According to the Boston Globe, a “sense of reality” in sinking in at Encore Boston Harbor that it has to appeal to somebody besides high-income demographics. “This shift was evident recently when a bright-red taco 
truck appeared on the gambling floor amid the slot machines and table games.” You could fill up on nachos for $7/plate or you could eat in one of the restaurants and leave as much as several hundred dollars (money that might want to spend wagering) behind. Wynn Resorts‘ miscalculation of Beantown is not the first time a Steve Wynn casino has missed its niche: There was a steep learning curve at Beau Rivage when it opened in 1999.
Encore President Brian Gulbrants spun the dining shift as “quality at the right price point,” although seven bucks for some nachos still seems a mite steep. “We don’t ever want to alienate a segment of the business,” Gullbrants told the Globe. “We want customers to be able to 
come in here whether they have a dime, 10 bucks, or 10,000 bucks, and feel like a million bucks.” That’s a laudable change of priorities from the Steve Wynn era, when high-value customers were the only ones for whom Wynn Resorts rolled out the welcome mat. Gulbrants has also made some n0-brainer changes: No more parking fees; a loyalty program for slot players; lowering of table-game minimums from $50 (!) to $15. Rare Steakhouse has curbed its prices and cost-effective dining options are promised.
“You have every segment of the business in those markets as well,” Gulbrants said of Wynn Resorts’ other footholds. The question is whether the company tailors its approach to each, as it’s doing now in Boston. “Just because they’re synonymous with luxury or higher-end doesn’t 
mean they can’t be successful outside of a market like Vegas and Macao,” remarked Fitch Ratings analyst Colin Mansfield. Encore finds itself stuck in an awkward position where it’s doing well (especially in market share) but not as well as was expected. Part of its Beantown evolution will have to do with making the realization that, while customers go to Wynn-branded casinos in Las Vegas as a destination and budget accordingly, in Boston it’s just one option in daily life. People are unlikely to build a Bostonian vacation around gambling at Encore, not when so much convenience gambling is available close to home.
To its credit, Encore isn’t sweating comps (one gambler has been comped to all 15 restaurants) and it will be ready for sports betting—if Massachusetts ever gets off the dime—at its sports bar. Not that high rollers will be neglected: There soon will be a lounge just for them. “This was never going to be a property that was going to cater solely to VIPs,” says Mansfield, although we’re not sure the Wynn Resorts honchos thought that at first. Now you can win a free electric wok or toaster oven. Never underestimate the importance of toaster ovens.
* January in Atlantic City wasn’t just good for traditional gambling. Sports betting shot 185% upward and Internet gaming raked in $55 million, 64% more than last year. Parlay cards won $19 million alone. Basketball generated the most handle—$177.5 million—but football won more ($10 million) than roundball ($9 million). That’s a sizable cushion atop the $192 million won at the slots and tables. It also marks 20 consecutive months of gaming-revenue growth for the Boardwalk. Who says Atlantic City isn’t on the comeback trail?
* Facts B, as the new saying goes. Unless you’re Rick Heidner, that is. He’s claiming that the leakage of the fact that he was the subject of federal search warrants led to Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D, pictured) kicking him out of a 
racino acquisition last year. It’s a good thing Pritzker learned of Heidner’s seamy associations or God knows who might have been infiltrating Tinley Park. If you live in Nevada, a gaming license is a privilege. If you live in Heidner’s head it’s an entitlement. Heidner is also fighting the revocation of his gaming license for allegedly offering a bribe. If he’s not crooked he’s got extremely poor judgment at least. For its part, the Illinois Gaming Board is not denying the leak, chalking it up to “an isolated incident involving one employee who acted alone and outside the scope of their duties.” That’s not entirely reassuring when you consider that data dumps on Mrs. Heidner and her kids were included in what was less of a leak than a deluge. Heidner doesn’t belong in the gaming industry but why was the IGB sitting on sensitive information that would disqualify him?
* MGM Resorts International CEO Jim Murren may be pulling a fast one on the way out the door. He’s reportedly trying to shop the land 
underneath underperforming MGM Springfield. Since a transaction like this could be a cozy, semi-inside deal with MGM Growth Properties, it’s worth watching closely to see whether the sale fairly reflects the casino’s (declining) cash-flow or whether MGP is overpaying for a clunker. We’ll get the next set of Springfield numbers Feb. 18, although it’s too soon for Murren’s recent shakeup of the property to start manifesting itself on the bottom line.
* In a blow to the working man, the Canadian Federal Court of Appeals ruled against slot attendant Cheng Xia, who was fighting the taxation of his tips from winning gamblers. Considering how little dealers are other 
tipocracy workers get paid in base salary, dunning them for tips seems like governmental greed to us. Xia received $29,327 in salary for 2012 (hardly a living wage) but another $39,219, which he did not report as income. Players who strike it big get off easily, though, not having to pay tax on their winnings because they’re not constant income—unless you’re a professional gambler. Xia tried to split the difference, arguing that his tips were a “source or category of jackpot winnings.”
That didn’t fly with the court. It noted that the Income Tax Act codifies taxable income as salary plus “other remuneration, including gratuities.” Seems pretty cut-and-dried to us. Opined Justice Yves de Montigny, “It is clear that the evidence supports a finding that the appellant was liable for willful blindness and gross negligence.” Adding injury to insult the court fined Xia an additional $8,411 for aforesaid negligence. Do you think he’ll be a little more forthcoming with the inland revenue next time?
* Living in Georgia means sometimes having to explain things like this. It’s just harder and harder to run a good grift these days.
