Financing of SLS Las Vegas was made a little easier when Sen. Harry Reid (D) intervened on behalf of some of Sam Nazarian‘s all-important EB-5 visa investors. The inspector general of the Department of Homeland Security has identified four SLS investors who benefited from special treatment when Deputy Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas overturned the rulings against applicants who had been denied. “Their allegations were unequivocal: Mr. Mayorkas gave special access and treatment to certain individuals and parties. They told us he created special processes and revised existing policies in the EB-5 program to accommodate specific parties. According to the employees, but for Mr. Mayorkas’ actions, the career staff would have decided these matters differently,” read the IG’s report, but the applicants were “politically connected.”
It gets better. Rory Reid was on retainer, providing his legal talents to Nazarian’s project. (Reid fils had no comment on the matter.) At the same time, Mayorkas “also took the extraordinary step of requiring staff to brief Senator Reid’s staff on a weekly basis for several months.”
The elder Reid was unbowed. His spokeswoman said, “This is just one in many examples of Senator Reid’s commitment to ensuring Nevada’s tourism industry continues to thrive. In short, Senator Reid will always put Nevada first and fight for Nevada jobs.” In other words, “juice” is alive and well in the Silver State.
* Galaxy Entertainment is adhering to a “build and they will come” strategy in Macao, even as Chief Executive Fernando Chui promises stringent new rules on casinos. Wall 
Street analysts were sufficiently sobered by Chui’s words to predict a 32% decline in gaming revenues this year. Galaxy Deputy Chairman Francis Lui responded that his father’s company “won’t change its long-term business strategy in the midst of business cycles.” That strategy includes Broadway at Galaxy Macau, a resort whose appeal is pegged on a 3,000-seat grand theater.
In truth, projects like Melco Crown Entertainment‘s Studio City and Sheldon Adelson‘s Parisian are so far down the track that there’s no choice but to hang on for what may be a bumpy ride (betting at Galaxy’s VIP tables dove 23% in 4Q14). The bright spot is that Galaxy is hanging onto its VIP business better than its competitors, so it has reason for optimism as it prepares to debut two new casinos at once. That’s audacity in the face of adversity.
* Omnia nightclub appears to be drawing the masses to Caesars Palace more than ever, although it’s probably not for the claustrophobic. It seeks to one-up Hakkasan but I’m most intrigued by its chandelier, which makes the main chamber of Omnia look like the interior of the haunted spaceship from the movie Event Horizon. There’s a cheery thought to go with your $5K bottle service.
