New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) Woody in Milford; Revel out of Chapter 11; Isle: Pay to play
Foxwoods Resort Casino CEO Scott “Woody” Butera didn’t close the sale with Milford voters earlier this week, but they didn’t slam the door on 
him either. Rather than prejudice the issue with a town-meeting vote, local sentiment favors a city-wide referendum. Although casino opponents have dominated the argument so far, hearing from Foxwoods-in-Milford supporters seems almost redundant: Of course the citizens should vote in favor of the $1 billion prospect (plus jobs). It’s the Massachusetts Gaming Commission that ought to put this financially unsteady proposal into the shredder.
Milford selectmen are doing their homework, undistracted by a new online campaign and a freshly downsized debt load (Wall Street evidently having decided that 75% of something is better than Continued >>
Good news, bad news
Good news for Caesars Entertainment: Macanese gaming magnate Galaxy Entertainment Group wants to buy a golf course. Caesars has a $578 million one it desperately wants to unload. Bad news for Caesars, Galaxy wants a course that’s on nearby Hengqin Island, not in Macao proper, where Caesars Golf sits. Amazing place, Macao: Where else could you hear a company like Galaxy casually talk about investing $7.7 billion into the third and fourth phases of a gargantuan casino resort? That would be deemed insanely risky in Las Vegas but, for Macao, it’s business at usual.
Weidner returns; Casinos win tax fight
Y’all remember Baha Mar, that multi-billion-dollar project in the Bahamas that then-Harrah’s Entertainment exited during its IPO? At the time, Harrah’s insisted that there was no connection, but Baha Mar was one of several initiatives — including Margaritaville in Biloxi and a resort in Spain — that were ceased and never heard from again. $3.5 billion later. Baha Mar is slated for an end-of-2014 opening and it will be run by Global Gaming Asset Management, which is a four-word way of saying William Weidner, the former #2 man of Sheldon Adelson, though they haven’t been BFFs for the past three years.
Although Weidner supposedly sought a casino posting in Macao and 
couldn’t get one, he’s making a big comeback. Global Gaming is also managing $1.2 billion Solaire Manila, in a market where angels fear to tread. Weidner’s top lieutenants are fellow exiles from Las Vegas Sands, President Brad Stone and executive veep Garry Saunders. At 150 tables and 10 times as many slots, Baha Mar is small by Las Vegas Strip standards. But the project itself (30 restaurants, three hotels) is of Sands-like ambition. And Continued >>
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