{"id":8358,"date":"2012-01-25T14:33:36","date_gmt":"2012-01-25T22:33:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/?p=8358"},"modified":"2021-11-21T09:25:21","modified_gmt":"2021-11-21T17:25:21","slug":"illinois-not-cricket-boyds-not-going-to-like-this-death-ray-the-sequel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/illinois-not-cricket-boyds-not-going-to-like-this-death-ray-the-sequel\/","title":{"rendered":"Illinois: Not cricket; Boyd’s not going to like *this*: Death Ray: The sequel"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Hardly had the outlines for a gaming-expansion compromise been leaked from the Illinois<\/strong> governor’s mansion when state Speaker of the House Michael Madigan<\/strong> (D, right<\/em>) nixed the idea — or at least the prospect of a deal getting done in the current Lege. The new sticking point is the idea of the City of Chicago<\/strong> becoming a casino owner, thereby creating a public\/private sector mishmash<\/a>, or what Chicago-based Madigan more elegantly describes as a “two-tiered system.” He’s got a good point: Chicago would, in essence, be paying taxes to itself. Theoretically, that would give its casino better operating margins than those in the private sector. And that’s just not cricket. Mayor Rahm Emanuel<\/strong> could counter-argue that it’s a wash. The Windy City would have to hire outside management to operate its casino, at least in the short run, thereby outsourcing a healthy chunk of revenue, too. I’m doubtful that fine distinction is that current operators will be inclined to appreciate. Of course, every hiccup in the expansion process works to their favor, so Madigan is throwing them a reprieve, if not a lifeline.<\/p>\n

\"\"Bad news for Boyd<\/strong>. Every few years, politicians in Hawaii<\/strong> float the idea of legalizing casinos. And every time, the talk gets a little more serious. While it’s still a long shot, the idea of the moment is to fling some slots and tables into the Honolulu Convention Center<\/strong>, and make it a ‘casinovention center,’ if you will. (New Orleans<\/strong> tried something like that and the experiment failed miserably.) Alternatively, a stand-alone casino has been pitched for the Waikiki<\/strong> area, though major operators are unlikely to bite on that. Unless they’re Boyd Gaming<\/strong>, whose bread-and-butter customer base would be threatened by Aloha State gambling. However, judging the description of the budgetary chasm legislators are facing, one casino isn’t going to generate enough money to bridge the gap. Whether it’s slot parlors in hotel resorts or Internet<\/strong> wagering, it looks like a wider net will need to be cast. But, like I said, the odds are long.<\/p>\n

The ‘Death Ray’ returns<\/strong>. Are you envious of CityCenter<\/strong> CEO Bobby Baldwin<\/strong>? Do you want your own “Vdara Death Ray<\/strong>,” capable of frying your neighbor’s scalp? Well, it turns that such implements of destruction can be found on Main Street USA<\/a>. Let your world-conquest fantasies run riot!<\/p>\n

\"\"Who dat?<\/strong> For those who have never heard the name “Sheldon Adelson<\/strong>,” Atlantic Monthly<\/em>‘s Molly Ball<\/strong> has a 10-point primer<\/a>. All this unwanted — by Sheldon — media attention makes you wonder what Dr. Miriam Adelson<\/strong> was prescribing her husband when he decided he could dump $10 million into the 2012 presidential primaries and simultaneously maintain a low profile. It wouldn’t be the first time Sheldon’s been drugged out of his gourd, as Ball’s story reminds us.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hardly had the outlines for a gaming-expansion compromise been leaked from the Illinois governor’s mansion when state Speaker of the House Michael Madigan (D, right) nixed the idea — or at least the prospect of a deal getting done in … 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":[60,56,28,26,117,144,58,84,33,12,31,143],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8358"}],"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=8358"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8358\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30370,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8358\/revisions\/30370"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8358"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8358"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8358"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}