Author: Casino Connection Staff

The Golden State of California has 72 card clubs, many of them in urban centers where tribal casinos don’t operate. Examples include the Bicycle Hotel and Casino in Bell Gardens and the Hustler Casino in Gardena.

In addition to poker, these clubs also operate pai gow poker, blackjack and baccarat—so-called “California games.” If new rules proposed by the state Bureau of Gambling Control are adopted, card room operators say, playing the games will be so complicated, players will go to tribal casinos that aren’t bound by such rules.

The bureau has been holding hearings on the proposed new rules for about a year, but kept the information close to the vest. All the while, card clubs accused the bureau of hauling water for Indian casinos, which have long held that card clubs violate the state constitution and profit from “illegal gaming practices,” as former California Nations Indian Gaming Association (CNIGA) Chairman Steve Stallings called it several weeks ago.

The California Gaming Association (CGA), which represents many of the card clubs, called the proposal “a clear attack on the card room industry and a message that the bureau is intent on eliminating this lawful $5.6 billion industry and putting 32,000 Californians out of work.”

Tribal casinos and casinos in Nevada offer card games in which a dealer who works for the casino also acts as the banker. California, by contrast, does not allow commercial card clubs to have a financial stake in the outcome of the game. So at most card rooms, an employee serves as the dealer and a representative from a licensed third-party business is the banker, who collects from the losers and pays the winners. Card rooms generate revenue by collecting a fee from each player during each hand, with the fee based on the bet limit at each table.

Under the new rules, players would be required to take turns acting as the banker, i.e. “the house.” They would have to rotate every two rounds, which would create delays between rounds, meaning casinos would collect fewer fees per hour. In addition, many players would away shy from being the banker, and might go to a tribal casino instead. Players who refuse to be the “house” wouldn’t be able to play. The game would stop if no players accept being the banker.

The bureau held hearings on the new rules at a December 18 hearing in Sacramento. The rules have been introduced informally, but for them to be adopted, the bureau must hold more hearings and do an economic impact report.

Before the hearing, CGA President Kirk Kirkland held a press conference in which he declared, “It’s so disruptive,” and introduced several card club owners to speak, including the owner of the Capitol Casino in the state capitol, who said his business would be killed by the regulations.

“I’d be deeply concerned if they used this as a starting point,” Kirkland told the Sacramento Business Journal. He added, “We would have to go into an injunction to stop them. Our industry, our communities couldn’t survive.”

Several weeks ago, the CGA released the results of a study that estimated the card club industry supports 32,000 jobs and generates $1.64 billion in wages and benefits and $500 million in state and local taxes.

Last week, the recently elected CNIGA Chairman James Siva issued this statement: “The card clubs are engaged in a desperate attempt to mislead regulators and the public. We commend the Attorney General and the Bureau of Gambling Control for moving forward with regulations that will clarify current law and ensure a well-regulated gaming industry in California.”

Siva added, “Nothing in the proposed regulations would cause a California card room to shut down. These regulations merely clarify existing law that limits the types of gaming allowed in California. We look forward to the Bureau of Gambling Control moving forward with the formal rule-making process.”

Tribal criticism of card clubs began intensifying after 2007, when former state gambling enforcement chief Robert Lytle issued far less onerous rules for the card clubs in a memo. Those rules would be superseded if the California Bureau of Gambling Control’s proposal takes effect.

Lytle later left the state service and almost immediately began working as a consultant for one of the casinos that he once had regulated. In May 2016, he lost his gaming license and ownership in two card clubs, part of an agreement worked out after the Bureau of Gambling Control accused him of obtaining confidential information for his consulting business from an agent in the bureau.

Richard Schuetz served four years on the California Gambling Control Commission, later was executive director of the Bermuda Casino Gaming Commission, and currently owns Schuetz LLC, a gaming and regulatory consulting entity. He told GGB News, “The card club industry ought to put up a statue to Lytle. He wrote a letter redefining how card games should be treated. Ten days later, he retired and became a consultant. As a result of his corrupt behavior, he can no longer set foot in the industry. His participation in the industry is an embarrassment, and the card rooms should be ashamed they owe so much to him.”

