Real estate frenzy on the Strip; Barrack busted; Masks redux

Setting foot inside Aztec Inn Casino is not for the faint of heart. But its owners think they’re sitting on a gold mine. It and a gaggle of properties that includes Golden Skull Tattoo and Diversity Tattoo is on the market in plots of $30 million each or $60 million for the whole Aztec enchilada. Because the area is somewhat, uh, challenged, it qualifies for tax incentives and there’s no height restriction on development—you’d be next door to the friggin’ Stratosphere, after all! Now, those prices seem a mite aggressive, given the off-Strip location and general dilapidation of the area. But with two acres of CityCenter fetching $80 million, why be timid about one’s asking price? It’s a seller’s market. As for buyers, so far they’re overseas interests who, seeing the chances of gaining a foothold on the Strip proper as being somewhere betwixt slim and none, are creating their own opportunities.

The fix was in at City Hall in Oakland, where the Athletics—despite extracting desired concessions from the city—used the negotiations as a pretext to pull up stakes and move to Las Vegas. Considering that A’s brass was kicking the tires on Clark County ballpark sites the day before the vote was taken is an index of how sincere the team was about staying in California. So it looks like Clark County will be strong-armed into helping subsidize a billion-dollar ballpark, even as it has already made three emergency-fund draws to keep Allegiant Stadium up to date on its bond obligations.

Although the A’s are being coy about where in the Vegas Valley they’d like to put down roots, a new potential partner has emerged in the form of Circus Circus owner Phil Ruffin, who has acreage to spare in the form of the Las Vegas Festival Grounds, more spoken-of than used. The vacant land behind Paris-Las Vegas has also been mooted as a stadium site, although the City of Henderson is making an earnest run at the being the team recipient. Athletics President David Kaval got what he wanted from the Oakland City Council but promptly moved the goalposts, so Vegas-area decision makers should proceed with caution when dealing with such a slippery character. As Council member Carroll Fife said, “We are voting for something the A’s are going to turn down. The A’s are still talking about leaving, even with everything we’ve come up with. I don’t know where we go from here.” Las Vegas, get ready for more of the same.

With optimism bordering on insanity, Marriott International says Fontainebleau/The Drew/Fontainebleau [again]/JW Marriott Las Vegas Blvd. is going to open in October 2023. It’s not the optimism about the market that’s off-kilter but the hyper-aggressive timeline. Given the long neglect of the property and the amount of work required to complete it, especially if Marriott goes for the ‘supplemental’ pool deck, the hotel mammoth will have to get to work yesterday. The room inventory—3,700—is nothing new but a pedestrian bridge to the Las Vegas Convention Center seems to be. Both Marriott and owner Jeffrey Soffer clammed up when the Las Vegas Review-Journal came calling. The tab for finishing the megaresort is $3 billion but the Marriott empire and brand equity should be a better lure for financing than Steven Witkoff and The Drew were.

Former Colony Capital CEO and first-class boob Tom Barrack has been arrested. Alas, it was not for the ruination of the Las Vegas Hilton or the Atlantic City Hilton. Nor for getting his investors’ stake completely wiped out in the Station Casinos bankruptcy. Nor for innumerable other casino-related imbecilities. No, Barrack was busted for acting as an unregistered foreign agent for the United Arab Emirates. Old Chrome Dome secretly lobbied Donald Trump on behalf of the UAE and evidently lied to federal agents about it, in addition to obstructing justice. (Remember, Tom, it’s not the crime that gets you, it’s the cover-up.)

Barrack also tried to leverage his standing as a Friend Of Donald into a high-ranking diplomatic post in the Middle East. If Barrack’s diplomatic savvy is akin to his business acumen, Heaven knows what catastrophes would have ensued. Prosecutors say they have “overwhelming” evidence of guilt, including a long cyber-trail of culpability. Also charged are youthful Barrick pal Matthew Grimes, who’s under lock and key, and fugitive from justice Rashid Sultan Rashid Al Malik Alshahhi. Barrack’s shameless pimping on behalf of the UAE, his servile willingness to serve as its pawn are all too depressing to recount here but CNBC has the gory details.

Masks are back, at least for casino employees, if not for customers. So decrees the Clark County Commission. Whether that will be enough to deter a spike in Covid-19 cases remains to be seen but it’s much preferable to inaction. As Commissioner Jim Gibson said, getting to the heart of the matter, “We have already been through a shutdown and a start-up. We cannot afford to have major conventions choose to go elsewhere.” Commissioners held firm in the face of idiots like Katrin Ivanoff, who shrilled, “Any decision a person takes involves risks. Vaccines should be up to us.” Not when it puts other people at hazard. “We know masks reduce your risk, and the risk of spreading the virus to others,” UNLV epidemiologist Matthew Labus told the Nevada Independent. “We don’t want to go back to closures and restrictions in capacity and social distancing.”

Despite a 7% positivity rate, Reno and nearby cities are keeping their heads in the sand and avoiding mask mandates. But with risk in Las Vegas rated “high” by the CDC, there wasn’t much way of going around it for Clark County commissioners, who showed political courage with their unanimous vote. They got cover from the all-powerful Nevada Resort Association and Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce, both of which backed the re-masking. As for those customers who spurn masks, Councilman Ross Miller said darkly, “If the public is not abiding by those voluntary recommendations, this will have consequences.” We’re all for consequences.

One company that is cracking down is MGM Resorts International which, according to internal documents leaked onto Twitter, is imposing mandatory Covid-19 testing on employees who aren’t fully vaccinated, effective July 26. Those who test positive for Coronavirus will be quarantined. And, to get the point across, unvaccinated workers who have a positive test will be denied paid time off. Also, they’ll be responsible for a $15 co-pay for their test. That’s what spurning the vaccine will get you—on a good day.

Speaking of Covid-19 and conventions and matters of public health, panelists at the NIGA show gave the thumbs-down to smoking in casinos. Said consultant Mike Meczka (one of the best we know), players would rather have a smoke-free casino floor than a comped room. “The fallacy we had operated with was that these people weren’t going to come back,” he added. “It was an easy, easy decision to stop the virus by banning smoking,” chimed in Terry Savage, executive director of tribal enterprises for the Fond du Lac Band of Chippewa Indians. When data was crunched, the loudest grumblers about the ban were the bottom-feeding players, making the decision to go smoke-free a no-brainer. “A lot of the employees were scared about Covid and wondered what would happen to their jobs if smoking were banned. Once the change was made, the air quality improved in the casino and employees were happier.” Tribal casinos are also saving money on worker health benefits … and executives were happier.

Survey says … 32% of sports bettors are female—and more astute punters than the opposite sex. Not that you’d know it from the testosterone-driven marketing of sports wagering. If you watch the TV commercials, you’d think it’s the province of douchebags in reversed baseball caps, high-fiving each other with glee. Some operators are forward-looking, including BetMGM, which has partnered with the LPGA, and WNBA-affiliated PointsBet. According to DraftKings‘ Johnny Avello, tennis and the Academy Awards are also big draws. But don’t count out the NFL by any means, especially prop bets. 888 Holdings has even studied the issue and found that women enjoy 20% ROI and men are … well, losers. Seriously, guys, a -4.5% ROI is nothing of which to be proud. So cut back on the high fives.