About the nicest thing Jim Murren had to say about Japan‘s casino market is that it’s “unclear at the moment.” Casino developers are bracing themselves for delivery of a 130-page report 
from the Expert Committee, laying out proposed regulations for megaresorts. The report will be followed by a monthlong comment period and it looks like casino companies will have a lot of commenting to do. Among the recommendations are that ATMs be banned from casino floor, that both local and foreign customers be required to register, and that visits by locals be rationed.
The whole thing sounds like a recipe for failure and makes you wonder at the thought process and motivations of those who thought it up. As it stands, casinos would be going into a hostile environment — a country where 67% of the citizenry opposes them. (That could change over time but it’s a daunting percentage.) One of the most problematic recommendations is for Singapore-sized casino floors. Noting that Singapore has less than one-seventh the population of Tokyo, CLSA analyst Jay Defibaugh notes trenchantly, “If you have a 15,000-square-meter casino space and a vibrant foreign visitor market and a local market, you could have people falling over themselves in the casino.”
* Whoops. The Oakland Raiders‘ parking site in Las Vegas turns out to be 14,000 spaces too small. “They’re sensitive 
negotiations, as I’ve told you in the past, because the landowners there think they’ve got winning lottery tickets,” says Clark County Commissioner Steve Sisolak of talks with nearby landowners. Don’t you even think about eminent domain, Steve! More reasonable is the outlook of team President Marc Badain: “We’re looking at every possible option that’s available — surface parking, structures, off-site parking, rideshare, taxis, Lyft, Uber.” That’s more like it. Construction begins in November.
* In Nevada, if a casino doesn’t have enough money to cover the action on the floor, the Nevada Gaming Control Board comes down on it like a ton of bricks. We saw this at the Castaways and, before 
that, at Binion’s Horseshoe (back when it still owned the Horseshoe name). A comparable scenario is playing out in California, where the state shuttered 500 Club, where there were more chips in play than money in the cage. This is the latest spot of trouble for the 500 Club, which seems to be a little careless where money is concerned.
The 500 Club has a lot of hurdles to leap in order to reopen, including the appointment of an independent manager and the submission of copious paperwork. General Manager Dusten Perry accused the Bureau of Gambling Control of “inaccurate interpretation of their own regulations with respect to the casino’s chip bond,” saying the Clovis club would be vindicated when the audit is concluded, in part because its chips are secured with an $800,000 bond. Even so, the 500 Club’s shaky history suggests it better straighten up and fly right.
* Shawn Scott is still under investigation for the shadowy financing of his Maine casino push. However, he got a bit of good luck this week when his initiative scored a prime spot on the November ballot. Our prediction: Scott will win, will again fail to qualify for a Maine license and resell the racino for a handsome profit. It’s what he does.
* Congratulations to the Golden Nugget Atlantic City. It’s the first casino in that market to hit $125 million in Internet-derived gambling revenue. Owner Tilman Fertitta has the Midas touch.
* Were he still a casino owner, Donald Trump would undoubtedly be sanctioned by regulators for his continued defense of neo-Nazis and white 
supremacists (see Engelstad, Ralph). As former Republican leader — and Virginian — Eric Cantor puts it, “There is no moral equivalence.” I wonder how Sheldon Adelson feels about the Faustian pact he made last fall. Uber (corporate partner of MGM Resorts International) feels so strongly about the matter that it issued a formal statement of condemnation today: “We were horrified by the neo-Nazi demonstration that took place in Charlottesville, which resulted in the loss of life of a young woman as well as two Virginia State Troopers responding to the protest. There is simply no place for this type of bigotry, discrimination, and hate.” Amen.
And when you get tired of hearing about Trump, there’s an easy solution, vouchsafed me by a Phoenix-based reader.
