Las Vegas beat out Los Angeles by a comfortable margin to nab the top spot on WalletHub‘s survey of America‘s most-sinful
cities, a category dominated by such activities as pathological gambling and smoking. Casino-enhanced cities dominated the list, with North Las Vegas logging in at #14, elbowing aside Phoenix (#15) but preceded by Detroit (#12), Philadelphia (#8), Miami (#7) and St. Louis (#5). Note to Georgia governor-elect Brian Kemp (R): If you get off your high horse about gambling, Atlanta (#6) has a serious shot at the top of the list. Metrics of sinfulness were, shall we say, unusual and not exactly quantifiable.
Vegas was 16th in anger and hatred (just read the comment threads on the Las Vegas Review-Journal‘s Web site), but only 35th for jealousy and 33rd for excesses and vices — which I refuse to believe — but it was 12th for lust and fifth in greed. Lady Las Vegas ranks fourth in vanity and third in laziness. Perhaps the reason the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority isn’t trumpeting these findings is that it would require too much of an effort.
Sin City is also claiming to be home to the world’s largest marijuana store. Customers can bliss out at Planet 13, strategically located close to Wynncore, Venelazzo and Treasure Island (and to LVA HQ for when that deadline stress kicks into gear). Since Planet 13 engages in on-site cultivation, that surely accounts for much of its 40,000 square feet of grass. Bloomberg paid a visit and reports, “Planet 13 feels like someone put an upscale jewelry store inside a night club. Alongside tasteful wood and glass display cases, are the glam embellishments one associates with Las Vegas. The floor lights up when you step on it. Massive screens play trippy 3-D images.”
You can even sample the “bouquet” of the products on sale. Owners Bob Groesbeck and Larry Scheffler are far from done. A tasting 
room is on the to-do list, as is a coffee shop. (Uh, wouldn’t the caffeine and the ‘wacky tobaccy’ cancel each other?) “We wanted to take this out of that head-shop mindset,” Groesbeck (pictured) explained. Loco weed is such a cash crop in Nevada that Green Thumb Inc. recently went on a $290 million acquisition spree that included pioneering dispensary Essence. Even a legal brothel has been converted to a marijuana farm. No, the Silver State will never be the same, especially with pot-friendly Steve Sisolak (D) in the governor’s mansion.
* It’s Cordish Gaming all-in, Watouche “Bob” Manoukian out at Stadium Casino, to be rebranded Philly Live. The disclosure that Cordish was buying 100% of the project scotches rumors that the 
partners were going to scrap the casino-hotel altogether. The news is ironic in that Manoukian went to great difficulty to get the license even though his Greenwood Racing already controls the biggest share of the Philadelphia market out at Parx Casino. Cordish asked the commonwealth for a delay of the casino’s opening until 2021 but the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board replied frostily that waiting until 2020 would be “more than adequate.” After all, the license was issued four years ago.
If the casino is ever finished, it will have a 240-room hotel, 2,000 slots and 125 table games. A master plan was approved in late 2018 but progress has been slow, to say the least.
* Hurricane Maria broke the back of Puerto Rico in more ways than one. Now the U.S. colony is examining the idea of legalizing slot routes, seeing in them as a new form of tax revenue. An estimated 50,000 black-market machines are said to exist on the island. Gov. Ricardo Rosello‘s proposal would bring them out into the open.
* “Given MGM Resorts’ willingness to partner and its successful track record partnering with third parties such as Pansy Ho in Macau and Dubai World at CityCenter, we believe MGM Resorts is one of 
the best-positioned, if not the best-positioned global gaming operator” in Japan, say Nomura analysts. Undeterred, Galaxy Entertainment is kicking the tires on seven different municipalities. It doesn’t have a Japanese partner yet but could share the development costs with Monaco‘s Société des Bains de Mer. “Galaxy Macau has already become the number one IR in the world in just eight years. If you look at the balance sheet, we have over US$4 billion in our bank account and are without debt,” said Galaxy Deputy Chairman Frances Lui. Being debt-free is a major asset when development costs could run to $10 billion and having cash on hand doesn’t suck either.
* Even in the wake of Amendment 3, Florida remains open for sports betting (and DFS). Attorney Dan Wallach explains why, although the achievement of this laudable goal will require some threading of the legalistic needle.
