Author: Casino Connection Staff

One of the first politicians to support the legalization of gaming outside of Nevada died last week. Former New Jersey Governor Brendan Byrne backed South Jersey politicians in 1974 that wanted to bring gambling to Atlantic City to revive the down-on-its-luck resort.

The referendum in 1974 allowed any community in New Jersey to legalize casinos with a local option. That vote went against legal gambling, so the wording was changed to allow casinos in Atlantic City only in 1976. It passed by a 55-45 margin.

When Resorts International opened its doors on Memorial Day 1978, Byrne showed up to cut the ribbon, warning organized crime to “keep your filthy hands off Atlantic City.”

While the regulatory scheme set up under the Byrne administration proved to be unwieldy and oppressive, it did manage to keep organized crime at bay. But the adversarial relationship between the regulators and the industry prevented Atlantic City from benefiting substantially from the casino industry.

Democrat Byrne was elected governor in 1974 and served until 1982, following a career as a hard-charging prosecutor. In addition to legalizing gaming, as governor he signed into law a state income tax for the first time, and created the state Department of Energy.

A graduate of Princeton, Byrne served in World War II in the Army Air Corps and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and other honors. He later earned his law degree at Harvard University.

Frank Gilliam Jr., 47, an Atlantic City native and former councilman-at-large, was sworn in as the resort’s new mayor succeeding Don Guardian, who served a single term.

At a swearing-in ceremony, Gilliam said he wants to make the city the “shining star of New Jersey.”

“It’s a surreal feeling. I feel very proud,” Gilliam told the Press of Atlantic City after the ceremony.

Gilliam was elected to the resort’s City Council in 2009 and was re-elected to his at-large seat in 2013.

Gilliam described his vision for the city following the ceremony, saying his ability to unify and bring in new ideas will help to foster the change the city needs during his term.

“We can expect progressiveness. We can expect open ideas. We can expect the question, ‘Why not? Why not Atlantic City?’” Gilliam said.

He said his first order of business as mayor will be to sit down with New Jersey state officials to discuss a future “partnership,” the Press reported. The state is currently in control of all city finances, but incoming Governor Phil Murphy has said he wants to end the state takeover.

Meanwhile, Guardian has accepted a job as municipal administrator for Toms River in Ocean County New Jersey.

In another story, former state Casino Reinvestment Development Authority Director John Palmieri and been named Newark deputy mayor for economic growth.

Palmieri was appointed CRDA director in 2011 and stepped down at the end of 2016. He oversaw $1 billion in redevelopment initiatives and investment in the city.

“This is my home state. I’m really happy to be able to remain in the state,” Palmieri told the Press. “The challenge of continuing to advance the mission of development in Newark was quite appealing.”

Palmieri will oversee non-real estate economic growth, such as infrastructure, transportation and development, helping to “shape the city’s multi-billion-dollar revitalization,” according to a press release.

Despite a severe cold snap along the East Coast, Atlantic City’s Boardwalk opened a new Ferris wheel attraction at the city’s Steel Pier.

The $14 million, 227-foot attraction is designed to give riders views up and down the Atlantic coastline, said operator Anthony Catanoso.

“Seems like you can see forever, you can see all the way down to Sea Isle, all the way up to Barnegat,” he told the Press of Atlantic City. “Beautiful views.”

Catanoso said the Ferris wheel should operate about 300 days a year or whenever the temperature is above 38 degrees. The wheel’s gondolas are both heated and cooled.

“The wheel is going to be a perfect opportunity to have events there, groups, parties, weddings,” he said. “We already have two weddings scheduled for the wheel already.”

The project was partially funded with casino reinvestment dollars and is part of an effort to diversify tourist attractions in the resort beyond casino gambling.

It’s the third-largest wheel in the U.S. The High Roller in Las Vegas is the largest.

An email scandal that led to the resignation of several top Miss America pageant officials may also hurt the pageant’s relationship with Atlantic City.

The Miss America Organization receives a $4 million subsidy from the state Casino Reinvestment Development Authority to hold the pageant in the resort. The recent scandal has caused several Atlantic City area lawmakers to question the deal and whether the resort is getting its money’s worth.

