Despite stagnant revenues on the Las Vegas Strip, the state of Nevada is enjoying its best year for gaming revenue in a decade. This is translating to leading economic indicators such as home prices (up 
5%) and consumer confidence (6% higher). Nevada has surpassed the $1 billion/month mark five times in 2018. Another month like October would put the state within shouting distance of the all-time high-water mark ($1.165 billion), achieved in October 2007. Visitation was up 2% despite a 3% decline in conventioneers. Hotel occupancy ran at 91.5%, boosting room rates 2.5% to $142/night. Possibly boosted by new I-11 access from Arizona, vehicular traffic into Las Vegas was up 7.5%. All of this has been accomplished in a year in which visitation lags last year by 1%, making the results all the more impressive.
* “There’s been a huge change in public opinion,” said Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred, rationalizing his sport’s new pact with MGM Resorts International. The long-term contract will include the sharing of some proprietary data with MGM sports books — but don’t expect betting windows to be open when the Boston Red Sox open their season against the New York Yankees at Olympic Stadium in London. The league is also tightening its prohibition against participation in gambling by any of its employees, but sent a mixed signal by stating that it may revise its prohibition on casino ownership by team owners. As always in baseball there is a double standard whereby what is sauce for the ownership goose isn’t sauce for the players’ gander.
Incidentally, speaking of betting on baseball, an S&G source tells me that Pete Rose will never, ever get into the Hall of Fame if league owners have any say in the matter. It seems that then-Commissioner Bartlett Giamatti suffered his fatal heart attack right after getting off an acrimonious phone call with the thorny Rose. That — and not the illicit betting — seems to have been Rose’s cardinal sin.
* While Encore Boston Harbor awaits its fate at the hands of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission it’s trying to buy some good will with $10 million in charitable donations. No recipients were specified, although “education of at-risk youth” was mentioned. (Perhaps education of at-risk executives should be considered.) “It’s not in our corporate DNA to just write a check for a donation or buy a table at a charity event. We want to make an impactful difference in the lives of people and effect real and positive changes in our communities,” said CEO Matt Maddox. Let’s hope this new era of largesse is a long and propitious one.
* Congratulations to José Andres, nominated by Rep. John Delaney for the Nobel Peace Prize. The honor is in recognition of Andres’ charitable work, which includes founding World Central Kitchen in response to a 2010 earthquake in Haiti. According to TastingTable.com, “Most recently, he’s been in the news for providing millions of meals to communities existing everywhere from Indonesia to California in the wake of devastating natural disasters.” Andres is on a roll, having received the Humanitarian of the Year Award from the James Beard Foundation. The Las Vegas community is honored to have such a philanthropist in its midst.
Andres took the recognition modestly, tweeting “My friend I don’t know if it is true, but if it is, I’m humbled by it. I’m one more guy between thousands of people helping feed people in need, every day around the world, unrecognized…” We don’t know who else is up for the Nobel Peace Prize this year but Andres seems a most deserving recipient, should the accolade fall to him.
