During a period (1995-2005) in which the Dow Jones Average Casino Index posted a 160% return on investment, Trump Hotels & Casinos ate dirt to the tune of a negative 89% ROI. 
By contrast, Boyd Gaming — unloved on Wall Street — returned 280% and Penn National Gaming rewarded investors’ faith with an astronomical 3,240%. In the course of posting $600 million in net losses, Trump did not have one revenue-positive year. “This is the sort of record usually associated with an Enron or a WorldCom or a Pets.com,” zings MarketWatch. Trump furthermore screwed his investors by paying himself $1.5 million in salary, compounded by seven-figure bonuses. According to MarketWatch, The Donald “pocketed $32 million over nine years, while his public stockholders lost more than $100 million.” That’s not exactly a ringing vote of confidence. Forget anything else Trump says on the campaign trail: When he boasts about his business acumen he’s a bald-faced liar. And he owes his (more successful) peers in the casino industry an apology.
* Last year, Native American casinos grew gambling revenue at a faster pace than private-sector ones and are seriously threatening to exceed them for market share. All the more 
reason for the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe to want to get in on the game with its Project First Light. In a sequel to its tumultous visit to Brockton, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission has set a March 15 meeting with the tribe. (It is reserving its prerogative not to award a Region C license however.) Although a Mashpee casino in Taunton would fall under federal oversight, Bay State law requires it to have “a working relationship” with the MGC. “If we make the determination that there is a quality applicant, then we’ll decide on whether to make the award or not, taking into consideration all the variables, including tribal status,” said MGC Chairman Stephen Crosby. As for rival applicant Rush Street Gaming, it’s been chafing at the pace of the approval process but will have to wait until late April for a decision.
In other MGC action, the commission established a whistleblower line for reporting untoward casino activity. If something looks less than kosher, patrons and employees are encouraged to call 1-844-343-TIPS. Signage promoting the hotline has already been posted at Penn National’s Plainridge Park racino.
* Here’s a real head-scratcher: Somebody at Lago Resort & Casino thought that name 
didn’t have enough oomph, so it’s been changed to del Lago Resort @ Casino. WTF? Since the property won’t open until 2017, it’s not as though COO Jonathan Swain lacked time to come up with something better. “The newly evolved name reinforces that the resort and casino embodies the essence of the Finger Lakes Region and is a community steward for the entire area encompassing Seneca County and the great Finger Lakes,” was his rationale.
* Don’t have Total Rewards anymore? Dan Gilbert‘s Jack Entertainment has a two-word answer: Scientific Games. The latter’s Bally customer-rewards software will take the place of Total Rewards as Gilbert seeks a new way of attracting players.
