In this corner, two Native American tribes. In that one, Texas Sen. John Cornyn (R). They say he’s playing politics with their casino aspirations. He says they’re 
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.
The Alabama-Coushatta, meanwhile, are working under the shadow of a $12.5 million fine from Attorney General Ken Paxton, who contends that their Class II casino is illegal. (Since it’s on sovereign land there’s not much more that Paxton can do.) Perhaps the two tribes shouldn’t have signed away their casino prerogatives in 1987, a decision possibly made in haste and surely repented at leisure. We don’t pretend to know the potential outcome of this conflict but are inclined to say, Advantage Cornyn.
* The executive suite at Oyo (ex-Hooters) is getting crowded. Say hello to new general manager Tim Kuykendall. In what is either a huge coup for Oyo or a big comedown for Kuykendall, he trades supervision of Golden Entertainment‘s three Laughlin casinos for one in Las Vegas that can charitably called a challenge. Kuykendall was also vice president of the Stratosphere back when it still was the Stratosphere. Good luck at Oyo, which needs it.
* Woe betide the deadbeat Chinese gambler who sets foot in the Philippines. Loan sharks are subcontracting ex-cops and mercenaries to kidnap stiffs and make them pay up. It might be easy to get careless, especially as strongman Rodrigo Duterte‘s immigration policies waive visa applications for Chinese citizens until they’re in the archipelago. “Typically, victims are held captive until their relatives agree to pay up. They are often beaten or tortured, and sometimes worse. In February 2017, the body of a kidnap victim was pulled from a creek in General Trias City in the province of Cavite,” reports Casino.org, adding that the problem is escalating: from 16 cases last year to 24 this year to date. The national police are pushing back but some may wonder why it took so long.
* Troubles continue to mount for Crown Resorts. One of its high rollers was an alleged arms dealer sanctioned by the United Nations for his ties to former Liberia despot Charles Taylor. Whale Joseph Wong Kiia Tai dropped $6 million at Crown casinos, despite being under a travel ban, which Crown magnanimously managed to overlook. Kiia Tai’s offenses against humanity including ravaging Liberia’s rainforests, under a concession granted him by Taylor. He was also, according to the U.N., pursuing “illicit access to diamonds.” Leaked security footage “showed bricks of cash amounting to hundreds of thousands of dollars being offloaded from a large grocery bag into the cash cage at a VIP room at the Crown Melbourne.” Although Crown says it has “no interest in being used by criminal elements,” the protestation rings a little hollow when it is playing fast and loose with its high-roller vetting and anti-money-laundering safeguards.
* Dismantling the ruins of a Hard Rock-branded hotel in New Orleans continues to hang fire. An approaching storm forced Fire Chief Tim McConnell to put on hold a pair of controlled explosions that would bring down construction cranes that are menacing nearby buildings. Two dead bodies still remain in the rubble, as it is too dangerous to bring them out. One hopes that Hard Rock International has some contractual language that will enable it to take its name off the rubble. The fact that Hard Rock doesn’t actually own the building hardly makes up for the hit its brand equity is taking.
* Assuming regulatory approval, Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs opened a new poker room last weekend. Some slots were sacrificed to make room for poker, but the machines apparently won’t be missed. On the whole it’s good news for Mohegan Sun, which recently got spanked over inadequate security staffing.
* Penn National Gaming is apparently thinking of selling its Illinois slot routes—a strange decision, given how they protect the backside of the company’s Land of Lincoln casinos. Making more sense is the mooted Tropicana Las Vegas sale, which some think could bring $20 million an acre (we’d heard $15 million), double what Penn paid for it. Hard not to test the market at that price.
