Author: Casino Connection Staff

The U.S. House of Representatives has approved a bill that would prevent the Trump administration from removing the 300 acres of tribal lands of the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe of Massachusetts from federal trust.

The legislation, part of an omnibus spending bill, would forbid the Interior Department from revoking its Obama-era 2015 decision to put the land into trust, a decision that was later reversed by the current administration.

Massachusetts Rep. Joseph Kennedy III, who sponsored the bill, commented, “In recent months, the Trump administration has used the Covid-19 pandemic as cover to try to steal the tribe’s land and define their people out of existence. This amendment will put an immediate stop to those dangerous efforts.”

Co-sponsor Rep. William Keating added that the bill would foil “constant efforts to undermine the tribe’s rights.” One right the tribe seeks to exercise is the right to develop a $1 billion casino in Taunton.

To take effect, the bill would require passage in the Republican-controlled Senate, which has resisted attempts to support the tribe.

The Trump administration contends the Interior Department had no authority to put the land into trust, citing the Supreme Court’s Carcieri v. Salazar decision, which holds that a tribe not under federal jurisdiction in 1934 cannot put land into trust. The Mashpee tribe, based in Cape Cod, was recognized in 2007, but can trace its interaction with European settlers back to 1620, when its ancestors greeted the Pilgrims at Plymouth and later helped them survive their first winter in the New World.

In the most recent court ruling on this matter, in June, a federal judge ordered the Interior Department to stop the revocation process and review the matter before issuing new findings.

Real estate investment trust Gaming and Leisure Properties Inc. (GLPI) is looking to sell the Tropicana Las Vegas. This came as no surprise, as the Tropicana has been unofficially on the market for the last few years, but Michael Parks, who is brokering the sale as head of CBRE Group’s global gaming division, provided more details.

Parks said no asking price has been set at this point, but he told the Las Vegas Review-Journal he believes the 1,470-room hotel casino, which occupies 35 prime acres at Las Vegas Boulevard and Tropicana Avenue, is worth “at least” the $360 million Penn National Gaming paid to acquire it five years ago.

GLPI has made no secret of its desire to sell the resort, which it took over after the pandemic hit for $307.5 million worth of rent credits and leased it back to Penn to operate.

There has been speculation that the Trop could be worth $400 million to $700 million, but that was before the pandemic overturned the lucrative dynamics that had governed deals on the Strip.

Macquarie Group gaming analyst Chad Beynon said, however, he believes there is still demand.

“Anytime it feels like we’re at the bottom and it’s the end of the world, that’s generally when buyers come out, and at least have conversations with the holders of some of these assets.”

Apparently, that what’s happening, according to Penn President and CEO Jay Snowden, who recently told analysts there had been “unsolicited interest” in the resort.

“We got another call two days ago with interest in potentially acquiring some or all of the landholdings there, so it’s very active,” he said.

The Tropicana, he added, is “extremely valuable.”

Virginia Circuit Judge Sage B. Johnson signed an order July 17 adding a casino referendum to the upcoming ballot in Bristol.

Although the general election will be held November 3, a new Virginia law allows “no-excuse absentee voting” by mail and in-person early voting starting September 18. It’s the culmination of a two-year effort to legalize gaming in the state.

The ballot question will read: “Shall casino gaming be permitted at a casino gaming establishment in Bristol, Virginia at 500 Gate City Hwy., as may be approved by the Virginia Lottery Board? Yes. No.”

This election will be the first time extended early voting will be allowed in Virginia, as the Bristol city hall and other government buildings are closed due to Covid-19.

General Registrar Penny Limburg anticipates a record turnout. “I think the combination of the how the presidential race is shaping up and the casino… will be a big driver in turnout,” she said.

If voters approve the casino, developers and operators must then undergo a lengthy review during the license application process, according to lottery officials.

Bristol is one of five cities authorized by legislation to develop a casino. Earlier this month, the Virginia Lottery Board pre-certified Hard Rock International, the United Company, Par Ventures and H.R. Bristol LLC, as qualified and capable of operating a gaming business. Hard Rock Bristol is anticipated to create 2,000 jobs and generate $15 million to $20 million annually for the city in tax revenue, in addition to the city’s share of gaming tax revenue.

