Powerful personalities
Powerful personalities
Blood, sweat and tears showcased the gaming industry's heart and soul in 2006
By Andy Holtmann
Was there a worse story to tell in 2005 than the devastation that Hurricane Katrina brought to the Gulf Coast and the nation's third-largest gaming jurisdiction in Biloxi, Miss.? The answer is a resounding, "no." A year and a half later, we look back on the people who made news in the gaming industry in 2006, and have to ask this question: was there a better story this past year than the hard work, commitment and perseverance that those committed to rebuilding the Gulf Coast's gaming industry exhibited? Again, the answer is, "no."
The commitment to rebuilding and reopening the storm-battered casinos along the Mississippi Gulf Coast began immediately following the storm, with casino companies pledging to rebuild. It was followed by a firm commitment from Mississippi's state and local government officials like Gov. Haley Barbour, Sen. Trent Lott, Biloxi Mayor A.J. Holloway and others to give the gaming industry the tools and resources needed to effectively rebuild. Among those tools, the passage of House Bill 45 by the Mississippi Legislature, allowing the once vulnerable casinos operating on barges to be rebuilt on land within 800 feet of the water line.
Those commitments carried into 2006, as organizations like the Mississippi Casino Operators Association and its executive director, Beverly Martin, pledged its support to getting the gaming industry up and running; the Mississippi Gaming Commission and its executive director, Larry Gregory, worked overtime to make sure the industry was supported from a regulatory standpoint; and the casino companies' executives, the properties' general managers and most importantly, each casino's workforce, labored feverishly to open the doors and revitalize Gulf Coast gaming as we know it.
While there are simply too many good souls who have worked hard to get the Gulf casinos up and running, here are a few noteworthy gaming industry figures:
Imperial Palace General Manager John Lucas had his employees working immediately after the storm to repair damage to the property-arguably the least damaged casino on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. That work led to the IP opening before the New Year.
"It really helped to start building a sense of camaraderie, family and teamwork here because everyone was in this together, and people saw hope as opposed to an oncoming freight train at the end of the tunnel," Lucas told Casino Journal. "People saw we were going to rebuild and that they were going to have jobs. They saw things were going to get back to normal. Adding to that, the cooperation we got from the Gaming Commission, the state, the city, the mayor, the building department, etc.-it was amazing; like nothing I've ever seen."
Keith Crosby, the general manager of the Palace Casino, had a temporary casino open shortly thereafter, as did the executive team of the Isle of Capri Biloxi Hotel & Casino (CEO Bernie Goldstein, COO Timothy Hinkley and others)-reopening as the first shore-based property.
Harrah's Entertainment's management team, including its central division president, Anthony Sanfilippo, and Tom O'Donnell, the company's Gulf Coast Regional president, announced plans for a $1 billion-plus investment-combining the Grand Casino Biloxi and the recently purchased Casino Magic Biloxi properties into a megaresort. Karen Sock, formerly the assistant general manager of Grand Casino Gulfport, has taken control as senior vice president and general manager of the new Grand Casino Biloxi project, which reopened in August.
At MGM Mirage's Beau Rivage, General Manager George Corchis has been one of the key field marshals of the completely renovated property, which reopened Aug. 29. MGM Mirage made commitments in excess of $1 billion to get the new and improved Beau back in operation, with plans for future expansions and projects at the property.
"We've worked with some of the most creative people in our industry to redesign the property, to not only recapture the charm and elegance that defined Beau Rivage before the storm, but to also leverage the knowledge and experience of the best minds at MGM Mirage to create a completely new experience for our guests," Corchis said.
Corchis replaced long-time Beau president and chief operating officer Jeff Dahl, who joined Torguson Gaming Group as its president. Torguson is building the $500 million Baccaran Bay Casino Resort in Biloxi.
In another key succession, Susan Varnes was named chief operating officer of the Treasure Bay Resort & Casino, and is overseeing its rebuilding. She replaced Bernie Burkholder, who stepped down as the property's CEO to pursue other opportunities.
