Not a punch has been thrown yet but already we know some things about the outcome of the hype-driven Floyd “Money” Mayweather and Manny “Pac-Man” Pacquiao fight, 
including the fact that with guaranteed purses for both fighters, they win just by showing up. Heck, “Money” over there could throw the fight and still collect 60% of the total purse. The losers include hotels, which are seeing an average drop of $150 in ADRs as consumers realize just how limited access even to closed-circuit feeds of the fist-fest are going to be: exclusive to MGM Resorts International and already sold out.
Who’d have thought Arizona Charlie’s could charge $175 a night, although the room-rate winner is a 600-square-foot crib at MGM Grand that’s going for a record-setting (for the Grand) $1,520. Vegas.com, meanwhile, is recording “a significant number of cancellations,” according to Bloomberg Business. “People are realizing that they’re not going to be able to get ahold of a viewing party ticket and they’re not going to be able to get a ticket to the fight, so why go to Vegas?,” Vegas.com’s Vanessa Doleshal told Bloomberg.
Well, if you’re a hotel that’s losing bookings due to customer disillusionment with MayPac, take heart. Cinco de Mayo is just around the corner and as many as 200,000 visitors are expected.
* Sheldon Adelson keeps trying to shrug off the effects of Macao‘s plunge in casino revenues but he’s feeling it in the wallet. Bloomberg reports that three casino owners have 
lost $22 billion in net worth, with both Adelson and Steve Wynn worth 20% than they were before the bottom fell out of the market. If they can take any consolation, it’s probably that Galaxy Entertainment Chairman Lui Chee Woo has lost 40% of his net worth. In Adelson’s case, he’s gone from being the world’s 11th-richest person to its 25th (will this crimp his political largesse?), while Lui has plummeted from #40 to #108.
The Macao situation is causing Wynn to lose his customary deference to Peking. “We never know quite what to expect these days,” he fretted during this week’s earnings call. Yes, and keeping the Wynns and Adelsons off balance is probably just the way the central government likes it.
* Same As It Ever Was Dept. The last time New Hampshire‘s House of Representatives pondered a casino bill, it perished by one vote. Gaming proponents tried 
again this year but didn’t even come close, losing 223-141. “‘Live free or die,’ that is our brand that is our culture. That does not change because someone builds a casino. Where is the crime wave and the disasters we keep hearing about from the opposition,” asked proponent Rep. Ken Weyler (R, right), but he was spitting into the wind. The Manchester Union-Leader speculated that this latest setback “could signal the end of what has been an annual discussion for lawmakers for some time.” Bottom line, New Hampshire’s loss will be Massachusetts‘ gain.
