Trump takes with one hand, gives with other

The Trump administration has lent a new meaning to ‘Indian giver,’ seizing $10 million held in escrow by the Pojoaque Pueblo while the latter tries to negotiate a new compact with New Mexico. The Pojoaque Pueblo had been operating without a compact since 2015. The Trump administration’s forfeiture reverses one of a series of conditions imposed by the Obama administration to keep the Pojoaque casinos open while compact negotiations progressed. Even though a new compact was signed last year, the tribe didn’t release the money, while the New Mexico government tried to pry it loose. The tribe’s new stance was that it was not obligated to share revenue with the state during a time when no compact was in place and that the feds are acting in punitive fashion.

New Mexico says yielding to the tribe would be tantamount to a “tax holiday,” while Pojoaque Pueblo Gov. Joseph Talachy replies “The money in this account by law should help provide food, shelter, education and other basic necessities for the Pueblo’s people, including funds to fight the overwhelming opioid epidemic that is devastating the Pueblo.” Considering that the tribe set up the escrow account in the first place to hold deferred taxes, we have to agree with the state on this one.

* In a victory for casino service workers, the Trump Labor Department reversed its stance on letting restaurant management confiscate its workers’ tips. Congress quickly ratified Labor’s new stance. This is a win not just for activist groups like Jobs With Justice but for the untold number of service workers who made their voices heard. Casino resorts in Las Vegas have generally done well by the working man but one can never be too safe, especially in these times.

* On April 16, Pennsylvania‘s casinos will have to opportunity to apply for 13 Internet Gaming Certificates. They’ve got four months to get their applications on file, with the process being thrown open to out-of-state bidders if all the certificates are not spoken for by that point. The ‘Web wagering comes in three categories: peer-to-peer gambling (think Internet poker), slots and table games. You can buy the whole package for $10 million or piecemeal at $4 million a category. There’s so little money in Internet poker, casinos would do just as well to pony up $8 million for table games and slots. Since it will take another three months for the sites to be approved, we’re not looking at ‘Net betting until November. Known entrants in the derby are Parx Casino, SugarHouse Casino, Mount Airy Casino Resort and Rivers Casino, with Harrah’s Philadelphia and Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs expected to be close behind.

* The New York Times has compiled a visual timeline of assassin Stephen Paddock‘s activities in the days leading up to the Mandalay Bay Massacre. Unfortunately, the footage — mostly obtained from surveillance cameras — only makes Paddock more of an enigma than ever. It’s chilling, however, to see hotel bell staff help Paddock load suitcase upon suitcase of death into his elevator. Those poor souls are wracked with guilt, I suppose.

* At the other end of the emotional spectrum, The D owner Derek Stevens is “ecstatic” to be the first mover in the cryptocurrency realm. It meant installing a special ATM for conversion to dollars but Stevens was so concerned with dotting all his i’s and crossing all his t’s, he walked a Nevada Gaming Control Board agent through the procedure, even though that was going above and beyond the call of duty. Stevens debunks fears that players from overseas are going to use cryptocurrency to get around China‘s draconian restrictions on taking money out of the country. Stevens scoffs at this, telling a reporter, “I’ve never had a Chinese national come to me and say, ‘I’ve got $8 million; is there a way’” to get around the rules. “I haven’t pushed it because I don’t know that people with bitcoin are necessarily the biggest gamblers.”

Instead, he sees bigger checks being paid at The D’s restaurants. Mind you, the volatility of Bitcoin has employees hopping to keep from getting bitten. Arthur Kane reports “There are complications with using cryptocurrency. Bitcoin’s value is so volatile that D Las Vegas staff members cash out their virtual coins at the end of each day to avoid a major loss if values drop.” Stevens is likely to be the lone Bitcoin ranger for a while. Las Vegas Sands and MGM Resorts International aren’t even thinking about adopting it, while Caesars Entertainment, Boyd Gaming and Station Casinos considered the issue to be beneath comment.

* Da Nang in Vietnam used to be synonymous with fierce urban combat. Now it’s just another stop on the Asian Poker Tour. Forty-five years after the Vietnam War, I guess it’s time to let the wounds to be forgotten.

* Mohegan Sun has been designated one of Golfweek‘s “Best Casino Courses.” According to the tribe, Golfweek‘s adjudicators “examine overall strength of routing, feature shaping, natural setting, greens, variety and memorability of holes, conditioning and maintenance, landscape management and other criteria to determine the nation’s best courses.” We congratulate Mohegan Sun on the honor.