At the risk of taking Hurricane Sandy too lightly, in some respects the storm — currently on a path straight for Atlantic City — represents a strange blessing in disguise for the Boardwalk. 
With the city all buttoned up as of 4 p.m. yesterday, the last week of October will be a revenue washout and, depending on the extent of the damage, some of November might be gone with the wind, too. Which means that Atlantic City could get as much as a nine-week “mulligan” on its year-over-year revenue comparisons. Gov. Chris Christie (R) would also be able to take the high moral ground against racino-hungry legislators, shaming them for wanting to kick the Boardwalk while it’s down.
Points for proactivity go to Trump Entertainment Resorts, which shooed its guests out five hours ahead of schedule. And if idiot players like Brooklyn douchebag Bobby Colleran are any indication, a good thing, too: “I would think it’s safe inside the buildings. People would be gambling and drinking and not trying to go outside.” Leaving aside the wisdom of drinking and feasibility of gambling in the midst of a hurricane, with thinking like that, Colleran will be lucky to see his 30th birthday. (Then again, people with fewer brain cells have lived longer.) And, thanks to untimely removal of sand dunes in front of Resorts Atlantic City, Mother Nature may welcome Mohegan Sun to the Boardwalk with a sock on the jaw.
Heck, Tropicana Entertainment CEO Tony Rodio didn’t even wait for Sandy to make landfall before he started spinning it as no big deal. In terms of dollar volume, yes, a late-October midweek isn’t such a bad time for Atlantic City to have to close up shop. But as far as percentage comparisons go, the effect will be pretty deleterious, let’s not kid ourselves.
So that Justice Department probe of overseas money handling — and alleged money-laundering — by Las Vegas Sands was a whole lotta nothing, right, Sheldon? Political persecution of your wonderful self, huh? Then how come the Wall Street Journal is reporting that your company’s lawyers are trying to wangle a plea agreement with the DoJ? It looks as though Sands will pay a fine and admit some degree of culpability. Given the piles of moolah that Sands’ Macao casinos bank every month, the DoJ should make sure the amount of the fine is large enough to make a visible dent in the ledger. That’s the only way the lesson would stick. And, with betting markets heavily favoring a Barack Obama victory next month, Sheldon Adelson‘s chances of buying executive clemency aren’t looking too good right now. So he’s doing what he does best: cutting a deal.
Atlantic City is a barrier island. In normal circumstances a heavy rain during high tide will produce flooding in low lying areas. One major road and two older state highways are the only way out and they have to transverse this marsh to exit. The fact that the area has not seen a storm of this magnitude since 1964 has insulated the residents against common sense.