Needless to say, Schuetz is not sympathetic towards the card clubs’ plight. “It’s absolutely time that they were forced to obey the law,” he said. “What’s gone on since Bob Lytle’s infamous memo is ludicrous. The card rooms continually rely on talking about all the jobs they create. Hawaiian Gardens has gone beyond itself to prove itself corrupt. You’ll see that about 85 percent of the city’s budget comes from that card room.”

Schuetz added, “When they have meetings with the regulatory authorities, the card rooms bring the dealers and minority people, and it’s like ‘Don’t forget the jobs!’

“It’s not an issue of jobs. It’s an issue of the law. It’s like saying, ‘Yes, meth is a terrible drug, but think of all the jobs that are created in the emergency rooms, and if we stop it, those jobs will stop.’ It has to do with the law. They have clearly been outside of the law.”

Schuetz says California’s state regulatory entities “have this underpinning of corruption.” The existing laws are not enforced against the card rooms, he says, “because there is a huge amount of discrimination against the Indians.”

When he served on the commission under Governor Jerry Brown, Schuetz said, “I was terribly uncomfortable with the absence of ethics and I was terribly critical of the card rooms. There have been more federal raids on card rooms than against any gaming segment in the U.S. It’s a group that cannot behave. This is one reason the Indians don’t want them involved in sports wagering. These guys can’t play by the rules, and the main thing in sports betting that must be maintained is integrity.”

Several card clubs are huge taxpayers in their host municipalities, including the cities of Commerce and Hawaiian Gardens. Edgar Cisneros, city manager of Commerce, recently told the Los Angeles Times, “It’s going to devastate a lot of working-class communities, not just the city of Commerce.” The Commerce Casino, which offers 240 tables, is responsible for 45 percent of the city’s tax revenues.

One of the gaming tribes that went to court to fight the card clubs is the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation, which owns Cache Creek Casino Resort in Yolo County. The tribe sued the state, saying it was not enforcing its own rules against banked games. It also argued that this violated the state-tribal gaming compact. Last summer, the case was dismissed, but the tribe is appealing to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Last week, the tribe issued this statement about the new proposed rules: “Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation applauds Attorney General Xavier Becerra and the Bureau of Gambling Control for proposing regulations requiring cardrooms to follow the law the State Legislature and California voters have put in place. This is an important first step to have state law enforced and to stop the play of clearly illegal banked games in card rooms in our communities.”

Several weeks ago, a consortium of 18 gaming tribes began gathering signatures for a state constitutional amendment referendum in 2020 that would legalize sports betting in the state. Their amendment mentions gaming tribes and racetracks—but quite deliberately omits card clubs.

With Macau on virtual lockdown last week for a visit from President Xi Jinping, it appears December will add to the pressures that have kept high rollers away from the baccarat tables through most of 2019 and dragged gaming revenues into negative territory for the first time in three years.

The Communist Party leader was in town three days to mark the 20th anniversary of Macau’s return to Chinese sovereignty after nearly five centuries of Portuguese rule.

The celebrations included the inauguration of Ho Iat Seng as Xi’s hand-picked chief executive. He is the third executive in the city’s history as a self-governing “special administrative region” (SAR) of China, as both Macau and Hong Kong are known.

Macau’s loyalty to the constitutional principle of “one country, two systems” has stood in somnolent contrast to the anti-Beijing protests that have rocked Hong Kong for months. As a hedge if things go terribly awry in its unruly sister SAR, Xi’s visit was accompanied by a number of policy initiatives aimed at developing Macau as a secondary financial center for the Pearl River Delta region.

These include establishing a yuan-denominated stock exchange and accelerating a renminbi settlement center already in the works. “The financial industry used to be an idea that we reserved for Hong Kong,” said a Chinese official who spoke with Reuters anonymously. “We used to give all the favorable policies to Hong Kong. But now we want to diversify it.”

