Update: Fallout from the lawsuit might force Stephen Crosby to step down. (Caesars is suing him for damages, among other things.) “Chairman Crosby and members of the commission’s staff have made untrue and misleading statements about plaintiffs and their affiliates. Chairman Crosby,” the lawsuit reads in part, “deprived plaintiffs of their due process and equal protection rights and tortiously interfered with plaintiffs’ relationship with Suffolk Downs and right to fair consideration in the gaming suitability process.” One can hardly wait for the counterclaim in this dust-up.
There’s no question that Massachusetts Gaming Commission Chairman Stephen Crosby‘s disclosure of a potential conflict of interest regarding Steve Wynn‘s casino site in Everett was inexcusably tardy … but actionable? Taking a ride on the crazy train, Caesars Entertainment is suing Crosby for not making the situation public sooner (which he should have done, no question). At first blush, it sounds like Gary Loveman is clinging to the myth that the MGC was somehow to blame for Caesars no longer being in Massachusetts. He continues to conveniently forget that it was Suffolk Downs that asked Caesars to take a walk, depriving the latter company of a chance to plead its case before the MGC. What’s Caesars’ endgame? To force its way back into the Bay State? But where? And with whom?
Meantime, Boston Mayor-elect Martin Walsh may be seeing Suffolk in court. He’s threatening to sue to stop the would-be casino’s relocation into the Revere city lines. He also wants surrounding-community compensation, which sounds like his higher priority.
Poker Stars won’t be going into the ‘Net-betting business with Resorts Atlantic City or anybody else in New Jersey — not for two years, anyway. Citing an outstanding federal indictment against Isai Scheinberg, among other peccadilloes, the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement sent Poker Stars’ application into a 24-month deep freeze. “If significantly changed circumstances are demonstrated,” Poker Stars will be back in the game, but it’s clearly difficult for New Jersey for overlook to Poker Stars’ misdeeds when it has punished others heavily for lesser offenses. Besides, Scheinberg’s continued advisory role with PokerStars can hardly be overlooked.
There are still 30 months to run on Gov. Chris Christie‘s rescue plan for Atlantic City. However, that never stops lawmakers from making trouble. Yet again, they’re floating the idea of a Meadowlands casino. That this would plunge a knife into Atlantic City’s heart never seems to bother the Lege.
How bad is Trump Plaza? So bad that it was the only Atlantic City casino to post a revenue decline last month when everybody else was up, some quite significant. November 2012 saw the Boardwalk hard hit by Hurricane Sandy, so all casinos should have done better last month. But Trump Plaza has evidently fallen and can’t get up.
If Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) wants to stop a Menominee Kenosha Gaming Authority casino in Kenosha he may have waited too long. A new poll 
shows that public sentiment has swung from “nay” to “yea.” 53% of voters surveyed support it. Three months ago, only 41% were in favor. “It’s rare to see that large of a swing that quickly,” said a pollster. “But it’s a change that’s outside the margin of error, so there’s definitely something there.” On the flip side, the numbers give Walker cover for reversing his opposition to a Kenosha casino and citing the will of the public as his spur. Furthermore, Walker’s GOP base is heavily concentrated around Kenosha … a not-inconsiderable consideration heading into an election year.
