{"id":26436,"date":"2020-03-17T12:23:41","date_gmt":"2020-03-17T20:23:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/?p=26436"},"modified":"2021-01-22T07:59:53","modified_gmt":"2021-01-22T15:59:53","slug":"gaming-too-big-to-fail-sports-betting-gets-creative","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/gaming-too-big-to-fail-sports-betting-gets-creative\/","title":{"rendered":"Gaming: Too big to fail?; Sports betting gets creative"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-15710\" src=\"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/capitolhill-300x199.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"199\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/capitolhill-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/capitolhill-150x99.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/capitolhill.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>Casino CEOs have no shame. They are capitalizing on the Coronavirus crisis to go to Congress, palms extended, cadging for a bailout. In an outrage-inducing story in today&#8217;s <em>Washington Post<\/em>, it is reported that the gaming industry&#8217;s wish list includes:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li>Direct cash payments (a <strong>Wynn Resorts<\/strong> brainstorm)<\/li>\n<li>Tax deferments (already floated by the <strong>American Gaming Association<\/strong>)<\/li>\n<li>Special bankruptcy protections<\/li>\n<li>Zero-interest or low-interest loans<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Although <strong>Donald Trump<\/strong> crony <strong>Steve Wynn<\/strong> is no longer in a position to benefit, he&#8217;s said to have Trump&#8217;s ear. A more direct beneficiary would be <strong>Treasure Island<\/strong> owner and Trump business partner <strong>Phil Ruffin<\/strong>. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/business\/2020\/03\/16\/casino-bailout-coronavirus-congress\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" class=\"broken_link\">But that&#8217;s small potatoes<\/a> compared to the enormity of <!--more-->the shakedown being attempted. The AGA tried to position it as a philanthropic move:\u00a0\u201cOur immediate priorities are actions that provide liquidity to allow us to support employees.\u201d Wanna bet? Give casino bosses free money and where is it likeliest to go? <a href=\"https:\/\/www.marketwatch.com\/story\/trump-tax-cut-gives-us-workers-a-hard-landing-2018-07-18\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Stock buybacks<\/a> (especially with gaming stocks having been battered by <strong>Covid-19<\/strong>). That&#8217;s certainly what we&#8217;ve come to expect of stone-hearted boards of directors like <strong>MGM Resorts International<\/strong>&#8216;s.<\/p>\n<p>Also, the industry&#8217;s actions speak louder than its crocodile tears do. <strong>Caesars Entertainment<\/strong> has begun gleefully <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reviewjournal.com\/business\/casinos-gaming\/caesars-begins-layoffs-during-coronavirus-crisis-1982207\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">sacking entire departments<\/a>.\u00a0\u201cI\u2019ve been with the company for [many] years, and like a light switch, I\u2019m out,&#8221; said one <strong>Planet Hollywood<\/strong> employee. While <img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-26438\" src=\"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Planet-Ho-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Planet-Ho-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Planet-Ho-113x150.jpg 113w, https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Planet-Ho-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Planet-Ho.jpg 1512w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/>Caesars held out the vague possibility of rehiring, don&#8217;t expect that to happen once <strong>Tom &#8220;Chainsaw&#8221; Reeg<\/strong> takes over. Less secretively, MGM has been cutting a swath through its food-and-beverage operation. <strong>Nevada<\/strong> Gov. <strong>Steve Sisolak<\/strong> (D) did his best impression of a doormat, saying,\u00a0\u201cI strongly support any decision our properties make.\u201d The <strong>Culinary Union<\/strong> stated it was trying to negotiate with employers to provide Coronavirus-related worker protections and to place the newly unemployed with commensurate jobs.<\/p>\n<p>But that&#8217;s a slim reed of hope. As the ex-Planet Ho worker\u00a0told the <em>Las Vegas Review-Journal<\/em>,\u00a0\u201cWith everyone shutting down completely \u2026 there are no other jobs.\u00a0I\u2019ll ask for work, I\u2019ll try to do something. If they start building hospitals, I\u2019ll do that. I\u2019ll do whatever it takes to put food on the table.\u201d Contrast the me-first attitude of entitled American casino execs with the ethic of <strong>Genting Hong Kong<\/strong>, where <a href=\"https:\/\/calvinayre.com\/2020\/03\/16\/casino\/genting-hong-kong-cuts-salaries-to-avoid-further-coronavirus-losses\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">top executives will be going without pay<\/a>. Managers are taking pay cuts from 20% to 50%. We don&#8217;t see <strong>Jim Murren<\/strong> lining up to volunteer for austerity pay.<\/p>\n<p>Indeed, casino bosses are putting themselves first when\u2014if they really wanted to help their employees\u2014they&#8217;d put their shoulders to the <strong>Families First Coronavirus Response Act<\/strong>, currently bottled up in the U.S. Senate, even though Secretary of the Treasury <strong>Steve Mnuchin<\/strong> <img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-12831\" src=\"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/murren_t198.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"198\" height=\"247\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/murren_t198.jpg 198w, https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/murren_t198-120x150.jpg 120w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 198px) 100vw, 198px\" \/>has given it his blessing. The latter is said to be trying to induce Majority Leader <strong>Mitch McConnell<\/strong> with what the <em>Boston Globe<\/em> described as &#8220;an $850 billion in additional stimulus to prop up the economy, including $50 billion for airlines and Trump&#8217;s pet request, the suspension of <strong>Social Security<\/strong> taxes taken out of paychecks through the end of the year.