promises to keep an eagle eye on the betting lines for the Vancouver games in 2010.

From Jeff in OKC, regarding the recent National Coming-Out Day promotions on the Strip: "Casino ads need a gambling reference in their marketing, I found it cute. If I want to offend easily, I would say that 'Two queens are more fun than a straight' suggests that straight people are inherently less enjoyable than gay people, and NY-NY doesn't want my money. I think we can always be offended, if we look hard enough."

From kerr_mudgeon, on the growing possibility that Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman will tilt at the 2010 gubernatorial race: "I don't think he'll run because the odds are less than 50% in his favor as a non-partisan + he'd not want to disrupt his family by taking a job in Carson [City] - BUT if he runs and wins, he'll start pushing immediately to move the state capital to Las Vegas (maybe to take over one of the partly-built Strip complexes in/near bankruptcy)."

It's not the worst idea I've heard. Nor is this ...

Singapore is building an expansion of its ocean-liner terminal, enabling it to berth four cruisers at a time. The good news for Las Vegas Sands and Genting Bhd is, obviously, that this means more potential customers for their ultra-megaresorts. The not-so-good news is that the new berths won't be ready until late 2011, by which point both casino-based resort will have been open nearly two years.

Everybody's got a private equity fund these days, like the 21-year-old owner of a Persian resaturant in Maryland. Youthful Artin Afsharjavan claims he's got the scratch to buy Trump Entertainment Resorts, prompting Trump CEO Mark Juliano to reply, "Show me the money."

Hey, if some kid wants to throw as much as $500 million into acquiring five (mostly) bottom-of-the-barrel Atlantic City casinos, including Resorts Atlantic City and the A.C. Hilton, I'd like to see the color of his money, too. If it's for real, TER and the others ought to pluck the guy clean. You don't get a pigeon like this every day.

Goodman: "We're in the toilet"; "Peepshow" redux

Fri, 02 Oct 2009 15:42:00 -0700

Mayor Oscar Goodman sounds increasingly motivated to run for governor next year. He's angry, which is good: Nevada needs someone who's nettled about our sorry -- pardon the pun -- state of affairs. (I tried umpteen times to embed the KRNV-TV video but had to admit defeat; sorry again!)

As to Goodman's fear that a governor couldn't make a difference, recent history is a poor guide. Both Gov. Jim Gibbons and predecessor Kenny Guinn developed reputations for doing as little as possible to move their legislative agendas through Carson City. The rap on both was that they'd issue their budget and then basically take the phone off the hook. One cannot imagine such passivity from Goodman.

On the issue of why we need an irate candidate, just replace "Somalia" with "Nevada" and this is where we're headed, fast:

We don't have cholera yet but we had a dandy hepatitis outbreak recently. And our assembly-line endoscopy centers will be happy to literally rip you a new one. (Remember, it was Goodman who took action during the hepatitis crisis, while Gibbons dithered. Even the Gibbons-adoring Las Vegas Review-Journal editorial page likened Midnight Jim's crisis response to a kitten trapped in a paper bag.)

Peepshow 3.0: The R-J's Mike Weatherford goes back for the band-less, Aubrey O'Day-augmented version and finds that this addition-by-subtraction thing is working pretty well. He also makes some trenchant points about the dainty approach that has ill-served the show from its inception.

Case Bets: P'mousse, Wynn vs. Francis, Natole, etc.

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 13:53:00 -0700

Tucked away around the corner from the Sahara is local institution Pamplemousse. While there wasn't room for describing the massive crudité basket or the alleged "Mob booth," hopefully this chronicle captures some of the preserved-in-amber ambience of P'mousse.

Steve Wynn, house hunter. What could the casino mogul want with a mansion in Bel Air? Well, if it belongs to celeb-stiff Joe Francis, seizing the house could bring Wynn Resorts one large step closer to settling Francis' $2.9 million gambling debts.

Just for the record, casino treasurer Sue Lowden has officially elbowed her way into the crowded field of potential GOP challengers to Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV). S&G is looking for a replay of 1996's bruising clash between then-state Sen. Lowden and the Culinary Union.

In the wake of the Great Trop Show Massacre comes word from multiple sources that impressionist Rich Natole won't be venue-less for long. Could be he doesn't even have to leave the intersection of Tropicana Ave. and the Strip.

Mommie Queerest. At the risk of praising with faint damns, if you like this sort of thing then this is the sort of thing you'll like. Does the general public have even a dim recollection of Joan Crawford anymore?

Robo-poker reprieved ...

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 18:08:00 -0700

... but maybe not long for long. A momentary uptick in the price of PokerTek stock temporarily rescued it from penny-stock status. But after decisive rejections of dealer-less poker in both Las Vegas and Atlantic City, the future of PokerTek as anything other than a marginal supplier looks bleak.

Vegas casino operators continue to learn that you can't export the Strip business model to Macao (our over-optimistic expectations to the contrary). Case in point: Wynn Macau, which is cannibalizing restaurants, kitchens and even a showroom to make room for more gambling positions. A sanguine-sounding Steve Wynn, meanwhile, yawns in the face of competition from Singapore and tries to spin his Macanese IPO as a philanthropic gesture.

Neil Bluhm's big break. Although $800 million Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh maybe up and running, the county assessor continues to tax the site as though it were empty land. As the bureaucrats let tens of millions of property-tax dollars slip through their fingers, casino owner Neil Bluhm has a chance to bank some serious coin here. That'll take a little of the sting out of Pennsylvania's 55% gross-revenues tax rate.

A Texas track that's now come into tribal hands may hold the key to the future (if any) of limited Vegas-style gambling in Texas. The Lone Star State's gubernatorial aspirants are all over the map. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R) has cozied up to the Stone Age anti-gambling crowd, making Gov. Rick Perry's (R) qualified pro-gambling position preferable ... even though Perry would still relegate Indian tribes to the back of the bus.

S&G likes candidate Kinky Friedman best on this issue (the Kinkster is pro-casino, period), while Tom Schieffer (D) is back in the Dark Ages somewhere with Hutchison. Hank Gilbert occupies a wussy, "let's take a poll" middle ground somewhere between Perry and his GOP rival.

Quote of the Day

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 14:21:00 -0700

"It's a good thing Paul Revere wasn't running for governor the night the British were coming. If that event had taken place in Nevada, he would have been shot by his fellow residents for having the audacity to suggest a large problem was on the horizon." -- Las Vegas Sun reader "brst" on the disinclination of Nevada gubernatorial candidates to address a cascading series of budget shortfalls.

Bad bulletins for Sands & Strickland

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 12:03:00 -0700

Last week, Audit Integrity identified the 20 companies most at risk of bankruptcy (minimum market capitalization: $1 billion) and the lone gambling operator on the list was Las Vegas Sands. On Friday, Business Insider piled on. Pruning Audit Integrity's list of any firms with market cap below $3 billion, that still left nine companies ... and Las Vegas Sands.

Quoth the Insider: "Conditions in Las Vegas are horrible, Asian expansion isn’t enough, and if this lasts too long then LVS will end up in bankruptcy court looking like it bit off more than it can chew."

Marina Bay Sands: a megaresort too far?

No shit. With an unfinished casino-hotel in Pennsylvania and the abortive St(ump) Regis condo on the Strip, Sheldon Adelson has too many fingers in too many pies. Plus, his $5 billion Singapore albatross will get beaten to the starting line by subsequent entrant Genting. And even with a sudden easing of access from mainland China to Macao, it's too soon to be going pedal to the metal on the remainder of the Cotai Strip™, as Adelson would clearly like to do.

(As though to twist the knife in the wound, retail developer Taubman Cos. made a point -- in the course of reiterating its interest in a rival project -- of saying it wasn't in the market for the two shopping malls Adelson is desperately trying to unload.)

Ohio's supreme court delivered a swift kick to the groin of Gov. Ted Strickland (D) -- and to the casino industry's hopes for imminent expansion into Ohio. By a 6-1 vote, the high court ruled that addition of seven racinos needs to go before a vote of the people, throwing as much as a 14-month hitch into the process.

If that weren't enough, Strickland has to cope with the continued meddling of Sen. George Voinovich (R-OH), who seems to believe he still occupies the governor's mansion, too. Governors hate it when the congressional delegation bigfoots them on intra-state affairs. Such a clash led to a permanent rift between fellow Republicans then-Gov. Kenny Guinn and then-Rep. Jim Gibbons.

Strickland, meanwhile, is poring over the court's ruling in search of loopholes that might allow Class II gaming to go on line in December. It's that or cut $852 million from the state budget. If he can insinuate VLTs into horse tracks by May, then voters have a few months to get habituated to them before the 2010 vote.

For Harrah's Entertainment, the good news is that the court's ruling temporarily shaves $47 million off the sale price of Thistledown Park (the full $89 million tab is contingent on racino conversion). For seller Magna Entertainment, the bad news is that the deal may fall through entirely if Harrah's doesn't want to gamble on the outcome of further legal challenges and the tender mercies of the electorate.

Are you ready for some football? No!

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 17:45:00 -0700

Galaxy Theatres' multiplex at The Cannery has scrapped all its big-screen showings of Monday Night Football, it was announced today, one week into the NFL season. Perhaps the incessant jabbering of Jon Gruden sent patrons screaming out onto the casino floor.

"Historic Announcement" at Trop: New CEO Alex Yemenidjian has booked a press conference on Wednesday morning with a "Special Guest" who represents an "exciting new partnership" in the entertainment sphere. It's the worst-kept secret in Vegas that Mr. Special Guest is better known as blogger Chuck Monster's least-favorite Strip headliner, Wayne F. Newton.

Also, the Sahara is (finally!) pulling the plug on Larry Marshak's ersatz Platters/Coasters/Marvelettes revue. Alas, the last act in this shameful saga of exploitation has yet to play out. The Marshak troupe will actually move up the Strip food chain, to Planet Hollywood. However, its new home is the Wyrick Entertainment Complex, otherwise known as the "Venue of Death." If that doesn't kill the show, nothing will.

Well that's ... weird: The Las Vegas Sun's Brendan Buhler reports that waitresses at Monte Carlo's lounge within the Dragon Noodle Co. restaurant "are dressed as characters from Japanese animé cartoons, a hobby known as cosplay." This strikes Buhler as odd because the U.S. cosplay cosmos is dominated by teens and pre-teens, and is "geeky." (He said it, I didn't.) He likens it to a Miley Cyrus-themed nightclub, before noting that the uniforms resemble "schoolgirl outfits."

Which would explain a lot.

Eight isn't enough. Yet another GOP challenger enters the lists against Sen. "Hapless Harry" Reid (D-NV). Just FYI.

Salvation for Nevada?

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 15:59:00 -0700

Former Nevada Attorney General Brian Sandoval has made it official: He's stepping down from the federal bench to challenge incumbent Gov. Jim Gibbons. That means Midnight Jim can start packing up the governor's mansion. Maybe he already is. Whatever he's doing, he's not attending to the state's crumbling tourism infrastructure. This dereliction of duty is reprehensible at a time when Las Vegas, Reno and points beyond need all the traffic they can get.

I've dealt with Sandoval in the past and he's a class act. Heck, unless Oscar Goodman throws his martini glass into the ring on the Democratic side, I might have to re-register as a Republican to vote for Sandoval in the 2010 primary. Sandoval may be fairly conservative but he's capable and widely respected, two qualities one does not associate with Nevada's current governor.

Midnight Jim has given us nearly three years of unmitigated cronyism, scandal and incompetence, and Nevada cannot be rid of him and his do-nothing "leadership" soon enough, in my opinion. Thank you, Sheldon Adelson and especially J. Terrence Lanni, along with any other gaming CEO who helped foist this buffoon upon the Silver State.

If you've sent me an e-mail and haven't heard back, it's because our current e-mail platform is -- what's the technical term? -- fucked. So I apologize for my apparent bad manners. Also, we cannot upload new imagery into the blogs. Which means that, for instance, an extremely droll image forwarded by kerr_mudgeon cannot be viewed at this time. Which really sucks.

To make matters worse, some subscribers aren't receiving automatic notifications of new blog entries because these are being randomly kicked back by the dozen. So I apologize for that, too. Our LVA tech people are doing their best but they're fighting a multi-front war right now. Thanks for your patience.

11:59 p.m. for Midnight Jim

Fri, 21 Aug 2009 12:38:00 -0700

• Bad news for Gov. Jim Gibbons: Were he to run against former Attorney General Brian Sandoval (or rather, vice versa) undecideds would have to break 3-to-1 in Midnight Jim's favor for him to win the primary. Dr. Joe Heck and North Las Vegas Mayor Michael Montandon, thanks for playing; maybe you'd prefer to take on Sens. Harry Reid or John Ensign instead.

• Good news for Gibbons: The Mason-Dixon poll used a pitifully small sample (400 respondents), although the resultant margin of error -- 5% -- still doesn't afford Midnight Jim much hope. And even the anemically polling Rory Reid needs only 4% of undecideds to put him across the top vs. Gibbons, if the poll is to be trusted.

• Good news for Republicans: Sandoval would cruise to victory against any Democratic challenger. I've interviewed Sandoval in his gaming-regulator and AG days, and -- other than then-Sen. Richard Bryan -- he's probably the classiest public servant I've dealt with in Nevada (close third: then-Secretary of State Dean Heller). He's got my vote unless perhaps his opponent is ...

• Oscar Goodman. The World's Happiest Mayor will be made more joyful still to see himself trouncing both the spineless Barbara Buckley and the surprisingly unpopular Rory Reid. (The son does not also rise, it seems.) During Hizzoner's recent 70th birthday celebration, the Fremont Street Experience showed a montage of Goodman family photographs (births, weddings, bar mitzvahs, etc.). After the seedy sexual shenanigans of Messrs. Ensign and Gibbons, Oscar looks -- dare I say it? -- downright wholesome.

• Bad news for Goodman. Even he loses to Sandoval in the theoretical general election ... but the generous (6%) margin of error and large number of undecideds hold out a slim Reid, er, reed of hope.

I still say: Run Oscar, run! Goodman vs. Sandoval would be the best choice Nevadans have had in 12 years. Sandoval knows how the levers of power work in Carson City (unlike maladroit Midnight Jim), while a Gov. Goodman wouldn't be afraid to put some elbow grease and forceful rhetoric behind his budget proposals, unlike former Gov. Kenny Guinn. Nevada would be well-served by either of them.

Senator Sue?

Wed, 12 Aug 2009 21:49:00 -0700

Why should Nevada have only one former casino executive in the U.S. Senate when it could have two? Sen. John Ensign (R-Nevada Landing) might soon be keeping company with Sen. Sue Lowden (R-Santa Fe Gaming Corp.), if a poll commissioned by Lowden supporters is in any way indicative. Lowden, an ex-legislator who was drop-kicked by her constituents in '96, was co-owner of the Santa Fe Hotel until it was sold to Station Casinos in 2000. Station then did to the pro-union workforce what the Lowdens could not: sacked every last one of them. Business suffered afterward (customers didn't appreciate the disappearance of familiar faces) but Station has always liked to live dangerously.

Lowden currently sits on the board of Archon Corp., proud owner of the Pioneer Hotel in Laughlin, as well as of the Wet 'n Wild remnants that almost became the site of James Packer's Crown Las Vegas. Archon has a habit of turning up in the newspapers every now and again, sometimes when investors get riled up about dubious, insider-friendly stock moves. Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) may not even have to unpack his heavy artillery; the Culinary Union will be only too happy to unleash its attack dogs on Lowden ... again.

New flavor of Tropicana; M is infectious; Penn is persistent

Fri, 07 Aug 2009 14:05:00 -0700

Alex Yemenidjian has busted out a new logo for his Strip casino:

Hey, it's a start. Still no word on a new evening show for the Tiffany Theater (and somehow I don't think Dirk Arthur is going to cut it as a long-term proposition). Anything being possible, perhaps trademarking a new logo will circumvent that "Tropicana" lease-back clause that Tropicana Entertainment CEO Scott Butera snuck past Yemenidjian ... but the Tropicana Las Vegas had better set aside $2 million just in case.

Success breeds development. With M Resort a smash right of the box, naysayers to the contrary, it's proving to be the catalyst for at least one more casino development. The shrouded-in-mystery Raymond Shapiro project would sit immediately north of M and would -- especially if M's amenities get fully built -- synergize with the additional retail/amusement development that are in M's plans.

Industry wisdom, validated by experience, maintains that casinos do better when clustered -- and the Anthony Marnell III and proposed Shapiro properties might even get Gary Goett's long-stalled Olympia Gaming project out of its holding pattern. (It would be on the opposite site of Las Vegas Boulevard from the Shapiro parcel, closer to I-15.)

The loser in all of this is Station Casinos' stuck-in-limbo Inspirada casino project. By the time both that and the master-planned community upon which it was predicated are ready to go, Shapiro and Goett could be as firmly entrenched as Marnell. But, in this lending climate, the operative phrase for any casino proposal remains, "Show me the money."

Penn to locals: "Screw you." For execs at Penn National Gaming, fortifying themselves against competition from in nearby counties supersedes the good will of their constituency. In Jefferson County, home to Charles Town Races & Slots, voters rejected a request for table games in a 2007 vote that went 56%/44% against Penn.