Meanwhile, Hard Rock Biloxi President and Chief Operating Officer Joe Billhimer has continued in his unwavering commitment to rebuilding his property. The Hard Rock's parent company recently filed for bankruptcy to gain access to insurance proceeds necessary to continue construction.
There are countless other efforts to be noted as well, including a new project that will include: Donald Trump; Rick Carter and Terry Green, former operators of the Copa Casino, who formed Gulfside Casino Partnership LLC and opened the new Island View Casino (formerly Harrah's Grand Casino Gulfport property); and the management teams of Penn National, Pinnacle Entertainment, The Broadwater resort (formerly the President Casino), Silver Slipper Casino and Landry's Restaurants, which seeks to build a massive project in the Point Cadet region of Biloxi.
Growing their assets
It's hard to think of anyone with more in their inbox, more plans to carry out and projects to oversee in 2006 than Pinnacle Entertainment's Chairman and CEO Dan Lee.
Aside from rebuilding on the Gulf Coast, Lee and Pinnacle were busy in 2006 with a bevy of new projects. Among them: building a new 200-room hotel at the Boomtown Casino in New Orleans; plans to add 250 rooms to the L'Auberge du Lac Hotel & Casino in Lake Charles; acquiring the Harrah's Lake Charles property essentially in exchange for the Casino Magic Biloxi site, which will be utilized in building a whole new resort next to L'Auberge du Lac; plans to add another 250 rooms to the Belterra Casino Resort in Indiana; a planned $400 million casino complex in St. Louis; the purchase, out of bankruptcy, of the President Casino, also in St. Louis, for $31.5 million; and most recently, the $270 million purchase of the Sands Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City, which Pinnacle will gut and replace with a new resort complex some analysts suggest could reach $1.5 billion in terms of investment.
"This major new resort will be a key component in our plan to build a national network of gaming properties," Lee said in a statement. "It will also help extend our development pipeline and our company's growth through 2010 and beyond."
Pinnacle, of course, was also a major player in the bidding war for Aztar Corp., eventually dropping out when the price became too steep. Lee has made it clear in the past his company desires a Las Vegas property to add to it portfolio.
Columbia Sussex President and CEO William Yung III has also done a fine job of growing his company through strategic acquisitions. The company won the bidding war for the highly coveted Aztar Corp.-giving Columbia Sussex prime real estate on the Las Vegas Strip and Atlantic City with the Tropicana Hotel & Casino brands.
"We're builders, and we have a large construction department," Young told the Las Vegas Review-Journal about the Las Vegas site. "We have a lot of opportunities with that site. We've talked with some people already. You could see two or three franchises on the site."
The company has also made a number of smaller, yet key moves in 2006. They include purchasing the Casino Queen in St. Louis for $200 million, with plans to redevelop the property, and the completion of the redevelopment the former Caesars Tahoe property into the multi-million-dollar MontBleu Casino, Resort & Spa, with 440 rooms, 40,000 square feet of casino space, four unique nightlife venues, restaurants and a spa.
Other notable executives who have helped grow their companies this year include:
-Boyd Gaming CEO Bill Boyd, who, armed with the $4 billion Echelon Place development on the Las Vegas Strip and the strategic $152.5 million acquisition of Dania Jai Alai in Broward County, Fla., stands in a good position to significantly grow revenues;
-Palms Hotel & Casino owner George Maloof, whose $650 million expansion of the hip Las Vegas property includes a 40-story, Playboy Enterprises-branded hotel tower; 50-story Palms Place condo tower; a state-of-the-art recording studio; and a significant casino expansion.
-MGM Mirage Chairman and CEO Terry Lanni, who, with the $7 billion Project CityCenter underway, is well on his way to owning his own city.
-Steve Wynn, who with the success of his Wynn Las Vegas, starts his next "can't wait to see" project in the form of the $1.74 billion Encore adjacent to Wynn Las Vegas; and
-Donald Trump, Trump Entertainment CEO James B. Perry and COO Mark Juliano: Trump put his faith in Perry and Juliano to revitalize his stagnant Atlantic City properties, and he hasn't been let down. Perry and Juliano have identified a rebranding strategy that will be both affordable and effective, bringing prestige back to the casinos that bear Trump's name.
