Quote of the Day

Posted on September 30, 2015 by David McKee

“Suffice it to say, the money was not going to college tuition.” — Virginia Commonwealth University professor Jay S. Albanese on the revelation that illegal gambling monies are flowing to biker gangs, drug dealers, and New York and Philadelphia branches of the Cosa Nostra.

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Crime and plentitude at G2E

Posted on September 30, 2015 by David McKee

Internet gambling having been temporarily moved to a back burner, thanks to Sheldon Adelson, the American Gaming Association has turned its attention at Global Gaming Expo imagesto organized crime, which continues to be a shadowy partner to gambling, at least in those jurisdictions where gambling is illegal. Reported Casino Journal, “in 2014 alone, 80 operators in 23 states were convicted of running illegal gambling businesses.” As AGA President Geoff Freeman said, “Illegal gambling siphons critical tax revenue from communities and is void of any of the consumer protections provided by regulated gaming.”

Although extortion and racketeering are a far cry from today’s casino industry, money laundering has raised its ugly head of late, underscoring Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Boyd Gaming, G2E, Genting, Geoff Freeman, Internet gambling, Macau, Maine, Massachusetts, MGM Mirage, Mohegan Sun, Neil Bluhm, Penn National, Scientific Games, Sheldon Adelson, Technology, The Mob, The Strip, Tribal, Wall Street | Comments Off on Crime and plentitude at G2E

Shocker from Sheldon; Massachusetts on horns of a dilemma

Posted on September 29, 2015 by David McKee

After a half-dozen years of banging its head on the door of the Florida Legislature, a frustrated Las Vegas Sands is calling it quits in the Sunshine State. Despite having poured millions of Sheldon Adollars into the Florida GOP and its prize causes, Sheldon Adelson is no closer to getting a Florida casino than he was back when he nervily proposed that the state give him exclusive rights to build five or six resort-casinos in the state — or to draw a 75-mile ‘line of death’ around every Sands-branded casino.

Nope, Sands is winding down its lobbying operations and turning its attention to Georgia, where Adelson recently conducted a “listening” tour. (The mere fact that Sheldon was listening rather than talking suggests that Continue reading →

Posted in Florida, Foxwoods, Georgia, Harrah's, Massachusetts, MGM Mirage, Mohegan Sun, Neil Bluhm, Politics, Regulation, Seminole Tribe, Sheldon Adelson, Tribal | 1 Comment

Big players accentuate the positive

Posted on September 29, 2015 by David McKee

Deutsche Bank analyst Carlo Santarelli has been a busy man these past few days, meeting with the top companies in gaming. In no special order …

Boyd Gaming took the usual line on REIT conversion and acquisitions, basically saying, “If we have anything to report, we’ll mainstreetstation-pictell you.” Boyd says it hasn’t been surprised by regional-market softness, continuing to believe in the underlying health of the sector and having “noticed a correlation between lower-end consumer spend and events such as the flash crash and government shut down.” Do you hear that, Congress?

Lastly, Boyd is seeing millennials drawn to its non-gambling attractions and creating a larger demand for Continue reading →

Posted in Ameristar, Boyd Gaming, Colorado, Downtown, Economy, Florida, GLPI, Illinois, International, Isle of Capri, Louisiana, Macau, Marketing, Massachusetts, MGM Mirage, Penn National, Pinnacle Entertainment, Sports, Steve Wynn, Texas, The Strip, Tilman Fertitta, Wall Street | Comments Off on Big players accentuate the positive

Quote of the Day

Posted on September 29, 2015 by David McKee

Mashpee 4“Under federal law, the state cannot stop an Indian casino from opening, but the Gaming Commission can help it succeed, by denying the Brockton license. Given the debt Massachusetts owes to the Wampanoags, that only seems right.” — the editorial page of the MetroWest Daily News, weighing in favor of the Mashpee Wampanoags‘ case for a casino over that of Neil Bluhm‘s Brockton proposal.

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Boardwalk of Broken Dreams; Adelson strikes again

Posted on September 28, 2015 by David McKee

As Donald Trump continues to boast of his business expertise, the Boston Globe examines his less-than-stellar track record in Atlantic City, scene of four bankruptcies. (Five, if you count the Taj Mahalcurrent insolvency of Trump Entertainment Resorts, in which he holds a 10% stake.) The Globe finds passionately divided sentiments when Trump’s name is mentioned: Some Atlantic citizens feel it was a dark day when he quitted the Boardwalk. Others believe it was good riddance.

