Tipping point in Pennsylvania near; Cirque du NFL

“I think gaming expansion money in one form or another is necessary for this budget process to be complete,” spoke Pennsylvania House Majority Leader Dave Reed (R). With Gov. Tom Wolf (D, right) having given way on sales-tax and income-tax increases, Tom Wolfexpanding gambling is one of the few remaining ways to close a budget shortfall. Accordingly, the House has voted to permit online betting, as well as slot routes in OTBs and airport lounges. Faced with a great hue and cry from the state’s casino industry, the House trimmed the legislation to remove a provision that would enable any bar in the state to house a slot route. So it’s a partial victory for the industry, especially if it can get to host online casinos. After the initial flurry of legislative victories in Nevada, New Jersey and Delaware, the Keystone State is the one where i-gaming has come closest to taking root. Almost every casino in Pennsylvania has lobbied for it, with the notable and predictable exception of Sands Bethlehem, an opponent.

Let’s not start counting the money yet. The House needs to vote a second time on the gambling enhancement, then pass it along to the state Senate. These things have a pesky way of falling apart at the minute, as recent events in New York State have shown.

* Could Brazil be the next major international player in the casino industry? “This year’s expansion proposal has the best odds of passing in over a decade due to the current state Brazilof the Brazilian economy and desperate need for additional tax revenue combined with growing political support,” wrote gaming analyst Todd Eilers of legislation currently working its way through the Brazilian legislature. The Senate version would authorize 35 casinos — if they are built with hotels, restaurants and retail — along with Internet gambling and one bingo parlor for every 150,000 Brazilians. Believe it or not, bingo is illegal currently in Brazil, as is nearly every other form of wagering. These stirrings haven’t passed American operators without notice. Back in fold at Red Rock ResortsLorenzo Fertitta was reported as talking up casino legalization on a recent trip to Brazil, and both Las Vegas Sands and Wynn Resorts have been tipped as interested parties. Neither would comment but MGM Resorts International candidly admitted to monitoring Brazilian developments. As big as the proposed casino regime sounds, it wouldn’t be enormous — 70,000 slot machines total, as compared to 45,000 just on the Las Vegas Strip. But if as big a player as MGM is showing interest, you know there’s money to be made.

* If Studio City were a movie, it would be reckoned a flop. The Macao megaresort Studio City 3booked only $195 million in revenue in 1Q16, far below what stock analysts forecast for the Melco Crown Entertainment property. CEO Lawrence Ho says “We had a lot of brand awareness and buzz, but somehow our marketing team hasn’t really translated that.” However, he seems somewhat at sixes and sevens for a solution, suggesting only that non-gaming amenities receive greater emphasis. With the triple threat of Wynn Palace, Parisian and MGM Grand Cotai headed down the track in Studio City’s direction, Ho is like the helpless maiden tied to the rails — and there’s no Dudley Doright on the horizon.

* Millennials will gamble more — eventually, according to a new study from the Center for Gaming Research at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas. In other words, as they age, their tendencies will change … or so the study posits. However, in what may be bad news for programs like Total Rewards, millennials casino loyalties are tied to experiential and emotional factors, not how many reward points they’re racking up. Anyway, given the emphasis that companies like MGM and Sands lay on the convention trade, millennials’ preferences aren’t necessarily top of the mind right now. Put another way, Steve Wynn wouldn’t be building a new convention center if he didn’t have a very good reason.

* While Louisiana casinos were languishing in May, those on Mississippi‘s Gulf Coast were doing just fine, up 4% and probably helped a bit by newcomer Scarlet Pearl, which obviously isn’t cannibalizing the market. The news was not so good for the state’s riverboat casinos, down 14% last month. We’ve already seen closings along the Mississippi River and more seem inevitable.

* Faced with well-deserved image problems, like the concussion coverup, the NFL is addressing its internal problems by … no, not dealing with them but teaming up with ultra-fey Cirque du Soleil for a new exhibit hall. What’s next? Having NFL Network anchors deliver their reports in nonsensical Cirque-speak gibberish? Nothing renders the spectacle of, say, a crushing Clay Matthews quarterback sack like a troupe of prancing Cirque acrobats and some babbling clowns. And I don’t mean Mike Tirico and Jon Gruden.

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