Add Galaxy Entertainment to the companies taking on the chin in the Macao economy. The casino firm just posted a 46% drop in cash flow 
for 2Q15. Leading by example, Chairman Lui Che Woo announced a freeze in executive salaries as the primary austerity measure. He also became the latest casino boss to say Macao has “almost hit bottom.” Hey, if enough CEOs keep saying it, somebody’s eventually bound to be right, no? Although China International Capital Corp. analyst Chris Kwai called Galaxy’s numbers “solid,” he’s not buying into the ‘build it and they will come scenario for 2016. “Individual new opening will not bring too much of an upside in the entire market,” he hedged. “But once it added up all the casinos next year, people will be more fond of going to Macao.”
Aside from the emaciated VIP play, Macao casino bosses also have to worry about a possible smoking ban. But even if a total ban is enacted — as looks increasingly unlikely — it won’t happen for another year. Down in the Philippines, Galaxy rival Melco Crown Entertainment predicted better results for the second half of 2015. How can they be so confident? Mainly because VIP play at City of Dreams Manila, which only kicked off its high-roller program last month. As for the recent spate of layoffs, the company admitted “operations may have overestimated its manning requirements.”
* The fight over the Tohono O’odham Nation‘s Glendale casino is 
getting still uglier, as the tribe takes Gov. Doug Ducey (R) and Attorney General Mark Brnovich to court over an alleged obstruction of its tribal rights. The Tohono O’odham contend that they were on track for approval of their new gaming facility when Gaming Director Daniel Bergin caved to gubernatorial pressure and denied permission. The tribe is walking a fine line between breaking the spirit and the letter of a 2002 referendum.
* I don’t put a lot of stock in 10-best lists. Case in point: 10best.com‘s survey of Las Vegas buffets, which puts Le Village Buffet at Paris-Las Vegas at #1, ahead even of Bellagio, to say nothing of trend-setters Bacchanal Buffet at Caesars Palace (#3) and Wicked Spoon Buffet at The Cosmopolitan (#4), or even Studio B at M Resort (#7). And for those of you who say Vegas is back, why are some of the buffets on this list curtailing their offerings of delicacies like crab legs and shrimp? It sounds like a case of pay more/get less.
