Control Board buffoonery; Super-Mega-Jottings

Well, it didn’t take Nevada Gaming Control Board member George Assad long to stick his foot in it. No sooner had we prophetically called him a regulatory “doofus” than news surfaced of some most-unbecoming conduct during an NGCB hearing. Specifically, he whined at length about how his MGM Resorts International stock had supposedly suffered under the regimes of Jim Murren and Bill Hornbuckle. “[Terrence] Lanni had it up from $7 all the way to $96.40 and then Mr. Murren comes in, the stock price drops into the low teens,” Assad whinged. Why the financial performance of a company’s stock became the NGCB’s ostensible purview is anybody’s guess. Steve Wynn, many years back, opined that regulators should look harder at the financial probity of transactions and companies they approve—and we agree. It would have spared us fiascos like the Caesars Entertainment LBO and the Station Casinos bankruptcy, among many others.

But, as former gaming attorney and current UNLV Distinguished Fellow Anthony Cabot so sagely observed, “Regulators shouldn’t be second-guessing the business decisions of a company under their control unless it impacts their ability to effectively go forward by going broke.” Amen, Brother Cabot! Not content to rail against MGM’s stock performance, Assad also wasted time musing on the underperformance of MGM Springfield. “The operation [isn’t] doing so well,” asserted Assad, although (as Howard Stutz quickly noted), it’s coming off its best year to date. And what’s MGM Springfield got to do with the price of tea in Nevada?

Of course, a stopped watch is correct twice a day and Assad made a good point about MGM seeking its 13th deferral of launching i-gaming in the Silver State. Nobody would say it, but there’s no money to be made by initiating i-poker (the only permitted game) in Nevadan cyberspace. Still, we have to agree with Assad’s “Decisions like this give me pause in terms of why can’t upper management or Mr. Hornbuckle just make a decision after 11 years to either move forward with interactive gaming or not.” Of course, this turned out to be typical NGCB hot air. The board voted unanimously (yes, including Assad) to grant the waiver. Had the not, it might have sent a message about the importance of fishing or cutting bait. But that would be asking the NGCB to behave like a serious regulatory body, which is an awfully big ask.

Somehow the idea got into Gov. Joe Lombardo‘s noggin that gaming in Nevada is over-regulated. (Which would be hilarious were it not so tragically untrue.) So he’s tasked NGCB Chairman Kirk Hendrick with weeding away “outdated” regulations. It’s frankly somewhat alarming to read that the Control Board has targeted Regulation 14, which governs the licensing and technical standards of gaming machines. True, some of the changes are either needed or the regulatory language is anachronistic. But Lombardo wants brain surgery performed by May 1 and one has to agree with former NGCB chairwoman Becky Harris that a scalpel is needed in place of Lombardo’s meat cleaver. As she said, “You really have to do it with a 360-degree view and understand how removing certain sections, especially if they are significant sections, will impact the rest of the regulations.” It’s hard to do that when you have a gubernatorial fatwa hanging over your head.

Before we leave MGM Springfield, be it known that the casino has yet again taken illegal sports bets—as has Encore Boston Harbor. C’mon, this isn’t rocket science. How on earth could you A) list Harvard University as an “out-of-state institution,” a hilarious mistake and B) not recognize such a naked-eye factual error? We pause, not too long, in hopes of answer. Meanwhile, BetMGM is belatedly on the case. Encore took unlawful wagers on Boston College women’s hoops, for which no excuse seems possible. It’s time the Massachusetts Gaming Commission slapped some heavy fines on scofflaw casinos to get them thinking hard about “the cost of doing business” in the Bay State.

Regulators are getting ahead of themselves, however, by weighing putting sports betting kiosks into bars and restaurants, a real saturation of the market. While not necessarily a bad idea, it’s much too soon, given the MGC’s difficulty in policing the books that are already operating—and running amuck. Fortunately, the process is only at the feasibility-study stage and requires approval by the Lege. The latter may be wary of granting it, given recent history. “Sports betting kiosks can deliver expanded and more convenient access,” supplicated the MGC. “Sports betting Kiosks [sic] can accept cash, winning tickets, and vouchers, and grant full access to all sports propositions and pari-mutuel horse racing.” Yes, but can commissioners get a handle on all that—pun unintended?

