We’ve learned two important things today. One, that the Mayan calendar is not the most reliable predictor of events. 
Two, that Ameristar Casinos‘ on-again/off-again talk about putting itself up for sale was back in “on” mode. Before hardly anybody got wind of what was happening, Ameristar cut a deal to be purchased by Pinnacle Entertainment. Unfortunately for the latter, by the time the sale closes, it will probably be too late to get back into the Massachusetts market that Ameristar 
vacated and where it still owns land. (That must have depressed the sales price a wee bit.) Ameristar choosing to sell is not the big shocker. That, while trying — and generally succeeding — to right the ship after former skipper Dan Lee ran it onto a reef of excessive expenditures, Pinnacle would flood its hold with $1.9 million in debt inherited from Ameristar … that’s surprising. But it’s only out $869 million in cash, a small fraction of what it would cost to build eight casinos in today’s market. While Penn National Gaming was busy blowing its own … horn, Pinnacle was cutting an actual deal. Penn CFO William Clifford sounds like an even bigger ass today than he did yesterday.
Even at a standard industry multiple of 7.6X cash flow, no doubt some shareholders will shriek that the transaction is underpriced — a ripoff! — threaten to sue and get a few hundred million extra thrown their way. (Company insiders hold a weak hand.) It’s standard procedure. Already the stock has vaulted 20% and at this very moment trades at the $26.50/share Pinnacle is offering. Let’s say Ameristar CEO Gordon Kanofsky did shop Ameristar to his competitors, who’s got the scratch to buy it … even with the hotly coveted Jackpot, Nevada market up for grabs? Certainly not crippled Caesars Entertainment or tapped-out Boyd Gaming (busy enough absorbing its Peninsula Gaming purchase). Probably not vastly leveraged MGM Resorts International. It’s far too small potatoes for Steve Wynn or Sheldon Adelson, while there would sufficient geographical redundancies to put Penn National Gaming off the scent. Cordish Gaming is a developer, not an acquirer, and pursues a go-slow strategy toward growth. It looks like Ameristar was damned lucky to find a live one out there at all. Deutsche Bank‘s Carlo Santarelli, however, foresees a possible rejection of the deal by shareholders and “would not be surprised to see Continue reading
Faced with an intractable Kentucky Legislature and ineffectual advocacy by Gov. Steve Beshear (D-KY), one parimutuel powerhouse from the Bluegrass State is setting up shop in Ohio. Today, Churchill Downs Inc. (in tandem with Delaware North Cos.) closed on its purchase of Buckeye State harness-racing companies Miami Valley Trotting and Lebanon Trotting Club. Faster than you can say “racino,” Churchill Downs and Delaware North whipped out a rendering of their proposed new, 2,500-VLT, $215 million gambling parlor … and race track, although the trotters are — let’s face it — four-legged showgirls in this latest iteration of casino gambling masquerading as the Sport of Kings. CDI/Delaware North will evacuate the current Warren County Fairgrounds track and relocate 
Although Penn National Gaming‘s scheme to split itself into a REIT and a casino-management company hasn’t received one regulatory approval yet, 
Last week’s abrupt cessation of three shows at the Plaza sent gloom and presages of doom through the theatrical community over the weekend. Lichtenstein-based Tamares Group was rumored to be pulling the plug on Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Bite and Grand Ole Vegas Revue (the latter is 
On Monday, the Las Vegas Sun‘s John Katsilometes shed a few rays of light upon the mystery, producing more tantalizing clues that solid answers. “Until further notice” has changed to a tentative Jan. 15 as the target date for resuming two, maybe three of the halted shows. Anthony Cools-owned The Phat Pack continues to run, evidently because it and it alone employs a “light and sound system installed by Cools,” who — surprise! — has 
… which The Atlantic has selected as one of the best typos of 2012. I’ve had butt cracks in my image and it’s not pretty, man. Nascent blog 
If I’d spent the last 20 years under a rock and didn’t know who Shania Twain is, I’d have spent Wednesday evening wondering who this person was, why she was headlining a Caesars Palace show … and couldn’t they have found somebody better? Let’s cut to the chase: Twain’s voice is shot, unreliable of pitch, limited in range and decidedly parched of timbre. For most of Shania: Still the One, she’s barely audible over the large and spirited band. The latter is perched atop three abstracted “boulders,” which my wife thought looked like turds. I decided that two resembled half-baked dough while the third bore a disconcerting resemblance to a sideways pair of testes and a John Thomas.
S&G has learned — and LVA staffers have confirmed — that all main-stage shows at Tamares Group‘s flagship Plaza Hotel have gone dark until further notice. A promotional appearance by Best Little Whorehouse in Texas cast members at South Point, a National Finals Rodeo tie-in, was nixed due to the shutdown. The plug has, for the moment, also been pulled on Bite, 
and take the phone off the hook. Seems the limo fleet of CLS was taking Las Vegas visitors for a ride, running up $2.8 million in fraudulent credit card charges (try explaining those to the wife!), 
discuss why Station felt the need to reassure Las Vegans that it liked them, really, really liked them … but let’s cut the Fertittae some slack today.) So anyway, Boyd has rolled out a new campaign, 
I think this fellow is a bit hazy on the definition of “notoriety,” wouldn’t you agree?
One weekend down, 
Also, Ridley Scott called; he wants his set back. Seriously, it resembles the 
Despite several months of doom-and-gloom economic predictions from Steve Wynn, the mogul has decided to “buy American” again, not only returning to the site of previous skirmishes (Philadelphia) but 
Suffolk Downs is another Wynn selling point. If Everett voters approve — and early reaction 
to commit has put Wynn at the front of the queue. Having already pulled out of Springfield (followed, 
the endlessly vacillating John Lynch (D) would finally be out of the governor’s mansion, clearing the way for a pro-racino successor. Recent convert Ovide Lamontagne (R) lost to longtime gambling supporter Maggie Hassan (D, right) but Salem racetrack Rockingham Park 
It’s back to the bank for sorely troubled Revel, 
In an even more surprising development than Steve Wynn getting voted out of Foxborough, the seemingly leading contender for a western Massachusetts casino 
tranche of Capitol Hill in the last election cycle? Learning that 
In a hilariously, characteristically Adelsonian form of megalomania, the mogul is reported to have attempted to purchase the 2012 election largely in a fit of pique because “he didn’t like the way he felt treated by [federal] prosecutors.” They don’t get paid to be nice, Shel, they’re paid to get convictions. (Adelson’s snit, incidentally, is yet another reminder of the dangers of surrounding oneself with sycophants.) This week finds the CEO in Washington, D.C. 
Brookings’ data 
Here’s a handy guide to using the online Las Vegas guidebooks written by yours truly — sort of a tourist’s extension of S&G, available through all Hilton-branded hotels and timeshares. Since these only concentrate on carefully selected highlights of Sin City, there are merely supplemental to the truly comprehensive coverage provided by 
… a mix of recommendations (“Around Town”) and current events (“Local News”). Click on “Around Town” and — voila! — there is … 
Despite support from an unlikely coalition that includes the American Gaming Association, the National Fraternal Order of Police and the National Association of Convenience Stores, federal legalization of Internet poker seems no closer in the 2012 lame duck session of Congress than it did at the same juncture two years ago — the famous moment when Gary Loveman proclaimed it to be just around the corner. It’s been a helluva long corner and Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV)