Culinary booted from Boulder

As for Culinary, it was busy with an e-mail blast touting a “virtual signing ceremony” with Gov. Steve Sisolak (D) of the Adolfo Fernandez Bill later today. (The Station Casinos memo dates from August 7, giving the Culinary substantial time to react.) The Culinary can count on one prominent Big Gaming figure in its corner: MGM Resorts International CEO Bill Hornbuckle will be part of the ceremony. As you will recall, MGM and the Culinary are in negotiations over Covid-19 outbreaks at Signature and elsewhere, the union have dropped a lawsuit against the lion. Maybe having scored a legislative victory with SB 4, the Culinary counts Boulder Station as only a minor defeat.

Circa‘s staggered opening is being chalked up by Derek Stevens to construction delays caused by limits on the number of workers who could be in a lift at a time. Works for us. As for a structural anomaly, the “MoDot” that’s been keeping Vital Vegas up nights, Stevens has the low-down for Scott Roeben, after some preliminary teasing.. “One of the panels went up backwards. Yes, there’s a dot on the west side. And the engineer, one of the smartest guys I know, his name is Mo.” Evidently Roeben’s contretemps with Alex Meruelo hasn’t hurt his standing with Stevens.

There’s finally some light at the end of the Macao tunnel. Starting August 26, all Guangdong Province residents will be eligible to visit the casino enclave. That will be followed on September 23 by a nationwide resumption of the all-important Individual Visa Scheme. “Today’s development is very good news, and the Macau gaming market should see its heretofore visitation stranglehold loosen and should allow for a recovery in gross gaming revenue,” wrote JP Morgan analyst Joseph Greff. This should rescue crucial business in time for the Golden Week holiday period (aptly named). As Credit Suisse analyst Ben Chaiken added, the only remaining headwind is a 14-day quarantine period for people both leaving and enterting Hong Kong. Still, this is good news for Macao-facing gaming stocks, perhaps Las Vegas Sands most of all, given its orientation toward mass-market play.

College football may be kaput in the Big Ten but the SEC is planning on proceeding with a full, conference-only season. Players will be tested for Coronavirus six and three days before games, and will be subject to a two-week quarantine if the test comes back positive. (If only were so easy for Joe Sixpack to get a test.) Expect to see masks everywhere, from coaches on the sidelines to the zebras and even the ball boys. It’s not your father’s football but it’s something.