{"id":17302,"date":"2015-12-02T13:37:42","date_gmt":"2015-12-02T21:37:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/?p=17302"},"modified":"2015-12-02T13:37:42","modified_gmt":"2015-12-02T21:37:42","slug":"the-ubiquitous-packer-the-27-solution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/the-ubiquitous-packer-the-27-solution\/","title":{"rendered":"The ubiquitous Packer; The 27% solution"},"content":{"rendered":"

James Packer<\/strong> has already missed his 2015 deadline<\/a> for breaking ground on Alon<\/strong> and once again he is taking his eye off the Las Vegas<\/strong> ball. He and his Nobu<\/strong> co-investor, Robert DeNiro<\/strong>, have cut a deal with \"James<\/a>Antigua<\/strong> and Barbuda<\/strong> to build a $250 million casino on the site of the defunct K Club Hotel<\/strong>. The pact didn’t sit well with some lawmakers, who took exception to a 25-year tax exemption granted to Packer<\/a> (a “george” agreement\u00a0by any measure).<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat the government is doing and the way they are proceeding is wrong,\u201d groused Sen. Harold Lovell<\/strong>. The casino resort will include 40 private bungalows<\/a>, each with its own pool. Opponents say that the terms of the agreement with Packer and DeNiro trample on Barbuda’s autonomy, in which land is held in common. Prime Minister Gaston Browne<\/strong> replies,\u00a0\u201cWe went the extra mile to get the project out of political deadlock and get it moving,” for fear of losing a big investment. “Four hundred people cannot dictate our policy. We\u2019re not going to allow them to stymie the growth and development of this country.\u201d In a goodwill gesture, Packer’s investment group donated $1.85 million to clear a salary arrearage to 600 employees of the Barbuda Council<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

* If Dan Gilbert<\/strong> wants to go the racino route with his Turfway Park<\/strong>, nothing significant now stands in his path. The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission<\/strong> has given Rock Gaming<\/strong> approval to install “historic racing” terminals at the course<\/a>. An ancillary, 10,000-square-foot building would have to built to house the demi-slots. Also, Gilbert is hesitant about the new opportunity Kentucky<\/strong> has just handed him. Said a Gilbert spokeswoman, “Right now, there is no timeline \u2013 we’re still evaluating.”<\/p>\n

* Yours truly once wrote off the Colorado<\/strong> market as “over the hill.” I may have to eat those words, as Colorado casinos report a booming first half to their fiscal year<\/a>. Winnings are up 7% from last year and are \"colorado\"<\/a>at their highest level since 2007. That’s an impressive achievement given the massive consolidation in the number of casinos in the state — 36, versus 46 in 2007. Colorado Gaming Association<\/strong> Executive Director Lois Rice<\/strong> was at a loss for an explanation, offering that maybe later liquor service (until 2 a.m.) or better weather had something\u00a0to do with it.<\/p>\n

The reversal of fortune is driving new investment. Full House Resorts<\/strong> is moving into Colorado and Monarch Casino & Resort<\/strong> is building a new hotel tower at the former Riviera Black Hawk<\/strong>. When finished, it will have committed $295 million to the property.<\/p>\n

* Having 27% female representation on your board of directors hardly seems like an outstanding achievement but it’s a high water mark in the real world. For that reason, MGM Resorts International<\/strong> has been singled out for recognition<\/a> by the Women’s Forum of New York<\/strong>.\u00a0“MGM Resorts knows that more women on boards is smart business and their success is an inspiration to others,” said event chairwoman Janice Ellig. MGM CEO Jim Murren<\/strong> responded by promising not to rest on his laurels. Indeed, we can do better than 27%.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

James Packer has already missed his 2015 deadline for breaking ground on Alon and once again he is taking his eye off the Las Vegas ball. He and his Nobu co-investor, Robert DeNiro, have cut a deal with Antigua and … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[27,154,14,198,22,96,116,11,33,111,55,9],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17302"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17302"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17302\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17304,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17302\/revisions\/17304"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17302"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17302"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17302"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}