Potpourri

The unnamed Pittsburgh casino is back on track; casino revenues are down slightly across the state; and in Washington County everybody is trying to figure out how to split $12 million or so in local slots tax revenues, courtesy of The Meadows; but thie big news is over to the west, in Ohio, where the voters will (again) have a chance to approve casino gambling through a November referendum:

"Backers of a $600 million casino resort initiative collected enough certified signatures to bring the controversial issue before Ohio voters in November, Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner said Friday. Brunner's office said the proposal contained 480,003 valid signatures, above the required 402,275 needed to qualify for the ballot. Beachwood-based MyOhioNow.com on Aug. 5 submitted about 800,000 signatures for Issue 6, which calls for Ohio's first casino to be developed in Clinton County, between Columbus and Cincinnati."

Ohio voters have shot down this sort of proposal before. Will this year be any different? Not if these guys have anything to say about it:

"The sponsors of a low-key ballot measure to build a casino in southwestern Ohio suddenly have a battle on their hands -- both hands. On the right is Vote No Casinos, a group that includes many of Ohio's traditional gambling opponents such as leaders of the conservative public-policy group Ohio Roundtable. On the left comes the No On 6 committee, with the financial heft of a Pennsylvania-based gambling conglomerate that owns a riverboat casino near Cincinnati and a horse track in Toledo."

That "Pennsylvania-based gambling conglomerate" would be Penn National.

Dispatches from the east

We move from Ohio to Philly, where city officials and SugarHouse Gaming continue to dicker over where the casino should be built:

"A proposal to build the Foxwoods Casino within the Gallery at Market East rather than on the South Philadelphia waterfront would allow the city to reinvent one of its dreariest downtown thoroughfares and improve nearby neighborhoods, Gov. Rendell and Mayor Nutter said [this month]. Rendell, Nutter and Foxwoods officials formally introduced their plan, which calls for building a 3,000-machine slots parlor in part of the Gallery, a 1970s-era attempt at urban retail redevelopment that never quite took."

Kinda like Allegheny Center.

Up in smoke, part II

Is this a glimpse of Pennsylvania's future?

Via Cigar Aficionado: "The Illinois smoking ban is partially to blame for eight straight months of lost revenue in state casinos, says Tom Swoik, executive director of the Illinois Casino Gaming Association. From January, when the smoking ban started, to August, casinos' gross receipts dropped 18 percent compared to the same period in 2007, according to the association's monthly report. Also, 926,000 fewer people have visited the casinos." 

You're right, it could be the smoking ban. Or maybe the crippled economy? Anybody watching CNN over at Cigar Aficionado? 

This is a trend, it seems:

"Smoke ‘em if you got ‘em in the public concourses at Ameristar Kansas City Casino and Hotel -- but only for another 10 days at most." The smoking ban kicks in imminently.

Odds and ends

MTR Gaming plucks a CEO from Isle of Capri ... A horse trainer was killed at a racetrack in Erie ... The Donald is trying to rescue his Atlantic City operation with a giant skyscraper ... Kansas is go for launch, casino-wise. 

Up in smoke?

In a slow week for casino news, we're left to talk about Thursday's statewide smoking ban, and whether it will hurt business at Pennsylvania's casinos, where the cigarette haze is as much a part of the decor as the drapes or the tight-shirted waitresses. Will the chain smokers take their business elsewhere? Will they walk the 25 feet to the nearest smoking section?

Or will they drive to Atlantic City?

Thing is, Atlantic City's smoking ban is set to take effect, too -- next month, in fact, and whatever Pennsylvania gamblers might be lost for the month of September might be regained in October:

"The state of Pennsylvania could be the beneficiary of the smoking laws in New Jersey. They, too, have a smoking ban law that is going into effect in less then two weeks. They have excluded certain areas of a casino floor from the ban, however ... Pennsylvania casinos could see a large jump in business in October. That is when the smoking laws go into effect in Atlantic City."

The smoking ban at Pennsylvania's casinos is fairly lax -- up to 25 percent of the casino floor can be used as the "smoking section," and if casinos can prove a hardship caused by the smoking ban, that percentage could increase to 50 percent. Atlantic City, meanwhile, has an all-out ban.

... Remember the resort casinos, the mini-casinos with up to 500 slot machines each? Western Pennsylvania was in line to get two of them -- Seven Springs and Nemacolin. But both of those outfits pulled out of the running in 2006, opening the competition to new applicants. Those three applicants (for only two licenses) will be vetted at hearings next month, at the Pennsylvania State Museum in Harrisburg.:

-3 p.m., Oct. 22, for Valley Forge Convention Center Partners, L.P., near Philadelphia.

-1:30 p.m., Oct. 23, Vacation Charters, Ltd., (The Resort at Split Rock) in Carbon County.

-3:30 p.m., Oct. 23, Bushkill Group, Inc. (Fernwood Hotel & Resort) in Monroe County.

... oh, and the photo is somewhat relevant:

"Fallsview Casino Resort announced today that Cheech and Chong - one of the most popular comedy duos of the 1970s and 1980s - will bring their Light Up Canada tour to Fallsview as part of the resort's autumn line-up. The reunited Richard 'Cheech' Marin and Tommy Chong will perform one show only in Fallsview's Avalon Theatre on Thursday, Nov. 6, beginning at 8:30 p.m."

