Showboat to sail again?; The plague of resort fees

Although Caesars Entertainment may have thought it removed a competitor from the board when it stripped the Showboat of its gaming entitlement, think again. Owner Bart Blatstein has taken the opening steps toward returning the Showboat to the gambling seas. He’s applied to the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement for a “statement of compliance.” Blatstein is keeping all options on the table for the moment but it’s clear that one of those options is gaming. The DGE will conduct an investigation of Blatstein, in order to determine whether he meets the threshold for a casino owner. Having lost on a casino project in Philadelphia, Blatstein clearly has an itchy spot he’d like to scratch where gaming is concerned.

“There is over a billion dollars worth of investment in that part of the town, that should not be ignored,” Blatstein told The Press of Atlantic City, referring to the oncoming Hard Rock Atlantic City and Ocean Resort. He’s right that there’s critical mass developing in that stretch of the Boardwalk and he’s striking while the iron is hot.

* Hotel rates are becoming like icebergs: The advertised rate is but a tiny fraction of what you have to pay. Hidden fees and compulsory levies can easily exceed the price you see when you’re searching. And it’s not just a Las Vegas thing. An overachiever in the Phoenix area, Arizona Grand Resort & Spa is hitting guests upside the head with a $50 impost. In theory you’re ‘paying’ for using the pool, WiFi or just parking your car, whether you choose to or not. My favorite anachronism is charging guests for using the land-line phone in the room (or the one next to the toilet) in an era in which the cell phone has made that amenity obsolete. Your $15 at a rival resort gets you “fresh towels by the pool.” That’s mighty big of them. At least one resort met guests halfway, ditching $21 valet-parking fees in return for a $4 resort-fee increase. Free parking is also an endangered species, as Las Vegas Strip guests know only too well. A few of the Phoenician add-ons are rather cool: free bocce equipment, access to a local driving range, free admission to Cattle Track Arts Compound, even free Tesla rides. That’s a lot more than what you get for your money in Las Vegas, a trend that needs to change.

* You’ll soon be able to smoke ’em if you’ve got them at Maryland Live, where al fresco gaming area Orchid will incorporate a patio for tobacco fiends. It’ll be expansive — 8,500 square feet — so smokers can hardly complain that their style is being cramped. (Indoor smoking is illegal in Maryland‘s casinos.) By opening Orchid, Live is only keeping up with the competition, although its revenues can hardly be said to have suffering from the lack of such an amenity. “It’s a full casino experience on a patio, not just a couple of slot machines thrown on a patio. You’ll be able to play almost all the table games out here. You’ll have a full-service bar,” said President Rob Norton. A buffet had to be sacrificed to make room for Orchid but that’s the price of keeping up with the Joneses. Norton brushed aside concerns about exposing his employees to secondhand smoke, saying, “as adults we all have the ability to make reasonable decisions for ourselves. I’m personally not a smoker, but I don’t begrudge those that enjoy it.” I wonder if his workers share his laissez-faire attitude. They have to put up with the smoking. Norton can avoid it as the mood suits him.

* Genting Group has just poured $698,000 into Genting Casino Brighton. All those pounds and shillings helped pay for 19 more “fruit machines” (slots) and a new baccarat table. According to The Argus, the casino also added a second floor of gaming space. We’d like to see Genting complete so much as one floor of casino at seemingly moribund Resorts World Las Vegas. Multiple sources tell us work has ground to a halt (again) and that 2020 opening date is starting to look optimistic. When it comes to Las Vegas, Genting almost never met a deadline it could keep.