Bally’s Gets Screwed

As luck would have it, we were in Chicago last week. That’s when, in a stunning display of spinelessness, Mayor Brandon Johnson (D) opted to neither sign nor veto the city budget. He dove under the desk. In that act of moral cowardice, Johnson tacitly assented to one move that screws over Bally’s Chicago and another that sticks it to legal OSB operators.

Chicago aldermen formally threw in the towel on Bally’s Corp., voting to bring slot routes to the Windy City. A couple of underwhelming years of Bally’s Casino at Medinah Temple will do that. However, the move potentially voids the Host Community Agreement between Bally’s and the Second City. The former did not take the fuck-you move kindly. Soo Kim‘s people are already talking about making significantly lower tax contributions to Chicago and many, many fewer jobs. They’re grousing about $70 million less in tax payments and clawing back $4 million from the HCA. Also, 3,000 promised jobs have been cut down to 1,950. Maybe they can also repossess the $40 million that old Soo used to bribe Lori Lightfoot.

We’re of mixed feelings on this. Bally’s might be exploiting the crisis to cover its overexposed ass. Not only can it not pay for the $1.7 billion megaresort (Gaming & Leisure Properties Inc. is doing the heavy lifting), it just caught the car in New York City. The megaresort project in Las Vegas is a joke. And Medinah Temple has been a disappointment. Bally’s may be getting a sudden attack of realism re: Chicago, using the present crisis to dial back unrealistic promises on revenue and jobs.

That being said, Bally’s does not deserve the royal screwing it’s getting from Johnson & Co. It’s kept up its end of various bargains and should not be undermined by slot routes. Also, Chicagoans are now to be exposed to the omnipresent Ding! Ding! Ding! of gambling devices. After living 17 years in Sin City, we say with assurance that it’s desirable to have someplace in a city where one can go and not be subjected to slot machines.

Chicago’s government also shafted all legal purveyors of sports betting by imposing a supplemental tax on OSB. The ripple effects from this could be disastrous. If legitimate operators don’t opt to pay the Johnsonian piper, they’ll pull out of the Windy City, leaving it to the clutches of unregulated, untaxed, unlawful bookies. Thanks a lot, Brandon. Oh, and every municipality in the Land of Lincoln will now have legal cover for taxing OSB as well. Coming on top of Gov. J.B. Pritzker‘s odious handle tax, this has been a shitty year for sports betting in Illinois. Is it time to evacuate the state? We think it may well be. It would a drastic move but a fairly justifiable one. Nothing less will get guvmint’s attention.

Back in Nevada, there was dismaying coverage in that Gov. Joe Lombardo (R) fanzine, The Nevada Codependent. Paying a visit to Nevada Gaming Control Board Chairman Mike Dreitzer, the Codependent‘s Howard Stutz complains that the Silver State was slow to get new slot machines and other forms of gambling technology. That’s not only because the NGCB is undermanned and outworked (with 400 staffers trying to ride herd on at least 150 casinos, for starters), it’s also because Nevada has historically been careful in vetting such new tech. Dreitzer wants to put a stop to that and start cutting some corners. “I think it’s important for regulators in any jurisdiction to work at a faster pace,” whines Dreitzer, as though speed were a virtue in itself.

Of course, coming from the manufacturing side, Dreitzer would want the big enchilada (Nevada) to open up faster. But is rushing a game to market the best thing to do? It’s a litigious field and regulators should pick their way carefully … and have the game math, theme, etc., carefully checked out. Expediency is hardly the Holy Grail and Dreitzer appears to have inherited predecessor Kirk Hendrick‘s misguided conviction that the regulators work for Big Gaming instead of for the public, which pays their salaries.

Dreitzer seems to have one crack-headed notion entirely his own, namely that the NGCB was to blame for the rash of money laundering that has ensued of late on the Las Vegas Strip. He laments, “Fines are understood and important, but the other part is having regulations that will enable licensees to have better information so they can make better decisions about whether or not to allow credited folks to play at their places.” Where Dreitzer came up with that addle-pated mea culpa is anybody’s guess. Nowhere has it been alleged (to our knowledge) that unsavory characters were allowed to gamble at Strip properties because Big Gaming was blissfully ignorant of who they were and how they received their ill-gotten gains.

We’re also supposed to be awed by Greatness Unbending. We are informed that Dreitzer earns a measly $211K a year in his new job. Oh, the humanity! Imagine the difficulty of making ends meet on six figures. Weeps Hendrick, “I think that says a lot about his character and his financial sacrifice to take this role on behalf of the state.” Since Dreitzer is openly banking on Lombardo getting reelected in order to stay in office through 2031, we know he’s going to bend the knee to whatever Sheriff Joe wants done. Whether out of myopia or feigned ingenuousness, Dreitzer concludes with the naive sentiment, “I believe that licensees want to do the right thing.” (Tell that to R.J. Cipriani and other victims of the industry.)

Bottom line: The chief watchdog has just gone to sleep.

Gridiron Grumbles. It’s still possible that the Pittsburgh Steelers could stumble, bumble and fumble their way into a playoff spot. But—as a longtime Steelers fan—they don’t deserve one. Not after their pathetic showing against the losingest franchise of the 21st century, the Cleveland F. Browns. What part of “Win and in,” didn’t they understand? Or maybe they masochistically want to finish with everything at stake against the Baltimore Ravens? It pains us to say this but Mike Tomlin can no longer light a fire under this team and probably needs to go someplace else.

Speaking of losers, the Las Vegas Raiders (yes, they still exist) phoned it in against the New York Giants yesterday. Freed of the ineptitude of that fat fuck Brian Daboll, Big Blue stomped all over the Silver & Black, leaving them black and blue. (The Raiders were graciously allowed a touchdown before the long-suffering home crowd, in garbage time.) The benching of never-say-die Raider star Maxx Crosby told one that the fix was in. Now the Raiders are all but guaranteed the top draft pick next year. Let’s hope ancient, out-to-lunch (should be out to pasture) coach Pete Carroll doesn’t waste it in his misguided determination to win immediately, despite the wreckage surrounding him. Had Carroll treated 2025 as a rebuilding year, as he should have, might the Raiders have mustered more than two measly wins to date? It’s inconceivable that they could have done worse. The debacle is almost enough to make you nostalgic for Antonio Pierce. Yes, it’s that bad.

About the only consolation salvaged from Sunday was that the New England Patriots—yes, those same Pats who lost their season debut to the Raiders—vaporized the New York Jets by 32 points. That means that, with a first-round bye at stake, next week’s guest spot by the Miami Dolphins is still meaningful. It’s nice to know that there’s yet something to play for in the final weekend, when most teams will be metaphorically hitting the snooze button. The Raiders? They’ll be at Allegiant Stadium against the free-falling Kansas City Chiefs. The ancient cliché ,”They’re playing for pride” is certain to be invoked.