Undeterred, Penn is going to get back in voters' grille this November, it appears, by dint of either the Nov. 7 ballot or a special election a month later. According to J.P. Morgan analysts, the Jefferson electorate is pondering zoning restrictions "to slow down the influx of people from the greater Washington, D.C. area and the conversion of farms to subdivisions." If that's indeed the temper of the neighborhood, Penn's persistence in trying to drive more traffic into the area seems perverse ... if understandable from a dollars-and-cents standpoint.

MGM booting Midnight Jim?

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 16:56:00 -0700

Whilst Gov. Jim Gibbons is overseas, engaged in top-secret derring-do, there's bad news on the home front. News outlets are starting to report that MGM Mirage is directing all of its 2010 gubernatorial donations to Clark County Commissioner Rory Reid. (The Sun had the story first but good luck trying to find it with Greenspun Media's FUBAR search engine.)

Why does this matter? Because MGM was a veritable cash register for Midnight Jim during his '06 race. Gibbons was then-CEO J. Terrence Lanni's parting gift to the state of Nevada. Lanni doubled down on his support of Gibbons after the then-congressman was accused of getting frisky with a cocktail waitress after a boozy night out with influence peddler Sig Rogich.

Even with a ski-lodge pitchman running his campaign, Gov. Jim Gibbons is going to learn that his re-election bid won't be a run on the bunny slopes.

Lanni's boosterism toward Gibbons never made sense: Nevada's leading proponent of widening a gross-receipts tax onto non-casino business supporting a candidate whose entire platform boiled down to "No New Taxes. Period"? Does.Not.Compute.

Once elected, Midnight Jim showed his true colors, jilting Lanni for the cozy embrace of Sheldon Adelson and basically taking his marching orders from Las Vegas Sands HQ.

If MGM has crossed Gibbons off its Christmas list now, he might as well call it a day. This is the biggest footprint planted on his backside to date. True, Reid fils is no shoo-in, even for the Democratic nomination. Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley is expected to put up a strong fight, although some of us wish she'd done the same in the '09 Lege, where she played the role of doormat to both the mining industry and the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce.

As I said before of an Oscar Goodman "spoiler" candidacy, What's there to spoil? Run, Oscar, run!

A-Yem to the rescue

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 15:14:00 -0700

"No corporate liposuction." With those words, new Tropicana Las Vegas CEO Alex Yemenidjian not only coined the catchphrase of the year, he implicitly repudiated the policies of forerunner William J. Yung III, whose Columbia Sussex modus operandi was to solve all problems by sacking large numbers of employees, stripping out amenities, raising prices, slashing marketing and decimating advertising budgets. (A super-stupid policy, it turns out, as revenues and cash flow at at least three of four former Aztar Corp. casinos plummeted under Yung's reign of error.)

A-Yem's approval hearing with the Nevada Gaming Commisson was marred only by a senior moment from Commissioner John Moran Jr. According to the Las Vegas Sun, Moran "applauded Yemenidjian’s efforts and recalled playing golf at a course near the Tropicana, adding that he hopes new management will be able to return the property to its glory days."

WTF? Is Moran flashing back to the Tropicana golf course that used to be in back of the old Marina Hotel and was cannibalized by MGM Grand? Or maybe the Dunes Golf Course across the street? That was more than 10 years ago, dude, and what's it got to do with the price of tea in the Trop? Is he suggesting A-Yem put in some links? The only ones you could fit into the current Trop site are the putt-putt kind -- not that there's anything wrong with that.

Yemenidjian's $440 million debt-for-equity swap effectively reprices the Trop at $12.9 million/acre ... possibly even less depending on how great of a discount Onex Corp. obtained on that debt.

Kudos to NGC Chairman Peter Bernhard (pictured) for crafting a sensible solution to the problem of licensing Las Vegas Gaming CEO Jon Berkley. Both the new CEO and his company have been stumble-prone, so Bernhard's provisional one-year license is a prudent compromise, giving Berkley just enough rope to either hang himself or prove that he's the Mr. Fixit his lawyer says he is. As for Las Vegas Gaming, it's where your phone call rolls over when you dial up ...

... the Ensign scandal's casino connection. Over at the Las Vegas Gleaner, Hugh Jackson has unearthed "the forgotten Ensign," brother Bill, onetime COO of Nugget Gaming, a company with a remarkable development slate. When S&G rang up Nugget's executive offices on Ali Baba Lane, we got Las Vegas Gaming instead. Neither Bill Ensign nor Nugget CEO Stephen Crystal were to be found on the voice-mail directory either.

Crystal was the chief huckster for Barrick Gaming, an underfunded company that fronted Lichtenstein-based Tamares Group's stealthy acquisition of six downtown Las Vegas casinos, before vanishing in a cloud of insolvency. During my early months at the Las Vegas Business Press, I quickly learnt to take Crystal's public pronouncements cum grano salis. (Well, he was an ex-politician, after all.)

Helpfully, the Nugget Gaming site actually provides old news clippings that show just how hilariously full of it Crystal and front man D.W. Barrick were. A former colleague who had a ringside seat for Barrick Gaming's licensing told me that Nevada regulators were desperate and convinced themselves the (wholly unrelated) Barrick Gold Corp. fortune stood at Mr. Barrick's back. As the Barrick/Crystal house of cards was collapsing, I called Toronto-based Barrick Gold spokesman Vince Borg for comment. He'd never heard of Barrick Gaming. So much for that.

DINO? Not as in "Martin," sadly. Reporter Dennis Myers breaks down why casino executives and other bidness bigwigs are lining up behind Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV). Yes, this is the same Reid the Las Vegas Review-Journal routinely and hysterically calls "socialist." Then again, the R-J thinks anybody to the left of Grover Norquist is a pinko.

Quote of the Day

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 11:46:00 -0700

"There's some irony that the ones who stake out the highest moral positions are the ones who literally get caught with their pants down." -- local Democratic Party consultant Gary Gray on Sen. John Ensign's hasty admission of an extramarital affair. Ensign's indiscretion may have been forced into the open due to attempted blackmail by his mistress' husband. The senator's conduct is inappropriate on so many different levels it will surely put the kibosh on any further Ensign-for-president speculation. Review-Journal editorial writers, meanwhile, pull imaginative conspiracy theories out of their collective sphincter.

Xanadu: the prequel?

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 13:26:00 -0700

Martin Stern's 1975 conceptualization of a Xanadu casino-hotel, as virtually reconstructed by Dr. David G. Schwartz, struck a familiar chord with one S&G reader. They quickly detected a resemblance between Welton Becket's 1971 Disney's Contemporary Resort, built in modular fashion (hotel rooms were hoisted into place one at a time) for Disney World ...

... and the Xanadu design ...

How does it look to you? That pyramid look was certainly the "in" thing back when Stern was pitching Xanadu (which probably explains his choice of concept). Here's another example, from Cancun, the Grand Oasis:

Of course, when Las Vegas did get around to a pyramid-shaped hotel, it was such a flub (Luxor) that it's still being "fixed" to this day. Too bad we'll never know if Stern's concept would have worked because post-Luxor nobody's going to try anything remotely like it in Vegas again.

In other news: What may soon become know as Juice Train 2 continues to make headlines, thanks to Sen. Harry Reid's (D-NV) sudden flip-flop.

Goodman for governor ... again?

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 12:21:00 -0700

It's been bruited since at least 2002 and it's happening yet again: Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman is mulling a gubernatorial run for the umpteenth time. "Spoiler!", cry some. I look at the uninspiring field (Montandon, Heck, Midnight Jim, Buckley, R. Reid) and ask, "What's there to spoil?"

Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story: Drove the Chevy (Cobalt) to the levee but the levee was dry. How do you stretch a 75-minute tribute act into a two-hour/two-act Broadway musical? Badly, it seems.

Xanadu: It wasn't just a wretched Olivia Newton-John movie, Kubla Khan's pleasure palace or Charles Foster Kane's crib. It was also was also Martin Stern's unbuilt casino magnum opus. Dr. David G. Schwartz has revived his online museum dedicated to this project, "Paradise Misplaced." If it had been built, over 30 years ago, Xanadu would probably be one of those Strip casinos we now chuckle at, thinking it small, quaint and perhaps overdue for implosion. But it might have saved us from having to look at the oversize eyesore that is Excalibur, which looks laughably crude next to Stern's elegant designs.

Dr. Schwartz even recreates the Vegas of 1975. We've come a long way since then ... but who wouldn't want to hop into the Wayback Machine and experience the more spacious Strip that existed 34 years ago?

In between trying to wrap up Question of the Day essays on Carl Icahn, Stan Fulton, and condo sales in Las Vegas, I'm clearing the blotter of a few things that have fallen through the transom lately, such as ...

Elements: CityLife's Al Mancini didn't care for this new eatery, just off Tropicana Ave. The not-quite-missus and I ate there on opening night and had a better experience for our money. This review, intended for the most recent Las Vegas Advisor, didn't make the cut, so I offer it for your delectation:

Oscar didn't turn up for the May 13 opening but he'd definitely be in his, uh, element here, considering that the menu boasts no fewer than 253 martinis. Choosing but two was difficult but we opted for a chocolate-banana martini and the Miami Vice. If you want Strip-quality (or better) eating and drinking at off-Strip prices, you cannot go wrong with Elements. Both the martinis and the small plates inhabit the $7-$9 range, while the costliest entrée tops out at $25.

We started with the Kona beef short rib on gorgonzola polenta ($9) and it did not disappoint in either tastiness or generosity of portion. There are only two steaks on the menu but both were outstanding, though the black angus flank steak ($21) is quite a bit spicier than even the peppercorn-garnished black angus filet ($25). Both were accompanied by mashed potatoes and steamed vegetables. Only the dreaded cold butter-on-cold bread basket and sluggish service (despite a small crowd) detracted from a flavor-rich experience.

Off the wagon

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 12:46:00 -0700

Desert Xpress, now the R&R Railway ... as in Reid & Rogich.

That's it. I'm done. Stick a fork in the "Sin City Express" from Anaheim to Las Vegas. It's all but dead now that Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) has flip-flopped and thrown his support to a rival project touted by Sig "The Fixer" Rogich, in a juice job that's fooling absolutely frigging nobody. That the maglev project is now effectively dead is but a subplot. Seeing the handwriting on the wall, the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority hopped aboard, too.

The official story is that it's just a great big coinky-dink that the Sigmeister just so happens to co-chair Republicans for Reid. This collection of local muckety-mucks unmasked itself last week, sending the tacit message that Reid's 2010 challenger can expect bupkes from the bidness community.

In its defense, Sig's Desert Xpress is projected to be considerably cheaper than its maglev rival for federal funding. It also, Reid sayeth, would require fewer taxpayer-provided doubloons. (At least until it reaches "too big to fail" status, whereupon Harry & Sig have got John Q. Public by the short hairs; shades of the Las Vegas Monorail.)

However, Sig's choo-choo would travel roughly half as fast as the "Sin City Express" and would terminate in the middle of nowhere. As Hugh Jackson puts it, "After all, if not for Harry Reid's enormous political clout, Nevadans might not enjoy the newly heightened hope that someday they will be able to take a train to Victorville to eat at the truck stop." Apparently, the success of the project hinges upon its being extended westward to Palmdale, to hook up with CalTrans. (Or vice versa.) So it sounds like several shoes are as-yet undropped.

Pay no heed to the man behind the curtain, either. Reid lauds kindred spirit Rogich as "connected to people on just about every side of every issue." Or, in the immortal words of Boy George, "I'm a man/Of no convictions." Having foisted Gov. Kenny Guinn on Nevada twice over, Sig shamelessly flung himself into the arms of Guinn's bete noire, then-Rep. Jim Gibbons in 2006. After all, the most important thing is to come out on the winning side, right?

Rogich was master of the revels on a night of boozing that ended with Midnight Jim being accused of assaulting a cocktail waitress in a Hughes Center parking garage. (The incident is under civil litigation at present.) Aforesaid bacchanalia was conducted in lieu of Gibbons making a scheduled TV appearance to debate opponent Dina Titus, who's since gone on to bigger and better things. Tasked to provide adult supervision for Gibbons, Sig failed miserably.

Would you buy an unused locomotive from this man? At least one thing's clear. If Jackson, myself and Review-Journal Publisher Sherman Frederick are all of one mind on this Reid/Rogich lovefest, the Apocalypse must surely be nigh. Be afraid. Be very afraid.

If you're not winning ...

Tue, 09 Jun 2009 18:39:00 -0700

... change the rules of the game (literally). After opening-week results from Sands Bethlehem were softer than expected, Sands supremo Sheldon Adelson now wants table games. Without even waiting for all of the state's allotment of slot parlors to open -- and, given the situation in Philadelphia, that could be long wait -- the Pennsylvania Lege is contemplating going to full-bore casinos. That's a development which would be absolutely catastrophic for Atlantic City, which has suffered aplenty.

Danny Gans must have been in unimaginable pain to use a substance two to eight times the strength of morphine. I've had morphine and it'll put you down for the count (or make you wish you were). If Dilaudid has at least double the potency, I wouldn't go anywhere near the stuff. Gans would have had to have, as his manager claims, the constitution of an ox to take a Mickey Finn like that and remain functional. Steve Friess seems to find the whole thing a mite fishy.

Having left one sinking ship (the administration of Gov. Jim Gibbons) for another (Black Gaming), former Midnight Jim advisor Grant Hewitt has found yet a third vessel. Only time will tell if the Dr. Joe Heck gubernatorial bid is a more seaworthy barque than were Hewitt's last two.

Quote of the Day

Tue, 09 Jun 2009 12:01:00 -0700

“We’ve got to diversify the tax base. It’s painfully evident that you’ve got to make everybody pay, not just gaming. And if the Legislature won’t do it, you may find us doing it ... You can’t operate as the worst state in the nation and expect you’ll have economic diversification.” -- Nevada AFL-CIO Executive Secretary-Treasurer Danny Thompson, bruiting the possibility of a petition drive for a gross-receipts business tax.

Reid rewarded, Trop rescued

Wed, 03 Jun 2009 15:47:00 -0700

... Sen. Harry Reid's (D-NV) efforts on behalf of the casino industry have not gone unrewarded. If you can follow this formatting garble, you'll see that his donors include not only Tim & Tom, late of the Golden Nugget, but also several reliably Republican casino CEOs.

Even the Fertitta Brothers have chipped in, which is the least they could do after the Senate Majority Leader shepherded a provision that incentivizes companies to buy back distressed debt ... which Station Casinos has in abundance. All of which means that Sharron Angle and any other GOP challenger will have to build up a war chest from other industries. The coffers of Big Gaming -- with possible exception of Sheldon Adelson's kitty -- are slamming shut. The industry has taken sides and put its money on Reid.

Yemenidjian is in the house. Pending the stamp of approval for the Nevada Gaming Commission, all systems are "go" for Alex Yemenidjian to take the reins of the Tropicana Las Vegas. The feeling at the Trop must be akin to that of a besieged garrison finally seeing a relief column marching its way.

The former MGM Grand boss is saying all the right things. His backer, Onex Corp., will invest $100 million (or more) in the property, which has suffered manifest neglect. Current operator Tropicana Entertainment's capex budget was fairly puny, symbolic of CEO Scott Butera's halfhearted commitment to the LV Trop.

Under Yemenidjian, the casino will be extended to encompass the ends of the two pedestrian bridges. Two new eateries and a nightclub are planned. No word yet about a new evening show (or about chasing the prostitutes, pimps and -- worst of all -- timeshare peddlers from the premises). But Yemenidjian has too much reputation at stake to simply continue the stagnation that has been the Trop's status quo for more years than I care to remember.

(Correction: Yemenidjian plans to lower the bridge, not raise the river. Which is to say that the pedestrian bridges will be extended to reach the casino, not the other way around.)

When Yemenidjian was (unsuccessfully) pitching an Illinois casino -- also backed by Onex -- his prospective management team included two Gulf Coast veterans: Joe Billhimer and Karen Sock, late of Hard Rock Biloxi and Harrah's Grand Biloxi, respectively. Both are heavy hitters and Sock, in particular, is overdue for a Vegas posting. Here's hoping Yemenidjian brings them here. Better late than never ... and the Trop needs some serious brainpower.

"We really mean it this time." Another day, another "Las Vegas Sands has the capital to restart the Cotai Strip™" story. Turns out it's the same old same-old. The prospect of asset sales, if not dead, isn't looking terribly hale. After all, who wants to buy a hotel in Macao if you must forefeit the casino action? Where's the fun in that (to say nothing of the money)?

Case Bets: Packer & Ho, Sands Bethlehem, MGM Mirage, Ameristar, Penn, Harrah's, etc.

Wed, 03 Jun 2009 14:40:00 -0700

• Smashing guitars -- but not over each other's noggins -- James Packer and Lawrence Ho christened City of Dreams. The younger Ho downplayed expectations of foot traffic, saying his $2.4 billion megaresort could get by on far fewer visitors than the nearby (and comparably expensive) Venetian Macao, which draws 70K visitors daily.

