“It has been a dominant season for the Crimson Tide and our traders have seen enough.” With those words, FanDuel proceeded to pay out $400,000 to University of Alabama bettors, even though the national collegiate championship game had not yet 
been played. Ooops. The Clemson Tigers proceeded to maul the Tide and add that $400,000 insult to the injury of FanDuel having to pay everyone sagacious enough to have bet on Clemson to win. Shades of FanDuel parent Paddy Power‘s rash decision in 2016 to pay $1 million ahead of time to punters who had Hillary Clinton winning the presidency. FanDuel tried to paint the loss as a win, saying, ““We made history in November when we paid out customers early on Alabama winning the National Championship.” Of course, making history isn’t always a good thing, as Richard Nixon could have told you.
* Chalk up a win for New York State Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) and we don’t mean his re-election. An arbitration panel has ruled in favor of the Empire State over the Seneca Nation, which had been withholding $100 million (possibly $200 million by now) in 
revenue-sharing payments. The Senecas had maintained that their obligation to the state ended in 2014, hence no more slot revenues. Not so, said the arbitrators, agreeing with Cuomo’s position that the Nation wanted continuing exclusivity without having to pay for it. According to The Buffalo News, “The tribe was given broad casino gambling exclusivity rights in the original compact in return for sharing 25 percent of slot proceeds with the state. New York, in turn, shared a portion of that money with localities, some of which, like the City of Niagara Falls, came to heavily rely on the annual flow of money.”
Among those breathing a sigh of relief is Niagara Falls Mayor Paul Dyster, who now expects a $17 million lump-sum payment. If the Senecas don’t comply, the state can take the dispute to federal court. However, Cuomo consigliere Richard Azzopardi was quick to drop the hammer, saying, “It was clear to us that the Nation had an obligation to continue payments – period. According to the Compact, this arbitration process was 
prescribed to resolve conflicts and now that it’s concluded, we ask that the Nation … cease any further delays, make the state and local communities whole, and resume payments.” The Senecas are playing their cards close to the vest in the meantime. The disputed payments were part of a compact that had automatically renewed in 2016, since neither side sought changes. However, the Nation treated the renewal as an expiry, cutting off slot-receipt payments. That contradicted their own 2002 statement that “The money paid to the state under the contract is essentially a cost of doing business.” We hope all parties can come to a speedy understanding, even if the Seneca have been trying to have their cake and eat it too.
* Credit Suisse analyst Cameron McKnight is studying his crystal ball and sees a very positive first quarter for MGM Resorts International in Las Vegas. Room rates were up 4% in December and could rise as much as 20% in 1Q19 (how much of this is due to resort fees McKnight does not say). Locals casino operators will be gratified to read that “the labor market is tight and that job market confidence is high.” High Las Vegas unemployment equals Cha-CHING! for locals casinos.
