Blackout at Boyd; Virginia ponies propped up

Boyd Gaming appears to have stepped in it, big time, according to former Ameristar St. Charles sales director Kim Carpenter. She’s suing the casino over her dismissal, which she alleges followed her complaints about sexual discrimination and retaliation. After booking a nightclub act that drew a largely African-American clientele, Carpenter says the casino’s general manager told her to never again “book a nightclub event for all black people.” She also charges the casino with firing her as relation for a workmen’s-comp filing. Carpenter says she was told she was not a “good cultural fit” for the casino, despite having earned a performance bonus the previous month.

The racially coded language about a “cultural fit” is a live grenade I’m sure somebody at Boyd wishes he hadn’t pulled the pin upon. The company is not commenting on the lawsuit at this time but has at least refrained from disparaging Carpenter, which is better than we’ve come to expect in the casino industry.

* Defunct Margaritaville in Biloxi is making headlines again. Developers want to subsume the casino into a larger, $200 million casino called Biloxi House. In a sop to the “Old Biloxi” hobbyhorse of Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich (I couldn’t make this up if I tried), the exterior of the building will be done in a throwback style. Some of the bells and whistles include a 300-room hotel tower, 1,000 slot machines, an infinity pool and—need it be said?—a buffet.

Also making the news was a pitch for the former site of the once-planned Oyster Bay Casino in D’Iberville. Texas developer Tom Wellborn Sr. is among the investors in a proposed casino resort, although no details have been disclosed. Mayor Rusty Quave is staving off concerns that it would cut into new Scarlet Pearl Casino, never mind a third casino site that the Poarch Band of Creek Indians wants to develop. “The City of D’Iberville had its best sales tax in December that it’s ever had,” was Quave’s line of defense.

* Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo (D) having affixed her signature to S37, mobile sports betting is now legal in America‘s smallest state, part of the sports-wagering wildfire that is sweeping the country (Washington be damned). Rhode Island sports books took a bath on the Super Bowl, by the way, the Patriots having done the important thing and covered the spread, which makes rooting for the home team rather bittersweet for R.I. casino execs.

* ‘Historical racing’ is coming to Virginia. 150 VLTs will be installed at as-yet-unopened Rosie’s Gaming Emporium, in Vinton. The purpose of the quasi-slots is to subsidize actual horse racing at reopened Colonial Downs. Aside from the usual concerns about gaming addiction, Keith Whyte of the National Council on Problem Gambling had a trenchant point to make about the business model being touted: “I don’t know that it’s going to revive an industry that, quite frankly, is dying in Virginia and is dying nationwide.” I guess we’ll find out and rather quickly, too, horse tracks never being shy about shilling for a public handout.

* Good news for locals casinos: Nevada led the nation last month with 3.5% job growth. Reno outpaced the state by a wide margin, with almost 6%. Las Vegas was just under 3%. Both cities comfortably surpassed the national rate of 1.5%. From these numbers you can see why Station Casinos, among others, is bullish on additional Las Vegas development and finally moving into Reno. Go for it, guys.

* Failed casino developer Ian Schrager says “you have the 1%, and then you have everybody else, with a declining middle class,” which is certainly reflected in Las Vegas Strip hotel inventory. The Studio 54 mogul predicts we’ll see hotels with fewer, bigger rooms and “very expensive” ones. As for you and me, “I see a lot of less expensive, value-oriented hotels, but very sophisticated and very cool, with lots of entertainment and food and beverage possibilities.”

* I always thought I was a p@$$y for not being willing to ride the El Loco rollercoaster, with its vertical drops, at the Circus Circus Adventuredome. However, I feel somewhat vindicated today after reading that a woman was injured in an El Loco mishap. The ride has been closed, at least for the near term. We hope the victim makes a speedy recovery.