{"id":27933,"date":"2020-09-09T10:13:01","date_gmt":"2020-09-09T18:13:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/?p=27933"},"modified":"2020-10-16T06:56:38","modified_gmt":"2020-10-16T14:56:38","slug":"so-long-shinzo-shady-dealings-in-atlantic-city","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/so-long-shinzo-shady-dealings-in-atlantic-city\/","title":{"rendered":"So long, Shinzo; Shady dealings in Atlantic City"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Japan<\/strong>‘s do-nothing prime minister, Shinzo Abe<\/strong>, is calling it quits for reasons of health. What this means for ‘Abenomics’ remains to be seen, let alone his highly unpopular casino push: Opinion polls consistently show two-thirds of the Nipponese public opposing them. It’s almost a moot point. Delay and indecision have marked the Abe government’s casino-development process to the point where it is the biggest bore in gaming. We won’t say Abe was static but we’ve seen glaciers that moved faster. At any rate, the speculation has begun over what Abe’s exit means for Japanese megaresorts, an issue that apparently helped give him ulcerative colitis. Expect the Japan government to stay the course for at least another year, as Abe successor Yoshihide Suga<\/strong> is hand-in-glove with the departing PM on casinos. But in October 2021, when Suga faces off against Shigeru Ishiba<\/strong> it’s anybody’s ballgame.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

The Motley Fool<\/em> took a gloomy view, opining that \u201cthe loss of one of the industry\u2019s biggest proponents in the Japanese government could be the death knell for legalized casino gambling.\u201d That wouldn’t be entirely bad, given that revenue projections are all over the place and government expectations for investment ($10 billion per resort, for starters) are profit-hostile, as were five-year license terms, entry fees for nationals and tiny casino floors. Rather than scrap casinos outright, the government should look to places other than Singapore<\/strong> and ratchet both its cost and revenue expectations accordingly. After all, it has competition close at hand in South Korea<\/strong> and Siberia<\/strong>, not some big-ass regional monopoly. The rollout of casino gambling in Japan has been as big a public-policy screwup as we can recall in the gaming sphere and is a great how-not-to manual. A masochistic few investors\u2014MGM Resorts International<\/strong>, Galaxy Entertainment<\/strong> and Melco Resorts & Entertainment<\/strong>\u2014are still hanging in there, hoping for eventual resolution … and even MGM is backing and hedging, with CEO Bill Hornbuckle<\/strong> talking about a “prudent” investment. So expect another year of snail’s-pace policymaking and then a donnybrook in late ’21, assuming anyone still cares.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The shameful collapse of the New Jersey Casino Control Commission<\/strong> before Eldorado Resorts<\/strong>, keeping anti-casino deed restrictions on the Showboat<\/strong>, Atlantic Club<\/strong> and Claridge Hotel<\/strong>, is playing to raspberries in the Garden State. The bottom-line criticism of the NJCCC was it made a market-based decision rather than a regulatory one, stepping outside of its remit and leaving Caesars Entertainment<\/strong> with a stranglehold on the Boardwalk, able to hang onto four casinos and nix new ones. As Stockton University<\/strong> finance professor Michael Busler<\/strong> put it, \u201cMy view is to let the market decide how many casinos should be in Atlantic City<\/strong>.\u201d He’s not alone. \u201cIt\u2019s my opinion that the commission should foster an environment that encourages new entrants and competition,” said economist Martin J. Perry<\/strong>, \u201cThis includes taking action to remove existing barriers to entry.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think it could cripple one of more casinos,” disagrees former regulatory spokesman Dan Heneghan<\/strong>, who quickly adds, “In fact, I didn\u2019t think that opening two new casinos two and a half years ago was a good idea.\u201d Those two new casinos\u2014Hard Rock Atlantic City<\/strong> and Ocean Casino Resort<\/strong>\u2014are now wildly successful, which seems to run a cart and horses through the ‘too-much-competition’ meme. \u201cThe market has simply shown no signs, especially coming out of the pandemic, of the need for more supply,\u201d complains Hard Rock President Joe Lupo<\/strong>. \u201cMore supply will simply cause more layoffs of personnel, less revenue, less profitability and less capital reinvestment, which we all know many of the Atlantic City properties desperately need.\u201d After all, the NJCCC hid behind the skirts of Hard Rock and Ocean when trying to defend the indefensible. For time time being\u2014and absent pressure from the Division of Gaming Enforcement<\/strong> to revisit the fishy decision\u2014the market’s only hope is that lawsuits by the owners of the Atlantic Club and Claridge prove fruitful. Meanwhile, Gov. Phil Murphy<\/strong> (D) can’t decide whether smoking is to be allowed in casinos or not. Get it together, Phil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n