Land of the Rising Hopes; Delaware racinos struggle

It will take a constitutional amendment to make it happen but casinos could be back on the political agenda in Japan. In a promising development, he strengthened his position abein the Diet, apparently freeing his Liberal Democratic Party from its dependance on the anti-gambling Komeito Party, which had doomed one casino initiative after another. Given the widespread skepticism over the efficacy of so-called “Abenomics,” (“Even in Japan there is a limit to the number of shinkansen trains and bridges and roads to nowhere that can be built”) the prime minister needs a new engine of fiscal stimulus and expanded gambling might be it.

Even without the Komeito albatross around his neck, Abe is hinting at a curtailed legalization of casinos, restricting them to Tokyo and Osaka, with each city getting one megaresort, probably opening in 2022, best-case scenario. Also, Western companies looking to get one of the few seats at the table (MGM Resorts International has been particularly ardent) will probably have to settle for being junior partner to native companies Sega Sammy and Kazuo Okada‘s Universal Entertainment, as the pachinko industry is given the first bite at casino gaming. It’s always easy to get one’s hopes too high about Japan but this time, just maybe, Abe can pull it off, even if the political willpower has been tried in the past and found wanting.

Congratulations to Mohegan Sun, winner of seven Telly Awards, including a silver medal for its “Full of Life” ad campaign. The Tellys recognize exceptional Web content, as well as outstanding local TV, cable and regional advertising. Judging by the ad above, Mohegan Sun’s recognition was well-merited.

* Despite a profitable quarter “we’re not booming. We’re really just hanging on,” says beleaguered Dover Downs CEO Denis McGlynn. Faced with usurious tax rates (43%) and a Legislature that won’t reduce them, McGlynn has turned a profit by dint of staff cuts markelland scrimping on other expenses. Gov. Jack Markell (D, left) killed a four-year racino stimulus package that would have alleviated some of the burden by “allowing online sports parlays, eliminating table game licensing fees and cutting the state’s table game tax.” Even with the provision for new revenue (the online sports betting), that was too much tax cutting for the Lege’s taste, especially when a $33 million revenue shortfall was discovered in the waning days of the session.

McGlynn is remaining upbeat, telling shareholders, “I think it’s safe to say there is a general understanding among all those who control our destiny that something needs to be done.” Still, items like capex maintenance are suffering. “In this business, you work to build repeat customers so over time, you have to change things to liven it up again or things get run down and you lose those people,” McGlynn continued. With new competition from Maryland and Pennsylvania in the offing, one would hope politicians would share his sense of urgency.

* Klondike Sunset, an ill-starred locals casino in Henderson, is enjoying a turn of good luck. It will reopen this week as an all-slots casino. The 2014 death of then-owner John Woodrum spelled the end of operations for the Klondike (whose Strip sister had long since been demolished) and subsequent owner Carl Giudici could never get his own plans off the ground due to frequent bouts of ill health. Enter Bruce Familian, late last year, and after eight months of work the Klondike is back. This is Familian’s first casino, but since he and his business partner, Jon Athey, host slot routes at their gas stations, an all-slots casino seems like a comfortable first step into the casino industry for them. Welcome aboard.

* July in Macao was good, by which we mean “less bad.” Gambling revenue was down 4.5%. But Macao giveth and Macao taketh away. Or as J.P. Morgan analyst Joseph Greff put it, the Aug. 22 opening of Wynn Palace “could add some strength to month end, however, this is likely to be offset by curtailed trips in advance of the opening.”

* It was inevitable. The casino industry is finding ways to get in on the Pokémon Go craze.

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