{"id":28965,"date":"2020-12-23T09:39:23","date_gmt":"2020-12-23T17:39:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/?p=28965"},"modified":"2020-12-30T07:09:02","modified_gmt":"2020-12-30T15:09:02","slug":"miller-approve-stimulus-bill-a-7-5-billion-vegas-scam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/miller-approve-stimulus-bill-a-7-5-billion-vegas-scam\/","title":{"rendered":"Miller: Approve stimulus bill; A $7.5 billion Vegas “scam”?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"\" Like many, American Gaming Association<\/strong> President Bill Miller<\/strong> is in favor of the stimulus package overwhelmingly passed by Congress … with reservations. It lacks three key items on Miller’s Christmas wish list: expansion of the CARES Act Employee Retention Tax Credit; tribal inclusion in the extension of the Coronavirus Relief Fund through Dec. 21 of next year; the “three-martini lunch” tax deduction for business meals in 2021 and 2022. We agree with Miller on the first two points. (The White House<\/strong> meanwhile showed what it thought of Native Americans by pardoning Phil Lyman<\/strong>, who desecrated<\/a> Indian historical sites.) Miller all but called for a third round of stimulus, writing, “Clearly, much work remains to be done in Congress to urgently address the many economic challenges facing our nation and our industry.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He added, “We are engaged with the incoming Biden administration and leadership for the 117th Congress to quickly advance new measures that will provide” tax cuts “to save gaming jobs and alleviate costs,” unspecified “liability protections,” probably much like the blanket waiver that Gov. Steve Sisolak<\/strong> (D) pushed through at the behest of the Nevada Resort Association<\/strong>, “incentives [unspecified] for reviving travel and tourism” and additional tribal-targeted relief. We applaud Miller for taking up the cudgels on behalf of our Native American compatriots but think he is putting the cart before the horse on travel incentives, at least until vaccine distribution reaches widespread levels. Even Miller obliquely acknowledged as much, penning, “These measures will set up our industry\u2014and the broader economy\u2014for what will be a resurgent spring and summer in the coming year as COVID-19 vaccines become broadly available<\/em>.” (emphasis added) While almost nobody\u2014from Miller to Donald Trump<\/strong> to Bernie Sanders<\/strong>\u2014seems to think that Stimulus II does enough, it’s at least half a loaf<\/a> and for that we are duly thankful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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Bleutech Park Las Vegas<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

There’s a new failsino in town. True, Atari Hotels<\/strong> came and went <\/a>in the blink of an eye. Now we have Bluetech Park Las Vegas<\/strong>, which promises to break ground this month<\/a> (yes, 2020) on a ‘digital city’ that will cost $7.5 billion. That’s not a typo. The sprawling campus would cost almost as much as the (largely written-off) CityCenter<\/strong> and more than any casino megaresort in the world save Marina Bay Sands<\/strong>. “The net-zero buildings within their own insular mini-city will feature automated multi-functional designs, renewable energies from solar\/wind\/water\/kinetic, autonomous vehicles, artificial intelligence (AI), augmented reality, Internet of Things (IoT), robotics, supertrees, and self-healing concrete structures,” reads the press release. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where’s the money coming from? Conveniently unspecified “leading institutional investors and private equity investments.” It’s to be finished by 2026. Cisco<\/strong> and Martin-Harris Construction<\/strong> are among the partner names invoked in connection with this “new high-tech biome to the desert valley.” Drones and artificial intelligence are to aid in the construction. The lead developer is one Khusrow Roohani<\/strong> and he’s at least persuaded Las Vegas Laborers Union Local 872<\/strong> of his vision. Union Business Manager Tommy White<\/strong> said, in part, “This is going to be a project unlike any other and it is great to see\u00a0Las Vegas<\/strong>\u00a0step to the forefront.” Never mind the lack of such specifics as market demand or capitalization, let alone the dodgy principals<\/a>. Roohani says he has two parcels on South Las Vegas Boulevard, totalling 210 acres, but that was over a year ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not everybody has been snowed by Roohani. Clark County<\/strong> spokesman Erik Papa<\/strong> told the Miami Herald<\/em> that \u201cThey would not be building in the city of Las Vegas, but technically in unincorporated Clark County. As of today, no applications have been submitted for consideration by the county. In order to build what they are planning, they would need planning approvals and would need to have the appropriate zoning and land use.