Further down the coast, in New York State, online sports betting engendered $163 million in revenue last month, on handle of $1.8 billion. Lord knows how much was flung back into the market in the form of promos, as the Empire State doesn’t disclose that. The revenue leader was—surprise!—FanDuel with $80 million. DraftKings booked a very respectable $52 million, followed by Caesars Sportsbook with $15 million. Also showing up on the radar were BetMGM ($10 million), PointsBet ($2 million) and BetRivers ($4 million). WynnBet, BallyBet and Resorts World all flew well below the radar.

Sports betting isn’t getting anywhere in Missouri, so the industry may have to be satisfied with its recent triumph in Kentucky. Enabling legislation escaped from the state House, only to stall in the state Senate. As usual, it is being hamstrung by those solons who want to legitimize black-market slot routes. The main stumbling block continues to be state Sen. Denny Hoskins (R), who is as addicted to slot money as a baby is to its pacifier. The House bill would permit sports betting only to established casinos and to professional sports teams, among other provisions (which don’t include VLTs). The House wants a 10% tax on OSB, the Senate 15%. As for the other issues beclouding the debate, state Sen. John Rizzo (D), a VLT advocate laments that “It makes no sense.” But in a state so benighted it will probably defund public libraries, it makes perfect sense.

Jottings: Wynn Resorts stock got a boost from J.P. Morgan analyst Joseph Greff yesterday. The longtime Macao skeptic turned enthusiast upped Wynn’s price target $10/share almost solely on the strength of its Macanese performance and not at all to do with Las Vegas … Caesars Entertainment may be on the way out in Windsor. The Ontario Lottery & Gaming Corp. is entertaining tenders for the concession, which expires in 2025. Caesars may well re-bid, or it could exit and aim for a more direct hit on the Detroit market, possibly by purchasing MotorCity. No casino company can own two properties in the Motown area … Bally’s Corp. is keeping mum about the prospect of slot routes in Chicago. Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson (D) favors them but they could scupper Bally’s bottom line … All’s not well at the Downtown Grand (below). It’s being sued by the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission for allegedly having “failed to provide reasonable accommodations for employees with disabilities including—but not limited to — levoscoliosis, sciatica and cancer.” It’s furthermore accused of retaliating against workers who complained …

Good news, we hope, for the long-in-abeyance Cal-Neva Resort. The property, languishing in a stalled redevelopment, has been purchased for $58 million by Denver real estate mogul Chad McWhinney, who promises to take Frank Sinatra‘s old hangout off the back burner on which it has languished for the past decade … Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R) claims sports betting has “zero” support in the state Senate. To add spite to stupidity, Patrick won’t support any OSB bill backed by Democrats … A 2025 reopening of Diamond Jacks in Bossier City means a big re-do by new owner Cordish Gaming, including a Live rebranding. The riverboat will be retired and replaced with a casino on terra firma, a long-overdue move. Bravo, Cordish … Guess what? Casino legalization in Japan has been delayed yet again. Say not so! Seriously, wake us when something actually happens …

Long Island residents—well, a few of them—are all het up about proposed Sands Nassau (above). About 50, plus some opportunistic local politicos, showed up to protest the would-be megaresort from Las Vegas Sands … Problem gambling is so bad in the United Kingdom that the Tory government is pitching a new tax to combat it. Operators may be hit with a mandatory levy to support the National Health Service … Construction of Hard Rock Rockford is proceeding apace. The first above-ground steel beams have been erected. The $310 million casino should be finished by 2026, walloping a competing project in Beloit … A smoking ban in Kansas casinos is halfway through the Lege. The state Senate passed it but casino execs are predictably wailing to the House about lost revenues … An exodus of 44,000 expatriate workers from Macao during Covid-19 has left resorts scrambling for laborers. As a consequence, more than 50% of all hotel rooms are currently off-limits.