There’s now 100% less “Crown” in Melco Crown Entertainment. Colorful casino baron James Packer has sold his share in the company 
for $1.2 billion. Reuters describes the move as “ending a fraught offshore expansion and freeing up cash for new projects at home.” In other words, Crown Resorts will be turning its back on Macao (and Las Vegas) to concentrate on Sydney and Perth. One analyst described the arrest and uncertain fate of The Crown 18 as “a major factor in terms of considering what’s best for the future. I think they just wanted to step completely clear of anything to do with that market.”
Lawrence Ho will be buying the Crown shares, giving him full control of Melco [Crown] Entertainment. While Crown sticks to its knitting Down Under, Ho will be trying to crack the Japan market and strengthening his beachhead in Siberia. When it comes to ventures outside Australia, Packer always seems to roll snake eyes. Well, he can find comfort in Mariah Carey‘s arms.
* Sheldon Adelson has been throwing money around like there’s tomorrow. He’s been lobbying for a casino in Brazil, now that they’re legal, and hinting at an $8 billion investment. If competition is held to 
a minimum (as in Singapore) Adelson could probably make that lavish expenditure pencil out. However, he said that hoteliers in Rio de Janeiro would have to put out, building more four- and five-star hotels to make his megaresort viable. According to Mayor Marcelo Crivella, Adelson never mentioned the word “casino” but there’s no way he’s going to sink $8 million into Rio if he doesn’t have the gambling engine that drives the boat. He’s too smart for that.
Adelson is merely the latest in a number of casino executives who have made pilgrimages to Rio. Caesars Entertainment‘s Jan Laverty Jones and MGM Resorts International CEO Jim Murren have also made their obeisances. The current government favors casino legalization but still has a heavy lift in parliament. There’s been 
progress in the House of Representatives but the Senate is moving more slowly. There are some interesting wrinkles in the enabling legislation, such as connecting table games to an online monitoring system. Also, “Cities up to 15 million people will only be allowed one casino. Those with a population between 15 and 25 million people will be allowed two casinos, and those with populations above 25 million will be permitted three casinos,” reports the Macau Daily Times. It’s not clear what the final number of casinos could be but if Brazil weren’t a good investment, Sands, Caesars and MGM wouldn’t be stampeding down that way.
In other news, Caesars is trying to persuade Japanese investors that it can, it really, really can finance a Nipponese megaresort. At least it’s got its reputation in responsible-gaming practices (a hot-button issue in Japan) going for it.
* Although DFS is currently against the law in New Jersey, both Sports AD and Resorts Atlantic City are joining forces to change that. They’ve devised an application called FastPick that offer parlay wagering on theoretical player matchups … say, Tom Brady vs. Ben Roethlisberger. Whichever player puts up gaudier stats on Sunday 
determines whether or not the house wins the bet. “Licensed gaming operators want to offer daily fantasy sports and they want to do it differently to FanDuel and DraftKings,” says Sports AD President John Brennan, adding that his model gets as close to traditional fantasy football without emulating the DraftKings/FanDuel model.
“So here we have a product that is something a bit like sports betting, but definitely not sports betting, and something that’s a bit like DFS but is not really DFS as we know it. For the DGE, that’s a recipe for a headache,” writes Kevin Horridge. Since New Jersey is trying with all its might and main to have legalized sports betting, DFS could represent the thin edge of the wedge toward opening that door.
* How well is Hard Rock Sioux City doing? Well enough that it has invested $6 million in expansion and is hinting at more to come. The new footage enlarges the Hard Rock’s footprint past the historic Battery Building and introduces a new design aesthetic. It’s reported that “the decorations and fixtures inside of the new gaming area include a snakeskin patterned carpet, a lattice suspended metal ceiling and memorabilia from multiple ’70s rock icons.” There are two new blackjack tables, 60 slots and a wine bar. Sioux City residents have clearly come out the winners in the Hard Rock-vs.-Penn National skirmish.
* Boyd Gaming could land an unexpected windfall from the coming of the Las Vegas Raiders. Deutsche Bank analyst writes that “the
land acquired for the new NFL stadium is located ~2 miles from the Orleans (1,885 rooms) and ~3 miles from the Gold Coast (712 rooms) making BYD the likely primary locals beneficiary from Stadium and construction traffic.” Sounds like it’s past time for Station Casinos to monetize the Days Inn at Wild Wild West site. It shouldn’t take much effort to demolish the casino/motel: a few good thwacks from a backhoe should do the trick.
