“These folks are going to have to pony up the paper,” said U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Benjamin Goldgar, stripping the fig leaf from Caesars Entertainment owners Marc Rowan, David Bonderman and others. They’ll have to reveal details of their personal wealth — which includes lavish bonuses they paid themselves for cutting costs in the Roman empire. Junior creditors aren’t going to release their claims on the company without knowing how much its owners have in the bank. Caesars Chairman of the Board Gary Loveman and former CFO Eric Hession are among those who are going to have to come clean under Goldgar’s order. While Goldgar threw out some of the junior creditors’ demands — like details of the defendants’ domestic life — he backed the plaintiffs in the main. Bonderman’s Texas Pacific Group has already promised to appeal.
* Southwest Airlines appears to have the deciding vote in where a proposed [your city here] Raiders stadium would go. It has expressed vexation with the possible Bali Hai Golf Club site, as it would sit directly west of runways for McCarran International Airport. An alternate location, slightly further north and cheek-by-jowl with Mandalay Bay, meets with Southwest’s grudging approval. “The Bali Hai location would be 
too close to the airport, and at the end of the day we want to make sure our operations are safe,” said a Southwest spokesman … and Las Vegas doesn’t want to piss off its biggest air carrier. Southwest is concerned that light shows and video displays would constitute a distraction to its pilots during “the most critical stages of flight.” Southwest has already been able to nix Sheldon Adelson‘s preferred site: “Tropicana 42,” vacant land across Tropicana Avenue from McCarran. If the stadium height exceeds 200 feet, then the Federal Aviation Authority gets to horn in on the debate, too. (Stadium proponents are already talking about excavating deeper than initially planned.) “We are confident that we will accommodate all of the concerns of Southwest Airlines, the FAA and the airport,” said Las Vegas Sands lobbyist Andy Abboud. Since the powers-that-be in the stadium debate have an agreement in place to buy the Russell Road site that Southwest prefers, the airline looks to come out the one sure winner in this proceeding.
Hotel guests will be the losers, now that the Southern Nevada Tourism Infrastructure Committee has approved a 1% increase (to 13%) in the room tax, voting for the stadium 11-0. Clark County residents also get a raw deal, as Adelson’s Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that the final arrangement “allows the private partners to reap all stadium profits during the lifetime of the Raiders’ lease.” Adelson also welshed on his commitment to cover any cost overruns — taxpayers will pick up the tab. Hoping to get the Raiders-relocation deal before the NFL by January, Abboud stepped up the pressure on Gov. Brian Sandoval (R), who must decide whether or not to call the Legislature into a special session to approve the tax hike.
Speaking of tourism and Las Vegas, Chinese air carrier Hainan Airlines is initiating nonstop flights from Beijing to Sin City on Dec. 2 … just in time for the opening of the Lucky Dragon casino (the last casino opening we’re likely to see for several years). Why deal with the hassle of getting into Macao when Vegas is just a plane ride away? Says Union Gaming Securities analyst James DeCree, “The direct route is a positive for both incremental visitation and ultimately higher spend as Chinese visitors arriving in Las Vegas on a direct flight would be able to stay longer and spend more money compared with those visiting on broken trips.”
He estimated that at least 33,000 Chinese — of the 300,000 who already visit annually — would be able to take advantage of the direct service. As for incremental gains in visitation, DeCree didn’t choose to speculate. But, he added, “We would expect more carriers to begin connecting Las Vegas to other Chinese cities with direct flights in the coming months.” Don’t expect increased visitation to translate into a 2007-like boom in gambling dollars. Projecting little growth in Las Vegas revenue for this year (and even less of it from gambling), Moody’s Investors Service Senior Vice President Peggy Holloway said, “Strip gaming revenues are still stuck in the mud and are likely to remain there. Strong visitation has not translated into higher gaming revenues as it has in the past.”
* What’s in a name? Quite a lot if you’re doing business in Macao. If you’ve ever wondered why Steve Wynn‘s Chinese restaurant is called “Wing Lei” (I know I have), it’s the Sinophile translation of “Wynn,” a name that also means “profitable forever” — which Steve certainly hopes his casinos will be. MGM is “pretty, tall, plum blossom” and Sands is, more directly, “golden sands.” Melco translates as “new wealthy gaming Asia,” which it is. They’re all losing far less in translation than Coca-Cola, which when initially turned into Chinese became “Bite the Wax Tadpole.”
* Georgia has a lottery and keno. Why not casinos? Because they would cannibalize spending that might go to other parts of the economy, say opponents. But proponents estimate that was much as $600 million is leaving the Peachtree State annually and going into the coffers of casinos in nearby states, including North Carolina. Casino gambling would also scare up much-needed dollars to keep the popular HOPE Scholarships running, so the argument goes. An unsourced poll has 84% of Georgians wanting to vote on the casino issue. Lawmakers should do their part, draft the constitutional amendment required and put it before the public.