Two officials who helped develop the Shanghai Stock Exchange moved to Macau this year to help with the nuts and bolts, according to sources cited by the news agency, and Beijing has instructed state-owned banks and businesses to lend a hand.

The stock exchange had been in discussions for some time, but it’s taken on fresh urgency as Beijing grows anxious to avoid any major market disruption in Hong Kong that could hurt Chinese businesses.

“Xi Jinping has made it very clear that he wants a diversified Macau economy,” another Chinese official said. “The future focus will be on tourism and finance, to make it a center to host international meetings, like Singapore.”

In a client note issued last week, analysts with brokerage Sanford Bernstein said, “We do not view these policy initiatives as supportive directly of the gaming industry in the near or medium term. However, overall support for Macau by the PRC (Peoples’ Republic of China) is positive, and it is less likely that there will be any policy measures directed specifically at reigning in the gaming industry (in light of VIP weakness and Hong Kong turmoil).”

While there is nothing new in this, it appears Beijing intends to be more proactive in binding the city closer to the mainland economically, while simultaneously steering it away from the history of the last two decades, when Macau morphed into the largest pure gambling market in the world. More than 70 percent of total visitation last year originated from the Chinese mainland, mainly from the south of the country, from close-in markets in and around the populous Pearl River estuary, and mainly from neighboring Guangdong Province. In terms of gaming win, the market has grown to outstrip Las Vegas seven times over, and the 35 percent tax on that win accounts for 80 percent of the government’s revenue.

But then, this where the central government holds all the cards. Six years ago, Xi launched his young administration with a nationwide crusade against corruption and lavish spending within the ranks of the Communist Party and the state-owned enterprises. There were arrests, trials, demotions. It scared off Macau’s high rollers en masse. At the height of the purge, gaming revenue went negative for three straight years, plunging in 2015 by 34 percent.

Nothing nearly as radical is being contemplated these days. But it was a frightening reminder, as Warwick Bartlett of UK-based Global Betting and Gaming Consultants told GGB News, “The growth of Macau relies on the political whim of Beijing. With 1 billion Chinese citizens as a market it is quite possible for Macau to produce double-digit growth if Beijing wishes to allow it.”

Revenues were edging down year-on-year by close to 3 percent through November, but not because of political policy𑁋although the junkets have been stepping warily after giant Sun City was called out in a state-sponsored news outlet earlier this year for promoting illegal online and proxy betting. Rather, the weakness stemmed from a broad fall-off in VIP volumes connected mostly to concerns surrounding China’s economy.

As Brendan Bussmann, director of government affairs for Global Market Advisors, a U.S.-based industry consultancy, explains it, “You have to factor in (the political turmoil in) Hong Kong. But it’s mostly the overall Chinese economy, which has taken a hit. You’ve got the trade war. And what we’re seeing is the lowest growth since the early ’90s.”

A Future ‘Ex-VIP’

The negative impact from Xi’s visit was not unexpected, but, as Sanford Bernstein said, “The impact has been more severe than we initially expected.”

The brokerage noted that visa controls limiting visits to the city from the mainland were imposed weeks beforehand and were followed last week by reductions in ferry service from Hong Kong and “significantly increased security at the border crossings.” The city’s newly opened Light Rail Transit system was shut down. Cash flows were tightened as street-level money changers and lenders came under greater scrutiny, and security was heightened around “underground banking movements.” There were even worries that ATMs would be allowed to run out of cash. This proved unfounded. “But rumors have an effect on people in any event,” the brokerage said.

“I don’t think visa restrictions alone have a material impact on the game’s gross revenue,” local casino consultant David Green told Macau Business magazine. “What can really have an impact, however, is the biggest concern about the growing vigilance and active policing. Some high-value players may prefer to be left out during this period rather than being seen playing actively.”

As Pedro Cortés, an industry attorney, put it, “The VIP player is not very fond of being identified and, in these circumstances, not because he is committing any illegality, but because he values ​​his privacy and is discreet in nature, it is natural to avoid traveling to Macau.”

Through November, gaming revenue was down 2.4 percent year on year, with November finishing at minus 8.5 percent and down 13.5 percent sequentially. It was the second-worst month of the year after August’s minus 8.6 percent.

