Like a Virgin: Mohegan Sun comes to Vegas

It’s official: Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment will be the casino manager of Virgin Hotel Las Vegas. “Aligning the MGE brand with Virgin Hotels Las Vegas extends our growing reach into yet another legendary global entertainment capital. Together with Virgin Hotels, experience seekers all over the world will have the opportunity to partake in an extraordinary guest journey that only our strategic alliance can deliver,” proclaimed Mohegan CEO Mario Kontomerkos. Virgin will be replete with brand names. In addition to Mohegan Sun running the casino, J.C. Hospitality will operate the hotel and the whole shebang will be marketed through Hilton‘s Curio Collection. And let’s not forget AEG, the new booking agent for The Joint. Virgin Hotel represents the first tribal casino on (well, near) the Strip. Can Hard Rock International be far behind?

Speaking of Hard Rock and Mohegan Sun, they’re the two remaining contenders for the casino concession at the Hellenikon mega-resort project in Greece. Hard Rock is willing to commit $1.1 billion toward the project, which will have a total tab in the neighborhood of $9 billion. Caesars Entertainment was in the running but dropped out last summer. Genting Group remains a long-shot possibility. The Greek government hasn’t asked for much in the way of a casino: 500 slots and 100 tables. It intended to choose the winning bidder on Sept. 30 but has pushed the decision back to Oct. 4.

* While some Culinary Union elections at Station Casinos properties have been blowouts, such was not the case at Fiesta Henderson. The Culinary eked out victory with 57% of the vote.

Still, a margin of one vote is a mandate of some sorts, so we hope that 57% is enough to encourage productive talks between Station and the Culinary. The latter is lining up heavyweight political allies behind it, including Sen. Bernie Sanders (D), Julian Castro and Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D). While amicable negotiations are to be hoped for, Station has a history of war to the knife and knife to the hilt. Expect the Fiesta Henderson election to be fought out in U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

* United Airlines is teaming up with Big Brother, er, the TSA on an “Innovation Checkpoint,” to be rolled out in Las Vegas. Not even wheelchair-bound passengers will be spared the indignity of an X-ray. I guess some TSA imagineers fixated on the episode of Breaking Bad where Hector Salamanca turns his wheelchair into an IED to put paid to Gus Fring. Gotta watch those paraplegics, you know.

* The Las Vegas Strip already has virtual reality (think Linq) but … an ice cream museum? The Strip’s gotta get one of those. I don’t think “escape rooms” will go over big, though. Not in Sin City. Nobody goes there to get cooped up in a room. In the meantime, stay tuned for the arrival of the Meow Wolf art museum. Yeah, that’s a real thing.

* Residents of North Dakota—all five of them—are deserting the state’s tribal casinos in favor of charitable pull tabs. The new devices generated handle of $410.5 million in nine months and are estimated to bring $69 million to nonprofits in the current, two-year budgetary cycle. That could mean $750,000 for ShareHouse substance-abuse center. “Charitable gaming helps all North Dakota one way or another,” said manager Jon Jorgenson.

Some more than others. “They really need to get these … out of here — get rid of them,” groused one losing player. “It’s a big hit for us. We’re feeling it,” said an official with Spirit Lake Indian Reservation, where casino receipts are off 40%. “There is no reason to go to the casino now.” Since tribal casinos fund community services like fire departments this is a legitimate cause for worry. Small wonder the state Gaming Director Deb McDaniel sought refuge under the Cone of Silence when a newspaper came calling. State Sen. Dwight Cook (R) would like to rebottle the genie, saying, “You can put lipstick on them all you want—these are slot machines that never should have showed up in the state without a vote of the people.”