{"id":27843,"date":"2020-08-27T09:45:29","date_gmt":"2020-08-27T17:45:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/?p=27843"},"modified":"2022-07-02T03:33:26","modified_gmt":"2022-07-02T11:33:26","slug":"new-york-game-changer-mgm-sticks-it-to-servers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/new-york-game-changer-mgm-sticks-it-to-servers\/","title":{"rendered":"New York game-changer; MGM sticks it to servers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What Jim Murren<\/strong> and Sheldon Adelson<\/strong> couldn’t do, New York<\/strong> state Sen. James Skoufis<\/strong> (D) just might. With four upstate casinos still closed and the state budget pummeled by the economic effects of Coronavirus<\/strong>, Skoufis is proposing that the state leapfrog three years ahead and sell two New York City<\/strong> casino licenses for $500 million apiece. (If Osaka<\/strong> is worth $10 billion, surely the Big Apple warrants at least a half-million billion.) That’s little comfort to casino employees upstate, who wouldn’t be helped by Skoufis’ pitch. \u201cThere are so many employees that are living hand-to-mouth, and it doesn\u2019t seem like anyone cares,\u201d said George Bird<\/strong>, a table games dealer at Rivers Casino<\/strong>. One of his pit bosses, Tom McOwen<\/strong>, got a little carried away and proclaimed, \u201cLife, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness is written in our constitution. I feel like that\u2019s being impeded upon right now.\u201d (A constitutional right to employment? Wouldn’t that be called ‘socialism’?)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Back to Skoufis. \u201cThe casinos themselves, their openings, would not be accelerated. They would still open, as the schedule stands now, in 2023. But we would accelerate the licensing payments that are associated,\u201d he told Casino.org<\/strong>. Indeed, if an Adelson broke ground today, he’d be unlikely to open much before 2023 anyway. Even if it meant waiting three years to convert Empire City Casino<\/strong> in Yonkers<\/strong> to full Class III status, MGM Resorts International<\/strong> might consider it a bargain. It has signaled that $500 million for the privilege is A-OK and it would be spared the expense of building a casino from scratch. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

“We are going to have to move forward with one of those very, very soon, because our cash flow problem,” Skoufis insists, “forget about even just the fiscal year picture, being able to pay the bills for the state\u2019s operations are becoming strained and nearing an impossible situation.\u201d The downside is that such an accelerated timetable would probably spell doom for some of the underperforming upstate casinos, choking off their Five Boroughs oxygen supply. But, for some, that will be an acceptable price to pay. The free market is a cruel mistress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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As long as we’re on the subject of MGM, it’s a stronger contender for Stiff of the Year after trying to extort literally thousands of dollars in ‘overpaid’ tips from employees during the very depths of the Covid-19<\/strong> pandemic. \u201cVoluntary reductions to employee pay in order to recover overpayments will be taken in increments as defined below (maximum 5 pay periods,)\u201d read a form letter obtained by the Nevada Current<\/em> from a caba\u00f1a attendant who was being dunned ‘voluntarily’ for $3,780. That’s a helluva message<\/a> to send to employees whose jobs are hanging by an economic thread: Billions for Japan<\/strong> but not one cent for cocktail servers. Seriously, MGM is haggling with its workforce over a measly $75K, or what CEO Bill Hornbuckle<\/strong> would consider walking-around money. \u201cA supervisor told us the money was our back pay and she was the one that said not to worry about it.  She\u2019s now the one coming back trying to get that money back,\u201d another caba\u00f1a server told the Current<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the story saw the light of day, MGM was quick to see the error of its ways. \u201cWe won\u2019t be collecting those overpayments,” grumbled spokeswoman Debra DeShong<\/strong>. \u201cSince we\u2019re not collecting them I\u2019m not going to comment.\u201d In fact, what MGM attempted may have been illegal or at least grossly unethical. According to Nevada Department of Labor<\/strong> verbiage, a worker \u201cis not liable for the amount of the overpayment if recovery would be against equity and good conscience, as long as there is no showing of fraud or intentional misrepresentation or nondisclosure.\u201d We’d say “equity and good conscience” have been sorely offended. For shame, MGM.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both MGM and Boyd Gaming<\/strong> are facing worker unrest on the Gulf Coast. Employees have gone to Mississippi<\/strong> regulators to air such concerns as frequent noncompliance of customers with mask-wearing requirements, being called into work without having been cleared of Covid-19 and an alleged lack of contact tracing. (five IP Casino<\/strong> and 10 Beau Rivage<\/strong> employees have tested positive for Coronavirus.) Said Unite-Here Local 23<\/strong> President Marlene Patrick<\/strong>, “we don\u2019t feel like the company is being transparent as someone becomes positive or that they test positive or that they are doing contact tracing. So, it can trickle down to many workers that can trickle down to the guest.