Las Vegas Sands‘ waving of the white flag over its Sands Bethlehem casino may have finally yielded a buyer. Having stated publicly, however, that $1 billion was the asking price may have limited Sands flexibility to negotiate (not to mention potentially chasing off viable suitors). Also, the rumored buyer is Tropicana Entertainment and its owner, Carl Icahn, doesn’t like to spend big. Sands Bethlehem’s interim president, Douglas Niethold, is on such a short leash he can’t tell the mayor of Bethlehem whether Sands has had talks with anybody, period.
Fears in Bethlehem extend beyond wild rumors of snakes on the casino floor to the more concrete concern that Icahn — or another buyer — would discontinue Sands’ local philanthropy. Activist Roger Hudak is sanguine: “If someone else comes in, we will hold them to the promises Sands has kept. That means no gambling west of the Minsi Trail Bridge, the blast furnaces will stay and they’ll continue to support the other nonprofits on that property, like ArtsQuest. I’m not worried about any of that.”
“Adelson has a reputation for looking many years ahead while he plans his next move,” writes the Lehigh Valley Morning Call. Three years, in this case. That’s when New York City becomes eligible for casinos. That’s still a comfortable time to get out of Bethlehem but Sheldon clearly doesn’t want to be around if and when the roof caves in.
There’s no respite for Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R, below), currently hammering out a 
new compact with the Seminole Tribe. Now the Poarch Band of Creek Indians wants to bring its version of Class III gambling to the Sunshine State. It’s got a speck of federally recognized land (one acre) a mile across the state line from Alabama. Poarch chair Buford L. Rollin says the land is IGRA-compliant and the tribe wants table games. The process by which the land was placed in trust after being bequeathed to the tribe are sure to come in for scrutiny, and the Florida panhandle is as anti-gambling a part of the country as you can find. But …
Scott is not averse to tribal gaming. Heck, his reelection campaign is being heavily bankrolled by the Seminole Tribe. Also, the tribe is asking permission for Class III gambling when it could offer Class II (electronic bingo) and there’d be nothing Scott could do about it. The Creek could also do a little horsetrading and forswear gambling on land they own near Tallahassee. Then there’s the question of what the band intends to do with a potential racino at Pensacola Greyhound Track, in which the tribe holds a controlling interest.
Scott has promised to meet with the tribe. He’s certainly not averse to tribal gaming and has the Seminole election-campaign contributions to prove it.
In New Hampshire, a dark-horse competitor for the state’s potential gaming license has emerged. NASCAR-friendly New Hampshire Motor Speedway, in Loudon, argues that the revenue-generating power of stock cars plus a casino can’t be beat. Admittedly, it makes presumed frontrunner Rockingham Park, with its racehorses and grandstand, look just a bit quaint. Gambling legalization has passed the Senate and is currently inching its way through a House committee. A new goodie, however, would split casino tax revenue amoung every municipality in the state, literally providing something for everybody.
After a 212-year ban, you”ll finally be able to legally play bridge in South Carolina. For real.
I may be mistaken, but I don’t think that Sands Bethlehem is anything close to what LVS originally proposed to the city. Nice place, but certainly not what was proposed (Steel museum, other site uses etc.)