State Assemblymen Chris Brown and Vince Mazzeo, state Senator Colin Bell, and Atlantic City Mayor Frank Gilliam have all called on the authority to get out of the final year of the agency’s contract, according to the Press of Atlantic City.

“Renewing the multimillion-dollar Miss America contract with CRDA was never the right move,” said Mazzeo. “It’s time to end the handout and move on. Atlantic City has too many good things happening in the future to be stuck on an event that has only brought in a respectful return in the distant past.”

The pageant found itself embroiled in controversy after leaked emails by pageant officials—including former CEO Sam Haskell—making derogatory and lewd comments about past pageant winners. Several members of the pageant’s board have resigned and Dick Clark Productions—the pageant’s TV partner—cut ties with the Miss America organization.

Former Miss America Gretchen Carlson has been named the new chairman of the pageant’s board and several other former pageant winners have also been named to the board.

“Everyone has been stunned by the events of the last several days, and this has not been easy for anyone who loves this program,” Carlson said in a press statement. “In the end, we all want a strong, relevant Miss America and we appreciate the existing board taking the steps necessary to quickly begin stabilizing the organization for the future.”

But the controversy has also re-ignited a long-standing local debate of the pageant’s importance to Atlantic City. The pageant originated in Atlantic City in 1921 and was a mainstay in the resort for decades, especially during its heyday in the 50s and 60s. However, the pageant left the resort in 2005 and was held in other cities for 10 years before returning. When the pageant returned, it negotiated a subsidy with CRDA.

According to the Press, the Miss America Organization and the authority signed its latest three-year deal to keep the pageant in the resort through 2018. Under the contract, the organization was to receive about $11.9 million in casino reinvestment funds over the three years.

“The CRDA finds the reports of the Miss America Organization and the behavior of its leadership troubling,” Christopher Howard, executive director of the CRDA, said in a press release. “The CRDA is working with our legal counsel to undertake an immediate review of its contract with the Miss America Organization and Dick Clark Productions to assess what steps we may need to take.”

Much of the rationale for the subsidy has revolved around the publicity the city receives for hosting the pageant. As part of the contract, the Miss America Organization is required to promote the resort during the opening of the pageant’s ABC telecasts.

Dick Clark Productions also agreed to include a live performance in Atlantic City in its annual “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve” shows through 2019, but no performances from the resort have ever been included in that show.

Gilliam, the resort’s incoming mayor, said the split with Dick Clark Productions should be a deal breaker.

“It’s a great opportunity to pull out of the contract,” Gilliam told the Press. “Now that the television has gone, it’s not what we are paying for. I’m not one of the biggest fans of Miss America, because we don’t get back compared to what we give.”

Even after changes were made to the organization’s board, criticism over whether the pageant lived up to its end of the authority deal continued.

John Palmieri, a former head of CRDA also told the Press that the pageant no longer deserved the reinvestment funds. Palmieri left the authority in 2016 and helped negotiate the Miss America deal two years ago.

“Miss America Organization did very little to market and promote the pageant,” Palmieri told the paper. “They were supposed to do that. They kept coming to us asking us for money.”

Assemblyman Chris Brown said the authority should look at spending its money on events or projects that benefit Atlantic County residents.

“Which is why it doesn’t make sense to keep throwing taxpayer dollars trying to promote the resort through an event whose marketing ability and TV audience gets smaller and smaller each year,” Brown told the Press.

James T. Plousis has been approved by the New Jersey state Senate to become chairman of the state’s Casino Control Commission. Plousis replaces Matt Levinson, whose nomination by Governor Chris Christie was not acted upon by the state Senate. In November Christie withdrew the nomination and substituted Plousis. Levinson’s father, Atlantic City Executive Dennis Levinson, said the withdrawal of his son’s nomination was in retaliation for the county challenging the PILOT program, in which Atlantic City casinos pay a set annual rate in lieu of taxes, with the county not getting an equal share.

Plousis is a former sheriff in Cape May County, as well as a member of the state Parole Board for the past seven years. He promised to uphold the integrity of the gaming industry and work with surrounding communities to draw more tourists to the region. He will serve a five-year term for an agency that has been dramatically cut over the last five years as regulatory reform shifted the power to the state Division of Gaming Enforcement.

