Dems court Culinary vote; Scandal in Austria

Democratic presidential candidates are hardly taking the Nevada caucuses for granted. Sen. Kamala Harris (D) has already been once to Las Vegas (in vain) as has Joe Biden. The latter probably endeared himself to

Culinary Union members by having a contretemps with Station Casinos. Biden will be playing a return engagement with the Culinary on Dec. 11. Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D) and Bernie Sanders (I) will also be dancing attendance upon the union, with Warren scheduled for Dec. 9 and Sanders the following day. Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D) appears to be giving the Silver State a pass, perhaps because he is only polling in single digits there. Will the Culinary join Jim Murren in endorsing Biden? We can only Continue reading

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Quote of the Day

“Politics, as we see at the moment, are grubby, dishonest and chaotic.”—British royal biographer Penny Junor.

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Norment’s Torment; New hope for Cal-Neva

Virginia state Sen. Tommy Norment (R) hasn’t been paying attention to the performance of MGM National Harbor. Placing a resort casino in northern Virginia would be, he says, “complete folly.” Instead, Old Virginny will have to put its hopes on that traditional cash cow, Richmond. A study conducted in part by The Innovation Group projects $970 million in annual casino revenue and $260 million in taxes from gambling houses placed in Richmond, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Danville and Bristol. Casinos would be taxed at a stiff 27%. Also scrutinized were sports betting, which was predicted to yield $55 million a year for the state (optimistic) and Internet gambling, projected to yield $82 million in taxes.

While the remit of the study was confined to lower Virginia it volunteered that a casino in the northern tier would claw back Continue reading

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‘Sharp’ criticism of Congress; MGM a popular stock pick

Newly elected National Congress of American Indians President Fawn Sharp wasted no time in opening a can of whup-ass on the U.S. Congress. Speaking to the House Committee on Natural Resources Subcommittee for Indigenous Peoples of the United States Oversight, Sharp poked them about a lack of action on the 2018 Broken Promises report. The latter chronicles failed financial commitments that stretch across the George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Donald Trump administrations. In addition to heading the NCAI, Sharp is also president of the Quinault Indian Nation. Broken Promises is a 2018 follow-up to “A Quiet Crisis: Federal Funding and Unmet Needs in Indian Country,” a 2003 report by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. It determined that funding for Native American populations was “disproportionately lower than funding for services to other populations.”

Broken Promises reads, in part, “Federal programs designed to support the social and economic well being of Native Americans remain chronically Continue reading

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Quote of the Day

“Just when I discovered the meaning of life, they changed it.”—George Carlin

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Quote of the Day

“Like Columbus Day, the sugarcoated story of Thanksgiving whitewashes a monstrous history of land theft and environmental degradation, white settler-colonialism, systematic abductions and rape, forced displacement and assimilation, and genocide. The list of crimes that governments and non-Indigenous individuals in the U.S. have committed against Indigenous communities goes on and on.”—Win Without War, being a bunch of Debbie Downers about the holidays. Never mind them. Have a happy Thanksgiving!

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Small thinking big in Oklahoma; Smoke gets in their lungs

In Oklahoma, Council of Public Affairs President Jonathan Small went to the mat for Gov. Kevin Stitt (R), backing Stitt’s demand for higher—much higher—exclusivity fees. To his credit, Stitt has put sports betting on the table as an incentive. Small implies that 6%, which Sooner State tribes pay, is far too little and that Connecticut‘s 25% (which only applies to slots) would be fairer. He also cites Florida, but that state isn’t getting any gaming-tax revenue from the Seminole Tribe at present, so I don’t know if that particular dog will hunt. For their part, the tribes say they’re still waiting for a concrete proposal from Stitt, who has been exquisitely vague about what he wants from them. “What is that written proposal? What do they have to offer of interest?” asked Choctaw Chief Gary Batton, who likened Stitt to a used-car salesman, the unkindest cut possible.

