Steve Wynn got some love from the contributors to TripAdvisor, whose top-three-ranked casinos in America are Wynn Las Vegas, Encore and Beau Rivage, a vindication of Wynn’s spare-no-detail approach. However, Bellagio may be showing its age, clocking in at a comparatively lowly #31. 360,781 
TripAdvisor reviews were culled to create a ranking that ends at Harrah’s Council Bluffs and begins at Wynncore. At #20, The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, edged out Caesars Palace and Aria. WinStar Casino in Oklahoma is not only the largest tribal gambling palace it is also the highest-rated (#4), while Harrah’s New Orleans (#5) dominated the Caesars Entertainment portfolio, followed by The Cromwell (#11) and Horseshoe Bossier City (#12). You’ll want to keep those, Tom Reeg. Back on the Strip, Palazzo eclipsed its progenitor, Venetian (#16). In Reno, leading the list at #8 is Atlantis Casino Resort Spa. Hardly anyone plays at Lady Luck Nemacolin but enough liked it to make it lucky #7, the only Pennsylvania casino to crack the top 50.
Another dark horse candidate was Seven Feathers Hotel, in Canyonville, Oregon, an unlikely #10. Penn National Gaming cracked the list at #14 with M Resort. The resuscitated Margaritaville Resort Casino led the Biloxi market at #15. MGM Grand Detroit checked in at #26, French Lick Resort led the Hoosier State at #27, while Mohegan Sun did no better than #35 and Foxwoods didn’t show at all. Boyd 
Gaming‘s top-rated property is Aliante Casino (#40), somewhat ironic in that it was a hand-me-down by way of Station Casinos and a private equity firm. (Station didn’t make the list, which seems rather unfair.) Atlantic City makes a relatively poor showing, with no casino rating higher than—guess who?—Borgata at #41. Caesars Atlantic City also squeaks in, at #49. The plurality of top-rated properties goes to Caesars, so Eldorado Resorts (whose titular Reno property as also made the list) can take reassurance in the knowledge that it is gaining trophy properties.
* Our trade war with China is being felt in Macao. Las Vegas Sands President Rob Goldstein told Bloomberg, “We hear from our people who work in the casino that customers are concerned about the trade war. It is impacting some of their business.” Indeed, the second quarter saw a significant downturn in VIP play, with Sands China being one of those that felt it worst. That said, Goldstein dismissed the high-roller downturn as anecdotal, adding “Macao looks like it’s doing just fine.”
* Crown Resorts is in another pickle. It may be investigated by the Australian parliament on reports that organized crime elements were using Crown casinos to launder money. A variety of news outlets are reporting that “Crown used junket operators with links to drug traffickers as it sought to bring higher-roller Chinese gamblers to its Australian casinos.” Crown, for its part, responded that it had a “robust process for vetting junket operators.” The alleged corruption may extend to Australia’s government: Two ministers are reported to have approached Crown in an attempt to get expedited admission for several overseas high rollers. Crown has historically sailed pretty close to the wind, so these latest accusations come as little surprise.
* As he seeks more money from Oklahoma gaming tribes, Gov. Kevin Stitt 
(R) might have some carrot to go with the stick. What can Stitt offer tribes that would induce them to pay more money to the Sooner State? How about sports betting? “Tribes are ready to have that discussion. The ball is in Governor Stitt’s court,” as far as legalization, according to Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association Chairman Matt Morgan. But Stitt would have to thread the needle of both making sports betting legal and exclusive to the tribes, which we doubt will be an easy sell in the state capital. Admits Morgan, “It’s no panacea.”
Morgan also has to worry about rogue legislators who might want to reopen the state’s dozens of gaming compacts and rewrite them. With Stitt enjoying supermajorities in both houses of the Lege, there’s no telling what will happen as the Jan. 1 deadline draws nigh. Some are advising tribes to forget past loyalties and curry favor with the GOP. “The folks that passed the stuff that enabled gaming in this state … are no longer in the Legislature. They’re all gone,” warned political advisor Tyler Powell. “I’ve never seen a group question the decisions of the past like this one.” That means cultivating a lot of new relations as New Year’s Eve comes bearing down on the tribes like a locomotive.
* As good as his word, Terry Caudill has reopened the Hotel Apache at Binion’s Gambling Hall and it looks lovely. For an added attraction, 81 of the rooms have been redone as they would have looked in 1932, when the hotel opened. The clunky old dial phone is a wink and a nod to the fact that nobody uses the in-room phone anymore (ditto the bedside radio). This should move the Hotel Apache to the short list of must-see things in Las Vegas.
* All is not well in the Golden Entertainment empire. In an appearance on Eight News Now, ace reporter Scott Roeben revealed that Arizona Charlie’s Boulder had removed its table games. Why? To save money. We’ll be on the alert for any other cutbacks at Golden-owned casinos (I guess they’ve got to pay for those Stratosphere upgrades somehow).
There is no casino in Biloxi associated with Margaritaville. Had one years ago, went bye bye.