Poverty in the suites; Industry ramps up bailout pressure
Sheldon Adelson is worth $28 billion today. Which doesn’t sound so bad until you consider that he was worth $40 billion before the Wall Street 
crash. That’s the literal price of owning 432,000,000 shares of Las Vegas Sands. Not that ill-fortune is crimping Sheldon’s lifestyle. He just put down $17 million on a pied-a-terre in Malibu, his ninth residence in the Colony gated community. Compared to the $138 million that Steve Wynn wants for his SoCal mansion, we’d say Adelson is a real bargain hunter. Speaking of the Wynn family, Elaine Wynn lost a cool billion in the stock market, bringing her wealth down to $1.4 billion. The Fertitta Brothers are now worth $1.6 billion apiece, which they’ll need as the fallout of a Las Vegas recession on Station Casinos would be dire indeed. But the really ill-advised tycoon may be
Joseph Greff, although one of those staying neutral on CHDN, tried to wax reassuringly: “We note that heading into the event, the majority of the Derby’s revenue/EBITDA is already baked (premium tickets/PSLs, sponsorships, media rights, etc.), so as long as the event takes place (it has run for the past 145 consecutive years), we believe the impact of COVID-19 on CHDN should be limited.” He added that “CHDN is seen as a good place to be amidst current market volatility (strong balance sheet, stable cash flow/trophy asset, and limited exposure to 
truck appeared on the gambling floor amid the slot machines and table games.” You could fill up on nachos for $7/plate or you could eat in one of the restaurants and leave as much as several hundred dollars (money that might want to spend wagering) behind. Wynn Resorts‘ miscalculation of Beantown is not the first time a Steve Wynn casino has missed its niche: There was a steep learning curve at Beau Rivage when it opened in 1999.
rationale and a clear conflict of interest. Hard Rock engaged its legal counsel in Greece and has retained counsel in Brussels to review the matter,” the company stated. The “inaccurate rationale” would be a complaint that Hard Rock didn’t explain how its project was to be financed. The “clear conflict of interest” is that “The law firm advising the Hellinikon IRC Tender Committee and the Hellenic Gaming Commission on our disqualification has also represented a member of the competing bidder since 2008.” An unnamed member of the Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment-led consortium is also accused of being part of a “price-fixing cartel.”
coming to a game, we need about 9,500 spots,” said Raiders President Marc Badain. “For staff and support staff workers, we need about 2,500 spots. We’ve identified as many as 30,000 spots in the immediate vicinity, most of which are within walking distance. We have in our control 15,000 spots already.” That leaves them only … oh, 15,000 spots short. The team is currently dickering with landowners in the vicinity of Allegiant Stadium, hoping to buy or lease more blacktop.
Rock International and continues to lead Ohio in gambling grosses despite the seeming handicap of having no table games. Mathis, who had shepherded MGM Springfield to completion, had little answer for 
Flamingo Las Vegas will soon debut a new restaurant called Bugsy & Meyer’s Steakhouse. Some will find the name ironic if they adhere to the theory that it was Meyer Lansky who had Busgy Siegel snuffed … On a personal note, thank you to everybody who reads this column. As we head into a new year I cannot stress enough that you make this possible. For our part, we will strive to make the next year of S&G as good as or better than the last one. Happy New Year.
idea that has drawn a cavernous yawn from the gaming industry. He tried to minimize the crippling 72% tax rate as “hiccups.” We hate to say that Windy City Mayor Lori Lightfoot (D) has a point but unless the state funds the building of the casino and hires some underrepresented operator like MGM Resorts International to run it for a flat fee, this idea is never going to get off the ground. Kansas owns its casinos, so the notion is not entirely without precedent. Neither political party is entirely blameless in this boondoggle, the gambling expansion having passed on a bipartisan basis.
shuttle stops at the airport, other MBTA stations and anywhere else that a Wynn shuttle happens to lay over, usually 15 times a day. “The casino is a brand-new neighbor, and it’s already wearing out its welcome,” said CLF Massachusetts Director Alyssa Rayman-Read, who accuses Encore of violating both federal and Bay State clean-air laws. Wynn Resorts, for its part, rather meekly agreed to comply with state law vis-a-vis idling buses.
plummeted 11% in September. Boyd casinos got the worst of it, down 10.5%. New Orleans was flat but Lake Charles took a bashing, plunging 18%. Baton Rouge‘s mere 3.5% decline looks like a triumph. Golden Nugget slid 23.5% to $21 million, as L’Auberge du Lac squeaked past with $22 million, down 10%. Isle Grand Palais shed 15% ($7 million gross) and Delta Downs was 21% off the pace with $12 million. L’Auberge Baton Rouge actually gained 5%, clocking in with $12 million, while Casino Rouge dropped 9% to $4 million. That was far better than Belle of Baton Rouge, a sorry $2 million and 29% freefall.
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 
trying to make an end run—by way of the U.S. Senate—of their obligation to negotiate compacts with the Lone Star State. “Under Texas law, most forms of gambling are prohibited, including on Ysleta del Sur Pueblo and Alabama-Coushatta tribal lands,” said the senator. Cornyn’s stance puts him at odds with fellow Republican Rep. Brian Babin, who authored the clunkily named Ysleta del Sur Pueblo & Alabama-Coushatta Tribes of Texas Equal & Fair Opportunity Settlement Act. It passed out of the House in July but, as with so many other bills, lost traction in the upper house. Cornyn has requested that the legislation be put on hold—a long hold—until the tribes have negotiated compacts with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R), which would render the bill moot.
capitalize on the Chicago market did not take long to produce dividends,” said Dustin Gouker, lead analyst for PlayIndiana.com. “This is the largest handle we’ve seen in a state’s first month of legal sports betting, and it happened without the benefit of online sports betting, which didn’t launch until October. Participating casinos were 
($128 million) -$18 million, the Midwest ($97 million) -$3.5 million, the Central U.S. ($123 million) -$3 million, the South ($117 million) -$13.5 million and the Eastern U.S. ($170 million) -$6 million. We don’t know if this bodes ill economically but it should give Eldorado pause about 
swirling around them, the Kingston brothers 
(which will probably require physical expansion: it’s pretty packed in there); third, slots at Arlington Park, though Politzer thinks Churchill Downs may sell the latter now its real estate is more valuable, among several other options: “we could envision a scenario whereby CHDN would opt to sell its 336 acres of land at Arlington Park, utilize a 1031 exchange to limit tax leakage, and pursue an additional casino license in Illinois (potentially with Rush Street Gaming/Neil Bluhm; the Waukegan license seems most logical, in our view …).”