Adieu, Riviera?

Is Las Vegas‘ oldest Strip casino facing a date with the wrecking ball? Last week, LVA broke the news that — at least according to one of our sources — the Riviera was being sold to the Las 

Vegas Convention & Visitors’ Authority. And what gambling would replace it? Nothing. The Riv would be demolished and the Convention Center would be extended to the Las Vegas Strip. The LVCVA would neither confirm nor deny the story when we asked them about, but the Las Vegas Review-Journal has rounded up other “on background” confirmations, so the Riv’s fate would appear to be sealed. Owner Starwood Capital Group and manager Paragon Gaming have also headed for the tall grass.

The LVCVA’s interest in the Riv would appear to be as the site for a sought-after transportation center. As for Paragon, it may have gone to a lot of work for naught last year, correcting 200 code violations, power-washing to building and putting in new carpeting. Then again, you never know when opportunity will come knocking, particularly in the form of a deep-p0cketed suitor like the LVCVA.

* A takeover bid for 888 Holdings by William Hill fell apart in record time. The two sides had a “significant difference of opinion on value,” which would certainly put a damper on negotiations. 888 CEO Brian Mattingley assured investors “The company is in good health, and continues to trade comfortably in line with expectations.” An unidentified 888 shareholder is pegged as the culprit who scuttled the deal, feeling its premium wasn’t rich enough. 888 founder Avi Shaked, his relatives, and co-founders, the Ben-Yitzhak brothers are among those mooted as potential objectors.

Columnist Russell Lynch pegs Shaked as the naysayer. Of William Hill’s offer, he wrote, “Shareholders in 888 … haven’t seen anything like that price since 2006, just before the U.S. pulled the plug on online poker.” He also noted that “PokerStars — a global goliath with a marketing budget to match — is moving into 888’s traditional territory of casino games and looking to eat its lunch.”

This isn’t the first 888 takeover to go south, a Ladbrokes effort having failed. According to the Evening Standard, “William Hill had targeted 888 hoping to benefit from its strong in-house technology. Cost savings and improved exposure to international markets, particularly the U.S,. were also attractive.” Paddy Power might be the next suitor presenting itself for 888’s approval. May the luck of the Irish be with it.

* The faces — 150 of them — have changed in the New Hampshire Legislature but the issue of casino gambling has returned yet again. Tireless proponent state Sen. Lou D’Allesandro (D) is back with a proposed two-casino package. He feels his chances are better this time around because Gov. Maggie Hassan (D) hasn’t baked any casino revenue into her budgetary pie. Casino Free NH mouthpiece Steve Duprey counters that the size of casinos approved for Massachusetts will leave New Hampshire with locals casinos, not tourist draws.

Calling it an addictive and erratic revenue source, Duprey said the exclusion of gambling taxes from Hassan’s budget shows that the Granite State can get by without it. In trying to address such concerns, D’Allesandro has come up with enabling legislation that’s thousands of words long.

Hassan, passing over casinos, has proposed legalizing keno (which no one has ever called the “crack cocaine of gaming”), which she says will bring in $26 million over the next biennium. This may be a canny strategy of playing possum on the casino issue, improving its chances by making it a stand-alone question. Or perhaps Hassan has tired of butting heads with the Lege over the casino question, opting for a soft target keno. Or maybe she thinks keno is the “gateway drug” that will eventually wear down lawmakers’ resistance to casinos. Hard to say.

Millennium Gaming spokesman Scott Spradling said “No news was good news. “Had she put it in the budget, the entire issue might have stalled before it had a chance to get started.” Also, the governor and D’Allesandro are not quite on the same page.  Hassan “continues to believe that moving forward with New Hampshire’s own plan for one highly regulated destination casino is the right step for keeping revenue in New Hampshire,” said gubernatorial spokesman William Hinkle (emphasis added). The keno proposal, though, still faces an uphill battle in the state Senate.