A Ho no-show; Adelson omnipresent; Revel to close?

There was apparently no Stanley Ho sighting at the Cotai Strip groundbreaking of Sociedade de Jogos de Macau‘s $3.9 billion Lisboa Palace. Ho is 92 and well into his dotage, so a public appearance would have come as a surprise. The project’s $3.9 billion cost had been pushed about $650 million upward by intensified construction and labor costs. When finished, Lisboa Palace will have 1,200 slots, 700 tables and 2,500 hotel rooms spread across three towers. What is most newsworthy is the means whereby Lisboa got the needed 2.2 billion square feet it needs: In a breathtaking bit of self dealing, it bought the land from SJM Executive Director Angela Leong. Slated to open in 2017, this will be SJM’s first attempt at a Las Vegas-style megaresort. It will be interesting to see if Leong can compete with the Yankee operators on what is (metaphorically) their own turf.

One of the latter, Penn National Gaming, is already looking past Macao to Vietnam, which has a young and growing middle class. The pilot project there, Van Don Casino, is budgeted at a dizzying $7.5 billion, big money even by Macanese standards. “Returns are hard to generate in a short space of time, if at all, in the absence of proximity to market and local play on a large scale,” says the operator of a pocket-sized casino near Hanoi. Unless Vietnamese citizens are allowed to play, Genting Group will keep its hand folded. Meanwhile, Sheldon Adelson covets both the Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City markets, quite ironic coming from the superhawk.

Adelson’s anti-Internet mouthpieces, who include former New York State Gov. George Pataki (R), were quick to warble the praises of a piece of Pennsylvania legislation. It would outlaw Internet gambling, with the onus falling upon the player, including jail time. It’s ludicrously draconian but trying telling that to state Rep. Mario Scavello (R, right), whose misshapen progeny this is. This appears to be a pushback at a recent state Senate vote to study the viability of online gambling in Pennsylvania. I mean, why let New Jersey have all the fun, right?

In a clever marketing ploy, Foxwoods Resort Casino has devised online games that you can play and earn credits toward “merchandise at Foxwoods retail stores, restaurants, spas, theaters or hotel.” What makes it even more clever is that you have to sign up for the Foxwoods players club to participate. Called FoxPlay, it’s a joint venture with GameAccount Network, brainchild of Dermot Smurfit and a company making some aggressive moves lately in the social-gaming sphere.

Chatham Asset Management, primary owner of Revel Resort, was found suitable to run the place, even as it’s crafting an exit strategy. It’s the worst-kept secret on the Boardwalk that both Caesars Entertainment and Hard Rock International covet the property. The latest rumor is that the new owner will temporarily close Revel for yet another revamp. Tragically for workers, their pleas for their jobs are falling on deaf ears.