Disaster at Ocean; Ready when you are, CB; Gruden gone

In a development that portends nothing but ill for Atlantic City, the CEO of Ocean Casino Resort, Terry Glebocki has resigned. She also leaves the Casino Association of New Jersey rudderless, no doubt to be replaced in both roles by someone safely white and male. No reason was given for Glebocki’s sudden departure, which was disclosed to staff yesterday morning. Frankly, we’d been fearing such news ever since Marian Illitch bought a half-interest in the casino. While Luxor Capital nominally owns the keys to Ocean, Glebocki was their gal and we don’t see them as the ones giving her the shove. The former CFO of Ocean, née Revel, Glebocki had held the top spot for two years, ones in which the casino’s fortunes dramatically reversed, with results that have been getting better and better with each passing month. Now … uncertainty and unease.

As The Associated Press‘ Wayne Parry, bearer of ill tidings, reports, “under Glebocki, the casino reduced expenses while carrying out renovations to the casino floor, and adding amenities for upscale gamblers, which helped grow its revenue from gambling and non-gambling sources.” How dramatic was the turnaround? Ocean swung from a $12.5 operating loss in the first half of 2020 to a profit of $25 million during the same period this year. That wasn’t good enough for somebody, it seems.

The rot at Crown Resorts is spreading through Australia‘s casino industry. Three major Australian media outlets have accused Star Entertainment, Crown’s main competitor, with anti-money-laundering laxity (even the connivance in money laundering), involvement with organized crime, fraud and a host of other ills. The smoking gun is a Star-commissioned report by KPMG. It warned that AML policies turned a blind eye to terrorism financing and Star had “no documented money-laundering risk assessment, or risk-assessment methodology” when it came to junkets from China. Can’t take money out of Red China? Star will let you withdraw “hundreds of millions of dollars in funds” from its hotels so that you can gamble. Whales who’d been 86’d from casinos in New South Wales and Victoria were allegedly welcome at Star Gold Coast.

Star Chairman John O’Neill claimed his company was “out of the junket business until further notice,” carefully keeping his foot in the door for future resumption. As for the media reports, they were dismissed as “misleading.” But that’s pretty much what Crown said when it was caught with its pants down and now its licenses are in peril. An investigation appears to be forthcoming—as well it should be.

Somebody drove a shrewd bargain on the Las Vegas Strip. The Las Vegas Review-Journal‘s Richard Velotta reports that the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority is closing on a sale of 10 acres of surplus land on the former Riviera site—for $120 million. In today’s go-go real estate market, $12 million an acre in the neighborhood counts almost as a steal, especially with the synergies possible from being next door to the newly expanded Las Vegas Convention Center. The mystery buyer is CB Investment SpA, its details known only to the LVCVA. The latter would have first dibs if CB tries to flip the site (no small likelihood) which must be redeveloped as a resort property.

The sale proceeds would still leave the LVCVA some $380 million short of the half-billion it needs to complete its build-out renovation. Too bad that the only Strip-facing land it has to spare is going so cheaply, especially when its neighbors will include Resorts World Las Vegas and forever-in-abeyance Fontainebleau. We’d love to see a new project capitalizing on the north Strip’s rediscovered mojo but are leery of the LVCVA’s cloak-and-dagger methodology. In the meantime, if you want to see what a real casino will look like, the R-J has a Durango (Station) sneak peak. Not only does it not disappoint, it actually appears much sleeker and with-it than expected.

In a contrasting story, Boulder Bay LLC made out like bandits on the little (100 slots) Tahoe Biltmore Lodge & Casino in Crystal Bay. Having bought it in 2007 for $28.5 million, Boulder Bay more than doubled its money in a sale to California-based EKN Development Group. EKN says it has big plans for the Tahoe Biltmore, too big to be disclosed. Of course that’s what we heard from Boulder Bay … 13 years ago.

A huge gamble that went south is what Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis has on his hands today. Celebrity coach Jon Gruden self-destructed all over the pages of the New York Times, spewing a toxic mix of misogyny, racism and homophobia in e-mails to the Washington Football Team. Davis bet the farm on Gruben, guaranteeing him $100 million over 10 years to coach the Silver & Black—a contract that still has six seasons to run. The Raiders were, at best, a mediocre team under Gruden (22-31), who will now sneer all the way to the bank, not needing to earn a living until 2028, if ever. It’s often been said of Gruden that he would be a perfect fit for Sin City but are we really a cesspit of bigotry? Or is a better sporting symbol the home-grown, overachieving Las Vegas Golden Knights? Of them the city can be proud.

Now that Gruden II is over, the Raiders’ 3-0 start this season is looking more and more like a mirage. Not only were they humiliated by the Chicago Bears after being 5.5-point favorites, they’re now three-point underdogs to the surprisingly resilient Denver Broncos. When all’s said and done Sunday, the Raiders could be back at 3-3. How perfectly Grudenesque. According to TheLines.com, this weekend’s highest-scoring affair should be the Kansas City Chiefs over the Washington Snyders (55.5-point over/under), while blowouts should be the Los Angeles Rams by 10.5 over the hapless New York Giants and the Indianapolis Colts by 10 over the hopeless Houston Texans. If you prefer knuckle-biters, the Carolina Panthers are favored by only a point against the Minnesota Vikings. All we know for certain is that Jon Gruden will be back in the barcalounger of bigotry from which he never should have been summoned.