Bluhm restless in Massachusetts; Adelson’s latest innovation

Few regulatory bodies move as slothfully as the Massachusetts Gaming Commission and it’s got one would-be developer, Neil Bluhm, kind of antsy. “I’ve got other things to do,” he told the Boston Globe, adding, “Do I want to be here? Yes. I’m not giving an ultimatum, but I’m not going to sit here waiting forever.” The MGC, as reported earlier, is holding out for some fantasy-dreamboat casino applicant to emerge for Region C, even though Bluhm’s $650 million proposal is the only one on the table. (Bluhm’s currently building a Rivers Casino in Schenectady, New York.)

The MGC is also dancing attendance on the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe, which might, just maybe qualify for a casino in Taunton in the distant future. It’s also taking public comments on Region C. As Bluhm rightly points out, the Wampanoags face “a long legal road” to Taunton and he’s not inclined to stick around and see if they make it there or not. The MGC is taking comments on whether it should rule on the Brockton proposal (pictured) straightaway. “I’m not saying, ‘Pick our proposal,’” Bluhm remarked, adding that he just wanted it addressed in the near term. “You got a bird in hand right now, ready to go.”

The MGC will reconvene on the 24th, to comment on the comment period. (You can’t make this stuff up. It’s priceless.) It may also lock the license away in a cupboard, in hopes that the Wampanoags qualify for it eventually, enabling the state to capture 17% of their revenue in taxes. If Bluhm builds in Brockton and the tribe in Taunton, the presence of a privately held casino in Region C gets the tribe out from under any tax obligation.

* Las Vegas gambling has crossed a new frontier, with live blackjack being added to the many amenities of Lavo, in the Venetian. Twenty-one may be the first game imported, but if the experiment pays off (and why shouldn’t it?), other table games are expected to follow. Give credit to Sheldon Adelson for yet another innovation. Adelson is one of the very few real visionaries in gaming but is so obstreperous and noxious that it sometimes tends to obscure his many achievements.

Las Vegas Sands President Rob Goldstein added considerable nuance to the party line this week, declaring that “the junket model – for now – is broken” in Macao. Noting a series of VIP-room shutdowns, Although Goldstein paid lip service to Adelson’s belittlement of the crisis as “cyclical,” Goldstein elaborated, “I can’t envision the VIP [sector] getting back to the full throttle of a year ago – and for numerous factors … Be it smoking, visas, or UnionPay… there’s been nothing but bad news coming out of Macao since last summer … We still think our model works today, worked yesterday; it just worked better a year ago.” The bottom line, for Goldstein, is consumer confidence, adding “That’s going to take a while to rebuild.”

Meanwhile, the appreciation of the Singaporean dollar is threatening Adelson’s Marina Bay Sands flank, where Morgan Stanley is projecting a 12% drop in cash flow next year. Adelson’s still doing better than Resorts World Sentosa, which posted a second quarter loss of $12 million.

* Our research department reports that, after much public agonizing, Britney Spears isn’t leaving Planet Hollywood at year’s end after all but has re-upped for two more years. As though to rub salt in Jennifer Lopez‘s wounds, Caesars Entertainment gave Spears first pick on 2016-17 dates, forcing Lopez to work around Spears’ schedule (some would call this karma). Between the mass adulation I saw at Piece of Me — and one couldn’t see the show for all the adulation going on — and the $475,000/night paycheck, Spears has thousands of reasons to stay put.

* Newlyweds Foxwoods Resort Casino and Mohegan Sun haven’t found a host community for their jointly owned casino-to-be in Connecticut. However, they didn’t let that stop them from throwing a party to celebrate the nuptials.