Locals flair
Station Casinos Chairman and CEO Frank Fertitta III and his brother Lorenzo-the company's president-have seen a busy and successful year. Their company, aside from dominating the locals gaming market in Las Vegas, continues to impress with every new property it builds. The latest example: the posh Red Rock Resort Casino & Spa in the west Las Vegas community of Summerlin. The $925 million property is not only elegant, but state-of-the-art, with forward-looking sports book, gaming floor, hotel and entertainment technologies.
"We wanted something memorable," Lorenzo Fertitta said shortly after the property's mid-April opening.
The Fertittas are also making a huge move into the Reno market, with two sizeable locals casinos planned for a market that has been dominated by the Atlantis Casino Resort and the Peppermill Hotel & Casino, but is still ripe with opportunity. Station also moved ahead with plans for its next Las Vegas Valley project-Aliante Station in North Las Vegas-which the company hopes to break ground on early in 2007.
Speaking of locals casino masters, Michael Gaughan, the former head of Coast Casinos, is now back to doing what he does best-running an entrepreneurial casino business. Two years after Boyd Gaming acquired Coast Casinos, Gaughan said he had grown tired of the corporate casino climate. Boyd agreed to sell the most recent Coast property, the South Coast, back to Gaughan for roughly $576 million-$24 million less than the underperforming property cost to build.
But Gaughan said he can easily fix South Coast's problems: "I'll straighten this place out," he told the Associated Press. "I've kind of been too far removed from it. I've gotten lazy. It's time to go back to work."
Big moves
A number of high-profile gaming executives chose new jobs, career paths or opportunities in 2006. But perhaps the most notable is the alliance between former Horseshoe Gaming Chairman Jack Binion and Steve Wynn.
Binion, who sold Horseshoe Gaming to Harrah's in 2004, will now serve as chairman of Wynn International and senior executive for Asian operations and development. Binion, who has a penchant for understanding and relating to gamblers-especially high rollers-is seen as a natural selection for the position, analysts and industry observers have said. He is already playing a key role in player development at Wynn's $1.2 billion Wynn Macau property.
"The decades of experience and unparalleled success that Jack brings to our company is extraordinary," Wynn said. "Jack's guidance will greatly enhance our ability to deal with the challenges that we face as a fledgling operator in China."
In the other big move of the year, Aristocrat Technologies' President Gavin Isaacs left the company to join rival Bally Technologies as its vice president and chief operating officer. Isaacs, who had served as Aristocrat's U.S. division head since 2003, said his contract with the company had expired and that Aristocrat wanted him to return to Australia. Isaacs wanted to stay in the United States.
"Bally has a great opportunity to capitalize on its current momentum, and I am excited to join the team, building on the company's 75-year history," Isaacs said.
Aristocrat found a more than suitable replacement for Isaacs in Timothy Parrott, who formerly sat on Pinnacle Entertainment's board of directors.
Other big moves of 2006 included:
-Former Bally's, Las Vegas Hilton and Caesars President Dean Harrold joining up and comer Olympia Gaming as its vice chairman;
-Bob Scucci, the longtime director of the Stardust Hotel & Casino's sports book in Las Vegas, leaving to join the Borgata in Atlantic City in a new position-director of relationship marketing;
-Ellis Landau, Boyd Gaming's chief financial officer since 1990, retiring, being replaced internally by Paul Chakmak; and
-William Sherlock, president and CEO of Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut for nine years, announcing his retirement-effective at the end of 2006.
Political players
Reps. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) and Rick Boucher (D-Va.), strong critics of Internet gaming, got what they wanted-and what other congressional leaders in the past, like Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) have failed to achieve-in 2006: a nationwide ban on online wagering, and more clearly defined rules as to how anyone who solicits online bets from Americans will be prosecuted.
The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, passed by Congress in September, and signed into law by President Bush in October, dealt a severe blow to international Internet gaming sites, as well as domestic online poker and other gambling sites, which now cannot conduct business in the United States. Goodlatte and Boucher were instrumental in the passage of the controversial bill, convincing Congress that the billions of dollars Americans spend gambling online each year was morally and financially bankrupting America.
Meanwhile, on the land-based casino front: two governors, two distinctly different opinions about the two newest gaming jurisdictions. Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell is finally seeing his longtime efforts to legalize casino gambling in the state become a reality. The recently formed Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board has awarded six slot licenses, with the possibility of up to 61,000 slot machines in play at 14 locations. Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, however, wasn't too thrilled with voters' passage in Broward County of a referendum that legalized Class III games. Bush and fellow opponents of gaming tried to seek a redefinition of the games voters had approved, hoping to achieve games that more closely resemble Class II devices. The governor and the Seminole Tribe of Florida also cut off negotiations for a state compact in April. The Seminoles have also sought Class III games, but are now left to rely on the federal government for approval.
The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported that in September, the Interior Department told the Seminoles in a letter that if a compact between the tribe and the state could not be reached, the federal agency would be ready to "issue a final decision setting forth the proposed Class III gaming procedures for the tribe."
New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine has been at the center of a number of gaming issues in his state in 2006. First, there was the state budget impasse that ultimately led to a shutdown of government and all nonessential state government offices-including gaming regulators. That led to the first-ever closing of Atlantic City casinos for a three-day period. Corzine acted quickly to reconvene the Legislature and hash out the budget to end the shutdown. Then there was an appeal by South Jersey lawmakers later in the year to his consideration of allowing the state's racetracks to add video lottery terminals. Opponents in Atlantic City said VLTs at the tracks would undermine efforts Atlantic City has made to revitalize its gaming and tourism offerings. Corzine, who has made it clear he wants to help the state's fledgling tracks, had sided with Atlantic City lawmakers in the past, but recently warmed to the idea of racinos in his state.
Other political forces that have made an impact on the industry in 2006 include:
-Delaware State Sen. George Bunting's (D-Bethany Beach) proposal to legalize sports betting in the state. Once a gambling critic, Bunting said the reality is the country has come to depend on it;
-The realization of efforts by Nevada State Sen. Dennis Nolan (R-Las Vegas) to create a state-funded problem gambling program in Las Vegas. The Nevada Problem Gambling Treatment Program Center opened at the University of Nevada Las Vegas during the summer; and
-An apparent gaming regulator shakeup in Missouri that centers around Gov. Matt Blunt. Blunt appointed Gene McNary, who has little gaming industry experience, as the Missouri Gaming Commission's executive director. The commission and its staff have seen high turnover during the past year, due to what some have called Blunt's "meddling." McNary reportedly warned his new subordinates not to "undermine" Blunt.
On the tribal front
Philip Hogen, Chairman of the National Indian Gaming Commission, was arguably the busiest man in the tribal gaming industry in 2006. The commission, which oversees the casino operations for some 224 Indian tribes, worked hard to deliver new rules clarifying and classifying the distinction between Class II and Class III gaming devices-an issue that has given numerous tribal leaders headaches, especially when coupled with countless differing opinions from civic leaders in states where tribes hold gaming compacts, the public and the federal government. The new rules draw clearer distinctions between "electronic enhancements" of bingo devices and "facsimiles" of Class III slots.
"The Indian gaming industry is in need of this classification in order to know which games need to be played under compact and which do not," Hogen said.
Hogen and the NIGC also recently developed its Minimum Internal Control Standards for gaming tribes, and Hogen has been vocal on other hot-button topics in Indian Country, including the issue of tribes taking off-reservation lands into trust and battling negative perceptions against gaming tribes.
U.S. House Resources Committee Chairman Richard Pombo (R-Calif.) has been at the center of the lands into trust debate. Pombo introduced legislation in 2006 that would abolish the two-part determination test to assess whether off-reservation gaming would be feasible to communities near lands gaming tribes have targeted. Instead, all exceptions in the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act that could allow off-reservation gaming would be deleted. Pombo and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) have both chaired committees dealing with the IGRA amendments and off-reservation gaming-both of which are still being debated on Capital Hill.
And of course, there's the now-infamous "man in the black hat"-Jack Abramoff. The lobbyist's swindling of numerous tribes is still having a lingering-and unfounded-negative effect on gaming tribes throughout the nation.
