When executives attack; Sheldon’s new beard; Wall Street loves it some MGM

Few YouTube feeds are more prolific and state of the art than that of Station Casinos (although they really ought to think twice about posting cell-phone footage online; it looks rinky-dink). However, what you will not see is an ad campaign airing on Southern Nevada TV stations, railing against the Culinary Union for engaging in — gasp! — activism. Unheard of! (Which is not to certain excuse Culinary tactics that sound like harassment to me.) Of the three spots I’ve seen, two feature high-level executives who A) aren’t eligible for union membership anyway and B) are unlikely to see their jobs at risk — although one of the ads depicts a Vice President Of Sales whining that her job is in peril. (Trust me, lady, the rank-and-file will get the chop long before you do. And Station employees who are reliant upon the tender mercies of upper management — and have seen their 401[k] matches stopped during the Colony Capital fiasco — might well like the looks of the Culinary’s pension plan instead.)

The latest line of attack is that the Culinary is trying to stop people from getting married in Vegas! The deuce you say? Why those vile blackguards! Unhand that casino, you footpads!

The last time I looked, there was no shortage of opportunities to tie the knot here. Besides, based on recent history, maybe people should stop and think before they plunge into Ye Olde Quickie Vegas Wedding (especially if they plan to cap the evening by cruising the mean streets, scoring drugs). Anyway, thanks to LVLefty702 for preserving the grotty, camp-classic TV ad in which bleary-eyed Station exec Vincent Barile looks like he’s either just crawled out of bed or has spent the last three nights drawing to inside straights in a smoky poker room. Dude, you’re representing a Fortune 500 company. Spruce up! And make the acquaintance of a razor while you’re at it.

For those following The New(t) Adventures of Sheldon Adelson, the Doge of Venelazzo is planning to dump $5 million into Florida … and not on casino development. I’ll let you decide which is more newsworthy: Sheldon taking his eye off the ball while Genting is rolling up the score in the Sunshine State or the fact that he hid behind his wife’s skirts to make this latest cash drop. While I disapprove of Texas Gov. Rick Perry‘s disapproval of casinos, contributions to his latest reelection bid from Adelson and the Fertitta Brothers haven’t swayed his views. You have to admire that, unlike Florida’s Invertebrate-in-Chief, Rick Scott, whose principles could be had in return for a night’s stay at The House That Sheldon Built. (Meanwhile, Jon Ralston reminds us of El Bombastico’s long history of spitting into the wind.)

Bullish on MGM. You’ll not go broke betting on Wynn Resorts, as Wall Street analysts continue to do. However, BMO Capital Markets‘ Jeffrey Logsdon goes way on a limb for MGM Resorts International. It’s not the steadily improving metrics on the Las Vegas Strip that raise one’s eyebrows but a couple of outright assumptions that Logsdon factors into his price target. MGM’s share of Borgata revenue is still under lock and key but the analyst figures the company will book a $330 million score because “he expects a buyer to emerge and a deal to be announced this year.” Yeah, we expected that last year … and the year before … and so on. Besides, the projected sale price of $100 million-$150 million looks like chicken feed relative to the property’s annual gross — a metric of how low the Atlantic City market has fallen. (Seriously, at that price, 50% of Borgata would be the deal of the year. I can think of several companies who can afford that buy-in and may be missing a low-risk/high-reward opportunity here.) Secondly, Logsdon assumes construction of MGM’s Cotai Strip megaresort, underwritten by an MGM Grand Paradise that’s recouped its cost and is “gushing cash,” will begin in 2012. If there’s anything we know for certain about the Macao government, it’s that it likes to keep the casino barons and tenterhooks while the development-approval process creeps glacially forward. Just ask CEO Jim Murren, who’s made no secret of his impatience but is finding that you can’t fight City Hall … not that one, anyway.