If anything, the Globe story goes a little easy on Trump, ignoring his litany of broken promises, such as Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Donald Trump, Election, Harrah's, history, International, Japan, MGM Mirage, Sheldon Adelson, The Strip, Transportation, Trump Entertainment Resorts, TV | Comments Off on Boardwalk of Broken Dreams; Adelson strikes again

Gambling junkies in Illinois; New thinking in China

Posted on September 28, 2015 by David McKee

Despite having added slot routes to the state’s gambling repertory, gaming-tax revenues are down 6% in Illinois. This occurred despite the continuing addition of slot routes. However, some Ritagambling-tax junkies continue to deny the obvious proof of a saturated market. “I’m a believer in using the [casino] expansion to bring more dollars, to create more jobs for the state. But we do need to do this in a smart way. I do believe it would generate additional revenue,” said state Sen. Robert Rita (D), boating energetically down DeNile. He made this assertion in the face of a state-commissioned study which reported that “the state would have a large amount of gaming expansion with little new tax revenues to show for it.”

For a reality check, Illinois Casino Gaming Association Executive Director Tom Swoik said the Illinois Legislature’s report on the economic effects on casino expansion showed Continue reading →

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Quote of the Day

Posted on September 28, 2015 by David McKee

atlantic_city_boat“I wouldn’t be surprised if, in 15 years, this looks a lot more like Las Vegas.” — Wolfgang Puck, making one of the most spectacularly wrong predictions in Atlantic City‘s history.

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Problem gambling’s poster girl; Smoke gets in Macao’s eyes

Posted on September 25, 2015 by David McKee

Meet Dianna Duran, secretary of state for New Mexico and, as of this week, America’s most prominent gambling addict. She’s
Duranbeen hit with a 64-count corruption indictment for, among other things, alleged money laundering and embezzlement. Duran is accused of siphoning campaign monies into her personal bank accounts, activity that “often culminated with cash expenditures at casinos throughout the state.” Duran certainly hasn’t been knocking herself out on the job, collecting only 4% of fines for campaign-law violations racked up by Land of Enchantment politicians in the 2012 and 2014 elections.

Gov. Susana Martinez (R, below), who knows a thing or two about casinos, having negotiated with so many of them, said  Continue reading →

Posted in Economy, Environment, Galaxy Entertainment, Macau, Problem gambling, Taxes, Tribal | Comments Off on Problem gambling’s poster girl; Smoke gets in Macao’s eyes

Boston offers Wynn olive branch; MGM played for a sucker in Springfield?

Posted on September 25, 2015 by David McKee

Could the war of words between Steve Wynn and Boston Mayor Martin “McCheese” Walsh soon be coming to an end? Wynn, who last month declared himself finished with an “obviously wynn_night-fullirresponsible” Walsh, had a phone chat with McCheese to discuss traffic mitigation in Sullivan Square, primary access point to Wynn Everett (where site-prep work has begun). And the mayor has received emissaries from Wynn Resorts. This is quite a change from Walsh’s usual spew of invective on all things Wynn, as he said in re Sullivan Square, “It’s a common problem that the Wynn folks have and that the people of Boston have.”

Or, as Boston Globe columnist Adrian Walker puts it, “In plain English, Walsh backed the wrong horse [Suffolk Downs], and is now crying foul.” Moreover, his lawsuit is going Continue reading →

Posted in Election, Foxwoods, LVCVA, Massachusetts, MGM Mirage, Mohegan Sun, Regulation, Steve Wynn, Taxes, The Strip, Transportation | Comments Off on Boston offers Wynn olive branch; MGM played for a sucker in Springfield?

Nah, this isn’t sports betting

Posted on September 25, 2015 by David McKee

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The HOTO has landed

Posted on September 25, 2015 by David McKee

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Tatsuo Miyajima‘s Hoto has arrived at Crystals for an open-ended engagement and we have to say it does wonders for that often sterile and forbidding space. The 9/11-inspired sculpture is covered in LED number sequences that are meant to represent the life cycle. “Along with renowned masters from generations past, our vision is to present Continue reading →

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Wrist-slaps in New Jersey; China tries to sever chains

Posted on September 25, 2015 by David McKee

First, the good news. New Jersey‘s geolocation and age-verification technology is catching underage gamblers. The bad tropicana_havananews is that wannabe adolescent Phil Iveys are getting onto casino Internet sites and wagering. So are self-excluded players. The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement filed 117 counts of such violations, including 66 juveniles playing on the Borgata Web site. The casinos don’t have to worry about their pocketbooks: The DGE slapped their wrists with a collective $14,400 in fines ($5,000 for Borgata, $2,200 for Tropicana Atlantic City and $7,200 for Resorts Atlantic City).

