Things are looking grim for Florida Gov. Rick Scott‘s case against the Seminole Tribe. An attorney for the state was described as getting “shellacked” by U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle. The latter zeroed in on the state’s “designated player games” — banked 
versions of blackjack. “You’re not going to win that argument; you’re just not,” Hinkle told attorney Anne-Leigh Gaylord Moe, after warning her that in the case of a finding by the court that designated-player games are really house games “then the tribe can keep offering banking games for 20 years.” Also hurting the state’s case was the revelation that a banked game had been approved for a card room in Daytona. Moe tried to pass the buck on the designated-player games, arguing that it was the parimutuel operators themselves who had pushed the envelope.
The state itself has had to rein in parimutuels for offering verboten forms of gambling, cracking down on Continue reading
for Gov. Rick Scott (R) could be Pyrrhic, 
financing the project will come any day now … any day now, folks … folks? The company will still carry $125 million in debt related to the structuring of the deal. Penn has shown its inexperience in tribal-casino affairs here: Station Casinos and Boyd Gaming don’t bankroll the tribal casinos they develop, and Penn’s decision to do so has created a lengthy overhang. And don’t think the Street hasn’t noticed: Penn stock has declined 14%, compared to an average 8% for other regional operators. Still, once the casino is open this will be a sweet deal for Penn. It gets to skim 1.5% right off the top in licensing fees, collect a management fee of 30% of pre-tax earnings (a good incentive for Penn to do its job) and will run the property for at least seven years.
money, when business went bad. Three or four of our locations went bankrupt. And when a small business goes bankrupt, the people who own it go bankrupt. They lost everything they had saved. Video gaming gave them that additional spark and revenue source.” — Illinois Gaming Machine Operators Association President Mike Gelatka on the impact of slot routes on bars in the Land of Lincoln.
a question of reconciling the casinos with their host communities, and finding a solution that both deem fair, the process also pits big casinos like Sands Bethlehem (which had supported the tax) against small ones like Mount Airy, the David who slew the tax goliath. Already the affected cities are crying foul. The mayor of Bensalem, Joseph DiGirolamo, staring a $15 million a year shortfall in the face, has already raised the specter of police layoff and/or tax increases if revenue-sharing from Parx Casino comes to a halt. On the opposite side of the coin, state Sen. Tommy Tomlinson (R) 
$916 million loss. Yes, $916 million. 
team in return for $650 million in stadium financing. Davis wasn’t having any of that. And NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, who might be less than thrilled to have a casino mogul among the league’s owners, pointedly reminded everyone that Davis needed 24 votes out of 32 in order to move the team. Pressure to keep the Raiders in Oakland is ramping up, as former team CEO Amy Trask is making the rounds with a scheme that would keep a new stadium from being a budget-busting proposition. Among 
impasse wasn’t trouble enough. The commonwealth has been given three months, tops, by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to fix the host-fee regime under which Keystone State casino disburse funds to their surrounding communities. The court found that the current law — which Mount Airy Casino and Rivers Casino have loudly decried — 
Boardwalk would be the recipient of GameCo’s first skill-based product. (In fairness, it should be noted that Graboyes is “not in love with the term skill-based slots” but we can’t think of anything better.) Caesars Atlantic City, Harrah’s Resort and Bally’s will jointly debut Danger Arena. Its minimum wager is 50 cents but you can bet up to $20 on your ability to “shoot” digitally animated robots. The game contains 10,000 “maps,” randomized in their degree of difficulty, to provide the required element of chance. Graboyes told The Bergen Record that it’s a more “cartoonish” game than other first-person-shooter ones like Call of Duty. As for his choice of Atlantic City as his primary market, Graboyes cited his nostalgic fondness for the Boardwalk, an attachment dating back to his youth.
He’s advancing a bill that would bar any casino owner who closes his business from reopening for five years. Is Uncle Carl willing to wait that long? Whelan’s betting against it. And it remains to be seen why the Taj employees have been singled out by Icahn for punishment for trying to obtain a living wage. His insistence on maintaining the vile Bob Griffin‘s wage and benefit cuts is costing Icahn far more than it’s saving him. At any rate, Whelan’s bill sailed unanimously through the Senate Budget Committee, although no Assembly counterpart has been written yet.
win that was reported in August softened the blow, contributing to a 13% increase in gross gaming revenue from local players. Comparisons in September don’t get easier, as last year was a strong month for baccarat (up 20%) and 2% better on the Strip overall. This August, slot handle on the Strip dipped 3% but win was down 5%. Table wagering fell 12% but the house got pummeled, with win plummeting 24%. (Nevada now includes poker in “table games,” presumably in hopes of making the numbers look better.) Minus baccarat, the table-game picture wasn’t so bad, off 8% on 6% less wagering. Baccarat “win” was catastrophic, plunging 42% on 18% less play.
Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton (R), who has thrown a legislative Hail Mary, attempting to reverse the Obama administration’s interpretation of the Wire Act. At least that seems to be Cotton’s intent, which could be as broad as to ban Internet gambling altogether. Trouble is, the bill has a number but 
opening of Wynn Palace “very clean,” with “solid” VIP business. Hotel occupancy is running a 70%, although two-thirds of those rooms are comped. No cannibalization of Wynn Macau business has been seen, “noting the bifurcation of the market remains pronounced between Cotai and Peninsula customers.” Closer to home, the company sees “stable” group business and “rational” pricing. Gaming business was described as “flattish,” with all-important baccarat “less bad,” even stable. The Wynn board continues to withhold judgment on Wynn Paradise Park, while construction continues to ramp up at Wynn Boston Harbor, which has 500 workers on staff. A May 2019 opening is planned.
New Jersey, expansion PAC Our Turn NJ is closing up shop. That means that well-heeled potential casino developers Jeff Gural and Paul Fireman (the two frontrunners) are out of the fight. 
pronouncement that going into Bethlehem was “a mistake.” After all, it’s beating the pants off most of its competitors and — when it comes to table-game play — is in a class of its own, making $228 million last year. Sands Bethlehem is going to invest $40 million into an extension of the gaming floor, right up to the shores of the Lehigh River. This enlargement, described as being the size of two football fields, will give Sands Pennsylvania’s largest gaming floor — would you expect Sheldon to settle for anything less?