Garden State Gov. Chris Christie (R-N.J.) may have excluded sports betting as a new revenue source for the state’s besieged casino industry. As expected, state Sen. Raymond Lesniak (D, left) tuned the governor out and continues to pursue legalization of game wagers, federal law notwithstanding. Companies are lining up pro (Trump Entertainment Resorts) and con (Harrah’s Entertainment), although the entire discussion appears academic at this point. New Jersey has a long and tortured history on this issue, and Lesniak’s not letting go of his attempt to reverse a mistake from 20 years ago without a fight to the finish.
Never assume. Why? Because, for one, it means having to admit you erroneously believed the Atlantic City Hilton had shed CEO Nicholas Ribis. He is, after all, running the repossessed Resorts Atlantic City on behalf of its debtholders and aims to buy it himself. That’s somewhat analogous to, oh, Anthony Santo not only directing casino operations at the Vegas Club for Tamares Gaming but managing Boyd Gaming‘s Main Street Station simultaneously.
Ribis, who clearly leads a charmed life, was recently posturing onstage alongside former president — and current A.C. Hilton headliner — Bill Clinton. When I asked the New Jersey Casino Control Commission about the apparent conflict of interest posed by having the same CEO run rival casinos, I received a reply that didn’t tell me anything I didn’t already know: Mr. Ribis and Colony Capital bought Resorts several years ago and a couple of years later Ribis and Colony Capital bought the AC Hilton. Ribis was named CEO of both properties. When business declined, Colony stopped repaying its banks and eventually turned over the deed to the property to the banks. The banks asked Ribis to stay on and manage the property.
The cloud on Ribis’ horizon may take the form of Dennis Gomes, who quietly left Cordish Gaming and is kicking the tires at Resorts. Considering that Resorts is the Boardwalk casino generally considered likeliest to close, the choice of a new owner is obviously crucial and Gomes’ track record provides somewhat more basis for optimism than does Ribis’.
Clear sailing. So far, so good is the early prognosis on Genting Bhd‘s bid for the Aqueduct racino contract. Keep your fingers crossed, especially since Genting is thinking big, as in Vegas-style casino. Closer to home, projections of economic growth are being dialed back just a bit by the Singapore government. Even so, spurred in part by Resorts World Sentosa (left), Singaporean GDP grew an impressive 18% in the first half of 2010, with tourism exceeding the 1 million-per-month rate for the first time ever last month. The next challenge on the government’s plate is to prevent a needed influx of guest workers from raising Macao-like labor tensions.
I was surprised to see Gomes’ interest in Resorts. I think that if anyone can make a go of it, he is certainly one of them. Hopefully the place could be saved.