Tumult in Atlantic City; Goodell’s exquisite hypocrisy

Atlantic City casinos have had enough with the town’s mayoral office. They want it eliminated in favor of a city manager. Difficult to argue with that one. Except for Don Guardian, we haven’t seen one A.C. mayor we’ve liked. The office is almost synonymous with corruption, and definitely synonymous with gridlock and cronyism. Not only is Resorts Atlantic City owner Morris Bailey contributing heavily to a referendum to phase Hizzoner out, more importantly, the city’s unions are lending their muscle to the effort. (Don’t mess with the unions in Atlantic City.) There would actually still be a mayor, under the reform proposal, but he or she would be chosen from among a downsized city council. Unite Here Local 54 President Bob McDevitt needs 2,472 signatures to get the question on the ballot and says he’s got them.

The union prexy has been on a media blitzkrieg, telling The Press of Atlantic City, “The only people that are [opposed] are those who are part of the cartel.” Buttonholing NJTV, he added, “we should have less people running a government. I think it’s more efficient and it makes sense for a community this size. No major city that has the kind of hospitality industry that we have has a main drag with the kind of undesirables and buildings that should be torn down.” As for charges of racism, McDevitt shot back, “I’ve raised five children in this city. I’ve lived here since 1995. If I was a racist, I wouldn’t live here.” Taking a page from Donald Trump, Councilman George Tibbitt (D) refused to abide by the results of the election: “It’s a scam. And even if they pass it, we’re going to give them a good, old-fashioned butt-whooping.” Mayor Marty Small (D), meanwhile, continues to try and shake down the casinos for sports-betting money. It’s about time they returned the favor.

* J.P. Morgan analyst Joseph Greff reports that Macao gaming “stocks are setting up nicely to own heading into 2020, after a tough and volatile 2019.” Hedge funds and long-term investors, though, are steering clear, perhaps scared off by aforementioned volatility. Greff said he had “a tough time thinking all the negative things thrown at Macau this year (U.S. China trade tensions, downside macro surprises, Hong Kong SAR protest disruption) will recur in 2020.” He likes Melco Resorts & Entertainment, Wynn Resorts and MGM Resorts International, with the caveat that the latter is more of a Las Vegas-centric investment play.

December will be a very difficult revenue comparison, made worse by a state visit from that notorious party pooper, President Xi Jinping. When the calendar turns over, comparisons get much easier. As far as troubles that Greff hopes are in the rear-view mirror, he notes “U.S.–China trade tensions flared up in May, resulting in renewed fears of a global economic slowdown. In 3Q, Macau stocks declined further as concerns grew over Hong Kong SAR protests interfering with Macau visitation (this has more so been the case with mainland China visitors).”

* Not only are the Arizona Cardinals a rotten football team but defensive back Josh Shaw has been betting on games. That has earned him a suspension for the remainder of this season and all of the next. Harsh! (Heck, it’s not even legal in Arizona.) This is Commissioner Roger Goodell‘s way of drawing a hard line in the sand and warning NFL employees that their jobs are on the line if they wager on the league. “This includes betting on game outcome, statistics, score, performance of any individual participant, or any other kind of ‘proposition bet’ on which wagering is offered,” read a memo obtained by ESPN. There’s something of a double-standard at work here, by which team owners (among others) can own shares of any company that “generates less than a third of its revenue from gambling-related operations.” Remember, Robert Kraft wanted to go into the casino biz but Foxborough voters nixed that idea. Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross owns a chunk of sports-betting service Action Network, which we hope is performing better than his NFL franchise. Jerry Jones has invested in DraftKings. Goodell’s message seems to be that it’s hunky-dory to profit from sports betting so long as you don’t place one measly wager. Way to go, Rog.

* So long, Glory of Rome. The Caesars Entertainment riverboat casino closes Dec. 12 and operations move to a new, land-based casino. (Thank you, Mike Pence.) Reversing one of Gary Loveman‘s many blunders, the casino will be re-renamed Caesars Southern Indiana. (Loveman valued the Caesars brand so highly that he used it as little as possible.)

* Was Luxor—by virtue of being a death-themed casino resort—ahead of the curve? The current vogue for ‘dark tourism‘ would suggest so. The Tour Guy Chief Product Officer Brandon Shaw says, “If the story behind the location provides valuable and intriguing insight into the destination, then it’s usually a good fit.” Sounds like they should add Luxor to the itinerary.

* A moment of silence please for author Robert K. Massie, biographer of Peter the Great, who also penned the best-selling Nicholas and Alexandra. He died from Alzheimer’s Disease complications at age 90.

Jottings: The surviving members of The Who are returning to Caesars Palace for six dates next May at The Colosseum. Tickets go on sale Friday the 13th … Chick-fil-A continues to conquer Vegas, setting up shop at the Golden Nugget. Three more locations (0f a projected eight) remain to open. Stay strong on that no-Sunday-business policy, guys … Steak is synonymous with Sin City. We can’t afford most of these restaurants but maybe you are more fortunate. They include a rogue’s gallery of founders that runs the gamut from Oscar Goodman to Steve Wynn.