Carcieri v. Salazar and the Indian Reorganization Act have come back to bite the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe in the hindquarters. U.S. District Judge William G. Young has ruled 
against a Taunton casino project, siding with the contention of a group of Massachusetts property owners that the Interior Department lacked standing to grant land-in-trust status to the tribe because the latter wasn’t a federally recognized band in 1934. (The Mashpee weren’t recognized until 2007.) While the tribe isn’t tipping its hand whether construction will continue on Project First Light or not, it’s definitely planning an appeal. Said Chairman Cedric Cromwell, “Our people have been challenged throughout history and we are still here, living on the land of our ancestors. I have no doubt we will prevail.”
While taking a victory lap, plaintiff Michelle Littlefield said, “It isn’t about a casino, it’s about land in a trust, and it’s now under state and local control. Our goal has always been that there be local and state oversight.” Hmmmm. I’m not sure whether to believe her. When they say ‘It’s not about about gambling,’ it’s almost always about gambling. Littlefield is vowing to fight all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court but, with Genting Group at their backs, the Mashpee have the deep pockets to carry on a protracted battle, too. Taunton Mayor Thomas Hoye is firmly in their corner, too.
* Steve Wynn has given some insight into how he’s doing more with less in Macao. “We put our higher-yield games in more prominent locations. We put destination-type games like craps in secondary locations. We changed the amount of free odds that we gave at dice 
games from what was commonly referred to as the three-four-five game,” he told stock analysts. It boiled down to getting more play from existing customers rather than trying to court players who’d fled Wynn’s casinos, either in Macao or Las Vegas, where the Chinese crackdown on VIP play had a $150 million ripple effect. “We were able to take our profit margins in table games up into the 40s, which I think is unique in our industry,” said Wynn, who’ll need to repeat his magic formula at new Wynn Palace in Macao, where the government has given him a measly allocation of 100 table games. Wells Fargo analyst Cameron McKnight said it was “below consensus expectations,” adding “the lower table allocation likely reflects the tough political environment in Macau.”
Other analysts were downbeat, with Sanford C. Bernstein‘s Vitaly Umansky and Clifford Kurz writing that “While [Mr.] Wynn tried to put a not-so-negative spin on the table allocation, we view the initial number of 100 as guided by the company as disappointing.” They added that cannibalization of Wynn Macau could be worse than expected, due to the movement of tables between Wynn’s two Macanese casinos. A trio of Morgan Stanley analysts wrote that they were “negatively surprised by only 100 new tables allocated to a US$4.2 billion project.”
Wynn Resorts is also getting a little bolder in its rhetoric, issuing a statement that it expects to be granted more tables once Wynn Palace opens. That would bring the 
casino close to the original capacity Steve Wynn envisioned, since he is taking 250 tables out of overexposed Wynn Macau and setting them up in his new pleasure palace. Macao-centric analysts think the additional allocation could be as great as 150, bringing Wynn Palace to a grand total of 500 tables. It does make you wonder why the initial grant of 100 stables is so stingy, though. Even with a limited allocation, Wynn says he can operate with both efficiency and profitability, adding, “We established a long time ago various scenarios where we can operate from 100 tables to 280 tables,” in part because there will be (presumably) more demand due to lower supply. He’s also hedging his bet by investing in electronic table games.
While continuing to cut back on VIP tables, Wynn nonetheless enjoyed a 2Q16 revenue improvement of 5%, along with a $65 million profit. “We are happy with Macao,” Wynn said, understandably, even with slot handle down 21.5%.
* It’s official: Caesars Interactive has been sold, for $4.4 billion, to an alliance of companies, led by Shanghai Giant Network Technology Co. Ltd. Junior debtors in the Caesars Entertainment bankruptcy are sure to attempt to attach the proceeds of the sale, as the movement of Caesars Interactive to Caesars Acquisition Co. is one of the allegedly fraudulent transfers that are slated to be litigated in an attempt to obtain blood from the Caesars turnip.
* Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh is dropping, without comment or explanation, a lawsuit against the city. Neil Bluhm‘s casino had been suing over the tax rates Pennsylvania casinos pay to their host cities and the disparities therein. This isn’t the last of the issue, however. Mt. Airy Casino and Harrah’s Philadelphia are still keeping it play with litigation of their own. Elsewhere in the state, Eldorado Resorts is turning around casino performance at Presque Isle Downs, redounding to the benefit of the Erie Zoo, among others.
* Twenty-five years ago today, a Biloxi man refused medical attention rather than lose his place in line as Isle of Capri riverboat became the first-ever casino in the Gulf Coast city. 
In the quarter-century since, casinos have come and gone. Some — such as the Copa Casino — are now on the bottom of the ocean. Almost no one except IP Biloxi survived Hurricane Katrina unscathed and Jefferson Davis‘ estate was obliterated by a runaway casino vessel. Today, almost no one gambles on a barge. The Isle of Capri riverboat was replaced by a building, which is now a Golden Nugget-branded casino (above). Margaritaville keeps coming and going as a theme. Foxwoods Resort Casino is helping local investors develop a new casino. In short, there’s been a lot of tumult. But gambling has not only gained respectability in Biloxi, it’s become a firm pillar of the local economy. In celebration of the anniversary, the American Gaming Association is throwing a retrospective event. Speakers will include former Mississippi top regulator Larry Gregory and Beau Rivage General Manager Marcus Glover.
Congratulations to Biloxi for having the foresight to gamble on the casino industry, thereby enhancing its standing as one of America’s top destination resorts. Or as Rep. Steven Palazzo, who represents Biloxi in Congress, says, “after Katrina it was the gaming industry that was the first to bounce back and provide jobs and economic relief to Mississippi Gulf Coast. South Mississippi would have been hit twice as hard by the effects of Katrina coupled with the recession if it had not been for the casino renovation effort.”
