He’s been handed a small budget ($15 million) for the task at hand, but new Trump Taj Mahal boss Anthony Rodio has been charged with undoing the damage inflicted on the 
property during the Bob Griffin era. This includes “reactivating lights and water fountains that had been turned off for years” (!), reopening the poker room — formerly one of Atlantic City‘s most renowned — renovating 180 worst-case hotel rooms and adding 250 rooms. He’ll also be restoring live music to the aptly named (for a Trump-branded property) Ego Lounge. “We want to let the world know that we are open for business and we’re not going anywhere,” is Rodio’s mission statement.
Given the vastness of the Taj, Rodio concedes that his team is still figuring out how they’re going to fill it out if and when Carl Icahn releases the other $85 million in restoration money he’s holding hostage, pending the outcome of the election. Although Local 54 of Unite-Here has authorized a strike at the Taj, an uneasy peace seems to be the status quo, with one employee characterizing Rodio’s takeover as “a great weight off your shoulders.” We hope it’s onward and upward for the Taj from here.
* Any list of ‘cult’ casinos that includes flotsam and jetsam like Primm Valley Resorts and the Plaza Hotel (which still looks over the hill even after a renovation) has to be taken with a grain of salt. But Thrillist.com has highlighted some true gems, too. OK, maybe the word is already out on Ellis Island (ever try to get a table for dinner there?) or Rampart Casino, 
which has finally overcome an offbeat location and too-cool-for-the-room market positioning. Eastside Cannery is definitely the more imaginative and user-friendly of the two Cannery casinos, soon to be wards of Boyd Gaming. I don’t know if The Orleans is obscure enough to qualify as “underrated” (it seems to do pretty darn well) but the Tropicana is definitely overdue for rediscovery. Silver Sevens has taken a step up in the world since its days as Terrible’s and while you may pass Santa’s workshop en route to Aliante Casino (it’s ungodly far north), it’s a beautiful property, one for which Boyd paid an incautious purchase price. And as for the Palms, we’d say it’s still on the decline, attracting a rough element among its clientele — much more so than Gold Coast, directly across the street — but we’re confident Station Casinos can turn that around. Speaking of Station, while conducting a telephone survey last week, we found Station operators and reservations to be the friendliest and promptest, by far. Whoever sets the corporate culture at Station deserves a gold star.
* British bookmaker Boylesports.com hit an all-time-low in gambling promotion by touting its Holy Week games as a “Nailed On Bonus,” accompanied by the image of a crucified wrist and the graphic, “Between 5-25 Quid.” People of faith were rightly offended 
but Boylesports was unapologetically brazen, saying — in effect — crucifixions used to be common practice, that’s not necessarily Jesus Christ in our ad and you can go suck eggs. The ad drew a reprimand from the Advertising Standards Authority and no wonder. The accompanying copy included this verbal cow-plop: “In memory of the dearly departed JC, we are offering you a sacrilecious [sic] bonus this Easter weekend … So don’t just sit there gorging your own body weight in chocolate, that’s disrespectful. Get on Boylesports Gaming and get your nailed on bonus.” Boylesports got off easy, maybe because Britons are so inured to Internet gambling. American operators wouldn’t dream of running a promo like that.
* Add old-guard NFL owner Robert Kraft to the growing chorus of those who think Mark Davis should be allowed to move the [your city here] Raiders to Las Vegas. Kraft says if Davis can’t get a deal done in Oakland, he’d support a Vegas relocation. He elaborated, “I came into the league in ’94. Back then, any exploration of that [Vegas] market was dismissed out of hand. I’m looking where we are today and thinking of the last 10 to 15 years, and the emergence of new media, with Google and Facebook and the like. We’re just living in a different world, technology-wise. The risks in Vegas are no longer exclusive to Vegas.” However NBC Sports is out to lunch on its contentions that Las Vegas has a “plan in place” and “skin in the game.” The question of building a stadium, let alone financing one (the nub of the issue) remains very much open, although Kraft’s endorsement definitely gives a boost to stadium proponents.
* Over at MGM Resorts International, CEO Jim Murren is still very much on the New Urbanism bandwagon, his latest trophy being “Bliss Dance,” an overwhelmingly big (almost four tons, 40 feet tall) and expensive — $2 million — statue of a nude woman. According to 
Murren, it’s one of the “Let’s meet at such-and-such” spots on the Las Vegas Strip and given the way it stands out, especially when illuminated in blue lights after dark, one can easily understand why. As for The Park, I’d say the verdict is still out. We visited it last night and pedestrian traffic was sparse, although “Bliss Dance” looked like a popular selfie spot. However, the accompanying restaurant row appears to be thriving, including our destination, Beer Haus. The service isn’t much to speak of but the food and spirits are excellent, and one can eat well there for under $20. You can’t say that very often in $in City. As for the rest of MGM’s public art collection, Murren says it has appreciated exponentially in value, especially the Henry Moore sculpture at Aria. Thankfully, he appears to be in no rush to monetize the collection by putting it on the market. For him, art is part of integrated urban statement MGM is trying to make, an enlightened outlook for which we applaud him.
* Undeterred by the table-game restrictions imposed on new Cotai Strip megaresorts, Sociedade de Jogos de Macau CEO Ambrose So has announced his intention to apply for 500 tables. That’s much more than the government has been giving out lately and more than he’s likely to get. But you can’t fault him for trying.
* Sixty-one years ago today, the Moulin Rouge opened as the first integrated hotel-casino in the U.S. Today nary a stick or stone of it remains but it lives on in the memories of those who love Las Vegas, as well as an icon of racial progress in America.
Agreed on the Taj. I hope it can become what it once was. Tony Rodio is just the man to do it!