• After a record-setting opening, Sands Bethlehem fell into fourth place during last week's casino action in Pennsylvania. Not surprisingly, Philadelphia Park and Harrah's Chester led the state.

• Beau Rivage is safe. Although MGM Mirage was peddling several of its regional casinos, J.P. Morgan reports that "we have heard from some bidders that this process is close to dead, so we don’t expect to hear asset sales chatter in the near to medium term."

• While yours truly was critical of staffing cuts at Ameristar Casinos, they appear to be paying off. The company projects flat revenue comparisons in 2009 but better cash-flow margins, pegging the savings as $40 million-$48 million, annualized.

• When in doubt, Penn National Gaming falls back on what it knows: racinos. It's angling for the Laurel Park concession left on the table when Magna Entertainment collapsed. Both Penn and rival David Cordish appear to be trying to chisel a loophole into Maryland's slot-parlor law, which limits companies to one slot house apiece. Penn is already committed to Cecil County but wants Laurel Park ... as does Cordish, who has a pre-standing commitment to the Arundel Mills area. The latter project has run into serious opposition. Expect a nip-and-tuck fight for Laurel Park.

• Penn is evidently getting cold feet in Ohio, however.

• Casino expansion in Iowa will have to wait until 2010, at the earliest. This delay is a disguised blessing. The Hawkeye State market has been holding its own during the recession but the timing for diluting the market with four new casinos could scarcely be worse.

• If wishes were horses, Harrah's Entertainment would be galloping along the shores of the Yangtze River this very minute. Seriously, would you lend Harrah's more money? Would you give an alcoholic the keys to your wine cellar? Well, you might get the empties back so you could redeem the deposit on the bottle.

Station 1, Boyd 0

Wed, 03 Jun 2009 14:01:00 -0700

In a North Las Vegas proxy war, Station Casinos handed defeat to Boyd Gaming when its preferred candidate, Councilwoman Shari Buck, trounced a colleague, to become the city's next mayor. Both Boyd and Station contributed to both candidates but slight biases were evident.

Station and partner Greenspun Corp. gave $32,600 to Buck, $28,500 to opponent William Robinson. Boyd and its NLV partner, Olympia Group, gave $37,500 to Robinson, as opposed to $25,000 for Buck.

Hence, the outcome of the election will not be good news for Boyd, especially if Station comes back to the city council, asking for a zoning variance so it can build Losee Station ... right across the street from Boyd's as-yet-untitled joint venture with Olympia. Outgoing Mayor Michael Montandon had opposed expanding the number of casino enterprize zones in NLV until all the existing ones have been developed, a process that might have required waiting until Hell is dripping with icicles. With Montandon out of the picture, all bets -- so to speak -- are off.

Quote of the Day

Fri, 22 May 2009 12:15:00 -0700

"Indicative of the worst kind of Democrat, he's a wimp of highest order: a pushover substitute teacher type -- you remember the ones -- standing up there at the chalkboard with a crumpled, submissive posture, quietly begging for everyone to take their seats, while not realizing that cafeteria coleslaw is being clandestinely stuffed into his pants pockets." -- Bob Cesca on Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) and his rope-a-dope political style. By the way, that's from the left. Centrists have nicer things to say about Reid, like "inherent cowardice." And don't even get the conservatives started. No wonder Reid's poll numbers look robust only when compared to those of Gov. Jim Gibbons, he of the 11% base.

Job Offer

Mon, 18 May 2009 14:26:00 -0700

Got nothing to do next year? Want to move to Nevada but no jobs are available? Want to make a six-figure income for performing a task so easy even a caveman could do it? Boy, does S&G have the opportunity for you!

You -- yes, you -- could be Nevada's next governor. Seriously, when the incumbent would be trounced by "None of the above," your chances of inheriting a sprawling mansion (with a semi-detached residence for future ex-wives) in Carson City look really good. The workload is light, the office hours scant, and opportunities to catch up on your text messaging are plentiful. Since the current occupant of the job is rarely seen in public -- or at meetings with legislative leaders, for that matter -- you could probably mail it in from anywhere in the world, provided that you have a valid Nevada state I.D. card and voter registration.

It's like hitting a Megabucks jackpot, only better (no max coin-in required; no state income tax to pay). We're talking free money here, people. Give it a shot!

Perp Show

Thu, 14 May 2009 12:38:00 -0700

If you're bald, weight 285 lbs. and have one arm in a cast, you're not exactly inconspicuous. So how was it that that such a hefty man was to infiltrate a VIP area of Planet Hollywood and bust into Peepshow headliner Kelly Monaco's suite? It gets weirder: Merrill Wetter was a long-term denizen of Planet Ho and had been 86'd last month for following a money cart around. And yet his reappearance on the 50th floor didn't raise any alarms, literally or otherwise. This new information suggests a serious lapse of security at Planet Ho, something that the Nevada Gaming Control Board might want to investigate.

April in Atlantic City. The numbers are out and they suck. Again. Unless you're Borgata, which was basically flat with April '08 -- a veritable triumph in this context. The Showboat didn't do too badly (-7%), pushing ahead of the larger Tropicana Atlantic City (-21%). However, another Harrah's Entertainment property, Bally's Atlantic City is way off last year's pace (-19% YTD) and risks joining the Dead Man Walking quartet of Trump Marina, Trump Plaza, the Hilton and Resorts.

The partial reinvention of Trump Taj Mahal continues to pay off, with gaming win down less than 1% through the first four months of the year. Don't you wish we had this kind of reporting transparency in Nevada?

Reid's smooth ride: Would-be GOP challengers to Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) are not only thin on the ground they're probably hearing casino-industry check books slam shut after the Senate Majority Leader jawboned banks on behalf of CityCenter and Fontainebleau. (It was a futile effort but, at this particular moment, that says more about the lending-averse banking industry than Reid.)

Party leaders say a "highly motivated" "strong GOP challenger" is out there and will emerge ... in five months or so. The only person shaking the money tree so far is former state legislator Sharron Angle. She'd rough Reid up, to be sure, but has an Achilles heel or two. To date she's been a single-plank candidate -- property taxes; not what you'd call a senatorial issue. Also, state GOP chairwoman Sue Lowden doesn't want a divisive primary ... and Angle was very divisive when she ran against Dean Heller (R-NV) three years ago for the congressional seat Heller now holds. She even tried to have the primary results overturned in court. But for now she's the only game in town.

Double duty: For the unforeseen future, I'll be spelling the estimable Dave Surratt as CityLife's theatre critic. First up is a show directed by Zumanity emcee Christopher Kenney. Called The Facts of Life: The Lost Episode it's ... it's ... well, it's different.

The good, the bad, the Jeb

Tue, 12 May 2009 13:23:00 -0700

Florida's popular, gaming-friendly Gov. Charlie Crist is going to make a run for the U.S. Senate seat that opens up in 2010. First, he has to get past former archnemesis Marco Rubio, who recently termed out as speaker of Florida's lower house, but early polling suggests Rubio won't be much of an obstacle, running a mere 46% behind Crist.

Rubio was the loudest and most nuisance-making of the various opponents of Crist's compact with the Seminole Tribe. His qualms were ultimately upheld by the Florida Supreme Court and there's never been any love lost between those two. If the GOP hopes to keep that Florida seat, Crist ought to be a lock.

Speaking of Florida, whose face keeps popping up in TV footage of GOP pizza parties but ex-Gov. Jeb Bush. Never mind "brand equity" problems that the Bush name might have these days. The Jebster's diehard opposition to gambling, his backhanded treatment of the Seminoles and his socially interventionist tendencies (think Terri Schiavo) make him the perfect presidential candidate for '12 ... as in 1912.

Update: Crist's declaration inspired this blogosphere zinger, "Florida's Crist to run for US Senate -- anti-Crist says bring it on." Throw in a speedy NRSC endorsement and it looks like Game Over for Rubio.

I knew him when ...

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 13:07:00 -0700

Even when we were both students at Macalester College (Class of '83) in St. Paul, Minn., the future courses of both Matt Entenza and myself were set: I was the consummate underachiever and he the consummate politician -- a term that is often meant pejoratively but not so here. Matt knew when to hold them and fold them, with the consequence that he got a great deal accomplished within the system.

However, when the Significant Other and I attended a 25th reunion party at chez Entenza on a sticky late-spring Twin Cities evening last year, I hadn't so much as an inkling of the surprise that Matt had up his sleeve ... although anybody who'd known him should have seen it coming decades in advance. Today he announced his candidacy for the Minnesota gubernatorial nomination on the Democratic-Farmer-Labor ticket. (And, yes, I've already been hit up for a campaign contribution.) Even without knowing who his opposition will be, I think it's safe to say that Matt's extensive DFL connections and not-inconsiderable skills give him the inside track.

S&G doesn't endorse individual candidates, not even ones with whom we attended school. So let's just say that after the erratic Jesse Ventura and underwhelming Tim Pawlenty administrations, a Matt Entenza governorship would be by definition an improvement. (So might a Donald the Duck administration, but I digress.) The same might be said for previous DFL gubernatorial nominees, who have tended to put the "L" (as in "loser") in "DFL."

It's certainly nice to think that the party's standard bearer might be someone I admire, instead of yet another election cycle of, "Oh no, not that clown!" The Peter Principle is a founding tenet of DFL politics but perhaps now 2010 will be the exception to that rule. Also, until further notice, I am holding myself available for the position of Minnesota's Special Emissary to Las Vegas ... especially if it requires "fact-finding missions" to various and sundry casino buffets.

Survey says ... that 90%+ of Americans think the economy is an important issue. Pardon my bluntness, but who the Sam Hill are the -10% of Americans that think the economy isn't important right now and what are they smoking? Wait, I've got it: They must be the ones filling up Internet messages boards parsing, prasing and profaning the profound pensées of Carrie Prejean, Miss California ... although I'd swear she hails from the great state of Mattel™.

Never a dull day in Nevada

Wed, 08 Apr 2009 16:56:00 -0700

At least one good thing happened today. In other news ...

"Infidelity is not relevant ... in Nevada": Faced with being all over the teevee and not in a good way, Gov. Jim Gibbons set off a series of distractions. First, he tried to score a photo op with the BMOC. (Midnight Jim's blustery public comments form a droll contrast to the obsequious tone of his letter to POTUS.) Then he managed to piss off the Armenian community. Whoops, there go those campaign contributions from MGM Mirage, governor.

Maybe those dollars will go to former casino owner and outgoing Reno Mayor Bob Cashell. He's the latest Nevada Republican to pass up the chance of taking on Sen. Harry Reid, preferring his odds against the decreasingly viable Gibbons. Cashell says he's got "well-connected" backers down here in Southern Nevada.

Ensign for President? Despite having been an ineffectual fundraiser and candidate-recruiter during his tenure at the RSCCC, Nevada's junior senator (and Circus Circus scion) appears to have his eye on the Oval Office. S&G encourages such presidential aspirations, if for no other reason than that all the other presumptive candidates for 2012 are from the anti-gambling subset of the GOP. Since Ensign's nickname on Capitol Hill used to be -- and perhaps still is -- "Johnny Casino," he can expect to hear a lot of that on the campaign trail.

Elsewhere ...

The chicken is back! The tic-tac-toe-playing chicken is the new star attraction at Greektown. When you're $777 million in the hole, a bit of fowl play can't hurt. The chicken is only playing Detroit through June 9 but an extended engagement would be advisable: With MGM Grand Detroit openly on the market, Greektown's chances of finding an interested buyer just took a mighty wallop.

St. Stanley. The benediction of the American Gaming Association will be bestowed upon Stanley Ho during G2E Asia. Quoth AGA President Frank Fahrenkopf, "we are excited to hear his thoughts during his keynote address.” Yes, Frank, especially the part where Stanley starts ranting about the pernicious effects upon Macao of American capital, as he is so wont to do these days.

False economies

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 11:16:00 -0700

In today's edition of "You Know What Really Grinds My Gears?" ...

As counterintuitive as it seems, one of the first things to take it in the neck during the present recession is customer service; cleanliness is the other. (Jean Scott has some thoughts on this today). Two examples should suffice.

Can't-See-the-Sunset-for-the-Cigarette-Smoke Station

Last Tuesday, the Significant Other and I decided to take advantage of a bingo promotion at Sunset Station. Now, if you're running a promotion for which you've barraged the area with coupons, you'd be prepared for a big turnout, right? Not Station Casinos. There were but two people manning the booth and the parade of would-be customers stretched well across the room even after the session had started. We left.

On Friday, I went for lunch to the neighborhood Quiznos. One person was manning the entire counter as the conga line backed up. Even after seeing a man about a horse, I found that the queue had not budged appreciably. I took my business -- and my $10 -- next door. We ran into a similar phenomenon yesterday at Best Buy, so fewer employees/longer lines looks like the trend du jour.

In the first two cases, we have businesses that saw money walk off the premises because of mingy, corner-cutting thrift moves. At Sunset Station, the down-at-heels impression was amplified by a casino floor that reeked of cigarette smoke to a degree that might make Arizona Charlie's blush. At least the latter is a grind joint that knows it's a grind joint. Ten years ago, Sunset Station was the flagship of the Station fleet. Now it's just another Boulder Strip casino. Even the older Boulder Station is holding up better.

One final indignity

Fri, 23 Jan 2009 16:31:00 -0700

An administration with a deplorable record on tribal issues found yet another way to stick it to Native Americans as it went out the door. As I said before the election, any change whatsoever in the occupancy of the Oval Office was going to be a "win" for tribes.

Casino "cruises to nowhere" that really don't go anywhere; that's OK. But expanded gambling on Florida's Seminole reservations? Horrors! Call the police! Both have every appearance of being unconstitutional, so why is the one raising nary a murmur while the other has legislators' knickers in a twist? Your guess is as good as mine. At least Sunshine State minds are not being clouded by the hobgoblin of consistency.

Colorado casinos: Four votes, four wins

Wed, 21 Jan 2009 18:47:00 -0700

After a statewide vote approved 'round-the-clock operation at Colorado's non-tribal casinos (along with a 20X increase in betting limits and a wider repertory of games), the measure wasn't home and dry. It had to be voted through in Cripple Creek, Black Hawk and Central City. I heard some skepticism voiced about whether the citizens of Central City were on board with a gambling expansion but they sure were. The proposed liberalization racked up an overwhelming victory yesterday.

Don't gas up for a drive to Colorado just now. The widened operating rules don't kick in until July 1. Although neither Ameristar Casinos nor Riviera Holdings is directly affected by the Central City vote, Wall Street finally got a clue as both stocks traded slightly upward today. Ditto Penn National but not Isle of Capri. Congratulations to all Colorado operators, who definitely could use the relief.

Good thing they don't gamble ... do they?

Fri, 09 Jan 2009 18:09:00 -0700

(Well, only with their shareholders' money, perhaps.)

Huffington Post, with the considerable assistance of VegasTripping.com, has sifted through the contributions of casino industry moguls during the last election cycle and all I can say is I'm sure glad these folks' business acumen (usually) exceeds their political prescience. Overwhelmingly, the captains of our industry backed loser after loser, with a preponderance of contributions to going to newly unemployed Jon Porter (R-NV) and to the vaporware presidential candidacy of Rudy Giuliani.

Las Vegas Sands President William Weidner has a truly dreadful political batting average. Boss Sheldon Adelson can gloat that he connected with more pitches than Weidner did. (Since the RNC and RSCC failed their main tasks in '08, I'm counting those as "strikes.")

William Weidner exaggerates the extent of his political acumen.

Former MGM Mirage CEO J. Terrence Lanni more or less "broke even," while Wynn Resorts Director Elaine Wynn's early and frequent support of President-elect Barack Obama gives her the Prescience Award. (Husband Steve didn't do too badly when it came to picking winners, either ... especially if one counts his primary-season support of Sen. Joseph Biden toward the latter's eventual vice president-elect status.)

Harrah's Entertainment CEO Gary Loveman is the closest thing to a liberal -- with donations to Sens. John Kerry and Christopher Dodd in '04 and '06, respectively -- and the only consistently Democratic donor in the bunch. Columbia Sussex CEO William J. Yung III (three Dem donations to one GOP one) went 0-2 at the federal level and 2-0 at the state one ... though it still hasn't gotten him a Kentucky casino.

Still, given the number of times this roster of CEOs and presidents (including multiple Fertittas [Fertittae?] and a Maloof) rolled snake eyes, you wouldn't want them placing bets on your behalf.

William Weidner, Ph.D'oh!

Thu, 04 Dec 2008 14:17:00 -0700

I don't propose to waste my time and LVA's money fact-checking all five-and-a-half pages of Las Vegas Sands President William Weidner's controversial Oct. 28 speech to the Anti-Defamation League (in which he refers to "anti-Semite Jimmy Carter," among other provocations). Perhaps he's right that the future of Israel was "election priority number one" as he explicitly posited. For purposes of argument, let's concede that and any other premises of Weidner's stem-winder.

But it's an inescapable fact that Weidner needs to brush up on his footnoting skills. As in, if you're going to lard your text with 24 footnotes, make sure you're crediting the right sources ... and quoting them accurately. One sharp-eyed Las Vegas Sun reader found three specious references to a Weekly Standard article by Willy Stern about Mali. I poked around and, lo and behold, Weidner meant to reference a linked Stern article entitled "Where the Jews Vote Republican."