Blood, sweat and tears showcased the gaming industry's heart and soul in 2006
By Andy Holtmann
Was there a worse story to tell in 2005 than the devastation that Hurricane Katrina brought to the Gulf Coast and the nation's third-largest gaming jurisdiction in Biloxi, Miss.? The answer is a resounding, "no." A year and a half later, we look back on the people who made news in the gaming industry in 2006, and have to ask this question: was there a better story this past year than the hard work, commitment and perseverance that those committed to rebuilding the Gulf Coast's gaming industry exhibited? Again, the answer is, "no."
The commitment to rebuilding and reopening the storm-battered casinos along the Mississippi Gulf Coast began immediately following the storm, with casino companies pledging to rebuild. It was followed by a firm commitment from Mississippi's state and local government officials like Gov. Haley Barbour, Sen. Trent Lott, Biloxi Mayor A.J. Holloway and others to give the gaming industry the tools and resources needed to effectively rebuild. Among those tools, the passage of House Bill 45 by the Mississippi Legislature, allowing the once vulnerable casinos operating on barges to be rebuilt on land within 800 feet of the water line.
Those commitments carried into 2006, as organizations like the Mississippi Casino Operators Association and its executive director, Beverly Martin, pledged its support to getting the gaming industry up and running; the Mississippi Gaming Commission and its executive director, Larry Gregory, worked overtime to make sure the industry was supported from a regulatory standpoint; and the casino companies' executives, the properties' general managers and most importantly, each casino's workforce, labored feverishly to open the doors and revitalize Gulf Coast gaming as we know it.
While there are simply too many good souls who have worked hard to get the Gulf casinos up and running, here are a few noteworthy gaming industry figures:
Imperial Palace General Manager John Lucas had his employees working immediately after the storm to repair damage to the property-arguably the least damaged casino on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. That work led to the IP opening before the New Year.
"It really helped to start building a sense of camaraderie, family and teamwork here because everyone was in this together, and people saw hope as opposed to an oncoming freight train at the end of the tunnel," Lucas told Casino Journal. "People saw we were going to rebuild and that they were going to have jobs. They saw things were going to get back to normal. Adding to that, the cooperation we got from the Gaming Commission, the state, the city, the mayor, the building department, etc.-it was amazing; like nothing I've ever seen."
Keith Crosby, the general manager of the Palace Casino, had a temporary casino open shortly thereafter, as did the executive team of the Isle of Capri Biloxi Hotel & Casino (CEO Bernie Goldstein, COO Timothy Hinkley and others)-reopening as the first shore-based property.
Harrah's Entertainment's management team, including its central division president, Anthony Sanfilippo, and Tom O'Donnell, the company's Gulf Coast Regional president, announced plans for a $1 billion-plus investment-combining the Grand Casino Biloxi and the recently purchased Casino Magic Biloxi properties into a megaresort. Karen Sock, formerly the assistant general manager of Grand Casino Gulfport, has taken control as senior vice president and general manager of the new Grand Casino Biloxi project, which reopened in August.
At MGM Mirage's Beau Rivage, General Manager George Corchis has been one of the key field marshals of the completely renovated property, which reopened Aug. 29. MGM Mirage made commitments in excess of $1 billion to get the new and improved Beau back in operation, with plans for future expansions and projects at the property.
"We've worked with some of the most creative people in our industry to redesign the property, to not only recapture the charm and elegance that defined Beau Rivage before the storm, but to also leverage the knowledge and experience of the best minds at MGM Mirage to create a completely new experience for our guests," Corchis said.
Corchis replaced long-time Beau president and chief operating officer Jeff Dahl, who joined Torguson Gaming Group as its president. Torguson is building the $500 million Baccaran Bay Casino Resort in Biloxi.
In another key succession, Susan Varnes was named chief operating officer of the Treasure Bay Resort & Casino, and is overseeing its rebuilding. She replaced Bernie Burkholder, who stepped down as the property's CEO to pursue other opportunities.
Meanwhile, Hard Rock Biloxi President and Chief Operating Officer Joe Billhimer has continued in his unwavering commitment to rebuilding his property. The Hard Rock's parent company recently filed for bankruptcy to gain access to insurance proceeds necessary to continue construction.