Through mid-December, analysts with Jefferies & Co. estimated mass market revenues down 3 percent to 5 percent and VIP volume down by upwards of 33 percent. They expect the trend to result in a total decline for the month of 14 percent to 17 percent compared with December 2018.

Sanford’s analysts likewise expect December to finish down more than 15 percent, with VIP’s decline in the high 20s and mass declining for the first time since early 2016.

They were quick to note, however, that mass remains on a solid growth trajectory, up an estimated 20 percent in the fourth quarter over the same period two years ago.

The Jefferies team is optimistic as well. “For now, the weakness should be well understood and should have little impact on the stocks. What’s more, we believe the beginnings of a trade deal between China and the U.S., while not comprehensive as yet, should indicate an economic rebound in 2020, which would impact the higher-end play in Macau.”

Global Betting and Gaming Consultants is modeling revenue growth market-wide over the next few years at 4 percent to 5 percent, a climb-down from recent years, but healthy nonetheless.

“The operators are broadening their offer, and have been doing so for some time,” Bartlett said. “There is more family entertainment, better MICE facilities, and in that respect, Macau will gain from the troubles in Hong Kong. The Macau casino operators have been adjusting to an ex-VIP market for some time.”

In essence, Bussmann agrees. “With VIP, you’ve seen an ebb and flow over the years,” he told GGB News. “There is plenty of room for growth in this market. It just depends on how you define it from a gaming or non-gaming perspective.”

In the long run, the policy initiatives announced ahead of Ji’s visit could prove immensely valuable by attracting a greater diversity of visitor, and from farther afield, one who may stay longer and is not solely interested in gambling.

‘Example of Reunification’

The new stock exchange will initially be geared to bond trading to encourage local and Chinese companies to issue debt in the city, according to a Chinese official who spoke with Reuters. It will also focus on start-ups and target companies from Portuguese-speaking countries and is expected to include Macau’s membership in the Beijing-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.

Additional land awards on Hengqin Island will allow the city to promote development in areas such as education and health care, and there could be spillover benefits for the casino concessions, which are forever eager to show Beijing they’re on the team and more than willing to invest in fresh development opportunities—in part, to help offset the slump in gaming.

Which is not to say the central government’s desire to wean its SAR from its gambling dependence will be easy. In addition to their dominance of public revenues, the casinos and their junket partners accounted for more than half of all industry in the territory last year, growing 14 percent against an aggregate economic growth rate of only 4.7 percent and dwarfing the combined contributions of real estate, construction, wholesale and retail trade, financial services and public administration, according to official data documented recently by the English-language Macau Daily Times.

Moreover, while the industry itself has evolved tremendously in terms of the total resort experience it can offer, non-gaming spend remains insignificant, accounting for less than 10 percent of total revenues last year𑁋and that’s under a new formula for calculating non-gaming that had the effect of bringing it up to the government’s goal of 9 percent; it would have been less than 7 percent under the old formula.

What China and its loyal local government can count on, though, is that Macau will serve as a symbol of the genius of “one country, two systems,” as Beijing likes to see it, a compliant outpost of the PRC and a counterweight to the embarrassing restiveness of Hong Kong.

In this respect, some see the stock exchange and the rest of the economic initiatives as a reward for toeing the official line. “This is the candy that Hong Kong did not want,” said Larry So, a former professor with the Macau Polytechnic Institute and a frequent commentator on the local political scene. “It is a gift for Macau, for Macau being a good boy.”

Obviously, the policies are not expressed in these terms. But then, they don’t have to be.

For one thing, there tends to be a greater natural affinity for the home country among Macau’s population, arising from the fact that more than half its residents are ex-mainlanders who emigrated after the handover. Hong Kong’s population is 10 times larger and mostly locally born.

This mainland ties also tend to nurture a generalized apathy politically whose roots can also be said to extend way back to a legacy of disinterested Portuguese administration governed by the Napoleonic Code and lax for the most part and for the most part placidly corrupt.

