{"id":19885,"date":"2017-06-28T08:40:06","date_gmt":"2017-06-28T16:40:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/?p=19885"},"modified":"2017-06-28T08:40:06","modified_gmt":"2017-06-28T16:40:06","slug":"glenn-straub-gamings-problem-child-panic-in-new-york-state","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/glenn-straub-gamings-problem-child-panic-in-new-york-state\/","title":{"rendered":"Glenn Straub, gaming’s problem child; Panic in New York State"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cWe\u2019ve been shut down now for three years. As an abandoned building, we want the value of an abandoned building, not the value of a casino hotel,\u201d said Revel<\/strong> owner Glenn Straub<\/strong>, defending his failure to pay Casino Reinvestment Development Authority<\/strong> fees on his would-be Ten<\/strong>. Straub has already been hit with one lien of $62,000<\/a> for failure to pay his 2015 obligation and could face another over a similar failure last year. Straub’s nickel-and-diming, to say nothing of his obstinacy over applying for a New Jersey<\/strong> gaming license, has caused him to miss yet another deadline<\/a> (June 15) for reopening as Ten. The latter only exists as a social casino<\/a> at this point. (Don’t say Straub never did anything.)<\/p>\n

Straub’s refusal to be licensed smacks of the need for special treatment that has marked his querulous tenure on the Boardwalk. Since he’s farming the Ten casino out to a rookie operator, it would be reassuring if Straub were backstopped with his own license in case things go south. Besides, every other casino owner in town is licensed. Why should Straub be any different? At times like these he seems painfully naive about the gaming industry.<\/p>\n

* Is newly upgraded Vernon Downs<\/strong> bombing or is owner Jeff Gural<\/strong> merely fearmongering? The latter has been doomsaying in Albany<\/strong>, lobbying for a tax reduction<\/a>. He didn’t get a sympathetic ear from Mr. Useless, Assembly Gaming Committee<\/strong> Chairman Gary Pretlow<\/strong> (D), who said the state couldn’t reduce the amount of educational aid flowing from casinos. Former Andrew Cuomo<\/strong> advisor Bennett Liebman<\/strong> said that Pretlow’s troubles weren’t taxes but the competitive presence posed by tribal Turning Stone Casino<\/strong>: “Vernon has always been in a difficult position because it is so close to the Oneidas.”<\/p>\n

* Congratulations to Sunset Station<\/strong> on 20 years in business. The Antoni Gaudi<\/strong>-inspired complex went well outside the box in terms of what a locals casino could be, not to mention how it could look. (Being old enough to have helped cover Sunset Station’s opening, I feel like I’ve been in this racket too long.) As Las Vegas Sun<\/em> reporter Thomas Moore<\/strong> describes it<\/a> “Station designed the property with few long rectangular lines, and the casino popped with unique shapes, color and detail.” The casino also pioneered the faux blue-sky ceiling, a design touch that would be emulated at the Desert Passage<\/strong> mall, among other Las Vegas<\/strong> landmarks.<\/p>\n

Sunset Station wears its years lightly, remaining one of Station’s flagship properties and the one that set off the suburban-luxury movement that climaxed with Red Rock Resort<\/strong>. According to Station spokeswoman Lori Nelson<\/strong>, Sunset Station not only represented an aesthetic shift from company founder\u00a0Frank Fertitta Jr<\/strong>.’s tastes to those of CEO Frank Fertitta III<\/strong>, it also denoted a shift in business strategy: a throwing down of the gauntlet to say that Station would henceforth compete for the tourist and conventioneer dollar. Property mascot Soleil<\/strong> is long gone (a victim of brand confusion with Cirque du Soleil?) but Sunset Station<\/strong> is far from waning on the Las Vegas horizon.<\/p>\n

* Unlike Caesars Entertainment<\/strong>, which quickly evicted GameCo<\/strong> skill-based slots from its Atlantic City<\/strong> casino floors, Foxwoods Resort Casino<\/strong> is taking the long view<\/a> … at least if CEO Felix Rappaport<\/strong> is to be believed, and there’s no reason to doubt him. I used to edit Rappaport’s column for Casino Executive<\/em> magazine and he’s a man of his word (in more senses than one).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cWe\u2019ve been shut down now for three years. As an abandoned building, we want the value of an abandoned building, not the value of a casino hotel,\u201d said Revel owner Glenn Straub, defending his failure to pay Casino Reinvestment Development … 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":[65,23,88,166,218,185,140,53,101,6,33,111,25,157,57,31,8,19,20],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19885"}],"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=19885"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19885\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19887,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19885\/revisions\/19887"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19885"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19885"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19885"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}