We haven’t been able to confirm for certain whether or not James Packer‘s latest attempt to conquer Las Vegas, the casino-resort Alon, is definitely kaput. It definitely hasn’t evolved 
beyond some exquisitely vague, bare-bones documents filed with Clark County. However, we know that the casino owner and heir to Kerry Packer‘s media fortune needs to scare up some cash, quick. Packer’s selling down his Crown Resorts stake from 53% to 48%, netting $340 million in the transaction. Crown had already reduced a 34% ownership of Melco Crown Entertainment to 27%. Packer’s stated focus is on developing his new Sydney casino and an IT startup in Israel. No mention has been made of Alon. However, Reuters concluded its dispatch about the Packer stock sale with the report, “Crown has said it plans to spin off its international business and pay out 100 percent of its profit in dividends.” Spin off overseas businesses, you say? Hmmmm …
* In a rare industry display of corporate independence, Las Vegas Sands‘ board of directors drop-kicked the idea of financing an NFL stadium — or so CEO Sheldon Adelson tells his newspaper. Employing his newest media megaphone, Adelson blew gusts of ridicule at MGM Resorts International CEO Jim Murren, a favorite Adelson target. “He’s completely 
wrong,” Adelson said of Murren’s insistence that needs more convention space. (Murren declined the invitation to respond.) “We have more exhibition space than any city in the United States, for that matter, any city in the world,” remarked Adelson, whose proposal to wrest $750 million in tax dollars from the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority would kneecap that body, another Adelson bete noire. The billionaire equated his pursuit of the stadium with his family’s commitment to research and treatment of drug abuse (and to bankrolling the failed War On Drugs), saying the completed stadium would be publicly owned and administered.
Clark County Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani isn’t buying into Adelson’s vision of a publicly funded stadium as a vast bonanza for Las Vegas. “There are lots of people who love sports. I love sports. But there has never been a public-private partnership that has built a stadium that has been a good investment for the public,” she said of the project, whose potential cost overruns Adelson has promised to cover. It’s also another soak-the-tourists proposition, as the $750 million in tax dollars would be generated by ratcheting up the hotel tax to 13%. One thing’s for sure: The media-averse Adelson has suddenly become very loquacious now that he owns the home-town newspaper.
* Don’t tell Adelson, but New Jersey‘s responsible-gambling safeguards on Internet play are working, arguably better than expected. Said a new report, “The most encouraging findings from this analysis is the apparent efficacy of the limit-setting tools.” However, Rutgers University‘s Center for Gambling Studies says there’s still room for improvement: “[Responsible gambling] lacks uniform branding, outreach and marketing to ensure all players are aware of the array of features available. We would . . . recommend that RG be included as part of registration for a player account and for continued usage for existing players.”
* A longstanding conflict of interest in the Philippines may soon be ended. Governmental entity Pagcor not regulates casinos, it owns and operates them, too, making it a less-than-disinterested party in the oversight of the Filipino gaming industry. But Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez has ordered Pagcor to liquidate its casinos to private-sector interests. That’s 33% of Philippines table games and 60% of slot machines, a business that’s on pace to rake in $682 million this year. While the transformation may be good for Pagcor’s image, some feel it could be a bad deal for the government, trading in a continuous revenue stream for a one-shot budget fix.
* Biloxi wants $1 million in tax dollars from the Golden Nugget — and the Nugget is in agreement. “I believe it’s in the best interest of the city to account for it. The taxes pay for 
city services we all use, police, fire, roads,” said corporate attorney Brett Singletary. It’s important to note that the Nugget has already paid the money … but the State of Mississippi stepped in and pocketed it. Pursuant to a 2002 court settlement, the Nugget pays Biloxi $2.5 million a year in rent. However, this year’s Lege passed a law permitting it to raid the Tidelands Trust Fund, repository of the rent payments. The state government, as you might expect, is arguing that the new law overrides the 2002 accord, while Biloxi is trying to claw back the appropriated funds. S&G thinks the Nugget is being a good corporate citizen and shouldn’t be penalized for it.
* Nevada‘s only licensed DFS provider, Vic Salerno, is using a parimutuel model of wagering, as explained here. Given the low odds of winning on FanDuel or DraftKings, Salerno thinks he’s got an appealing alternative for fantasy bettors.
* When is a ‘casino’ not a casino? That’s the question Gilroy, California‘s city council is parsing.
* Despite a statewide exemption of casinos from a smoking-in-public-spaces ban, a Native American gambling hall in Iowa is experimenting with a smoke-free gaming area. Good on them.