As a historian, he makes a heckuva COO.

Weidner further blots his copy book with his mangling of this Stern quote: "[Hanna] Siniora predicts that 80 percent of adults in the West Bank support Obama, and 99 percent in the more radicalized Gaza Strip." In Weidner-ese, this becomes "... with 80% of the West Bank Palestinians and 99% of those of the Gaza Strip supporting him," as though referencing actual poll numbers.

Accurate? Who knows? Misleading? Definitely. If you're going to brag on your mad history skillz -- as Weidner repeatedly does -- you've got to do better than this.

Weidner may indeed be, in his own words, "an insufferable amateur historian." But Douglas Brinkley and Michael Beschloss needn't lose any sleep.

Consolation prize for Adelson

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 12:34:00 -0700

So it's official: America is stuck with six more years of Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R) and Nevada's own Sen. Harry Reid (D) made nice with Sen. Joe Liebermann [your party here] all for naught. Reid was never going to get to 60 votes in the Senate and was probably suffering what the Japanese call "victory disease."

Which is relevant insofar as the death rattle of Sheldon Adelson's '527,' Freedom's Watch was an attack ad on Chambliss' opponent. So Adelson can say he went out (of U.S. politics) with a win. I can't think of anything nice to say about Adelson's beneficiary, Chambliss, so I'll just say his victory was a foregone conclusion, the runoff a mere formality and Democrats were foolish to invest more than token political capital.

Another one bites the dust

Mon, 24 Nov 2008 19:10:00 -0700

Not a casino, thankfully, but rather the senatorial aspirations of Nevada Lt. Gov. Brian Krolicki (R), whose career may be toast. Second-term Congressman Dean Heller (R-NV) should get serious about moving up to the "senior circuit": Serendipitously, every obstacle in his path to Sen. Harry Reid's (D) seat -- save Reid himself -- has fallen or is falling to the wayside.

Adelson closes (political) shop. Reporter Molly Ball finds that Freedom's Watch, an Adelson-backed 527 will be "pretty much kaput" by year's end. Despite a plethora of ad campaigns, Freedom's Watch racked up an unimpressive score this election cycle. It put a particularly heavy push behind Sen. Gordon Smith (R-OR), one of several Freedom's Watch candidates who bit the dust nonetheless. Now, with primary benefactor Adelson having to empty his wallet to keep the lights burning at Las Vegas Sands, it looks as though his political stalking horse is the latest casualty of the recession.

Sin of omission

Mon, 24 Nov 2008 15:17:00 -0700

As a charter member of the Liberal Elite (which holds its meetings in a location so secret I can never find it) and amicus curae of the Homosexual Agenda -- especially the part that demands better hair-care products for all -- I'm inured to hysteria-tinged e-mails from just about every left-of-center cause you can name. And that's not including the cyber-missives from Republicans Lite like our own esteemed Sen. Harry Reid.

So it was with a mix of recognition and amusement that I perused a literally apocalyptic screed from Nevada GOP Chairwoman Sue Lowden.* (Seriously, Lowden stops justthisclose to calling President-elect Obama the Antichrist.) She ticks off six tax hikes that were voted down in the '08 election, but neglects to mention one that was voted through: An advisory question that advocates sticking hotel guests with a 2%-3% room-tax increase sailed through.

So, even if Lowden is impervious to the irony of Nevadans voting against increased funding for fire protection, it's not lost on her that we don't mind higher taxes so long as people from out of state pay them for us. (Hence her decision to sweep an inconvenient truth under the nearest rug.) I guess we won't object to seeing our houses burn down unless we can devise a means of making tourists bend over and bankroll some new fire engines.

Tacking an extra $3 onto a weekend room night at the Golden Nugget won't make customers suddenly stay from Nevada in droves. But, like the 84-cent stamp at Harrah's Las Vegas, it's something people will remember, and not fondly.

*--If you download the Lowden Letter, be sure to append ".doc" at the end or it won't open.

Vegas electoral oddity

Mon, 24 Nov 2008 12:58:00 -0700

Today's Las Vegas Sun has a precinct-by-precinct breakdown of how President-elect Barack Obama won the Las Vegas metro area. In colorful map form, it shows Obama winning Downtown (handily) and most of the Strip ... save for MGM Mirage's string of properties from New York-New York northward through Bellagio. (Yes, you can tell your friends a Republican won "New York" this year.) I'm happy to report that my neighborhood went pretty gosh-darn "blue," while unassailable fortresses of support for Sen. John McCain included CityCenter, The Cosmopolitan and Monte Carlo, along with Summerlin, Boulder City, Southern Highlands and that hotbed of populism, Lake Las Vegas.

Obama considers casino allies

Fri, 07 Nov 2008 16:28:00 -0700

It'll be a while before we find out which of the many potential appointees to President-elect Barack Obama's cabinet will actually make the cut. But there are lot of gaming-friendly faces on the list. (And note the number of governors from states with tribal casinos, though none of them are on the short list for the Interior Dept., most unfortunately.)

But if Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick gets the nod to head the Justice Dept., the Bay State will lose its number-one casino advocate. Fortunately, the casino-development process is sufficiently far along in Kansas that, should Gov. Kathleen Sebelius accept a portfolio, it'll be but a hiccup. And, judging from the number of people on that list who have dealt firsthand with private-sector and/or tribal casinos, both industries can look forward to finding receptive ears in Washington, come next January.

Five years ago today ...

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 16:37:00 -0700

... Columbia Sussex came to town. Considering that CEO William J. Yung III purchased a dead, disreputable hotel-casino and put $90 million into reworking it into an attractive property (people whose judgment I trust swear by the comfiness of its beds), he got off on the right foot here. Later, he would venture out of his niche and try to be a Strip operator, and ... let's just say it didn't go so well. Turn the page in your textbooks to Chapter 11.

Speaking of ColSux, comes shocking news today that Las Vegas Sands is in danger of bankruptcy. The company's debt-to-earnings ratios are out of kilter (or, in proper financial parlance, gone all skeewumpus). That's an event which, like ColSux's loss of the Atlantic City Tropicana, will set in event a cascade of other defaults, should it come to pass.

In the short term, this means Sheldon Adelson needs to find some loose change in his sock drawer, pronto, and will have to apply the brakes to several developments. According to Liz Benston, both the Marina Bay megaresort in Singapore and what's left of Sands Bethlehem will be finished. Everything else ... not so much.

Adelson: Little about which to smile.

This is bad news for the Cotai Strip™, unless you're of the persuasion that Sands expanded in Macao far past what the market would bear. So a forced slowdown is a blessing in disguise. I should add that the Motley Fool warned of this very scenario last June, when it pegged Sands as a "deathbed stock.

Elsewhere in Adelsonia, the candidate for whom Freedom's Watch stumped the hardest, Sen. Gordon Smith (R-OR) waved the surrender flag.

All in all, this is one shitty day to Sheldon Adelson.

Quote of the Day

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 13:32:00 -0700

"It was/is the perfect marriage of greed and a desire to participate in shaping the future of the world's greatest democracy." -- Promoter Jeff Connor, describing Gold River Casino's election-themed slots to Raving Consulting. The promotion made (air)waves locally.

McCain wins!

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 12:44:00 -0700

Gold River Casino, in Oklahoma, found a way to get jiggy with the election. (Sen. John McCain "won" the mock plebiscite, with 52% of the handle pulls.)

This prompted the following missive from the event's promoter (which I've edited very slightly, so I doesn't read quite so much like a poem by ee cummings):

[J]ust stumbled across your blog and wanted to take a minute to thank you for calling our (pick a president) [YouTube] video "must see tv".

[W]e had a lot of fun creating the promo and the response was beyond belief; every slot, poker, BJ, and restaurant seat was filled on election night, which is not historically a great gaming night.

(Perhaps our Oklahoma City correspondent could be so kind as to share his thoughts on Gold River, assuming he's played there.)

MGM Mirage curbs retail. Word is just coming in of cutbacks in hours at MGM Mirage's Las Vegas stores. Watch our Today's News column for "the 411," as those 'Net-savvy kids call it.

Columbia Sussex contest

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 18:11:00 -0700

I've got to confess that bond-market lingo is hardly my strong suit. So can anyone out there explain what this bulletin means for casino industry pariah Columbia Sussex?

One loan remains in the pool: Columbia Sussex, which has been fully defeased and has an anticipated repayment date in 2015. As of the October 2008 remittance date, the transaction's outstanding principal balance has been reduced by 92.0% to $77.3 million, from $967.2 million at issuance.

Be the first one to answer and a free copy of Bill Zender's Casino-ology shall be your reward.

Open mouth, insert foot. That's"President-elect Chickenshit" to you, Congressman.

Great moments in journalism. The Wall Street Journal's editorial page can be pretty hardcore. But it seems to strike exactly the right, measured tone today, rising to the occasion with grace.

Las Vegans, on the other hand, can be ever so proud of the example set by the Review-Journal, whose editorial writers -- as is so often their wont when vox populi is not vox R-J, curl up in the corner kicking and screaming in impotent, infantile rage.

Casino Vote '08: Dan Lee's the big winner

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 16:36:00 -0700

JP Morgan has proclaimed Pinnacle Entertainment "the biggest winner this election day." By voting to both lift the cap on buy-ins and the close Missouri to additional casinos, Show-Me State voters delivered a gift to Pinnacle CEO Dan Lee, who has massively invested in the greater St. Louis market and can now reap the benefits of higher wagers and artificially limited competition. Anybody contemplating the investment risk that Pinnacle has been lately (with at least $2.85 billion in outstanding projects) can sleep a little more soundly tonight.

But, as Morgan analysts point out, the stomping of a pro-casino initiative in Ohio redounds to the benefit of Pinnacle's Belterra casino (and Penn National's Argosy Lawrenceburg riverboat). While the Ohio vote reflects a certain amount of anti-casino sentiment, this was one of those ballot measures where the devil was in the details. It polled well in the immediate region, which has been hard-hit with job losses (5,000 of which casino backers promised to replace) but it was "no sale" upstate. An otherwise leftward-trending electorate was unpersuaded.

Specifically, there was a "trap door" in the enabling language that might have let Lakes Entertainment slip its tax obligations if tribal casinos open in the Buckeye State (a long shot, but one voters weren't willing to hazard), not to mention that the casino was to be allowed to operate with scant oversight. Oh, and the license fee ($15 million) wasn't chicken feed, but it's considerably less than what casinos are ponying up elsewhere -- like Kansas -- where no monopolies are promised. The face-saving spin was that "misleading ads" were to blame -- like that's anything new in politics.

Details were the bane in Maine, too, where Olympia Gaming found itself on the losing end of a casino plebiscite. Maine voters have taken a go-slow approach to casino expansion in their state, also voting down a racino at Scarborough Downs. There also seems to have been some "payback" involved -- from Down Easters who had seen their own casino aspirations crushed five years ago. If they couldn't have a casino, those upstart resort communities were going to be SOL, too. So there!

Pat LaMarche expresses her considered opinion of Maine's electoral process.

Lowering the legal gambing age to 19 stuck in voters' craw, as did certain other special privileges which were to be extended to the Oxford County casino and to Gary Goett's Olympia. Project booster Pat LaMarche sniffed that folks in Maine were "very unfriendly" and says she's going to take her ball and LaMarche right next door to New Hampshire.

On the other hand, LaMarche is the bete noire of intolerant religious wack jobs, so that's something in her favor.

Having a win/win day, was also the good fortune of Ameristar Casinos, which will see some relief in Colorado, in addition to prevailing in Missouri. In return for helping the state's community-college system, Colorado casinos get some new goodies that -- we hope -- will ameliorate the effects of the state's smoking ban.

It's a mixed bag, albeit more positive than negative, for Penn National. It headed off the Ohio threat but finds its flagship property in West Virginia facing competitive pressure not only from Pennsylvania but soon from Maryland, even though the latter's ramp-up is roughly four years away. Penn astutely protected its flank by optioning strategically placed real estate near Baltimore, in its first move after its LBO imploded last summer.

(Amusingly, both sides in the Maryland fight used President-elect Obama as a "product placement" in their literature. They knew a good "branding opportunity" when they saw one.)

Hopefully the Maryland Lege will revisit (read: reduce) the confiscatory 67% tax rate. Otherwise, brace yourself for Ye Olde Shack O'Slots, as no sane businessman would invest heavily in a casino with such a narrow operating margin. By establishing a Maryland beachhead, Penn is probably thinking more in terms of capturing "leakage" from its other nearby properties, not having visions of $$$ dancing in its head.

Former governor, sometime racino proponent and "Casino Jack" Abramoff beneficiary Robert Leroy "Bob" Ehrlich Jr. (R) hoped to "see us kill this turkey," but that sounds like sour grapes from the one-term blunder, er, wonder. Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) moved the ball across the goal line with 59% support, whereas Ehrlich couldn't get it upfield in four tries -- even in the post-9/11 economy. It may nearly be Thanksgiving but the only turkey in sight is Ehrlich (or is that a thinly disguised Steve Carell?)

Speaking of "Casino Jack", add him to the "losers" column of our S&G "Winners & Losers" with a capital "L." From the jailhouse, convicted felon Abramoff tried to 'Swift Boat' his archnemesis, John McCain, but the effort sank without leaving the pier. What a schlemil.

Loose change: Voters also gave their assent to a lottery in Arkansas and expanded table games at Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia. So I'd score that as two lost battles (Ohio, Maine), one decisive victory (Maryland) and incremental wins in four other skirmishes.

On balance, a good day.

My Senate predictions

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 16:11:00 -0700

As I expected, Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN) won by a whisker. Expect to see more of this Minnesotan. (Update: Or maybe not. Darn that e-voting!) Oft-touted Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) was on Rachel Maddow the other night and, no disrespect, but he's got all the charisma of damp cardboard.

It looks like both Intrade and I got it wrong on the Alaska and Oregon races -- although absentee ballots could still tip the former and the latter has one big-ass "hanging chad" in the form of a large, still-uncounted county. But right now it looks like my crystal ball (i.e., the futures market) wasn't that much better than an opinion poll, after all.

(Update: Right Pundits is calling Oregon for challenger Jeff Merkley. If so, that'd be a high-profile loss for Freedom's Watch, which made a big push for GOP incumbent Gordon Smith. Sorry, Sheldon.)

The GOP's not going to be asking for my advice anytime soon (like, frigging never), but it's hard to second-guess the 2008 veepstakes; would any of the "boring white guys" McCain insiders said they considered and ultimately rejected have tipped the balance the other way? I doubt it.

Somebody had to play the 'dead man's hand' Republicans were dealt this cycle and Senator McCain got it the old-fashioned way: He earned it. He out-stumped, out-persisted and just plain out-lasted a clutch of also-rans. (Many of his opponents seemed to forget that, as McCain once said, for five years he went to bed "in a hotel where they don't leave a mint on your pillow at night," in an oblique reference to the Hanoi Hilton.)

Considering that Mitt Romney made his bones in private equity, he could have been the poster child for the Wall Street bailout and that was baggage McCain didn't need. Anyway, the GOP minority in the Senate's going to need either a mediagenic face of the "loyal opposition" (and I'm sorry but Sen. Mitch McConnell is no Bob Dole) or a deal-brokering elder statesman when things get all filibuster-y and stuff, to use my hifalutin' parliamentary lingo. Rest assured that "the Mac [will be] back" in a starring role.

Winners & Losers

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 13:52:00 -0700

And now the obligatory post-Election, What's-it-all-about-Alfie roundup ...

Culinary Union 1, Casino CEOs O: True, the Culinary tripped all over its own feet in the early going, leading to Democratic caucuses that weren't so much "Barackular" as "debacular." But D. Taylor & Co. backed the winning horse and did it early, which earns some chits down the road, plus they have a new Capitol Hill friend in Rep.-elect Dina Titus. Messrs. Lanni, Loveman, Wynn, Adelson and Trump made a variety of presidential wagers, losing every one.

Ameristar Casinos/Pinnacle Entertainment: They wanted a protected oligarchy in Missouri and now they've got it -- and at relatively little additional tax burden to them.

Slot manufacturers: OK, so Ohio and Maine didn't come through and the Missouri market is frozen. But 15K new slots in Maryland ain't chicken feed. Plus a West Virginia casino expansion that flew under the radar got voted in. Inexplicably, slot stocks traded downward. Stupid Wall Street.

Colorado casinos: They didn't so much "win" as get a hefty lifeline thrown to them by Rocky Mountain State voters who approved 20X higher betting limits, 'round the clock operations, and roulette and craps. (No Sen. John McCain sightings in Cripple Creek yet, though.)

Freedom's Watch: So far F-Double-U is 6-9-1 (with Sen. Gordon Smith [R] of Oregon momentarily in the "tie" column) in its top-priority races. I'm feeling generous and crediting the Adelson front group with "wins" in the case of self-destructing Rep. Tim Mahoney (D-FL), who continued the scummy tradition of predecessor Mark Foley, and in that of Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA), who faces a December do-over, thanks to Georgia law. And veering off at the last minute to spend money attacking not-up-for-reelection Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.)? Adelsonian political acumen at its finest. Winner? Loser? Let's call it a draw.