Neither side seems to be able to get off the dime as regards Continue reading

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Tax-and-spend fantasy in Illinois; Encore Boston nickels and dimes its patrons

It’s more important to have a money-losing casino (upon which absolutely nobody has bid) in Chicago than to lower the über-confiscatory 72% tax rate. So says state Sen. Dave Syverson (R), a real crank. As Syverson puts it, “The problem with that is that means the state would be getting about $150 million a year less in revenue from Chicago.  That’s about 15% of the entire capital plan.”  Oh, Laura mercy, as Pogo would say. Somebody should ask Syverson what he plans to do when no casino is built and there’s exactly $0 going into the capital plan. Somebody must have asked Syverson if this was sour grapes, since he represents Rockford, soon to be home of a Hard Rock-branded casino. Seemingly high on happy dust, he replied, “Chicago’s casino is going to be the most successful and the biggest, and it’s going to generate the most revenue. The idea of giving them a much better deal than Rockford gets, it just isn’t fair, one, and then second, it’s going to hurt the state’s revenue.”

* Encore Boston Harbor, despite a public show of contrition, continues to charge $7 for Continue reading

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Florida gets tough on black market; Nugget tops Atlantic City

Florida‘s black market slot-parlor industry is coming under renewed scrutiny as it offers not only unlimited soda but an invitingly soft target for armed robbers looking for high concentrations of cash. In a 15-month period, Jacksonville police have logged 500 emergency calls to slot arcades. One such robbery, at Jacksonville’s Lucky Charms arcade, led to a hostage situation, a car chase, a crash, an injured police officer and one fatality. The alleged robber is charged with myriad counts, including the demise of the hostage, which carries the death penalty. Since gaming regulation in Florida is virtually nonexistent, law enforcement is looking toward public-nuisance laws as a weapon against slot houses, a potential tool for shutting them down.

The cops have got a point. As Bloomberg Businessweek reports, “This being Florida, which leads the nation in concealed weapon permits, shootout frequently Continue reading

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Strip soft, locals firm; Big win for DraftKings

At $538 million, last month’s Strip gambling revenue fell 9%. Slot win was 1.5% up on 5.5% more coin-in. However, baccarat win plunged 27% on 20.5% less wagering. Non-baccarat table games were down 19% on 11% less betting. Strip casinos faced a tough comparison with October of last year and will have another one this month, going against a 10% jump overall in November 2018, fueled by a 53% (!) baccarat surge. Locals play was steady, with 2% greater revenue despite flat slot revenue on 1% more handle.

Downtown grossed $68 million, a 7% gain, the Boulder Strip was flat at $78.5 million, North Las Vegas slipped Continue reading

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Quote of the Day

“Compliance is often seen as taking all the fun out of the industry but the problem with this industry is that it’s had fun, at the players’ expense, for too long now. This does mean that some regulatory bodies have gone in hard and fast and, maybe, gone a little overboard in their requirements, but something had to give. Players are what keep us in business and they deserve to be well protected. I may not agree with the length some regulators go to, but it’s there and something we have to all come to terms with.”—Zimpler Chief Compliance Officer Rhi Burns, on the question of whether regulatory compliance is dampening innovation in the Internet-casino market.

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Scientific fluent in Chinese; William Hill seeks new horizons

It’s not just for China anymore. Scientific Games is reporting success with its Chinese-themed slots, including in North America. Yes, games with titles like Jin Ji Bao Xi, which doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue but is gaining traction with slot players worldwide. “If you go back to ‘Duo Fu Duo Cai’ it was designed for Macao, and now it’s a product all around the world and successful all around the world,” said Managing Director for Asia Ken Jolly. You’d be jolly too if your slots were performing better than expected. The secret? Good game math. “One of our mathematicians is extraordinarily good – particularly when it comes to concepts and volatility,” Jolly told GGR Asia. Congratulations on SGMS to having transcended language barriers and borders.

Scientific Gaming is also moving—along with Aruze—into a kind of preemptive strike on the Japan market. Both companies are displaying pachinko-like slot games. Since Japanese consumers are strongly Continue reading

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Quote of the Day

“Anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that ‘my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.’”—Isaac Asimov.

