Macao is still reeling from an embezzlement scandal involving a Wynn Macau junket operator and now $13 million has gone missing from L’Arc, a 
sublicensee of Sociedade de Jogos de Macau and owned by SJM’s Angela Leong. This immediately raised the prospect of more governmental oversight, prompting Deutsche Bank analyst Karen Tang to write, “If Macau tightens junket regulations, we feel that more small junkets will go out of business after Chinese New Year, and even bigger junkets may face redemption pressures.”
In what was a blessing in disguise for the operators, VIP played dropped to less than 50% of gaming revenue for the first time during 4Q15. With the casinos having to rely more than ever on mass-market play, it’s a good sign to see the market responding in this fashion. It also goes a way toward satisfying the Chinese government’s desire for a more diversified customer base. Las Vegas Sands made the most hay, eking out a one-percentage-point predominance in market share over Galaxy Entertainment, 24% to 23%. SJM was in third place, with 20%, and everybody else was considerably further back.
* There’s a new candidate among the various Illinois cities for whom a casino is on their wish list. Decatur businessman Steve Horve is incubating a plan to put a casino in the atrium of the Decatur Conference Center & Hotel. Better yet, he’s found two former Argosy Gaming executives to help him 
out. (Before it was devoured by Penn National Gaming, Argosy was one of the most highly regarded companies in gaming.) They figure the 14,000-square-foot atrium could hold as many as 600 slot machines. Horve, who owns the conference center, wants the endorsement of Decatur’s city council but isn’t asking for any public monies.
“It’s absolutely made to drop a casino in it. Steve already has the restaurants, he has the room blocks, he has the parking, he has the highway access. It’s absolutely a marriage to be made in heaven,” said former casino exec Joseph Uram. He’s also promising union jobs to all involved. The casino would draw heavily on the greater Springfield area for players. The biggest competition would come from slot routes, which are already rife in the area. All this presupposes that the Legislature will vote for more casinos in the Land of Lincoln and that issue has been on the back burner of late.
* Add one more site to those in Connecticut that are vying to be the home of an anti-MGM Springfield casino jointly owned by Foxwoods Resort Casino and Mohegan Sun. An industrial park along all-important I-91 has been chosen. While the tribes had been planning to settle on a final site from among five candidates by last Dec. 15, they are now waiting until referendums can be held in all of the would-be host communities.