Poker: Just when it looked like the poker phenomenon was about to jump the shark, we've got a poker-playing president-elect. I dunno if Ms. Pelosi and Messrs. Reid, McConnell and Boehner cotton to hashing out legislation over cigars, booze and a deck of cards, but they'd better get ready for a whole new kind of "smoke-filled room."

Online Poker: Chances for a repeal of the UIGEA suddenly look a lot better.

Karma: Bearing false witness and serial adultery remain very uncool. But multiple felony counts and assorted other financial malfeasances remain A-OK with voters of both parties. (Hint: If Ted Stevens has to be forcibly removed from office, start practicing the phrase "Senator Palin." Kinda trips off the tongue, don't it?)

Gays & Lesbians: Voters in California stuck it to one of Vegas' most loyal constituencies big-time, passing the hateful Proposition 8. Were Nevada not so socially conservative (although compassionate enough to have legalized medical marijuana a ways back), I'd say we should vote for gay nuptials here, then sit back and gloat as the bucks roll in.

Tom Tancredo and ilk: Even if you abhor George W. Bush, you've got to give it up for his ability to rally Hispanic voters to the GOP standard. (I can't speak for Biloxi-Gulfport or Atlantic City, but Las Vegas can't function without its Latino labor base and casino CEOs know this; that's why immigration is their "third rail" of politics.) I always thought the immigration issue would be a non-starter in this election -- and it was. But the Tancredos of the GOP, by ginning it up in both '06 and early '08, antagonized Latinos, scored an own-goal and eradicated the gains Bush made with this voting bloc. So, in lieu of a prolonged post-mortem, maybe Republicans should just burn Tancredo in effigy and then turn the page.

Gaming's GOP influence: The annihilation of GOP moderates at the national level is largely complete, leaving an electoral map that looks a lot like the Confederacy, plus a horseshoe-shaped chunk of the West. Subtract Mississippi, Louisiana and tribal casinos and you've got slim pickings there. Gambling-friendly Republicans like Govs. Haley Barbour (MS) and Charlie Crist (FL) have made progress, but not easily and not without much expenditure of political capital. It's difficult to see where American Gaming Association boss Frank Fahrenkopf goes within his own party when he needs its support. The casino industry's investment in the GOP has yielded scant ROI.

Gov. Jim Gibbons: With state Sens. Joe Heck and Bob Beers, and Rep. Jon Porter all packed off to early retirement by their constituents, Gibbons suddenly has much less to fear from within his own party two years hence. (Ditto Porter's designs on Sen. Harry Reid's [D-NV] seat.)

Rep. Dean Heller (R-NV): If he opts to challenge Reid -- or Gibbons -- he's now the presumptive frontrunner. (I still think "Gov. Oscar Goodman" has a nice ring to it.)

North Las Vegas Mayor Michael Montandon (R): He's laying the groundwork for an intra-party challenge to Gibbons. Montandon's ably managed growth in NLV and would easily trump Gibbons on the "competence" front. The sudden political demise of Beers, Heck and Porter gives him a clear field of fire.

Tourists: Ever hospitable, Clark County voters gave them the finger, by endorsing a 2%-3% hike in the hotel tax. Thankfully, it's just an advisory vote.

Joe the Player: Winner. Clinton-era tax rates are coming back, which may hurt the "whales" but should be good for the rest of us. The Clinton administration coincided with halcyon years of casino growth, especially in Vegas and on the Gulf Coast. The succeeding eight years were dominated by M&A binges, condomania and a narrowing of the Strip's economic appeal toward the monied elite -- the latter being a very sore point among casino consumers. Vegas-wise, which eight years would you choose?

Jon Ozark: This cardboard dummy was wheeled into Nevada Assembly District 21 by local monied interests, to knock off Asm. Bob Beers -- not be confused with the less-hirsute state Sen. Bob Beers -- for having the audacity to stand up against Steve Wynn, he whose name dare not be pejoratively uttered in Carson City. That much having been accomplished, in the general election Ozark discovered once again that it takes more than a pretty face to win. Good luck in your next district, Mr. Ozark. They say the third one's the charm.

Election night at The Palazzo

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 13:28:00 -0700

Now I won't be waking up early and apprehensively. Better still, I can enjoy food again, instead of having my stomach tied in a pretzel. Meanwhile, a quick Election Night vignette ...

The Better Half was feeling very upbeat but I wasn't having any of it. When we were passed in The Palazzo foyer by a red-, white- and blue-clad woman wearing an enormous "McCain-Palin" badge and a scowl three miles wide, I should have taken that as a portent.

We assumed that the GOP victory [sic] party would be held at Adelson Central, per tradition. Little did we suspect that it was right beneath our feet, at the erstwhile 40-40 Club, brainchild of Jay-Z. There's irony for you. But if Nevada Republicans really are the party of the Average Joe (Plumber, Six-Pack, etc.), they should make a cause celebre of the wretched service culture at The Club Formerly Known As 40-40.

The much-ballyhooed Election Night extravaganza at SushiSamba was a dud. To qualify for the drink and appetizer specials, you had to crowd into a smallish bar area (with one's hindquarters practically sticking out into the surrounding mall). Various TVs -- tuned to CNN -- were either partially obstructed or, in one case, canted at a neck-twisting angle. The pace of service was glacial, which at least earned us half-price on our "Obamaramas" by way of apology. We didn't stay long.

William Bennett, sanctimonious slot flea. This holier-than-thou guy looks as though, if he gets any more full of it, he's going to burst a seam and it won't be pretty. Meanwhile, is there a padded cell somewhere for CNN's Gloria Borger? Although she's one of the more egregiously off-base pundits in D.C., perhaps the very most, if you mute the sound on your TV and just watch her eye-popping gyrations, they're pretty darn funny.

We need a laugh

Tue, 04 Nov 2008 18:20:00 -0700

It seemed like this day would never come and we're probably all a little frazzled. So let's celebrate (and I mean celebrate!) the end of the campaign(s) with one of the most inspired Saturday Night Live political sketches ever ... and I've been watching SNL for 32 years, so I don't issue that compliment lightly. Have fun. You've earned it.

Obama-, McCain-themed slots

Tue, 04 Nov 2008 17:01:00 -0700

Although the Democrat's game of choice is poker and the Republican is famous for his love of craps, they'll have to settle for appearing on slot machines. A hearty "bravo" to Ian Sutton for finding this bit of must-see TV:

Tip-sharing: Where they stand

Tue, 04 Nov 2008 14:57:00 -0700

Dealer activists and the Transport Workers Union's Local 721 casino dealers affiliate are circulating a self-described "cheat sheet" to membership, letting them know where various and sundry Nevada candidates stand on Wynn Resorts' controversial tip-redistribution regime.

The TWU polled candidates on the issue and collected the following responses. Candidates' e-mail address have been redacted, out of respect for their privacy. Poor grammar, punctuation and spelling have been left unsullied, however:

Stefany Miley, District Court Judge Dept. 23: "Unfortunately I am unable to give specific positions on issues that may come before me. This is per the code on Judicial Ethics. Each case varies and must be separately considered."

Donn Ianuzi, District Court Judge Dept. 22: "I am against his policy of taking money from the dealers and have serious questions regarding the legality of it"

Michael Villani, District Court Judge Dept. 17: "I would be surprised if any judge or candidate for a judicial position would address their personal views on the Wynn tip policy. A judges personal views are irrelevant. I take my oath of office very seriously and base my decisions only upon the law and facts of a particualr case. For me to do otherwise would, in my opinion be a breach of my ethical duties."

Lindsay Nicole Madsen (R), State Senate District 7: (She works closely with the two lawyers who drafted our new petition.) "I work for Kermitt Waters and work with Don Chairez very closely. I do not support tip sharing in any way, shape or form."

Tim Hagan (L), State Senate District 5: "When I give a tip, I consider it to be a gift to that person. It's up to that person, along any agreement they may have made to share with coworkers, what to do with that tip. The dealers should decide whether floormen are including in tip sharing. Also, as a gift, the tip should not be taxed as income."

Rep. Dean Heller (R), Second Congressional District: "As a Member of Congress, however, I do not speak for this company, or any other, and the federal government does not have jurisdiction over this issue. If you support or disagree with the policy, I strongly recommend you contact the Wynn Las Vegas company to express your thoughts.

Anthony "Tony Bop" Wernecke (D), State Senate District 3: "The rich gets richer and the poor get poorer, have steve wynn share some of his wealth with his employee's, never happen, if you vote 'Wernicke for State Senate' i will tackel that issue, because i am one of the people for all the people! and your tips our yours, thats it, but politics like usally"

Linda Marie Bell, District Court Judge Dept. 7:
"On a purely personal note, I find the issue troubling, because tips are supposed to be a thanks for good service provided by an individual. Thank you for your question."

Allison Copening (D), State Senate District 6: "I am opposed to making dealers share their tips with supervisors at the Wynn and any other gaming establishment."

Jade Zahreddine (D), State Senate District 3: "I understand the situation as it is. The reluctance of the bureaucracy of this state to ehtically enforce their responsibilities is a travesty. I will keep you apprised of our efforts in the north to battle for the seats necessary to reverse the numerous instances of bureacratic corruption as highlighted by the Wynn debacle."

Rep. Mark Manendo (D), Assembly District 18: "As far as your question, you should research the last legislative session as I voted for the bill. (AB 248 which would have made Steve Wynn's Tip policy illegal)"

William Kephart, District Court Judge Dept. 10: "I am opposed to it. I am old school and believe that any tip a person receives he should keep it. I believe that this promotes better and more courteous service, in a service oriented industry."

Ryan Fitzgibbons (IAP), Assembly District 17: "I'm not familiar with this particular casino's policy, but my general principle is that I'm absolutely opposed to the redistribution of wealth. Whether it be the government taking the fruits of your labors to redistribute to others, or your boss doing the same thing, it's inherently unfair and against the spirit of American Capitalism."

Robert P. Spretnak, District Court Judge Dept. 7: "I have specifically talked about the Court decisions regarding the Wynn Las Vegas tip policy at a number of campaign events, including the Channel 10 debate on October 2, 2008, and there is brief statement about my disagreement with these court decisions in the Las Vegas Review-Journal Voter Guide, at the bottom of this article: http://www.lvrj.com/special_sections/voter_guide/31212259.html"

Lisamarie Johnson (R), Assembly District 6: "The tip-sharing policy is unconstitutional. Simple as that."

Rep. Joe Hogan (D), Assembly District 10: "I believe the intent of the tip donor should be honored by not distributing tip revenue beyond those who personally provided the services and earned the goodwill of the patron/donor."

Allison Herr (D), Assembly District 23: "I do not support mandatory tip sharing. I understood why the Supreme Court made the ruling they did in the case based upon current Nevada Law, however I do not think it is a fair outcome for the employees."

Kristie Turley (L), Assembly District 3: "I would also like to add that I am also pro-union. Last but not least, if I were in office and had to make a choice, I would not support forced tip sharing."

Rep. Lynn Stewart (R), Assembly District 22: "I don't like it"

Eric Morelli (R), Assembly District 3: "I believe that if I tip you I tip you. If I did not tip you then you then you don't get tipped. Tips need to go to the people they were directed to. Now If you choose to share then that is your choice. It should not be forced upon."

Don Woolbright (I), Assembly District 5: "The tip sharing should remain with the dealers."

Marilyn Dondero-Loop (D), Assembly District 5: "I think those who earn tips for customer service should keep those tips. TIPS: To Insure Prompt Service"

David IsBell (R), Assembly District 17: "In a nutshell, I'm against it. The tips belong to the dealers, it is their gift from the patrons. The gaming floor supervisors are to be an unbiased third party, and not in it for the money. I believe the decisions made violate state law, and I would encourage an appeal of the Nevada Supreme Court's decision. I know first hand with our current status in the economy, the tips are not what they used to be. Many families depend on tips, and it is unfair for the government, and for a boss to take a cut. You are working hard to give good service, and you should spend your rewards as you see fit."

Mitch Hostmeyer (R), Assembly District 10: "I spent 20 years in food service and personally am not a fan of pooling tips. I understand gaming is different then food service and pooling among dealers is a common and excepted policy. However, from what I understand about the Wynn, I am not in favor of the way it was implemented by management at the Wynn. I don't believe that is the proper way to balance the difference between supervisors and dealers."

Ron "Garrett" Giarratano (R), Assembly District 37: "I am not for it, no tip sharing,"

Leonard M. Foster (I), Assembly District 13: "I was a crap dealer for 13 years from 1990-2003. I worked at Circus Circus table-for-table and my last job was at the Las Vegas Hilton. I believe that the dealers money belongs to the dealers. It should be up to the dealers on how it is, or is not, to be split. Floormen and up are management and receive a salary for that position. If they don't like the fact that the dealers make more money, I would tell them to put on an apron, get their head down, ass up and start dealing."

Nicholas Thomas “Nick” Daka (R), Assembly District 19: "Well since Wynn Las Vegas is a private organization I don't feel that the government should involved in whatever tip policy Wynn engages in. Nonetheless I also feel its the worker's right to organize a trades union, since Labour unions are private organizations in their own right."

Linda West Myers (R), Assembly District 1: "Sounds like a great way for the Dealers Union to prove its mettle. Crafting a collective bargaining agreement is a complex process. Perhaps, if he is 'stuck' on the socialist strategy, he might be willing to double or triple salary."

Rep. John Oceguera (D), Assembly District 16: "I thought the issue had been resolved in the court system?"

Donna Toussaint (R), Assembly District 5: "I am against tip sharing."

Jon Kamerath (IAP), Assembly District 2: "I absolutely do not believe that an employer should be allowed to distribute any part of dealers' tips to management. This part of the tip issue ought to be protected by the State. When I answered your previous email I was referring to policies of sharing tips among only the personnel who get tipped. I also don't blame Steve Wynn's workers for unionizing in response to what he did. Hopefully it taught him a lesson. I believe in the right to, or not to, collectively bargain, but I want the government to be as small and limited as possible while still protecting our rights, which is what I believe the Founding Fathers felt was the proper role of government."

Rep. Harry Mortenson (D), Assembly District 42: "I sincerely believe that when a customer gives a tip to an employee, it is because the customer was impressed by the service received and the tip should remain with the employee."

NB: Stiffs & Georges makes no endorsements in these or any other candidate-specific races -- although we reserve the right to move Rep. Oceguera to the back of the class.

And the winner is ...

Tue, 04 Nov 2008 13:31:00 -0700

Regardless of who comes out on top in today's presidential tussle, there's one group of Americans who can be assured of a brighter future -- Native Americans. The Bush II administration's record on tribal affairs has run the gamut from "dismal" to "abysmal." Any form of regime change, whether to McCain or Obama will be a de facto improvement.

In late 2000, one of George W. Bush's first mooted cabinet appointments would have placed Slade Gorton, an outspoken opponent of tribal sovereignty, atop the Department of the Interior (and thus the Bureau of Indian Affairs; as overheated as this rhetoric is, it gives you a fair idea of how Gorton is regarded in Indian Country). That was such an obvious give-the-finger-to-the-Indians gesture it didn't get anywhere, but the tone had been set.

Nothing was more emblematic of this new Washington mentality than the National Indian Gaming Commission's attempt to force tribes to unilaterally surrender literally decades of hard-won legal gains. The NIGC proposed to do this through a new and narrower definition of what constitutes "Class II" gaming. In one of the few positive developments to emerge from the recession, the NIGC felt compelled to set this Uncle Tom policy aside.

That also must have come as a relief to the numerous vendors who service the Class II market and who would undoubtedly have seen their sales decimated by the new NIGC rules. (At the time they were being hatched, NIGC officialdom made it amply clear to me that it was going to be their way or the highway, and the tribes had better be prepared to fall in line. Unfortunately, "the Google" has failed to yield the article I wrote about the Class II battle back when it was heating up in earnest.)

Come Nov. 5, with any luck, those new Class II regs and the current NIGC leadership will consigned to the Slade-heap of history.

Maryland slots: the pros & the cons

Tue, 04 Nov 2008 12:50:00 -0700

They're extensively debated in an excellent new blog, the thoughtful Gaming Atlantic. If a 67% tax rate (that's no typo) sounds like throwing the baby out with the bathwater, you're in good company. At least the slot holds will be low by Vegas standards: 87%.

Quote of the Day

Tue, 04 Nov 2008 11:38:00 -0700

"America has never been about things coming easily. America is about rising to the moment when times are tough." -- Sen. Barack Obama, speaking in Henderson, Nev., last Saturday.

Quote of the Day

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 19:09:00 -0700

"The assertion of conservative and libertarian contributors that a 3 percentage-point increase in the hotel room tax will result in doomsday for Las Vegas is overblown.

