Quotations from Chairman Steve; Elvis catches fire

Perhaps due to his eagerness to get Wynn Cotai jump-started, Steve Wynn has become an even more pliant sock puppet for China‘s central government than was Sheldon Adelson. It must be a source of great amusement among the ruling elite to see these two “capitalist running dogs” scurrying about like greyhounds chasing a mechanized hare. In a boiled-down version of his latest Fox Business News jeremiad, Wynn offers up a couple of howlers. “People matter in Macao,” he solemnly intones.  “And working folks there get primary consideration.”

Yes, they matter so much they’ve had to hold public protests against the mass importation of guest workers to build pleasure palaces like Wynn Macau, not to mention staffing the city’s tourist amenities. Half the Macanese construction force consists of imported labor. A gentleman who spent several months observing the casino industry in Macao told me that there’s considerable resentment toward Adelson, Wynn, et. al. for “literally gobbling up” land on Cotai that was meant to alleviate packed living conditions in Taipa. The Chinese government never envisioned having more than three casino operators in Macao — at least not until Adelson and Galaxy Entertainment fell out with each other — and is now trying to corral the six-headed dragon it has loosed upon the real estate market. But it at least Peking has a very polished propagandist in Steve Wynn.

Whether in Macao or Maryland, bad governmental policy has somewhat fortuitously resulted in unintended casino expansion.The State of Maryland has discovered that  — surprise, surprise — slot revenues aren’t living up to projections (aka the Penn National Effect). Part of the problem is that Cordish Gaming‘s Arundel Mills project is running behind schedule. However, the onerous burden of a 67% tax rate dooms Marylanders to low-budget facilities, like Penn National Gaming‘s bare-bones Perryville slot parlor, that may not be competitive with casinos in nearby states. This turn of events has put table-game proponents back in the driver’s seat, although existing operators like Penn and prospective ones like Caesars Entertainment may have conflicts of interests about making their Maryland properties too competitive with ones they own just across the state line.

Ideas being batted around in Annapolis include tables, more slots, more casinos — none of which pleases Gov. Martin O’Malley (D, right) — including a sixth slot house just outside Foggy Bottom [sic] at Rosecroft Raceway. Everything is on the table … except a lower tax rate, of course. The casino goose is just going to have to up its production of golden eggs, by golly. And, unless the Free State’s one-casino-per-operator rule has been quietly rescinded, reviving Rosecroft would require giving Penn special treatment that’s certain to have other operators crying foul.

Maryland isn’t the only state that’s hurting from a saturation of casinos on the Eastern Seaboard. Delaware‘s racinos say they’re losing money. The state’s Video Lottery Advisory Council has advised that it’s amenable discussing “revised revenue-sharing agreements,” which is code for “tax breaks.” Maryland lawmkers, take note.

C’mon everybody. Put 60 Elvis Presley impersonators in a room and pull the fire alarm, and you’ll get a surrealistic spectacle, a rhinestone-spangled version of the clown car at the circus. The ensuing tableau had to have been more Benny Hill than Viva Las Vegas but no Elvis impersonators were harmed in the making of this news story.