Saying her city “cannot survive” a month-long shutdown, Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman (D) wants Gov. Steve Sisolak (D) to drastically reduce his 30-day casino closure. We admire Goodman normally but think she’s out of her depth here or, as a veteran travel-magazine editor put it, flying “totally in the face of good sense and reason.” Goodman should let Sisolak’s quarantine run its course. Even Rep. Dina Titus (D), who constituency is the Las Vegas Strip, writes, “Avoid social gatherings of 10 people or more.” Speaking of Las Vegas, some of the best restaurants—such as Marché Bacchus—are hanging tough, offering take-out and curbside dining. Here’s a list in progress.
* Someone else who doesn’t seem to get it—and who appears to think that it’s the federal government’s prerogative (which, thankfully, it isn’t) to close and reopen casinos is American Gaming Association President Bill Miller. His latest statement is so clueless I will let it speak for itself as much as possible:
“An estimated 616,000 casino gaming employees are prevented from working because of the important health and safety decisions made by state governments. Nearly all (95%) of the country’s 465 commercial 
casinos, and three-in-four (76%) of the country’s 524 tribal casinos, have shuttered their doors … The federal government must act swiftly and comprehensively to get America’s hospitality employees, and the small businesses that support them, back to work. Gaming employees, their families, and communities are bearing the brunt of this economic standstill and will continue to suffer if Congress and the administration don’t take immediate action. In total, these mass closures will rob the U.S. economy of $43.5 billion in economic activity if American casinos remain closed for the next eight weeks.”
Miller threatens Washington, D.C., with the loss of tax revenue—which is actually proportionate to business, of which there won’t be very much for a while. Tax relief is presumably Miller’s endgame but demanding that the feds reopen the casino industry en masse seems not only bizarre but irresponsible. Bill is a nice guy but he’s gone off the deep end.
* Former Washington State Gambling Commission Chairman Chris Stearns defends the slowness to close of the state’s tribal casinos in an interview with Global Gaming Business. “The federal government can issue debt or a $5 billion bill and tack it onto the national debt,” Stearns said. “With our city budgets, we’re required by the state constitution to be budget-neutral—we can’t spend more than we have.” Tribal casinos are looking to Washington, D.C. for financial relief. Says Stearns, “They’re are in a tough situation. They rely a lot on gaming revenues to fund basic services. It’s not an earnings or profit loss, or for shareholders. They’re concerned about whether they can keep electricity and water running. Can they provide schools, school lunches and breakfasts?”
* Marriott International CEO Arne Sorensen yesterday called the present health crisis worse than 9/11 and the Great Recession *combined.* He also had at least one helpful tip for companies looking for budget cuts: “We spend $1 billion a year on marketing; why would we be marketing when people are social distancing and not traveling?” He looks for drive-in markets to do better, convention-dependent hotels to do worse. As for getting federal aid for furloughed employees and for credit-liquidity underwriting, “We are encouraged by the constructive response and the speed at which these things are being considered.” So far casino companies aren’t being included among the competing stimulus packages tussling for priority on Capitol Hill.
* Georgia Sen. David Perdue (R) dumped $165,000 in Caesars Entertainment stock after being briefed on the severity of Covid-19. “For Senator Perdue to betray his oath to Georgians by profiteering on an impending pandemic while downplaying the threat in public—if that’s not a crime, it should be,” challenger Jon Ossoff said. Speaking of Caesars, an S&G source says it is using its enforced downtime to install many, many more self-check-in kiosks. Welcome to the Eldorado Era.
* Nevada entrepreneur Elon Musk is offering to go into ventilator manufacturing if supplies run short. We have only one question: Why wait?
* Good news for sports bettors: Major League Soccer has set May 10 for resumption of play. English football, meanwhile, remains on indefinite suspension. Hey, if you put money on Liverpool to win it all you’re in like Flynn. Bad news for Genting Group, though: Horse racing at Aqueduct Racetrack is suspended at least for this weekend after a worker tested positive for You Know What. And forget any bets on the Monaco Grand Prix. It’s been canceled.
* Sorry to get your hopes up, Las Vegas Raiders fans: Tom Brady has signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Football audiences can look forward to a pair of Brady-vs.-Drew Brees shootouts but Las Vegans will have to reconcile themselves to life with Derek Carr (who’s hardly sloppy seconds).
* After trying (and failing) to rebrand Coronavirus as “Wuhan virus,” the federal government is now spinning it as “Chinese Virus.” Ah xenophobia, always so helpful in a time of panic.
