While the City of Philadelphia is officially neutral on who should get the last gambling license for the area, it’s not above giving the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board a not-so-gentle-nudge. At a hearing led by Deputy Mayor Alan Greenberger, two favorites emerged … and a couple of big names suffered major setbacks. City leaders are cool toward Steve Wynn‘s proposed, $900 million casino, mainly because of its close proximity to SugarHouse, which they fear could harm the latter. At the same time, casinos outside the city’s center were frowned upon.
That’s a setback for Cordish Gaming, which could take cold consolation from the fact that Hollywood Philadelphia got an even frostier reception. And, bringing up the rear was Continue reading
In what could be a harbinger of good things for Atlantic City, the final events of the World Poker Tour are being held at Borgata. It’s to promote the legalization of online poker in New Jersey, 
“Las Vegas Sands, which owns the Venetian, is aware of the tourist grumblings. After all, it’s Sin City, where adults are supposed to be able to regress to a boozy infancy, with every need and desire accommodated.” — Hannah Dreier, of The Associated Press, on visitors’ disappointment that Venetian canals 
First the good news: Louisiana was up 14% last month. Now the less-good news: Take away the two new riverboats and the market was up 1%. L’Auberge Baton Rouge and Margaritaville, in Shreveport, were getting the job done, in essence, especially the former: Revenues in the Baton Rouge marketplace were up 59%. Margaritaville‘s rising tide ($11.6 million, third-best in the market) failed to lift all boats, as the Shreveport/Bossier City area fell 10%. Lake Charles was up 7%, as was New Orleans. Pinnacle Entertainment‘s Boomtown Boosier felt the effect of Margaritaville, off 18%, far, far worse than J.P. Morgan analyst Joseph Greff projected.
A pro-casino group of lawmakers plans to introduce gambling-enabling legislation in the upcoming session of the Japanese Diet. Steve Wynn 
“Really? Really? Caesars thinks they can do a billion dollars a year? Well. Hmm. If you look at some of the revenues from 2005, ‘06, ‘07, you can find a few individual properties generating those kinds of revenues. Today? Not happening.” — WhiteSand Gaming CEO Sal Scheri on Caesars Entertainment‘s revenue projections for Suffolk Downs, in Boston.
Federal judges gave the boot to the Garden State’s attempt to enter the mega-lucrative sports betting market. A subset of the Third Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals upheld a reading of the Professional & Amateur Sports Betting Act that would make New Jersey‘s legalization of sports wagers illegal. This sets up a grudge match before the entire appellate court and, quite likely, an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Congratulations to the following casino industry figures 
becoming the clown car at the circus. Every time he opens its door, a zillion putty-nosed faces come tumbling out. His newest gambit has been to announce a vast theme park, with everything from water sports to ziplines, with golf, dining and shopping thrown in, too. It’s a little bit of everything and not a lot of anything,