Hong Kong protesters have been known to wave the colonial flag in Beijing’s face, with its Union Jack emblazoned on a field of blue. This would be unheard of in Macau.

Economically speaking, there is even less incentive to rock the boat.

The post-handover casino boom has brought full employment at high salaries relative to other unskilled jobs, and the government does its part by restricting croupier positions to Macau residents. Employment security with the casinos is virtually ironclad, layoffs are unheard of, and the concessions make sure to regularly dole out lucrative bonuses equivalent to a month’s salary or more. Residents also receive an annual subsidy from the government, which is supplemented with handouts from pro-establishment community associations, and, as the Daily Times notes, millions of dollars have been invested in fostering youth groups linked to the Chinese government.

As Ho Iat Seng stated with confidence in a November interview with state broadcaster China Central Television, “Macau will be an example of China’s reunification.”

Phil Ruffin is the new owner of Circus Circus. The deal with MGM Resorts was finalized last week when the Nevada Gaming Control Board and Gaming Commission both gave the deal their approval. Ruffin will pay $825 million for the property, which is located on the burgeoning north Strip.

The Kansas billionaire first entered the Las Vegas gaming market in 2008 when he bought Treasure Island from MGM and rebranded it as “TI” scraping the property’s popular pirate ship battle a year later. Ruffin is also partners with the Trump organization in the Trump hotel, located next to the Fashion Show Mall in Las Vegas.

The deal includes 37 acres of land at the corner of Sahara and the Strip, which has been used as a festival location. Ruffin didn’t announce plans for that parcel but he did say it was not for sale.

At Circus Circus, Ruffin plans to remove a 10-acre RV park and replace it with a pool area similar to the one that currently operates at Mandalay Bay and includes a wave pool. He also plans to build a 2,000-seat theater in which to offer a new Cirque du Soleil show, The Illusionists, which is currently running in New York City. Ruffin admitted, however, the deal is not yet done and negotiations continue.

The deal also includes the smaller Slots-A-Fun casino, which will be renovated, according to Ruffin.

Circus Circus will soon be at the center of attention when the Resorts World Las Vegas property opens in 2021. A short walk from the new property, Circus is also very close to the Drew—the former Fontainebleau— which is expected to open sometime in 2022, should the owner, the Witkoff Group, obtain the necessary funding.

The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board last week unanimously approved the license for Penn National Gaming to operate its mini-casino in York.

The $120 million Hollywood Casino York will open in an 80,000-square-foot space formerly occupied by the Sears anchor store at the York Galleria Mall. It will offer 500 slot machines, 24 table games, a sportsbook and online betting parlor, and several restaurants.

The license will be tied to the license for Penn’s flagship Hollywood Casino at Penn National Racecourse in Grantville, outside of Harrisburg. It was the first project to receive preliminary approval under Pennsylvania’s 2017 gaming expansion law, which created Category 4 mini-casinos. Category 4 casinos are limited to 750 slots and 30 table games, which can be increased to 40 on request. They must be tied to an existing land-based license.

Construction is already under way at Hollywood Casino York, and it is expected to open in about 12 to 13 months, Penn National officials told regulators at Wednesday’s gaming board meeting before the unanimous vote. The facility is expected to create 260 construction jobs, and after operations are stabilized, it expects to have a full-time workforce of 200 people and generate about $1 million in annual tax and fee revenue for Springettsbury Township, the host community.

Penn National also has promised $175 million for traffic improvements surrounding the York Galleria Mall.

“This being the second project that has been approved at an existing mall (the first being Stadium Casino’s Live! Casino Pittsburgh) that has lost a significant amount of retail business,” board spokesman Doug Harbach told the York Dispatch. “This type of project certainly should boost the amount of visitors to that facility and hopefully spur some renaissance to that facility.”

Penn National won the preliminary license with a bid of more than $50 million, by far the largest bid in any of the Category 4 auctions. It is the third mini-casino to receive final licensing from the board.

