{"id":4440,"date":"2010-08-25T14:59:34","date_gmt":"2010-08-25T22:59:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/?p=4440"},"modified":"2023-03-18T12:16:58","modified_gmt":"2023-03-18T20:16:58","slug":"case-bets-global-cashs-access","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/case-bets-global-cashs-access\/","title":{"rendered":"Case Bets: Global Cash’s Access, Cosmo, Riviera, Oscar, Oregon & Banditry"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Excessive Access?<\/strong> The casino industry gets closer and closer to the day when it simply hooks up a suction hose to your bank vault. While Global Cash Access<\/strong> doesn’t want to interface bank cards with slot machines — it would be too difficult — it’s pitching the notion of ATMs that dispense slot tickets directly to consumers<\/a>. Are chips next? (Just think of the floor employees casinos could eliminate.) When you compare this to previous Global Cash Access<\/strong> ideas that the Nevada Gaming Commission<\/strong> has nixed, it looks suspiciously like a distinction without a difference … and the NGC’s previous objections dwindle into mere sophistry. The notion of routing bank-to-slot money through an intermediate wagering account is another concept that will soon be on the docket.<\/p>\n

If the Nevada Council on Problem Gambling<\/strong> has no problem with what GCA is proposing, I bow to its superior wisdom in such matters. (Actually, the wagering-account concept is less worrisome than ATMs disgorging casino scrip.) The trouble may lie not with the message but the messenger. GCA has been repeatedly in hot water<\/a> in Arizona<\/strong> but recently shrugged off a lawsuit<\/a> filed by former GCA executives. (Disclosure<\/em>: Some fellow at GCA supposedly tried to get me fired from Casino Executive<\/em> back in ’99 for referring in print to some of its employees as “tellers,” but my publisher — the late Bob Bradley<\/strong> — was a gentleman of the old school and stood behind me.)<\/p>\n

Harrah’s Entertainment<\/strong> recently severed several ties to GCA, potentially putting<\/a> the company into a “death spiral.” If the Gaming Commission and the Problem Gambling Council approve GCA’s concept in theory, perhaps they should think carefully before putting their eggs into GCA’s basket. Oh sorry … too late now.<\/p>\n

\"\"Marriage made in Heaven?<\/strong> The $3.9 billion Cosmopolitan<\/strong> doesn’t have a customer database-marketing setup. Marriott International<\/strong> doesn’t have a casino. Put ’em together<\/a> and — voila!<\/em> — you’ve connected the Cosmo to 32 million potential guests. Well done. More seriously, this addresses a major worry about the Cosmo. It also enables the megaresort to outsource certain marketing operations, making this a significant coup for Cosmo CEO John Unwin<\/strong>. Like I said, well done.<\/p>\n

Topsy-turvy<\/strong>. A “good” quarter at the Riviera<\/strong> is defined as losing less money than last year<\/a>. In a microcosm of the Strip economy, more people are staying at the Riv but gambling much less. While bankruptcy may erase a debt burden so badly structured that it would wipe out two quarters a year, even in good times, Riviera Holdings<\/strong>‘ casino in Colorado<\/strong> is going to be little help, the recession having negated any potential gains from newly liberalized gambling rules in that state. On a positive note, it’s official (according to The Newspaper That Must Not Be Cited) that a Barry Sternlicht<\/strong>-led group of investors will take over the Riv as part of the Chapter 11 process. The company needs a strong hand at the tiller, so this is very good news indeed.<\/p>\n

\"\"If optimism could be bottled<\/strong>, then Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman<\/strong> would have a distillery running ’round the clock. Never mind excessive Strip capacity and falling casino revenues, the real soft underbelly of Vegas may be that it’s outgrown its sustainability. Hizzoner’s notions for how to remedy that result in some friendly but pointed sparring<\/a> with the BBC<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Race to watch<\/strong>. Keep your eye on a drive in Oregon<\/strong> to amend the law to permit a one-off Class III casino. Canadian private-equity firm Clairvest<\/strong> (recently booted from Aqueduct Race Track<\/strong>) is the moving force behind the initiative, which seeks to make an end-run around the state constitution.<\/p>\n

Breaking the bank<\/strong>. A casino in Puerto Rico<\/strong> got taken down for $250,000. The gang that pulled the score did their homework, because their operation was carried out in classic John Dillinger<\/strong> fashion. Now the question is, Who were those masked men anyway?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Excessive Access? The casino industry gets closer and closer to the day when it simply hooks up a suction hose to your bank vault. While Global Cash Access doesn’t want to interface bank cards with slot machines — it would … 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":[27,66,28,26,117,7,22,53,101,50,90,25,55,8,87,9,19,20,17],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4440"}],"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=4440"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4440\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32483,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4440\/revisions\/32483"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4440"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4440"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4440"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}