{"id":4992,"date":"2010-11-02T09:30:03","date_gmt":"2010-11-02T17:30:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/?p=4992"},"modified":"2021-06-04T05:13:39","modified_gmt":"2021-06-04T13:13:39","slug":"last-minute-election-tidbits-ohio-california","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/last-minute-election-tidbits-ohio-california\/","title":{"rendered":"Last-minute election tidbits: Ohio & California"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Prospects for expansion of VLT gambling to the Buckeye State’s racetracks<\/a> are looking slightly better now that Ohio<\/strong> Gov. Ted Strickland<\/strong> has inched his way back into contention with GOP rival Jon Kasich<\/strong> (left<\/em>). The personable Kasich is a difficult “read” on racinos, having managed to come down on all sides of the issue simultaneously. Kasich is both for and against gambling, and thinks the racino issue needs — wait for it — further study. The slowness with which the racino question is being resolved redounds to the benefit of both Penn National Gaming<\/strong> and Harrah’s Entertainment<\/strong>, who are tightening their duopoly on gambling in Ohio. Of 11 potential venues, Penn owns four and Harrah’s three. Buying a parimutuel is definitely a gamble at this point, but anybody who wants a piece of that Ohio action will have to make that wager sooner rather than later, lest they get frozen out altogether.<\/p>\n

An advisory question in California<\/strong> has the most fascinating backstory of any casino-related ballot issue this year. A former U.S. Navy<\/strong> fuel depot near Richmond<\/strong> could become a massive casino-resort on San Francisco Bay<\/strong>. So enamored were city fathers of the concept that they turned down $80 million upfront from Chevron<\/strong> (which didn’t want the project next door to its refinery) in favor of $50 million down and $20 million a year from the Guideville Band of Pomo Indians<\/strong>. It’s part of an intrigue-filled saga<\/a> whose protagonists included (briefly) Harrah’s, prior to its takeover of Park Place Entertainment<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"\"In the opposite corner is Thunder Valley Casino Resort<\/strong>, managed by Station Casinos<\/strong>, which doesn’t want to see new tribal competition<\/a> so close to Sacramento<\/strong>. Other opponents include Sen. Dianne Feinstein<\/strong> (left<\/em>), while its backers count former Secretary of Defense William Cohen<\/strong> and K Street lobbyist Wes Gullett<\/strong> amongst their number. Despite close ties between the Guideville Band and the Bureau of Indian Affairs<\/strong>, the project still requires an end-run around the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act<\/strong> of 1988. At least one hurdle it has<\/em> surmounted is opposition from local environmentalists, who were mollified by the promise of $48 million<\/a> in shoreline preservation. And, it must be said, the Guideville Band showed an interest in cleaning up and redeveloping Point Molate<\/strong> when few others did.<\/p>\n

Pay no attention to<\/strong> that climate change behind the curtain. Worsening droughts could only, after, deal little more than a near-fatal blow<\/a> to Las Vegas<\/strong> (#7 on the list of most-at-risk cities). Writes 24\/7 Wall St<\/strong>., “A number of industries rely on regular access to water<\/em>” … like casino resorts. “Some people would be out of work if these industries had poor prospects for continued operation. The other important trouble that very low water supplies creates is that cities have sold bonds based on their needs for infrastructure to move, clean and supply water. Credit ratings agencies may not have taken drought issues into account at the level that they should<\/em>.” If that sounds bad for Southern Nevada it may be even worse for prospective casino megaresorts in Texas (one of Sheldon Adelson<\/strong>‘s most dearly cherished pipe dreams). The Lone Star State has three cities in the top (?) 10 — Fort Worth<\/strong> (#6), San Antonio<\/strong> (#4) and Houston<\/strong> (#2). It looks like the Dallas Cowboys<\/strong> aren’t the only Texans headed for a dry spell.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Prospects for expansion of VLT gambling to the Buckeye State’s racetracks are looking slightly better now that Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland has inched his way back into contention with GOP rival Jon Kasich (left). The personable Kasich is a difficult … 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":[34,14,26,117,7,71,69,33,111,25,74,57,114,20],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4992"}],"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=4992"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4992\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29663,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4992\/revisions\/29663"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4992"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4992"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4992"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}