Steve Wynn is so busted; Murder at Ocean Resort

Angry Florida man Steve Wynn will have to face the consequences of carrying the ChiComms’ water. Having spurned a settlement in the Justice Department’s lawsuit for failing to register as a foreign agent, he could very well find himself a defendant in a courtroom (well, we can certainly hope). As you may recall, Wynn tried to get then-president Donald Trump to return Chinese defector and dissident Guo Wengui to the clutches of Xi Jinping. We can well imagine what would have happened to Guo and it’s nothing good. The Justice Department’s position is that Wynn was nakedly doing Beijing‘s dirty work in order to protect his Macao casino concession, which was coming due.

Wynn’s contention is that he was merely a messenger boy for then-Vice Minister of Public Security Sun Lijun and was “fully transparent.” Yes, he was transparent all right but not in the way that Wynn means. To its lasting credit, the Trump administration turned a deaf ear to Wynn’s pleas on behalf of his Chinese masters. Now El Steve must pay the piper. We’d rather seem him perp-walked for his sexual predation on Wynncore employees but will settle for seeing him pay his due for his China chicanery.

Speaking of being in the clink, Philadelphia man Andrew James Osborne is in custody for allegedly murdering Ocean Casino Resort customer Brian Wilkinson. The latter was found stabbed to death in an unspecified part of the Ocean premises. Everyone is being pretty tight-lipped about the case. Ocean prexy Bill Callahan has been presented with another stumbling block on his quixotic quest to make Ocean Atlantic City‘s top-grossing casino.

Elsewhere on the Boardwalk, don’t bother tipping at the Golden Nugget—at least if you’re getting take-out. Why? Because you’ll get hit with an 18% “gratuity charge” atop whatever you tip, payable in cash on the barrelhead. (In some cases, this is piggybacked onto a $1.99 “take-out charge.”) According to correspondence from Nugget boss Tom Pohlman that S&G has obtained, “The new Union Contract mandates that we must charge a mandatory 18% gratuity for ‘Take Out’ orders for any non fast food outlets … The Gratuity is to be given to the team member that has primary contact with the guest. If you asked a server about getting the 18% gratuity for take out—of course they would not get it.  The person who handles take-out orders is the Cashier/Navigator—and they are the one who receives the 18% gratuity. Gratuities are never allowed to be paid with ‘comps—only cash or credit card. 

“As for the $1.99 take out charge—that is a service charge for take-out orders and does not go to the team members. According to the Union at the time of negotiations, guests were not leaving tips for take-out orders, and that was the reason for including the 18% gratuity. If there is anything else I can help you with—please let me know.”

So basically you have Unite-Here to thank for this poison pill. Pohlmann’s letter gives quite an insight into the recent contract negotiations … and how casinos like the Nugget were able to afford higher salaries. Mind you, the Nugget’s contract was negotiated after most of the other casinos had come to terms and we’ve not heard of “gratuity charges” at any of the remainder, but that may just be a matter of time.

Finally, a couple of glimpses of the crackerjack, spare-every-expense operation at Bally’s Atlantic City. First, the unstaffed “Rewards Hub”:

… and then the fear-inspiring security force:

Is it any wonder that we struggle to take Soo Kim‘s company seriously? If this is what Soo has in mind for the Tropicana Las Vegas, be afraid. Be very afraid. And boy is Chicago in for a rude surprise.

Quote of the Day: “It takes courage to grow up and turn out to be who you really are.”—poet e.e. cummings