So mark your calendars I guess.

Dispatches from the east

Atlantic City is still reeling from what has been a lousy year, and the local newspaper says the bad economy has spun into a bad customer service experience for casino visitors, which exacerbates things:

"The casinos have cut back on pit bosses, floor persons and full-time employees. Pit bosses are overworked, supervising too many gaming pits. Floor persons have to watch up to six table games. The effect is worse customer service. The slot departments have also been reduced. Customers have to search for attendants for service and often ask dealers that are going on break to help them. Maybe customers are frustrated and are going to places that provide better customer service. As the casinos reduce the number of front-line workers, customer service suffers."

That, and you won't be able to smoke there come October.

... Not drawing enough gamblers? Build more casinos!

"In an effort to survive withering competition from Pennsylvania and New York slots parlors, Atlantic City is considering expanding casino gambling into areas that were never envisioned when gambling was approved here in the 1970s. The City Council last week approved changes to its master plan that will rezone parts of Route 30 to allow construction of a casino on the site of a former oil depot. About a mile from the Boardwalk and only slightly closer than that to the three marina district casinos, the proposed gambling hall would be built by Penn National Gaming in an area currently known best for traffic jams and sewage odors."

You won't smell like cigarette smoke anymore ... but you may smell like raw sewage.

... In Philadelphia, they're still discussing where the casinos will be built:

"The potential relocation of at least one proposed riverfront casino has set off serious real-estate speculation and more than a little community concern about where the project might go next. Foxwoods, which received a license from the state in December 2006 to build a casino on Columbus Boulevard at Reed Street, agreed last month to consider moving after 20 months of delays brought on by a resistant city government and community opposition. So where could Foxwoods go? Could the former Budd Co. site in Nicetown, where Donald Trump was rejected for a casino license by the state Gaming Control Board, be back in play? What about the Wachovia Spectrum in South Philly, which will be torn down for a massive, multi-use entertainment complex? Or Center City?"

The Budd Co. site tops the rumor list, says the Philadelphia Daily News.

Dispatches from the west

Could Ohio get an Indian casino?

"Monroe City officials plan to resume negotiations with the Eastern Shawnee tribe on a new revenue sharing agreement before the end of year for a proposed $300 million to $350 million casino complex ... The tribe previously was considering a site for a casino at Monroe's Corridor 75 Park, a site southeast of Interstate 75 and Ohio 63, but the Eastern Shawnee and the property owners of the park did not renew the option for the purchase of the land at the site."

Monroe is 30 miles north of Cincinnati.  

Odds and ends

Detroit's Motor City Casino gets a facelift ... Harra's begins planning its casino in Kansas ... Tropicana Entertainment wants to regain control of its former Atlantic City casino ... An Indian tribe strikes out in the Bay State. 

Emptying the notebook ...

... also known as a "notes" column. Also known as Lazy Writer Syndrome (LWS), characterized by drowsiness, bouts of procrastination, shin splints and multiple trips to the snack bar. The only known cure is a tropical vacation.  

... Here's the state's rationale for approving the Pittsburgh casino license switcharoo.  

... Nothing to do on Friday? Here's something:

"Friday marks the one-year anniversary of Centaur Inc. getting one of two things it needs to create a new $425 million harness racetrack and slot machine casino west of New Castle in Lawrence County. On Sept. 5, 2007, the state Harness Racing Commission granted Indianapolis-based Centaur a harness racing license. ... To spur the gaming board to act on the slots license, county tourism officials and Carmen Shick, the head of Lawrence County-based Ambrosia Enterprises, will hold a rally Friday near the proposed racetrack/casino site, along Route 422 near the Ohio line." 

Dispatches from the east

"Gambling regulators have cited Harrah's Chester Casino for allowing a child on the casino floor. The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board last week fined the casino $20,000 for allowing a 14-year-old girl on the casino floor in March of this year. Board spokesman Richard McGarvey said the girl was able to get onto the floor, gamble, and cash in the winnings before being caught by a security guard. The casino was also fined $10,000 for several incidents involving security personnel not being present in security zones within the facility."

What, you seriously expect them to check the IDs of every single person who walks through the casino doors? Think of the manpower that would require! Like, two bouncers at least.   

... It's simple math -- fewer gamblers means fewer people paying for parking in Atlantic City:

"Gambling floors aren't the only places where Atlantic City casinos are on a losing streak. Revenue at casino parking garages fell nearly 6 percent in fiscal 2008, which ended June 30, state Treasury Department figures show. The $35 million total was down from more than $37 million in fiscal 2007. Gambling winnings for the casinos were down by a similar percentage as more players seemed to choose slots parlors in Pennsylvania and New York."

Odds and ends

Should the state pay down old debts or buy new stuff with its casino revenues? ... A Maryland thoroughbred dealer wants slots to be legalized in his state ... Both Maine and Massachusetts consider new casinos ... The Gulf Coast casinos reopen after Hurricane Gustav (and hope another hurricane doesn't hit next week) ... Isle of Capri releases its quarterlies.