The Georgia House Special Committee on Economic Growth is conducting a statewide listening tour to gather public input on gambling. The topic at the recent Columbus session included upcoming legislation to allow sports betting, horseracing and casinos in Georgia.

Local businessman Bob Wright said if lawmakers pass casino legislation and voters approve it, he plans to develop a $200 million, upscale destination casino resort on the Chattahoochee River in south Columbus. He made the same proposal in 2016, but the bill allowing the development did not pass the legislature.

Wright said south Columbus is an area that “needs a lot of help” in terms of housing and jobs. “It really needs an economic catalyst to really turn that part of our city around. We think the economic impact of a destination resort will have a tremendous effect on Columbus and our city as well as contribute to the HOPE scholarship and other needs,” he said.

The 15-member committee is led by co-chairmen House Speaker David Ralston and state Reps. Alan Powell, Brett Harrell and Ron Stephens. Powell said he’d like to see gaming revenue directed to the state’s healthcare budget. He noted horseracing alone could produce an additional $1 billion for Georgia’s economy.

Expanding gambling would require a two-thirds majority in both houses; the constitutional amendment would then have to be approved by Georgia voters. Other legislation would spell out the counties in which casinos could be located–which possibly could prevent a casino in Columbus. A second referendum approving a casino would be held in those counties. Earlier this year, the Columbus city council voted unanimously in support of legislation that would allow a casino in the city.

District 7 Councilor Mimi Woodson, representing the district where Wright’s proposed casino would be located, said it would be a “game-changer.” She added, “No doubt this would create jobs and improve the quality of life for many people in District 7, throughout the city of Columbus and this region. This is the perfect district for this proposed economic development.”

Toyia Tucker, a candidate for Columbus City Council, stated, “We have to get out of just the gambling aspect, but look at the destination resort and what all it brings as far as concerts and also jobs. And we need jobs in this community.”

Eldorado Resorts recently closed on the $385 million sale of Isle Casino Cape Girardeau and Lady Luck Casino Caruthersville in Missouri and Mountaineer Casino Racetrack and Resort in West Virginia to Century Casinos and real estate investment trust VICI Properties.

The Missouri casinos could have faced federal antitrust issues as part of the $17.3 billion sale of Caesars to Eldorado. The combined new entity will operate 60 casinos in 18 states.

Eldorado CEO Tom Reeg said, “The agreements to divest Mountaineer Casino, Isle Casino Cape Girardeau and Lady Luck Casino Caruthersville are consistent with our continued focus on reducing debt ahead of the expected closing for the Caesars Entertainment transaction in the first half of 2020.”

Century Casinos Co-Chief Executive Officers Erwin Haitzmann and Peter Hoetzinger said in a joint statement, “We are very excited to be expanding into Missouri and West Virginia. Cape Girardeau, Caruthersville and Mountaineer are great additions to our portfolio. We look forward to working with the staff and communities to continue the current success at these properties into the future.”

Century Casinos now operates 18 casinos worldwide including 7,185 gaming machines, 285 table games and 3,400 employees including 336 in Cape Girardeau. The publicly traded company’s annual net operating revenue is $400 million.

VICI President John Payne said the transaction brings more diversification to the company’s tenant roster and adds a new market in West Virginia. “We are excited to partner with Century, as they are expert operators of small to mid-sized regional assets and we look forward to supporting the Century team in further growing their U.S. regional gaming platform,” Payne said.

When the Caesars merger is complete, Eldorado still will operate three Missouri casinos: Lumiere Place in St. Louis, Isle of Capri in Boonville and Harrah’s North Kansas City.

Century Casinos acquired the operations of the three properties for $107 million, and VICI Properties acquired the land and real estate for $278 million. Century will operate the casinos under a master lease with an initial total annual rent of $25 million and an initial term of 15 years, with four five-year tenant renewal options.

Eldorado and Caesars shareholders and the Missouri Gaming Commission previously approved the merger. According to the agreement, Eldorado will pay $8.40 per share in cash and 0.0899 shares of Eldorado stock for each Caesars share, or $12.75 per share. The combined business will be called Caesars and its shares will be traded on the Nasdaq.

