Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D) has waded into the Brockton-vs.-Taunton fight for a tribal casino. She’s introducing a bill that would circumvent the inactive Bureau of Indian Affairs and 
smooth the path of the Mashpee Wampanoags. While we have nothing against the latter, this matter belongs in the BIA’s remit not that of Congress. Brockton Mayor William Carpenter complained, “Year after year we’re running multimillion-dollar deficits in our budget. We’ve laid off schoolteachers for three years in a row. We desperately need the revenue. The whole thing just seems unfair to me. I don’t know if Brockton will ultimately be granted the license or not from the state gaming commission, but I know our opportunities should not be taken away by a piece of special-interest legislation.” Meanwhile, Neil Bluhm — no small donor to Democratic Party causes — would like to have Rush Street Gaming‘s case for a casino re-heard.
Warren has Genting Group, scheduled developer of Project First Light, in her corner. Warren’s Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Reservation Reaffirmation Act also has the backing of Massachusetts Sen. Edward Markey (D) but only 18 co-sponsors in the House of Representatives so it doesn’t appear to be going anywhere fast, much like Project First Light itself. Warren’s a former casino opponent, so her flip-flop on the matter seems motivated by her re-election effort this year, as Genting has deep pockets, to say nothing of the Bay State’s three other casino owners.
* Hard Rock International is planting its flag in California. The Enterprise Rancheria of Estom Yumeka Maidu Tribe has tapped Hard Rock to spearhead a $400 million casino project in the greater Sacramento area. Although no details of the project have been released, the rancheria and its developer are bent on moving fast: They’ve announced a 2019 opening. The path won’t be smooth. 
Competitors will include the Buena Vista Band of Me-Wuk Indians, which is building a $168 million Caesars Entertainment-branded casino in Amador County, while the Wilton Rancheria is spinning its wheels on a $400 million casino project in Elk Grove. The latter, unlike the Me-Wuk casino, hasn’t even broken ground. Already on the scene are Thunder Valley Casino Resort and Cache Creek Casino Resort. Despite trying to block the Enterprise Rancheria, Thunder Valley professed to be unconcerned. “We’ll continue to be the dominant player in the region, given our location and our established customer base” and Enterprise Rancheria’s “isolated location,” said spokesman Doug Elmes.
The Estom Yumeka Maidu aren’t showing up unarmed. Hard Rock, said casino consultant Ken Adams, is “an entirely different competitor. Their corporate resources are so much larger than anybody else’s.” Hard Rock has yet to come up short in any market, so we like its chances in Yuba County.
* Meet Fetch and Jett, newest employees at Vdara. The latter won’t have to worry about any pesky contract talks with them: They’re robotic butlers. “Human attendants working at the café load the items into a receptacle in the robots’ center console, and 
the bots then ride the elevators up to a guest’s room, delivering anything from snacks to toiletries to coffee,” reports Fox News. For all their high tech, Jett and Fetch are still on a learning curve. Says Vdara General Manager Mary Giuliano, “we did have one incident where the robot was trying to get into the elevator and guests were trying to hold the elevator and he actually got stuck in the doors of the elevator.” We wonder if the Culinary Union will be amused.
* Casinos in Japan cleared a decisive hurdle today. The House of Councillors voted in favor of them, 166-72. Thus, whatever 
the fate of scandal-plagued Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the ball is rolling forward. The next step is requests for proposals. Global Market Advisors expects 20 to be received. Casino revenue will be taxed at 30% and Japanese citizens will be charged $53 a day to patronize gambling halls. They can visit no more than three days a week or 10 times a month. It’s been a long journey; whoever thought we’d get this far?
