Unlike people across the Pearl River Delta in Hong Kong, casino workers in Macao are relatively easy to please. Their latest set of demands will sound very familiar to Americans: a five-day work week, vacation schedules and a smoke-free
environment (we’re still struggling with the latter over here). “From the results, it is actually quite a surprise to us that most respondents have chosen topics related to a healthy working environment, rather than salary increments,” said New Macau Gaming Staff Rights Association Vice Director Jeremy Lei. The slate of requests will be one of the first tests of new chief executive Ho Iat Seng‘s administration.
Perhaps the relative placidity of the employee requests was due to proactive measures taken by their employers. Maternal and paternal leave was extended—with pay. Salaries were raised at several casinos, with Sands China increasing pay for 99% of its 
workforce, MGM China raising non-managerial pay by as much as 7%, Melco Resorts & Entertainment issuing bonuses to non-management employees and Wynn Macau breaking out bonuses for 96% of its staff. While smoking has been banned throughout the enclave’s casinos, employees evidently still feel that too much smoke gets in their eyes. And having to work through the big holiday periods sticks in their craws, although they might have a hard time fighting City Hall on that one.
* Four Winds Casino in South Bend, Indiana, hasn’t been able to make a dent in its more established competitors. That’s 
probably because Four Winds is only Class II, restricted to slot machines. It has limped along for a year and three quarters as a Class II but rival casinos have shrugged off its economic impact. No surprise, Four Winds is negotiating with Gov. Eric Holcomb (R) to gain table games and sports betting. The talks haven’t begun yet and there’s no time frame but the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians, owners of Four Winds, have Class III at all of their casinos in Michigan, so the portents are favorable.
* Speaking of sports betting, it’s the future for DFS purveyors FanDuel and DraftKings. It may even be the present. FanDuel reported a 12X increase in the amount of action on NFL opening weekend as it saw last year. DraftKings’ revenue growth wasn’t so 
dramatic—2x—but still hefty. On Sept. 5, 524,416 visits were made to FanDuel, compared to 306,681, as bettors ramped up their action. No dollar figures were released but we’ll get a partial idea when New Jersey and Pennsylvania release their sports-betting revenues. As DFS, will it go the way of the dinosaurs now that the real item is available? Probably not, but it will be very small potatoes by comparison.
While on the subject of sports betting, this week’s leading sorehead is GOP strategist Daniel Harrop, who was suing the state of Rhode Island to get sports betting overturned. Why? He claimed to have been personally harmed because the state didn’t solicit his approval at the ballot box. Yeah, it’s screwy, I know, and a Superior Court judge thought so too, dismissing the litigation. As the state argued, Harrop hasn’t been hurt by sports betting and therefore lacks standing. Pesky attorney Joseph Larisa says he’ll find someone who lost money betting on sports and try again.
