From the silly file. There’s no reason that any Joe Blow can’t apply for a casino license in Philadelphia. But I get a kick out of fruit-and-vegetable mogul Joseph “Tomato King” Procacci thinking he can actually outdo the likes of Wynn Resorts and Penn National Gaming. Tomato King (yes, that’s really his nickname) wants you to know 
that he’s from Philly and that his “Casino Revolution” will have a transformative effect on the city’s warehouse district, near the riverfront. Procacci is right that locals-casino business is repeat business but he mixes apples with oranges when he likens his project (have we mentioned that he’s from Philadelphia?) to that of Steve Wynn. The last thing on Wynn’s mind is to build a locals joint, of that I’m certain. He’s never done it. Why start now? In the unlikely event that Procacci wins, his casino chefs will at least have a ready source of produce.
Even if Tomato King’s project looks like a non-starter, I reckon the odds are worse forXfinity Live! and partner Greenwood Gaming. The latter owns Parx Casino and I’m highly skeptical that Pennsylvania regulators will give Greenwood two big bites of the same apple. But, given that Philadelphia already has four casinos, anybody without name recognition and a player database is bucking the odds, heavily. I’m still thinking that the contest is Bart Blatstein‘s to lose (he’s partnering with Isle of Capri Casinos), even though I know that Wynn will surely field the best candidacy.
Now for something completely different. While some of Macao‘s casino oligarchs are metaphorical dinosaurs, David Chow is bringing actual dinosaurs to the Chinese protectorate, where capitalism and Marxism rub elbows. In the wayback, he and Stanley Ho (talk about dinosaurs!) attempted a $400 million theme park. It bombed. So now Chow proposes to offer Macao something very different indeed: a casino with an opera house and an exhibition of dinosaur skeletons.
It’s not as weird as it sounds. In the 19th century, Italian opera houses were subsidized by the casino concession in the foyer. It’s likely that Chow’s casino will be outsourced to Sociedade de Jogos de Macau, given the close history of the Chow and Ho families, not to mention ongoing SJM operations at Chow’s Pharoah’s Palace and Legend Club casino. He certainly won’t be having any truck with Steve Wynn, the two having tussled in court over $5 million in gambling losses that Chow incurred at Wynn Resorts.
It’s not quite election season, but the choice being put to New York voters has taken 
shape. It mostly follows the preferences of Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D, left), with some concessions to the Legislature. Voters will be asked to approve casino zones in the areas of the Catskill Mountains, Saratoga and a vaguely defined “Central Southern tier” that will be well away from New York City. Lawmakers get the two parimutuel slot parlors they sought and everybody gets seven years of exclusivity. That’s seven years in which NYC, Westchester, Long Island and Rockland (all specifically red-lined from casino development) will have to watch with envy. There will also be a problem-gambling fund, paid for with $500-per-slot fees (half what it costs in Nevada). Given a fairly reasonable tax rate — at least by East Coast standards — of 29%, it’s difficult to find a reason to vote anything other than “aye.”
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