“The gambling enforcement division said the violations were due to a computer programming error,” reported Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Australia, Boyd Gaming, International, Internet gambling, Maryland, Mississippi, Mohegan Sun, Philippines, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson, South Korea, Tropicana Entertainment | Comments Off on Wrist-slaps in New Jersey; China tries to sever chains

The mystery of Steve Wynn; DFS steps in it

Posted on September 24, 2015 by David McKee

For the third time, Steve Wynn has pulled back from Atlantic City. This time he’s yanking Wynn Interactive‘s application for an online casino. The move comes an awfully long time after Wynn announced his opposition to Internet wagering, so who knows what the real rationale is? Perhaps Wynn lost patience with New Jersey‘s regulatory process, which has been set on glacier speed ever since PokerStars teed up its licensing application. Some suspect that Gov. Chris Christie (R) is putting the fix in against additional online casinos … at least until he’s won the “Sheldon Adelson primary” and filled his campaign coffers. For its part, PokerStars is swearing it will be licensed this autumn, but I could swear I heard them playing that golden oldie last autumn.

The news comes as a blow to Caesars Interactive, which would have Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Culinary Union, Election, Genting, Geoff Freeman, Harrah's, International, Internet gambling, New York, Oklahoma, PokerStars, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson, Sports, Steve Wynn, Taxes, Tribal | 1 Comment

Quote of the Day

Posted on September 24, 2015 by David McKee

“When coverage doesn’t go his way, he engages in personal attacks Trump smallon our anchors and hosts, which has grown stale and tiresome. He doesn’t seem to grasp that candidates telling journalists what to ask is not how the media works in this country.” Fox News, lecturing orange-colored buffoon Donald Trump on the role of the Fourth Estate.

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Caesars on the brink; MGM gives Massachusetts a surprise

Posted on September 24, 2015 by David McKee

For want of $2 billion from Caesars Entertainment Operating Co., creditors are withholding their support for the reorganization scheme CEOC intended to present in bankruptcy court. A last-caesarscasino_1minute solution seems unlikely, if only because junior bondholders like Appaloosa Management and Tennenbaum Capital Partners have barely been talking with Caesars for the past two months. The news comes as other creditors are withdrawing their support from CEOC on the grounds that they “may see their stakes wiped out in any bankruptcy of the parent,” according to The Associated Press. And if that happens, it could trigger forward movement of a lawsuit against Caesars Entertainment for revoking the guarantees on its debt … litigation that could topple the parent company into Chapter 11 alongside its ailing subsidiary.

One of the sticking points may be that Texas Pacific Group and Apollo Management, architects of the Caesars disaster, want to Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Derek Stevens, Downtown, Harrah's, Massachusetts, MGM Mirage, Neil Bluhm, Ohio, Penn National, Regulation, Scientific Games, Tribal, Wall Street | 1 Comment

Ask Jim!

Posted on September 22, 2015 by David McKee

Downtown GrandAt the moment, I’m neck-deep in Question of the Day duties but will be taking a break to check out the new, new-look Downtown Grand. That will include the opportunity for some face time with new CEO Jim Simms. So, as happens whenever S&G gets a chance to talk to a CEO, I’m throwing open the floor to your questions. So if you have queries you’d like to put to Simms about operating downtown, the Grand and its newest marketing strategy, drop me a line and I’ll ask it, God willing.

Posted in Current | 1 Comment

Quote of the Day

Posted on September 22, 2015 by David McKee

“The current financial crisis… originated in a profound human crisis: the denial of the primacy of the human person! We have created new idols. The worship of the ancient golden calf has returned in a new and ruthless guise in the idolatry of money and the dictatorship of an impersonal economy lacking a truly human purpose.” — Pope Francis, who is arriving in the U.S. this very moment.

Posted in Economy | 1 Comment

Quote of the Day

Posted on September 21, 2015 by David McKee

Brienne“Thank you, HBO, for believing in dragons.” — Game of Thrones writer/co-showrunner David Benioff, accepting the Emmy Award for “Best Drama.” (At left, GoT actress Gwendoline Christie with her Pop! Figure Brienne of Tarth, a sure sign that You Have Arrived.)

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This just in …

Posted on September 18, 2015 by David McKee

It’s a big day for the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe. Much sooner than expected, the Interior Department took 321 acres of Massachusetts land into trust for the tribe. Most of that acreage Mashpee 4(170 of it) is in Mashpee but another 151 is in Taunton, where the tribe hopes to build a casino. “While some outside the Tribe will focus only on our quest to build a destination resort casino in Taunton in accordance with the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, for us this goes far beyond economic development. This is about controlling our own destiny and preserving our ancient culture,” said tribal Chairman Cedric Cromwell.

True, but casino revenues would go a long way toward enabling a number of hoped-for projects, such as preserving Continue reading →

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