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Wynn Resorts chastened; Living the high life at the Cosmo

Boston is quite a different animal from Las Vegas and Macao—or so Wynn Resorts has learned. Despite healthy table games revenues it is lowering the minimum-bet limits from $50 to $15 at Encore Boston Harbor. In a remarkable mea culpa before the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, Encore President Brian Gullbrants admitted, “We thought we could charge for parking here in Boston, and we were wrong,” adding that self-parking is now free. “We thought we could charge for some of the transportation, like boats and premium buses. We were wrong.” Why Wynn would erect disincentives to attendance, particularly in a largely blue-collar market, passes understanding. As Gullbrants put it with 20/20 hindsight, “The last thing we want to do is be a Vegas casino in Boston. We want to be a Boston casino in Boston.” Don’t  blame Gullbrants. The bad decisions can probably be laid at the feet of predecessor Robert DeSalvio.

The graveyard shift at Encore is a rolling crime scene. Since opening in June, 160 Encore patrons have been arrested or given summonses. In addition to cheating, which you’d expect, common charges are Continue reading

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Quote of the Day

“I cannot think of another president who sustained a political jihad against a specific state.”—Barry Rabe, a public policy professor at the University of Michigan, on Donald Trump‘s California fixation.

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Resorts World postponed (again); Drugs-for-points scandal settled

Guess what? Tortoise-powered Resorts World Las Vegas has been hit with another construction delay. (Shocking. Absolutely shocking.) It’s getting pushed back all the way into summer of 2021, a half-year delay. Sometimes one thinks it will be a miracle if this place ever opens. The delay is intended to help accommodate “a 5,000-seat state-of-the-art theater; a 75,000-square-foot nightlight and daylife concept; a 50-foot diameter video globe; and additional luxury suites, villas and penthouses with individual lobbies, open balconies and a sky casino.” That’s in addition to a long list of amenities that includes a sevenfold pool area. Olde Cathay design elements of Paul Steelman‘s original concept have long since been banished but now the planned Asian theme has been downsized to Continue reading

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Marching through Georgia; Stevens’ grand vision

Wynn and MGM are going to Atlanta,” said Georgia state Rep. Al Williams (D), trying allay hopes/fears that megaresorts are going to be sprinkled across the Peachtree State. State Rep. Ron Stephens (R) is particularly bullish, projecting six casinos throwing off $1 billion in tax revenue a year. They’re two of a number of legislators who are marching through Georgia, talking up the benefits of casino legalization. The main selling point is that gambling revenues could shore up the HOPE Scholarship fund. As Valdosta Mayor John Gayle put it, “I’m not a proponent of gambling. But I am a proponent of things that would benefit the state.” Especially if Valdosta could siphon off players from northern Florida, I’m sure.

State Sen. Ellis Black (R) explained the rationale for the listening tour thusly, “I don’t think Continue reading

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New life for Harmon Strip; Wynn Resorts vindicated, mostly

Could the Harmon Strip, mooted since the late Nineties, actually come to pass? The area has been a graveyard for resort projects, leaving the Hard Rock Hotel standing in splendid isolation. However … one Jeffrey Williams is applying for permission to build on the vast track of land at Koval Lane and Harmon Avenue. This is where the W Hotel and Las Ramblas (pictured) projects went to die. If the new owners have less hat and more cattle they could reinvent a site that has been the poster child for the condo bubble and failsinos in general.

The new plan calls for a 40-story resort, with 2,402 hotel rooms, the necessary casino, retail, poolside guest villas, a sports book (also necessary) and showroom, etc. The owner(s) want to increase Continue reading

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Quote of the Day

“When has a gaming executive said their great results are because of decreased competition? Or great weather? Or great consumer trends? No—at many gaming companies, when things are great, it is because of their strategies; when things are bad, it is God’s fault.” — casino consultant Randall Fine on the recent plethora of ‘dog ate my homework’ excuses made by the casino industry for poor financial performance.

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Parting is such sweet sorrow

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