Busy week for MGM; Adelson’s grim prognosis

Congratulations to MGM Resorts International on becoming the official casino sponsor of the Boston Red Sox (known around my house as “the Evil Empire”). I’m not sure how I feel about the MGM logo going up on the Green Monster, giving me visions of doubles plonking off the MGM lion. At least it’s a step up from sponsoring the perennially hopeless New York Jets. Other kudos go to MGM for making the list of Fast Company‘s “Most Innovative Companies.” And happy anniversary to Beau Rivage on the 20th anniversary of its rather shaky start in Biloxi. MGM’s official video makes it sound like the company built the resort, which was all Steve Wynn‘s doing — although the latter’s decision to build two megaresorts at once, coupled with Beau Rivage’s nascent struggles, left him vulnerable to a takeover offer from Kirk Kerkorian, so Beau Rivage did play a big role in MGM history.

* Would you believe there’s still undeveloped land on Laughlin‘s casino row? Vegas Commercial Real Estate is taking sealed bids for 11.7 acres between Harrah’s Resort and River Lodge Hotel. It will be interesting to see who emerges on top, particularly as we’ve not seen much appetite for new resort product in that market in a while, although a few companies (such as Tropicana Entertainment) did capex upgrades. The multilevel site is ready for connection to Laughlin’s grid and the minimum bid is $9 million. Get your check books ready.

* “Thus far, we have not received any substantiated claims of loss from fraud attributable to the incident.” That was the best Marriott International CEO Arne Sorensen could offer U.S. senators when trying to explain away a gargantuan data breach that exposed over 9 million credit card numbers, for one. Dorsey & Whitney attorney Robert Cattanach offered little comfort from the testimony, saying “The Marriott breach was just the latest in what appears to be a never-ending cycle of data compromises.” As to Marriott’s biggest mistake, he concludes, “This was not a one-off event, which suggests that the corporate culture of the company with regard to data security was seriously flawed … leadership of the company failed to make customer data security as a core value … top management simply didn’t stress the importance of data security, and the result was inevitable.” He says Marriott should cut loose with some comps, as a way of starting to make things good.

* “Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma is a blood cancer that can spread quickly, particularly among older patients.” That’s one magazine’s grim prognosis on Sheldon Adelson‘s medical condition. Which would be tragic for the casino industry, because Adelson — despite his Luddite attitude toward the computer age — is usually ahead of the curve. A trio of Sanford C. Bernstein said there was no reason to believe Adelson’s incapacitation should impair his company’s Japan bidding, but I’m not so sure. Take Adelson’s force of personality out of the negotiations and things become very different. There’s some question as to whether Las Vegas Sands was in material breach of its duty to its shareholders by concealing Adelson’s condition in recent months. Some say no but, given that Adelson is not only the visionary-in-chief of Sands but also its largest shareholder, we can’t agree. In the meantime, we send him our best wishes.

* Speaking of Japan, Adelson and other suitors got an idea of what they can expect in the form of gambling regulation from new policy affecting horse tracks and pachinko parlors. If the public-comment period goes well, the gambling venues would be required to install facial-recognition software and remove ATMs. The idea is to cut down on problem gambling by spotting confessed gambling addicts and making funds less accessible to them. The mandate would also extend to boat and bicycle racing, so Shinzo Abe‘s government is pretty serious. Casino developers may not like these restrictions but they’ve got very little leverage with which to make the case that they should be treated differently, seeing as they’re fairly groveling to get into Nippon.

* Genting Group is cutting its losses in Massachusetts, having stopped all funding of Project First Light. While the Mashpee Wampanoag are continuing their payments to host community Taunton, Genting’s sudden abundance of caution could make the question of whether the Mashpee Wamps qualify under federal law for a casino suddenly very moot.

* Joining the action in Atlantic City is the Tropicana, which recently unveiled a 5,000-square-foot sports book, operated by William Hill. The book has eight betting windows and 180 seats. The opening was attended by Ron “Jaws” Jaworski, who was in town to announce the name of the city’s new arena football team: the Atlantic City Blackjacks. OK, so it won’t win any awards for originality but bringing the AFL to the Boardwalk is a big step toward diversifying its appeal.

* Perhaps the second time will be the charm for Internet gambling in Michigan. Bills have been introduced in both houses of the Legislature. Online gambling was voted out of the Lege last session but was surprisingly vetoed by then-Gov. Rick Snyder (R) in an 11th-hour sulk. Supporters are hoping that Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) is more tractable. (She is known to support sports betting.) Should the bills pass, oversight would rest with the Michigan Gaming Control Board and operators — private tribal alike — would have to pay $200,000 per license. The tax rate would be 8%. Rep. Brandt Iden (R) is still soldiering for ‘Net betting in the lower house, which we hope augurs well for passage.