"On a room that costs as much as $200 per night, the increased cost of $6 is not a deal killer. The real issue is that the $200-per-night cost is more than half a week's wages for most people, and the table limits of $10 to $25 are above the means of most visitors." -- Laughlin resident Bill Bethke, responding to an editorial in the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Senate prediction: feeling good

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 17:15:00 -0700

I've been checking Intrade's election "futures" markets and, if you "buy" Sen. John McCain at 9.9 you could collect on the longshot of a lifetime. (I'm of the pessimistic "I'll believe an Obama win when I see it and not one second before" persuasion.) Unless, that is, you want to go waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay out an Aleutians-length limb and buy Ted Stevens "futures" (which is an ironic term, seeing as Sen. Stevens appears to have no future whatsoever -- at least none that don't involve a long series of numbers across his back).

I notice that Intrade's odds have reversed on the Al Franken/Sen. Norm Coleman slugfest in Minnesota, while the trends in all the other ones I profiled last week have solidified. (Reform Party candidate Dean Barkley is a respected figure and has made a robust showing in the polls but is doomed to be an also-ran yet again.)

So I see no reason to amend my prediction: Dems gain six seats, for a total of 55 (plus Bernie Sanders), but Coleman comes from behind late in the fourth quarter to prevent further GOP erosion.

Forget Tim Pawlenty; if Coleman pulls this out I expect him to be the Minnesotan to start showing up on the futures markets as a contender for 2012.

Eighteen months later ... Believe it or not, it's been 18 months since Michelle Obama made her first campaign visit to Nevada. Yours truly was detailed to cover that June '07 stump speech -- actually more of a marketing effort to raise people's comfort level with the Obama "brand" -- which I sandwiched between CineVegas screenings. So how does today's visit compare to what seems like 18 years ago?

Weidner on offense

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 16:52:00 -0700

Las Vegas Sands prexy William Weidner, in the course of receiving an award from the Anti-Defamation League, used the occasion to deliver a pro-McCain or (depending on who's doing the telling) anti-Obama speech last week. Apparently it made some waves, although how many and how big is a matter of heated dispute (see "Comments"). Whether or not it was the measured and analytical speech some describe, Bill "All Chinese look alike" Weidner does have a history of head-scratching pronouncements.

Try as I can, it's impossible to cease being taken aback by a bizarre rant Weidner delivered to a 2005 gathering of the Nevada Society of CPAs. He ripped Las Vegas several new ones as a "hubristic" and hostile place to do business -- especially as compared to the supposedly enlightened bidness climate to be found in Communist China. Whereupon he hopped a plane to Peking -- having repeatedly informed the audience that he had a jet ready and waiting on the tarmac, and that the assembled CPAs (who had paid for the privilege of hearing Weidner speak) were delaying his departure.

Four successive visa restrictions later, I wonder how Weidner feels about that supposedly business-friendly climate in Macao (and if he's sore, I wouldn't blame him). At least it looks like the ChiComms may wise up and ease their strangulation of the Macanese economy.

McCain = more UIGEA; The Luxor chainsaw massacre, etc.

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 11:40:00 -0700

That's the conclusion of Steve Friess, who reads the cards on the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act. The clincher, in Friess' analysis, is that John McCain has promised to bend to the wishes of Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) with regards to the UIGEA. And Kyl has never been more consistent than in his efforts to outlaw Internet gambling, against which he's waged a protracted war.

Speaking of Friess, he's been to "The Weirdest House in Vegas" and filed multimedia coverage. I've seen the three-houses-merged-into-one Xanadu that is the home of Dr. Lonnie Hammergren and Friess' headline is no exaggeration. An accompanying New York Times piece captures the essence of the place, which is much like what might have happened had Charles Foster Kane moved into a quiet suburban neighborhood and let his outsized sense of fantasy run amok.

"For a reported $100 million, Cirque [du Soleil] has bought itself its first bona fide bomb." That's among the nicer things the Las Vegas Sun's Larry Brown has to say about "charmless mook" Criss Angel and his CdS vehicle, Believe. Even before opening night, CdS was in full damage-control mode. An eyewitness tells me the favored spin is that Angel is no mere magician. No, he is an artiste. No wonder full-of-himself Cirque founder Guy Laliberté runs and hides from reporters when his cohort is peddling such self-serving guff.

Personally, I thought from the get-go Believe was going to tank, for reasons upon which I'll expound later. There's only so much pastel-colored whimsy this town can handle. In any event, it sure sounds like the after-party was better than the show.

Finish line in sight. All right, I blew it. What I thought would be the most edifying presidential campaign in a generation has been one of the worst. (Better than '04 but still pretty bad.) It's made Bush vs. Gore look like My Dinner with André. At the state and local level here in Nevada, it's been worse still -- the scummiest scrumdown I can recall.

When a Freedom's Watch ad actually elevates the tone of discourse, you know we've sunk to lower-than-imaginable levels. The Sheldon Adelson-sponsored "operating room" spot (which I've linked on a previous occasion) was considerably more imaginative than anything put out by Rep. Jon Porter's own campaign, not least because it employed a seemingly novel concept: humor.

Another wacky Jim Gibbons story

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 15:19:00 -0700

Nevada's governor continues to provide amusement for the rest of the nation. Really, this is a story you've got to see for yourself. Other states may have casinos, too, but when was the last time you heard a funny Jon Corzine anecdote? I thought not.

Select windmill, charge!

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 13:14:00 -0700

Sheldon Adelson contemplates the remainder of his liquid assets.

OK, remember how we discussed close U.S. Senate races yesterday? It looks like Sheldon Adelson's been paying attention, too. His hobby farm, Freedom's Watch, has cut several spots on behalf of embattled Sen. Gordon Smith (R-OR), but similarly beleagured Sen. John Sununu (R-N.H.) and Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN), who's in a real squeaker, can probably forget about seeing any help from the doge of the Venetian.

Why? Because Adelson's Freedom's Watch is aiming in the direction of ... Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.). Guess what? Schumer's not even on the ballot this year! But Sheldon's evidently not going to let a trifle like that stand in his way. Nosiree Bob, Freedom's Watch rolled out an anti-Schumer ad on Wednesday -- two years too early to do any good.

More pointless still, it's one of those onanistic spots that urges people to ring up Capitol Hill and reflexively regurgitate boilerplate nonsense ("Call [Creepy Conservative X] and tell him to stop his shady schemes," "Call [Godless Liberal Y] and demand he support our troops" -- ersatz examples, but you've undoubtedly been subjected to umpteen tedious examples of the real thing by now).

Adelson's got a right to tilt at any windmill of his choosing. But his target selection sure can be peculiar.

'Show Me' more money

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 11:49:00 -0700

Missouri voters are being asked to approve a constitutional amendment, submitted by Ameristar Casinos executive Troy Stremming, which would make a couple of significant changes in how business is done in Show-Me State casinos. (The full version is here, but the précis tells you what you most need to know.)

There are three salient features to this amendment, which might be summarized as The Good, The Bad and The Neutral.

The Neutral: Taxes on casinos would be raised 1%, for a total rate of 21%. In and of itself, this is not such a big deal, as I'll explain below.

The Good: The amendment repeals the state's loss limits, a paternalistic measure which doesn't actually limit how much you can lose (like that's any of Jefferson City's beeswax) but how frequently you can buy in. This should have been history a long time ago or, better yet, never enacted.

The Bad: The amendment would close Missouri to new casino licensees. Anybody already licensed or building in Missouri (read: Pinnacle Entertainment) would be grandfathered. After passage of the amendment, the only way into Missouri would be if an existing riverboat were sold, went out of business or lost its license.

That's a pretty sweet deal, especially if you're Ameristar and probably want to bat your eyelashes at potential suitors. Ameristar's two Missouri casinos did a combined $160 million in cash flow last year and the company, using its 2007 financials, is conservatively worth $2.1 billion. A freezing of the Missouri market would make Ameristar more valuable still.

But the amendment anti-competitive on its face. Nor have I heard any compelling argument for closing Missouri to additional operators -- other than protecting the ones already there from an environment that will be somewhat more competitive as Kansas' casinos begin to enter the fray.

And ... this may be more cracker-barrel philosophy than economic theory, but if Ameristar, Pinnacle, et. al. are going to enjoy protected-oligarchy status, the citizens of Missouri ought to get more than an extra percentage point of tax from those sinecures. If voters are being asked to slam the door in the face of prospective casino developers (such as one in Cape Girardeau), then existing operators ought to reciprocate by agreeing to a new tax rate that's not one but several points greater.

As it stands, the best-case estimate is that the 1% increase will bring an extra $156 million per year to state and local kitties. Ameristar's riverboats alone represented $117 million in gaming-tax revenues last year. Missourians will have to weigh the $156 million bird in the hand against the bird-in-the-bush economic impact that one or more additional casinos would represent. For once, I'd take the bird in the bush.

Correction: Yesterday, I passed along a Center for Responsive Politics assertion that presidential campaign donations from the defense industry favored Sen. John McCain. According to OpenSecrets.org, it's the other way around and they've got the numbers to back it up. (It seems to have more to do with longstanding resentment of McCain among defense contractors than with enthusiasm for his opponent.)

Intrade: No veto-proof Senate

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 18:23:00 -0700

Whether you're giddy with anticipation of "veto-proof" U.S. Senate, led by Harry Reid (D-NV), or fretful with trepidation thereof, it's not going to happen.

Who says? The Intrade Prediction Markets, that's who. (Go to the drop-down menu and you can search futures-market bets on 35 Senate races. The one Democratic seat the GOP had hoped to capture, Mary Landrieu's (LA), has swung firmly back into the "blue" column. By the same measure, two Republican seats that were briefly thought to be at risk, those of Saxby Chambliss (GA) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (KY) appear likely to stay "red."

Open seats in Mississippi, Idaho and Nebraska will remain staunchly Republican, while ones in Virginia and New Mexico should go Democratic this time around. Odds are lengthening for GOP incumbents Gordon Smith (OR) and Elizabeth Dole (N.C.), and things aren't looking conspicuously better for John Sununu (N.H.) and convicted felon Ted Stevens (AK).

The wild card is Minnesota, where Intrade continues to post a higher probability for challenger Al Franken (D) than for incumbent Norm Coleman (R). But Coleman has inched slightly ahead in popular-opinion polls since he switched to an all-positive ad campaign (even to the extent of repudiating direct-mail pieces that bore the fingerprints of Nevada's Sen. John Ensign). If I were a betting man, I'd buy "Coleman" futures, but ...

... even if Intrade calls Minnesota right, the best-case scenario is a seven-seat pickup by Dems. Split the two unaffiliated seats -- Bernie Sanders (VT) caucuses with the "blues" and Joe Liebermann (CT) with the "reds" -- and it still only gets Reid to 57 seats.

I'm predicting 56. And the presidential election? Based on a whole raft of factors -- plus my essentially pessimistic nature -- I say it's too close to call and we're in for a long Tuesday night.

McCain needs those casino donations

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 12:16:00 -0700

As I said before, we ought to cut the guy some slack on his casino-industry donations (which the Center for Responsive Politics puts in the vicinty of $1 million, and which have spawned both a sloppy CBS News report and at least two attack ads).

Besides, it's not like he couldn't use the money. Today's USA Today reports, by way of CRP, that McCain's Democratic opponent has out-raised McCain from the new-tech (by an over three-to-one margin), pharmaceutical, miscellaneous-business, health care, communications, real estate and banking sectors.

He also counts twice as many CEOs as supporters, one of whom explains it thusly: "I would rather pay a little higher tax on a higher profit than a lower tax rate on lower profits." McCain still bests Obama in GOP strongholds like energy, agribusiness, the defense industry, transportation and construction.

Give props to McCain spokesman Brian Rogers for this snappy comeback: "I guess [Obama] can't accuse us of being the candidate of big business." Besides, when you look at the $79 million in donations enumerated on USA Today's (not all-inclusive) bar graph, the $1.13 million the casino industry has split between Messrs. McCain and Obama looks so piddling it barely qualifies as walking-around money.

They can't be serious

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 11:50:00 -0700

Ian Sutton, over at GamingFloor.com spotted this, probably cobbled together on the quick, in the wake of CBS News' sloppily done piece on Sen. John McCain's popularity within the casino industry:

OK, the McCain+Paris Hilton+Britney Spears linkage is an amusing bit of payback for the famous "celebrity" spot. The rest of the ad is somewhere between disingenuous and deceptive. "More casinos"? That's a state-level issue, one that never shows up on presidential radar even from a distance. This is a stupid scare tactic that you'd have to be mighty gullible to buy.

"A million in campaign cash"? Try $951K at most. And the $133K donated to Sen. Barack Obama is somewhat more than chicken feed, too.

It might be possible to make a tenuous case that a President McCain could (help) enable more tribal casinos -- he's received $62,950 from the Mashantucket Pequots and two other tribes -- but the ad's glib McCain=Vegas equation forfeits that line of argument. Of course, the question of why donations from casinos are inherently more sinister than those from Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, military contractors, oil companies, pharmaceutical firms, tobacco growers, HMOs, etc., is simply begged.

That '527' ad, though, is downright subtle when compared to this ham-fisted ploy, complete with eerie sound effects. Oooh, those spooooooky casinos! They're coming to get us!!!

If you're going to try and make hay of McCain's relationship with the casino industry, shouldn't you at least derive a metaphor, however hackneyed it may be? (Acoustic guitars should be banned from all Democratic Party and left-leaning ads, by the way.)

When you consider that Bill Clinton's administration flirted with a federal gaming tax and the Bush the Second floated the notion of using casinos to collect delinquent child support, it's only common sense that the casino industry would like to have the next president's ear. And since when did it have to forfeit its First Amendment rights to support the candidates of its choosing?

Besides, the GOP prospects already being touted for 2012 -- Mike Huckabee, and governors Sarah Palin and Bobby Jindal -- are anti-gambling across the board. (Huckabee's proposed tax policy would be downright punitive to casinos and their suppliers.) Small wonder that casino CEOs want McCain to succeed.

Casino civic-mindedness

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 18:33:00 -0700

"Attaboys" are due for a couple of casino companies who are going above and beyond the call of civic duty.

MGM Mirage is underwriting the cost of a new fire station adjacent to CityCenter. True, MGM risked looking petty when it tried to nix the firemen's barbeque pit, for fear that the sight and smell of bratwurst over an open flame would offend delicate condo-owning nostrils next door. But the company ultimately stepped up and did the right thing.

Las Vegas Sands is genuinely creating jobs in Singapore by giving priority to senior citizens, housewives and people currently unemployed, as opposed to poaching staff from other companies. The only hitch? There may not be enough un- or underemployed Singaporeans to meet Sands' needs.

From the pits to the Senate. A pit boss from Foxwoods Casino Resort is challenging Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) because no one else would. GOP candidate Bob Tingle and I would disagree about virtually everything, but he's performing a service for democracy and should especially be applauded for doing it on his own dime.

McCain accepts -- Gasp! -- casino bucks

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 13:00:00 -0700

TV coverage of the casino industry is rarely well-informed in nature and here's a particularly egregious example. If you squint really hard and read between the lines, the unifying force between various casino CEOs' support of Sen. John McCain appears to be opposition to legislation that would facilitate unionization by card-check rather than by secret-ballot election.

That's as close as this cheap-shot CBS News piece comes to discerning a common motivation. (Though I do have one suggestion for McCain and his CEO benefactors: Since you don't have anything to hide, when CBS comes calling don't act like you've got something to hide and go running for the tall grass. Cowboy up, guys.) Steve Friess gives this bit of drive-by journalism the body-slam it deserves, so I'll leave the rest of the commentary to him.

Just say 'no'

Sat, 25 Oct 2008 14:35:00 -0700

Fall is in the air here and so is election fever. I'm just back from early voting and a honkin' big Obama rally is gearing up on the other side of town, so the mind is full of matters electoral.

The responsibility that comes with this bully pulpit includes making election recommendations with restraint. So, with exception of a ballot initiative or three, I'm going to attempt to refrain from stumping for individual candidates. Although I would humbly suggest that you might -- might -- want to think carefully before voting for any candidate who enjoys the blessing of that noted casino industry expert, pediatrician James Dobson. (He's not a theologian, but he plays one on the radio.)

Turnout for early voting has been heavy here in Nevada, as elsewhere, but perhaps some of you who are in Clark or Washoe counties are like my better half and enjoy the patriotic sensation that accompanies voting on Election Day. If that's the case, I'd like to share a few thoughts on Question 5.

Buried deep within the ballot, Question 5 asks whether a sliding-scale tax of 2-3% should be tacked onto current hotel-room taxes "to avoid large cuts in the funding of education and other state programs," and later to be employed as a funding stream for K-12 education and teacher salaries.

Opinion within the casino bidness is divided on Question 5, although certain captains of the industry had a hand in its conception (which was far from immaculate, lemme tell ya). Yes, it's for a good cause and, yes, it's purely an advisory question, what opponents call "nothing more than a government-paid opinion poll." (emphasis theirs)

Given the blizzard of varying room-tax rates already in effect, an extra 2% or 3% would be felt most in Glitter Gulch downtown and least out in Laughlin, Boulder City and Pahrump -- if you fancy staying there. The Nevada Secretary of State's office estimates that, should you visit Vegas twice a year, three nights per visit at an ADR of $100/night, the cost of your trips will increase an aggregate of $18.