The “Vote Yes for Bristol” committee recently was formed to promote voting for the casino in the referendum. The group issued a statement, saying, “In the coming months, the committee will engage directly with local residents to answer questions and provide information about the project which will generate thousands of new good paying jobs; millions in new tax revenue for schools, first responders and infrastructure; and spur billions in economic development across the region.”

The Virginia Lottery Board also recently pre-certified the Pamunkey Indian tribe as the preferred operator in Norfolk, Caesar’s Entertainment in Danville and Rush Street Gaming in Portsmouth. Richmond officials have not as yet selected a preferred operator.

Developers of Rivers Casino Portsmouth recently released renderings of the proposed property. Portsmouth Economic Development Director Robert D. Moore said the location off Victory Boulevard “is the center of Portsmouth. This is really the center of Hampton Roads so it makes sense to have a casino right here.”

The venue will feature a casino with slots, table games and poker, plus several dining options, a hotel and conference center. It’s expected to create 1,400 construction jobs and 1,300 permanent positions. “You have the opportunity now to increase the quality of life for someone in the city of Portsmouth,” Moore said.

Portsmouth Mayor John Rowe said the casino hotel will generate $16 million in annual new revenue. When he looked at the renderings of the project, he said, “It was very exciting, I got goosebumps.”

The general managers of Maryland’s six casinos testified last week before a video meeting of the state House of Delegates Ways and Means Committee, telling lawmakers that while Maryland casinos are beginning to recover after a three-month closure, workers do not feel safe on the job.

Skylar Dice, general manager of the Rocky Gap Casino Resort in western Maryland, told the panel that some workers refused to return to work due to Covid-19 concerns. “There was fear and trepidation upon reopening, and not all of our team members want to come back to work,” Dice said.

“They just don’t feel comfortable working in the new conditions,” added Jorge Perez, president of MGM National Harbor near Washington, D.C.

Gordon Medenica, director of the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency, told the lawmakers his agency was expecting a long-term dip in casino revenues. “To be probably brutally frank, I think we have to accept a long-term lowering of our expected casino contributions,” Medenica said, according to the Baltimore Sun. “The reality for the future is incredibly uncertain.”

Medenica did have more upbeat news for the committee members in the area of lottery sales, which he said are up more than 20 percent despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

“We were still up even that first week in March, and then we just started seeing the bottom fall out,” he said. “Sales were going down 20 percent, 25 percent, 30 percent, and we really didn’t know where the bottom would be. Obviously we lost some of our retail base but also people weren’t going out, they weren’t driving, they weren’t visiting the gas stations.”

Medenica called the increase a “very strange phenomenon,” attributing it to a lack of other places to spend discretionary money.

“Our theory at this point is that there really is just no place for people to spend some discretionary entertainment dollars—there are no movies, there are no sports there are no concerts, there are no bars and restaurants,” he said.

The operators of Magic City Casino in Miami have sued four insurance companies they claim wrongfully denied coverage for “business interruption” losses due to Covid-19 closures.

Magic City said AXA XL Insurance Group, Indian Harbor Insurance, Hallmark Specialty Insurance and Ategrity Specialty Insurance sold the casino “all-risk” policies that include business-interruption losses. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in South Florida, states, “In an all-risk insurance policy, all risks of loss are covered unless that are specifically excluded.”

The lawsuit also claims the casino was closed as a result of orders issued by Governor Ron DeSantis and local officials. Court documents note the disputed policies contain identical sections about providing coverage for losses resulting from an “order of civil or military authority.”

The lawsuit reads, “As a result of the presence of Covid-19 and the closure orders, plaintiff sustained a suspension of business operations, sustained losses of business income and incurred extra expenses. Plaintiff has also sustained business income losses due to direct physical loss or physical damage at the premises of dependent properties.”

In April 24, the Insurance Information Institute said, “Global pandemic risks are uninsurable.” The group also stated, “Only a handful of business interruption policies cover communicable disease contamination. Very few U.S. businesses purchase them.”

In May, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago also stated business owners’ policies do not cover losses related to the pandemic. “Some business owners have fought back by filing lawsuits, while legislators in a few states have talked about passing laws to mandate pandemic coverage, potentially retroactively. The outcomes of these actions may not be known for several years but are likely to be important, because the losses from the pandemic by businesses with business interruption insurance are very large and could leave some insurers insolvent after just a few months of payments.”

Wynn Resorts has begun furloughing workers in response to slackening demand on the Las Vegas Strip.

The company didn’t say how many of the thousands of employees at its marquee casino hotels, Wynn Las Vegas and Encore, are being affected.

“Although we retained all of our people while we were closed, we now know how challenged business volumes in Las Vegas are and are staffing to the significantly reduced demand,” spokesman Michael Weaver said.

He said those laid off will continue to receive company-paid health benefits through October 31.

Wynn employs around 30,200 people across its operations in Massachusetts, Macau and Las Vegas. Roughly 16,400 of those were based in the U.S., where the company’s Las Vegas resorts reopened June 4 and Encore Boston Harbor reopened July 12.

The furloughs come as visitation to Las Vegas reportedly is slowing, a worrying trend observers attribute to the spike in new coronavirus infections in and around the city the last two months and the deluge of new cases reported in much of the rest of the country.

“Let’s face it, Covid-19 is putting a damper on anyone’s travel plans,” said Wynn Las Vegas and Encore President Marilyn Spiegel. “We are trying our very best to encourage our guests to come back and visit. Their concerns for their health and safety are overriding their desire to travel.”

Spiegel said casual restaurants will be closed midweek and operations at gourmet outlets will be limited in response to the slowdown. The spa and salon at Encore also will not open midweek.

“We are going to have a rolling schedule of closures by day of week,” she said. “You may see that one restaurant is closed four days a week, but it’s always going to be open on weekends, when we have the most demand. Another may be closed three days a week or two days a week.”

Main valet parking at both properties also are closing, although the service will remain open for guests at Wynn Tower Suites and Encore Tower Suites and for private access members and VIP customers.

Earlier this month, Las Vegas Sands said it would not accept midweek room reservations at its Palazzo resort on the Strip.

For Nehme Abouzeid, president of consultants LaunchVegas and a former marketing and entertainment executive with both Wynn and LVS, the cutbacks are a sign that things on the Strip “are not even close to normalized yet.”

Stanley Ho has died, and anyone who knows anything about Macau and gambling knows that Dr. Ho was “The Man.” Granted monopoly control of gambling in the Portuguese colony in 1961, one of the many nicknames Dr. Ho acquired was “The Godfather,” and this nickname is a most appropriate way to help American audiences understand what he was all about–and more.

Toward the end of the last decade I had the opportunity to live in Macau for a bit, and teach a course on Casino Management and Regulation, held at both the University of Macau and Macau Polytechnic. I had a group of interesting students. Professors Bill Eadington and Nelson Rose sat through the first week of lectures (I think Bill was just keeping an eye on me); Grant Bowie, the CEO of the Macau MGM, was very supportive of the class and sent a number of his employees to attend; as did and Raymond Yap of Galaxy; and the Wynn folks sent a few people. I also had about five Ph.D. professors from the area take the class and that made me double-check all of my math lectures. Then there always seemed to be a group of four or five people who basically just showed up and dropped one name or another, and I have never been one to turn anyone away who wanted to listen to me talk.

During this time, I made a friend of one of the older students taking the class, and I would occasionally have dinner with him, and he and I would often walk the streets of Macau at night to look about and visit. What was most interesting about this gentleman was that he had worked for Dr. Ho for a number of years, and he had worked for Dr. Ho back in the day, as we say.

I always enjoyed our walks because I would get to hear stories about this bigger than life character who was Stanley Ho, for not only was Macau known for gambling in the last century, it was also known for a number of other industries that typically generate interesting stories. I will not share these stories, but I will share one that I found terribly important in understanding the life of Stanley Ho.

My friend told me that the government of Macau had often failed the people, and Dr. Ho had always been the one who held the safety net in these failures. If a neighborhood was flooding on too regular a basis, Dr. Ho would see that the problem was resolved. If a school needed uniforms, it would be an employee of Dr. Ho’s who would make the delivery of new uniforms. If there was someone who was bothering the people of a neighborhood, or being threatening or obnoxious, that person would go away, and no longer be a bother. And so on and so forth it went. The reality of Dr. Ho was that he was loved and revered in the community, and he truly had a social contract with the people of Macau. While he was a most successful businessman withing the region, he was also a very good citizen and understood the importance of community.

