Someone has belatedly noticed that Atlantic City is, in essence, a tax haven for casino operators. They pay 9.25%, compared to Pennsylvania‘s 55% on slots, for instance, or Maryland‘s patchwork of tax rates, which top out at 60%. That’s not taxation, it’s highway robbery. However, some spoilsports think New Jersey should give the 
Atlantic City casinos a good soaking, pointing out that they paid $237 million last year, compared to New York‘s $888 million and Pennsylvania’s $1.4 billion. Maryland‘s five casinos ponied up $453 million. Now, if you want to finish smothering Atlantic City in its crib, raising taxes would be a helluva way to it. The Garden State turncoats are led by state Rep. Chris Brown, the rare Republican who believes in higher taxes. “I simply believe casinos should pay their fair share of taxes to ensure we don’t place an additional, unfair tax burden on our working families,” he told a reporter. Let’s hope Brown’s ideas don’t gain traction, especially since he’s been a rare defender of the Boardwalk until now.
* As sure as the day is long, Bloomberg is reporting that shares in Macao casino companies are down. Why? Because the government is pulling all conventional UnionPay ATMs and replacing them with ones equipped with facial-recognition software. That’s intended to discourage scofflaws who take out money using myriad Union Pay cards — one woman had 402.
* Caesars Entertainment has installed two Gamblit games at Harrah’s Lake Tahoe. While we applaud the forward-looking move taken by CEO Mark Frissora, we note with some dismay that the games require two to four players. Now, I’m somewhat shy myself and would like to have a newfangled casino game that incorporates a skill element but I’d rather play with myself, if you’ll pardon the expression. It seems to me that as long skill-based slots adhere to the multi-player approach there’s going to be a ceiling on their growth potential. As it is, they’re electronic card games without much slot-like content. But maybe that’s the idea driving the SBS movement. I am in the minority, it would seem. Reported Gamblit’s Taylor Kenney, “We’ve seen and observed people of all ages and demographics enjoying this. A 90-year-old woman was one of the first people to play and she walked up, put a $100 bill in and played for an hour.” Ah, time on device, the slot manager’s Holy Grail.
* There seems to have been nothing wrong with Pennsylvania’s Meadows racino that an infusion of new owner Pinnacle Entertainment couldn’t fix. JP Morgan analyst Joseph Greff reports that Meadows 
“continues to improve its profitably.” And, as though to prove that an army (of gamblers) travels on its stomach, he wrote that “Rated Asian gaming volume grew 13% y/y in the 1Q, reflecting the company’s recent Asian gaming/entertainment/F&B investments at six properties.”
* Pagcor, casino regulator for the Philippines, has belatedly recognized a longstanding conflict of interest and is bowing out of operating the casinos it owns. “It’s better to move out,” said Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez. The question is, Who will fill Pagor’s operational shoes? My guess is that U.S.-based operators will continue 
to give the Philippines a wide berth, not least due to the reign of terror that President Rodrigo Duterte has unleashed upon anyone who displeases him. On the other hand, President Donald Trump was recently buttering Duterte up, so his seeing-eye trust may decide a Filipino investment is just the thing. (Personally, we like Melco Crown Entertainment’s chances if Lawrence Ho wants to deepen his involvement in the archipelago.) Or will a $479 million gross be too george to resist?
Whoever takes on Pagcor’s responsibilities inherits eight casinos and 36 “satellite” betting sites under the “Casino Filipino” brand, controlling 33% of all table games and 60% of slots. Mind you, the casinos are taxed at 55% but that has almost never stopped a suitor before.
* Missouri gaming revenues are in for April and they’re so flat it’s scarcely worth reporting. The exception is GLPI/Penn National Gaming‘s Hollywood St. Louis, up 4%. Read that, Gary Loveman, and weep.
