{"id":19316,"date":"2017-01-31T11:35:59","date_gmt":"2017-01-31T19:35:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/?p=19316"},"modified":"2017-01-31T11:35:59","modified_gmt":"2017-01-31T19:35:59","slug":"adelson-out-of-stadium-deal-tepid-december-on-strip","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/adelson-out-of-stadium-deal-tepid-december-on-strip\/","title":{"rendered":"Adelson out of stadium deal; Tepid December on Strip"},"content":{"rendered":"

It didn’t take long for Sandoval’s Folly, the mooted [your city here] Raiders<\/strong> stadium to blow up in the governor’s face. With characteristic irascibility, Las Vegas Sands<\/strong> CEO Sheldon Adelson<\/strong> withdrew from the project,<\/a> taking his $650 million with him. Raiders \"\"owner Mark Davis<\/strong> says he has replacement financing from Goldman Sachs<\/strong>, but there appears to be skepticism that it will be enough to cover the costs of an NFL-scale stadium. The source of Adelson’s pique was Davis’s submission of a lease proposal to the Las Vegas Stadium Authority<\/strong>, one that cut Sheldon out of potential revenue streams<\/a>. The self-dealing document’s more egregious demands including a dollar-a-year lease and control of the schedule at the stadium. Stadium detractor and Clark County<\/strong> Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani<\/strong> found the lease amount particularly insulting.<\/p>\n

Adelson does not like being out of the loop — especially with $650 million of skin in the game. The Stadium Authority has until mid-2018 to either reach terms with the Raiders or find another team (although the obstacles include the smallness of the Las Vegas<\/strong> media market). What it can’t do is walk away from the project: It’s committed, thanks to the Legislature, to building at least a smaller stadium for the UNLV Running Rebels<\/strong>. (The Rebels wouldn’t be allowed to have any field markings in the Davis stadium.) Those who warned that Las Vegas was cutting a bad deal for itself get to have their “told you so” moment now.<\/p>\n

* Despite the presence of an extra weekend, Las Vegas did not cover itself with glory in December, down 2% (down 3% statewide) — although Wall Street<\/strong> expected worse: more like -4%. Last year was much stronger: up 8%. Don’t blame Strip slot play: It was up 3%. \"\"Table wagering, however, was off 6%. Strip slots won $260 million, for a 2% gain, while at the other end of the spectrum, blackjack play was off 11%. Fortunately, casino winnings on the game were only 4.5% down. Non-baccarat table games dipped 4%, to $161 million. Excluding poker, casinos won $325 million at the tables. Locals casinos fell 13% to $156 million. Dismal as this may seem, it should be noted that Dec. 30 landed\u00a0on a Friday and a perversity in Nevada<\/strong> gaming regulations pushes that last-weekend revenue into the next month.<\/p>\n

Shame on JP Morgan<\/strong> for restricting access to its rundown of gaming results from outlying Nevada jurisdictions. We must rely on Deutsche Bank<\/strong>‘s more truncated report instead. It shows Downtown<\/strong> off 2% ($42 million), North Las Vegas<\/strong> in a 23% tailspin ($17 million), the Boulder Strip<\/strong> plunging 27% to $47.5 million, Laughlin<\/strong> ceding 9%, for $28 million, and miscellaneous Clark County holding the line at $92 million (-2%). We don’t know how Reno<\/strong> fared specifically but upstate numbers are up 9%, which bodes well. The Chinese New Year boost will be somewhat muted, as the numbers will be split across two months<\/a>.<\/p>\n

* \u201cAll is not lost if we don\u2019t open prior to MGM,\u201d said Mohegan Tribal Chairman Mark Brown,<\/strong> while admitting that both his tribe and Foxwoods Resorts Casino<\/strong> have frittered\u00a0away precious time in their indecision over where to site their (dubiously constitutional) satellite casino. They’re selling their snake oil to desperate job seekers like the woman who brought her resum\u00e9 <\/a>after spending 10 years on the unemployment line, Although building a tribal casino on non-tribal land — and in a no-bid process to boot — would seem to spell courtroom doom for the project, opponents like MGM Resorts International<\/strong> aren’t plagued by ironies of their own, mainly not being interested in Connecticut<\/strong> until a third casino was proposed by the state.<\/p>\n

MGM, meanwhile, is counting its money<\/a> from MGM National Harbor<\/strong>, which took a 20% chunk out of revenues at Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races<\/strong>. Said\u00a0Richard Clinch<\/strong>, director of economic development at the University of Baltimore<\/strong>\u2019s Jacob France Institute<\/strong>,\u00a0\u201cThey are already in line to do half a billion dollars or more. And this isn\u2019t even the tourist season.\u201d Maryland Live<\/strong> is already feeling sufficiently impacted to abandon minimum bet limits during slower hours.<\/p>\n