In the latest action by casino operators to expand their market share, diversify their businesses, move into new geographic areas and cut costs, Penn National Gaming recently announced it will purchase Pinnacle Entertainment in a cash and stock deal worth $2.8 billion. Pinnacle shareholders will receive $20 in cash and 0.42 shares of Penn National common stock for each Pinnacle share, for a total of $32.47 per Pinnacle share. Penn National shareholders will own 78 percent of the combined company and Pinnacle shareholders will own 22 percent.

In addition, to avoid objections from antitrust regulators, as part of the arrangement, Boyd Gaming announced it will purchase for $575 million four Pinnacle casinos: Ameristar Kansas City and Ameristar St. Charles in Missouri; Belterra Casino Resort in Indiana; and Belterra Park in Ohio. Also, Boyd will sign a lease agreement with Gaming and Leisure Properties Inc. GLPI expects its total rent to increase by $46.1 million annually. Upon closing, Boyd will operate 28 properties in nine states. And one day later, Boyd Gaming announced it had agreed to purchase the Valley Forge casinos outside of Philadelphia.

Boyd Chief Executive Officer Keith Smith said Boyd will have acquired four high quality casinos in new markets at an attractive price with a potential for high return potential. He noted the purchase adds very little debt and eventually will allow Boyd to return more cash to shareholders.

Officials at Penn National, the leading U.S. regional gaming operator based in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, said the purchase is expected to close in the second half of 2018. The deal would raise Penn National’s revenue stream by $2 billion and give it 41 properties across 20 jurisdictions in North America, excluding those acquired by Boyd, offering 53,500 slots, 1,300 table games and 8,300 hotel rooms in the U.S. The combined company will have 35,000 employees, up from 19,000, with annual revenue of about $5 billion, making it the third-largest domestic casino operator after MGM Resorts and Caesars, according to SunTrust brokerage.

Penn National Gaming Chief Executive Officer Timothy Wilmott said, “This was a very complex 4-party transaction and we took a look holistically at the deal and what we needed to handle regulatory approval at the state and federal level. By combining our highly complementary portfolios and similar operating philosophies, we will be able to leverage the strengths of both our companies and create an unparalleled experience for our regional gaming customers, while generating significant value for our shareholders and business partners. The combined company will benefit from enhanced scale, additional growth opportunities and best-in-class operations, creating a more efficient integrated gaming company.”

Wilmott added, “Going forward, we will have the financial and operational flexibility to further execute on our strategic objectives, while maintaining our track record of industry leading profit margins and generating significant cash flow to reduce leverage over time. We look forward to welcoming Pinnacle’s talented employees to our team and to further enhancing our status as North America’s leading regional gaming operator.”

Wilmott noted combining Penn National And Pinnacle loyalty programs will allow Penn National to more effectively drive play at its properties, particularly Tropicana Las Vegas and M Resorts.

In a call with analysts, Penn National Chief Financial Officer William Fair said the purchase of Pinnacle will enable the company to benefit from potential tax law changes, leading to additional potential acquisitions. The Pinnacle deal is expected to generate $100 million in annual cost savings within two years.

Penn National Senior Vice President for Public Affairs Eric Schippers stated, “We grew from a single racetrack back in 1972 to what is today the largest regional gaming operation in North America. We’re getting into new states like Colorado, Louisiana and Iowa, which opens up all kinds of new opportunities as we diversify our portfolio.”

Penn National will fund the purchase with cash from the Boyd sale, existing cash and new debt. Goldman Sachs and Bank of America Merrill Lynch have committed to new debt financing. J.P. Morgan served as he adviser to Pinnacle.

The purchase news comes one month after Las Vegas-based Caesars Entertainment announced it would buy Indianapolis-based Centaur Holdings LLC and its Hoosier Park and Indiana Grand casinos and race tracks in central Indiana for $1.7 billion in cash. The deal would give add to Caesars’ portfolio four of Indiana’s top five casinos in terms of gambling revenue. Caesars ready owns two Horseshoe-branded casinos in Indiana. The purchase is awaiting approval from the Indiana Gaming Commission and Indiana Horse Racing Commission.

In addition, earlier this year, Eldorado Resorts, which has a casino in Shreveport, bought Isle of Capri Casinos Inc. and its 14 casinos for $1.7 billion. Gaming and Leisure Properties bought Bally’s Casino Tunica and Resorts Casino Tunica in Robinsonville, Mississippi for $82.6 million.

And to add to its haul, Boyd Gaming announced that it had entered into a definitive agreement with Valley Forge Convention Center Partners, L.P., to acquire Valley Forge Casino Resort in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, for total cash consideration of $280.5 million.

Located 20 miles west of downtown Philadelphia, Valley Forge will be Boyd Gaming’s first asset in Pennsylvania, the second-largest commercial gaming state in the nation.

The Valley Forge property is one of two Category 3 casinos in the state, which, under the original 2004 state gaming law were limited to 600 slot machines and 50 table games, and were required to be attached to a hotel. The property became more appealing as an acquisition target after the state’s new gaming law eliminated “membership” requirements that imposed an annual entry fee or required that money be spent elsewhere on a property prior to entering the casino. The law also allowed for increases in the slot inventory.

The gaming law offered to eliminate the restrictions for a fee, which Valley Forge paid immediately.

The purchase price represents an implied multiple of 7 times EBITDA, including expected cost synergies and incremental growth from the property’s impending slot floor expansion, and before any operational improvements. Boyd expects the acquisition to be free cash flow-positive and immediately accretive to earnings.

“The acquisition of Valley Forge Casino Resort is another excellent opportunity to further grow and diversify our nationwide portfolio,” said Keith Smith. “With this acquisition, we will expand into the second-largest gaming state in the country, establishing a presence in a densely populated, high-traffic area just west of Philadelphia.

“And thanks to Pennsylvania’s recent passage of gaming expansion legislation, there are new opportunities to drive incremental growth at Valley Forge through the expansion of the property’s slot capacity and the introduction of new forms of gaming.”

Valley Forge features a 40,000-square foot casino with 600 slot machines, 50 table games and nearly 500 hotel rooms. The property also has eight restaurants and bars, and more than 100,000 square feet of meeting, convention and exhibit space. The property is located just two miles north of King of Prussia Mall, one of the largest malls in the United States.

Following the passage of gaming expansion legislation in November, Valley Forge eliminated its customer admission fee, and plans to expand its gaming capacity with the addition of 250 slot machines in early 2018, both of which are expected to drive increased customer traffic. Additionally, the legislation allows the property to offer online gaming within the state of Pennsylvania, as well as sports betting if permitted under federal law in the future, as well as the opportunity to bid on one of the state’s proposed 10 mini-casinos.

Smith added, “With the successful completion of our acquisitions of Valley Forge and the Pinnacle assets, Boyd Gaming will gain direct access to four of the nation’s largest gaming markets—Philadelphia, St. Louis, Kansas City and Cincinnati—with a combined population of nearly 10 million adults. We will expand our nationwide presence, operating 29 properties across 10 states. We believe this expansion will help drive additional growth throughout our nationwide portfolio, as we market our destination properties to these new customers in the Midwest and Northeast.”

The Valley Forge transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2018, subject to customary closing conditions and the receipt of all required regulatory approvals. The transaction will be financed with incremental debt financing.

As a result of the company’s substantial free cash flow, Boyd Gaming expects to continue its program of returning capital to shareholders through quarterly dividend payments and share repurchases.

Morrison & Foerster LLP served as legal advisor to Boyd Gaming for the transaction. Moelis & Company LLC served as exclusive financial advisor to Boyd Gaming. Cozen O’Connor served as legal advisor to Valley Forge Convention Center Partners, L.P.

The U.S. Labor Department plans to scrap a regulation that prohibits employers from pooling tips with non-tip employees.

The prohibition, imposed by the Obama administration in 2011, effectively halted mandatory tip-sharing, a controversial practice introduced in the casino industry a decade ago by Steve Wynn that requires dealers to share a portion of their tips with pit bosses, supervisors and other gaming floor staff.

The subject of numerous and conflicting rulings by federal and state courts, the practice isn’t restricted to gaming; it’s popular with employers in other industries as well, allowing them to control tips for distribution among back-of-house workers such as kitchen staff and thereby address pay disparities in conformance with federal minimum wage laws.

