Pay no attention to the men behind the curtain. There’s nothing wrong with the idea of a casino megaresort in the Willets Point area, near Citi Field. It’s far preferable to some of the other New York City sites that have been mooted. But the way New York Mets owner Steve Cohen and Las Vegas Sands have been behaving, you’d think it needed to be a well-kept secret. To call their behavior disingenuous would something of an understatement. Though he’d been known to be in talks with Sands, Cohen said there was ‘no formal relationship‘ between the duo. Imagine our surprise when it turned out that Sands lobbyists were sharing an office with Crown Mets LLC and Cohen’s Point 72 firm. No relationship, huh? They had also been acting in concert when it came to lobbying lawmakers, forming a pincer movement.
Particular suasion was directed at state Sen. Joe Addabbo (D), perhaps to change his stated opinion that “Manhattan is the prize.” Needless to say, Addabbo does not live there—he represents Howard Beach. A greater obstacle to Willets Point are 1,100 units of affordable housing that have been on the drawing board since 2018. But when big tax revenues are staring you in the face and you’re a politician … well, it’s easy to push low-rent housing under the bus in favor of a multi-billion-dollar megaresort. Another coveted site, just west of Citi Field, has been ruled to be parkland and therefore off-limits. Opined solon Michael Gianaris (D), “We can’t lose any parkland—that’s a pivotal point for me,” he told a newspaper. “Every inch of parkland that gets used needs to be made up somewhere else if that’s the proposal.”
Publicly, Cohen is elaborately noncommittal. “For decades, New Yorkers have known that our city can get more out of the area around Citi Field. Steve has invested in the team, the ballpark, and the borough because he views owning the Mets as a civic responsibility. He will continue engaging stakeholders across Queens as the community thinks about how to revitalize the neighborhood,” said his spokeswoman. Sands, for its part, is reportedly willing to jump through numerous hoops to make it happen. Credit Sands CEO Rob Goldstein for keeping the company focused on the Big Apple and making it Job One. This is far more promising than those Texas and Florida capers were.
Chalk it up to home-team sentiment, perhaps. But punters are putting it all on the Silver and Black to run the table next season, lowering odds to 30-1 (putting the Las Vegas Raiders on the same footing as the Arizona Cardinals) and 7-1 to win the AFC West. “They’re betting the Raiders to win the division and the Super Bowl like it’s free money,” said Westgate Las Vegas‘ Ed Salmons. Sports books started the Raiders at 80-1, down next to the Washington Commanders. (Station Casinos and BetMGM opened wagering at 50-1 but have recalibrated to 35-1.) But they’ve had to ratchet those odds way down to cover their butts. Continued Salmons, “Our liability to win the Super Bowl is one of the biggest numbers I’ve seen in a while, and we’re not even close to the season.”
Aforesaid butts are puckering over heavy Raiders action that could result in seven-figure losses if the team pulls of a miracle next season and hoists the championship trophy. In addition to Station and BetMGM, South Point is also eyeing the situation nervously. “This is unusual to have this many tickets written on a team at this time of the year and this much liability,” explained MGM Resorts International Director of Trading Jeff Stoneback. Adds Red Rock Resort sportsbook supremo Chuck Esposito, the feeding frenzy began with the addition of wideout Davante Adams, sparking an offense that already includes Adams’ pal Derek Carr, Hunter Renfrow, Josh Jacobs and Darren Waller, plus standout Maxx Crosby on defense. If you root for the bettor, that’s going to be all the more reason to rally behind Raider Nation next season.
The American Gaming Association is throwing a pity party for casinos whose public stance is they can’t find employees. The sordid truth is that the big boys aren’t even trying. One of the worst offenders is Boyd Gaming, which is quite open about the fact that it’s operating with 60% of pre-pandemic staffing … by choice. True, there are hard-luck cases like Palms Casino Resort, which aimed to rehire 1,200 people, cut that to 1,000 and wound up settling for 500-6oo. (Good luck getting a drink at the grand reopening.) The AGA blames a combination of resurgent business and expansion within the industry itself.
Some companies are making an effort, like MGM with its frequent job fairs. Then there are the Atlantic City casinos, which are teaming with the state to try and bus potential hires to the Boardwalk to fill out an emaciated workforce (approximately 22,000 at the moment—down from 2002’s 49,000). The upside is that wages are improving for hard-to-fill positions: Ocean Casino Resort boosted the hourly pay in some departments to $17, up from $14. Harrah’s Cherokee in North Carolina is so desperate that it’s considering building dormitories for workers imported from abroad. That’s pretty bad, all right. Where are the anti-immigration folks when you really need them?
Jottings: Tilman Ferttita skipped the ceremony but ground was broken on a new Golden Nugget in Danville, Illinois. The construction timeline is a fast-track 11 months. Among those at the groundbreaking was casino flea and former politician Lou Lang, who has landed a sinecure with Fertitta’s company … Online gambling is “on” again in the ever-fluctuating Philippines, particularly for Okada Manila, which just launched its own platform. Eight table games and 80 electronic slots are the initial offering … While Minnesota slowly picks its way toward sports betting, Wisconsin continues to widen its lead. Newest entrant is tribal St. Croix Casino in Danbury, which hoped to open its $80,000 sports book in time for the Super Bowl. General Manager Loren Benjamin took the delay philosophically, saying “It may be a blessing in disguise to open during this lower part of the year so that we can learn a little bit more about sports betting and build a staff around it.” Those are the words of a wise man.
It boggles the mind to even try and picture a casino in New York City, imagine the parking structure and traffic, then add in Steve Cohen the liar and a desperate Las Vegas Sands sans Las Vegas… Hundred dollar table minimums and thirty dollar martini’s in a grimy urban setting, good luck with that Stevie and Miriam, I’m sure you guys are heading into this venture with good intentions for New York City… And cry me a river sportsbooks, they drool for future book cash, it’s an interest free long term loan, their own Personal Seat License without having to give you a seat to watch the games. Of course local teams dominate the boards, the Los Angeles Raiders had phony low Super Bowl futures prices back in the day, putting a price on a Las Vegas Raiders Lombardi Trophy is a science, if I know this you bet the bookies know it, they are pros through and through. Raiders already are a playoff team, but they play in a super tough division. Back in the good ole days there was not William Hill running multiple operations, one could shop around for odds, now bettors get way less opportunity for divergence, if my Rams fail to defend their title, I will root for the books to take a Raiders loss because fans get the short shrift…