Cleveland Cavaliers playoff games were good for Dan Gilbert‘s casino businesses. His Jack Cleveland casino was up 13%, to $16 million last month. It’s far too soon for a verdict on the “Jack” (as 
in “up yours, asshole”) brand, which produced a 5% uptick at misbegotten ThistleDown Racino ($9 million) but saw a 13% dive at Jack Cincinnati, which grossed ($14 million). Another property that was a big miscalculation, Pinnacle Entertainment‘s racino Belterra Park, was up 16%, registering $6 million. At other tracks, Eldorado Resorts‘ Scioto Downs was flat, notching $12 million, while Hard Rock Rocksino continued to lead the state with $18 million, up 7%. Miami Valley Gaming gained 8%, for an $11 million score, while Penn National Gaming properties were mostly ‘meh,’ although even in a flat month Hollywood Austintown ($8 million) generated a remarkable $273/slot/day. Hollywood Toledo ($16 million) fell 6%, Hollywood Dayton ($7 million) lost a percentage point but Hollywood Columbus pulled the chestnuts from the fire with a $17 million haul, up 3%. As for that “Jack” thing, why didn’t Gilbert just re-brand as, say, Douchebag Cleveland and have done with it?
* The American Gaming Association has evolved dramatically in the changeover from Frank Fahrenkopf‘s presidency to Geoff Freeman‘s. During the courtly Fahrenkopf’s reign, the AGA went about its business quietly and behind the scenes, more concerned with averting anti-gambling legislation at the federal than with making the news pages. Freeman has brought a high-profile, advocacy-oriented style to the organization. The old 
AGA used to keep tribal casinos, politely, at arms’ length. No longer. In preview this year’s Global Gaming Expo, Freeman said to expect a closer alliance between the AGA and the National Indian Gaming Association. “I’m not naive and I realize there’s still a lot of great competition taking place between tribes and commercial gaming entities. There’s consternation out there over several issues. But at the end of the day, when we look at a lot of the big issues, there’s more where we align than what divides us,” Freeman told the Las Vegas Review-Journal, adding, “Our relationship with the tribal community has never been stronger and … that bodes well for the future of the entire gaming industry.” Considering that federal policy toward tribal casinos has whipsawed violently from one presidential administration to another, NIGA could probably use an infusion of the AGA right about now.
* Prospects for online gambling in Pennsylvania have a taken a turn for the worse. For one, Gov. Tom Wolf (D) is being a Debbie Downer, questioning whether, after an initial burst of $200 million in Year One (fueled in large part by licensing fees), Internet gaming revenues 
are “sustainable.” (He loves that word.) Also, the state Senate is feeling the pressure from Sands Bethlehem and other casinos to scotch satellite slot parlors at OTBs and airport lounges. The Senate has counterproposed as many as 20 “satellite” casinos of 500 slots apiece, which would make Pennsylvania the new wild, wild west of gambling. Sands — which has a number of projects in the pipeline, including a new hotel and convention center — balks at the notion. “We’ve got a big investment here and it’s the highest taxed jurisdiction in the country. I don’t know where they think all these new customers are coming from,” said Sands CEO Mark Juliano, talking tough, “but we’re certainly not going to continue to make a commitment to reinvest if they follow through with this.”
* Trying to see a physician in Las Vegas … that way lies madness. MGM Resorts International has relieved some of the mishegas for its employees by acting as its own insurer. Among the benefits of this approach is access to a much wider network of providers. Admittedly, no casino company in Nevada employs as many people as MGM, so there may be a lack of imitators but the innovation is to laudatory. Across the country, in Springfield, Massachusetts, MGM has met its minority-contracting goals but plans to continue its diversity outreach to go above and beyond the minimum required. MGM’s actual hiring and its mandated minimum break down as follows:
Minorities: 29%/5%; Women: 10%/10%; Veterans: 9%/2%
This is the sort of thing that gives the casino industry a good name.
