New boss at F-blue; Station: Five white guys; Atlantic City blitzed

Yes, Tom Brady has retired but there’s actually other news happening today. For starters, Fontainebleau has a new president. And not just any prexy but “a visionary leader for our next-generation luxury resort.” He’s Cliff Atkinson, late of Luxor. If anything about that last sentence strikes you as incongruous it’s that Luxor isn’t exactly F-blue’s price point. Fortunately, Atkinson does have experience in the top tier of Las Vegas Strip hospitality, having served as general manager of what used to be Mandarin Oriental at CityCenter, a tenure that earned him the sobriquet “Hotelier of the Year” from the Nevada Hotel & Lodging Association. Although you’ve probably never heard of him, Atkinson is described by Jeffrey Soffer‘s PR team as “one of the Strip’s most dynamic leaders.”

More specifically, “So much of Cliff’s success is rooted in his ability to build human capital and company cultures through a combination of business acumen, empathy, confidence and natural charisma,” according to Brett Mufson, president of Fontainebleau Development. For his part, Atkinson calls F-blue “the beacon of change for the future of Las Vegas.” That’s a lofty goal to set yourself but we cannot fault Atkinson for a lack of confidence in one of the most ambitious projects in Vegas history. He says the megaresort is 75% finished, adding, “It’s in a great state. It’s cleaning up that exterior and building out the finishes of the interior.” As for being cheek-by-jowl with the newly expanded Las Vegas Convention Center, Atkinson calls it “a dream.” We bet it is.

Here’s an ‘only in Vegas’ story. Dynamic Town Square Las Vegas is suing Café Rio (which serves very good grub, BTW) for withholding rent. The restaurant says the landlord violated a lease clause that prohibits any other restaurant in the mall from serving Tex-Mex food. At issue is Chop Stop (full disclosure: we’ve never eaten at one) or rather its menu, which includes a Viva Mexico Chop Salad, a Santa Fe Chop and a Chopurrito (basically a burrito in a bowl). A federal court is actually going to have to adjudicate whether Chop Stop is serving Tex-Mex food or not, in what has been described as “deconstructed Mexican salad symbolism.” For its part, Chop Stop says it’s not the villain, contending that the offending salads constitute less than 10% of its sales. “Ultimately we are going to collect from somebody,” threatens a lawyer for the landlord. Others find the case a tempest in a taco. Says gourmet Gustavo Arellano, “It’s a comedy of errors. I just wish it tasted better.”

The board of directors at Station Casinos has two things in common with the Fertitta Brothers. It’s exclusively white and exclusively male. It’s also been ossified in place for the past seven years. All of which makes it the latest target of convenience for the Culinary Union, which has filed a complaint with the SEC. The Culinary accuses Station of relying on “deficient claims” to prop up its board, pointing to the diversity of four other Las Vegas-based casino companies, all of whom have at least 30% female representation on their boards. For its part, Station sniffs that the big, bad Culinary is upset because employees at Red Rock Resort have it too good to unionize. Given the excess of testosterone traditionally sloshing around the Station C-suite, it’s no surprise that its board is a boys’ club (do meetings include towel-snapping?). Nor can it come as news to the Fertittas that, after years of brutal warfare, the Culinary is going to pounce on any perceived weakness—and this time the union would appear to have them by the balls.

Atlantic City got hit with 18 inches of snow (at the shore) and its airport was inundated even harder, too. You can imagine what that meant. “Not one vehicle or person was in sight on Atlantic Avenue,” reported The Press of Atlantic City. Gaming receipts are certain to take a hit from what was a full-tilt blizzard, including 35-mph wind gusts and minimal visibility. “The storm was a powerhouse, with air pressure equivalent to a Category 1 or 2 hurricane,” reports The Press. There was even a modest storm surge along the beach. Gem Liquor Store hung in there, as did X-rated The Playground. No word on whether any casinos closed, although we doubt it. We don’t let a little thing like a deluge of snow and ice get in our way. In fact, S&G‘s East Coast correspondent was headed for Borgata at last report. A casino giveaway is a powerful incentive even in the face of Mother Nature’s wrath.

Washed-up rocker and Las Vegan Gene Simmons must be hard-put to unload his $13.5 million Sin City estate. He’s not only making himself available to the media (yes, even us) but is willing to take cryptocurrency bids, in eight different forms of bitcoin, on his pied-a-terre. Located at 7 Talus Court, the 11,000-square-foot manse features six bedrooms, eight bathrooms and an 11-car garage. Oh, and did we mention the private orchard? Other amenities include a koi pond (no word if the koi are included in the price tag), a tropical-fish tank and a three-story commercial elevator. Then there’s the 11-seat private theater and the outdoor viewing area with three side-by-side TVs for the easily bored. Berkshire Hathaway is handling the sale.

Colorado sports books generated $461.5 million in handle in December, resulting in revenue of $25 million. Said PlayUSA analyst Ian St. Clair, “Coloradoans continue to wager at a pace on par with more populous states, and it is still a market that has not yet fully matured. The state’s sports books are in a really good place.” Unless they’re brick-and-mortar books, that is: 98.5% of all bets were placed online. (Is today’s traditional walk-up book tomorrow’s loss leader?) The numbers would have been better had Coloradans not been saddled with the sagging Denver Nuggets and Denver Broncos. Even so, NFL betting ginned up $136.5 million in handle, followed by $125.5 million in NBA action. The rest of the pie was divvied up amongst college basketball ($27.5 million), college football ($24.5 million), hockey ($14.5 million) and soccer ($13 million). The Rocky Mountain State’s love affair with table tennis appears to have faded.

Jottings: Macao remains on its sickbed. Last month saw gambling revenues of $794 million, which sounds good until compared with the same timeframe in 2019, a 74.5% shortfall … Bookies have anointed the Los Angeles Rams four-point favorites to win the Super Bowl. You know what that means: Bet it all on the Cincinnati Bengals … Chalk up one for Hard Rock International, which was green-lit by Illinois regulators to begin work on its permanent casino in Rockford. Hard Rock is currently operating a generically tagged temporary casino with no tables and 600 slots but is doing impressive business nevertheless … Ever wonder where casino taxes go? Here’s who they’re benefiting in one Pennsylvania county … With Macao faltering, Las Vegas Sands is turning its eyes to Singapore with a $1 billion (with a “b”) refresh of Marina Bay Sands. The company is promising “luxurious suite product” aimed at high rollers … Already the leader in New York State, surprise frontrunner Caesars Sportsbook aims to put a little more distance between itself and the competition via an alliance with the New York Racing Association. The marketing pact embraces Belmont Park and Saratoga Race Course, as well as sponsorship of the Triple Turf series … Two Oregon tribes are fighting it out over a proposed casino in North Salem. The Grande Ronde say it would be too close to their Spirit Mountain Casino and point out that the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians “already has a [Class III] casino located on the beautiful Oregon coast,” Chinook Winds. The latter “faces substantial competition and is not within commuting distance for many Tribal members living in the Willamette Valley,” say the Siletz. Salem residents are divided on the issue … Congratulations to S&G photographer Greg Askins. He’s been named a “Top Producer” among realty executives by Phoenix Magazine. Well done, sir.