Congratulations, Scott Roeben. Analyst Cameron McKnight of Credit Suisse is a Vital Vegas reader and cites it in his latest investor note. He also mentions a publication with which I’m not familiar, LV Locally, when writing “that several Las Vegas 
executives are ‘aggressively pushing for a big reduction in resort fees and parking fees.'” Noting that resort fees aren’t fully reflected in room rates and RevPAR (revenue per available room) it’s unclear how much higher room rates might go if resort fees were wound back. As for the Las Vegas Strip economy, although the summer has been unkind, air traffic is tracking 2% higher than projections. Also, if conventions have been a huge disappointment in 3Q18, attendance is expected to surge 26% in 4Q18, hopefully soon enough to pull Big Gaming’s chestnuts from the fire.
McKnight also touches upon the Wynn Resorts investigation, with both Massachusetts and Nevada expected to deliver their findings by month’s end. “In our view,” he writes, “consensus expectations are for WYNN to receive a fine, but to face no other material sanctions.” And for that they should be thankful. Just pay the money and turn the page.
* While on the subject of sexual misconduct, brothel owner and GOP legislative candidate Dennis Hof is in hot water. According to the Los Angeles Times, “Carson City Sheriff Ken Furlong said his detective interviewed a woman who showed up at a local hospital Sunday alleging Hof had raped her.” The matter now resides with unspecified state authorities. This is not the first time Hof has been accused of sexual assault, as former brothel employees have alleged it against him.
Hof has yoked his campaign to those of Sen. Dean Heller (R) and gubernatorial hopeful Adam Laxalt (R, below), neither of whom endorses him and both of whom must be mightily chagrined at 
the latest turn of events. The self-styled “Trump of Pahrump” went into belly-crawling, blame-the-victim mode, saying “While he has his suspicions, at this time Mr. Hof does not know exactly what the allegations are, who made them or when the alleged incident supposedly took place. Nevertheless he completely and totally denies that any such incident occurred and believes the allegations are groundless and politically motivated.” How can he deny the allegations if he doesn’t know what they are? At any rate, he’s now got at least one thing in common with his idol, Mr. Trump.
* While Osaka may have ‘raised its hand,’ as MGM Resorts International puts it, Yokohama gave the idea of casinos a violent 
drop-kick. Polling shows 94% of residents opposed to casino megaresorts. (I’d say that’s probably outside the margin of error.) The casino question was part of a larger survey on city policies and represented 20% of responses. Mayor Fumiko Hayashi is officially “neutral” on the casino issue, having at one time been favorable. She needn’t worry: If Yokohamans don’t want a casino there are undoubtedly several other Japanese cities that do.
Just what Foxwoods Resort Casino and Mohegan Sun want to see: Hordes of Connecticut players being bused to MGM Springfield. Your $20 ride fee is offset with an equal amount of free slot play.
* Four Winds Casino has unveiled a new poker room, reportedly in response to customer demand. However, poker is such a low-return game for the casino that I don’t Blue Chip Casino is losing any sleep at this latest development.
You’re right, Blue Chip shouldn’t be worried about a poker room, where ever it me be located. They need to worry about their customers leaving because of the new and improved B-Connect Loyalty programs. I think Four Winds will do a lot better financially from all the players leaving Boyd properties altogether.