Jul 21 2009
... yet again:
"The idea for building four, full-service casinos in Ohio will be decided by voters in November. The
Ohio Secretary of State's Office today said a group backing the
constitutional amendment calling for full-service gambling facilities
in Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and Toledo have gathered enough
signatures to place the issue on the Nov. 3 ballot."
Some of the signatures, naturally, seem to have come from dead people, the Plain Dealer reports:
"There were nearly as many signatures deemed invalid for not being
verifiable for whatever reason. In some cases, names of dead people
appeared on petitions. ... The amendment would rewrite Ohio's constitution to allow the four
casinos to be built and controlled by Cleveland Cavaliers majority
owner Dan Gilbert and Penn National Gaming of Pennsylvania."
That seems odd. All the casinos belong to one ownership group?
More:
"The gambling facilities could include slot machines and table games and
could have attached restaurants and entertainment venues."
That's different than the "slots-lite" machines that had been proposed for Ohio's racetracks -- these sound like full-fledged casinos, and as such would be more of a threat to Pennsylvania's border casinos in Pittsburgh, Erie, Washington County and (someday, maybe) Lawrence County. But Ohio casinos will be a threat only if they actually open, and the referendum is approved by voters -- but several times in the past two decades, Ohio voters have had a chance to approve casinos, and they've shot it down each time.
... more from around the state of Pennsylvania:
"Many of the country's largest casino companies have cut pay for their
executives and managers," reports the AP. "Harrah's Entertainment cut its managers' pay by 5 percent. Wynn Resorts cut
pay 15 percent for managers making $150,000 or more, and 10 percent for the
rest. And the Mohegan Tribal Authority cut bosses' pay by up to 10 percent in
Connecticut and Pennsylvania. In Atlantic City, the three Trump casinos, the Tropicana Casino and Resort,
and Resorts Atlantic City all cut or froze pay for managers."
So the casino executive definitely feel your pain.
... Careful using your ATM card at the casino:
"A 55-year-old woman with a gambling problem tried 23 times to take money from
casino-goers' bank accounts, Pennsylvania State Police report. Shoumin Chai of New York City, took $1,110 on three
successful tries on June 19 and 20 at Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem ... Chai stood nearby when patrons used an ATM on the casino floor, police said.
When the patrons left, police said, Chai was able to enter their personal
identification numbers and access their accounts without a bank card."
I'm no ATM security whiz, but it seems like you should need a bank card in order to do that.
... Speaking of the Sands, its in a fierce competition with Mt. Airy casino, just up the road:
"George Toth, Mount Airy Casino Resort's president and chief
executive officer, knew Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem's opening would hurt his
bottom line. And it has: Sands opened May 22, and Mount Airy's June revenue was down
14.5 percent from June 2008."
In case you missed it ...
... The Meadows just opened its bowling alleys.
Odds and ends
The Meadows Racetrack & Casino will host the finals of 1250 ESPN Radio's
"Top Fan 2" at 2 p.m. Thursday, July 23 in Silks Lounge ... MTR Gaming (which ownes Presque Isle in Erie) is refinancing its debt ... Atlantic City's casinos are still taking a beating from Pennsylvania's casinos ... You will be stunned to learn that legislatures across the country are looking to expanded gambling to fill the holes in their 2009 and 2010 budgets ... Mark your (2010) calendars: The New England Gaming Summit will be held September 13 and 14, 2010, at Foxwoods Resort
Casino in Ledyard, Conn.
Jul 08 2009
Surley the executives at the new Sands casino in Bethlehem, Pa., were hoping that the novelty of the casino would have lasted a bit longer than a month-and-a-half:
"After opening to packed houses, the Sands Bethlehem Casino has seen
business drop quickly, as the casino has fallen to fourth in revenue
among the state’s eight operating casinos. Las Vegas Sands officials say the decline is normal and expected, as the newness wears off. According to figures released by the Pennsylvania State Gaming
Control Board, slot income at the Bethlehem gambling venue show a 30 percent decline since opening week. A decline is normal, say gaming analysts, but the drop for Sands is
occurring extremely early in the operation’s existence. The casino only
opened its doors in May."
These numbers have gotta be making the folks at The Rivers casino a wee bit nervous. Pennsylvania had been the one industry anomally -- casino revenues were crashing in Vegas, Atlantic City and just about everywhere else because of the recession, but we had been somewhat insulated from the effects of the recession because the casinos here are all shiny and new. Maybe that insulation is wearing thin?
