Some casino industry bigwigs continue to view Macao as a Chinese-flavored version of Las Vegas, an industry fallacy you would think had been outgrown. Take American Gaming Association President Geoff Freeman, who told a Macanese audience that their city needs to become more like Las Vegas, in which gambling only represents 35% of overall revenue. That didn’t happen overnight, although Freeman makes it sound that way, and — unlike the U.S., in China there is no place else to gamble legally. You wouldn’t think it would be necessary to point out such things.
During a somewhat patronizing media briefing, Freeman said it might be a “sign of maturity” that 
casino revenue is growing at a slower rate this year. He advocated a Vegas-style curve: “You don’t want to be on an upward trajectory like this all the time because, at some point, you are going to fall down. What you need is to go up and plateau, up and plateau. That’s a safe place to be. I think the fact that Macao may be slowing a bit is actually a sign of maturity. As the market diversifies as new products come online, then you will see that growth pick up again.” More constructively, he identified the convention-and-meeting business as an area that could be targeted for growth.
* Massachusetts voters want a November say-so on casino gambling in the Bay State. A WBUR-FM poll finds 52% in favor of having a ballot question, 39% against. As for casinos themselves, 49% are in favor and 39% against, leaving the opposition a lot of ground to make up, especially when casinos were only leading by three points in March. Casinos are viewed more favorably than the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, with 52% expressing little or no confidence in the body.
* If you read S&G you’re probably not part of the nightclub scene. That’s OK. Here’s a quick rating of the top clubs, for the initiate.
