Looking forward to a smoke-free day in Atlantic City? Better forget about it, at least if state Sen. John Burzichelli (D) gets his way. In a stunning betrayal of casino workers, he’s proposing a bullshit ‘reduction’ of casino smoking areas that would make even fewer allowances for health than the industry plan put forward by sock-puppet state Sen. Vince Polistina (D). While table games would be in enclosed spaces staffed by “volunteers,” it’s basically open season on slot workers and customers: “it would allow smoking in unenclosed areas of the casino floor that contain slot machines and are designated as smoking areas that are more than 15 feet away from table games staffed by live dealers.” In order words, casino employees are so many human sacrifices for Big Gaming’s Trenton pawns.
The Burzichelli ‘plan’ would be no reduction at all, as smoking would still be allowed on 25% of casino floors. The industry apologist fawns about how ending smoking would mean the demise of a casino or two and the loss of “thousands” of jobs. We’ve been hearing this rhetorical manure for decades and it doesn’t wash. If Las Vegas casinos went no-smoking do you think people would stop coming to Sin City? Better believe they wouldn’t. As an official CEASE statement said, the Burzichelli bill is “Big Tobacco and casino industry talking points, copied and pasted.” We can only hope that Gov. Phil Murphy (D) holds to his principles and vetoes this abomination, should it be passed out of the Lege. Let’s cross our fingers that Murphy wasn’t too busy celebrating Chinese New Year and defending his embattled New Jersey/Israel economic partnership to pay attention.
On another customer-friendliness front, our Boardwalk correspondent recently tried to valet-park at Bally’s Atlantic City. Closed. The parking, that is. Then he tried to park in the handicapped space to which he was entitled. Seems a stagger emerged from the valet area to tell him he couldn’t park in those spaces, even with a mobility-impaired tag. In fact, Bally’s is blocking off the handicapped spaces. An Americans with Disabilities Act violation? Possibly. A screw-you to customers? Definitely.
Bally’s has been showing up on the police blotter a great deal lately. The Atlantic Daily Voice of Feb. 6 ran an item about a New York City couple being arrested there after stiffing a cab driver for their ride, at knifepoint no less. (No wonder the cabbie didn’t press them for the fare.) Thanks to surveillance footage from Caesars Atlantic City, police were able to trace the duo to Bally’s, where they were having dinner. The couple was arrested and the knife recovered. No word on whether they cabbie got paid. Probably not. In another crime-at-Bally’s story, Tyrell Gist pled out to two counts of first-degree strict liability for drug-induced death, for the murders of two British tourists on May 8, 2020. Bally’s employees found the bodies of Simon Jordan and Scott Gamble in their hotel rooms, having expired from “acute toxic effects of fentanyl and ethanol.” We hope Gist spends a good, long time in the calaboose.
The nearby, venerable Claridge Hotel is going to see some unexpected guests, the city having turfed out Stanley Homes residents in order to repair their sewer pipes. Our correspondent writes, “There is no provision for the 19 families to be able to cook, and no pets are allowed. They were also told to bring their own cleaning supplies to keep the hotel room clean. If they cook, smoke or have pets, they will be charged a $400 cleaning fee and told to leave. They were given short notice only after they paid this month’s rent.” He adds that a “resident stated she bought $100 of food to microwave, but the Claridge Hotel won’t allow that. How can these poor people be treated so badly?“
In more upscale dining news, it appears that Borgata (pictured) is Splitsville with celebrity chef Michael Shulson. He’s inked a pact with Ocean Casino Resort to open two eateries, one casual dining, one full-service meals. If so, it’s part of a bigger Borgata purge that has seen the departures of Bobby Flay and Wolfgang Puck, the Ronald McDonald of fine dining. Oh, and Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small (D) began his latest state-of-the-city address not by whistling past the graveyard but by singing a cheerful song. Seriously. Those in attendance must have wanted to crawl under their chairs.
