Yet again the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has held an auction for a mini-casino and not received a single bid. This is a mixed blessing, as the auctions to date have raised far more money than legislators thought they would. However, this is the second time they gave a casino and nobody 
came — not even new contenders Valley Forge Casino and Lady Luck Nemacolin (which hardly seems like it would be able to afford to bid). After several rounds of auctioning casino licenses, the Morning Call asks the pertinent question, “It also remains unclear whether any other sweet spots for a mini-casino exist across the state.” “The choice fruit has been picked with respect to the mini-casino locations,” said Spectrum Gaming Group‘s Joseph Weinert. That doesn’t mean that Keystone State communities aren’t showing a little ankle, hoping to lure a casino. State College, Clearfield County and Lawrence Township have all been mentioned as possibilities.
* Sands China is sufficiently uncertain of its concession renewal in Macao that it’s counting on the remake of Sands Cotai into The Londoner as proof of its commitment to the enclave. How do we know this? Because 
Sands China President Wilfred Wong said so. The $1.1 billion makeover should be ready by 2020, giving Sands two years to impress City Hall before its concession comes up for review. “What we as operators and concessionaires have to do is to show our sincerity and hopefully this all counts in the government’s retendering exercise. We want to make sure the government understands what we are doing,” said Wong. In addition to making its own little London in Macao, Sands will be upscaling the megaresort, including adding a St. Regis condo extension. We hope the latter goes better than Sheldon Adelson‘s late-term abortion of a St. Regis in Las Vegas, still unfinished after 10 years.
Unlike Las Vegas, Macao is pushing a family-friendly image. “We are now 
grasping the [opportunity] to try and build facilities that will appeal both to families and our high-end customers,” Wong told the South China Morning Post. “Now we see three generations coming together – the grandparents, the parents and the kids – and they come in that combination because the parents want the grandparents to look after the grandchildren while they go and play.” It’s definitely not Stanley Ho‘s kind of Macao anymore.
* While the Florida Lege tries to get its act together, the Seminole Tribe has graciously given it a one-year extension of the escrow of revenue-sharing funds it’s been keeping aside for the state. “Today, I am proud to announce that the state of Florida has reached an agreement with the Seminole Tribe which ensures the tribe’s current commitment remains intact. Since I took office, the Seminole compact (the 2010 agreement) 
has generated more than $1.75 billion which has helped our state make historic investments in things like Florida’s education and environment,” announced Gov. Rick Scott (R). In return for the extension, the Seminoles want continued exclusivity on blackjack, as well as on slot machines outside Broward County and Miami-Dade County. Whether lawmakers, who are tangled up in a maze of gambling reforms of their own, will cotton to this remains very much to be seen.
Rep. José Oliva (R) called Scott’s announcement a “positive development” but said it didn’t rule out a special session of the Lege to iron out various and sundry disagreements on gambling reform. He called current discussions in the state house, “more of a conversation than a negotiation.” Incoming state Senate President Bill Galvano (R) seconded Oliva’s remarks. The Seminoles say they’re not threatening to cut off money to the state but if legislators vote to widen the spread of slot machines or breach blackjack exclusivity a major spigot of cash could be turned off on June 1, 2019.