There are countless other efforts to be noted as well, including a new project that will include: Donald Trump; Rick Carter and Terry Green, former operators of the Copa Casino, who formed Gulfside Casino Partnership LLC and opened the new Island View Casino (formerly Harrah's Grand Casino Gulfport property); and the management teams of Penn National, Pinnacle Entertainment, The Broadwater resort (formerly the President Casino), Silver Slipper Casino and Landry's Restaurants, which seeks to build a massive project in the Point Cadet region of Biloxi.
Growing their assets
It's hard to think of anyone with more in their inbox, more plans to carry out and projects to oversee in 2006 than Pinnacle Entertainment's Chairman and CEO Dan Lee.
Aside from rebuilding on the Gulf Coast, Lee and Pinnacle were busy in 2006 with a bevy of new projects. Among them: building a new 200-room hotel at the Boomtown Casino in New Orleans; plans to add 250 rooms to the L'Auberge du Lac Hotel & Casino in Lake Charles; acquiring the Harrah's Lake Charles property essentially in exchange for the Casino Magic Biloxi site, which will be utilized in building a whole new resort next to L'Auberge du Lac; plans to add another 250 rooms to the Belterra Casino Resort in Indiana; a planned $400 million casino complex in St. Louis; the purchase, out of bankruptcy, of the President Casino, also in St. Louis, for $31.5 million; and most recently, the $270 million purchase of the Sands Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City, which Pinnacle will gut and replace with a new resort complex some analysts suggest could reach $1.5 billion in terms of investment.
"This major new resort will be a key component in our plan to build a national network of gaming properties," Lee said in a statement. "It will also help extend our development pipeline and our company's growth through 2010 and beyond."
Pinnacle, of course, was also a major player in the bidding war for Aztar Corp., eventually dropping out when the price became too steep. Lee has made it clear in the past his company desires a Las Vegas property to add to it portfolio.
Columbia Sussex President and CEO William Yung III has also done a fine job of growing his company through strategic acquisitions. The company won the bidding war for the highly coveted Aztar Corp.-giving Columbia Sussex prime real estate on the Las Vegas Strip and Atlantic City with the Tropicana Hotel & Casino brands.
"We're builders, and we have a large construction department," Young told the Las Vegas Review-Journal about the Las Vegas site. "We have a lot of opportunities with that site. We've talked with some people already. You could see two or three franchises on the site."
The company has also made a number of smaller, yet key moves in 2006. They include purchasing the Casino Queen in St. Louis for $200 million, with plans to redevelop the property, and the completion of the redevelopment the former Caesars Tahoe property into the multi-million-dollar MontBleu Casino, Resort & Spa, with 440 rooms, 40,000 square feet of casino space, four unique nightlife venues, restaurants and a spa.
Other notable executives who have helped grow their companies this year include:
-Boyd Gaming CEO Bill Boyd, who, armed with the $4 billion Echelon Place development on the Las Vegas Strip and the strategic $152.5 million acquisition of Dania Jai Alai in Broward County, Fla., stands in a good position to significantly grow revenues;
-Palms Hotel & Casino owner George Maloof, whose $650 million expansion of the hip Las Vegas property includes a 40-story, Playboy Enterprises-branded hotel tower; 50-story Palms Place condo tower; a state-of-the-art recording studio; and a significant casino expansion.
-MGM Mirage Chairman and CEO Terry Lanni, who, with the $7 billion Project CityCenter underway, is well on his way to owning his own city.
-Steve Wynn, who with the success of his Wynn Las Vegas, starts his next "can't wait to see" project in the form of the $1.74 billion Encore adjacent to Wynn Las Vegas; and
-Donald Trump, Trump Entertainment CEO James B. Perry and COO Mark Juliano: Trump put his faith in Perry and Juliano to revitalize his stagnant Atlantic City properties, and he hasn't been let down. Perry and Juliano have identified a rebranding strategy that will be both affordable and effective, bringing prestige back to the casinos that bear Trump's name.
