{"id":6401,"date":"2011-04-25T15:57:52","date_gmt":"2011-04-25T23:57:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/?p=6401"},"modified":"2011-04-25T15:57:52","modified_gmt":"2011-04-25T23:57:52","slug":"austerity-mgm-style-only-in-nevada","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/austerity-mgm-style-only-in-nevada\/","title":{"rendered":"Austerity, MGM style; Only in Nevada"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Despite a decidedly underwhelming financial performance in 2009, MGM Resorts International<\/strong> CEO Jim Murren<\/strong> managed to take home $13.75 million in overall compensation. Last year, he had to make ends meet on $9.8 million. Snarkiness aside, this actually shows that — at least to some extent, the system works. The shriveled worth of MGM stock in ’09 (disproving my faith in it, as proclaimed on Face to Face with Jon Ralston<\/em>) came back to haunt Murren in the form of much-reduced stock-option values<\/a> last year. That’s one way to motivate your executives, for sure.<\/p>\n

When MGM is staring at a $1.4 billion loss, th0ugh, one might question a $4.3 million bonus in Murren’s Christmas stocking. True, the share price improved 35% in 2010 but I’ve seen MGM give out much smaller gratuities in profitable<\/em> years. ‘Nuff said.<\/p>\n

Wishful thinking<\/strong>. They must be drinking some mighty good Kool-Aid over at The Economist<\/em>. A Pokergeddon<\/strong> think piece starts off with the plausible contention that the crackdown might act as a spur toward intrastate online gambling (thereby skirting all those nasty UIGEA issues). Then it spirals off into the cuckoo-sounding premise that — with federal indictments hanging over Absolute Poker<\/strong>, PokerStars<\/strong> and Full Tilt Poker<\/strong> (and with Wynn Resorts<\/strong> and Station Casinos<\/strong> scurrying to put daylight between themselves and their here-today\/gone-tomorrow online partners) that this will finally inspire Congress<\/strong> to rise up and legalize Internet<\/strong> poker<\/a>.<\/p>\n

There’s not a degree of difference on the i-poker issue between Poker Players Alliance<\/strong> Chairman Al D’Amato<\/strong> and myself. But for the federal government to ponder Internet-casino regulation and taxation at the same time Attorney General Eric Holder<\/strong> has got three of the biggies in a headlock is going to look like a shakedown, even a protection racket. Unless the Department of Justice<\/strong> can craft an exit strategy (as appears to be the case<\/a>), the Obama administration has really bollixed up whatever (slim) chance federally baptized online poker had of sneaking through Capitol Hill<\/strong>. I’ve gotta agree with I. Nelson Rose<\/strong> that the DoJ (and, by extension, the White House<\/strong>) have really put their foot in it this time, setting potentially irreparable precedents.
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\nOnly in Vegas …<\/strong> would a primary election be settled with a turn of a card. In North<\/em> Las Vegas<\/strong>, that is. College of Southern Nevada<\/strong> Casino Management Program Director David Hernandez<\/strong> was tapped to shuffle a deck of cards last Thursday. Mayor Shari Buck<\/strong> bowed out of card-cutting duties<\/a>, leaving that to an underling. Runners-up Melinda Meisenheimer<\/strong> and Tanya Flanagan<\/strong> drew cards with Meisenheimer’s luck leaving her all smiles<\/a> over the outcome. According to Hernandez, no other state allows elections to be settled in this sporting fashion. If so, I highly recommend its adoption nationwide, not least for the entertainment value.<\/p>\n

\"\"Tales from the crypt<\/strong>. According to various reliable Tweeters (Ralston, Schwartz, etc.), we learn that Gov. Brian Sandoval<\/strong> (R-NV) has evidently been rummaging in the bowels of his new Carson City<\/strong> mansion and found souvenirs of the Jim Gibbons<\/strong> administration. No, not mummies in the basement, actual souvenirs — albeit defective ones. In the ultimate symbol of his one-term tenure, Midnight Jim (left<\/em>) ordered up a gazillion coffee mugs that arrived with a big hole where the base ought to be … giving new meaning to “bottomless cup of coffee.”<\/p>\n

Is Lake Mead<\/strong> half-full or half-empty? That is the question. Actually it’s less than half-full<\/a>. In what passes for good news ’round here, water rationing has been staved off … until 2016. An above-average runoff into Lake Powell<\/strong> means that Lake Mead<\/strong> will benefit in turn, rising 23 feet after dropping dangerously close to drought-trigger level. That buys precious time but, unless Lake Powell is replenished at average or above-average levels for the next five years, we’re just treading water. At least this might put a crimp in Southern Nevada Water Authority<\/strong> capo<\/em> Pat Mulroy<\/strong>‘s plan to suck the aquifers under the cow counties dry so Las Vegas<\/strong> can keep having golf courses. With apologies to Steve Wynn<\/strong>, Mulroy controls the water, making her<\/em> the most powerful person in Nevada.
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\nRobin Antin believes<\/strong> that if she keeps saying “Matt Goss<\/strong>” in the same sentence with “Frank Sinatra<\/strong>,” that somehow people will equate the Cleopatra’s Barge<\/strong> crooner with the Chairman of the Board. That’s among the insights that those with Job<\/strong>-like patience can glean from this interminable<\/a> Las Vegas Sun<\/em> interview. I hope the writer got paid by the word … or the name-drop.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Despite a decidedly underwhelming financial performance in 2009, MGM Resorts International CEO Jim Murren managed to take home $13.75 million in overall compensation. Last year, he had to make ends meet on $9.8 million. Snarkiness aside, this actually shows that … 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":[28,14,26,4,117,7,37,11,137,78,33,57,32,9,17,38],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6401"}],"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=6401"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6401\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6403,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6401\/revisions\/6403"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6401"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6401"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6401"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}