{"id":23862,"date":"2019-04-09T06:34:33","date_gmt":"2019-04-09T14:34:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/?p=23862"},"modified":"2019-04-09T06:39:12","modified_gmt":"2019-04-09T14:39:12","slug":"wynn-bids-for-crown-resorts-mgm-garners-lofty-accolades","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wynn-bids-for-crown-resorts-mgm-garners-lofty-accolades\/","title":{"rendered":"Wynn bids for Crown Resorts; MGM garners lofty accolades"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the latest episode from this winter’s senseless round of buy-or-be-bought transactions, Wynn Resorts<\/strong> has tendered an offer to Crown Resorts<\/strong>. Presumably the fun has gone out of tying James Packer<\/strong>‘s \"\"shoelaces together. The transaction, while would transform Wynn into a Australia<\/strong>-centric company, is valued at $7 billion<\/a>.\u00a0\u201cIf Wynn Resorts acquired Crown, not only would the larger enterprise become a more difficult target but it would deter potential suitors,\u201d said Union Gaming<\/strong> analyst John DeCree<\/strong>. Analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein<\/strong> minced fewer words: \u201cWhile we are somewhat perplexed as to why Wynn Resorts would be interested in acquiring Crown as an acquisition deviates from historical organic growth strategy, we see there may be merit in an acquisition.\u201d<\/p>\n

JP Morgan<\/strong> analyst Joseph Greff<\/strong> was likewise surprised, writing that “we have always considered WYNN a developer rather than a consolidator\/buyer of gaming assets …\u00a0 Is this defensive (a question we have been getting a lot this morning from investors)? Perhaps, but a $7b+ transaction to get defensive doesn\u2019t strike us as something that management would want to engage in.”<\/p>\n

Crown’s high exposure to Australia might keep Las Vegas Sands<\/strong> and MGM Resorts International<\/strong> at bay, since they\u00a0\u201cprobably have little to no strategic interest in Australia, making Wynn Resorts a less attractive target,\u201d wrote DeCree. The acquisition would complicate matters in Macao<\/strong>,\u00a0since Galaxy Entertainment<\/strong> owns 5% of Wynn and Macanese law prevents one concessionaire from owning 5% or more of another.<\/p>\n

Suggesting that Wynn use the acquisition to quiet its critics at home, Bernstein analysts wrote, it\u00a0\u201ccould also signal to Japan<\/strong> that Wynn Resorts is a larger, more serious candidate and Massachusetts<\/strong> may \"\"think twice about implementing harsh conditions on the licence.\u201d Or, as GGR Daily<\/em> noted dryly, Wynn Resorts has denied that Steve Wynn<\/strong>‘s\u00a0sexual practices are “likely to harm it as the group pitches for a Japan casino license,\u00a0although some commentators have said it is hardly a positive selling point for the brand in that context.” Tell us about it. If Wynn feels it has been stuck in “probity hell,” be it noted that suitability findings can take as long as three years to be reached in the Land of Oz.<\/p>\n

* Kudos to MGM China<\/strong> for phasing out single-use plastic utensils at its Macao casinos. The company said the transition “will save 4.5 million pieces of single-use plastic per year from being disposed of into the \"\"environment.\u201d Yes, even your doggie back will be biodegradable. \u201cWe have acknowledged that this is only the beginning of the journey, and we know there is more that can be done. We will continue our efforts in working with the government and industry partners to introduce many more positive steps toward sustainability,\u201d said CEO Grant Bowie<\/strong>. While casino companies are slow to take similar steps in the Las Vegas<\/strong> market, Sands China<\/strong> has been\u00a0eliminating\u00a0single-use straws, and Melco Resorts & Entertainment<\/strong> says it is \u201celiminating unnecessary plastic packaging and reducing single-use plastics.\u201d Good on you, gentlemen.<\/p>\n

On the domestic front, MGM has received a perfect 100 score from the \"\"Human Rights Campaign<\/strong>‘s Corporate Equality Index<\/strong>. This means if you’re gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender, MGM is the best place to work<\/a>, period. One of the areas in which MGM has been hailed is for its courtroom advocacy on behalf of the LGBT community. At a time when LGBT rights under attack in this country, MGM is setting the example the rest of our society out to follow.<\/p>\n

* Having covered the sale of two Dan Gilbert<\/strong> gaming properties yesterday we see no need to recap our coverage today. However, if you missed the story, this feature<\/a> is about as definitive as I think you’re going to get.<\/p>\n

* Finally, it took six months to get there but Hard Rock Atlantic City<\/strong> has reached a labor accord<\/a> with Unite-Here<\/strong>, covering 1,780 \"\"casino employees. A ratification vote will be held Thursday but union President Robert McDevitt<\/strong> is predicting victory.\u00a0\u201cThis local\u2019s success no doubt raises the standards for all of New Jersey<\/strong>\u2019s workers and strengthens our labor movement as a whole,\u201d said New Jersey AFL-CIO<\/strong> President\u00a0Charles Wowkanech<\/strong>, perhaps alluding to the collapse of Trump Taj Mahal<\/strong> under then-owner Carl Icahn<\/strong>‘s intransigent attitude toward collective bargaining.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the latest episode from this winter’s senseless round of buy-or-be-bought transactions, Wynn Resorts has tendered an offer to Crown Resorts. Presumably the fun has gone out of tying James Packer‘s shoelaces together. The transaction, while would transform Wynn into … 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":[23,103,82,154,117,201,165,140,171,241,62,112,222,245,71,232,32,196,38,233],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23862"}],"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=23862"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23862\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23865,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23862\/revisions\/23865"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23862"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23862"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23862"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}