Japan‘s ruling Liberal Democratic Party has been stymied in introducing pro-casino legislation in the Diet, thanks to grumbling, naysaying Buddhist coalition partners. But other parties have been building a casino coalition. 
According to The Straits Times, a “cross-party group of Japanese lawmakers submitted a bill to parliament on Thursday aimed at legalising casino gambling in the country.” The coalition in question turns out to be the minority New Komeito party and the nationalist Japan Restoration Party. The LDP has signed off on the result. Since the current parliamentary session ends on Friday, there’s no hope of actually tackling the bill until the Diet reconvenes in the new year.
Like Caesars’ wife, Nevada casino executives have to be above even the appearance of impropriety. Some occasionally have a little ‘splaining to do, but rarely as much as Tim Poster. Having been the crony of strip-club owner Rick Rizzolo was problematic enough but investigators turned up a bumper crop of irregularities: “hiding evidence from investigators; illegal sports wagering on the Internet; and an allegation that he was agent for an off-shore Internet sports book.”
Poster’s goal was to get in on the Internet poker business, hopefully with Wynn Resorts. To that end, a number of prominent figures — including Ultimate Poker Chairman Tom Breitling — risked their credibility by appearing in Poster’s support. Poster’s suitability problems have already cost him jobs at ultimate and at Wynn. His bid for a gaming license was KO’d in a unanimous Nevada Gaming Control Board ruling and it would take a miracle in the form of a unanimous Nevada Gaming Commission vote to reverse that negative verdict. The hearing was not without touches of levity: “Poster told the control board he did not know it was illegal to make sports wagers on the Internet.” That’s a novel defense; when in doubt, plead idiocy.
At worst, Poster can still be employed in gaming as a consultant … though you have to wonder at the value of his advice.
Whoops. Considering the amount of time that the Massachusetts Gaming Commission has been in business, you’d think Chairman Stephen Crosby (left) would have wised up sooner. It took him until this week to recuse himself from voting on Steve Wynn‘s Everett land purchase. Crosby is a longtime business and personal associate of one of the landowners. Awkward. “Given how demanding we’ve been with everybody else, it was appropriate for me to say: Look, this is a funky situation,” Crosby said in the course of doing the right thing.
Nevada Restaurant Services will get to play with the big boys. The owner of myriad Dotty’s-branded mini-casinos got provisonal clearance to buy the Hacienda casino, soon to become the Hoover Dam Lodge. NRS hopes to 
eventually add a second hotel tower, the better for guests to see nearby Lake Mead. (The Hacienda enjoys a very rugged and dramatic location.) Before anything else, NRS will clear out the slot inventory and management system and tie them into the Dotty’s network. There will also be high attrition. Only 60% of workers were offered jobs with the new ownership. Some of those not returning were undoubtedly made redundant by the introduction of electronic table games. We don’t always care to focus on the human cost of change in the casino industry, but this will be a very un-merry Christmas for some ex-Hacienda people.
