{"id":26064,"date":"2020-02-10T09:11:35","date_gmt":"2020-02-10T17:11:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/?p=26064"},"modified":"2020-02-10T09:11:35","modified_gmt":"2020-02-10T17:11:35","slug":"the-fix-is-in-mgms-youth-movement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/the-fix-is-in-mgms-youth-movement\/","title":{"rendered":"“The fix is in”; MGM’s youth movement"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hard Rock International<\/strong> CEO Jim Allen<\/strong> is trying to have it both ways in Greece<\/strong>, saying that Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment<\/strong> hasn’t been awarded the Hellenikon<\/strong> casino concession but that “the fix is in.” Well, is \"\"it or isn’t it? \u201cMohegan hasn\u2019t been officially awarded the license because the appeal process needs to be completed. The government has yet to open the technical and financial offers. So no one, in fairness to Mohegan, has been confirmed as the winner at this time,\u201d said Allen, trying to keep hope alive. He does allow that Hard Rock has been disqualified by the government, for reasons to which he takes umbrage, such as a lack of financial wherewithal, mainly because a bank guarantee was allowed to lapse, which Allen says Hard Rock self-reported.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have the strongest financial balance sheet in the industry.\u00a0We\u2019re the first gaming company to achieve and maintain an investment grade rating from Moody\u2019s<\/strong>, Standard & Poors<\/strong> and Fitch<\/strong>,” said Allen. “Bank of America<\/strong> supplied a highly confident letter supporting our ability to finance this project, and with our group of companies being one of the lowest leveraged in the industry, we find it difficult to believe that Bank of America\u2019s recommendation was insufficient.\u201d Without going into technicalities<\/a>, the dispute devolves into a did-so\/did-not argument between Allen and the Greek government. The CEO won’t curry any favor with remarks about “the corruption in the process.\u201d<\/p>\n

Allen says his company’s project would have been as expensive and large-scale as MGE’s\u2014but has been chary with specifics. His pitch boils down to trusting Hard Rock’s (undeniably impressive) track record. He hit out at his competitor, saying, “Mohegan Sun Pocono<\/strong> is the entity with the most \"\"fines in Pennsylvania<\/strong> gaming history,\u00a0$1.8 million. No one even comes close to that and there were allegations of money laundering and other crimes. And none of that was disclosed on the application either when there were questions specifically requesting such information. Another reason for automatic disqualification.\u201d If this were the U.S. he’d be right about that. But it’s Greece and Allen holds out little hope for his appeal, saying that the government has predetermined the outcome. He threw a Hail Mary pass, saying,\u00a0\u201cOur hope is that the Prime Minister and other officials were not aware or involved in this situation and that [they]\u00a0will make the appropriate corrections to ensure a fair process.\u201d<\/p>\n

* The Las Vegas Strip<\/strong> is riding a decade-long rise in gambling revenue, to the point where numbers are starting to rival the all-time peak of 2007 (once viewed by some of us as unrepeatable). What’s behind the numbers<\/a>? For one thing, sports books were up 9.5%, “erasing fears that the spread of legal bookmaking nationwide was going to exact a toll,” according to James Rutherford<\/strong>.<\/p>\n