“There is no ‘either/or’ solution when it comes to East Windsor and Bridgeport, and we shouldn’t be playing two Connecticut communities against 
each other.” That’s what tribal spokesman Andrew Doba said after it was revealed that Bridgeport was flirting with Foxwoods Resort Casino and Mohegan Sun, a move sure to enrage MGM Resorts International, which had dibbed Bridgeport for a megaresort. Said Doba, “both municipalities can play a critical role in helping us to maximize jobs and revenue for Connecticut. We continue to have conversations with the administration, legislative leaders, the Bridgeport delegation and the mayor on a global solution that will also bring some level of investment in the Park City.”
Meanwhile, the office of Gov. Ned Lamont (D) is pleading Continue reading
place locals never stopped thinking of as “the Sahara.” It’s too late to restore the Arabian Nights theming that Sam Nazarian extirpated but changes are already afoot. Scott Roeben reports that Cleo is out, along with 800 Degrees Neapolitan Pizza and Umani Burger. Making a return will be the Casbar Lounge. You’d think Meruelo has his hands full but VitalVegas says he’s got another Las Vegas casino purchase in the works. Considering that Meruelo, unlike Nazarian, has gaming in his blood we can’t wait to see what he does for a second act.
will take it on the chin from the new law, which Gov. Jay Pritzker (D) is expected to sign. “Possible litigation can be filed as a way to delay, but it likely won’t derail the bill’s eventuality,” writes JP Morgan analyst Joseph Greff. The bill’s components are as follows: a 4,000-position casino in Chicago (1 slot = 1 position, 1 table = 6), five more of 2,000 positions apiece in the Chicago suburbs, 1,200 gaming positions per racetrack, for a total of three racinos, legalized sports betting (both mobile and brick-and-mortar) including sports venues holding 17,000 people or more, slot routes increased from five machines to six per site (
am still vitally interested in Crown’s success as a world-class resort and gaming business. The sale allows me to continue my long term involvement with Crown and at the same time to better diversify my investment portfolio.” 
and brick-and-mortar casinos, which want to be the sole purveyors of Internet sports bets, with maybe five to seven ‘skins’ permitted in the Bay State. For its part, DraftKings warns that taxes and revenue projections are too high, pointing to shortfalls in other states. Representing the opposition, MGM Springfield President Michael Mathis said his company doesn’t oppose direct operation by the likes of DraftKings but that things would be better if the betting were routed through a casino company: “You can do it directly, but you’d be better protected doing it as sublicenses.”
“I want to begin this note by thanking so many of you for your patience, support and focus over the last several months. Redesigning an organization to achieve transformational change is difficult; I have been deeply impressed with your personal leadership and commitment to embracing the challenging task of implementing MGM 2020.
giving Lawrence Ho a sizable footfall in Australia. The transaction will cost Melco $1.3 billion and, seeing how everything comes up trumps for Melco, it has to be considered money well spent. Wrote JP Morgan analyst Joseph Greff, “While most investors we are talking to today didn’t see this coming, we point to the prior relationship in Macau that Crown/[James] Packer had with MLCO and its CEO Lawrence Ho, and after WYNN’s brief due diligence/ preliminary offer to buy Crown, a transaction involving Crown isn’t completely out of left field.”
saw the house win 5.5% more on 17% higher wagering. Players avoided other table games, with wagering 10% lower and the house losing 13.5%. Slot handle and revenue were flat, for a total of $275 million, out of an overall Strip gross of $482 million. In locals markets, slot win was flat on 1.5% higher handle. Downtown nosed up 2% to $62 million, North Las Vegas was flat at $27 million, the Boulder Strip was also flat at $78 million, as was uncategorized Clark County at $102 million, while Laughlin slipped 3% to $45.5 million. Reno had a springlike 3% upswing ($49 million) but the bloom didn’t extend to Lake Tahoe, plunging 12.5% to $13 million. Elko and Carson Valley were flat at $25.5 million and $9 million respectively.
regulations governing casino bidding until after next year’s elections. That’s bad news for Osaka, in particular, which will be hosting the expo. Another body blow to the as-yet-unborn Japanese casino industry was Abe’s mooting of 
Commission approved that arrangement (a long shot), the City of Everett has made it clear that it intends to hold Wynn Resorts to its word. Now CEO Matt Maddox has to go ahead with next month’s opening having badly damaged relations with Encore Boston Harbor‘s host community. Chalk it up as yet another Maddox blunder. Meanwhile, Maddox’s waffling about the Encore opening date has given way to 
If you’re making up your casino budget, you might want to stay away from Atlantic City or New York State, where a dollar has only the buying power of 87 or 88 cents. By contrast, the same dollar spent in Mississippi 
“By failing and refusing since May 17 to recognize and bargain with the Union as the exclusive collective bargaining representative of the employees in the appropriate unit, the Respondent has engaged in unfair labor practices … we shall order it to cease and desist, to bargain on request with the Union, and, if an understanding is reached, to embody the understanding in a signed agreement. To ensure that the employees are accorded the services of their selected bargaining agent for the period provided by law, we shall construe the initial period of the certification as beginning on the date the Respondent begins to bargain in good faith with the Union.” decreed the NLRB.
poll data on how the money should be spent, even before it’s collected. Wouldn’t the Macanese city fathers being wanting to incentivize tourism? Apparently not. They’d rather bite the hand that feeds them.
Backlash in Springfield seems to have played a hand in MGM’s volte-face, for it 
to go with it. At stake is a 2001 law whereby hotels like Harrah’s are required to pay 9% to the state in sales and occupancy taxes. That adds up: $40 million over 18 years. Now Harrah’s 
suffered least, down 3%, while top-grossing Lake Charles was 7% off. New Orleans casinos were 5% lower while Baton Rouge may be nearing the end of its long plummet, down 6%. Caesars Entertainment won the month by dint of losing least, down 2.5% at Harrah’s New Orleans to $23.5 million and flat at $14 million at Horseshoe Bossier City, while Harrah’s Louisiana Downs rebounded 11% to $3 million. Caesars suitor Eldorado Resorts had a rougher time of it, dropping 10.5% to $9 million at Eldorado Shreveport. Isle Grand Palais was flat at $8 million, while Belle of Baton Rouge plummeted a disastrous 48% to $2.5 million. (How do they keep the doors open?)
Wampanoags 
uninterested party. Rep. Tom Cole (R) seconded Keating’s emotions, saying, “The real conflict here is between private gaming interests that don’t want Native American competition.” The Mashpee Wampanoag’s cause still must pass through the Senate, where Massachusetts Sens. Ed Markey (D) and Elizabeth Warren (D) have introduced supportive legislation. If the tribe prevails in that currently listless body and manages to get past the White House (a pretty tall order), then there’s a ghost of a chance for its Project First Light, whose future has been in much doubt since Genting Group bailed on it.
Maddox slightly more than one year ago. What a difference 365 days make. Now, facing a $500,000 fine and mandatory personal instruction in becoming a better CEO, Maddox is apparently only too happy to be shot of Encore Boston Harbor. One of the sticking points of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission‘s proposed settlement with Wynn Resorts is what Global Gaming Business