\u201d A Florida<\/strong> businessman who called Bluetech Park a “scam” received a $5,000 offer for his silence. And you know it’s a bad day when sunshiny Tom Letizia<\/strong> bails on you<\/a>. Normally we’d say don’t take any wooden nickels but that’s the only form of investment this vaporware appears to deserve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Mickey Mouse<\/strong> is talking out of both sides of his mouth when it comes to gambling. Walt Disney Co<\/strong>. has successfully fought to keep casinos out of Orlando<\/strong>. However, due it its ownership of ESPN<\/strong>, it is waist-deep in sports-betting coverage and through its acquisition of 20th Century Fox<\/strong> inherited a piece of DraftKings<\/strong>. The Mouse House even has an ESPN studio inside The Linq<\/strong>. After the NBA<\/strong> finals were played at Disney World<\/strong>, the megalith is said to be edging closer to openly embracing sports betting, possibly by making a false distinction between it and other forms of wagering. Analysts and industry insiders certainly think so<\/a>. As The Innovation Group<\/strong>‘s Brian Wyman<\/strong> opines, “this is a significantly different question than casino expansion in Florida. I suspect Disney\u2019s position there is less about a moral opposition to gaming and more about trying to retain their share of visitors\u2019 entertainment wallets.” Because with Disney it’s always about getting more of your money, whether it’s a $30 uncharge to stream Mulan<\/em> or sidestepping into the gaming sphere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking of sports betting, Colorado<\/strong> hit a new high with $231 million in November handle, making it the fifth state to pass the $225 million mark in wagering. Revenue was $18.5 million. \u201cWith five games in November, the [Denver<\/strong>] Broncos<\/strong> gave a boost to sportsbooks,\u201d said PlayUSA<\/strong> analyst Dustin Gouker<\/strong>. \u201cAlmost every legal jurisdiction in the U.S. has been growing this fall. But a common theme among them all is that a local NFL<\/strong> team can really make a significant difference in a month\u2019s handle, and that is particularly true in Colorado.\u201d Online wagering represented 98% of overall handle and Russian table tennis continues to outperform, generating $12.5 million in bets. $88.5 million was bet on the NFL and $22 million on college ball, as the Colorado Buffalos<\/strong> continued to roam. As for the continued interest in table tennis, analysts attribute it to Colorado having gone live during the worst of the pandemic, with no major-league sports available upon which to bet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bidding to implode Trump Plaza<\/strong> is heating up. So far it has raised $53,000 for the Boys & Girls Club of Atlantic City<\/strong>. One punter from St. Louis<\/strong> has started a $1 million GoFundMe<\/strong> drive to have presidential paramour Stormy Daniels<\/strong> push the button on the Trump Dump. We’re all for it but lack the wherewithal to contribute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Like many, American Gaming Association President Bill Miller is in favor of the stimulus package overwhelmingly passed by Congress … with reservations. It lacks three key items on Miller’s Christmas wish list: expansion of the CARES Act Employee Retention Tax … 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":[249,23,244,24,27,18,42,277,14,117,290,36,165,68,49,112,245,35,69,33,74,243,19,20,17,233],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28965"}],"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=28965"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28965\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28967,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28965\/revisions\/28967"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28965"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28965"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28965"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}

Jottings<\/em><\/strong>: Encore Boston Harbor<\/strong>, MGM Springfield<\/strong> and Plainridge Park<\/strong> will all have to operate at 25% capacity for the next two weeks, as decreed<\/a> by Gov. Charlie Baker<\/strong> (R). In the meantime, Encore President Brian Gullbrants<\/strong> has to assure his employees that the megaresort is not on the market, a highly unusual move for a casino company. “I want to assure you that our company has not engaged in any conversations about the sale of the property,” he wrote … Who wants to spend four nights in Laughlin<\/strong>? Not us. But Caesars Rewards Air<\/strong> will take you there\u2014for free\u2014this February. Where next? Tunica<\/strong>. Throw Biloxi<\/strong> into the mix and we’ll be interested … What were the most doleful restaurant closings of this year? Eater Vegas<\/em> has a roster<\/a>, from Pamplemousse<\/strong> to Sage<\/strong> to venerable Vickie’s Diner<\/strong> … What would you rather have: Living wages for Americans or cheap food? Jay Saxena<\/strong> argues that<\/a> “what upset customers are forgetting is that most of us have always been underpaying for our dinners out. The public\u2019s perception of how much a meal should cost is incredibly skewed. Your dinner has been subsidized this whole time” … Hard Rock Gary<\/strong> has started hiring for its restaurants, ahead of a spring 2021 debut … Horseshoe Southern Indiana<\/strong> has hired Julie Vasic<\/strong>, a 25-year veteran of the Chicago<\/strong> hotel industry, to be its vice president of human resources.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"