“It vests much more discretion in management, and it also gives them a way to basically keep wages where they are and use tips as a way to deal with inherent problems in their own wage structures,” said Ruben Garcia, a UNLV law professor who focuses on labor and employment.

Wynn Resorts introduced the practice in 2006 and it was challenged by dealers through state and federal lawsuits. In 2013, the Nevada Supreme Court upheld the policy. But a ruling handed down in 2016 by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals declared mandatory tip-pooling a violation of the U.S. Fair Labor Standards Act.

Given the uncertainties, the Trump administration proposal could prove significant as a way to settle the issue once and for all.

“Are the dealers concerned about that ruling? Yes,” said Joe Carbon, director of the gaming division of Las Vegas’ Transport Workers Union Local 721, which has negotiated contracts on behalf of dealers at Bally’s, Caesars Palace, Harrah’s, Paris and Wynn that either prohibit or limit managerial discretion regarding tips.

Carbon said his union expects casino operators to honor their contractual agreements and not change their policies whatever the Labor Department does.

Likewise, Bethany Khan, a spokeswoman for the Culinary Union, said her members will be largely unaffected by the rule because tip pooling is dealt with in collective bargaining.

Las Vegas’ newest pro sports franchise has a new name to go with its new home.

The WNBA’s San Antonio Stars, purchased this fall by MGM Resorts International, will be the Las Vegas Aces when they begin play in 2018 at MGM’s 12,000-seat Mandalay Bay Events Center.

Detroit Pistons great Bill Laimbeer, who has coached in the league for 13 years, will be head coach and president of basketball operations.

Following the NHL’s Golden Knights, the relocation of the NFL’s Oakland Raiders in 2020, the United Soccer League’s Las Vegas Lights FC, and the Las Vegas 51s, a Triple A minor league baseball team, the Aces are the fifth pro team to call Las Vegas home.

The aces plan to spend $10 million to upgrade the Events Center, and WNBA President Lisa Borders said the team is looking forward to playing to full houses.

“That’s the benchmark for success. You’ve seen the Golden Knights come in a few months ago with 18,000 at their game. We’d like to see the same thing at Mandalay Bay. It’s a smaller arena, so obviously you can’t have the same numbers, but you’d like to see a full arena.”

Much of that will depend on the team’s performance, which hasn’t been stellar in San Antonio. The Stars have finished at the bottom of the Western Conference in each of the last three seasons with a combined record of 23-79. But Laimbeer, who has turned around the fortunes of the league’s Detroit Shock and New York Liberty and has three WNBA championships to his credit, said he expects the Aces will generate exciting and entertaining play for Vegas fans.

“This is a natural place for a lot of teams to be,” he said. “It’s the entertainment capital of the world, and we’re all playing a sport, but it’s still entertainment.”

Recent developments in Florida gaming include rulings on card rooms, relocating gaming permits, attempts to legalize daily fantasy sports and allow banked card games at parimutuels. Other actions have led the Seminole Tribe of Florida to express concern over its exclusive gaming rights.

Administrative Judge Robert Meale recently ruled the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation was wrong to take back a summer jai alai permit it said was issued by mistake. Regulators allowed the Havenick family to move the permit from leased space at Miami Jai Alai to the Casino at Dania Beach, which the family manages. Regulators revoked the permit, claiming they were wrong in approving it to be moved from Miami-Dade to Broward County, because permits cannot be transferred from one county to another.

However, Meale ruled state law does not ban moving permits between counties, as long as they are moved within 35 miles from the original location. The judge accused regulators of trying to change the policy due to political pressure from Fronton Holdings, which owns Miami Jai Alai.

Summer Partners attorney John Lockwood stated, “A government agency cannot just take away a license because they changed their mind. This allows us to continue forward with our planned operations at Dania and upholds the division’s long-standing interpretation of the statute.”

In other developments, the Seminole Tribe filed a lawsuit in the Fourth Judicial Circuit Court of Duval County to shut down 25 internet cafes in Duval County for allegedly violating the tribe’s exclusive rights to casino gaming. The tribe contends the cafes allow patrons to pay money to play various forms of electronic gambling for a chance to win prize money, violating anti-gambling laws under Chapter 849 of Florida Statutes and creating unfair competition.

