Case Bets: “Viva Elvis,” Loveman in Macao, Icahn in A.C., etc.

Viva Elvis vs. Love. The Sun‘s John Katsilometes pivots it to a question of “Whose music is better?” I’m not going there but I think he really nails why one show seemed right up Cirque du Soleil‘s alley while the other finds the troupe creatively befuddled: “The music of The Beatles is far better aligned with the obtuse, groundbreaking sense of entertainment that has made Cirque an international phenomenon and the dominant entertainment production company in Las Vegas.”

Another trenchant point is that some Viva Elvis songs are warbled live “and as such by someone who is not Elvis Presley.” The way I see it, Cirque either needed to go whole-hog with this or not at all. The half-and-half compromise means that, even as garbled by the horrid Aria showroom sound system, the live performers who alternate with Presley’s recordings are constantly vulnerable to unenviable comparisons, not to mention raising the vexing, recurrent question of why song X was aggressively re-arranged and song Y was left relatively intact.

Thank you, Sun, for reprinting a photo of one of the show’s best ‘WTF?’ moments: Gay Elvis and his rough trick on the Big Phallic Symbol in the Sky. (It’s supposed to actually represent Presley and his stillborn brother — which makes even less sense, seeing as they’re both adults.) As with the strange depiction of Presley’s wedding night as a ménage-a-quatre, Cirque’s new show could be summarized as “Elvis from the waist down.”

“Active talks.” That’s what Harrah’s Entertainment CEO Gary Loveman says he is not having with Melco Crown Entertainment. His remark raises the fascinating semantic and existential question of whether it is possible to be having inactive talks. (“Passive talks”?) Or perhaps it’s a coy way of saying, “There were talks … and now there aren’t … but there sure could be!”

The theoretical advantage to Harrah’s of getting into Macao is obvious, although investors have to weigh that against the comparably obvious disincentive of marrying up with a company that’s been losing money hand over fist the last couple of quarters. The presumptive point of buying off James Packer is to help dig Harrah’s out of its current hole, not get in deeper. Perhaps that query should be posed to …

“Intellects [who] advocate 24-hour border crossing.” Got a serious question about Macao’s future? Consult the Wisdom Convergence Network. OK, it sounds funny as heck but underneath the lost-in-translation humor is a recommendation that should give Macanese casino developers pause. If the Zhuhai checkpoint is kept open round the clock, gamblers will have less incentive to stay in Macao’s rapidly multiplying hotel rooms (a point to weigh against Las Vegas Sands‘ “Damn the torpedoes!” exuberance). American moguls have to play this one carefully, as overt lobbying of their pals in Peking will likely produce that much more pressure to open Zhuhai. If the casinos are going to oppose this, it’d be best to let Lawrence Ho or Chinese-owned Galaxy Entertainment take the lead against the “intellects.”

Where’s Stanley? The health and immediate future of Sociedade de Jogos de Macau boss Stanley Ho continue to be a subject of debate. S&G has learned never to count the ancient oligarch out but his long silence bodes very ill. Between a drastic downsizing of the Oceanus project (left) and an underperforming IPO, the elder Ho’s reign appears to be drawing to a close with slow fizzle.

Just when things were looking up for Isle of Capri Casinos, they start to suck again. At least the company is hoarding cash during this rainiest of days and its rejuvenated management has trimmed a ship that not so long ago seemed in serious danger of financial capsize. Perhaps Isle could go bargain-shopping …

… in Atlantic City. I’m being half-facetious but it sure is a buyer’s market there now. The thrusts and counter-thrusts between Carl Icahn and Donald Trump are fast and furious. Icahn’s latest parry is that he might unload the two nags in Trump’s stable (Trump Marina and Trump Plaza) and keep show horse Trump Taj Mahal. If so, he’s picked a devil of a time to sell, to put it mildly. Mark Juliano was scraping the bottom of the barrel for Trump Marina buyers, so unless Icahn is hinting at selling it and the Plaza back to The Donald, I’d say this plan looks good only to the extent that the alternative (trying to turn them around) is completely unpromising. An Icahn takeover would finally wipe away all that Trump-induced debt, though, which is a huge point in The Carl’s favor. (No matter who prevails, some debtors are going to take it in the sorts.)

Bondholders’ attorney Kristopher Hansen‘s performance in questioning Icahn was, not to put too fine a point on it, a load of crap. For starters, to flash a photo of the empty lot that used to be the Atlantic City Sands and try to pin its implosion on Icahn is a canard, even if it plays well in the cheap seats. That closure/implosion was Pinnacle Entertainment‘s fault and one Atlantic City will never forgive.

And to say that the Sands’ fate is “illustrative” of Icahn’s operational record as a casino owner … it may not be slanderous but it’s out-and-out balderdash. The Stratosphere and the Arizona Charlie’s Boulder properties are far better for Icahn’s having bought them, so here’s hoping the bankruptcy judge does her homework rather than simply falling for Hansen’s misleading theatrics.

Table games in Pennsylvania. It’s a footrace between Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs and Mount Airy to have them first. Mount Airy, which has suffered from the debut of Sands Bethlehem, needs them more urgently; Pocono Downs‘ revenues continue to grow year/year. Sands continues to backslide on its promised/halted hotel, so expect that to be a bone of contention when Pennsylvania regulators pore over Sheldon Adelson‘s table games application.

Fish or cut bait. Moving Indiana casinos off the rivers and lakes is alive in the Lege, then it’s dead, then alive again … then dead again. Has anybody bothered to ask casino owners (other than the obstreperous Don Barden) what they think of the measure? Boyd Gaming recently upgraded its Blue Chip facility, Harrah’s floating mammoth, Horseshoe Hammond, is scarcely wet and Penn National‘s Hollywood-branded property is newer still. Do these operators — and others, like Tropicana Entertainment — have either the inclination or (more importantly) the cash to rebuild on dry land right now? Lawmakers, besotted with visions of new fees, appear to have pondered this question not a whit.