{"id":18529,"date":"2016-07-20T08:21:27","date_gmt":"2016-07-20T16:21:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/?p=18529"},"modified":"2016-07-20T08:21:27","modified_gmt":"2016-07-20T16:21:27","slug":"big-win-for-wynn-entertainer-gets-shrunken-head","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/big-win-for-wynn-entertainer-gets-shrunken-head\/","title":{"rendered":"Big win for Wynn; Entertainer gets shrunken head"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s never too late to count out litigious Somerville<\/strong> Mayor Joseph Curtatone<\/strong> but it looks like Wynn Boston Harbor<\/strong> may finally be inevitable<\/a>. The casino project received a \"stevewynn_300\"development permit from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection<\/strong>. Sore losers Mohegan Sun<\/strong> are still suing the Massachusetts Gaming Commission<\/strong>, but it doesn’t look like their litigation will affect Wynn Resorts<\/strong>‘ prospects. “One does not need to be a casino enthusiast to recognize and acknowledge the benefit that accrues to a city when a long-dormant, contaminated-waste site is cleaned up and brought back to useful life,” said MDEP hearing officer Jane Rothchild<\/strong>. Anti-casino Curtatone may still try to get the decision overturned but Wynn Resorts can start focusing its attention on remediating the aresenic, lead and other industrial goodies with which its land is laced.<\/p>\n

In fact, the company was a winner twice over<\/a> when the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals<\/strong> ashcanned a lawsuit by the\u00a0Louisiana Municipal Police Employees\u2019 Retirement System<\/strong>, a holder of Wynn stock. The retirement fund was suing the Wynn board of directors for approving the donation of $135 million to the University of Macau Development Foundation<\/strong>. (One wishes Wynn was as solicitous toward higher education close to home.) The lawsuit noted that the dean of the university and the leader of Macao<\/strong>‘s government were one and the same. However, for the court, the pertinent matter was to show a lack of independence on the part of the Wynn corporate board. This the retirement fund could not do, so out its litigation went.<\/p>\n

But there was bad news from Macao, where VIP revenue dove 16% in 2Q16, and Wynn Macau<\/strong> is heavily exposed to high-roller play. Mass-market revenue (Sheldon Adelson<\/strong>‘s \"macau_wynn\"domain) fell only 1%, by contrast. VIP play is also falling, naturally, as a proportion of overall casino revenues, down to 51.4% — four points below where it stood last year. There was a time when this scenario would have been unthinkable but it’s clear that the revenue models of the past will have to be scrapped, if they haven’t been already. In spite of the decline in overall play — but in keeping with an increase in mass-market baccarat, the number of tables on the market rose 3%. Players deserted the slots en masse, though, as slot revenue fell 11%. Players moved instead to electronic table games, which burgeoned as much as the slots suffered.<\/p>\n

* Local 54<\/strong> of Unite-Here<\/strong> is calling Trump Taj Mahal<\/strong>‘s bluff, rejecting an offer of \"Tajpartial restoration of health care that union prexy Robert McDevitt<\/strong> called “essentially half” of what casino workers around town were getting. Tropicana Entertainment<\/strong> CEO Anthony Rodio<\/strong> played hardball, saying the offer was permanently off the table. Now the contest of wills settles into trench warfare, as the two sides try to wait each other out. A moment of silence, please, for a recently deceased Taj worker<\/a> whose last memory will have been going out on strike.<\/p>\n

* There have been some strange media opportunities during my time in Las Vegas<\/strong> but this one might take the palm: The Golden Tiki<\/strong> (formerly Little Macau<\/strong>) is marking its first anniversary by unveiling the likeness of Frank Marino<\/strong>‘s head — shrunken. Is this a tribute or the stuff of nightmares waiting to happen? Or maybe it’s a preview of what will occur when Marino’s plastic surgeries come back to haunt him? At any rate, I wonder what the stampede for media credentials to this July 24 exercise in grotesequerie has been like.<\/p>\n

* We’re a month and a half shy of being able to measure the impact of Wild Rose Casino<\/strong>, in Jefferson<\/strong>, on the Iowa casino market. However, we can report that it has grossed $27 million to date, carries an annual payroll of $6 million and — according to the Des Moines Register<\/em> — has “distributed more than $900,000 in grants, which included money to help improve the Raccoon River Valley Trail<\/strong>, upgrade the landmark bell tower in Jefferson’s town square, equip local firefighters and expand nearby Churdan<\/strong>‘s public library.” Even some of its detractors are bearing the inevitable with good grace. “It goes against my personal moral convictions,” says retired farmer Jim Andrew<\/strong>, who says he is “quietly stepping aside … I witness that most of the town appears to be 100% in favor of it. They like all the money that goes to different charities.” Well spoken, sir.<\/p>\n