Tribal attorney Barry Richard said the games simulate slots, card games and other types of gambling. They primarily are located in coffee shops, cafes or restaurants, but state gaming regulators only have jurisdiction over facilities with liquor licenses, which most of these establishments don’t have, Richard said.

The Seminoles if the situation continues they would be within their rights to end the revenue sharing arrangement with the state, under which the tribe has paid more than $1 billion since 2010.

Another issue concerns designated player card games at parimutuels. The Division of Parimutuel Wagering will hold a workshop January 4 regarding a proposal that the designated player, who acts as the bank in player-banked games such as blackjack, must rotate clockwise on a hand-by-hand basis.

Last year Administrative Law Judge E. Gary Early ruled regulators were wrong to do away with a rule governing controversial designated player card games without replacing the regulations. The judge sided with nine operators of card rooms in Miami, Jacksonville and West Palm Beach regarding the popular games, introduced in 2012, which generate $87 million in annual revenue. Last month the Court of Appeals upheld Early’s decision. The state could be on the hook for legal expenses of $450,000 if Early agrees the state must pay the nine defendants’ two attorneys $50,000 per defendant in legal fees.

Regarding gaming legislation, Senate Regulated Industries Committee passed SB 374, exempting fantasy sports contests from state gaming regulations. However, the Seminoles contend allowing fantasy sports would violate their gaming compact and give the tribe the right to stop paying the state $200 million annually.

Bill sponsor, state Senator Dana Young, said the contests are not gambling. She noted an opinion from state Supreme Court Justice Ken Bell stating that passing a DFS bill should have no effect on the tribe’s revenue payments to the state. The House version of the bill is HB 223.

A pre-filed Senate gaming bill, SB 840, would include several issues that were considered last year. It would lower taxes on slot revenue from 35 percent to 25 percent; allow certain types of designated player-banked games at parimutuels; decouple live racing from other gambling at parimutuels; and exempt fantasy contests from state regulation as long as the operator conducted no more than 10 contests in a year.

Meanwhile, the political action group Voters in Charge has submitted more than 574,000 or the required 766,200 valid signatures required to place on the 2018 ballot a constitutional amendment requiring statewide referendums for any future gambling expansion.

Internet Explosion

Florida law enforcement officials have been battling a proliferation of internet cafés since charges were dropped earlier this year against Jacksonville attorney Kelly Mathis, who was convicted in 2013 of racketeering, possessing illegal slot machines and numerous other counts in a $300 million operation.

Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood said, “Once that court case came out, you started to see them become more emboldened by this and they just said, ‘Hey, let’s go.’” This summer his deputies raided the Hot Spot internet café in Ormond Beach and seized $10,000 in cash. Earlier this month in Lake County, after weeks of undercover work, Operation Jackpot resulted in a raid of 10 internet cafes. Officers seized more than $200,000 in cash and arrested four people charged with keeping an establishment for gambling. Lake County officials said as many as two dozen internet cafes operate there.

Chitwood said, “I want the legislature to figure this out for us. Either it’s gambling, in which case you’re going to put tougher penalties and make it worth our while, or you’re going to tax it, regulate it. Everybody is kind of stuck with ‘Which way do we go here?’”

Meanwhile, law-enforcement officials said they have to conduct costly, time-consuming investigations that could be tossed out of court. Internet café owners claim their operations are legal because their slot machines and tabletop games are not based on chance but on a pre-set algorithm, therefore the games are not gambling.

The internet cafes also are magnets for crime. Lieutenant John Herrell said, “People are asking us, ‘Why don’t you hit these places?’” He responds enforcement operations have tapered off due to the lack of “judicial clarification.”

Another issue is the opioid epidemic, said Tavares Police Corporal Sarah Coursey. “We were finding hypodermic needles in the parking lot and getting a lot of drug complaints” outside the Hot Spot internet café on U.S. Highway 441. Tavares police raided the café in November, seizing $52,000 in cash, two weapons and several slot machines. “The ones in Las Vegas and the casinos in Tampa, they’re regulated, they get audited, they get checked. This can be rigged in any way,” Coursey said.

