Ground broken for Connecticut casino; Big Brother is watching you in Japan

In a damn-the-torpedoes move, Foxwoods Resort Casino and Mohegan Sun leaders moved forward with demolition of the cineplex that will give way to a satellite casino in East Windsor. Although only 100 people showed up for the event, spirits were high: “Cheers erupted” as the walls began to crumble and Mohegan Tribal Chairman Kevin Brown declared, “We’ve been through too much already together to give up. And we’re not going to.” Take that, MGM Resorts International. Brown and his Mashantucket Pequot counterpart, Rodney Butler, foresee a two-year construction process, by which time MGM Springfield will have been up and running about 18 months and the damage may have already been done. It’s taken MMTC three years to get this far and it’s still litigating with the Interior Department over approval of its revenue-sharing agreements. (Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun maintain that the issue is moot because the federal government has failed to act.)

What’s more, Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke is accused of being in cahoots with MGM. “The Nevada delegation got an in person meeting and they have nothing to do with the Connecticut tribes’ application other than they represent MGM,” said Sen. Chris Murphy (D, left). Some Nutmeg State lawmakers are trying to welsh on the agreement between the tribes and the state, a move Brown called “quite offensive,” as indeed it is. MGM rolled out mouthpiece Uri Clinton to declare that “demolition does not equal construction.” Just to rub it in, he added, “The MMCT is no closer to legal approvals they require, and no closer to producing a realistic construction schedule than they were a year ago when they said construction would be completed in 2018.”

* It seems Orwellian to have a personal identification number interfaced with biometric recognition but that’s the state of affairs in Japan, where politicians are proposing using that matrix to keep track of Japanese citizens patronizing casinos — if they ever get built. The idea is to use this personal I.D. to cap the number of times Nipponese citizens patronize gambling houses. Melco Resorts & Entertainment is responsible — or to blame for — the biometric angle, having proposed use of its MelGuard system, which uses both facial recognition and fingerprinting. The whole thing sounds sufficiently authoritarian as to take all the entertainment value out of going to the casino. GGR Asia warns that “Use of such technology in casinos need not preclude imposition of a casino entry levy on locals.” Right now it looks like the going rate will be $19 for every 24 hours.

* While some casino operators have expressed their content with Macao‘s concession-renewal, Sands China President Wilfred Wong has an itchy fanny. Attending an event at the University of Macau, Wong — in what could be interpreted as criticism — said casinos were being kept in the dark as to the timeline for renewal. “I think every one of us is eagerly waiting for the government to announce the details,” he added. Sands, of all operators, can afford to be patient: Its deadline is not until 2022. Besides, it has done one of the best jobs of diversifying its offerings, per governmental desires. If anybody has to worry it’s Sociedade de Jogos de Macau, which has done a poor job of broadening its appeal, remains VIP-centric and is struggling to get its Cotai Strip megaresort (pictured) done by next year.

In a somewhat oracular pronouncement, Macao Chief Executive Fernando Chui said it would be “appropriate” to announce renewal criteria in three months or so. If Chui is as good as his word, one is hard put to see why Wong is so anxious.  “We are doing everything that the government really asked us to do,” he chafed. Ambrose So of SJM has also griped about a lack of “clarity” from City Hall but we think he’d better stick to getting his house in order. At SJM’s current pace, it will be hard-put to finish its megaresort much in advance of its renewal date. All the concessionaires are vying for a five-year extension which, if granted, would be followed by public tenders in 2025-27. As to reducing its shuttle-bus routes, per government request, Wong was a bit tetchy. “Almost everyone wants to go to the Venetian Macao,” he rationalized. “Therefore, it is very difficult for Venetian [routes] to be merged with other routes.” We think he’ll find a way, by choice or by force.