Voters in Washington, D.C., could find themselves voting on a casino initiative this November. A 9,000-square-foot gambling house has been proposed for Anacostia. It 
would have slots, blackjack and other table games but, strangely enough, no slots or electronic table games. The carrot is a “usage fee” that would fund public schools and the Housing Production Trust Fund, which creates affordable housing. “Our goal is to target the visiting population of the District,” said project Chairman Barry E. Jerrels. The financial backing for the initiative is rather dicey, attributable to a Delaware LLC called Anacostia Development. “There’s a consortium that’s ebbed and flowed,” said Jerrels evasively.
However, Jerrels has previously been a front man for shady casino speculator Shawn Scott. Not only is the new ballot measure worded very much like a failed 2006 ballot initiative but Anacostia Development is headquartered in the Northern Mariana Islands, Scott’s current place of residence. Scott also tried to get gambling legalized in our nation’s capital in 2004, “but was hit with a $600,000 fine for allegedly submitting thousands of fraudulent or forged signatures.” Yes, that’s the Scott we know and love. Said local activist Dorothy Brizill, “Given their history in the District of Columbia, as well as the history that’s evident in from other jurisdictions they’ve gone to, we know what to expect, and it’s not good. I’m particularly concerned they work in the shadows.” Indeed, we all should be.
* In an eccentric transaction, Gaming & Leisure Properties, which is in the process of buying the assets of Pinnacle Entertainment, sold The Meadows Racetrack & Casino … to Pinnacle Entertainment. It even took a substantial bath on the deal, charging 
Pinnacle $138 million for something it had paid $440 million to acquire. Considering that GLPI is essentially Penn National Gaming in drag, it’s also surprising that it didn’t hire Penn to manage the racino, although some arcane Pennsylvania gaming regulation might have been involved, for all we know. GLPI will make some of its money back by way of the $25.5 million in annual leases it will charge Pinnacle. “As a premier operator of high quality regional gaming assets, Pinnacle is well-suited to maximize the operating potential of The Meadows,” said GLPI CEO Peter Carlino, unintentionally dissing Penn. Considering that neither the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board nor the Pennsylvania Harness Racing Commission have given final approval to GLPI’s acquisition of the racino from its previous ownership, Carlino is either very precipitate or highly confident, probably the latter.
* A century after T.E. Lawrence immortalized Aqaba as one of World War I‘s decisive turning points, it’s being looked fondly upon by the government of Jordan as a potential casino site, in part to relieve the strain on the Jordanian economy caused by the diaspora from the civil war in Syria. Don’t pop the champagne corks just yet. Jordan’s equivalent of 
the Moral Majority squelched similar proposals in 2003 and 2007. Next door, in Israel, the government of Benjamin Netanyahu is considering putting one or more casinos in the city of Eliat. The prime minister would have admission restricted to tourists (which is almost certainly why Sheldon Adelson isn’t putting in a bid), while the Ministry of Tourism would prefer that the casinos be open to all. Don’t get your hopes up here, either. Netanyahu may be pretty conservative but the far, far right wing of Israeli politics, represented by a gaggle of parties, doesn’t want to see gambling on Jewish soil — even though the illegal gambling market is worth as much as $380 million a year.
* Massachusetts Gaming Commission, who needs it? Evidently not the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe, which plans to hold a ceremonial groundbreaking tomorrow on Project First Light. Evidently the tribe feels that if it has a development in train, state approval will follow. The deep division in Brockton would certainly appear to militate against Neil Bluhm‘s rival project getting the nod. Either from financial expediency or to speed up construction, the Mashpee Wampanoag have ditched their old, serpentine hotel design in favor of a simple, two-wing layout devised by Las Vegas casino architect Paul Steelman. The tribe clearly means business and is sending a message to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts: Get on board or get out of the way.
* What will T-Mobile Arena mean to Las Vegas? Here are a few thoughts on the subject.
* Considering that neither the Seminole Tribe of Florida nor Gov. Rick Scott (R) was in a hurry to get to the courthouse, it’s no surprise that a trial over the Seminole Tribe’s continued offering of blackjack has been postponed until October.
* Although Macao officials said they weren’t “actively requesting” more tourists, the Beijing government put some additional wiggle room in the Individual Visit Scheme, perhaps hoping to jump-start the Macanese economy.
* “Cruise to nowhere” casino ships continue to be a losing bet, as another Florida vessel hauls down its flag … for the third time.
The DC proposal has had very little local publicity. It might happen sometime but this one looks like a loser to me. If it ever became serious the Washington Post would mobilize against it. Also, I doubt it could ever get by Council Chairman Phil Mendelson. Don’t bet on this one.