New York-New York boosts thrill quotient; Seminoles play with fire

As rollercoaster rides go, New York-New York‘s is reassuringly tame. Perhaps in recognition of that, MGM Resorts International is going to kick things up a notch with digital augmentation. According to the Los Angeles Times, “The 3½-minute virtual reality experience will feature 3D footage in 4K resolution at 60 frames per second. The Big Apple coaster trains and track will be equipped with sensors that synchronize the visuals with the ride to reduce the chances of motion sickness while wearing the virtual reality headset.” The LAT goes into great detail about what you’ll experienced in the jazzed-up version of the ride. We were intrigued by some of the remaking of the Las Vegas landscape dreamt up by the VR-ride’s designers. They’ve moved Vegas Vic to the Strip (If only!), erased the Paris-Las Vegas Eiffel Tower and reduced the Tropicana Las Vegas to a parking lot. Wishful thinking much?

Staying with MGM, while the Trump administration continues to ignore the plight of Puerto Rico in the wake of Hurricane Maria, the casino company is moving into the void to the extent of making jobs at MGM Springfield available to Puerto Rican evacuees. (They were the lucky ones.) “We stand ready to help the people of Springfield whose families and friends were impacted by the unfortunate situation in Puerto Rico,” said MGM spokesman Saverio Mancini. It’s no idle gesture: Springfield schools alone host 590 evacuee students. “Puerto Rico has a robust gaming and hospitality industry and we are interested in assisting and connecting with people newly settled in the area who may have casino or resort work experience. These are ideal candidates for a career with MGM Springfield,” Mancini added. In addition to being the right thing to do, it’s also a way for CEO Jim Murren to get back at Donald Trump, with whom he publicly clashed during the latter’s presidential campaign.

* The oddball coalition of the Seminole Tribe, Disney and No on Casinos has succeeded in getting its “Voter Control of Gambling” referendum certified for the Florida ballot. But do the Seminoles know what they’re getting into? That’s to say, if voters have the final word on what kind of gambling is allowed in the Sunshine State and where, what’s to prevent them from voting in blackjack, craps and roulette at private-sector casinos — something the Seminoles have fought hard to prevent? Maybe this is all a Machiavellian bank shot to get the Seminoles out of their revenue-sharing compact with the state but I kind of doubt it. They seem to be counting instead on the results of a Mason-Dixon poll that shows only 8% of Floridians in favor of gaming expansion. But when your locality stands to benefit, that could change a lot of minds. Little opposition has emerged yet but parimutuels are expected to weigh in against the initiative when the election draws closer. Ditto Genting Group, which already has $236 million worth of skin in the game.

* Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe threw down the gauntlet to gaming opponents, vowing to submit the casino-implementation bill to the Diet, hopefully as soon as March. It will, however, have to take its place in the legislation queue behind the formation of the new budget. Another possible delay will be if the Basic Bill on Gambling Addiction Countermeasures cuts in line, as gambling naysayers would like.

* We might start hearing more from the state of Goa, if Union Gaming Group‘s projections are accurate. The analyst firm forecasts the western India enclave achieving $1 billion in annual casino revenue as its seedy riverboats give way to brick-and-mortar casinos. Other factors redeeming Goa were described as “economic factors, improving national infrastructure, and a greater acceptance of gaming.” Union’s Grant Govertsen likened it to “the Midwest riverboat transition story on steroids” and valued the Indian subcontinent’s full potential at as much as $17 billion. Still, the market is in such a primitive state that it will be a while before any major players show interest, we think. Sleep easy, Macao.

* Why is Internet gambling important? In part because it fattened New Jersey‘s tax coffers by $43 million last year. That’s if you’re into this stuff.