That was quick. Rockford Mayor Tom McNamara and city staff have tapped Hard Rock International to develop the city’s new casino, forwarding their recommendation to the Illinois Gaming Board. The Hard Rock bid was aided, if not 
clinched, by the promise of at least $7 million in annual gaming-tax payments to the city. “Hard Rock has the strongest and most complete proposal. It’s financial structure is credible. The Hard Rock proposal includes realistic and sustainable minimum gambling tax guarantees, along with additional revenue from payments to offset impacts to the city,” said McNamara.
Assuming the city’s recommendation is accepted by the state, Hard Rock will open a temporary casino at Giovanni’s Restaurant & Convention Center within 90 days of licensure. Work on the permanent casino will commence at the site of Rockford Clock Tower Resort. Competing proposals that fell by the wayside were from Forest City (too vague about financing) and Gorman Co. (no casino operator attached). Forest City and Gorman are sure to squawk when the subject comes up at a city meeting but Hard Rock really was the obvious choice.
* Macao gaming revenues last month were $2.7 billion, the lowest in a year, despite an easy comparison with typhoon-plagued September 2018. Even with a microscopic uptick, this comes off two months of declines, pointing—among other 
things—to continuing unrest in Hong Kong. (By the time Chief Executive Carrie Lam was prepared to make concessions, the protest genie was past the point of rebottling.) The news sparked modest gains on the Hong Kong bourse for MGM China and Sociedade de Jogos de Macau and declines for Wynn Macau and Sands China, with Wynn particularly vulnerable to an ongoing squeeze on VIP junketeers. As for Sands, parent Las Vegas Sands joins the S&P 500, so I guess the news isn’t all bad unless you’re Nektar Therapeutics, bounced to make room for LVS.
* Somebody was bound to be scapegoated for the underperformance of the newly renovated Palms and it happened to be President Jon Gray. He’s resigned, effective immediately.
* First World problems: Jailed R. Kelly is throwing himself upon the mercy of the court, demanding to be allowed to see more than one of his two live-in girlfriends at a time.
