“If you have this amenity and there’s sports betting at the card rooms, you might add 250 jobs and the secondary effect of those jobs. We have over 2,200 employees in the state. They’re great-paying jobs with an average salary above $75,000. They’re able to support their families, and they’re needed in this state.”—Maverick Gaming owner Eric Persson on ending tribal exclusivity to offer sports betting in Washington State.

Does reporting bad news get tedious? You bet! But it comes with the turf. Louisiana casino winnings declined 23% last month, in keeping with the national average. Penn National Gaming casinos got off easiest, slipping 11%, while Boyd Gaming ones tumbled 25% and Caesars Entertainment plunged 38%. The latter wasn’t helped by the continued closure of Isle Grand Palais, a hurricane victim. The statewide gross was $162 million. Capacity limits (50%) and reductions in gaming positions (-75%) remain severe, though a larger economic malaise appears to be in play.

Baton Rouge got off by far the easiest, down 7%, led by L’Auberge Baton Rouge (pictured) with $12.5 million, a 1% gain. Casino Rouge was 11.5% off the pace at $4 million, while ancient Belle of Baton Rouge deservedly plummeted 44% to $1 million. In Lake Charles, market share was best defended by Golden Nugget, grossing $24 million and down 8%. L’Auberge Lake Charles slid 19.5% to $23 million and Delta Downs shed 18% to $12 million. New Orleans suffered the most of any market, with Harrah’s New Orleans emaciated 37.5% to $16.5 million. Runner-up was Boomtown New Orleans, down 14.5% to $8 million, while Treasure Chest notched $6 million, a 28% spill, and Fair Grounds racino eked out $2.5 million, a 33% dive. Amelia Belle scraped up $2 million, down 32.5%.

It’s a good thing Sheldon Adelson didn’t live to see this. The First Circuit Court of Appeals quashed a 2019 reinterpretation of the Federal Wire Act by the Justice Department, one that broadly applied it to Internet gambling. The federal court agreed with a New Hampshire one that the Office of Legal Counsel had erred and that the Wire Act only applies to interstate sports betting. The case had been brought by the New Hampshire Lottery “We find the plaintiffs’ claims are justiciable and that the Wire Act applies only to interstate wire communication related to sports events or contests,” sayeth the court. Unless the Joseph Biden administration pursues this to the Supreme Court (highly unlikely), Eric Holder‘s narrow, 2011 interpretation of the Act will stand. In other words, the First Circuit has driven a stake through the heart of the anti-Internet-gaming movement, or what’s left of it.

Were Adelson still around and the First Circuit had upheld the 2019 revision, he wound have found himself in an awkward position. Earlier this week, ace reporter James Rutherford revealed that Las Vegas Sands “was in discussions with potential partners to enter the sports betting business, a move that would take the company down the internet gambling path which Adelson so vehemently opposed.” That would make Adelson even more of a pious fraud than he already was on the Internet issue. It’s a disservice to Sands shareholders that the company has missed the online-sports-betting boat, although it’s in no position to capitalize i-gaming, not after having quit Pennsylvania.

Carl Icahn‘s abusive-codependent attachment to Trump Plaza knows no ends. In his latest gambit, the magnate has kiboshed the implosion of the ramshackle ex-casino that had been slated for sometime in February, by dint of obtaining a cease-and-desist order. Instead, dismantling of the crumbling relic will continue at a stately pace, with plans for the site still unknown. At least Icahn, who has repeatedly embarrassed Atlantic City, showed some grace this time. He short-circuited Mayor Marty Small‘s auction of the demolition rights by matching the leading bid—$175,000—and donating it to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Atlantic City. Our sincere thanks for that, Uncle Carl. “From the beginning, we thought the auction and any other related spectacle presented a safety risk, and we were always clear we did not want to participate in any way,” said an Icahn mouthpiece. Opined The Press of Atlantic City, “We hope this happy ending opens the way for redevelopment of the Plaza site for the benefit of all.” We hope so too.