... Harbinger: c.1471, herbengar "one sent ahead to arrange lodgings" (for a monarch, an army, etc.), alt. of M.E. herberger "provider of shelter, innkeeper" (c.1175), from O.Fr. herbergeor, from herbergier "provide lodging," from herber "lodging, shelter," from Frank. *heriberga "lodging, inn" (cf. O.S., O.H.G. heriberga "army shelter," from heri "army" + berga "shelter").
The "berga" that makes up the second half of the word is similar, but seemingly unrelated, to the sense of shelter that we find at the end of Pittsburgh -- that burgh is a "castle, manor house, fortified place" (related to beorg "hill"), from P.Gmc. *burgs "fortress" (cf. O.N. borg "wall, castle," Ger. Burg "castle," Goth. baurgs "city"), from PIE *bhrgh "high," with derivatives referring to hills, hill forts, fortified elevations.
OK, enough of that book learnin'.
From the pages of the P-G
Two items for the price of one. A story from Mark Belko:
"State Gaming Control Board members may be forced to intervene to
resolve a dispute between the Rivers Casino and a local authority over
when the North Shore slots venue is to start paying its share of
funding for the new arena. The city-Allegheny County Sports & Exhibition Authority wants
the casino to begin making the payments -- $7.5 million a year for 30
years -- starting Sept. 15, little more than a month after the gambling
venue's grand opening Aug. 9. But that's not what the casino's ownership group was told last year,
when it was in discussions to rescue the project from near bankruptcy
after Detroit businessman Don Barden failed to secure permanent
financing."
... and an editorial, about casino execs and their ability to make campaign contributions:
"Our objection regards the marquee provision -- a ban on
contributions by gambling industry officials to political candidates.
While casino proponents have given plenty, excessive contributions go
to politicians from individuals or political action committees
representing a host of special interests -- trial lawyers, labor
unions, business groups and advocates for social causes. The Legislature should impose strict caps, as the federal government
does, on all political contributions -- not just those from a targeted
industry. If lawmakers are subject to influence by big checks from
pro-gambling forces, then what about all that dough from polluters,
doctors and the insurance industry?"
... bonus story, in case you missed it the first time around -- the company that operates the racetrack side of The Meadows Racetrack & Casino in Washington County (called MEC Pennsylvania Racing Services) has filed for bankruptcy.
Speaking of The Meadows ...
... when it opened a few months ago, a few elements were unfinished, including its bowling alley -- the bowling alley is now scheduled to open next Tuesday, July 14.
Notes from the A.C.
The Donald is getting aggressive in trying to remind Pennsylvania gamblers of all Atlantic City has to offer:
"Some new casino billboards have
been popping up in the Lehigh Valley, home turf of the $743 million
Sands Casino Resort, Pennsylvania's newest and most expensive slots
parlor. But instead of beckoning customers to the Sands, the billboards
invite gamblers to the Trump casinos in Atlantic City, about 120
miles away," reports The Press of Atlantic City. "They feature a side-by-side comparison of the amenities
the resort-style casinos in Atlantic City have and the more modest
slot parlors in Pennsylvania do not.
The billboards are part of a marketing effort by casinos to
entice Pennsylvania gamblers to Atlantic City this summer, the peak
time for tourism."
Odds and ends
The founder and chairman of Isle Of Capri Casinos (which had wanted to build a casino in Uptown / Lower Hill) has died ... Sands may be down from its opening week, but its July 4 revenues were up ... Philadelphia's casino plans are moving along slowly ... Two Connecticut rivals (Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun) are teaming up to take on Atlantic City ...An Ohio study suggests that the legalization of gambling in Ohio could add 34,000 jobs to the economy ... Moscow has imposed a gambling ban in parts of Russia.
Last item:
"The woman in charge of promotions at the casino at Yonkers Raceway was indicted
Tuesday on charges she arranged for friends and relatives to win contests. Donna Cronin, 44, and two co-defendants at Empire City Casino helped
their acquaintances win money, flat-screen televisions, laptop computers and
Broadway tickets, Westchester District Attorney Janet DiFiore said. Sometimes
they demanded kickbacks, she said."
That just so happens to be the New York casino owned by the Rooney family.