In a cryptic real estate listing, LoopNet has Suncoast emblazoned across the top of its splash page. However, the company says “This listing is not currently being advertised on LoopNet.com”
So what the Sam Hill is it doing there? Is Boyd Gaming trying to flash a bit of ankle at potential buyers (even archnemesis Station Casinos would be interested)? Only CEO Keith Smith knows for sure. Also, Tony Hsieh appears to be cashing out of some of his Downtown Project agglomeration of motels, if my eyes don’t deceive me. The conversion of Downtown into Hsiehville has stalled in recent years, so a liquidation would not come as a surprise. (Thanks to an eagle-eyed S&G reader for the tip.)
* New York State‘s Seneca Nation has been playing hardball with state and local governments, ending revenue-sharing payments on the grounds that there was no definitive requirement for the distribution to continue when the agreement rolled over after 14 years. The money’s been withheld since March 2017 but the Seneca are hedging their bets by keeping $225 million in escrow, just in case. Now Seneca County is calling that bluff. Its board of supervisors wants the county’s cut and is calling for all three Seneca Nation casinos—none of which, ironically, are in Seneca County—to be closed.
The early wisdom on this is that it’s just political posturing and the county can’t do anything. The Seneca are also brawling with
Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D). An arbiter ruled in favor of the Empire State in its insistence on renewing the revenue distribution. However, the tribe is appealing that verdict, saying that it amounts to an alteration of the compact, something only the Department of the Interior can do. The Trump-era Interior Department is hard to read but has been unpredictable enough that the Seneca are not wrong to put their chips on it.
Speaking of Interior, it’s gone to court against MGM Resorts International. It’s asking the judge to dismiss MGM’s lawsuit challenging a decision to green-light Tribal Winds casino in Connecticut. Should the judge agree, there’s no guarantee that Foxwoods Resort Casino and Mohegan Sun would move forward on Tribal Winds, as they have dragged their feet so far.
* Montana has promulgated rules for sports betting, which will be administered by the state lottery. To qualify to have a
sports book, you have to a liquor license, a gaming-operator license and a lottery-vendor license. Restrictive though that sounds, some 1,400 businesses could qualify. The application fee is so small as to be almost laughable: $50. Had Gov. Steve Bullock (D) not intervened, private companies would have been allowed to compete with the lottery, which really would have been a scrumdown. Bullock hasn’t ruled that out in the future but wants to take this one step at a time.
* Rep. Dina Titus (D) continues to be wishy-washy on resort fees, trying to have it both ways. In the meantime, Caesars Entertainment is trying to package its latest fee hike as a keeping-up-with-the-Joneses move. However, if Caesars is
going to charge as much as Las Vegas Sands it ought to offer a comparable quality of product first. Speaking of Sands, as conservative as Sheldon Adelson may be, he’s installed charging stations for electric cars at Venelazzo. By contrast, Trump International parrots current Washington, D.C., policy by spurning charging stations, making it the only Luddite of consequence on the Strip. But if you drive an electric car, stay away from Downtown: There are no charging stations to be had, although one might be coming to the Golden Nugget. But we’re not holding our breath.

Land is being sold by investors (Peccole Family). Boyd will just mail the rent check to someone else.
Thanks, Mike!