In what might be the improbable casino scandal ever, Rivers Casino stands accused of using the eye in the sky to capture personal information from the cellphone screens of two patrons. Why? Supposedly to pass the data on to a vindictive co-conspirator. Text messages and e-mails were supposedly captured from Julie Capone and Hayley Clerici as they played at Rivers. The two women are each seeking $35,000 in damages. Apparently the information being sought was Clerici’s “personal relationships” and “personal spending habits,” with the pursuer being her ex-husband. In addition to the allegations against him, his attorney, Dennis McCurdy is alleged to have served a “sham subpoena” on Rivers to get the information. An anonymous Rivers security supervisor is also charged with being complicit in the alleged scheme. We have no idea how all this will shake out but it should be entertaining to watch.
* Ever hear of Gun Shy? Maybe The Last Drop? What about Polish box office sensation Squadron 303? No, neither had I. But they represent the shock troops storming the beachhead of i-gaming as Skyrocket Entertainment prepares to bombard the Internet with social and for-money play. Considering that Skyrocket has subleased 75 movie titles, you’d think they could come up with some less-obscure ones to introduce themselves to the public. As it stands, we’re less than impressed.
* Rather than directly approach the Japan market for a megaresort, Universal Entertainment is doing so through its Philippines subsidiary Tiger Resort Leisure & Entertainment. Still, it’s a de facto ‘home team’ and a serious contender to get one of the three coveted concessions. Analysts continue to revise their estimates of the Japanese market. According to Morgan Stanley it “could peg at a range of US$11 billion and U$20 billion gaming revenue.” Even a third of $11 billion would be an impressive return on investment.
Meanwhile, ousted Universal boss Kazuo Okada has been conducting a long-distance campaign for reinstatement from Hong Kong. He’s currently battling with estranged son Tomohiro Okada for control of Okada Holdings, which owns majorities of Universal and Tiger. Pressed about his ongoing troubles, the elder Okada said, “it is easy for people to frame me. I am probably always betrayed by people, because for those people it is maybe easy to trick me.” As for his son, Okada painted him as a dupe of unscrupulous third parties. Regarding casinos in Japan, he added, “I am probably the only one with hands-on experience to be able to do that.” Fair enough. However, the longer the power struggle drags on, the less likely it seems that Tiger will find itself in the winner’s circle. Still, says Okada, “I have a belief that justice wins in the end.”
* There’s not much reason to go outdoors in Siberia during the winter, so it’s no surprise that Tigre de Cristal, formerly owned by Lawrence Ho (until excessive taxes drove him away) is expanding with a retail mall and indoor beach. Stated a press release, the new amenities “will be geared to appeal to the foreign mass and rolling chip [i.e., heavy credit] customer with extensive dining, entertainment, and retail facilities anchored by a large premium outlet mall.” In the meantime, Tigre de Cristal hangs in there and waits for a ‘cluster effect’ of additional casinos three years hence.