Assistant State Attorney Mark Simpson added, “There’s also the argument, ‘Well, you’re not hurting anybody and it’s a victimless crime, and the bottom line is why are you trying to take the fun away, especially from seniors?’ They’re going to keep pumping money into this to get gambling on every street corner because it’s so profitable.”

Mathis was convicted by a Seminole County jury in 2013 and sentenced to six years in prison. But the judge allowed him to remain free while the case was appealed. The 5^th District Circuit Court of Appeal reversed his conviction and ordered a new trial in October 2016. However, this past March the state prosecutor handling the case dropped the charges rather than go to the expense of a repeat trial. Mathis claimed he followed the state’s regulations governing sweepstakes and contests.

Dog Days Done?

One of the proposals being considered by the Florida Constitution Revision Commission would allow voters to end greyhound racing after December 31, 2019. The commission meets every 20 years to review amendments to submit to voters; 60 percent approval is required. The commission chairman said only eight to 16 amendments will advance to the November 2018 ballot.

However, the issue could be determined sooner by the legislature. State Senator Travis Hutson has introduced Senate Bill 840 which would decouple live dog racing from offering other gambling, such as a card room, if the racetrack has held a full racing schedule for 10 consecutive years.

Florida is one of only six states that still allow dog racing; it’s outlawed in 40 states. About 450 racing dogs have died at Florida’s 12 racetracks since 2013, when the state first required mortality data. Between 2008 and 2015, another 13,000-plus greyhounds have been injured, mostly with broken legs, animal welfare groups reported. Additionally, the report said nearly half of the 847 greyhounds who tested positive for drugs were in Florida; 71 tested positive for cocaine.

The report also noted Florida budgets $2.7 million annually for drug-testing racing animals and samples. Experts said without dog racing, these funds could be redirected toward job training for individuals who may lose their job when racing stops.

At the same time, wagering on dog races dropped from $3.5 billion in 1991 to t $500 million by 2014, according to racing association figures. The racetracks are able to stay financially afloat due to poker games and profitable card rooms.

Carey Theil, executive director at Grey2K USA Worldwide, a greyhound advocacy group, said, “Us winning on this issue is inevitable.”

Las Vegas dodged a potentially costly bullet last week when a provision was dropped from the Republicans’ $1.4 trillion tax overhaul that would have eliminated tax-exempt status for bonds used to finance construction of professional sports stadiums.

The exemption, which was included in the Senate’s version of the bill and agreed to by House leaders last week on the eve of the bill’s final passage, will save the Las Vegas Stadium Authority millions of dollars when it goes to market to borrow the lion’s share of the funding for a $1.9 billion domed stadium for the NFL Raiders. Plans call for the Authority to float bonds covering $750 million of the stadium’s cost backed by an increase in the Clark County hotel room tax.

Similarly, the Southern Nevada Tourism Infrastructure Committee is relying on the tax-exemption to keep a $1.4 billion expansion and renovation of the Las Vegas Convention Center affordable.

The original House proposal had called for elimination of the exemption to partially offset the massive tax cuts the bill provides for corporations and individuals.

Though support for the tax bill in Congress broke strictly along party lines, both Republicans and Democrats in Nevada lobbied hard to keep the exemption.

New York’s Resorts World Catskills is moving up its opening date from March to mid-February to take advantage of the Lunar New Year festivities, a peak gambling season for the Asian clientele the property is targeting.

The fourth of the state’s new commercially owned casino hotels, and the largest of the four, has a slate of attractions planned for the occasion.

“We accelerated for the Lunar New Year,” said Executive Vice President Charles Degliomini. “We’re building a lot of amenities that cater to the Asian gaming market, and we didn’t want to miss that opportunity to surprise and delight our guests just by two weeks.”

The marketing will include luxury accommodations, authentic Asian cuisine, a full menu of baccarat and pai gow games, private salons for high rollers and a feng shui area for good luck.

In all, the $1.2 billion resort will feature 100,000 square feet of gaming, a 332-room hotel, a golf course and will sponsor charter jet service from Asia via the region’s Stewart International Airport.

Publicly traded Empire Resorts, which is developing the property and owns the nearby Monticello racetrack and racino, is majority held by Genting Group, the Malaysia-based conglomerate with deep roots in Asian gaming by virtue of large-scale integrated resorts in Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines.