Stick a fork in that Wynn Resorts takeover of Crown Resorts, which was already on life support. Melco Resorts & Entertainment just bought a 20% stake in Crown, 
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.”
In addition to reducing its reliance upon Macao, Greff believes the move is intended to Continue reading
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 
Vermont. States that have rejected sports wagering include Maryland, Georgia, Virginia, Arizona, Kansas, the Dakotas and Hawaii (the latter rather surprisingly, given its residents’ fever for betting). Online sports betting has yet to go live in Pennsylvania but that may change in a couple of weeks. Parx Casino says it’s 
Sunshine State. We’re talking serious dollars: $321 million last fiscal year. The Seminoles have enormous economic clout and aren’t shy about wielding it, which may be the only language Florida politicians understand. According to tribal attorney Barry Richard, a promised crackdown on non-Seminole blackjack “absolutely did not occur … Actually the state stopped all enforcement efforts. And as you know, the Session ended without the Legislature doing anything … There was a negotiation that resulted in some agreement in principle between the Tribe [and the Senate] but nothing was completed.”
when it comes to compensation. On top of his $1 million base salary, his compensation package grew by only $200K last year, putting him just under $2 million and at a 63-to-1 ratio to median Station employee pay. (As the 86% owner of Station, Fertitta benefits directly from good stock performance.) That might sound like a lot but it’s sackcloth and ashes compared to what other CEOs were making. True, Caesars Entertainment‘s compensation committee spanked then-CEO Mark Frissora by cutting his stock awards by almost $12 million, leaving him to eke out a living on $13 million (360-to-1).