Clouded future for Ocean; Wynn keeps fighting

While the mainstream media has gone quiet over the sudden change of ownership at Ocean Resort, Global Gaming Business is reporting that lead owner Bruce Deifik didn’t leave voluntarily but was kicked out by other investors. Luxor Capital Group supposedly demanded the change but was sensible enough to leave casino prexy Frank Leone in place. The last thing that Ocean needs now is a learn-on-the-job managerial team. The new owner of Deifik’s share remains undisclosed, the narrative not having advanced beyond Chris Grove‘s announcement that it would be a group of Colorado banks and private investors. “My family and I want to thank the 3,000-plus employees at Ocean for their tireless work to bring our property to life and put it on track to become the best gaming property in New Jersey. If approved and closed, this next round of investment into Ocean will put this property on an exciting path to growth,” said Deifik, putting the best possible spin for what must be a very painful turn of events.

Ocean is shaping up as a monstrous disappointment. Deifik’s people told Garden State regulators it would gross $384.5 million in Year One (later revised to $292 million). It is on track for $168 million. Luxor, holder of a $122.5 million bridge loan on the property, was obviously unhappy with the numbers to date. “Sources tell GGB News that the Deifik family, particularly son Jason, were circumventing casino management and making decisions without consulting them.” Exit Deifik. Presumably freed from familiar interference, Leone and his people will now be free to get on with it. They’ve got a whale of a job ahead but having Atlantic City‘s number-one sports book gives them something on which they can build.

* Steve Wynn continues to wrestle to keep a Massachusetts Gaming Commission report on his misdeeds under wraps. Wynn’s attorneys are fighting the battle in a Nevada courtroom, while the MGC continues to try and bring the issue back into the Bay State. Wynn’s endgame is clearly to suppress the report, which would give the MGC little basis upon which to discipline Wynn Resorts. Whatever Encore Boston Harbor‘s fate is, it doesn’t look particularly dire: The MGC has lauded Wynn Resorts for a “stellar minority hiring record” and for hitting its construction benchmarks. As for the disputed report, it is so sensitive that the MGC hasn’t even seen it yet. One member, Enrique Zuniga, has proposed redacting the sensitive portions and making judgment based on the remainder.

Some commissioners have suggested licensing the casino first and then determining its legitimacy later but that sounds like putting the cart before the horse, if you ask us. That may not be necessary, as it looks as though Judge Elizabeth Gonzalez will split the baby by partially redacting the report but releasing the balance of it. Investigations of Wynn in Nevada and Macao, meanwhile, appear to have petered out without result.

* Becky Harris is out at the Nevada Gaming Control Board and the chairmanship passes to Sandra Douglass Morgan, an appointee of Gov. Steve Sisolak (D) and a current director of external affairs at AT&T Services. Morgan is no stranger to getting through the glass ceiling, having been the first African-American woman to be a city attorney (in North Las Vegas). With the appointment of Morgan, Sisolak has gotten one step closer to making the NGCB look like Nevada. We can hardly wait to see how he fills the other vacancy.

* Caesars Entertainment is putting its mouth where its money is. In addition to hosting the American Bar Association convention Jan. 25-28, Caesars Palace will be the venue for a Jan. 25 discussion of human trafficking. Panelists will include a Las Vegas judge and prosecutor, the security chief for Firekeepers Casino in Michigan and others. Caesars promised us a higher level of commitment to fighting white slavery and this is a good first step.