New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) still plans to place his first sports wager at Monmouth Park tomorrow but Borgata is trying to crash the 
party. The megaresort issued a statement saying “we are moving ahead with all possible speed to begin accepting legal sports bets as soon as required regulatory approvals are in place.” To rub it in, MGM Resorts International added, “Having spent decades successfully operating sportsbooks in Nevada, building trust with regulators, MGM Resorts is positioned to be a leader in sports wagering.” Translation: Who do you trust with your money?
In view of the lead time Atlantic City casinos and Freehold Raceway have had to prepare for this contingency, they are surprisingly unready. Some, like the Golden Nugget, promise to limp into action by the start of NFL season. Now that Delaware and New Jersey have paved the way, analysts expect Mississippi to be next, followed by West Virginia (where the Legislature and governor are at odds over ‘integrity fees’), Pennsylvania (which might smother the baby in the crib with taxes) and Illinois.
Back in Atlantic City, Hard Rock International finds itself the unwilling host to Scores strip club, which it had unsuccessfully tried to evict. Scores is promising a seven-chamber “revolutionary social and sensory adult entertainment complex,” sprawling across 36,000 square feet. “We are truly excited to relaunch the revolutionary Scores experience, preserving Atlantic City’s status as a 24-hour city with world-class nightlife,” gloated Managing Partner Bob Gans. Hard Rock, which had argued in court that Scores represented “impediment or potential denigration of its brand,” had no comment.
* “We can’t help but think that the proposed board structure is a bit messy, with too many interested parties. This complicated structure 
leaves room for a potential power tussle within the board, given the lack of clear control.” So wrote JP Morgan analyst DS Kim of the post-Stanley Ho era at Sociedade de Jogos de Macau. As executive director, Angela Leong (right) seemingly comes out on top but past adversary Pansy Ho, who also owns a sizeable chunk of MGM Grand Paradise, is riding sidecar as co-chair of SJM. Timothy Fok, son of a former Stanley Ho business partner, rounds out the corporate Cerberus now steering SJM … and potentially fighting for control.
As for the patriarch, he is 97 and wheelchair-bound. However, I wouldn’t bet against him putting in an appearance at the opening of $4.6 billion Grand Lisboa Palace, sometime late next year.
* Richard Velotta sorts out lies, damned lies and visitation statistics when it comes to Las Vegas‘ 2018 tourism slump. What he finds is enlightening.
* Wynn Resorts, while on tenterhooks with the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, made an announcement to tell us what we already know: That they’ve spent $1 billion on Encore Boston and it 
will open next June. Expect some traffic disruption in the immediate area *this* summer, as Wynn embarks upon roadwork to achieve promised fixes to the Sullivan Square area.
* The international press has been making heavy weather of a new law in Switzerland that limits Internet gambling only to firms and casinos located within the company. “The vote spells a crushing defeat for opponents, who warned that the restrictions are ‘worthy of an authoritarian state’, and amount to ‘censorship of the internet’,” wailed one newspaper. Weird, but Switzerland is just doing what Nevada, Delaware and New Jersey already do, and I don’t recall any of them being called authoritarian states.
Scores and Hard Rock do not blend together, in my mind; however, the Scores in AC is actually a pretty cool place with a mix of everything (sports bar, outdoor venue etc). Additionally, they own Roberts Steak House which is pretty good. They invested a large chunk of change in the Taj when no one else was (Trump), so they too deserve a second chance; brand conflict aside of course.