A skirmish over the fate of the Atlantic City Hilton ended in victory for Colony Capital. A Superior Court judge decided there were too many unresolved issues in the dissolution of Colony’s East Coast casino portfolio to warrant taking the Hilton’s keys away from Nick Ribis, et al. Debtors U.S. National Bank Association and J.P. Morgan Chase Commercial Mortgage Securities Corp. were tripped up by their own efforts to also seize Colony’s two Tunica-area casinos. The latter are the props holding the Hilton upright, as Colony is using their revenues to underwrite the money-losing Boardwalk property.
Besides, the New Jersey Casino Control Commission has yet to weigh in on the receivership question — nor does this turn of events take Landry’s Restaurants out of the picture. Impetuous Landry’s CEO Tilman Fertitta appears likely to negotiate with Colony directly now and when he sets his mind to something, there’s no discouraging him (which puts Colony in a nice negotiating position).
Perhaps Colony can bundle its Mississippi and New Jersey casinos and sell them to Fertitta for the half-billion dollars it needs to retire the loan. But it’s more likely to take a huge bath on the A.C. Hilton, casino values having fallen through the planks of the Boardwalk. A Colony attorney hinted that the Hilton could even be kept open without the Tunica subsidy — although one has a hard time imagining CEO Tom Barrack persuading the bankers who now own most of Station Casinos to bankroll a fool’s errand like that. Station, after all, is not the picture of fiscal health these days, either. Colony’s bought itself some time but, like its money, it’s borrowed.
If you’re in the Black Book, it’s probably not a good idea to trespass in any Nevada casino, especially Caesars Palace, which just came under the regulatory microscope. Or doesn’t Brent Eli Morris (left) read the newspapers? He certainly doesn’t seem any too bright. Then again, “he was seen and suspected of cheating at craps at the Excalibur on Friday,” how was it that the majesty of the law didn’t descend upon him until the following Wednesday at Caesars? The Orleans might also be facing a few tough questions, as Morris was able to play there without being 86’d.
How do you keep making ends meet if you’re Harrah’s Entertainment? For one thing, you get the other dude to pay your legal fees. Twelve million and change may be walking-around money to most casino companies but Harrah’s is notoriously thrifty to begin with and it sounds like it has a very good case here, as the Baha Mar misadventure refuses to die quietly.
Congratulation to SugarHouse on its opening, finally bringing Philadelphia into the battle for Keystone State mad money. However, it’s one of the most buzz-less casino openings of which I’ve read. Perhaps it’s generating some excitement in Philly (though I’m sure the sports pages overshadow it) but the descriptions and reaction so far are pretty “meh.” The notion of getting a marketing subsidy from the public sector doesn’t look like it’s getting traction, either. I’d hate to be the official who has to explain to a nonprofit why its grant application got turned down in favor of one from a casino — although you could make the case that, thanks to the slot parlors and racinos, there will be more tax dollars down the road, ergo more grant money … eventually.
If racinos don’t go through in Massachusetts, it could put a serious crimp in the redevelopment of Revere, for one. Putting casino games into Suffolk Downs (above) is the linchpin of a multi-pronged effort to revitalize the waterfront area. There’s also a hint that Suffolk might put its $600 million casino not at the Downs but on the 35 acres occupied by a defunct dog track. Either way, it’s not boding well that Suffolk Downs’ legislative champion, House Speaker Robert DeLeo, has lost his ardor for pushing casinos through the Lege next year. At least Revere did the Las Vegas mistake in reverse: It’s experiencing its condo meltdown before a casino is built.
Another casino will be added to the Lake Tahoe market when “market conditions improve,” in the opinion of developer Edgewood Cos. Of course, the concept of economic recovery in Tahoe is extremely relative. Are we talking about things just being better than they are right now or about a major rebound in casino revenue? Tribal casinos in California have taken such a large gulp out of Lake Tahoe, monetarily speaking, that waiting for a turnaround is like making an appointment with Mr. Godot. Edgewood’s intention is to hold off until 2012 before starting. Absent new product, Tahoe could be really strapped by then.
Part of the delay hinges on Edgewood’s plan to incorporate the Horizon casino-hotel (left) into its new project, but that can’t be done until 2014, when Columbia Sussex packs its bags. In other words, Edgewood probably needs to begin digging now but has little choice but to hang in there four years and hope that Tahoe’s revenue base doesn’t erode further in the meantime. Keep your fingers crossed.
Now that gaming analysts are having to explain the Tea Party explosion to their Pacific Rim clients, there’s one way to save them the kind of effort that saw Jonathan Galaviz expend several thousand words in Tea-time exegesis. Just send them a link to the Boston Globe, where my former Twin Cities Reader colleague Ward Sutton (literally) illustrates the movement in the styles of Nancy, The Family Circus and Garfield, among others. For some of these strips, the Sutton’s Tea Party-ized versions are a considerable improvement on their progenitors — such as gun-toting Cathy, er, Wrathy. Ward’s a great guy and it’s terrific to see he’s achieved the success he deserves.
Great comics. Wish he’d do more.