Adelson cools on Japan; Revel mystery deepens

Details of Japan‘s casino-implementation bill are starting to trickle out: a blend of tax rates for mass-market play (22%) and VIP action (12%), a minimum gambling age of 20 and casino square floors no bigger than 15,000 square feet. Limitations like these, as well as the fear of casino-entry taxes are causing some trepidation among casino developers. Sheldon Adelson takes umbrage at the size restriction in particular, threatening to shrink his investment from $10 billion to $5 billion. He told Asia Gaming Brief that it was impossible to build “the best kind of [megaresort]” if handcuffed in that way. At least the tax rate, mild by U.S. standards (and those of Macao) should give some reassurance to Adelson and his rivals.

While Sheldon, Jim Murren and Steve Wynn have focused on the big Japanese cities, the obscure metropolis of Tomakomai has suddenly become a hot property. The 10 companies reportedly descending upon it include Caesars Entertainment, Galaxy Entertainment, Hard Rock International and Clairvest Group, although the latter’s spotty resumé is unlikely to find favor with Japanese regulators.

* A curious odyssey is playing out in Atlantic City, where Glenn Straub continues to deny he has received any offers for Revel. The mystery bidder has revealed itself as Keating & Assoc., a private equity fund from Wall Street. Going public with its courtship, Keating is offering $225 million for Revel, which would give Straub a tidy profit. His continued head-in-the-sand attitude toward the whole affair is more than slightly baffling.

* WalletHub has declared Las Vegas to be the “most fun” city in the United States, out of 150 cities surveyed. Sin City comes out tops in dance clubs and restaurants per capita, as well second in bar accessibility and fifth in attractions per capita. However, it is only 40th in price of beer. Boo! Enough with the $7 mug of suds already! Congrats on the high accolade, however.

* According to Nevada‘s Legislative Counsel Bureau, you can light up a spliff in public now. However, “in public” doesn’t mean “in a casino.” The Nevada Gaming Commission has made it plentifully clear that casinos had better not allow marijuana use on the premises, lest they provoke the wrath of Jefferson Beauregard Sessions. As for consumption, prior to the Legislative Counsel Bureau’s opinion, most politicians held it to mean ‘confined to private residences.’ Said state Sen. Tick Segerblom (D), the father of legal pot in the Silver State, “We’re inviting 40 million people to come here and buy marijuana, but then we turn around and say there’s no place to use it. I think Vegas is perfect for this. That’s what we do. We regulate vices … Frankly, I think marijuana fits in with our image.” Added the Marijuana Policy Project‘s Morgan Fox, “If we want to regulate this just like alcohol, we need to treat it like alcohol.” Good point.

According to NBC News, the ruling means that you could even mix marijuana use with your yoga session (does it make the limbs more limber?). But the prospect of public pot lounges is chafing Gov. Brian Sanoval‘s ass. “I did not support them previously. I don’t support them now,” he said, citing fear of the aforementioned J.B. Sessions. Carla Lowe of Citizens Against Legal Marijuana is busy trying to put the genie back into the bottle. “Every major social problem is simply exacerbated when you have higher amounts of marijuana available,” she said, using a familiar anti-casino argument. “What is going to be the impact on these people that are driving home and what’s going to be the impact on crime?” We’ve heard that all before, Carla. You and Sheldon Adelson can share some sour grapes together.

Ironically, clear across the country, New Jersey is considering legal weed as an offset to the decline in the Garden State’s traditional cash crop: gambling. Prohibitive gubernatorial frontrunner Phil Murphy (D) is pro-legalization. Republican nominee Kim Guadagno meets him halfway, favoring decriminalization. “God knows we need every penny we can find. That’s $300 million to $500 million we don’t have at the moment that we could use,” said Murphy, former U.S. Ambassador to Germany. (Guadagno is the Garden State’s sitting lieutenant governor.)

Pot-tax proceeds could go toward shoring up New Jersey’s crumbling pension system, weakest in the U.S. Or it could be used as a lure for tourism to Atlantic City, if Assemblyman Reed Gusciora has his way and the Boardwalk becomes the only spot in the state where loco weed is legal. With casino-tax revenues down to $237 million, the siren song of lawful marijuana will be difficult to resist.