Locals flair
Station Casinos Chairman and CEO Frank Fertitta III and his brother Lorenzo-the company's president-have seen a busy and successful year. Their company, aside from dominating the locals gaming market in Las Vegas, continues to impress with every new property it builds. The latest example: the posh Red Rock Resort Casino & Spa in the west Las Vegas community of Summerlin. The $925 million property is not only elegant, but state-of-the-art, with forward-looking sports book, gaming floor, hotel and entertainment technologies.
"We wanted something memorable," Lorenzo Fertitta said shortly after the property's mid-April opening.
The Fertittas are also making a huge move into the Reno market, with two sizeable locals casinos planned for a market that has been dominated by the Atlantis Casino Resort and the Peppermill Hotel & Casino, but is still ripe with opportunity. Station also moved ahead with plans for its next Las Vegas Valley project-Aliante Station in North Las Vegas-which the company hopes to break ground on early in 2007.
Speaking of locals casino masters, Michael Gaughan, the former head of Coast Casinos, is now back to doing what he does best-running an entrepreneurial casino business. Two years after Boyd Gaming acquired Coast Casinos, Gaughan said he had grown tired of the corporate casino climate. Boyd agreed to sell the most recent Coast property, the South Coast, back to Gaughan for roughly $576 million-$24 million less than the underperforming property cost to build.
But Gaughan said he can easily fix South Coast's problems: "I'll straighten this place out," he told the Associated Press. "I've kind of been too far removed from it. I've gotten lazy. It's time to go back to work."
Big moves
A number of high-profile gaming executives chose new jobs, career paths or opportunities in 2006. But perhaps the most notable is the alliance between former Horseshoe Gaming Chairman Jack Binion and Steve Wynn.
Binion, who sold Horseshoe Gaming to Harrah's in 2004, will now serve as chairman of Wynn International and senior executive for Asian operations and development. Binion, who has a penchant for understanding and relating to gamblers-especially high rollers-is seen as a natural selection for the position, analysts and industry observers have said. He is already playing a key role in player development at Wynn's $1.2 billion Wynn Macau property.
"The decades of experience and unparalleled success that Jack brings to our company is extraordinary," Wynn said. "Jack's guidance will greatly enhance our ability to deal with the challenges that we face as a fledgling operator in China."
In the other big move of the year, Aristocrat Technologies' President Gavin Isaacs left the company to join rival Bally Technologies as its vice president and chief operating officer. Isaacs, who had served as Aristocrat's U.S. division head since 2003, said his contract with the company had expired and that Aristocrat wanted him to return to Australia. Isaacs wanted to stay in the United States.
"Bally has a great opportunity to capitalize on its current momentum, and I am excited to join the team, building on the company's 75-year history," Isaacs said.
Aristocrat found a more than suitable replacement for Isaacs in Timothy Parrott, who formerly sat on Pinnacle Entertainment's board of directors.
Other big moves of 2006 included:
-Former Bally's, Las Vegas Hilton and Caesars President Dean Harrold joining up and comer Olympia Gaming as its vice chairman;
-Bob Scucci, the longtime director of the Stardust Hotel & Casino's sports book in Las Vegas, leaving to join the Borgata in Atlantic City in a new position-director of relationship marketing;
-Ellis Landau, Boyd Gaming's chief financial officer since 1990, retiring, being replaced internally by Paul Chakmak; and
-William Sherlock, president and CEO of Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut for nine years, announcing his retirement-effective at the end of 2006.
Political players
Reps. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) and Rick Boucher (D-Va.), strong critics of Internet gaming, got what they wanted-and what other congressional leaders in the past, like Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) have failed to achieve-in 2006: a nationwide ban on online wagering, and more clearly defined rules as to how anyone who solicits online bets from Americans will be prosecuted.
The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, passed by Congress in September, and signed into law by President Bush in October, dealt a severe blow to international Internet gaming sites, as well as domestic online poker and other gambling sites, which now cannot conduct business in the United States. Goodlatte and Boucher were instrumental in the passage of the controversial bill, convincing Congress that the billions of dollars Americans spend gambling online each year was morally and financially bankrupting America.
