Election Special: What’s at stake; Fire sale at Trump

We know the big enchilada is Massachusetts, where repeal of the state’s casino law is on the ballot. It looks like it’s going to lose big-time, but anti-gambling sentiment runs deep in parts of the state. We’ve already been over California‘s Proposition 48, which would nix a casino compact between the state and the the North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians. In other states …

Colorado voters are mulling expansion of gambling to several would-be racinos. This appears likely to go down to defeat and gambling expansions in Colorado haven’t substantially enlarged the revenue pie. Rhode Island voters have two constitutional questions to ponder. One would add table games to Newport Grand slot parlor, the other would require casinos to have majority support from voters before relocating.

Amazingly, charitable raffles are still illegal in Kansas and South Carolina. Voters could change that with a “yes” vote on Nov. 4. Staying on the subject of charity, Tennessee voters are being asked to approve an annual lottery. However, even if they approve it, the Lege has to give it two-thirds approval. Similarly, state legislators would have permission to give Deadwood (and South Dakota Native American tribes) sanction to add live keno, craps and roulette to their casinos, if voters say “aye.”

* Trump Entertainment Resorts continues to denude Trump Plaza of inventory. The latest move is to supplicate the bankruptcy court for permission to sell 353 slot machines to Patriot Gaming & Electronics Inc. Ominously, the projected $146,650 windfall won’t go toward operating costs at Trump Taj Mahal but to satisfying creditors. In the meantime, the observation that Atlantic City‘s “poverty is just extraordinary” leaves you wondering how the city managed to fritter away its years of prosperity.

* “There’s no question it’s a fairly rough site. There’s nothing on it. There’s very little vegetation. No buildings … Along the water’s edge, there’s remnants of the site’s industrial past — bulkheads, crane rails, that sort of stuff.” That’s Wynn Resorts consultant Chris Gordon, describing the state of the future site of Wynn Boston (or whatever they eventually call it). The former Monsanto Chemical plant is described as being rife with “arsenic, lead, copper and other heavy metals” that Wynn will either have to neutralize or somehow remove. It’s a $30 million, four-month project that the company hopes to begin next year. Wynn will furthermore re-seed the Mystic River with oyster beds that will reduce pollution and — it is hoped — bring fish and other aquatic life back to the area.

* Station Casinos is in the spotlight this week for the success of its Teradata Active Enterprise Data Warehouse platform, an investment which has produced 100% ROI in six months. (Beat that!) It’s also credited with an 8% savings in marketing costs, as the company is able to target customers more precisely, thanks to data collected from 14 years’ worth of Boarding Pass data. Consequently, slot revenue is up 4%. Predicts Forbes, “Deep-dive and real time data analytics will play a major, growing part in marketing decision making across Las Vegas as the locals and tourist market brands look to hit a point where they can fully predict which customers will spend in which manner.”