Wynn Resorts is already changing the face of Boston. As reported by the Boston Globe, unprecedented diversity is manifesting itself at Encore Boston Harbor. Mad props to Wynn for bringing people of all colors and creeds 
together in this fashion. (It must be the Jeff Koons Popeye.) Slot players were evenly divided between the sexes in a mix of blacks, whites and Asians. Latinos seemed to prefer the table games. “To those accustomed to seeing area restaurants and bars dominated by white faces, the contrast is stark, and casino visitors seem to have embraced the melting pot mix,” chronicled the Globe. Enthused African-American player Felicia Kornegay, “You know, a lot of places you go to, especially in Boston, you go and you feel excluded. You don’t feel that here.”
Added Giles Li of the Boston Chinatown Neighorhood Center, “In general, our community of working-class Chinese immigrants, they don’t feel welcome a lot of places. At casinos, they actually feel welcome there. They’re treated well. 
They’re treated like VIPs.” As though to undercut its positive message, the Globe feature included some pro forma tut-tutting about problem gambling, typical of one of the most tight-assed cities in America. But how many mainstream places can you go and hear Mandarin, Taiwanese and Cantonese being spoken? (Not at the Lucky Dragon, that’s for sure.) As relative newbie–age 22–German Antigua put it, “I’m from the Dominican Republic, and I’m seeing people from literally all over the world — it makes me feel comfortable.” Great work, Wynn Resorts. Keep the good times rolling. Aren’t you glad that hunting lodge design out in Foxborough didn’t work out for you?
* Sports betting has grown to a $3 billion industry in the first year since the Supreme Court tossed the Bradley Act. In an interview with the Las Vegas 
Sun, American Gaming Industry President Bill Miller observed, “After experiencing firsthand the social and economic benefits that gaming brings to communities—including greater support for nonprofits and small businesses, employment and wage increases and funding for services and infrastructure—it’s no wonder that so many Americans grew to support the gaming industry’s presence. That’s why lawmakers are now moving quickly to reap the benefits presented by sports betting.”
One of those reaping the benefits was former AGA vice president Sara Slane, who has left the organization in order to form an advisory firm that will evidently play matchmaker between sports and media companies. We guarantee we’ve not heard the last from her.
* The casino industry talks a good game on diversity but Richard Schuetz looks at where it counts—in the executive suite—and finds much work still to be done: “the reality of senior leadership clearly states that the corporations feel that the best way to support their investors is by making sure that very few women are actually involved in senior positions.”
