California lawmakers’ push for legalized i-gaming appears to run into an insuperable obstacle. Just when it looked like state Rep. Adam Gray had devised language that would 
tap-dance around the “bad actor” issue, the Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians and Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, along with their allies, wrote him to say, “we regret that your amendments related to suitability standards and taxation force us to oppose the bill.” This returns us to a familiar impasse in California, dividing the supporters of PokerStars (Gray’s allies) from those for whom PokerStars is toxic. Pechanga Chairman Mark Macarro basically called upon PokerStars’ adherents to abandon it: “We have made concessions. Racing has made concessions. It’s time for the other group to make meaningful concessions if they truly want iPoker legalized in California,” he wrote. In case anybody didn’t the message, he added, “Our position is rooted in shaping policy that protects tribal rights, not give a boost to the stock prices of publicly traded companies desperate to get iPoker at any cost.” Publicly traded companies? Trying to peddle iPoker? Nah, doesn’t sound like anybody we know.
* Now that even first-tier bondholders are balking at Caesars Entertainment‘s emergence-from-bankruptcy plan, owners Apollo Global Management and Texas Pacific Group are making noises about sweetening the pot. An adviser to the private equity firms said Apollo’s Marc Rowan and David Sambur, and TPG’s David Bonderman “may make a contribution” to a settlement amount if it makes those fraudulent-transfer issues go away. “I think it’s possible that they may participate in the contribution,” said a rapidly equivocating Caesars flunky. It’s not even clear if the executives are opening their thick wallets or will require their investors to make financial amends. Why anyone should trust Caesars at this point was a question left unasked. Rowan has already taken one bullet for Caesars, resigning from its board after a court-appointed examiner identified $5.1 billion in fraudulent conveyances. He, Sambur and Bonderman have good reason to fear litigation, as news reports indicate that adverse judgments could pull Apollo and TPG into the bankruptcy void alongside Caesars.
* Despite having been hung out to dry on its big Miami real estate play, Genting Group is getting some of its investment back. The little-known Value Adjustment Board of Miami-Dade County marked down three years’ worth of property-tax assessments on 
the land, including a 33% discount on 2012’s assessment. Site pollution and height restrictions were cited as contributing factors. According to the Miami Herald, “The reductions have come at a time when Miami-Dade land costs have soared to historic highs.” Required to refund $2,322,434 to Resorts World Miami, the county isn’t taking it down and has filed a trio of lawsuits. Genting has countersued but the combatants have not yet crossed swords in court. Genting is also suing to be allowed card games and slots in a former Omni hotel it owns adjacent to the Resorts World site. It’s a big comedown from Genting’s former, grandiose plans for the area but it’s got to monetize its real estate holdings somehow.