\u201d MGM responded by reiterating its “seven-point safety plan” and adding “We have made it very clear that failure to enforce or comply with our health and safety rules could result in disciplinary action and we encourage employees to raise concerns either directly or anonymously.\u201d Obviously Unite-Here does not share that confidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"Although it’s an initiative he inherited from Anthony Rodio<\/strong>‘s tenure, Caesars Entertainment<\/strong> CEO Tom Reeg<\/strong> is proceeding full speed ahead<\/a> with Caesars Danville<\/strong> in Virginia<\/strong>. Some specifics of the property are being made public: It will be budgeted at $400 million, offer a spa, multiple restaurants, a convention center, a concert venue seating 2,500 and a pool. $15 million will be paid to Danville within 30 days of an upcoming referendum. (In what may be our first endorsement of the year, S&G<\/em> urges a ‘yes’ vote.) We don’t know whether Danville drove a hard bargain or if Reeg was feeling “george” but\u2014if the voters assent\u2014this will be a good deal for the city, including $5 million\/year in taxes (plus a percentage of net gambling revenue). Ka-ching<\/em>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If it made it to (now-canceled) Global Gaming Expo<\/strong>, Australian-based slot maker Ainsworth Game<\/strong> would be wearing a long face. It’s coming off a $24.5 million 2Q20 loss and had to sack 107 workers. The pain just doesn’t extend to the worker bees. Executive-level employees took 20% pay cuts in both 2Q and 3Q20. That includes the company chairman and board of directors. (We’re confident they can afford it.) \u201cCustomers across all Ainsworth Game\u2019s markets suspended operations from mid-March. Some reopenings of customers\u2019 facilities have occurred since that time, although venues have reduced capital expenditure … being well below pre-pandemic levels,\u201dsaid the company, which also took a write down on a possibly ill-time acquisition of MTD Gaming<\/strong>. Ainsworth expects a 36% revenue decline<\/a> this fiscal year. Searching for a silver lining, CEO Lawrence Levy<\/strong> said, “We took proactive measures to streamline our overheads and we are securing more flexible financing arrangements to ensure we can endure a protracted downturn.\u201d Good thinking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Jottings<\/strong>: Casinos in Ohio<\/strong> are doing better than ever\u2014and that’s got the problem-gambling community worried<\/a>. \u201cI think it\u2019s great that people received stimulus checks during this period, but it was not a good thing for a lot of people in recovery,\u201d said Bruce Jones<\/strong> of counseling center Maryhaven<\/strong>. \u201cSince they\u2019ve reopened, our calls to the hotline number and to the agency have been on a steady increase. Keep in mind that because of Covid, [casinos] reduced numbers of availability on the machines and some of the poker rooms were closed, and they still set records” … Macao<\/strong> casino workers are seeing 5.5% less<\/a> in their summer paychecks, possibly due to having been placed on unpaid leave. The enclave employs 57,459 in its casinos and City Hall tends to get displeased if that number drops significantly, hang the financial consequences for operators (who are running huge losses) … For $160 million, Sun International<\/strong> will be shot of its casino interests in Chile<\/strong>, which had been a source of grief<\/a>. Sun will use some of the money to settle its debts in Latin America<\/strong> … 23.5% of U.S. hotels are at risk of foreclosure, according to recent congressional testimony<\/a>. That’s up from 1% at the end of last year. American Hotel & Lodging Association<\/strong> CEO Chip Rogers<\/strong> said, “With record low travel demand, thousands of hotels can’t afford to pay their commercial mortgages and are facing foreclosure with the harsh reality of having to close their doors permanently.” The hotel lobby hopes to divert CARES Act<\/strong> funds into a federal bailout … Finally, Hurricane Laura<\/strong> inflicted relatively minor damage<\/a> on the two major casinos in Lake Charles<\/strong>, Louisiana<\/strong>\u2014minor at least by Hurricane Katrina<\/strong> standards. (Of course, there’s that chemical-plant fire<\/a> going on.) The human cost is still being assessed<\/a> at this hour.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What Jim Murren and Sheldon Adelson couldn’t do, New York state Sen. James Skoufis (D) just might. With four upstate casinos still closed and the state budget pummeled by the economic effects of Coronavirus, Skoufis is proposing that the state … 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":[103,244,133,14,26,117,283,22,286,84,62,245,35,101,71,33,90,25,12,196,215],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27843"}],"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=27843"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27843\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31350,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27843\/revisions\/31350"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27843"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27843"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27843"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}