“You’re in Baltimore, baby, it says so right there, in big gray block letters on a smokestack at the trash plant just past the entrance.” Caesars Entertainment CEO Gary Loveman, long celebrated as the wizard of database market, also finds himself on the leading edge of the urbanization of gambling. He’d probably be comfortable with that description, considering that his stated vision for the casino industry is for it to be as omnipresent as McDonalds. The latest step in that direction is Horseshoe Baltimore, a gambling house whose biggest problem is that it has more would-be players than it can hold.
Says Dr. David G. Schwartz, director of UNLV‘s Center for Gaming Research says, “There’s a growing embrace of gambling. Initially it was something people wanted to keep away from the urban core. Now, it’s a part of American life and if you’re going to have it, you should have it in a place where there are a lot of people.”
Compared to Vegas, of course, it’s still somewhat small potatoes. Symbolically, one acrobat performed at the Horseshoe debut where a Las Vegas Strip opening would field a whole troupe of them. But although it appeared initially that Horseshoe might get elbowed out by Baltimore Orioles fans headed to Camden Yards, the casino outdrew the ballgame. The casino might even justify a permanent increase in Charm City Circulator bus service.
There’s also some competitive nastiness accompanying the opening. A Horseshoe employee is being sued by former employer Maryland Live! for allegedly stealing a VIP-player list and taking it to Horseshoe. Still, this supposed skullduggery just adds more spice to Horseshoe’s first bite of the market.
* Another day in Ohio, another racino. In this case it’s a 1,000-VLT, $250 million Penn National Gaming property, Dayton Raceway. Harness racing doesn’t start until Oct. 3 (kind of late in the year, no?) but simulcast wagering begins straightaway. In a bush-league move, Penn is charging $5 for valet parking. Nobody would have the brass to attempt that in Las Vegas. Penn is still working on a Youngstown racino, slated to open Sept. 17, bringing gaming expansion in the Buckeye State to a close.
Showing foresight, Penn National built its Dayton slot floor within a shell, making it a simple matter of moving the walls back if demand warrants an expansion of casino capacity. Wages are good, with salaried positions starting in the $15-$20/hour range.
* A new Harvard Medical School/University of Hamburg study of Internet poker players and other online gamblers really shreds Sheldon Adelson‘s alarmist rhetoric on the issue. But it will reach the right eyes and ears? Sports bettors are real pikers, BTW, wagering just $5.50 four times a week.
* Tired of losing patrons to other Asian countries, Vietnam is contemplating a major change of policy. Drawing on Singapore‘s policy toward citizen gamblers, Vietnam would impose an admission
fee on its own citizens, in return for which they could patronize the country’s casino, according the banking and finance minister Phan Thi Thu Hien. “There are many Vietnamese who gamble at casinos in Singapore and Cambodia, and it’s obvious that we’ve lost some state revenue here. We’ve studied what regional countries have done and think we should do the same. These changes would help increase government income,” he said.
Vietnamese casinos are taxed at 28% yet their contribution to the tax base isn’t begin enough for the government to meet its benchmark for economic growth. There’s no telling how much a $42 million-a-year 
industry could be grown by marketing to the natives, though Vietnam is obviously never going to be another Macao. Among those who would naturally like to see a change are Asian Coast Development and Pinnacle Entertainment, both of which are committed to the $4 billion Ho Tram Strip (pictured). Still, in a year in which Resorts World Sentosa and Marina Bay Sands are on pace to gross $6.5 billion in Singapore, you have to take the earning potential of any Asian casino seriously.