Would this be a significant economic deterrent? I doubt it -- though perhaps consumers feel otherwise. As with many things in life, it's ultimately a matter of principle. As much as Nevada schools need improvement and as unattractive as our teacher salaries are, if Nevadans want to capitalize them, we need to take that responsibility upon ourselves ... not pass the buck to our customers, our guests, the people who keep the lights burning on the Strip.

This isn't "education funding" -- it's freeloading. And, yes, I would rather pay a (small and progressive) state income tax -- let's say 5% -- than endorse Question 5's exploitive attitude towards the tourists and conventioneers who are the primary and integral bulwark of Nevada's economy. Otherwise, it's like saying, "Thanks for your business and please ignore this kick in your butt."

... and don't even get me started on the subject of Allegiant Managing Partner Ponder Harrison's proposal to start charging passengers for carry-on luggage. (Too bad we can't vote on that!) I guess people are expected to fly to Vegas with nothing but their money and the clothes on their backs -- the few that the TSA lets us wear, that is.

Case Bets: Sands bankruptcy?; California spite, Ted Binion still dead, etc.

Fri, 24 Oct 2008 17:52:00 -0700

The 'B' word. Yup, somebody finally said it. Stifel Nicolaus & Co. analyst Steven Wieczynski blames The Big Sands Sell-off on fears that "Las Vegas Sands is in jeopardy of running out of cash and going bankrupt." Sands stock closed the week at a dismal $6.32 a share, 96% off its 52-week high.

The Adelson family, meanwhile, plans to turn its pockets inside out, looking for money.

Gary Jacobs is a good guy. The MGM Mirage executive veep is among the donors supporting California's Proposition 2, which would ban certain forms of cruelty to farm animals. Which earns him this animal lover's vote of thanks.

Other Nevadans are really motivated to donate to Proposition 8. Steve Friess has all the details. Having shot Nevada's economy in the leg with their opposition to gay marriage, some of the same folks may inflict similar economic damage on California. Which is their First Amendment prerogative and amen to that, but I'm not of the misery-loves-company persuasion.

Nevada's casino resorts have been cut out of on a lucrative market segment, although Harrah's Rincon has been among the California ones benefiting from Silver State prudishness, which Harrah's Entertainment has cannily leveraged into some Vegas-honeymoon promotions. If tribal sovereignty doesn't shield Harrah's Rincon and other gay-friendly casinos from Prop 8, I guess that Prop 8 donors from economically blighted Nevada can congratulate themselves on having lopped off their nose to spite their face yet again. Anyway, kudos to Harrah's execs Michael Weaver and Gwen Migita for contributing to the anti-Prop 8 campaign.

Marker for murder? Back where I come from, we call this "motive."

Time Tunnel. How drastically has the Vegas Strip changed since 1992? Follow this awesome photo stream and find out.

This just in: Made-for-cable movie about Lonnie "Ted" Binion stinks. Hey, it's a Lifetime Channel production. What else would you expect?

Adelson keeps his powder dry

Thu, 23 Oct 2008 18:19:00 -0700

Yesterday, S&G cited news sources that placed the election outlays of Sheldon Adelson's Freedom's Watch in the $30 million range. Hardly tuppence, even if a far cry from the $200 million the '527' had threatened to unleash.

Turns out, it's a lot worse than that, at least for anybody counting on Freedom's Watch to come to their aid. The group's May-September expenditures were only $40,000 and it "has been MIA during the presidential election." (In fairness to Adelson, he and Las Vegas Sands President William Weidner have bundled $100K-$250K for Sen. John McCain's presidential bid, according to the New York Times.)

To the extent that he expresses his priorities through Freedom's Watch, Adelson has evidently decided to go the "think globally, act locally" route. His 527 raised eyebrows earlier this year by firing off some quixotic salvos at Rep. Shelley Berkley. She's got the very definition of a "safe" district and hasn't faced a serious challenge since before the millennium, but she and Adelson have a feud that goes way back.

More recently, Freedom's Watch has weighed in on the GOP side of the Dina Titus (D) vs. Rep. Jon Porter (R) mud-wrestling match for Nevada's Third Congressional District. In probably the most lopsided "air war" since Desert Storm, Adelson has lobbed a few missiles on Porter's behalf and has just launched another one, as you can see. (Freedom's Watch also unveiled an ad for the North Carolina market today, in an effort to save Sen. Elizabeth Dole's seat; Dole trails her Democratic challenger by two points.)

Over at the Freedom's Watch Web site, there's a lead item about the national-debt clock running out of digits and a jab at Steve Wynn, but otherwise little that would give one the sense that we're nearing the climax of an exceptionally heated election campaign. Whether by choice or financial necessity, Adelson has chosen to conserve his ammo.

Adelson's megaphone muted

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 15:29:00 -0700

If Sen. John McCain pulls off the Nov. 4 comeback he's predicting, it won't be any thanks to Sheldon Adelson, who puts his mouth where his money is. (Hence those queasy-making odes to Chinese totalitarianism: "People seem to be living a good life in China. Look at the incredible progress China has made. How can someone say they're doing the wrong thing?")

Politico reports that, stung by the hornet's nest that is present-day Wall Street, Adelson has "pulled the plug" on one of his pet projects, Freedom's Watch.* The latter's "neverending campaign" has downsized from an artillery barrage ($200 million in planned expenditures this election cycle) to the rattle of small-arms fire ($30 million).

Small wonder, then, that Las Vegas Sands spokesman Ron Reese airily informed the Washington Post that "Mr. Adelson does not comment on his political activity." Except when he does, of course.

I've long wondered if Adelson's high-profile GOP affiliation worked against him in Kentucky, where Sands found the door rudely slammed in its face. Mind you, the object of Gov. Steve Beshear's bromance, Columbia Sussex CEO William J. Yung III, has also been a lifetime Republican backer -- until he saw how the chips were falling, so to speak, in the Bluegrass State. Whereupon he strewed Beshear's path with greenbacks.

As politically polluted as Pennsylvania's casino-selection process has been (Give Democratic, get a casino!), at least one right call was made: Handed a choice between a Yung-backed Allentown project and Adelson's Sands Bethelehem, Pennsylvania regulators opted for the GOP-friendly mogul with a track record of impressive projects, not the one who would shortly become a synonym for insolvency.

* -- Back when Adelson's wallet was still open, conservative activists used to bitch extravagantly (but always anonymously) about how many strings he would attach to the use of what was, after all, his money.

Quote of the Day

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 13:51:00 -0700

"I haven't left my house in days. I watch the news channels incessantly. All the news stories are about the election; all the commercials are for Viagra and Cialis. Election, erection, election, erection -- either way we're getting screwed!" -- Bette Midler, in top form, last night at Krave. (Photo © Erik Kabik/ RETNA)

Dump Danny Gans, hire this guy!

Fri, 17 Oct 2008 15:04:00 -0700

If Steve Wynn really wants a headliner who "kills," who's honed his comedic chops on SNL and Comedy Central, and who's shown he's capable of more than four shows a week, I think we've found the man for the job:

The riotous peroration is in a separate video. The whole performance -- deadpan, funny, self-deprecating and gracious -- is John McCain at his finest. So who was the apopleptic curmudgeon impersonating him at Hofstra Wednesday night?

Quote of the Day

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 12:09:00 -0700

"But I find myself tuning out. Obama is boring. McCain is coming off cranky." -- Andrew Sullivan, having the exact same reaction to the Hofstra debate as did I (who should have watched the Philadelphia Phillies chew up the Los Angeles Dodgers).

If it ends today ...

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 12:33:00 -0700

MSNBC political director Chuck Todd is of the opinion that, due to early voting, "where [the election] is on October 15 is where it ends." Leaving aside opinion polls, which are of questionable reliability, let's look at the betting market, which has rarely called an election wrong. As of today, the day of the last presidential debate and the start of early voting, Intrade's probability rating for an Obama win has pushed past 80% for the first time, standing at 81.6% as of this moment.

McCain a lousy player?

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 16:40:00 -0700

Citizens for Ethics & Responsibility in Washington wants an accounting of Sen. John McCain's casino winnings. He was seen raking in "thousands of dollars" at Foxwoods Casino Resort. But that was back in 2000. He's declared no casino winnings for '06 and '07.

Not John McCain.

I hate to rain on CREW's parade but maybe McCain hasn't had any pots worth reporting. We know he's a craps player but nobody ever said he was an especially good one and he's certainly no Archie Karas.

Dark day for dealers

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 18:16:00 -0700

Nevada's Supreme Court has ruled against Wynn Las Vegas dealers Joseph Cesarz and Daniel Baldonado. The Supremes are pretty much writing finis to the duo's courageous quest to overturn an iniquitous tip-confiscation scheme. (If you're unsympathetic to Cesarz and Baldonado, ask yourself how you'd feel about being asked to forfeit 15%-20% of your paycheck.)

Technically, the ruling kicks the ball back into the court of the Nevada Labor Commissioner. But aggrieved dealers tried that avenue already, only to have a deaf ear turned to their plight. (Resulting in some ugly scenes.) Why? Because Wynn didn't "keep" the money, he wasn't in violation of a Nevada law that forbids management from participating in tip pools. Of course, if I'm the CEO of Wynn Resorts and can save myself a bundle, not by switching my car insurance to Geico but by taking tip money from dealers and using it to raise pit bosses' pay without paying an extra cent in salaries, a few of you might conclude that I'm deriving a "direct benefit" from my tip-grabbing stratagem. (The co-author of the bill in question, former state Sen. Donald Mello, certainly does.)

At least the Supremes had the decency to spike a shameful claim for legal costs made by Wynn Resorts. I sorta doubt that Steve Wynn is having trouble scraping together the money to pay Gregory Kamer & Co. Going after Cesarz and Baldonado like that just makes him look petty, vindictive and irascible, the Al Davis of casino owners. Surely Wynn doesn't crave that particular reputation.

Of course, if he truly said and believes that he's "the most powerful man in Nevada," this latest turn of events could really go to his head. Who's going to stand against him now, especially after Assemblyman Bob Beers' support for the dealers got him ousted at the ballot box? Beers' likely replacement in Carson City is a fetchingly pretty Harrah's bean counter, a Stepford candidate wheeled into the district by some local GOP soreheads, whose anti-Beers vendetta enjoyed the apparent collusion of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. He's unlikely to get any uppity Beers-like ideas.

Beers had deviated from party orthodoxy, in addition to offending the Great & Powerful Oz, so he had to go. His crime was to be a decent human being, for which there seems to be scant call these days.

Speaking of the R-J (if we absolutely must), its publisher was engaging in some douchebaggery today, crowing about the fact that Jon Ralston was identified as a "former Review-Journal reporter," calling it "delicious karma."

Oh, it's karma in the sense that you kissed off the area's preeminent political pundit, who now works for the competition and has his own TV show, while you've got ... a blog, just like me and millions of other people. I'm sure Ralston is weeping bitter, salty tears over the lesson you taught him.

But seriously, when the go-to guy for political commentary in Nevada is somebody you ran off the reservation, who looks worse: Sherman Frederick or Jon Ralston? Enjoy that "karma" while Ralston enjoys his face time on Fox News. Yup, you sure showed him.

Politics, craps don't mix

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 13:54:00 -0700

Methodical, conservative poker play is a hallmark of Sen. Barack Obama (much to the annoyance of some of his fellow card players). A crap game with Sen. John McCain, though, can get rather volatile.

Wynn weighs in

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 12:19:00 -0700

A source at Wynn Resorts reports seeing sandwich boards in the employee cafeteria bearing the following text:

HOW CAN WE HELP?
Wynn Resorts wants to be part of the solution to Nevada's education funding crisis. We are supporting an initiative to increase the room tax in Clark and Washoe County by up to 3 percent, which will raise approximately $125 million per year to improve our student's education and support our schools.

Because the extra fee would be paid almost entirely by tourists, the proposed tax would have virtually NO adverse impact on local residents.

SIGN THE PETITION
Signing the petition ensures that your voice is heard. Signature gatherers will be at Wynn on Wednesday, October 8 from 9 am to 5 pm outside the employee parking garage on Sands Avenue.

VOTE YES ON QUESTION 5
On November 4, Wynn Resorts urges you, your families and friends to vote YES on Question 5 to Support Our Schools.

(No emphases have been added to the e-mail.)

Quote of the Day

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 15:17:00 -0700

"Oh, I think that they’re just not used to someone coming in from the outside, saying, ‘You know what? It’s time that normal Joe Sixpack American is finally represented in the office of vice president.’" -- Gov. Sarah Palin, unwittingly revalidating the old saw that the vice presidency isn't worth a bucket of warm sewage.

More compromise in Philly?

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 13:44:00 -0700

When Foxwoods proved willing to relocate its Philadelphia slot parlor to a new locale, the public posture of SugarHouse remained one of intransigence. However, there's been some backing and filling going on behind the scenes, culminating in design revisions. These would include a parking garage that's not so obtrusive. A Penn Praxis study commissioned by the city -- but boycotted by Foxwoods and SugarHouse alike -- faulted both projects' design for being too much like suburban shopping malls.

The SugarHouse compromise was brokered in a Denver hotel room during the Democratic convention, when Mayor Michael Nutter, Gov. Ed Rendell and Pittsburgh casino savior (and heavyweight Democratic donor) Neil Bluhm all oh so coincidentally happened to be the Mile-High City. Isn't it remarkably serendipitous how casino policy is made in Pennsylvania?

Grapes of Wrath, The Sequel. I'm thinking Gov. Sarah Palin got a bum rap for saying we're headed toward a reprise of the Great Depression. After all, I grew up hearing about Okie migrants and the Dust Bowl, watching The Plow That Broke the Plains, and yet thinking it would never, could never happen again.

Then I stumbled across this heartbreaking story about a tent city in Reno. (Actually, Ian Sutton found it.) And not just any tent city, but one run by the city itself. A job as a casino night porter gets one unfortunate couple out of the shantytown, but there doubtless are others coming to take their place. If we're not having a communal John Steinbeck flashback, maybe we should.

Slacker Uprising. Finally, something upon which both admirers and detractors of filmmaker Michael Moore can agree: His latest movie is surprisingly mundane.

The bailout. It's a done deal. Its passage was eased by the promise of additional market reforms somewhere down the road. Given the ferment for (to borrow an overused word) change, across the political spectrum, it would be better for the country if Congress struck now, while the iron is hot. Four months is a political eternity and congressional leaders will probably have lapsed back into their customary torpor by January. Congressional willpower, after all, is oxymoronic.

Penn impresses analysts

Fri, 12 Sep 2008 18:09:00 -0700

Penn National threw open its doors to Wall Street and JP Morgan, for one, came away impressed by what it heard. Basically, management is charting a fiscally conservative course, even though it could eventually reap $1.2 billion from its busted LBO. For instance, whereas Penn was formerly willing to plunk down $800 million for Bader Field in Atlantic City, now it's halved its valuation of the site.

Now Penn has turned its focus to some abandoned land west of the city (which would give it a "choke point" for traffic headed into A.C.) and Morgan seems to agree. It advises against buying an existing casino (read: Tropicana). It also found Penn bosses unconcerned with the narrow prospects for casino approval in Maryland and Ohio, writing: "our sense is that management would be content to see both [initiatives] fail." (If that were the case, it would be five rebuffs of casino legalization in one year; is the U.S. industry at or near a saturation point?)

Largely, this stems from concern about how both markets would sap traffic to Penn's flagship property in Charles Town, W.V. The proposed 67% (!) tax rate in Maryland is no small disincentive, either, although Penn has covered its butt -- should the pro-casino measure be passed -- by obtaining a site east of Baltimore. It's also moving to protect its Charles Town business by pushing for table games, something else that requires voter approval.

Looking down the road, Penn's capital projects appear to proceeding on or under budget, its debt is projected to decline by 44% over the next two years, while its cash flow increases 16%. And while Penn says it "can't get the returns or free cash flow" that would justify building in Las Vegas, it continues to contemplate scarfing up other companies' downgraded debt. Morgan thins Penn will either pursue a pure Vegas play or "another regional operator with LV exposure."

I'm thinking "Boyd" but remember that Penn has made one run at Harrah's Entertainment already and might well turn the latter's debt-strapped situation to its advantage. In any event, Morgan reports, Penn will bide its time, "as it feels asset values may get cheaper, and will take its time to evaluate opportunities given other casino operators' leverage. Just visualize a buzzard sitting on a tree branch in the desert, waiting for some poor, dehydrated soul to collapse.

By the way, Penn is proud owner of Bullwhackers Casino, a property whose name suggests nothing so much as the performance of unnatural acts upon livestock. But, if you want to know whatever became of Erin Moran, it's the place to go.

Quote of the Day

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 11:25:00 -0700

"So it comes down to this -- and I never thought I would hear myself saying this, but it's where I am -- that, while I am not endorsing Senator John McCain, the possibility is there that I might. And that's all I can say at this time." -- pediatrician, anti-gambling prude and (by his own description) Jack Abramoff pawn Dr. James Dobson, going way out on a limb for the GOP nominee. Dobson, it will be recalled, held off endorsing Gov. Mike Huckabee until Feb. 7 ... too late to impact the outcome of the Republican primaries.