Both companies pledged to reduce the number of casinos in markets where federal anti-trust issues could exist, and to reduce overall corporate costs by $500 million. Current Caesars CEO Tony Rodio said the company expects to reduce costs by $75 million to $100 million by the time the deal closes.

As part of the merger, Caesars sold three Harrah’s brand casinos in Atlantic City, Laughlin, Nevada and New Orleans to VICI Properties for a combined $1.8 billion. VICI will lease the operations back to Eldorado for total annual rent of $154 million.

Eldorado also is selling Isle of Capri Casino Kansas City in Missouri and Lady Luck Casino Vicksburg in Mississippi for $230 million to Twin River Worldwide Holdings.

A Champaign, Illinois television station recently asked if Rockford Alderman Natavias Ervins’ vote to support Hard Rock International’s plan for a casino to be built by Ervins’ former employer posed a conflict of interest. Ervins had listed Ringland-Johnson Construction as his employer on his Facebook page.

The broadcast elicited a response from attorney Bobbie Holzwarth, Rockford’s lead lawyer on casino matters, who said the vote was not a conflict of interest because the information on his Facebook page was outdated. “He has worked for Ringland-Johnson in the past, but he was not employed by them at the time the casino law was passed or when the city was looking at the proposals,” Holzwarth said.

Ervins, a member of Carpenters Local 792, has not worked for Ringland-Johnson since November 2017—two years before he voted on the casino plan. He now works as a carpenter for Jack Hall Construction of Rockford, according to union records, and his Facebook page has been updated. A Rockford casino is one of six new casinos included in the state’s new gambling law.

Brad Long, business representative for Carpenters Local 792, said most carpenters work for whatever company has work available. “If he was working for the company, he probably should have abstained, but he wasn’t and hadn’t been for a while. You still have a right as a community member and as an alderman, to voice an opinion on what he thinks is best for the community. He shouldn’t have to sacrifice his voice and should be able to vote like the rest of the aldermen did. It’s not like it was a tight vote even.”

Eleven aldermen, including Ervins, voted October 7 to certify Seminole Hard Rock International’s $310 million proposal to develop a 65,000-square-foot casino, a Hard Rock Café and a 1,600-seat Hard Rock Live venue at the former Clock Tower Resort site. Following the vote, 815 Entertainment LLC, Seminole Hard Rock International’s partner with dozens of local investors, applied to the Illinois Gaming Board for a casino license.

Alderman John Beck abstained from the vote after his employer, the Rockford Park District, endorsed the project after reaching an agreement for financial support from Hard Rock if it won the license.

Officials with Caesars Southern Indiana last week celebrated the grand opening of the new $90 million land-based casino—part of the internationally known Caesars gaming and entertainment brand. The new casino replaces the 21-year-old riverboat casino that operated as Horseshoe Southern Indiana.

After 18 months of construction, guests can now enjoy the 110,000-square-foot integrated facility, combining dining, retail, entertainment and gaming in one multi-faceted space.

“With completely new gaming facilities, increased amenities and new restaurant offerings, Caesars Southern Indiana will elevate the experience for our guests,” said Caesars Southern Indiana Senior Vice President and General Manager Brad Seigel. “We look forward to making each visit memorable with the exceptional service, friendly team members, and thrilling gaming and entertainment that our guests have come to love at our home here in Southern Indiana.”

Relocating from the existing four-story riverboat location, the land-based casino will feature new, modern amenities including:

• Wide variety of real slot machines, table games, poker, and sportsbook
• Piazza, the new food and dining area, with five restaurants offering a variety of culinary options
• Volt Lounge, a new bar and lounge, featuring live entertainment each weekend and craft cocktails
• Juno Bar in the center of the gaming floor with several large flat screen TVs encircling the top of the bar
• Laurel Lounge, an exclusive area for Caesars Rewards VIPs, with outdoor balcony
• High limit gaming areas complimented by a private parlor
• Non-smoking gaming area

The on-site sports betting venue called “The Book” is also now open in its permanent location in the casino, allowing guests to bet on a variety of sports, including football, basketball, baseball, hockey and many more. The Book is open Monday through Friday from 12 p.m. to midnight and on weekends from 10 a.m. to midnight. The facility will be equipped with 30 large television screens and a combination of wagering windows and kiosks, along with a full staff to assist guests.