January weather, severe though it was, only nipped casino winnings in Massachusetts. Gambling houses in the Bay State grossed $93.5 million. Habitual leader Encore Boston Harbor fared well, down only 1.5% to $61 million. MGM Springfield may be have roiled more by internal problems than weather, as it was down 9.5% to $21 million. We won’t say the billion-dollar property was a bad bet by MGM Resorts International, but it marks an era of splurging for relatively little gain, an epoch that also saw white elephant CityCenter. Last but not least was Plainridge Park, which slipped 2% to $12 million, pretty good for a racino without table games in the middle of winter.
Sports betting heated up nicely, yielding $73 million in revenue on handle of $652 million, as luck was with the operators (11% hold). DraftKings was well out front with a 52% market share, trailed by FanDuel (36%), BetMGM (5.5%), ESPN Bet (3%), Caesars Sportsbook (1.5%) and market-departing WynnBet (1%).
Jottings: Although lacking the absence of approval for gambling in the United Arab Emirates, an undeterred Wynn Resorts is going vertical with Wynn Al-Marjan Island. The megaresort will cost $3.9 billion, with Wynn on the hook for 40%. If it wants a gaming license, Wynn should zip its lip about wanting to build a second (third?) Las Vegas Strip in the Emirates … Not only was Las Vegas‘ first Super Bowl the most-watched game in history, it’s more than on pace to be the most wagered-upon. In Nevada, which was expected to account for 13% of national handle, it obliterated Formula One to post $185.5 million in wagers. Sports books held a measly 4% as bettors cleaned up. The championship game could return to Sin City as soon as 2028 … Casinos in California are trying to weasel out of paying the state’s new $20/hour minimum wage. So many exceptions to the rule have been proposed that the law would have the structural integrity of Swiss cheese. God forbid casinos should have to pay workers a living wage … The Oneida Nation‘s Point Place Casino is doing sufficiently well to warrant adding a boutique hotel, as well as adding more gambling inventory and eating space. The $50 million capex project was said to be in response to “requests for more of everything” … Bally’s Chicago has a new, stubbier look. The redesigned resort would put a 100-room hotel smack-dab on top of the casino floor. Good luck getting any sleep … Tribal Ilani Casino in Washington State has added 10,000 square feet of meeting space. Next up, a spa and perhaps a cultural center …
An Alabama legislative committee has advanced a multi-pronged plan for expanded gambling in the state, and seen it passed by the House of Representatives. It would authorize seven casinos atop the three tribal ones already present, as well as permit both online and retail sports betting. Backed by Gov. Kay Ivey (R, pictured), the bill would put gambling before voters this November, is passed by the Lege … Tioga Downs in upstate New York is now the property of Gaming & Leisure Properties Inc. for $175 million. Outgoing owner Jeff Gural will continue to rent the racino for $14.5 million a year. GLPI inherits 895 slots, 29 table games and a FanDuel sports book … Saratoga Casino had to be evacuated on the evening of Feb. 5, due to a bomb threat. Canine units found no explosives …
Despite mediocre revenues, Bally’s Casino in downtown Chicago has the second-best foot traffic in the state. In January it saw 88,000-plus customers … A casino in Tysons Corner, Virginia, is out of consideration until 2025, a committee of the Lege having shot down a proposed referendum. The same committee gave Petersburg the go-ahead to hold a casino vote … Elsewhere in the Cavalier State, Caesars Entertainment is hedging its bet on its Danville permanent casino. Instead of a planned 500 hotel rooms it will now have 320 … In a gesture perhaps more symbolic than substantive, Kenosha and the Menominee Tribe have agreed upon a Hard Rock International-branded casino. Not only does Gov. Tony Evers (D) have to give it his blessing but the federal government has to take the necessary land into trust, a multi-year process. If approved, the casino would offer 1,500 slots, 50 table games and 150 hotel rooms.