When Saharas attack; Trump blasts Adelson

“At no point since taking ownership of the property has LVRH contemplated permanently closing,” reads the court filing, which zaps Roeben for not contacting the Sahara about the shutdown rumors. “The fallout from the Headline’s publication was widespread. LVRH has had to expend considerable effort assuring worried employees that the SAHARA was not closing, many of whom were already concerned about their jobs as a result of the current COVID-19 pandemic. Casino hosts were contacted by customers in Florida, Texas, and California expressing concern over the Article inquiring if they should cancel their trips. LVRH’s convention and sales team received several inquiries from clients expressing concern over the Article, specifically that the SAHARA would close before their event and indicating they may ask for deposits back. Vendors and business partners have since expressed a lack of confidence that SAHARA would remain as a going concern. LVRH continues to field inquiries from its business partners and vendors, some indicating that they will potentially withhold business opportunities for a period of time out of concern that SAHARA may not be open to fulfill future contractual obligations.”

That’s a heavy trip, man. Roeben is furthermore accused of having “doubled down” on his allegation in an ensuing story. He is accused of “a larger, intentional scheme by Defendant to disparage Plaintiff and cause irreparable harm.” (No motive is ascribed.) Meruelo’s attendant works in a bit of PR, writing, “LVRH is proud to employ thousands of individuals in the Las Vegas area. LVRH also contributes greatly to the local economy by working with local vendors who in turn create even more badly needed jobs in the community. As a direct and proximate result of the Defendant’s conduct, LVRH, and indeed the Las Vegas community as a whole, have and continue to suffer harm.” As for 10 Does, they are alleged to be part of a “common scheme to smear, defame, and harm Plaintiff, as well as hold Plaintiff in a false light and/or to defame Plaintiff.”

By contrast, MGM Resorts International didn’t open an eyelid when Roeben reported that Luxor would be imploded. (S&G passed along a similar rumor about perennial whipping boy Excalibur and the MGM boys had a good laugh with us about it.) However, Meruelo presumably isn’t—judging from his own assertions—sitting atop MGM-sized liquidity and losing $15K worth of business could make a world of difference to him.

In the dumbest of many dumb things done over the years, Donald Trump pissed off the Lady Bountiful of campaign donors—yes, Sheldon Adelson. Apparently Sheldon used his hotline to the Oval Office to lobby for some economic stimulus and The Donald went off on Adelson for the size of the checks he’s been writing to the Trump campaign. Reported Politico, “One of the people [present] said it was apparent the president had no idea how much Adelson, who’s donated tens of millions of dollars to pro-Trump efforts over the years, had helped him.” Sounds like Trump all right. The peppery Adelson managed to keep his temper, a mighty effort on his part surely.

We don’t doubt that Adelson will continue his mega-millions efforts to help Republicans keep control of the U.S. Senate. His propensity to throw a lifeline to the outspent Trump may be more equivocal. Adelson is a formidable grudge-carrier, almost as much of one as Trump. The latter has “also shown a reluctance to do the kind of glad-handing, cold-calling, and grooming of billionaires needed to cultivate a well-funded super PAC.” Some deep-pocketed donors have also held back when confronted with boycott backlash but that’s never been Sheldon’s style. “While Adelson is unlikely to donate to [central] America First Action, allies say, he is open to funding another pro-Trump outfit.” The prexy better get down on his knees and pray for it.

As we expected, the “Evangelicals for Trump” rally at the former Lucky Dragon Casino exceeded Nevada limits on attendance. Host Ahern Hotel will be fined accordingly. “I was deeply disheartened and dismayed to see the callous and dangerous behavior displayed last night in Las Vegas at a campaign event for President Trump,” tweeted Gov. Steve Sisolak (D). The right-wingers fired back that they were conducting civil disobedience in protest of Spicy Sisolak’s “overreaching state restrictions on churches, championed by the radical left and supported by Joe Biden.” Added has-been virtuecrat Ralph Reed, “NV Governor banned church services but casinos can operate at 50% capacity. So we are praying in a casino.” Touché. Ahern, which had to pony up a relatively paltry $250 for its Trumpian fealty, got dinged again hours later for hosting an over-capacity Mrs. Nevada-America pageant. Some folks just can’t learn. At least the Trump supporters wore face masks, God bless them.

Ever wonder what happens on those private-jet flights to Las Vegas? Don’t ask. “According to the pilots, the two passengers on board got wasted and just [defecated] all over the vessel, smearing it everywhere,” JetSuite exec Anasela Galli tells Bloomberg. The plane—tail-number 250—subsequently became known in the fleet as Poo-50. “One high-roller in the gaming world always demanded to smoke on the aircraft,” says Amy Caris, manager of in-flight operations. The whale would tell pilots, “‘You’re going to turn around, sit in the cockpit, and fly the f—ing plane.’” It reached the point where MGM agreed to pay for fumigating the aircraft. According to Bloomberg, “Vegas attracts the crew’s most detested customers, such as a cast member of Vanderpump Rules who mistreated so many assistants that his account manager never spoke to the same one twice. A certain HGTV duo also ranks on the staff’s list of deplorables for their incessant rudeness and fighting. ‘One time, they completely wrecked a luxury van because it wasn’t a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter,’ the account manager says.” (Professional athletes from West Coast teams aren’t much nicer.)

Headline of the Day: “Trove of Ice Age Fossils Found in Carson City.” Ah, somebody’s stumbled across the Nevada Lege in session.