It seems frivolous to be discussing casinos when the Korean peninsula could go up in radioactive flames at any moment, but we do what we must. While legalizing casinos in Japan was a slow and agonizing process, they could fade away surprisingly fast. American operators are 
thought to be getting skittish as the Nipponese government sketches out a conservative, tightly regulated framework for casino gambling, one that has worked in Singapore (where the population is but a 20th the size of Japan’s) but might no be viable for the larger scale of Japan. One of the greatest fears of American operators is that casino floors will be capped at Singapore-like minimal size. That fear may, in fact, be driven by their own rash commitments — $8 billion here, $10 billion there — to megaresorts that couldn’t be sustained with a Mandalay Bay-sized gaming floor. The prospect of being frozen into minority partnerships is another discouragement. Can you envision Sheldon Adelson taking orders from a joint-venture partner? Not bloody likely.
Another wrinkle that will displease the major operators is that Shinzo Abe‘s government is considering not only imposing an 
admission fee on its own citizens but limiting the number of times a year each one can visit a casino. That’s not a formula for megaresort success. “The ability of the operators to influence this [rulemaking] process is somewhat limited,” says Gambling Compliance division head Andrew Galletly. Their role could even be reduced to that of casino managers while, say, Sammy Sega runs the operation as a whole. But, as Gellatly concludes, there are always companies that will enter the casino race “even if they shouldn’t.”
* Las Vegas Sands had a bang-up 2Q17, its revenue up 18.5% to $3.1 billion, $2.5 billion of that derived from gambling. Those numbers beat Wall Street‘s expectation. Noting that an influx of 8,000 new 
hotel rooms on the Cotai Strip™ “has successfully been absorbed by the market,” Sands CEO Sheldon Adelson said, “The Macao market is growing and its growth rate has been accelerating for four consecutive quarters.” Macao-derived gaming revenue grew by 24% last quarter, as junketeers turn their attention to the upper-middle class as a source of revenue. There was an equal gain in Singapore, where Marina Bay Sands‘ overall revenue rose 18% but the casino floor had a 24% jolt.
The good news was not confined to the Pacific Rim, as Venelazzo brought in $384 million, although only 26% of that was gambling-derived. There was 6% less wagering at the tables and 8.5% less coin-in at the slots. Sands Bethlehem was flat with 2Q16 but that’s not necessarily a bad thing considering the decline in slot play elsewhere in the Keystone State.
* Remember when Toronto was angling for a new casino and MGM Resorts International was pitching a sort of CityCenter North (Adelson was in the mix then, too)? Well, that long-ago process has 
finally yielded results and the winners are … Great Canadian Gaming Corp. and Brookfield Business Partners. Who?!? Genting Group and Caesars Entertainment were in the hunt but, in the end, it came down to Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne‘s high comfort level with Canadian casino operators who, in this case, will take over and upgrade Woodbine Racetrack‘s OLG Slots. The decision played well with Toronto Mayor John Tory, who said, “I was prepared to say yes at Woodbine only. I did not and do not support a downtown casino as I do not think it is a suitable thing for the downtown of a great global city” — quite a turnaround from the days when U.S. developers were touting megaresorts along the lakefront.
* Casino legalization in Georgia is effectively dead now that the state’s Republican Party has passed a resolution opposing gambling houses. The GOP also damned horse racing and DFS for good measure. Reported Marie Kelley, “The [state committee] warns that allowing such gambling could open the door for any Indian tribe to begin shopping around for property to be used to create casino gaming venues.” Mercy me! We might have to rub elbows with Native Americans. The horror of it!
Among the state’s power brokers, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed (D) is in favor of casinos and Gov. Nathan Deal (R) showed signs of thaw in his opposition, although both are lame ducks. But that’s all out the window in this deeply red state.
* Don’t like Steve Aoki‘s musical stylings? Bad luck for you. Aoki’s electronica will pursue you onto the casino floor later this summer when GameCo unveils a new skill-based slot, Steve Aoki’s Neon Dreams. (Hey, casinos are synonymous with neon, aren’t they?) Don’t say I didn’t tell you.
