Biden lobbies Station; Important victory for Flynt, casinos

George GOP donor Frank Fertitta III is unlikely to put missives from Joe Biden at the top of his in-box. Thus it was more of a theatrical gesture than a substantive negotiation when Biden wrote to the Fertitta, in an open letter, that Station Casinos needs to “join employees from Boulder Station and Palace Station in negotiating for health care, benefits, job security, fair scheduling, fair seniority rules, and a fair grievance process … As a lifelong champion for working families and unions,” Biden wrote that he was “troubled” that Station was ignoring the outcome of unionization votes at the Palms, Sunset Station, Green Valley Ranch, Fiesta Rancho, and Fiesta Henderson. Despite its previous insistence that it would honor secret-ballot elections, Station has dragged its feet on negotiations and thumbed its nose at the National Labor Relations Board, which supervised the votes. Biden joins Sen. Bernie Sanders (D) in calling for unionization, in a play for Culinary Union votes ahead of the Nevada caucuses.

It wouldn’t be a Biden letter without a goof and he made one when he said his appeal “isn’t about bipartisan [sic] politics.” However, Biden is right that paying Station employees what they deserve will be good for the Nevada economy.

Meanwhile, the Fertittae have the knives out at the Palms, where bodies continue to fall. Not only is Executive Vice President of Nightlife Alex Cordova out, Station has canceled the red-ink-leaking contract of DJ Marshmello. “With the opening of Tim Ho Wan, the transformation of the Palms is now complete … it is time for me to move on to my next challenge,” said ex-General Manager Jon Gray, without explaining his precipitate departure. KAOS nightclub meanwhile battens down the hatches and waits for Cardi B to arrive Oct. 31.

* From Fertitta to Flynt. Hustler Publisher Larry Flynt has struck an important precedent for California casino owners. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has agreed with Flynt that he should be allowed to own more than 1% of out-of-state casinos. This seems to spell doom for a law signed by then-Gov. George Deukmejian (R) with the intent of keeping the Golden State from being infiltrated by the Mob. According to Casino.org, Flynt has “been approached about buying gaming properties in Colorado, Iowa, Louisiana, Mississippi and Nevada. But he could not act on those deals because of California law.” Flynt’s attorneys were able to  persuade the appeals court that the statute of limitations on civil cases did not apply because of continuing harm. We’re sure this will go to the Supreme Court but Flynt is entitled to a victory lap.

* At the opposite end of the DNA spectrum, meet Darwin Award nominee Reece J. Lindahl. He was caught on tape at Harrah’s Tahoe trying to crowbar open not one but two slot machines. He’s charged with felony burglary and possession of burglary tools. And he probably didn’t get any Caesars Reward points.

* A casino ‘taking a bath’ obtained a new meaning at Encore Boston Harbor, where leak sprang in the ceiling of the poker room, dousing the tables (see video). Can Robert DeSalvio fix this before he leaves town?

* Based on that depressing photograph, I’d never go to Horseshoe Baltimore. I also wouldn’t call .3 of a mile to M&T Bank Stadium and a half-mile to Camden Yards “close proximity … The corridor is currently littered with vacant buildings and warehouses, peddlers, and homeless,” reports Casino.org, painting a bleak picture. Caesars Entertainment‘s $50 million solution? A 4,000-seat concert hall to be called Paramount. Caesars has had the real estate for a couple of years now and has evidently decided that the time has come to monetize it. As for the bleak neighborhood, “The goal of the project is really to create a sense of place that is unique, so that people will come back to enjoy this place not because there’s a certain performance, but they’re coming to this place to enjoy and be part of this district,” said designer Matt Herbert.

Caesars is also trying to juice things up by selling some adjacent real estate to Topgolf and is planning to redub the whole area Southern Gateway. It will include a nightclub called Hammerjacks (sounds like an especially rough gay bar, but I digress). We don’t know if anything will goose casino revenue but one thing that will—sports betting—is being Caesars’ power, being tied up in the Assembly, giving punters an excuse to drive out of state to exercise their sports-betting jones.

Speaking of sports wagers, Rivers Casino Pittsburgh is well and truly in the action with its new, $5 million book. It made a believer of casino patron Chris Ravello, who told a local TV station “he personally doesn’t bet on sports, but he”ll definitely be back.” It opened in time for sports fans to watch the hometown Steelers demolish the incompetent Cincinnati Bengals, getting BetRivers off in the right spirit. And BetRivers has the cutest mascot I’ve seen since Big Al at The Orleans.

* One S&G reader forwarded me this story, headed with a fivefold “NO.” Indeed, is not one of the appeals of the casino experience is relative anonymity (William Bennett certainly thought so)? Konami Gaming is rolling out facial-recognition technology for table games and slots, spinning it as all manner of win-win situation. Konami veep Jay Bertsch says the technology will “Identify people who probably shouldn’t be in there who are barred from a regulatory standpoint or barred patrons.” What’s more, it’s predicted to make player cards obsolete. Big Brother will take care of that. You can ask to have your information deleted or to opt out from the new regime, but that puts the onus on the player. We have six months to derail this horrible concept before it’s put into action.