Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt‘s jihad against the state’s gaming tribes has claimed its first casualty. Secretary of Native American Affairs Lisa Billy resigned, writing that the governor was “committed to an unnecessary conflict … [You have] remained intent on breaking faith with them,” Billy penned, referring to the tribes. “You have dismissed advice and facts that 
show the peril of your chosen approach and have remained intent on breaking faith with the tribes. Your actions have shown that my continuing in service on your cabinet is unnecessary to you and impossible for me.” She also slammed Stitt for threatening to open the Sooner State to private-sector casino companies as means of clubbing tribes into submission. Stitt, for his part, could not refrain from posturing about the issue. “[Legislators are] privately telling me that they support me. But you’ve got to realize that the other thing that’s frustrating that Oklahomans need to understand is when certain industries, the casino industry, pours money into campaigns, it complicates it and the lobbying and that’s what you’re trying to see happen to advocate for their positions.”
Mind you, Stitt was not above accepting $17,600 in tribal contributions from tribes in the last election cycle, which gives an ironic hue to his preening “Oklahomans hate that stuff. They hate the fact that a big industry can control public perceptions. That’s what drives [tribes] so crazy about me being an independent, outside governor, I come from the private sector, and I’m going to go back to the private sector.” Stitt continued talking out of both sides of his mouth regarding the current compact standoff. He noted that two tribes, Kialegee Tribal Town and the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians, had accepted his unilateral compact extension to Aug. 31, while threatening the non-compliant tribes with “impending uncertainty,” menace that was particularly directed toward their vendors.
Three major tribal chiefs were not impressed, writing to Stitt that “For some time, we have tried to establish meaningful intergovernmental engagement regarding our gaming compacts, but you have continued to reject our compacts’ plain terms. Recently, you have gone further, stating 
allegations against us and threats to our operations.” As for that “uncertainty” for vendors of which Stitt darkly warned, “We regard your threats to our vendors, who are not parties to the compacts, as inappropriate. As you know, the state has no legal authority to determine the legality of, or otherwise regulate, gaming on Indian land, including the acts of vendors in support of the tribal governmental gaming. Of course, tribes are the primary regulators of those vendors.” Stitt thinks he’s got the tribes backed into a corner but he’s the one whose escalating rhetoric may force him to lash out in a manner he’ll have $140 million worth of fiscal cause to regret. What’s more, his ‘negotiating’ tactics are so polarizing they’ll make it that much harder for him to find middle ground on tax increases.
* Bad news for Oyo Las Vegas: A New York Times report on the Oyo 
brand disclosed, among other things, that Oyo “offers rooms from unavailable hotels, thereby inflating its room numbers; that thousands of the rooms are from unlicensed hotels and guesthouses; that it gives free rooms to local officials to deter trouble over the illegal rooms; and that Oyo has imposed extra fees and declined to pay hotels in full.” So far the problems seem confined to India, but as Oyo grows as fast as possible there’s no telling how far they’ll reach. “This is the only company which went global at this scale from India,” says on researcher. “But as of now, there are serious doubts about the business model.” Is it too late to revert to Hooters?
* Encore Boston Harbor won’t find it any easier to incentivize slot play if it continues to sweat points. According to Vegas Message Board, Encore is awarding one point for every $5 of play (vs. $1.50 at Wynncore) and $10/point for video poker, compared to Wynncore‘s $6/point. We see a marketing opportunity for Plainridge Park in this.
* Sports books stand to clean up big after the Tennessee Titans defeated the favored New England Patriots and evil Steve Wynn crony Robert Kraft. Say, Bob, isn’t there a Florida massage parlor waiting for you? This is how a dynasty ends, not with a bang but a Tom Brady pick-six. (Books scored another big win Sunday when heavy road underdog Minnesota Vikings upended the New Orleans Saints.)
Speaking of football, the now-Las Vegas Raiders can look back on a 2019 in which they yawned in the face of long-suffering Raider Nation, phoning it in against crummy teams like the New York Jets and Denver Broncos. Now they have a new stadium, new fanbase, a blank slate and the chance of an easy schedule. Here’s hoping the Malosos turn over a new leaf in Sin City, which is ready to embrace them.
* The Oscar derby is suddenly shaping up as a two-horse race between Quentin Tarantino‘s Once Upon a Time in … Hollywood, the picture that just keeps on going, and Sam Mendes‘ sanitized World War I epic, 1917, which is peaking at the right time. (Don’t discount Terrence Malick‘s A Hidden Life; the Academy Awards are pushovers for Holocaust dramas.) Fading fast are Martin Scorcese‘s The Irishman and Noah Baumbach‘s Marriage Story. Why? It’s simple. The N-word: Netflix. It backed both movies and that backfired with the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which blanked Scorcese and only singled out Laura Dern‘s contribution to the Baumbach film. Netflix-funded Dolomite Is My Name also got shut out, as did The Two Popes. The playing-a-historical-figure gambit won Golden Globes for Renée Zellweger (as July Garland) and Taron Egerton‘s Elton John. Zellwegger deserves a prize for the most bizarre, disjointed Golden Globes acceptance speech—and the competition was fierce. Please, Awkwafina, win an Oscar and spare us a repetition.
Jottings: In a praiseworthy development, the Department of Veterans Affairs has opened a gaming-addiction center in Las Vegas. Let’s hope it’s the beginning of a trend, especially since veterans get the short of the stick when it comes to health treatment. We use them up and throw them away … MGM Springfield, despite its struggles, is having an effect on Connecticut. Tribal slot revenue was down $150 million last year … Trouble for Churchill Downs. It’s being sued for allegedly violating a collective-bargaining agreement by keeping temporary employees on the job longer than agreed … A player at Resorts World New York has been accused of damaging slot machines. Was not, replies player, hitting Resorts World with a lawsuit
