Is our trade war with China inflicting collateral damage on the Las Vegas Strip? That’s one theory for anemic Chinese New Year visitation that led to a 2% downturn in gaming receipts last month. By contrast, 
last year saw an 11.5% increase. Slot winnings were actually good ($268 million), up 4.5%, while non-baccarat table win jumped 14%. But baccarat was a triage unit, down 26% on 18.5% less wagering, making the house doubly unlucky. Strip casinos grossed $592 million overall. Downtown jumped 9% to $58 million, the Boulder Strip grossed $65 million (+2.5%), North Las Vegas grossed $24 million, up 5%, and miscellaneous Clark County jurisdictions like Mesquite and Summerlin pulled in an aggregate $97 million, an 8.5%. In other words, the picture was unquestionably healthy among locals gamblers and mostly so amidst the tourists.
Laughlin ($45 million, flat) actually surpassed Reno ($44 million, -8%) and terrible numbers from Lake Tahoe ($14.5 million, -26.5%) suggest that weather played an adverse role on the northern climes. Wendover, best barometer of the Nevada gaming market, was down 1.5%. The drive-in customers evidently weren’t feeling the love.
* Regulations casinos in Japan have been promulgated and they’re pretty stringent. For starters, the casino floor can occupy no more that 3% of the total resort square footage, so operators will be hard-pressed 
to make their investment pencil out from that particular profit center. Advertising will only be permitted in cruise-ship and airport terminals. Developers will have to build three hotels, at least one of them being at least 100,000 square feet worth of guest rooms. Cash transactions of $9,000 or larger will have to be reported to the government. There will be no ATMs on the gaming floor. Patrons’ faces will be biometrically checked against self-exclusion lists.
Osaka is said to have the inside track for one of the three megaresorts. MGM Resorts International wants it and, to that end, has hired former Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval to sweet-talk Shinzo Abe‘s regime. Next up will be requests for proposals, so the fun is just beginning.
* Wait ’til Donald Trump reads about this: The government of the Philippines is fast-tracking legislation that raise infrastructure funding by heavily taxing foreign online casino workers, a major growth industry in the archipelago. The Department of Finance looks to raise $418 million through the initiative, which is aimed at stopping tax as evasion. As Secretary of Finance Carlos Dominguez says, “being fair to all Filipinos who are paying their taxes” is the goal. “We have to go after these guys because they are not paying taxes. Simple.”
The massive influx of workers, mainly from China, has coincided with the rise of the Rodrigo Duterte administration, a situation exacerbated by illegal immigration. According to Nikkei Asian Review, an online-casino worker bee earns $1,480/month, which is subject to a 25% income tax. Ouch. I know one place where I don’t want to try to earn a living.