In 2014, there was an event at the Mob Museum in Las Vegas, and Ms. Elaine Wynn was one of the speakers. During this talk, Ms. Wynn lamented that “We don’t have the homeboys.” The point she was trying to make, as I understood it, was that there was not that person or group of people of influence within the community who kept an eye on things. What seemed a bit ironic about her statement was that one of the best at that role, in my opinion, was her ex-husband, Steve Wynn.

Las Vegas does not have a Steve anymore, nor a Kirk, nor a Hank, nor a Charlie Mathewson keeping a watchful eye on things. Mr. Binion has long passed and Jack is no longer involved in the game. Mr. Boyd has slowed down materially as has Mr. Adelson, whose focus seems to be on Ms. Adelson, supporting all things Republican and Israel. Gary Loveman never fit the bill, and Jim Murren struggled with multiple distractions, be it a licensing issue in New Jersey, the Great Recession, or a tragic shooting. The steady hand and mind of Bob Faiss is gone from the legal side of things, as is the vision of E. Parry Thomas in finance. There are others, but they are either gone, or did not seem to want that role.

Las Vegas has changed, and it has changed for the players are now private equity firms, hedge funds, and the like. The town does not have a Stanley Ho-type person(s) who can keep a watchful eye on things, handle what needs to be handled, and who can reel-in the traditionally bad stable of politicians who seem to continually replicate themselves year after year after year thinking that Las Vegas is about them.

One of the interesting things I find about the new Las Vegas is that everyone is working behind the scenes, or so they tell me. I recently published an article concerning an issue of interest for Las Vegas and Nevada, and was contacted by a number of people who were working “behind the scenes.” Las Vegas now seems to have a situation once described by John F. Kennedy, where: “Victory has a thousand fathers, but defeat is an orphan.” Moreover, all of these folks working behind the scenes basically seem to have done little more than experience a pyrrhic victory.

Where does this take Las Vegas? Nowhere good, is my guess. Vegas presently appears to be a rudderless ship, wounded and damaged and in need of a major course adjustment. It needs a leader and it needs a vision. It seems to need a Dr. Ho, but there just doesn’t seem to be one around.

Rivers Casino Philadelphia (formerly SugarHouse) reopened Friday, July 24, with a number of safety measures that are part of owner Rush Street Gaming’s “Rivers Clean” program for its three Rivers-branded casino properties.

Pursuant to state guidelines to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 virus, masks must be worn by patrons and employees, and social distancing on the slot floor is achieved by disabling alternating machines or separating games with Plexiglas barriers.

Other safety measures exceed state requirements. While casinos in the state are permitted to operate at 50 percent capacity, Rivers will limit capacity to 25 percent until further notice. There will be no indoor dining or beverage service, though the state permits indoor dining at 25 percent capacity. Smoking is banned indoors, under orders of the state gaming board.

The casino will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 a.m. on weekdays, and around the clock on weekends, until further notice.

All guests must go through a temperature sensor upon arrival, and no one with a reading of 100.4 degrees or higher will be permitted to enter the casino. Employees’ temperatures also will be checked upon arrival, and all employees are required to complete a daily Covid-19 “self-assessment” before reporting to work.

Guests are required to visibly clean their hands before touching chips or cards. Chips, cards and dice will be sanitized and swapped out continuously.

The Covid-19 pandemic and the reopening of Pennsylvania casinos with restrictions that include a ban on smoking, are forcing gaming operators, regulators and lawmakers to re-examine the issues of smoking and drinking on the casino floor.

State Rep. Dan Frankel of Pittsburgh, who introduced legislation early this year to repeal the casino industry’s exemption to Pennsylvania’s Clean Indoor Air Act of 2008—allowing casinos to be one of very few establishments to permit indoor smoking—told the Penn Bets news site last week that his bill has not seen any movement, even in the wake of Covid-19 casino shutdowns.

Frankel told the news site the reason is the gaming lobby, which fought hard for the casino smoking exemption in 2008 and continues to exert strong influence, despite the temporary smoking ban imposed by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board.

“They have an active lobby that was very effective when carving out that exemption when first passing the legislation, and they’re pretty effective in tamping down efforts to change it,” Frankel told Penn Bets.

The gaming board imposed the temporary ban as one of the safety restrictions mainly due to Governor Tom Wolf’s order requiring that masks be worn in all indoor locations. Board members have commented publicly that the smoking ban was imposed because of the simple fact that a person cannot wear a mask and smoke at the same time.