In addition to the spacious new one-story casino as well as the gaming and entertainment upgrades, guests can dine at Piazza, the new food and dining area with five restaurants. A wide variety of culinary options will be available, including, pizza, Mexican and Asian restaurants sharing space with a 24-hour restaurant serving burgers and other fare, and a home-style restaurant serving fried chicken, barbecue ribs and other dishes.

Caesars Southern Indiana has also completed renovations to meeting and convention spaces to accommodate larger groups with updated meeting, conference and convention amenities.

Peninsula Pacific Entertainment, which currently owns half of Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Sioux City, has announced an agreement with Warner Gaming to purchase 100 percent of the property. The agreement is expected to be finalized in the second quarter of 2020 based on regulatory approvals.

“Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Sioux City is a highly successful property that offers the best dining, gaming and entertainment experience in the region,” said M. Brent Stevens, Chairman and Managing Partner of Peninsula Pacific Entertainment. “We have a long history with Hard Rock, and in Iowa communities, and we are excited to continue to grow our community engagement and investment in Sioux City.”

No changes are expected to the day-to-day operations of the hotel and casino. All employees will continue with the organization.

“We have enjoyed the opportunity to be a part of Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Sioux City over the last six years,” said Bill Warner, CEO of Warner Gaming. “Moving forward, the property is in great hands with Peninsula Pacific Entertainment, and I look forward to seeing it continue to grow and thrive.”

The hotel and casino, which began operating in 2014, offers premier entertainment including more than 800 slot machines; 26 table games including craps, poker, blackjack and Texas hold ‘em; and three dining options, including the AAA Three Diamond-rated gastropub, Main + Abbey. Guests can also stay in one of the hotel’s AAA Four Diamond-rated luxurious rooms.

“Providing outstanding service and quality is a never-ending priority at each of our Peninsula Pacific Entertainment properties, including Hard Rock,” said Stevens. “This is a step in our direction to continue

improving the Siouxland with an exceptional place to work, a memorable place to stay or play, and a way for us to contribute to the region’s economy.”

When the agreement is finalized, Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Sioux City will operate under the Peninsula Pacific Entertainment umbrella of companies, which includes del Lago Resort & Casino in Waterloo, New York, DiamondJacks Hotel and Casino in Bossier City, Louisiana, Colonial Downs Racetrack in New Kent, Virginia, and Rosie’s Gaming Emporium locations in Richmond, Hampton, and Vinton, Virginia.

Wind Creek Bethlehem is following through on the promise of its owner, Alabama’s Poarch Band of Creek Indians, to make substantial improvements to the former Sands Bethlehem, purchased earlier this year from Las Vegas Sands Corp.

In plans filed with the city of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, Wind Creek detailed plans for a $90 million, 270-room hotel tower to be built next to the existing 282-room hotel and adjacent Wind Creek Event Center. According to the plans, the rooms would be on upper floors, and the ground floor would include a ballroom, meeting space, business center, banquet kitchen and bar. The second floor would include a pool and deck with patio tables. A state-of-the-art spa also would be included.

According to a report in the Allentown Morning Call, the casino plans to break ground in the spring on the new expansion. Construction would take approximately 14 months.

“We will work closely with Wind Creek to move this project forward,” Bethlehem Mayor Robert Donchez told the newspaper.

The project was previewed by Wind Creek, the gambling and hospitality arm of the Alabama tribe, when it closed on its $1.3 billion purchase of the Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem on May 31, as part of what CEO Jay Dorris at the time called a plan to transform the casino into the “No. 1 resort destination in the Northeast.”

Included in that plan is a $250 million project to transform the historic No. 2 Machine Shop—part of the Bethlehem Steel plant that once occupied the space—into a 300,000-square-foot adventure and water park that also would include a roughly 400-room hotel.