Atlantic City‘s immediate future is teetering over whether it can persuade Boyd Gaming and MGM Resorts International to parcel a $161 million tax refund over an extended period of time. If not, warns Mayor Don Guardian (R), the city will go bankrupt by the end of March. Nobody’s saying Borgata isn’t rightly owed the money … but do Boyd and MGM want to be known as the companies that tipped the Boardwalk into insolvency?
* Phhhht. That’s the sound of pro-casino legislation fizzling in Alabama, where Senate Majority Leader Del Marsh (R) has aborted his own bill to create a gaming commission and legalize casino gambling at a quartet of Cotton State racing tracks. “I continue to believe gaming is an idea we should 
consider given the dollars it would generate for the state and the jobs it would create,” said Marsh, after conceding, “The votes are not there at this time for the bill.”
Given Marsh’s reputation as a coalition-builder, this was considered a major admission of defeat, although he left the door open for other makers to try and succeed where he had failed. “I will not block an effort by anyone who wants to try to do it. I’m just saying that as of today I won’t be pushing it,” Marsh said. “The fact is we have some members who are so opposed to gaming at this time that for them tying up the whole legislative process, seeing the session crash and burn, was not too high a price to pay to fight the legislation.” Alabamians, who have shown a big appetite for casino-style gambling, will have to continue to content themselves with electronic bingo at VictoryLand and on the state’s Indian reservations.
* It’s officially Silly Season in New Jersey, where the Division of Gaming Enforcement has proposed a fix for weak Internet-poker play: Hire celebrities to play it publicly. Does anyone seriously think this will spur a landrush of punters racing to their computers to play against big names? The whole thing reeks of desperation and of another sign that online poker is circling the drain. For that matter, should the DGE be acting as a shill for the casinos?
* When it comes to the Wynn Las Vegas buffet, you can believe the hype. A newly made-over menu ventures well beyond the tried and true, and design improvements create an atmosphere that is worlds away from the cattle-call vibe of so many Vegas buffets (including the more expensive Bacchanal Buffet). Wynn has definitely come up with a winner.
