Las Vegas Sands CEO Sheldon Adelson continues to burn through company at what would — for most ordinary firms — be a frightful clip. 
Clark County District Judge Rob Bare tacked $31.6 million onto a $70 million jury award to former Sands middleman Richard Suen. That tab will be compounded at an $8,400/day rate. Of course, if they made $8K bills, Adelson would light cigars with them, so well established is his contempt for what most people regard as Real Money.
Adelson’s determination to seek an appeal and a third jury trial, however, is making a laughingstock of him. The Las Vegas Review-Journal‘s Howard Stutz, normally somewhat circumspect, had great fun this week taking 
potshots at Adelson’s insistence on doing the same thing over and over again, yet expecting a different result. (Isn’t that called ‘insanity’?) Let’s review: Adelson is 0-2 and the second loss was bigger than the first. Would he like to bet the house on winning Trial #3? If copycat lawsuits are a legitimate fear, why was a similar one quietly settled four years ago? It may be Adelson’s prerogative to buy every election he can, but how are his minority shareholders served by endless courtroom squabbling with Suen … especially with two other potentially volatile trials headed Sands’ way?
It’s just not Sheldon’s week. His minions have been trying to run all over the Cotai Strip isthmus, stamping “TM” on everything in sight. 
However, Macao‘s Court of Second Instance nixed the privatization of such cumbersome locutions as “Cotai Strip CotaiExpo” and “Cotai Strip CotaiArena.” (Melco Crown Entertainment is believed to be the appellate that thwarted Sands China‘s trademark spree.) Despite Adelson’s attempts to corner the market on the name “Cotai Strip” years ago, the court ruled that it denotes a gaming zone within the city and the disputed nomenclature is too sweeping, insufficiently Sands-specific. Damn that jurisprudence! Why does it fail to worship the Almighty Dollar?
Although the Nevada Legislature could still welsh on the deal, there is an agreement in principle to compromise on the failed crusade by governors Jim Gibbons (R) and Brian Sandoval (R) to raid casino 
coffers for taxes on comped meals. According to an agreement with the Nevada Tax Commission, the state gets to keep $200 million in taxes and $33 million in interest. In return, the casinos will be left alone through 2019. Any further comp-taxation would have to be passed by the Lege, not weaseled out through creative legal interpretation, as Midnight Jim (above) attempted to do. Of course, the gaming industry could have taken its fight to the Nevada Supreme Court but a loss there would have been literally and figuratively costly. However, clinging to every dollar they have, lawmakers may yet decide to spit on the Tax Commission’s accord and say, “We’ll see you in court.” Pardon the expression, but I’d put money on it.
Guilty, guilty, guilty: Sleazy former casino lobbyist Harvey Whittemore has been found guilty as Hell of election-law jiggery-pokery, and of playing fast and loose with the truth regarding 2007 efforts to raise campaign dollars for Sen. Harry Reid (D). The latter managed to escape the tarnish of scandal as Whittemore went down, but old Harv’s ham-handed attempts to batter opponents into submission will not be missed.