&#8221; As for casinos, maybe, they should be considered for tertiary financial-relief bills, such as that being pondered for the airline industry (but only with strong caveats on how the money can be spent).<\/p>\n<p>Frankly, we don&#8217;t believe the poor-mouthing we&#8217;re hearing from Big Gaming. After all, one of its leading companies\u2013MGM\u2014recorded a $2 billion profit in 2018, mostly from tax cuts. And what did CEO Murren turn around and do? He disemboweled the workforce with his infamous &#8220;MGM 2020&#8221; initiative, all to save $200 million-$300 million. Job cuts have an ominous way of becoming permanent and who&#8217;s to say a post-coronavirus MGM won&#8217;t resemble its current, emaciated state?<\/p>\n<p>Financial relief won&#8217;t reopen the casinos any sooner. But it will soften the bottom line for companies during a tough time\u2014and provide money to <img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-26437\" src=\"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/MGM-Lion-2-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/MGM-Lion-2-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/MGM-Lion-2-113x150.jpg 113w, https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/MGM-Lion-2-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/MGM-Lion-2.jpg 1512w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/>snap up depressed stock. Not that companies like MGM and Caesars aren&#8217;t wallowing in dough after multi-billion-dollar asset sales to REITs. Heaven forbid, MGM might even have to tap its <strong>Osaka<\/strong> reserve. If there&#8217;s any consolation, it&#8217;s that the <em>WaPo<\/em> reports, &#8220;But extending financial aid to casinos may provoke more political opposition than efforts to support airlines or other travel industries, particularly as federal lawmakers face scrutiny over whether they are picking winners and losers in an economy broadly affected by the pandemic.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Also, the <strong>White House<\/strong> may have inadvertently given the cold shoulder to the casinos yesterday with a two-page memo that boiled down roughly to two words, &#8220;Stay home.&#8221; Among its particulars were &#8220;Avoid discretionary travel&#8221; and &#8220;Avoid social gatherings in groups of more than 10 people.&#8221; (Sound like anyplace we know?) And if you are at the casino, &#8220;Disinfect frequently used items and surfaces as much as possible.&#8221; Wipe down those slot buttons!<\/p>\n<p>There&#8217;s a great deal of pain going around right now but not in the executive suites of Big Gaming. High priests of the free market, they should just suck it up and deal with it with the same intestinal fortitude being shown by the average American.<\/p>\n<p>* You know who&#8217;s sucking it up? The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/sports\/ncaab\/2020\/03\/15\/march-madness-betting-losses-force-vegas-sports-books-get-creative\/5052736002\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" class=\"broken_link\">sports-betting industry<\/a>, that&#8217;s who. Instead of complaining, they&#8217;re finding new ways to generate action. Said <img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-5767\" src=\"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/southpoint-pic.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"199\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/southpoint-pic.gif 300w, https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/southpoint-pic-150x99.gif 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><strong>South Point<\/strong> sports book Director <strong>Chris Andrews<\/strong>, &#8220;today we\u2019re booking <strong>Brazilian UFC<\/strong>.\u00a0Actually, a lot of people were betting it, so it\u2019s kind of funny in some ways, but sad in others that this is all we have to bet on, but people are betting it.\u2019\u2019 Hey, be thankful that there are sports bettors so inveterate that they&#8217;d wager on jumping frogs, given half the chance. What other sports are benefiting? Australian rugby, Australian-rules football and Mexican soccer. As Andrews notes, &#8220;in our racket, people like to have action, so they\u2019re getting some there.\u2019\u2019 <strong>William Hill<\/strong> is also huddling with regulators, trying to come up with new forms of action.<\/p>\n<p>Over at the <strong>Westgate Las Vegas<\/strong>, sports book legend <strong>Jay Kornegay<\/strong> recalls a previous crisis, saying, &#8220;we went through something similar after 9\/11 as the sports world paused in this country. I know it wasn\u2019t long-term like this could be, but the rippling effect for 9\/11 lasted for months because back then, no one wanted to fly after that, even after the sports world started up again.\u2019\u2019 In the meantime, the Kornegays of the world will undoubtedly find a means for getting by.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Casino CEOs have no shame. They are capitalizing on the Coronavirus crisis to go to Congress, palms extended, cadging for a bailout. In an outrage-inducing story in today&#8217;s Washington Post, it is reported that the gaming industry&#8217;s wish list includes: &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/gaming-too-big-to-fail-sports-betting-gets-creative\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[249,244,14,199,120,245,122,207,119,6,33,74,243,32,31,19,100,184,252],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26436"}],"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=26436"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26436\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29137,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26436\/revisions\/29137"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26436"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26436"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}