While we in Las Vegas struggle to reconcile long nightclub lines and (depending on which casino you visit) full gaming floors with but smallish increases in revenue and visitation, it’s one big-ass Christmas over in Macao. Revenue skyrocketed 63% last month, far higher than expected. And while S&G puts little emphasis on sequential gains (0r losses) in gambling dollars, a 24% upward leap from December is indicative that the casino boom is back along the banks of the Pearl River delta.
No surprise, Sociedade de Jogos de Macau maintained its first-place 30% market share, followed by Las Vegas Sands (22%) and Melco Crown Entertainment (15%), leaving Steve Wynn, MGM Mirage and Galaxy Entertainment to scrap for the remaining third. Even if MGM is taking home only 4-5% of that $1.7 billion in January lucre — after Pansy Ho gets her cut — you can see why it’s prepared to flush a pretty sweet deal at Borgata in favor of staying at the table in Macao.
Society of Seven. They’ve returned, courtesy of the Gold Coast, but it’s not your father’s So7 — or maybe even yours, if you recall them from their Harrah’s Entertainment era. Music is now the dominant element, with comedy taking a back seat. But it’s a very comfortable back seat, mind you.
Gossification runs rampant! It’s claimed two more victims. Perhaps all Harrah’s headliners should be forced to adopt this look: 
Need a(nother) laugh? The latest e-mail blast from Hapless Harry Reid (D-NV) is entitled “Real leadership.” Stay tuned for my autobiographical blog posting, “Real athleticism.”
