So thirsty is the State of Nevada for new casino investment that it may feel pressure not to look too closely at Genting Berhad, as its license application goes before the Nevada Gaming Control Board. Not that we’ve ever heard or read anything untoward about Genting (save for brief flirtation with Stanley Ho) but Las Vegas really needs this deal to happen. As Howard Stutz puts it, “If there are any issues with the application, they will be minor.” Nothing short of widespread Triad or Yakuza ties, he continues, could derail Resorts World Las Vegas. Stutz does everything short of write, “The fix is in.”
Considering all the cash flow being thrown off by Resorts World Sentosa and Resorts World New York, this is one project where we shouldn’t have to worry about the developer coming up a day late and a dollar short. Still, one has concerns about the reality of certain Genting ambitions. It’ll be a cold day in Hades when China sends pandas to Las Vegas (that’s been tried before) and the maximum budget — a CityCenter-like $7 billion — should give anyone shivers. Even at a minimum of $4 billion, Genting is pushing its luck.
Anyway, things went down much as Stutz predicted. Genting was found suitable. It promised to bring new customers to Las Vegas, not feed off the existing market. The external style and 
prominent crimson color tempt one to describe the style of the project as “Red Chinese.” The contents therein are described as “3,000 hotel rooms, a casino with a combined 3,500 slot machines and table games, 30 food and beverage outlets, a 4,000-seat theater and an elaborate garden attraction that will serve as the property’s front door to the Strip.” A convention center and rooftop infinity pool would cost extra. There was also some loose talk about a Twentieth Century Fox World amusement park. As for the existing Echelon infrastructure (Echestructure?), 80%-85% will be subsumed into Resorts World.
James Packer is sporting a black eye and a bruised ego (and somebody is missing some teeth) following a public brawl with rival TV executive David Gyngell. The warring parties later issued a joint comminique, declaring “have been friends for 35 years and still are. In that time we have had our fair share of ups and downs.” This would count as a “down,” I suspect.
“In a fearsome fight between the heavyweight Packer and the cruiserweight Gyngell, both men landed blows while an unnamed security guard and Packer’s personal trainer ‘Chappo’ attempted to separate the duo.”
The two also forgot a basic rule of Fight Club: The paparazzi are always present. Criminal charges seem a remote prospect. However, the dustup may have immediate ramifications for Packer’s casino-expansion hopes. He’s bidding for a Brisbane casino and his company has to pass a “probity inquiry” for final permission to build a $1 billion, VIP-oriented casino in Sydney. That means he has to be “of good repute, having regard to character, honesty and integrity.” While the Commission for Gambling & Liquor, at least one parliamentarian wants it looked into. Also, whatever hope Packer had of getting casinos in his planned Sri Lanka hotels probably just went up in smoke. He comes off looking as the sort of volatile lout who’d be the poster child for anti-casino forces. Besides, Packer may want to get back into the Las Vegas branch of the gaming industry — The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas specifically — and how does it look to the Nevada Gaming Control Board when you’re photographed trading punches on the sidewalk? Executives get fined for shenanigans like this.
