It’s back to the starting point for Kazuo Okada, controversial former business partner of Steve Wynn and CEO of Universal Entertainment Corp. The latter’s attempt to enter the Philippines casino market (left) fell apart along with a deal with Robinsons Land Corp. The latter was key to the project because Robinsons was supposed to buy a majority of Eagle I, an Okada front company, run through subsidiary Aruze USA. (Why is it that wherever Okada goes, trouble follows?) Aruze’s 64% stake in Eagle I was determined to be a ruse, a subterfuge to get around constitutional limits on overseas ownership of Philippine land.
Okada may still try to make the project work, going solo. But with Philippine Amusement & Gaming Corp. holding an Continue reading
It really looked like the fix was in, the deal was done and existing casino operators in Illinois were about to thrown to the slaughter by legislators hungry for licensing fees. But the wheels of the grand plan are coming off. The horsey set’s man in Springfield, Rep. Lou Lang (D, right) had to withdraw from further negotiations, due to an obscure conflict involving his law firm. It appeared more cosmetic than substantive, but Mr. Racino suddenly found himself sidelined. In the meantime, his dearly beloved gambling-expansion bill began blowing one gasket after another. 
awfully far into its Federal Trade Commission-blocked purchase of Ameristar Casinos to blow it up by, say, selling three or more Ameristar properties or otherwise triggering a fallout. And if it tries to fight the FTC, it could easily overrun the deadline for cutting the deal, incurring a breakup fee. So Pinnacle finds itself between a rock and a hard place.
Clark County District Judge Rob Bare 
potshots at Adelson’s insistence on doing the same thing over and over again, yet expecting a different result. (Isn’t that called ‘insanity’?) Let’s review: Adelson is 0-2 and the second loss was bigger than the first. 
A thousand people waiting to get into a casino on opening day would be nothing at all in Las Vegas. But at Maryland‘s penultimate casino, Rocky Gap Resort, 
While the emperor (CEO Gary Loveman) may have escaped the Ides of March this year, knots of discontented tribunes are gathering on the Forum steps, muttering darkly. A cabal of hedge funds led by Silver Point Capital is looking at $4.6 billion that comes due a couple of years hence and 
designated casino applicant. There’s no reason not to expect the company to win the election. 
Ho and MGM’s subsequent exit from Atlantic City hangs heavily on the process, of course. So does the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement‘s position that it’s going to take however long it takes to resolve their own issues vis-a-vis MGM and that Massachusetts isn’t their problem. Bottom line: The Bay State is in the awkward position of holding elections on casino companies that haven’t been approved by the state …
“Why would [casinos] put a $1 billion investment when they are going to compete against restricted licensees across the street and in the neighborhood?” — Nevada Assembly Majority Leader William Horne (D), arguing that 
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) 
him either
Good news for Caesars Entertainment: Macanese gaming magnate Galaxy Entertainment Group wants to buy a golf course. Caesars has a $578 million one 
Y’all remember Baha Mar, that multi-billion-dollar project in the Bahamas that then-Harrah’s Entertainment exited during its IPO? At the time, Harrah’s insisted that there was no connection, but Baha Mar was one of several initiatives — including Margaritaville in Biloxi and a resort in Spain — that were ceased and never heard from again. $3.5 billion later. Baha Mar is slated for an end-of-2014 opening and it will be run by Global Gaming Asset Management, 
couldn’t get one, he’s making a big comeback. Global Gaming is also managing $1.2 billion Solaire Manila, in a market where angels fear to tread. Weidner’s top lieutenants are fellow exiles from Las Vegas Sands, President Brad Stone and executive veep Garry Saunders. At 150 tables and 10 times as many slots, Baha Mar is small by Las Vegas Strip standards. But the project itself (30 restaurants, three hotels) is of Sands-like ambition. And 
A spiffy makeover and a nostalgia-themed market position aren’t helping the Riviera as customers gravitate back toward higher-priced hotels. A bad neighborhood, while hardly a new phenomenon, isn’t helping. Having Echelon and Fontainebleau as your neighbors is akin to living next to a cemetery and a slum, respectively. “We anticipate that our walk-in traffic will be adversely impacted for the foreseeable future,” read a gloomy SEC 
Say what you like about MGM Resorts International‘s 
Just when boosters of casino expansion in Illinois thought they had a done deal, Gov. Pat Quinn (D) sprung a carefully concealed snare: 
former Sheldon Adelson lieutenant Tom Arasi landed himself a glitzy gig right on the Las Vegas Strip. As “president of hospitality,” h
Score one for Colony Capital: It took Rational Group to the cleaners to the tune of $11 million and 
buy into 19 Penn casinos, including flop Hollywood Perryville (shown). This Penn stalking horse would go by the incredibly generic name of Gaming & Leisure Properties (ticker symbol GLPI), a moniker so dull it must have been conceived by the same kind of unimaginative guys who foisted “Linq” and “Quad” upon the Las Vegas Strip. Anyway, through this REIT puppet, Penn would be able to — for instance — own two casinos in Massachusetts instead of one, 2.6 in Pennsylvania instead of 1.3, etc. Anywhere there’s a statutory limitation, Gaming & Leisure can make an end run around it. Very transparent, very disingenuous and very, very 
One of gaming’s biggest new markets went out with a whimper, not a bang, when 