Meanwhile, on the land-based casino front: two governors, two distinctly different opinions about the two newest gaming jurisdictions. Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell is finally seeing his longtime efforts to legalize casino gambling in the state become a reality. The recently formed Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board has awarded six slot licenses, with the possibility of up to 61,000 slot machines in play at 14 locations. Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, however, wasn't too thrilled with voters' passage in Broward County of a referendum that legalized Class III games. Bush and fellow opponents of gaming tried to seek a redefinition of the games voters had approved, hoping to achieve games that more closely resemble Class II devices. The governor and the Seminole Tribe of Florida also cut off negotiations for a state compact in April. The Seminoles have also sought Class III games, but are now left to rely on the federal government for approval.
The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported that in September, the Interior Department told the Seminoles in a letter that if a compact between the tribe and the state could not be reached, the federal agency would be ready to "issue a final decision setting forth the proposed Class III gaming procedures for the tribe."
New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine has been at the center of a number of gaming issues in his state in 2006. First, there was the state budget impasse that ultimately led to a shutdown of government and all nonessential state government offices-including gaming regulators. That led to the first-ever closing of Atlantic City casinos for a three-day period. Corzine acted quickly to reconvene the Legislature and hash out the budget to end the shutdown. Then there was an appeal by South Jersey lawmakers later in the year to his consideration of allowing the state's racetracks to add video lottery terminals. Opponents in Atlantic City said VLTs at the tracks would undermine efforts Atlantic City has made to revitalize its gaming and tourism offerings. Corzine, who has made it clear he wants to help the state's fledgling tracks, had sided with Atlantic City lawmakers in the past, but recently warmed to the idea of racinos in his state.
Other political forces that have made an impact on the industry in 2006 include:
-Delaware State Sen. George Bunting's (D-Bethany Beach) proposal to legalize sports betting in the state. Once a gambling critic, Bunting said the reality is the country has come to depend on it;
-The realization of efforts by Nevada State Sen. Dennis Nolan (R-Las Vegas) to create a state-funded problem gambling program in Las Vegas. The Nevada Problem Gambling Treatment Program Center opened at the University of Nevada Las Vegas during the summer; and
-An apparent gaming regulator shakeup in Missouri that centers around Gov. Matt Blunt. Blunt appointed Gene McNary, who has little gaming industry experience, as the Missouri Gaming Commission's executive director. The commission and its staff have seen high turnover during the past year, due to what some have called Blunt's "meddling." McNary reportedly warned his new subordinates not to "undermine" Blunt.
On the tribal front
Philip Hogen, Chairman of the National Indian Gaming Commission, was arguably the busiest man in the tribal gaming industry in 2006. The commission, which oversees the casino operations for some 224 Indian tribes, worked hard to deliver new rules clarifying and classifying the distinction between Class II and Class III gaming devices-an issue that has given numerous tribal leaders headaches, especially when coupled with countless differing opinions from civic leaders in states where tribes hold gaming compacts, the public and the federal government. The new rules draw clearer distinctions between "electronic enhancements" of bingo devices and "facsimiles" of Class III slots.
"The Indian gaming industry is in need of this classification in order to know which games need to be played under compact and which do not," Hogen said.
Hogen and the NIGC also recently developed its Minimum Internal Control Standards for gaming tribes, and Hogen has been vocal on other hot-button topics in Indian Country, including the issue of tribes taking off-reservation lands into trust and battling negative perceptions against gaming tribes.
U.S. House Resources Committee Chairman Richard Pombo (R-Calif.) has been at the center of the lands into trust debate. Pombo introduced legislation in 2006 that would abolish the two-part determination test to assess whether off-reservation gaming would be feasible to communities near lands gaming tribes have targeted. Instead, all exceptions in the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act that could allow off-reservation gaming would be deleted. Pombo and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) have both chaired committees dealing with the IGRA amendments and off-reservation gaming-both of which are still being debated on Capital Hill.
And of course, there's the now-infamous "man in the black hat"-Jack Abramoff. The lobbyist's swindling of numerous tribes is still having a lingering-and unfounded-negative effect on gaming tribes throughout the nation.
