Outgoing Scientific Games CEO (and Telemundo founder) Kevin Sheehan grew the company beyond recognition, increased revenue, reorganized its internal structure and aggressively paid down debt. So why is he being kicked upstairs to “senior advisor”? Your guess is as 
good as ours. A hint may be found in successor Barry Cottle‘s background in online technology and social gaming. Sheehan fell on his sword gracefully. “I’m proud of what we have accomplished over the past two years … Barry has been a great partner, and I look forward to supporting his efforts to lead Scientific Games into the digital future.”
* Native American tribes and the State of Connecticut are nose-to-nose over legalized sports betting. Foxwoods Resort Casino and Mohegan Sun insist their compacts, by implication, give them exclusive rights to sports wagering. The attorney general’s office cries foul. Who wins? It may come down to the tribes’ ultimatum: Give us exclusivity or we’re withhold our $250 million in annual slot revenues. In the meantime, in the midst of rumors it wants to flip MGM Springfield for Encore Boston Harbor, MGM is making nice with Springfield merchants.
* In what might be called the Steve Wynn Rule, Nevada gaming regulators are seeking to outline impermissable sexual behavior in casinos. In a pleasant surprise, the Nevada Resort Association is on 
board with the more-stringent future. “Yeah, we are in an industry where guests may drink too much, where guests may party too much. You know, we have an obligation to make sure our employees are protected,” said NRA lobbyist Robert Ostrovsky. Meanwhile, in contrast to CEO Matt Maddox‘s claim that Wynn Resorts is free of litigation comes news of a cluster of shareholder lawsuits, faulting the company from keeping Wynn’s misdeeds top-hush.
The Nevada Gaming Commission is getting advice from newish Nevada Gaming Control Board Chairwoman Becky Harris. “Putting her in this role is a little like getting a surgeon out of medical school who trained under the top surgeon in the newest techniques and now finds the perfect patient on the table,” said International Gaming Institute at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas Executive Director Bo Bernhard. Among the 
NGCB’s current briefs is investigating Wynngate to see if El Steve should lose his license. (We should get so lucky.) Current Nevada gaming regulations don’t address sexual harassment — so Wynn might slip the hook — a situation Harris wants to change. It could certainly discourage a lot of misbehavior going forward. And outgoing Gov. Brian Sandoval‘s successor would do well to keep Harris on the job, come 2019.
* Virginia‘s Pamunkey Tribe has been much in the headlines lately. On the cusp between the Obama and Trump administrations it achieved federal recognition without having to forswear gambling. Now an Illinois venture capitalist has scooped up a 600-acre parcel near Richmond on the tribe’s behalf and there are even easel-ready casino renderings. Mind you, the horse is still a long way from the barn: The land would have to be taken into trust, a process that usually transpires over years, and this will not be an easy administration with which to deal.
At the same time, the Virginia Legislature, while generally averse to gambling, has approved ‘historical’ horse races, where you bet on video of an old horse race, with clues to the winner kept secret. That spurred the $20 million purchase and eventual reopening of Colonial Downs horse track, 
also near Richmond. The new owners — also from Illinois — think VLTs can make it pencil out. And the stream of money flowing from Virginia to MGM National Harbor is beginning to make politicians openly discuss The Big C: casinos. “If that’s something Virginians want to participate in, why not look at doing it here in Virginia, rather than those resources going to other states?” asks Gov. Ralph Northam (D), who is finding support on the other side of the aisle from the likes of Delegate Chris Peace (R), who says, “I think the mores, the social concerns over that have weakened a bit. I get the sense that if it was done right …” he lets the thought drift off. As veteran state Sen. Richard Saslaw (D) says of Maryland, “They’re reaping a lot of money out of it. There’s no reason we shouldn’t do what Maryland’s done.”
