Las Vegas Sands is under the regulatory magnifying glass again. It’s been alleged that the company tried to make an end run around anti-money-laundering laws by permitting 
Chinese whales to use front men to place bets on their behalf. Lawyers for two Las Vegas housekeepers said that, with Sands’ knowledge and connivance, their clients were allowed to take out multi-million-dollar lines of credit. They would then place high-stakes bets on behalf of their Chinese string-pullers. Sands said it is cooperating with the probe in a timely fashion, “as we always do.” However, given previous AML troubles at Sands, the picture is forming of a corporation that pushes the envelope of what’s permissible, even to the breaking point. The current investigation would not have occurred had the women in question not been left holding the bag for millions of dollars in casino debts, putting them in Clark County‘s crosshairs. (Gambling debts are unenforceable in China, putting the high rollers out of the district attorney’s reach.)
Charges against the two women were dropped when they pointed the finger at Sands. Enter the Nevada Gaming Control Board. Even if bookkeeping rules were not violated, the NGCB could still throw the book at Sands under broadly drawn “decency” statues, according to Reuters. Maybe it will take a book to the noggin to get AML lessons through Sands’ skull.
* Surprise, surprise, Penn National Gaming reported “strength at Tropicana LV,” according to JP Morgan analyst Joseph Greff, as offsetting oil-related softness in New Mexico and a tough competitive environment in Mississippi. The company missed its 3Q16 projections but by such a small margin as to be insignificant. In addition to still 
being on the hook for $123 million in underwriting of Hollywood Casino Jamul, Penn shelled out an additional $66 million in construction costs during the quarter. It also spent $60 to acquire Rocket Games. As for the Trop, Penn is working on a Phase II master plan that will include additional restaurants and bars, unspecified “non-gaming amenities” and improved entertainment — a real black hole ever since Scott Butera jinxed the place by closing Folies Bergere.
Deutsche Bank‘s Carlo Santarelli characterized the results as “better than feared,” adding that Zia Park in the Land of Enchantment and the Mississippi market “continue to struggle.” It will be interesting to see if the 4Q16 reports contain any commentary on the early performance at Jamul, depending on whether Penn’s obligations to its shareholders are trumped by the code of silence enjoyed by tribal casinos.
* Chalk one up for Caesars Entertainment. The company has won another creditor over to its latest bankruptcy solution. Reuters reports that final holdout Trilogy Capital Management, a potential litigant, has fallen into line, removing the threat of a judgment against Caesars. “While Trilogy’s claim was small, at $9.4 million, a judgment could have blown up a crucial $5 billion restructuring deal Caesars reached last month with creditors to resolve billions of dollars of potential lawsuits,” Reuters narrated. Caesars can see the edge of the forest but isn’t completely out of the woods, having to go through a bankruptcy trial in January and resolve a conflict with the National Retirement Fund over the handling of pensions. Then again, who thought Caesars would get this far?
* Going from Penn National to Pennsylvania, the fate of host-community fees in the Keystone State hinged upon a last-minute vote in the commonwealth’s House of 
Representatives. Late Tuesday night, the Senate voted to approve a compromise whereby the bulk of the issue is punted into the next Legislature. In the meantime, casinos would pay slightly over $4 million a month to their host communities, from January through April. The idea bombed with Mount Airy Casino which sourly noted that it was still unconstitutional and an unequal tax rate. “It doesn’t make any sense to me. If they do this we are going to file another lawsuit and we are going to be seeking a refund of any money paid under this plan,” attorney Michael Sklar told The Morning Call.
* E-sports may not just be a lucrative sideline in and of itself. According to the Las Vegas Sun, there are indications of a crossover to casino play. Statistics show that there are 38 million e-sports fans in the U.S., and each is twice as likely to have gambled on the Internet as the average Web user … Not a bad tranche of customers from which to draw. Also, the Downtown Grand is seeing interesting results from its embrace of e-sports. When the latter is played near the slot floor, zilch. But if there’s blackjack nearby, they’ll play it. “If you’re only putting up a weekly tournament every Friday and doing it just to capture this demographic’s wallet, you will probably be disappointed,” said Downtown Grand CEO Seth Schorr. To that end, the Grand has a permanent e-sports lounge. Let’s hope the big boys in the industry are paying attention to Schorr’s words.
