Straub’s latest truce; Twin River readies for competition

Bitter foes Glenn Straub and ACR Energy Partners have agreed to make nice and keep the lights on (literally) at Revel, at least for the revel_0601short term. The brinkmanship between these two parties had reached such extremes that ACR cut power to Revel for three weeks, putting the property at risk for fire and  mold. When a previous truce was set to expire a month ago, the state intervened to order that ACR keep the juice flowing. Straub’s Polo North has to pick up the tab in return for two continuous megawatts of electricity and a standby diesel generator.The arrangement is to stay in place “until a long-term agreement is reached, the state’s order is vacated or amended, a court allows ACR to stop providing service or Polo North finds another energy provider,” according to The Press of Atlantic City. In other words, we’re in for a long slog. It must be particularly galling for Straub, an S&G cult figure, to be shelling out a fixed $25,000 a week to keep nine engineers and four security guards in air-conditioned comfort.

* In a move to counter Plainridge Park Casino, its Rhode Island competitor, Twin River Casino, is going to emphasize table games, Twin RIverexiling 274 of its 4,000-plus slots to make room for 28 tables, 16 of them for poker. (That’s an interesting shift of emphasis at a time when Las Vegas is downsizing poker.) The move will bring Twin River’s table inventory to 108. The change is attributed to customer requests for a smoke-free area where they could play table games. (What’s poker without a smoke-filled room?)

Twin River is still in a holding pattern on its proposal to buy Newport Grand. It would close that casino and take its slot inventory to Tiverton, in another counterpunch to Penn National Gaming‘s Massachusetts slot parlor. In other Massachusetts news, KG Urban Enterprises got its New Bedford paperwork submitted to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, skating in just under the deadline.

* Casino expansion in Illinois hasn’t been OK’d by the Legislature but Cynde Bunch isn’t waiting around for formalities. She’s already pushing to augment her winery (see above) with a casino-hotel and indoor water park. Judging by revenue figures from nearby Harrah’s Metropolis and Isle of Capri Cape Girardeau, the market is already saturated. Bunch’s best hope is to draw off business from both casinos, her worst-case scenario is getting squeezed in a pincer between the two, which are equidistant from Carterville, proposed site of Bunch’s project.

* It didn’t take long for a new ban on smoking to affect Harrah’s New Orleans, which saw revenues decline 16% last month. Meanwhile, the new presence of Golden Nugget Lake Charles helped drive that market up 47% from this time last year.

* On a sadder note, LVA‘s resident iguana, Mojo, went to that big casino in the sky a few months ago. His place has recently been taken by Fred, a charming, bright green gecko, who exists happily on a diet of crickets and worms. With his giant eyes and tiny paws, Fred is a real charmer, only too pleased to be held and petted by visitors. Stress levels in the office have fallen appreciably since Fred’s arrival. for which we are all grateful.

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