Covid tourism at Bally’s; College football conundrum

Explains Imagine Exhibitions CEO Tom Zaller. “Our goal is to share with people the current findings about how this new virus affects the different systems of the body in an easy to digest form. The hope is that we all come out of the exhibition knowing a little more than when we went in.” Amen to that.

With the Big Ten and Pac 10 conferences canceled outright and two others—the Mid-American and Mountain West—delayed into next spring, sports books are understandably reeling. William Hill CEO Joe Asher tried to spin the events as a good thing, saying, “Obviously, this is a negative for our industry in the short term, but we take a long-term view on things like this, and there’s no doubt that all college football ultimately will return and our customers will bet on other sports until it does.” William J. Pascrell III of the Princeton Public Affairs Group minced fewer words: “The entire pandemic has had a deleterious effect on the industry. College basketball and football are huge movers. Now there’s less opportunity for betting.” That’s certainly true for FanDuel, where college football is the #4 draw—and 40% of Nevada sportsbook handle.

Bettors aren’t totally out of luck, given that the SEC, ACC and Big 12 still plan to play, and other conferences are on the fence. “The real question is, are they postponing it or canceling it,” Westgate Las Vegas sportsbook supremo John Murray asked Global Gaming Business. “Because if they postpone it until the spring, I don’t think it’ll be that bad for us. But if they outright cancel it like March Madness, that will be very, very bad. That was really a blow to us, to just lose the NCAA Tournament and never get it back.” Murray’s upside scenario is that the pros move in to fill the collegiate void. “I doubt the NFL is going to sit idly by and let there be no football games on Saturday and play 10 games Sunday. They’ll move games to Saturday and have double-headers or triple-headers. The ratings will be huge, and the betting handle will be huge.” That’s one way of looking at it … if it happens. We’re with Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren, who said, “Every life is critical. We wanted to make sure we continually, not only in our words but in our actions, put the health and safety and wellness of our student-athletes first.” Which is as it should be.

Today we observe the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage in the United States, an occasion that Richard Schuetz takes to upbraid the “male and pale” composition of Big Gaming. Should regulators get involved? Schuetz thinks so, citing both precedent and possible methodology. That being said, he’s not optimistic: “My guess is that many regulatory Board members will be afraid to do it, for they may soon need to collect contributions from the industry when they decide to run for office, need their next political appointment, or seek employment from the industry.”

Jottings: PredictIt has flip-flopped its odds on the Massachusetts senate primary, putting Sen. Ed Markey (D) up over Rep. Joe Kennedy (D), 69 cents to 31 … Las Vegas attorney William Schuller is suing China (no kidding) on behalf of two Las Vegas Raiders fans because they can’t attend Raider games this fall thanks to the Beijing‘s malefic dishonesty about Coronavirus. Schuller wants his clients to be reimbursed for their tickets “and the fun they would have had at Allegiant Stadium.” Good luck with that. When the stadium eventually opens, Schuller’s clients will be able to avail themselves of a sports-betting lounge sponsored by MGM Resorts International, one of the Raiders’ sports-betting partners. The NFL is keeping its skirts clean by forbidding walk-up betting in the stadium—but there’s nothing to stop you from making an online wager … The MSG Sphere has been postponed to a 2023 opening, a two-year pause. It will still open in time for Donald Trump to run for a third term … Chalk up a win for Gov. Steve Sisolak (D). A Nevada judge upheld his closure of bars that don’t sell food, a setback for slot-route operators … Clark County could lose 250,000 residents due to evictions, starting next month … The cratering of air travel to McCarran International Airport is taking its toll. Airport restaurants will cut 940 jobs, effective October 15. Said franchisor HMS Host, “Never in the history of aviation and the hospitality industry, have we experienced such catastrophic customer traffic declines.”