Headless owner in topless bar

Mon, 08 Sep 2008 15:44:00 -0700

"It is amazing how people get religion once they want a gaming license," said then-Nevada Gaming Control Board member Brian Harris, back in December '98, in one of the all-time-great casino-related quotes. Harris' statement came in connection with the license-application withdrawal of the Sunrise Suite Hotel. If you've never heard of it, that's because -- sans casino -- it quickly went bankrupt, was stealthily snapped up by Carl Icahn and became Arizona Charlie's Boulder.

Harris' remark is pertinent once more the wake of last week's Control Board hearing. There, the CEO of a downtown topless bar professed to have been shocked -- shocked! -- to learn that drugs and prostitution were being peddled in his fine establishment. His attorney added that the club has received a clean bill of health ... from its own investigative service.

Regulators weren't having any of it. Nor does it say much for the charms of the Girls of Glitter Gulch that it needs slot machines to keep patrons interested. Or is that simply another manifestation of our ADD-riddled, multi-tasking society?

Another regressive tax. Since neither you nor I can afford to hire lobbyists, we're the ones who get jammed up whenever guvmint needs to find a few extra coins 'neath the sofa cushions. The latest indignity is an Internet sales tax, long bruited and finally gaining traction, I regret to say. All those eBay vendors are just going to love all the additional paperwork that they'll have to fill out if this turkey flies through Congress.

The presidential contenders are (mostly) 'Net friendly on this one. Sen. Barack Obama's position is "No" ... but with some ominous qualifiers. Sen. John McCain's flat "No" is to be preferred.

On our last "Vegas Gang" episode, we discussed whether it's true that the only color which matters in a Las Vegas casino. I was of the "No" persuasion. Further ammo comes by way of Norm!, who reports on alleged discrimination against Poetry, a club catering primarily to a black clientele.

If true, this stuff would come right out of Las Vegas' "Mississippi of the West" era -- and be another reminder of how illusory progress can be. A friend of a friend, a successful African American musician, said that a good day for him was one that went by without his being on the receiving end of a racial slur.

I don't complain too much about my lot in life since hearing that.

Bad day for 'Net gamblers

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 11:55:00 -0700

With "values voters" all fired up about Gov. Sarah Palin, who looks to be in demand on the campaign trail, she's predicted to pump up several heretofore sagging GOP congressional and senatorial campaigns. Which is good news if you're a Republican ... bad news if you're a GOP-er who likes to have what the Brits call "a bit of a flutter" on the Web.

As I. Nelson Rose put it a while back, "if John McCain wins, Republicans will take over the Senate, so nothing will change." (Our David Matthews gives McCain an "F" in gaming-friendliness, though I believe that's a mite harsh, just as I think a candidate who lists The Wire and Dexter among his favorite recent TV shows isn't as out of touch as many claim.)*

Which means resigning yourself to more Justice Department prosecutions of offshore Internet casinos and taking your chances with unregulated, often unaccountable operators. Especially when you consider that the Republican seats that are most likely to get peeled off this fall are those of moderates, the ones most likely to vote for UIGEA repeal.

Steve King: He loves casino taxes

Even if Republicans remain in the minority, the caucus will probably be even more dominated by cranky ideologues like Rep. Steve King (R-IA), who's long wanted to shove a 30% federal levy up the gaming industry's butt.** King had this brainwave while riding around on his tractor -- absolute proof that politicians should not be allowed to operate heavy machinery.

* -- the preferences of McCain's adversary, by contrast, sound like they emerged from a Bob Shrum-led focus group. Shrum, you may recall, was the 'strategist' who helped Sen. John Kerry snatch defeat from the jaws of victory in '04.

** -- it's all wrapped up in some creepy, paternalistic crap about using guvmint to change people's behavior ... a different flavor of the same Orwellian stew that produces laws which forbid restaurants from using trans-fats, etc.

That eeeeeeeeeeeeevil Internet gambling

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 12:59:00 -0700

From this year's GOP platform ...

"Millions of Americans suffer from problem or pathological gambling that can destroy families. We support the law prohibiting gambling over the Internet."

So, if you play online, or would like to, or if (like me) you want to see the UIGEA repealed just on principle, you should probably be hoping for some big Democratic gains in the House and Senate. Because, otherwise, it's not going to get past a President John McCain's desk. Rep. Barney Frank's been doing the best can, but he could use some help -- and Nevada's congressional delegation, Democrats and Republicans alike, hasn't exactly been a Profile in Courage on this issue. They either want to fritter away another year "studying" Internet gambling or they dive under the table altogether.

A pox on both your houses (of Congress)!

Alaska nixes gambling; Politics here, Harrah's there

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 20:41:00 -0700

With Alaska and its governor all over the news of late, I got to wondering what had become of that ballot initiative, backed by bar owners, to expand gambling in Alaska.

As it happens, the initiative was voted down, the most lopsided defeat for the casino industry in a year of setbacks, following legislative rebuffs in Kentucky and Massachusetts. It did, however, prevent discomfiture for one opponent -- Gov. Sarah Palin, who would have been required to appoint the members of the proposed Alaska Gaming Commission, had it been voted in.

If you're scoring at home, that's: Palin 1, Slot makers 0.

Politics Makes Strange Bedfellows Dept. Although the largesse of MGM Mirage tends to flow towards the GOP, one of its prime beneficiaries this year is Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick (D-MI). Meanwhile, the war chest of unopposed Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) has been swelled by donations from Phil Ivey and Doyle Brunson.

Conyers is seen as a critical ally in the move to overturn the UIGEA, that midnight raspberry blown to online poker players by then-Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) and Rep. Jim Leach (R-IA). Frist retired soon afterwards and voters -- probably including some pissed-off poker players -- sent Leach packing.

Swift Harrah's verdict? We may not have to wait long for a ruling on Harrah's Entertainment's legitimacy to build and run a casino in Kansas. There's the little matter of a disputed non-compete clause with the Prairie Band of Potawatomi Indians, who formerly made use of Harrah's managerial experience before the latter severed ties. However it comes out, a speedy resolution is to be hoped for. It's going to take the Sumner County casino two years to get up and running anyway, even without being ensnared in litigation.

I invade France

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 19:55:00 -0700

... or Gallic television sets, anyway. Last weekend, I had the decidedly surprising experience of being contacted by a reporter from French TV network Canal+. He was looking for someone to interview about the casino industry's role in the 2008 election.

Now, you're probably thinking that I wouldn't be your first (or even 10th) choice for this gig. I can tell you that the same thought crossed my mind several times over. But a friend in academe had put a kind word in for me and, besides, I'd never done the TV talking-head thing, so it looked like an adventure. Sort of like skydiving -- without the parachute.

Which is how I came to be pretending to casually stroll down Las Vegas Boulevard on a sticky Sunday evening, wearing a business suit. It's difficult not to feel like an idiot when you're doing that ... or when answering questions on camera and sensing that every fact you've ever known has just fled your brain. And that the further you bloviate, the more inflated with hydrogen you seem to become, ready to burst into a fireball -- a veritable Hindenblogger.

Filming almost came to a dramatic and violent halt when were accosted near The Venetian by several self-identified Nevada white supremacists, one shirtless, another in a wife-beater and nearly all of them spoiling for a fight.

Cooler heads prevailed, but not before each of us was called "a nigger" and advised to "go back to fucking France." In other words, it was little different than the average "Comments" thread following a Review-Journal story.

Although I'm hoping to get left on the cutting-room floor, the worst-case scenario is that if I'm not, it'll only be seen on French TV and then not until after the November election. Better still, I'll probably be overdubbed in French, which will lend some much-needed sangfroid to my babblings.

Whatever happens, it was a valuable learning experience, as the saying goes (and after seeing the video feed of the Podcast-a-Palooza,* I knew I could use the education). That includes developing a little extra respect for those ubiquitous TV pundits. It may look like falling off a log, but it sure as heck isn't. Except for the falling sensation, of course.

* -- and, no, I am not going to link to the online video feed. My appetite for public self-mortification has its limits.

CityCenter is God's will

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 16:34:00 -0700

I can do my part in doing things like working really, really hard to get a new megaresort, a $9.2 billion project that's going to create a lot of jobs for people in Nevada, and we're going to have a lot of gambling flowing through here -- and pray about that also -- I think God's will has to be done in unifying people and companies to get that megaresort built, so pray for that.

...

Sounds like I've gone completely off my rocker, huh? Well, just substitute "natural gas pipeline" for "megaresort," "$30 billion" for "$9.2 billion," "energy" for "gambling," and "Alaska" for "Nevada" and you have actual remarks delivered by Gov. Sarah Palin (or see them on video).

If MGM Mirage President Jim Murren made comments like that in a conference call, MGM's stock price would go crashing through the floor. But we seem inured to any old batshit-crazy thing coming out of any politician's mouth, even when it makes Rev. Tom Grey sound like Hugh Hefner.

While I think this election is Sen. John McCain's to lose, the casino industry's embrace of him makes less and less sense. Between his opposition to collegiate sports betting and Palin's abhorrence of gambling, period, the notion of "Gamblers for McCain" seems about as logical as "Jews for Buchanan" would have done eight years ago.

Quote of the Day

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 13:37:00 -0700

"No, in so many cases, gambling has shown ill effects on families and as Governor I would not propose expansion legislation." -- Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, responding to a question from the Eagle Forum. Palin goes on to say she would not sign gambling-expansion legislation but does not clarify (and was not asked) whether she would veto it.

40/40 Club: Now with 100% less Jay-Z

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 18:40:00 -0700

Rap impresario Jay-Z invited bad karma to the party the moment he let "Balco Barry" Bonds attend the opening of the former's Palazzo nightclub. Needless to say, karma was only to happy to accept the invitation. 40/40 Club was dogged with negative buzz from Day One and yesterday what many had long assumed became established fact: 40/40 is toast. It'll become Palazzo's new sportsbook, replacing the sad little booth that sat outside the masoleum in which 40/40 was entombed.

Palazzo's owners, Las Vegas Sands, never seemed 100% thrilled to be in bed with Jay-Z. Heck, unless you had psychic powers, your chances of even finding the 40/40 Club bordered on nil. By not building a proper sportsbook and subsequently pouncing on the 40/40 space when the club faltered, it certainly looks as though Sands brass foresaw this contingency and even lay in wait for it. So what's now a plush sports bar with bad service has the potential (and the pre-existing layout) to become one of the best sportbooks on the Strip.

As for what Jay-Z saw in Sands ... good question. In an ideal world, I'm sure he'd rather have been at the Hard Rock or any of the younger, trendier MGM Mirage properties -- like Mandalay Bay, for starters. Palazzo is many things but "with-it" is not among them. Sedate, yes. Stodgy? Maybe. Hip? Never. Nobody goes to Palazzo to get their freak on.

One local blogger asserts that Jay-Z "will join with his Palazzo partners in their expansion and merchandising licensing opportunities elsewhere globally." But there is no such mention in Palazzo President Rob Goldstein's formal announcement (which Sands didn't bother to post on its corporate Web site). It sounds like more of the same baloney the rapper's peeps have been feeding out lately -- just as $44 million for half of 40/40 somehow turned out to be $40 million for the whole thing.

According to RapWeekly.com, it was a clean break: "Naming rights for the sports bar and lounge are not for sale." So 40/40 becomes Something Else, and Jay-Z and Las Vegas Sands head their separate ways. The rapper is already back to making headlines more conventionally, like today's, "Ne-Yo Upsets Jay-Z By Vomiting Near His Car" (yes, that's a real headline, folks).

Richard Abowitz and Steve Friess have opposite takes on 40/40's demise and they're both worth considering. Abowitz blames a lack of foresight and a muddled product, writing: "Rather than the synergy expected, the mix of a nightclub with a sports bar confused guests." Which doesn't contradict Friess' wrong-location-in-the-wrong-property thesis.

Palazzo spokesman Ron Reese gets points for gamely describing the current sportsbook as "less than ideal," which is probably the nicest thing can be said about it. "Casey in Tulsa" on Friess' blog is much closer to the truth when describing it as a "half-assed basement dwelling ... it looked more like an airport car rental check-in counter than an actual place to place a sports wager and catch a game."

Headline of the Day: One site cuts to the chase with "Vice President MILF." (The photo is actually Overstock.com über-hottie Sabine Ehrenfeld.) Sen. Joseph Biden may have Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin clobbered in the experience department, but has he ever been named Miss Congeniality of 1984? We think not!

Update: I was just being silly there, but GOP strategist Ed Rollins doesn't blush to cite the Miss Congeniality award as a qualification: "And don't assume she can't stand toe-to-toe with Joe Biden. She is a great debater. And she was runner-up for the Miss Alaska title, won Miss Congeniality in that contest and plays the flute." (emphasis added)

Maybe flautist Paulin and sometime-pianist Condoleezza Rice can hit the campaign trail with a program of flute-and-piano sonatas. Anything that elevates the tenor of contemporary politics is OK by me.

Casino woes hit tribal turf

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 14:18:00 -0700

Construction at two Seneca Gaming Corp. projects in New York State has ground to a halt. The stoppage is blamed on "challenging economic and capital market conditions, greater demands on the company's available cash and increased competition and construction costs.''

Sound familiar? What happens at Echelon not only doesn't stay there, it may be coming to a casino market near you sometime soon. In the Senecas' case, the National Indian Gaming Commission is threatening to cut off their part of the flow of casino cash altogether. But it still adds another casualty to the list of scrapped, frozen, delayed, bankrupt or scaled-back casino projects around the country.

Newest casualty: Seneca Allegany Casino

It's been a longstanding fundamental of casino development that it was self-sustaining: the more supply, the greater the demand. Wall Street analysts never thought there was anything wrong with Las Vegas that wouldn't cured by "the next round of megaresort openings." (If they had their druthers, we'd be opening a new one every week.) Hence the long queue of states wagering greater and greater amounts of their fiscal health on casino taxes.

As the state of Nevada is learning the hard way, the elasticity of casino-revenue growth is finite -- and tightening. Since that's the lone arrow in the Silver State's financial quiver, we're going to feel the pain worse than other states, but other legislatures and governors are going to wake up the fact -- if they haven't done so already -- that the casino industry isn't just some magical pump from which an infinite and ever-larger gusher of money doth spout.

Speaking of matters tribal, it'll be a poke in the eye with a sharp stick to Native Americans if Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty is the GOP veep pick. During his tenure -- I was going to follow that with "in the governor's mansion," but Pawlenty refuses to live there, actually -- he's been a divisive figure on the tribal scene, pitting Indians against other Minnesotans and against each other. It would be difficult to find a White House more inimical to tribal interests than the current one, but Pawlenty's ascendancy hardly augurs well for the future.

Media event done right. With much grumbling and many misgivings, I tagged along to media night at BLT Burger (and thus finally got to meet lovely MGM Mirage PR stalwart Sandy Zanella, after many years of e-communication). Surprise, surprise: The event wasn't overbooked, the music wasn't too loud, there was plenty of space to sit down, and the food offerings were actually representative of the restaurant's menu. (I'm looking at you, Brand.)

Admittely, the fried pickles didn't come around nearly often enough ... well, only once, actually. But there were generous portions of everything else, and the service was both frequent and solicitous (something that evidently has not always been the case). I'm still unsure what to make of BLT's upscaled versions of diner favorites -- falafel burgers, anyone? -- but it put its best Buffalo wing forward.

"Self righteousness is its own reward." That's what my Dad always told me and it's certainly true of this wretched documentary. By the way, the unidentified woman in the photo is Darlene Jesperson, the bartender that Harrah's Entertainment fired because she wouldn't wear makeup (a requirement, it goes without saying, that was imposed only on female employees). Harrah's beat the rap, freeing it and the rest of the industry to carry on with a plantation mentality that should have been swept out decades ago.

Who the ... ?!?!?

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 12:38:00 -0700

Honest to God, there's strong VP buzz about heretofore obscure Rep. Chet Edwards (D-Tex.). Excuse me, but Chet WHO????? I hope this is just a fake-out and, if it isn't, I'm going to start referring to the presumptive Republican nominee as "President-to-be John McCain."

Even a stopped watch is accurate twice a day and, much as I hate to admit it, local publisher Sherman Frederick gets this one right. Actually, Bill Richardson was my first choice among the 847 Democratic presidential candidates -- a sure sign that his goose was cooked. Unless you count Al Gore, I've voted for exactly one winning presidential candidate (Bill Clinton, '92) in my life.

Good for them. A tip of the cap to the Mardi Gras racino, in Broward County, Florida. It's banning a granny gambler who left two grandchildren in the car, marinating in sweat. Even as Tropical Storm Fay raged outside, casino junkie Jeanne Shahan kept playing the slots. Now she's up on child-neglect charges and will be 86'd from the Mardi Gras on sight.

Good question

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 14:07:00 -0700

"Can someone tell me why they [the Obama campaign] haven't focused on John McCain's support of a ban on college sports betting? This is a much bigger issue in NV than Yucca Mtn" -- comment by "Werd2406" at the Las Vegas Gleaner.

Beats me.