{"id":7648,"date":"2011-09-30T15:15:20","date_gmt":"2011-09-30T23:15:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/?p=7648"},"modified":"2020-12-09T06:53:02","modified_gmt":"2020-12-09T14:53:02","slug":"shakedown-at-g2e-riviera-quits-colorado-trump-quits-humanity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/shakedown-at-g2e-riviera-quits-colorado-trump-quits-humanity\/","title":{"rendered":"Shakedown at G2E; Riviera quits Colorado, Trump quits humanity"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Our beloved casino industry runneth over with individuals, companies and even sovereign nations that have a vested interest in the legalization of Internet poker … and more. Rep. Joe Barton<\/strong> (R-TX, left<\/em>) knows this, which is why he’s coming to Global Gaming Expo<\/strong> to peddle his influence on Capitol Hill<\/strong>, such as it might be. For “suggested contributions” of $1,000 a head, G2E attendees will get to rub elbows with Christian Coalition<\/strong> darling (91% approval rating<\/a>) Barton at a pre-G2E audience, held at Palazzo<\/strong>. Lobbyist Nicole Porter Sarouphim<\/strong> (daughter of oily Nevada<\/strong> politician-turned-lobbyist Jon Porter<\/strong>) made the mistake of sending an invitation to the Barton meet-and-greet to I. Nelson Rose<\/strong>, who promptly blew the whistle on Barton’s soir\u00e9e<\/em>. Porter Group<\/strong> has made almost $94,000 from gaming interests this year alone (mainly from the Poker Players Alliance<\/strong>). In other words, the casino industry — and related parties — could be a fecund source of campaign lucre for Barton and he’s coming to Vegas to cash in. No dummy, he.<\/p>\n

After scrutinizing the track record of the current Congress, Rose has concluded that there is zero chance of Internet-poker legalization until long after the 2012 election and Barton is taking the industry for a ride. (I’d go further and say that if a social-issues conservative of the Rick Perry<\/strong> variety is elected president, i-poker legislation is DOA.) The action, says Rose, is and will continue to be at the state level. It’s no coincidence that Paddy Power<\/strong> is going all-out for a gaming license in the Silver State, where the Nevada Gaming Control Board<\/strong> released proposed Internet-gambling regulations last month and took comments on them earlier this week. The state plans to be ready to go with a cyber-poker framework by the end of January.<\/p>\n

\"\"Meanwhile<\/strong>, the industry — by way of the American Gaming Association<\/strong> — keeps trying to spin the Justice Department<\/strong>‘s ongoing campaign against Internet-casino operators as a “plus” for legislative efforts<\/a>. The AGA’s tardiness in joining the fight is blamed on Steve Wynn<\/strong>, who allegedly stymied action for two full years. Even when AGA members finally presented a united front, it took them at least six months more to start pressing their suit on Capitol Hill. Depending on how the electoral winds blow in 2012, AGA members could have the remainder of the decade to recriminate over how different things might have been if they’d gotten their act together in a timely fashion. (Even Wynn double-crossed them, teaming up with PokerStars.com<\/strong> — and dumping it the split second the DoJ launched ‘Pokergeddon<\/a>.’)<\/p>\n

It’s damned risky to bet against Frank J. Fahrenkopf<\/strong>. (I know people who have done so and lived to regret it.) However, even such a seasoned operative sounds naive when he implies “he can do business with the new Tea Party<\/strong> members of Congress.” That particular band of zealots ate House Speaker John Boehner<\/strong> (R-OH) for breakfast earlier this summer, then asked around for seconds. Fahrenkopf is a man of reason going up against crusaders. If he sways them, it might be the biggest achievement of his long and distinguished career.<\/p>\n

\"\"More money for the Riv?<\/strong> I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Twenty million clams is but a drop in the bucket of what needs to be spent to make the Riviera<\/strong> competitive once more. The fact that Barry Sternlicht’s ownership group has unloaded Riviera Black Hawk<\/strong> (right<\/em>) for $76 million (or the industry-standard 7X cash flow) doesn’t mean that the newfound money will find its way into renovations on the Strip. And it’s an ominous sign for what the Black Hawk Riv’s future would have been like when Riviera Holdings<\/strong> CEO Andy Choy<\/strong> says new owner Monarch Casino & Resort Inc<\/strong>. will have “the resources they need to take that property to the next level.” (And Choy doesn’t?)<\/p>\n

Judging by the quality of facility Monarch runs at the Atlantis Casino Resort Spa<\/strong> up in Reno, one of market’s leading properties, Riviera Black Hawk will be in good hands. Hopefully it will get to keep the Riv moniker. With all the woes befalling the Colorado<\/strong> market in recent years, having to reinvent your brand is a problem Monarch just does not need.<\/p>\n

\"\"Worst promotion ever?<\/strong> Leave it to Trump Entertainment Resorts<\/strong> to take casino promotions to unimagined depths of sleaziness. A new Trump Taj Mahal<\/strong> sweepstakes will yield a jackpot of $25 million worth of plastic surgery<\/a>. Americans’ decadent addiction to these often-frivolous procedures is bad enough without being subsidized by Trump CEO Robert Griffin<\/strong> (right<\/em>), the man ultimately responsible for this disgrace, keeping the boorish spirit of Donald Trump<\/strong> alive and well. Shame, too, on Spectrum Gaming Group<\/strong>‘s Joe Weinert<\/strong> for hailing this as “outside-of-the-box thinking.” More like inside the Botox<\/strong>, don’t you mean? It’s one more indicator of the air of sexed-up desperation wafting across the Boardwalk. It seems to be working for Resorts Atlantic City<\/strong>, where barely-there waitress uniforms designed by self-confessed flapper fetishist<\/a> and CEO Dennis Gomes<\/strong> are the rule. At least Gomes is adding some beefcake to the mix next month, making Resorts an equal-opportunity fleshpot.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Our beloved casino industry runneth over with individuals, companies and even sovereign nations that have a vested interest in the legalization of Internet poker … and more. Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX, left) knows this, which is why he’s coming to … 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":[23,27,28,142,42,14,26,104,37,53,33,25,79,55,12,32,9],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7648"}],"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=7648"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7648\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28903,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7648\/revisions\/28903"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7648"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7648"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7648"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}