Investment bankers BidaskClub aren’t buying Caesars Entertainment. Literally. In an almost-unheard-of development in gaming, Bidask put a “sell” recommendation on low-priced CZR shares. Perhaps this reflects caution over Caesars’ still-massive debt overhang or of the additional debt that would be 
undertaken in an Eldorado Resorts takeover. Either way, we’re glad to see somebody on Wall Street telling it like it is with the Roman empire, whose best years appear to be behind it. Meanwhile, having subjugated Caesars, Carl Icahn is poised to do the same to Occidental Petroleum, threatening to depose the board and sell off assets. (Sound familiar?) Icahn’s umbrage is motivated by a “fundamentally misguided and hugely overpriced” purchase of Andarko for $38 billion. In addition to faulting the Occidental executive team for being excessively compensated, Uncle Carl says the board “made numerous blunders in recent months and might continue to trip over their feet if … not strengthened.” Since he controls $1.6 billion in Occidental stock, Icahn can say whatever he likes. Occidental shares have been way off since the first whiff of the deal with fellow fracker Andarko, so Icahn can be said to know whereof he speaks.
* Speaking of Caesars, a player going by the handle of “jacu” (short for j’accuse?) says Paris-Las Vegas welshed on a promotional offer for a $200 Home Depot gift card because jacu used the check-in kiosk rather than
waiting in the typical, endless check-in line at the desk. An attempt to get $200 of free play from a casino host entailed 30 minutes of argument and “the guy was a total prick about the whole thing.” A different host reportedly covered the resort fees (nice guy) and a pizza, although the fact that jacu was playing blackjack at $200/hand probably helped. (Now you know what to do in order to get your resort fees comped.) “Customer service is atrocious in Las Vegas at the moment,” declares jacu, saying Aria cocktail servers who weren’t in the high-limit rooms “looked/acted like they were ready to jump off a bridge”—the first manifestations of MGM 2020?—while those over at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas “seemed a bit disgruntled, but they weren’t blatantly rude.” However, up at the Golden Nugget “everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves, hosts were actively talking to people … the strip [sic] has some soul-searching to do.” I guess the moral of this story is that if you’re going to play, do it Downtown.
* Gaming expansion in Illinois is becoming totally out of hand. Thanks to the Christmas tree that was the recent omnibus bill from the Lege, the Illinois lottery will be allowed to establish 2,500 sports-betting kiosks in Year One, followed by another 2,500 in Year Two. This will probably siphon off so much betting that the casinos will have to settle for the dregs. The only drawback 
(for the lottery) is that you have to make a three-game parlay bet, so it’s not completely the end of the world. The Lottery is shopping around for a betting operator—paging Scientific Games—while we agree with state Rep. David McSweeney (R) that this is “a massive expansion of gambling that goes way too far.” State Rep. Allen Skillicorn (R) concurred, predicting that wide-open sports betting would “oversaturate the market and frankly, not get as much revenue as the state expects.” Unfortunately, his argument was grounded in tiresome anti-gambling rhetoric such as “For every dollar that goes in, how many dollars go out to deal with people that no longer can afford their rent or food and have to apply for food stamps or other welfare?” Wouldn’t one ask the same about the lottery?
Having been shut out of Illinois, DraftKings must now face being put on ice in West Virginia until the guvmint can ensure that it’s in compliance with the Federal Wire Act, which itself is somewhat in flux at the moment.
* Few good ideas come out of Carson City but here’s one. Thanks to a new law signed by Gov. Steve Sisolak (D), casinos will have to file emergency-response 
plans on a yearly basis. The Mandalay Bay Massacre inspired this heightened awareness whereas beforehand the casino industry probably would have been allowed to slide. Now casinos that flout the law will get fined by the Nevada Gaming Control Board. The legislative action follows an embarrassing revelation by the Las Vegas Review-Journal that some casinos hadn’t revised their emergency plans in as much as five years. As for gaming, it can take consolation in the fact that local governments will be held to the same safety stance now.
* Even though casino revenue just hit a record level in the U.S., the rising tide is not lifting all boats. Just ask the Eastern Shoshone Tribe, who are having to lay off employees and shutter entire departments at Shoshone Rose Casino & Hotel due to fading business. On a happier note, the Yavapai Nation topped off construction of $120 million, 900-slot We-Ko-Pa Casino Resort last week. The casino is scheduled to open next year. “I didn’t think I would ever see this because I’m going on 24 years serving this tribe,” said Bernadine Burnette, president of the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation. The project had been kicking around for the better part of 20 years and through several changes of tribal government before breaking ground in 2018. The Yavapai have come a long way in 35 years from a bingo hall.
