MGM Resorts International, that’s who. As predicted, a lawsuit filed to overturn last November’s casino expansion was laughed out of court. Judge Ronald A. Silkworth called the litigation “baseless,” which is a nice way of saying, “Thanks for wasting my time with this rubbish, @$$holes.” This clears the path for MGM to move forward on casino plans for Prince George’s County. Oh, there’s still Penn National Gaming and its Rosecroft Raceway pitch, but Penn made such a pest of itself during the last election cycle that it’s got a snowball’s chance in Hell of being rewarded with the fruits of a ballot measure it spent $44 million trying to defeat, in typically douche-y Penn fashion.
At the moment, however, MGM has its eyes fixed squarely on Toronto, where CEO Jim Murren has been pitching an “integrated resort” that will cost perhaps $2 billion, perhaps a coronary-inducing $4 billion. (Jim, you do want to make your money back on this thing, don’t you?) Murren’s sweetened the pot with the promise of Cirque du Soleil resident show, thereby throwing a lifeline to the troubled Montreal outfit, which has been on a remarkable run of bad luck, including the recent flop of Iris in Los Angeles. (CdS as a year-round attraction is a proposition that doesn’t appear to work outside Las Vegas.) Residential developers and other businessmen with an interest in Toronto’s Exhibition Place aren’t thrilled with the prospect of an MGM megalith on the site, even when Murren argues that he would augment the convention space already present.
But it would be tempting for the City of Toronto to call Murren’s bluff when he threatens, “If it doesn’t happen here, there are other places in Ontario to go.” Where? Guelph? Hamilton? Penetanguishine? Anyway, whatever Murren proposes, Sheldon Adelson will come in with something bigger, so no rush to judgment is in order.
Even though higher payroll taxes promise a lean 2013 for the casino industry, that won’t stop several states from 
revisiting the casino issue. Whether it’s resorts, racinos or just plain old bingo, just about every form of gambling expansion is on the table in Texas. What’s not on the table is lobbying money — not in the degree ($4.5 million) that was spent in the last Lege. Ex-lawmaker John Montford‘s PAC, Let Texans Decide, is serving up a combination platter that also includes the restoration of tribal gambling. Racino enactment alone would put Penn National and Pinnacle Entertainment at the head of the queue of beneficiaries. However, with lobbying efforts curtailed, it looks as though the issue will be punted another two years down the road. That’s bad news for Texans but good news for casinos in every adjoining state.
Florida solons aren’t in a hurry, either. State senate Gaming Committee Chairman Garrett Richter (R, left) says he will “want to do something deliberate and thoughtful” (i.e., as little as possible). It may be a year, maybe 18 months before the issue is even considered … which would have lawmakers mulling it in the teeth of an election cycle. That was tried last year and it didn’t work out so well for Big Gaming. In Richter’s defense, some of the delay will be used to commission an independent, economic-impact studies. Casino advocates have a bad habit of inflating prospective revenues (we call it the Penn National Effect), so a state-funded study would be a more reliable road map than the bogus-sounding numbers being flung about by Las Vegas Sands and others. The ‘gray market’ of Internet cafes remains unregulated, due to an epic fail by the previous Lege. There’s also the $250 Million Question of how to rewire gambling laws in the Sunshine State without detonating the 2010 compact with the Seminole Tribe, an important and reliable revenue stream. Richter wants the study done not by experts like Spectrum Gaming Group but some virgin unsullied by ‘ties to the gaming industry.’ Unfortunately, those without ‘ties’ also tend to be without expertise.
Not to miss out on all the fun, Richter’s Nebraska counterparts will have the chance to mull the broadest gambling expansion of all. Currently, charitable wagering (from which a primary sponsor profits), horseracing and a lottery are permissible but a state Senate bill would empower the Lege ‘to authorize and regulate any other type of gambling.’ That puts the whole ball of wax into play, up to and including baccarat. If it’s sauce for Iowa, why not for the Cornhusker State? However, the bill has to receive legislative approval thrice over and then be put to a vote of the people, so there’s no rush to start designing Venetian Omaha just yet.
