It’s out of the frying pan and straight into the fire for Caesars Entertainment. Federal bankruptcy court has put a temporary halt on litigation against the casino giant, giving it 
until Aug. 29 to cut a new deal with bondholders. As far as the pesky junior ones, like Appaloosa Management‘s David Tepper are concerned, what Caesars is offering them is such a fraction of what the senior lenders and bondholders stand to collect that they’re as unlikely to settle two months hence as they were two months ago. Caesars simply can’t or won’t sweeten the pot sufficiently. Besides, it might be more lucrative to sue Caesars for the assets it pillaged from Caesars Entertainment Operating Co. Of these suspect transactions, the court’s own examiner has written: “The principal question being investigated was whether in structuring and implementing these transactions assets were removed from CEOC to the detriment of CEOC and its creditors. The simple answer to this question is ‘yes.'”
Caesars has also taken the blithe attitude that it’s no longer obligated to honor CEOC’s debts, a stance which helped topple the latter into Chapter 11. Characterizing the chances of further injunctions as slim, Judge Benjamin Goldgar — clearly speaking more to Caesars than its bondholders — said, “There better be some conversations. You’ve got that time. Use it.” Nonetheless, Caesars professed itself pleased with the ruling — especially as lawsuits in Delaware and Manhattan were only days from blast-off.
Having dodged that bullet, Caesars caught another one in Atlantic City. Workers represented by Unite-Here Local 54 voted to go on strike July 1 at Caesars Atlantic City, Harrah’s Resort and Bally’s Atlantic City. One can easily imagine the poor-
mouthing that they were getting from Caesars, provoking the 96% mandate. But Local 54’s ire isn’t confined to Caesars. It’s also going on the march against Carl Icahn at the Tropicana. The latter action may be retaliation for labor policies at Trump Taj Mahal for which Local 54 blames Icahn. As for Caesars, it needs picket lines in Atlantic City like it needs a hole in the head — although the vote must be a cause of jubilation among its competitors, especially at the peak of the summer season
“We gave up a lot when times were bad, now that they are making money, they need to give back to us,” said Unite-Here’s Robert McDevitt, explaining the vote and backing it up with the contention that salaries for line workers have only risen 80 cents in 12 years. A Tropicana server told Reuters he’s only making $11 an hour despite having put in over 20 years on the job. Interestingly, the Taj is not on the strike list, although the union has a legitimate beef with Icahn and with Trump Entertainment Resorts, his unlamented predecessor.
* American Gaming Association prexy Geoff Freeman was quick to weigh in on the prospect of a NHL franchise coming to Las Vegas. At a press conference, Freeman went on offense, calling for repeal of the Bradley Act (or PASPA), although he was a bit 
demure about the role the AGA would playing. “Frankly, I think it’s premature to really be on Capitol Hill in a traditional lobbying sense. We’re working to expose that problem, produce the research, help people understand the problem that’s out there, and much of that is going on through the media, it’s going on through our own grassroots efforts and other activities,” he said, concluding, “It’s really in 2017 and beyond that this issue is going to get the attention it deserves, and we’ll be prepared to lead that effort.”
As for Mark Davis‘ attempts to move the Oakland Raiders to Las Vegas (or use Las Vegas as a catspaw to get a better deal in Oakland), Freeman called it “the 800-pound gorilla” in the room but expressed no opinion on the issue. Rather, he chose to focus on the historical ramification of the NHL’s executive committee’s decision. “Someone had to break the dam here and be the first to come into that market. I’m not sitting here as a champion for Las Vegas, encouraging every sports league to go there. I’m simply saying what the NHL did is acknowledge that the industry has gone mainstream. There’s greater comfort with the industry than ever before, and I think for the sake of Las Vegas, you may well see a similar move from other leagues in the not-too-distant future.” The line forms behind the NHL.
* A bill to permit slot routes in Pennsylvania is causing some alarm for operators. Meadows Racetrack & Casino (joining Presque Isle Downs) weighed in against the legislation, which could see slots spread to bars, airport lounges and OTBs. The Pennsylvania House has gone back and forth on legislation that spawn as many as 12,000 new slot locations around the state. While Pennsylvania’s casino market is still growing, we’ve seen the deleterious effects that slot routes in Illinois are having on that state’s casinos. Just ask Boyd Gaming.“We were hoping we were done with this,” said an exasperated sounding Meadows Vice President Sean Sullivan. “[Video game terminals] have to be taken out of the discussion, off the table.”
Slot-route locations would also be subject to favorable tax treatment — 34% of gross gaming revenues compared to the 55% that casinos pay on their slot revenues. Arguing that the bill was a sop to bars that offer illegal slots already, state Sen. Camera Bartolotta (R, right) threw in her lot with Meadows. “Pennsylvania is getting really unfriendly to this industry. We’ve attacked the gas and oil industry enough. Now let’s go after casinos.” Also in Bartolotta’s line of fire was Gov. Tom Wolf‘s proposed tax on free play, as well as a proposed 25% increase in the amount casinos pay to underwrite regulation. The slot routes are part of multiple gambling expansions being pondered by the commonwealth, including Internet play, and the tenor of the state GOP seems to be the more options the better.
* Donald Trump‘s presidential aspirations have been a double-edged sword for his image as the second coming of Ayn Rand‘s John Galt. The New York Times recently debunked the myth surrounding his ramshackle casino empire. Now it’s BloombergView‘s turn to put Trump’s casinos under the microscope. His relationship to mobbed-up “senior advisor” Felix Sater also continues to dog him.
