Starting Jan. 1 (What? No New Year’s Eve bookings?), guests at Caesars Palace will have the chance to stay in the new Julius 
Tower. Except that it’s not really new: It’s the old Roman Tower, given a dramatic, $75 million rejuvenation. “Bursts of freesia yellow and Aegean blue stand out among the neutral color palette and textured fabric décor,” enthuses the Caesars Entertainment blog. Amenities will include a “stone shower with glass enclosure” and a 55-inch (above-average for Las Vegas) HDTV set in the bedroom. All this and more can be yours for a $149 ADR (plus resort fees, etc.).
It’s all part of a rolling makeover of the property which has already yielded Nobu Hotel and Searsucker restaurant, among other bells and whistles. While one might question all this spending during a time that the company is grappling with bankruptcy (in which it just caught a major break), it also addresses a frequent criticism of Caesars properties, namely that they’ve been allowed to fall behind the times. You have to spend money to make money (a lesson not heeded in the Imperial Palace/Quad/Linq makeover) and S&G congratulates Caesars for keeping up with the Joneses.
* California‘s Bicycle Casino has come such a long way that calling it a “card room” doesn’t do justice to its evolution. In December it will debut a $50 million, 70-room hotel with an 
additional 29 luxury suites, a Bike Brewery “and other resort amenities such as a full spa and elevated outdoor pool deck with private cabanas.” That’s pretty spiffy for a facility whose only casino games are blackjack and baccarat. “A floor design of overlapping circles, inspired by a bicycle wheel, winds its way to a variety of amenities, including dining, a coffee house, a gift shop, entry to the casino concourse and an Asia-theme VIP gaming area,” reports CardPlayer.com. Previously you couldn’t find anything this swanky outside of a California tribal casino. But Bicycle Casino is upping the ante.
* Macao‘s government wasn’t cowed by Steve Wynn‘s public scolding. It’s going ahead with a move that will tighten the regulatory 
vise on the world’s gambling capital: Junket operators will now have to file monthly accounting reports. This comes at a time when junketeer Dore Entertainment is reeling from colossal embezzlement and Neptune Group has made noises about forsaking Macao altogether. Those new accounting reports will also be subject to random scrutiny. Early analyst reaction was that these rules might result in a consolidated but more highly regarded junket industry.
According to GGR Asia, “The Secretary for Economy and Finance, Lionel Leong Vai Tac, has said that if the guidelines prove to be effective for the evolution of the junket industry, the government might then embark on the longer process of revising related legislation.” Leong’s oracular pronouncement is too cryptic to tell if it’s ominous or positive but let’s hope it’s the latter.
* If Nomura Securities analyst Harry Curtis is right, Macao is headed for a trainwreck and Sheldon Adelson is tied to the track. “Capacity is growing at just the wrong time, when the value 
per customer is shrinking significantly,” wrote Curtis, who projected a “way out of whack” supply/demand trend through summer of 2017, meaning that Adelson’s $2.7 billion Parisian would take a hit. The analyst’s characterization of Macao as “a question mark for any operator” could stand as the understatement of the year. At least Adelson could rejoice in dominance of Singapore, where Marina Bay Sands has gone from parity with Resorts World Sentosa to 65% of market share.
