Continuing his recent string of futility in the court system, Sheldon Adelson wore the gold sombrero yesterday, after went 0-for-12 in Clark County District Court. Next stop, the Nevada Supreme Court, which has been friendly to the mogul in the past, unlike courts in Las Vegas and Macao. Even after allowing a virtual truckload of evidence to be introduced, Judge Rob Bare wasn’t convinced by Las Vegas Sands‘ case. Sands didn’t hesitate to throw Lenny Adelson, Shel’s brother, under the rickshaw in its quest for a new trial. That’s Adelson for you, always playing for keeps.
Elsewhere in the Adelson empire, Marina Bay Sands is winning the battle for customers in Singapore and it’s not even close. Last year, Genting Group’s rival property, Resorts World Sentosa watched as revenue fell 12%, to $1.9 billion. Sands posted a smaller drop (4%) and much higher revenues, $2.3 billion. Even if you’re in second place, those numbers aren’t shabby but it’s worth remembering that Resorts World used to occupy the top spot. Not anymore and probably never again.
While Congress fiddles, it’s a burning hot market for online casinos. The New Jersey Division of Gaming enforcement has been swamped with 37 applicants. In other words, Katie bar the door! And that’s only what DGE Director David Rebuck calls “the first round of filings.” Caesars Interactive and 888 Holdings have to be in there somewhere, along with PokerStars and sundry 
other high-profile applicants like Bwin.Party (friend of Borgata). The news played well with Deutsche Bank analyst Andrew Zarnett, who wrote, “Due to the quantity and caliber of the online partner combinations, we expect the Internet gaming market to be more robust than initially believe.” As Zynga folds its hand on Internet gambling, another company is ready to take its place. The guys who brought us RealPlayer (one of weakest video-playback applications … but I digress) is preparing an online version, GameHouse Casino Plus, of blackjack and poker. In some states you will only be able to redeem “virtual coins,” while you’re eligible for cold, hard cash in others. Whether this can halt RealNetworks’ downward spiral is hard to say but it looks like a long shot.
Four more years. Ex-wife beater O.J. Simpson got away with it again, winning parole for several felony counts in the Great Palace Station Caper of 2008. Luckily for society at large, Simpson still has to do another four years’ hard time. He could still wriggle out of that on a technicality. Apparently Simpson has a spotless record as an inmate. And why not? There aren’t any women in the penitentiary he can whack about. Blech! What a slimeball.