Penn National Gaming spokesman Eric Schippers, when asked by Penn Bets whether the temporary smoking ban may become permanent in the wake of the pandemic, was noncommittal.

“We are all trying to figure out what the ‘new normal’ is from an operational standpoint,” said Schippers. “We know historically that smoking bans can have a significant negative impact on revenue, but that is without an ongoing pandemic and mandatory mask policy, etc. (It is) just too speculative on many levels right now in terms of impact on business or customer behavior and what the future policy might be.”

Meanwhile, the state mask order has also raised concerns about allowing drinking on the gaming floor, since a mask must be removed to drink as well as smoke. Mohegan Sun Pocono announced last week it will stop serving alcoholic beverages on the casino floor in wake of the mask order from Wolf.

“In order to comply with Governor Wolf’s latest Covid-19 mitigation efforts, Mohegan Sun Pocono will temporarily suspend alcoholic beverage service on the gaming floor,” said a statement on the casino’s website. “Alcoholic beverages can be consumed while dining in our restaurants.”

“The Pennsylvania Department of Health issued a comprehensive FAQ document addressing Governor Wolf’s recent mitigation efforts,” Mohegan Sun President and General Manager Anthony Carlucci told the Wilkes-Barre Times-Leader. “This FAQ provided clarity for several industries that were not referenced in the initial announcement.”

Carlucci said the suspension of alcohol on the gaming floor resulted from the clarification offered by the Health Department. As of press time, no other Pennsylvania casinos had announced the suspension of alcohol service on the gaming floor.

Casino bars have remained closed under Pennsylvania’s reopening guidelines, with alcohol service restricted to restaurants, which are operating at 25 percent capacity for indoor dining. The casinos themselves are operating at 50 percent capacity.

Meanwhile, the Covid-19 pandemic had predictable results on the nation’s No. 2 commercial gaming state, as Pennsylvania logged an 18 percent drop in revenue for the fiscal year that ended June 30.

Due to the shutdown of casinos on March 17 and subsequent reopening on June 9 at 50 percent capacity, Pennsylvania recorded gaming revenue of $2.7 billion for the fiscal year, compared to a record $3.3 billion a year ago.

Revenue from slot machines was down by $680 million and table games were down by about $240 million, both nearly 30 percent. Those losses were mitigated by online gambling, which generated $240 million, and sports betting, which brought in $114 million in the first full year for both in Pennsylvania.

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by nine female employees of Wynn Resorts who claim the company did nothing to protect them from sexual harassment by Steve Wynn.

The women, manicurists and makeup artists at Wynn Las Vegas identified by their attorneys as “Judy Doe No. 1” through “Judy Doe No. 9,” accused Wynn Resorts and Wynn Las Vegas of fostering a hostile work environment. They alleged the defendants were aware of misconduct by Wynn towards female employees but did not investigate it and instead covered it up.

They said that sought to remain anonymous out of fear of legal retaliation by the company and fear of being ostracized at work. They also claimed that sensitive details contained in the court action would disrupt their lives if made public.

In voiding the suit, District Judge James C. Mahan agreed with another judge’s earlier ruling that the women did not sufficiently justify their need to file the suit anonymously.

He also ruled that the women did not sufficiently make their case in the complaint but used “generalized and vague statements without individualized factual support for their allegations.”

He did, however, dismiss the suit without prejudice, meaning it can be refiled.

Wynn, 78, resigned in February 2018 as chairman and chief executive of Wynn Resorts and later sold off his financial interest in the company after explosive testimony published in The Wall Street Journal claimed that for years the tycoon had preyed on his female employees for sexual favors.

Wynn, who was not named in the lawsuit, has repeatedly denied any misconduct, but his departure triggered investigations by regulators in Nevada and Massachusetts and led to the resignation of several of Wynn Resorts’ high-level executives and a purging of the board of directors of Wynn’s close associates.

The Nevada investigation concluded last year by finding the company did not act on numerous complaints lodged over the years by Wynn’s reputed victims and instead engaged in a cover-up which extended to a secret $7 million payoff the tycoon made to a former Wynn Las Vegas manicurist he allegedly made pregnant. The company was fined a record $20 million.

In Massachusetts the company was fined $35 million for failing to disclose the complaints, the $7 million payment along with them, during its licensing for a multibillion-dollar resort that opened last year outside Boston.