It never seems to get easier for Chicago casino applicants, who are facing stony opposition from many of their would-be neighbors (and customers) and who also find themselves pawns in a convoluted political process. At stake is something called “aldermanic prerogative,” meaning that if you don’t want a casino in your ward, tradition dictates it goes somewhere else. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot (D) would dearly like to upend that custom but faces a long, uphill slog to convince a largely recalcitrant body of alderman. As for the prerogatives, they favor Bally’s Corp. and bode ill for Rush Street Gaming, while Hard Rock International is somewhere in between. Going by its architectural, developmental and financial track record, one would think Hard Rock a shoo-in for a city the caliber of Chicago but CEO Jim Allen effectively screwed himself by setting up shop 29 miles away in Gary.
Further muddying the waters of casino selection are ward maps, which are up for redrawing. This will dramatically affect the demographics (and representation) of the casino-targeted areas … and the process is still very much in flux. Typical of this is the battle between aldermen Byron Sigcho-Lopez and Pat Dowell both covet the site designated for Rush Street’s Rivers 78, although Sigcho-Lopez does so in large part to block the Neil Bluhm casino development. Hard Rock, meanwhile, is fighting to stay relevant to the conversation, pointing up its 50% African-American joint-venture ownership, as well asserting that its resort could be built without the unpopular, subsidy-needing One Central transit hub—formerly a prerequisite. Bally’s, meanwhile, is sitting pretty, apparently enjoying its status as the frontrunner.
Does Station Casinos ever get tired of losing in court? It doesn’t seem to know when to fold while holding a weak hand. It just got body-slammed by Administrative Law Judge Jeffrey Wedekind, who issued a 138-page opinion that ordered Station to immediately enter into collective bargaining talks with the Culinary Union at Red Rock Resort. The ruling contained some spicy disclosures, such as the revelation that longtime human-resources veep Valerie Murzl had been forced out for being insufficiently successful against the Culinary and was slated to be replaced with an “El Diablo” hired gun, Phil Fortino. Station execs’ testimony was deemed “discredited” and that one suit “was not a credible or reliable witness generally.”
Station also suffered a beatdown on the “Right to Return” front, being directed to stop “Refusing to recall or reinstate laid-off employees because they support union representation,” part of list of 14 do’s and don’t imposed by Wedekind. In his own words, “there is abundant evidence—both direct (e.g., the previous unlawful promise of such benefits, and other recorded statements, PowerPoints, emails, and text messages) and circumstantial (e.g., the suspicious and rushed timing and the false, evasive, and inconsistent testimony noted above regarding the relevant facts and circumstances) —that the Company’s motive for developing, approving, and ultimately announcing the new benefits and programs at the Red Rock on December 10 and 11 was to undermine the Culinary Union campaign there. Indeed, it is hard to imagine a stronger evidentiary record supporting the General Counsel’s and the Union’s allegations.”
Will this prompt Station to clean up its act? Probably not. Station leadership would rather suffer unspeakable tortures than treat its employees as deserving of union representation. And it’s been conducting scorched-earth warfare for years, after all. Now that its C-suite has been found culpable of “unlawful conduct and … numerous unlawful statements” you’d think Nevada gaming regulators would wake up and at least discuss Station’s suitability to operate in the Silver State. You’d probably be wrong, though.
As upmarket casino companies climb into bed with decadent Persian Gulf petrocrats, money is talking in hushed tones but being heard at deafening volume. Reuters reports that credible sources say the United Arab Emirates is on the verge of legalizing gambling, although regulation of same would be the prerogative of each individual emirate. There’s a domino strategy at work, with Big Gaming hoping that entering the UAE eventually = casinos in Dubai, a glittering prize indeed. No more heading off to Lebanon or Cairo to go gambling in a burnoose! A non-gaming Caesars Palace already stands in Dubai and Team Caesars is ready to make a push for full-fledged casino status. “Like anybody, if a license is able to be bid for, any global gaming company is going to want to be actively involved in the conversation,” said Regional President Anthony Costa, visions of greenbacks dancing in his head.
Already in the UAE is a construction team from MGM Resorts International, while Wynn Resorts is close on its heels. Where Costa is honest, MGM is being coy: “gaming has not been part of the planning and there are no updates to our plans.” Uh-huh. Saudi Arabia is probably too great a reach but, with a predominantly expat population, the UAE is looking like easy pickings. Heck, it’s no longer a crime to have premarital sex there. Can gambling be far behind? Already a quasi-lottery is in place. So is parimutuel horse-race betting. Casinos are the logical next step, although we do not look to the Mideast for logic, generally speaking.
What will probably happen is that emirates will hold their noses and legalize a foreigners-only gambling policy. Sanford C. Bernstein analyst Vitaly Umansky thinks that the UAE will be “like Singapore, only more so,” with the casino discreetly hidden from the eyes of the easily offended. Everybody wins except the emirs’ native subjects. Allah be praised!
Jottings: If you’re already in Atlantic City and don’t snare a casino license in New York City, get ready to lose market share. That’s the bottom line of a Fitch Ratings report that said NYC applicants would face “strong competition among major gaming operators for these licenses, despite [state] fees making economic returns more challenging.” …. Detroit casinos had a mixed March, up 9% overall from 2021. The largest beneficiary was MGM Grand Detroit, up 29% to a market-leading $56 million. By contrast, MotorCity dipped 6.5% to $39 million, while Greektown was flat with $26 million
Lots of problems with crime in the city Chicago and all the alderman are worried about this. Two of my friends heard gunfire recently and I live on the north side of Chicago about two miles north of Wrigley Field. Both were within one mile where I live. They were both drinking in bars after work around 1:00 AM (they work in restaurants) and its the familiar “pop pop pop”. I heard this “pop pop pop”on the Red Line train several years ago when I was coming home from downtown around 2:00 AM or so.
The “pop pop pop” was not in my train car but it was quite shocking to hear. Other people on the train car confirmed it was gunfire. I have a friend who is head of security at a Marriott hotel in downtown Chicago. He explained these incidents as stupid kids (15 to 20 years old) who are probably just shooting guns but not at other people.
Some of the residents who are complaining have heard similar complaints also from neighbors and friends. Its just sad Chicago is a great city but post Covid now its just bizarre.
Too bad that Station employees cannot go, en mass, to other better casion companies. I am not sure what the job market for experienced casino workers is in Nevada, but with everything so busy, I hope its easy to get a jobt there. If Station loses enough employees, one would think they would have to re-think how they treat their workers. Here in CA, I cannot find an experienced trades person to hire for my company. And if you do not pay well here, you end up with no employees. As for the UAE, no way would I gamble there. Lots of deserts to dissapear into.