According to a certain Pinky Kravitz, two new suitors are afoot on the Boardwalk. One of them is Neil Bluhm‘s SugarHouse Casino, which evidently covets the Atlantic Club (a surprisingly downmarket move for Bluhm). It may have to go up against Churchill Downs, though. Interestingly, neither apparently covets Trump Plaza, which is very much for sale, while Colony Capital is ambivalent about the Atlantic Club‘s future. (Personally, I’d never trust someone like Tom Barrack after the way he hornswoggled PokerStars.)
Then there’s U.K.-based 2UP Gaming which, according to Kravitz, may try building a casino of its own. Even with $330 million in Asian financing behind it (enough to construct one of those newly authorized ’boutique casinos’) that seems like a damn fool move at a time when two casinos are on the market … and who knows if Caesars Entertainment might decide to reduce its Atlantic City exposure, too. Or, you could take that 330 mil and make an all-or-nothing play for Trump Taj Mahal. For that kind of money, Trump Entertainment Resorts majority owner Marc Lasry would be happy to listen, I’m sure.
Since Philadelphia is A.C.’s primary feeder market it’s a bit of a puzzler why Bluhm 
would want to compete with himself in this fashion. The Churchill Downs move makes more sense but, except for buying a casino in Maine, the company has been more talk than action. Back in Philly, some of Bluhm’s fellow investors are suing to block the issuance of a fifth license in the City of Brotherly Love. Mind you, they didn’t mind being the beneficiaries of the third license. They content that the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board lacks the authority to reissue the failed Foxwoods license anywhere. What may be more to the point — if beyond the court’s remit — is that the state is indirectly responsible for the health of Pennsylvania‘s casino industry. Putting a fifth casino in to Philadelphia is stupid and reckless, but I’m not sure those are actionable grounds.
Democrats in the great state of New Hampshire blocked casino legalization during the last Lege. However, Gov. Maggie Hassan (D, left) is proceeding as though nothing of the sort occurred. She’s empaneled a Gaming Regulatory Oversight Authority to start deliberating the framework for gambling regulation within the Granite State. It’s the reincarnation of a group that was first constituted three years ago. Caught as it is between gaming expansion in both Maine and Massachusetts, New Hampshire needs to act sooner rather than later, so S&G applauds Hassan for forcing the issue.
Sheldon Adelson may want to move South Korea higher on his to-do list. A planned, $290 billion (!!!!) casino complex in Inchon has bitten the dust when Kempinski AG couldn’t even scare up $40 million. We know Las Vegas Sands is good for that and a lot more. Inchon’s new plan has a familiar ring: “… it will seek a new developer. The city is considering using multiple developers and investors by splitting up the district.” Can you say “Cotai Strip“? I thought you could. Kempinski is still pursuing the idea of a North Korean casino, in that international playpen, the sunny city of Pyongyang. Good luck with that, fellas.
Hitting paydirt. That’s what Boyd Gaming has appeared to have done at Kansas Star casino, near Wichita. It’s scarcely moved into its permanent casino and is already talking about doubling the number of hotel rooms and adding an equestrian center. Investors will have to live with lower Kansas Star profit margins, though, now that the no-frills temporary structure is a thing of the past. (Did Wall Street really think those numbers could be sustained?)
A conservative policy wonk in New York State is so very averse to gambling that he deems fracking to be preferable. Yes, Big Bad Gaming is less acceptable than hydraulic fracturing. I dare the Empire Center‘s EJ McMahon to drink a glass of fracked water. I double dare him — and then see if he still thinks casinos are a worse source of tax dollars.
