So much for Tribal Winds, the satellite casino that was going to counteract MGM Springfield. Its backers are cutting the proposed $300 million investment by one-third. On the plus side, this could be read as a 
way of saying the threat from Springfield is no longer as great. On the other hand, Foxwoods Resort Casino and Mohegan Sun pulling in their horns could point to problems closer to home. “We’ve refined it a little bit based on the data that we have,” rationalized Mashantucket Pequot Chairman Rodney Butler. “We now know more about the market … There’s been a lot of concern expressed over the past few years regarding saturation of the market.” Yes, but coming from someone like Butler it’s novel. His sudden lack of confidence comes as the Nutmeg State Lege is mulling an all-out expansion of gambling: iKeno, a Bridgeport casino, sports betting, “entertainment zones,” etc.
Butler’s sudden abundance of caution should give solons pause, although it’s unlikely to have that effect. Over at MGM, outgoing CEO Jim Murren admitted that his casino has “admittedly performed below our 
expectations,” helping to cost Murren his job. Connecticut lawmakers might take a lesson from Murren that there’s not as much money in them there nutmegs as previously thought, but they’re pretty sold on more gambling, at least to the extent of sports wagering and lottery expansion. The pain isn’t confined to MGM. In the first half of FY20, Mohegan slot handle fell 8%, Foxwoods’ by 6%. State Sen. Cathy Osten (D) offered a bit of revisionist history, saying the tribes had long ago told Gov. Ned Lamont (D) they would “consider downsizing” Tribal Winds. Poor Ned. Every attempt he makes to negotiate a grand bargain on gambling blows up in his face. “It’s not unusual to re-evaluate as things move forward,” offered Osten by way of consolation. As for Tribal Winds, it’s been on the drawing board five years and counting. Don’t cancel any appointments so you can attend the groundbreaking.
* MGM Resorts International was forced to go public with a data breach this week after details of 10.7 million guests—including Justin Bieber—were published online. (Can we call it a severe case of Bieber Fever?) Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey was also one of the more prominent 
victims. According to ZDNet.com, “included in the leaked files are also personal and contact details for celebrities, tech CEOs, reporters, government officials, and employees at some of the world’s largest tech companies.” The hack took place last year and, to its credit, MGM promptly notified the victims (unlike some hotel companies that love to hush this sort of thing). The company also conducted an internal investigation into how the data dump took place.
If it’s any consolation, none of the leaked data postdated 2017. So if you’re a recent guest, sleep easy. Also, the breach is much smaller than the Chinese government’s raid of Marriott three years ago.
* Unlike many unions in the U.S., the clout of the Culinary Union is growing. By this time Sunday we should know whether its aversion to Medicare-for-All candidates was stronger than its feckless “We’re opposed to Medicare for All but even more opposed to making a candidate 
endorsement.” (We attribute that non-event to Harry Reid-induced fear of ending up on the losing side when the ballots were counted.) Nobody in Nevada comes close to the Culinary’s get-out-the-vote operation, which makes its last-minute neutrality this year even more perplexing. (It went for Barack Obama in in 2008, which didn’t work out too badly for the union’s heft.) Not even Tom Steyer‘s provision of free tacos did the trick. Despite openly breaking with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I), the Culinary kept its powder dry, which will hand Sanders Nevada on a platter.
The Culinary’s expressed view is that supporting Medicare For All guarantees four more years of Donald Trump in the White House. By doing nothing, the Culinary may have just done The Donald a big favor. The union is dead-set against Trump despite having brought his hotel to heel in 2016. And if you think the Culinary doesn’t make a difference, consider that a pantry cook at Caesars Palace would make only $13/hour (or half the Caesars salary) at Harrah’s New Orleans … with no health insurance. The union doesn’t talk about the “Las Vegas dream” for nothing.
* Casinos in Macao are reopening but that doesn’t mean you’re not taking your life in hands if you play at them. That, at least, is the contention of labor activists in the enclave. The New Macau Gaming Staff Rights 
Association called the lifting of the casino closure “irresponsible” and the coronavirus contentment effort still “critical.” “Reopening casinos is just increasing the instances of people going around and gathering, especially for the [casino] staff that are catching their companies’ shuttles and eating at canteens,” said the association’s Cloee Chao. “They are all coming back collectively when the virus risk is still there.” The government has taken notice at least to the extent of exhorting casino owners to clean their facilities more frequently.
Chao was unimpressed. “Gaming chips are as dirty as money. We do hope dealers can be at least given an option to wear gloves when working,” she said. As for the owners, they may have put in a bit of elbow at City Hall. Wrote Nomura Instinet analysts, “‘Reopening’ the casinos is probably being driven by the government’s commitment to having the operators continue to eat the operating costs, particularly labour.” Money talks, especially in Macao.
* Outstanding Nevada historian and author Eugene Moehring has died. The self-effacing Dr. Moehring, one of the leading lights of the University of Nevada-Las Vegas faculty, was a rich repository of lore and a great friend to our Question of the Day page. He was missed when he retired and now will be missed even more. Rest in peace, professor.
Jottings: For reasons unknown to us, Rep. Elise Stefanik (R) is the congressional darling of the casino industry. In addition to Steve Wynn, 
she now counts Sheldon Adelson among her patrons … Colorado voters may be asked to lift the $100/hand betting limit that is imposed on its casinos. Initiative 257, if passed, would put the issue in the hand of Colorado’s three casino towns. Casinos would also be empowered to add such games as baccarat … Smoke ’em while you can, Pennsylvania gamblers. A bill introduced in the General Assembly would snuff out smoking in casinos … DraftKings is adding triple-double wagers to its menu of bets. This gives LeBron James a chance to atone for his recent toadying to China‘s Communist government.
