Gaming caucus rebooted; Allen sends mixed message to Atlantic City

You’d think a $261 billion/year industry would get some props on Capitol Hill but gaming is the exception to the rule. Thankfully, Rep. Guy Reschenthaler (R) and Rep. Bennie Thompson (D) are trying to breathe new life into the comatose Congressional Gaming Caucus. Reschenthaler is from Pennsylvania, Thompson from Missouri, two states where casinos are major players. Nevada is, as you might expect, well-represented with Rep. Mark Amodei (R), Rep. Steven Horsford (D) and Rep. Dina Titus (D) all in the caucus. (Poor Susie Lee [D] gets left out in the rain.) The GOP needs to show more love for Big Gaming, though: only 11 of the 19 members come from Republican districts, although that number was swelled a bit when Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R) recently swapped party affiliation. While gaming-related issues rarely manifest themselves in the halls of Congress, it’s nice to know that the industry has a caucus at its back when they do.

* Hard Rock International CEO Jim Allen has been looking around Atlantic City and doesn’t like what he sees: like defunct traffic lights on Pacific Avenue that the city can’t bothered to fix. Referring to the former Trump Taj Mahal, Allen said, “frankly the town’s in worse shape today than it was when we bought the building.” He added, “When you’re in a resort environment where safety and security is so important, if the city can’t get something fixed as simple as the street lighting, then maybe a change is needed.” To that end, he said he wasn’t yet supportive but was “aware” of a push to oust Mayor Marty Small (D) in favor of a city manager, and to downsize the city council from nine members to five.

Allen knows Atlantic City, having broken into the industry in a low-level job at Bally’s back in 1980. Extending an olive branch to Small, Allen offered to meet with Hizzoner, an invitation Small said he was open to accepting. Small told reporters, “I’ve been in office 103 days and we’ve already made changes, with plenty to come … [I] will meet with anyone that has the city’s best interest, which Jim Allen does.” The latter remains bullish on Hard Rock Atlantic City, announcing $15 million in capex investments, including an upgrade of the sports book, considered one of the areas in which Hard Rock lags the competition.

He also busted out $2 million in bonuses, $250 apiece for the rank and file, salary-indexed for managers. Even though Hard Rock had missed its revenue target by 10%, Allen was in an expansive mood and said he hoped to double the bonuses next year. While Hard Rock brass never had any illusions about overtaking Borgata, they’ve achieved their goal of securing the second spot in the market (third behind Golden Nugget when online-gambling income is counted). He did have one complaint: The gravy in the buffet was so coagulated “we could plug a hole in a boat with it.” We’re confident his words didn’t go unheeded.

* As if they don’t have enough trouble, New York State‘s four newest casinos were informed they have unpaid regulatory bills. The fault is not theirs: The state failed to notify them of the arrearage. Said state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, “The costs to regulate casinos in New York State is supposed to be shouldered by the casinos themselves, but the state Gaming Commission has let some of them slide on this responsibility. That has unfairly shifted expenses to taxpayers. The commission should bill all casinos for oversight costs in a timely manner and come up with a plan to handle disputes with casinos over these charges as soon as possible.”

The timing is unfortunate for the casino quartet, which has been whingeing for tax cuts from the Lege. As part of their deal with the Empire State, salaries for on-site regulators are supposed to be picked up by the casinos. Resorts World Catskills and its three brethren were not billed for this. That translates into an uncollected, $13 million tab. The state is SOL for the interest payments these monies could have accrued, had they properly collected. The New York Gaming Commission has belatedly filed the paperwork to get the money. The agency responded, “The Commission appropriately waited for the conclusion of the regulatory process, which established rules and methodologies for regulatory fee assessment, before issuing its invoices.” Either way, it’s a bill that casino owners like Jeff Gural will not be looking forward to paying.

* Chronically unstable Venezuela would seem like nearly the last place you’d want to open a casino. But President Nicolas Maduro has green-lit one for Caracas‘ Humboldt Hotel. There’s a very big catch. Betting would have to be done in petros, the cryptocurrency that’s pegged to the fortunes of Venezuela’s oil industry. We don’t think Big Gaming will be making a land-rush to Caracas.

* Oscar odds lines haven’t budged despite the recent spate of awards ceremonies. Parasite was the surprise winner at the Screen Actors Guild awards but its increased mojo have have been canceled out by the Producers Guild, which gave its best-picture award to 1917. (The PGA is 79% predictive of the Academy Award for Best Picture.) The wife and I saw Parasite last weekend and agreed that it is—dare I say it?—the best film of 2019. (It was also very well attended, happy to say.) All acting categories are a virtual lock. And with due respect to the estimable Joaquin Phoenix, Parasite may be the real joker in the Oscar deck.

It may not be the only one. PlayUSA.com analyst—and accredited film historian—Jessica Welman says, “We saw last year that bettors were less motivated by the favorites and more interested in backing their favorite films and movie stars.” So far DraftKings is the only Atlantic City betting outlet to post odds but they seem to be taking their cues from offshore bookmakers. It’s got Once Upon a Time in … Hollywood and 1917 neck-and-neck for Best Picture, with everything else playing out to previous expectations. But if the Directors Guild should give its laurels to Parasite‘s Bong Joon Ho, all bets are off.