Along with Resorts Atlantic City, the Golden Nugget (seen above in its Trump Marina days) has inked a new labor pact with Unite-Here, bringing to an end any uncertainty about a strike on the Boardwalk. Workers get substantial pay increases, as they desired, and casino bosses get four years of peace. Union local prexy Robert McDevitt called the negotiations “long and difficult” but everyone is making nice in the wake of the deal. “We were one of the final casinos that was approached for negotiations and we are proud it was a swift and amicable agreement,” remarked Nugget General Manager Tom Pohlman. Resorts’ durable President Mark Giannantonio echoed Pohlman: “We’re really thrilled for the employees. They’ve been working really hard for us, and now we’re happy we can put this behind us and move forward with our business.” Only that remains is formal ratification of the contract, which should be a slam dunk.
Casinos should breathe a particular sigh of relief as customers are flocking to the shore this summer. Our Atlantic City correspondent reports crowded gaming floors last weekend at Borgata (naturally), Hard Rock Atlantic City (ditto), Golden Nugget and Bally’s Atlantic City. Of the latter’s new Players Lounge, “you go for the view, not the food, and certainly not for the service.” While at Borgata, he took in Funambula and reports, “First, one woman was balancing on top of another one, see photo. Second, some guy climbed a pole with a platform on top, which swayed back and forth, back and forth, etc. Third, when the juggler came out, we were the first people to leave the show. There were two shows, 7 p.m. and 9 p.m.. They were ‘comp’ shows for the ordinary peasants. I later read some of the people appeared on America’s Got Talent and Britain’s Got Talent. The real deal was Trevor Noah on Friday night. No comps for the ordinary people like us.”
Speaking of entertainment, Golden Nugget’s keeps falling by the wayside. Our correspondent was looking forward to Chubby Checker, who canceled “no reason given.” Same with Yacht Rock Legends at the Nugget. It must be difficult for the Nugget to compete, given that it is a tiny property when compared to neighbors Borgata and Harrah’s Resort. Getting back to the Bally’s Players Lounge, how bad could it be? Well, “the food was ‘high school’ quality as usual. When my wife asked another customer what her drink was, she replied ‘Banana Nut Bread Martini’ made only by Sandy. She ordered one, and the drink server said Sandy was ‘busy’, and the drink looked very, very light colored. The other customer said it doesn’t look anything like that.
“A few minutes later, the customer walked back from the bar and handed my wife the drink made by Sandy, much, much deeper color, and the glass rimmed with banana nut bread pieces! It’s really pathetic that a customer has to get another customer the correct drink. So, if one of their bartenders can’t make a drink, how is Bally’s casino going to build a new casino?” We often wonder the same thing. Our man in A.C. was much happier at Hard Rock (winning $295 on a $5 bet certainly helps).
A storm of biblical proportions broke over Las Vegas last night, setting off flash flooding that serves as a reminder of how pitiful Sin City’s infrastructure is. Predictably, the Linq parking garage, in the path of a natural wash, flooded. But so did Caesars Palace and the Circa sports book, while a hole was punched in the roof of Planet Hollywood. (Interesting that most of the damage was felt at Caesars Entertainment properties. Has CEO Tom Reeg ever heard of ‘preventive maintenance’?) Fremont Street Experience went dark as well, courtesy of a lightning strike. Perhaps the best bon mot on the whole debacle came from Mick Akers, who tweeted, “Circa Sportsbook thought it was Circa Swim tonight.” In fairness to some of the affected properties, who could have expected wind gusts up to 71 miles per hour? Still, Vegas was caught with its pants down. Thankfully, no one was injured.
https://youtu.be/Ie3caQbu7wc (link to flooding at The Linq)
Did any casinos have the decency to close? Hell, no! Don’t be silly. Not even when panels were falling from the Planet Ho ceiling. There’s money to made, no matter how soggily. For the moment, Circa and Caesars are hiding under the table, refusing to respond to media queries about how this could have happened. One person who was talking was UNLV ‘economic geologist’ Simon Jowitt, who added to the hilarity by claiming. “We’ve got good drainage systems but sometimes the water just overloads them.” However, he’s right that “It can also be dangerous for homeless people who sometimes live in the drainage systems for shelter,” a well-documented problem. “The other thing is that we don’t often get rain so it’s hard to check whether roofs and the like are actually waterproof; probably what has happened in the casinos tonight,” Jowitt told the New York Post. And it’s not over yet. Better invest in some tarps, Mr. Reeg.
