New Jersey lawmakers are determined to make Carl Icahn pay for shutting down Trump Taj Mahal. A bill that would retroactively apply to Icahn and Icahn only — 
although several other casinos have recently closed — was voted out of the state Senate. The Assembly has yet to consider the measure and Gov. Chris Christie (R) is almost certain to veto it. As much as I dislike how Icahn treated Taj workers (basically as a lower form of life), principle dictates that I object to the state taking vengeance upon him, as well as to making this bill retroactive. Assuming that government should be dictating how casino owners run their properties — which the regulatory process tends to handle just fine — at minimum the Lege’s second thoughts should only apply going forward.
Said Tropicana Entertainment CEO Anthony Rodio, in a prepared statement, “I don’t see any reason for anyone to want to invest in the casino industry in Atlantic City given this adversarial climate being created by some leaders of our state Legislature, the same ones who supported the North Jersey gaming referendum that will certainly result in the closing of more Atlantic City casinos and future disqualification of their present owners under this bad legislation. It also raises serious questions why anyone would want to invest in the State of New Jersey at all if the State legislature moves forward with this business, jobs and growth killing legislation.”
We agree. And when it comes to the hypocrisy of some of the solons involved, Rodio is right on target.
* I keep telling you that panda exhibit isn’t going to happen at Resorts World Las Vegas, don’t I? Well now it’s official: Genting Group spokesman Michael Levoff told 
the Las Vegas Review-Journal that Genting dropped the idea “a long time ago” and that the company had made a public announcement at the time. I don’t remember any such renunciation but the end result is that the only pandas on view are going to be on slot reels. Considering that Mandalay Bay tried and failed to get pandas over a decade ago, during the Glenn Schaeffer Era, I was never remotely convinced Genting could do better. Now it can get back to that unicorn petting zoo idea. Maybe they can find some unicorns by the time Resorts World opens in 2019 … Or will it be 2020? The project has only 30 construction workers at this time, hardly what you’d call a workforce on the Strip.
* Score one for Arkansas dog- and horseracing interests. The state Supreme Court has ordered Arkansas Wins in 2016‘s initiative stricken from the November ballot. The ballot question, if passed, would have authorized casinos in three Arkansas counties. The high court’s reasoning was that the wording of the ballot measure didn’t explain that sports betting is illegal in the state. (Pretty rich reasoning when you consider that state racetracks offer VLT “instant racing.”) Casino backers argued that sports betting wasn’t integral to their proposal but that argument fell upon deaf ears.
* Wall Street analysts would not call the current promotional climate in Detroit as “rational.” Competition for players has heated up to the point where casinos are not only offering gift cards, show and sports tickets, and comparable freebies to high-value players. 
No, if you’re lucky you can get a junket to Las Vegas or private batting practice at Comerica Park, even a free car or have the song of your choice played during the Bellagio water show. Two of the last three are offered by Mlife at MGM Grand Detroit, while MotorCity has struck a marketing agreement with Venetian. As one might expect, Greektown is the least “George” of the three, mostly providing dining comps, presumably focused on the food-rich Greektown neighborhood.
According to the Detroit Free Press, the loyalty programs entail a dizzying number of tiers: four for MotorCity, five for the others. And before you get excited by the potential rewards, be advised that they’re taxable. The casinos are not only trying to poach each others’ players, they’re taking aim at Hollywood Casino Toledo, as well as Casino Windsor, across the river in Ontario, and tribal FireKeepers Casino Hotel in Battle Creek. The Freep found one skeptic in the form of Michigan State University hospitality-business professor Michael McCall. “The big take-home message is patronage is not necessarily loyalty,” he said, adding, “Making the customer feel special is better than providing small little trinkets.” Ah, but what trinkets!
