NBA odds sizzle; Stanley Ho’s revenge

While the expansion of the NBA playoff field to 22 teams fiddled with the odds, the favorites to win remain the same: the Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers and Milwaukee Bucks. The league’s plan is to resume play July 31 at Disney World. (Sorry, Vegas.) DraftKings‘ odds remained the same but those on FanDuel bumped up and down. The Bucks slipped from +240 to +200, the Lakers leapt from +250 (paying $250 on a $100 wager) to +270 while the Clippers shifted from +325 to +340. DraftKings has the teams at +250 (Bucks), +333 (Clippers) and +250 (Lakers). If a miracle happens and Kevin Durant comes back—and you love playing extreme long shots—the Brooklyn Nets are at +8,000 on DraftKings and +5,000 on FanDuel, a big improvement from +20,000 and +21,000, respectively, but still a real gamble. The DraftKings/FanDuel breakdowns for the other favored teams were as follows: Denver Nuggets (+3,000/+2,500), Philadelphia 76ers (ditto), Indiana Pacers (+10,000) and Portland Trail Blazers (+17,000/+20,000, down slightly in both cases). Place your bets, friends.

* Silver Slipper Casino really pushed its luck with Tropical Storm Cristobal. It kept employees on-property until after the storm surge had flooded the access roads. This forced first-responders to deploy a high-water vehicle to evacuate the stranded employees, a process that took three hours to complete. Water near the casino entrance was reported to be five feet deep. Strange as it may seem, some guests are still camped out in the hotel. You’d think joints like Silver Slipper would have learned their lesson after Hurricane Katrina but apparently the urge to make as much money as possible after Covid-19 shutdowns was the stronger impulse. We’re gobsmacked by Silver Slipper’s apparent carelessness and hope this was a one-off.

* Forget about a grand sports-betting bargain in the Golden State. In an attempt to throw a sop to California card rooms, state Sen. Bill Dodd (D, below) would legalize house-banked games at card rooms, which one tribe called a “sucker punch.” Economically, the tribes wield a lot more clout, possibly enough to bottle up Dodd’s referendum question in the Lege, although it passed out of committee with the greatest of ease. Not even the provision of roulette and craps to the tribal casinos is enough to palliate their anti-card-room wrath. Fumed CNIGA Chairman James Siva, “It’s a bill trying to hide behind the tribes and sports wagering issue to legalize the illegal action the card clubs have done for several years.” A rival ballot initiative, backed by horse tracks and 18 tribes, was dealt a seemingly mortal blow by Coronavirus shutdowns. But Siva thinks it could come back from the dead—and to haunt Dodd.

* In a Macao power play that only she would have the gall to initiate, Pansy Ho has named herself managing director of MGM China, taking advantage of a power vacuum left by Grant Bowie‘s departure. Nobody but Pansy would try to run Sociedade de Jogos de Macau and MGM simultaneously. She promoted three senior MGM executives, presumably loyalists, adding ominously they “will report to me. I will be spending more time here and working closely with them and many of you on a day-to-day basis.” In other words, it’s my casino now and don’t you forget it, MGM. While Ms. Ho owns 22.5% of MGM China and Macanese law forbids an investor from owning more than 5% of any two concessions, Pansy’s status as managing director of umbrella corporation Shun Tak Holdings gives her de facto control of SJM. Pansy, sisters Maisy and Daisy, and Stanley Ho widow Angela Leong all sit on the SJM board.

The coup d’etat did not sit well with a trio of Sanford C. Bernstein analysts, who wrote, “We have concerns around this structure as there is limited direct casino operations and marketing management experience among the top executives. While the next layer of management is not changing (based on what we know today), casino marketing and operations management experience is light at the top with two finance and business development executives now fully in charge of casino and hospitality.” As to Pansy’s divided loyalties, “This continues to be an issue to us with respect to conflicts that may arise. With respect to SJM, there has been much investor interest in possible management changes at the company since spring 2019 when the STDM board seemed to become in the control of the ‘Pansy Ho Alliance.‘” We can’t say we’ll be throwing a pity party for MGM. It chose to get into bed with Stanley Ho and now is discovery that karma is a bitch.

Jottings: It’s a new era at Las Vegas Strip fixture (some would say barnacle) Casino Royale. It has eliminated table games, permanently … Daily fantasy sports have been approved by the Louisiana state Senate, while the House has put its stamp of approval on sports betting. The latter now goes to Gov. John Bel Edwards (D). Would he say no? … Speaking of Louisiana, Gaming Control Board Chairman Ronnie Jones has been ousted in a palace coup. Most unfortunate. Jones was a steady hand on the wheel. The agenda behind his removal remains hidden … U.S. casino grosses grew 4% from 2018 to 2019. The American Gaming Association attributes it to the spread of sports betting.