Siegel Group operates small casinos and slot routes in the Las Vegas Valley. It is also a slumlord. According to a U.S. House of Representatives investigation, it took advantage of the Covid-19 pandemic to victimize its tenants and in the most scumbag fashion imaginable. This from a company that was receiving $7 million in federal disaster-relief aid, include a $2 million loan that Siegel never repaid. An important Las Vegas Review-Journal investigative pieces lays bare how Siegel essentially raped its tenantry just for the sadistic heck of it. A full accounting of the sack and pillage may never be possible as relevant document have gone conveniently missing. But during the pandemic Siegel evicted 89 tenants who had pending rental-assistance applications, even one who had just paid their rent. That’s the tip of the iceberg. Siegel turned 773 people out into the street overall, pandemic be damned.
Much of this was done by astutely exploiting a loophole in federal law that permitted hundreds of ‘no-cause’ evictions, according to the House panel, “to try to avoid allowing tenants from receiving CDC moratorium protection from eviction for nonpayment of rent.” Siegel officials gloated in their villainy, with Senior Vice President Mike Tisdale writing, “I want this person very uncomfortable sitting in our room for free.” He proposed harassing said tenant, including turning off her air conditioning and having security harass her twice nightly. When Siegel distributed a misleading report to its clients, one exec typed gleefully, “I love getting to say that this means the eviction may happen sooner than expected and seeing the look on their faces. :-)” (Yes, the bastard really added an emoticon.)
Wallowing in eviction notices, Tisdale wrote to his minions, “I am hearing positive feedback from the properties that have been using this order to bluff people out. I hope you all are doing the same.” Of one Texas woman he scribbled, “Let her know when the constable comes she will only have 5 minutes to get all her stuff. Lets [sic] see if she vacates over the weekend.” The House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis deemed Siegel’s behavior “uniquely egregious,” with Rep. Jim Clyburn (D) elaborating, “While the abusive eviction practices documented in this report would be condemnable under any circumstances, they are unconscionable during a once-in-a-century economic and public health crisis.” In a vacantly cheerful response to the R-J, the company lawyer hollered that “SIEGEL CARES!” The evidence says otherwise. We hope Nevada regulators take this into account the next time Siegel wants a gaming license.
Jottings: There should be a special circle in Hell for people like degenerate gambler Raul Carbajal, who is facing charges for “willful, malicious torture of an animal.” This piece of human scum supposedly duct-taped shut the mouth of his three-month-old Husky and locked the dog in a car without food, water or air conditioning—during 113-degree heat—so he could gamble at Bellagio. The industry can do quite well without customers such as this … Singapore‘s two casinos are looking at revenues so phat that Resorts World Sentosa (above) could exceed pre-Covid levels. Marina Bay Sands has already reported $390 million in 2Q22 revenue and Resorts World has yet to disclose … It’s taken 16 years but Gary “Duke” Goett is putting the finishing touches on long-aborning Legends Bay Casino in Sparks. The magic formula involved obtaining a rare, ‘portable’ casino license and relocating it. Legends Bay opens Aug. 30 … What outsider would want to bid on a Macao casino concession these sorry days? We’ll find out by Sept. 15, as the tender process kicks off today. Nobody is expect to vacate the enclave, as it’s costlier to quit than to stick out the Covid-impaired economy … Bally Bet has been approved in Ontario but is launching with i-casino offerings only. Being the 19th operator in the province might be discouraging Bally Bet from vying for sports-betting market share … Churchill Downs can’t win for losing. Despite posting best-ever 2Q22 revenue, including a record Kentucky Derby haul, the company failed to meet Wall Street‘s revenue expectations. The Run for the Roses scored its highest TV rating since 2017 and the company’s Home Stretch Club came in $7 million under budget. CHDN shares, however, continued to gently decline.
Caesars does virtually zero pm at their properties. They haven’t since 2014. Siegel family are pure evil and GCB should revoke their gaming license as a start to getting them out of the state.