Penn National Gaming had a happy surprise for the Massachusetts Gaming Commission when the latter dropped by Plainridge Park for a look-see. The racino, which the Boston Globe 
long tried to paint as a failure, has just come off its best quarter ever. It grossed $42 million, of which almost $21 million went to the state. Plainridge’s revenues improved 9% from 1Q17. As a cherry on the sundae, Penn reported a 19% increase in lottery-ticket sales. “So far, knock on wood, it’s looking pretty good with very little negative impact,” remarked MGC Chairman Stephen Crosby of the three-year-old racino. (W0w, time sure flies.)
Plainridge Park seems to be having no untoward effects on Plainville. While there was a momentary spike in credit-card fraud back in 2016, authorities don’t believe it was casino-related. “Police Chief James Alfred … also said an increase in police calls to Plainridge would happen anywhere there is a large number of people, such as a shopping center.” Crimes like theft are difficult to pull off in the racino, due to the plethora of surveillance camera and only one underage player has had to be 86’d, which is a pretty remarkable statistic. Penn’s report card deserves high marks.
* On the subject of anniversaries, Essence Cannabis Dispensary marks the first full year of legal marijuana sales on the Las Vegas Strip on July 1. What better place to get high than in the shadow of the Stratosphere? Personally, I don’t use pot and can’t stand the smell it makes (ditto cigars, however) but anything that puts the bluenoses out of joint is worth celebration. Anyway, you don’t have to smoke your loco weed to enjoy Essence’s product, which also comes in “a wide variety of edibles, including capsules, cookies, brownies, honey, chocolate and more.”
Not coincidentally, the City of Las Vegas — whose public position was that pot lounges were off the table until 2019 — is backpedaling. We want to have a discussion and get the ball rolling again,” explained Public Information Officer Jace Radke and, to that end, public comments were taken yesterday. By prohibiting the public use of Mary Jane, the city has unwittingly smothered marijuana tourism in the crib, since tourists have no place in which to consume it legally. This does seem like a major oversight.
* Get used to saying Harrah’s Hoosier Park, as Caesars Entertainment goes before the Indiana Gaming Commission today to have its acquisition of Centaur Gaming blessed. “The 
acquisition would make the Las Vegas-based gambling giant the owner of four of the state’s five largest casinos in terms of revenue,” reports the Herald-Bulletin, which may explain why Caesars CEO Mark Frissora crossed Centaur’s palms with a giddy $1.7 billion. Frissora took advantage of a loophole in Indiana that limits a company to two casinos, unless it also owns racinos.
Caesars plans to spend $8 million on skyboxes for the two tracks. It also wants table games — and might get them now that staunch opponent Mike Pence has left the governor’s mansion. New slots and Total Rewards infrastructure are also on Caesars’ to-do list. Eric Hession told regulators that implementation of Total Rewards historically increases a property’s revenue, most dramatically a 49% ski jump when Total Rewards was incepted at 
Planet Hollywood. The company plans to be “george” with its Hoosier State bettors, giving them more favorable point awards for wagering than it does at Harrah’s Philadelphia or Louisiana Downs — sometimes more than double the amount. Club Centaur players and their points will be grandfathered into Total Rewards.
For the horsemen, it will also be business as usual, right down to the stalls. Just to be safe, the Indiana Horse Racing Commission is recommending the Caesars create a fund for backstretch maintenance and to market the tracks. Sounds horse-sensible to us.
Making the rounds of regional gaming markets, Deutsche Bank analyst Carlo Santarelli reports that “the overall picture emerging 
is one of relative stability in [same-store] trends … we believe underlying trends are better than stated reported figures, and, thus, we remain buyers of” Penn, Boyd Gaming and Eldorado Resorts. He added that Boyd was tracking ahead of projections, Penn, Eldorado and Pinnacle Entertainment slightly behind. But “our anecdotal checks suggest solid June performance and we believe more favorable weather, relative to the rainy April/May weekends, should bode well for a sound finish to the quarter.”
* Further to the south, the Biloxi incarnation of Margaritaville is being reinvented as a family destination. An amusement park has been approved, complete with Ferris wheel. The $140 million resuscitation of the defunct casino will also include the construction of a hotel. Approval of the project was held up by a dispute over the right of way to U.S. 90. Casino owner Biloxi Lodging eventually ceded the disputed turf and will pay $655,700 annual rent to the Tidelands Fund. Biloxi Lodging expects the revived Margaritaville to draw 1 million visitors a year all by its lonesome. Company spokesman Cono Caranna says family entertainment is the number-one demand of Gulf Coast visitors, many amenities having been washed away with Hurricane Katrina and never replaced.
* If you’re a tourist gambling in Japan and think you’ll take all your winnings home, think again. Citizens of 123 nations that have tax treaties with Nippon would be taxed on their casino winnings, 
something that would particularly affect travelers from Singapore, China and India. (Then again, if I had the gambling options that exist in Singapore and China, why would I go to Japan?) But if your nation doesn’t have such a treaty, you’re not off the hook. According to a report in the Asahi Shimbun, Japan’s leading newspaper, “Those from countries with no Japan tax treaty are also liable to pay income tax on casino winnings.” So by all means gamble in Japan when casinos (eventually) open but be prepared to tip the taxman as you leave.
