This weekend, millions are fleeing a disaster of biblical proportions — I speak not of the epochal Deepwater Horizon spill but of Sex and the City 2.
However, while we’re on the subject, Gulf Coast casinos can take at least some modest cheer in the fact that the mega-spill has not washed up on their beaches and is, in fact, oozing in the opposite direction. But just how big is the Oil Spill from Hell? The Biloxi Sun-Herald has a nifty application that superimposes Deepwater Horizon on your city. If you dropped the spill atop Las Vegas, it would cover nearly all of Clark County, as well as chunks of Nye and Lincoln counties (laying waste to the Oldest Profession), stretching from St. George, UT, to Death Valley, with a tentacle extended toward Prescott, AZ.
On a more sober note, once the devastation to the Gulf economy sets in, it’ll be very hard on the wallets of the locals players who are the mainstay of Louisiana and Mississippi casino industries. For a month or two, it looked like the Gulf Coast casinos were on their way back up out of the trough of the Great Recession … now this. If it weren’t for bad luck, that region would have no luck whatsoever.
Here today, Archon tomorrow. The alternately waxing and fortunes of Archon Corp. Secretary-Treasurer Sue Lowden have put the comparable vicissitudes of her company under a microscope. Basically, it’s the saga of how a company with a somewhat impressive set of casino holdings — including the Sahara and the bygone Hacienda — withered into the rinky-dink crony-capitalism outfit that is present-day Archon. The depletion of assets and jobs also lends a sting of truth to Sen. Al Franken‘s paraphrase of a Sue Lowden tagline, “My job is fighting for your job, unless you happen to work at my husband’s casino.” Or water park. (Speaking of Paul Lowden, Archon’s better investments would not include his helmet-like toupée.)
Given the slap-happy way in which Mrs. Lowden’s campaign finances have been handled — it prematurely spent $18K in general-election funds and her personal-finance report to the Senate Ethics Committee is having to be redone after nearly 20 material omissions were uncovered — it’s hardly any surprise that Archon and its shareholders are frequently at each others’ throats. As the ex-president of what’s now Santa Fe Station, if Mrs. Lowden makes it through to November, we’ll be treated to the interesting experiment of a casino boss running for national office.
Her gaming-industry background is certain to be the subject of many a snooty reference from Katrina van den Heuvel types on the left, who can be as tight-assed about gambling as any Moral Majoritarian. Their conservative equivalents — like Dr. James Dobson — are less likely to make a stink than to just be tepidly supportive. With several hardcore anti-gambling figures politically ascendant (even if American Gaming Association polling shows the body politic trending the other way), Lowden gets to be a litmus test for how well the industry has “mainstreamed” its image.
The Newspaper That Shall Remain Nameless is widening its anti-Internet jihad. The many unanswered questions here include that golden oldie, “Who benefits?” If the R-J is offloading its rights to Righthaven LLC, who gets the proceeds from any lawsuit that goes to trial or is settled out of court? And who owns Righthaven? Why is it needed? Isn’t Stephens Media big enough to sue for itself?
Here’s a shortcut to the oil spill map site. I’m impressed by it; it really “brings home” the size of the calamity:
http://www.beowulfe.com/oil/
Franken: Then he delved into a brief question-and-answer that began with a weird and lengthy query about the roundup of wild horses (“So do we have any questions on things I might know something about?”)
Lord, how refreshing THAT is!
You mean I shouldn’t believe Republican candidates’ statements that their experience in business will set everything right in state & federal government, once we elect them? For shame! :-}
It seems that “the paper that shall remain nameless” isn’t out to sue ALL the sites that quote its articles; some political candidates get a pass. In a Google search for Righthaven LLC, I read these articles:
http://www.lvjournalreview.com/component/content/article/41-homepage-highlights/259-unfair-fair-use-suits
http://mediamatters.org/strupp/201005070024
The oil disaster makes me sick. Biloxi was on TV tonight, and even though the beaches aren’t affected, they were empty. This is a lost year for the shrimpers and tourism industry. I may drive to Biloxi for a few days just to do something. What a nightmare!
Please forgive me, as my knowledge of Archon Corp. is kinda slim, but have they ever built anything or created any jobs? And have they retained jobs? It seems like all they have done is buy businesses, eliminate jobs and sell at a profit. Not the foundation of a strong America.
There’s a lengthy history of the rise (and fall?) of former bandleader Paul Lowden in the casino business at: http://www.answers.com/topic/archon-corporation
Short answer: He’s neither built nor bought anything since the Santa Fe in 1991 and his fortunes have been in a long, slow decline for past two decades. Wet ‘n Wild wasn’t even an Archon property: it simply sat on land that Archon owned, until the Lowdens chased it out in 2004 — a decision of debatable wisdom and one that, in retrospect, contributed greatly to the “slum” atmosphere at the north end of the Strip.