Team has been involved in a substantial number of the digital media, sports, entertainment, leisure and gaming industries’ most significant merger and acquisition transactions, holding key positions at, and transacting with Scientific Games Corp, Inspired Gaming Group, FOX Bets, Ocean Casino Resort, Resorts International Holdings, PokerStars, DraftKings, Mohegan Sun, Caesars Entertainment Corporation, Harrah’s Entertainment, Tropicana Entertainment, Inc., TSG/Sky Betting & Gaming, Facebook, Inc, Wynn Resorts, Dubai World/MGM Resorts
Here's all the Bios. These guys are stellar! TEKK closed at $10.30 today. Still cheap!
If you don't like to read... you don't like to make money!!!!
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Matthew Davey — Chief Executive Officer and Director
Mr. Davey has over 25 years of experience within the digital media, sports, entertainment, leisure and gaming ecosystems, as well as experience in the public sector. He is an experienced public company executive officer and board member. He has served in executive management positions across the gaming technology arena. Over the course of Mr. Davey’s career, he oversaw more than ten mergers and acquisitions and over $1.2 billion in debt and equity capital raised to support the companies he has led.
Most recently, Mr. Davey was Chief Executive Officer of SG Digital, the Digital Division of Scientific Games Corp. (“Scientific Games”) (Nasdaq: SGMS). SG Digital was established following the purchase by Scientific Games of NYX Gaming Group Limited (“NYX”) (formerly TSXV: NYX), where Mr. Davey served as Chief Executive Officer and Director. The NYX acquisition provided Scientific Games with a vehicle to significantly accelerate the scale and breadth of its existing digital gaming business, including the strategic expansion into sports betting. In his capacity as Chief Executive Officer of NYX, Mr. Davey developed and implemented a corporate strategy that generated strong revenue growth. Mr. Davey shaped company strategy to focus on digital gaming supplier platforms and content that provided various gaming operators with the underlying gaming and sports betting systems for their online gaming business. In 2014, Mr. Davey oversaw the initial public offering of NYX, and his experience in the digital media, sports, entertainment, leisure and gaming industries helped NYX recognize momentum as a public company. After the public offering, from 2014 to 2018, Mr. Davey oversaw seven acquisitions which helped establish NYX as one of the fastest growing global B2B real-money digital gaming and sports betting platforms. These acquisitions included:
• OpenBet: In 2016, NYX completed the $385 million acquisition of OpenBet. This was one of the more complex and transformative acquisitions that Mr. Davey oversaw at NYX. Through securing co-investments from William Hill (LSE: WMH), Sky Betting & Gaming and The Stars Group (formerly Nasdaq: TSG, TSX: TSGI), Mr. Davey was able to get the acquisition from Vitruvian Partners completed successfully, winning the deal against much larger and well capitalized competitors. By combining two established and proven B2B betting and gaming suppliers, NYX was well positioned to provide customers with exciting player-driven solutions across all major product verticals and distribution channels. This allowed NYX to become the leading B2B omni-channel sportsbook platform in the market and the supplier to over 300 gaming operators globally with an extensive library of desktop and mobile game titles, including more than 700 on NYX platforms and more than 2,000 on the OpenBet platform.
• Cryptologic/Chartwell: In 2015, NYX completed the $119 million acquisition of Cryptologic and Chartwell. The acquisition provided NYX with more than 400 titles of additional leading gaming content, a broader customer base, and direct exposure to PokerStars and Intercasino, part of the Gamesys Group (LSE: GYS) — two of the world’s largest online casino offerings.
• OnGame: In 2014, NYX completed the distressed acquisition of OnGame, a premier poker content, platform and service provider. This acquisition provided NYX with one of the best poker products in the industry, access to several regulated jurisdictions, and a valuable talent pool that was instrumental in the growth of NYX. The addition of OnGame further established a path for NYX to continue its growth in both European and U.S. markets.
These acquisitions, together with meaningful organic growth, increased NYX’s revenue from $24 million in 2014 to $184 million annualized in 2017. During that time, Mr. Davey helped build NYX to have over 200 customers in the global gaming industry and a team of 1,000 employees. Mr. Davey’s success at NYX ultimately led to its sale to Scientific Games for $631 million in 2018.
Mr. Davey joined Next Gen Gaming, the predecessor to NYX, in 2000 as the Vice President of Technology, was appointed as Executive Director in 2003 and named Chief Executive Officer in 2005. Prior to that, he was the Senior Consultant for Access Systems, a company that specializes in the provision of back-end software for licensed online casinos. Prior to joining Access, Mr. Davey worked for the Northern Territory Government specializing in matters pertaining to the internet and e-commerce along with roles in the Department of Racing and Gaming. Mr. Davey received a Bachelor of Electrical & Electronic Engineering from Northern Territory University, Australia (also known as Charles Darwin University).
Robin Chhabra — President
Mr. Chhabra has been at the forefront of corporate acquisition activity within the digital gaming landscape for over a decade. His prior experience includes leading corporate strategy, M&A, and business development at two of the global leaders in the digital gaming industry, The Stars Group (“TSG”) and William Hill, and a leading supplier, Inspired Gaming Group (Nasdaq: INSE). Mr. Chhabra served on the Group Executive Committees of each of these companies. From 2017 to May 2020, Mr. Chhabra served as Chief Corporate Development Officer at TSG and, from 2019 to August 2020, he also served as the Chief Executive Officer of Fox Bet, a leading U.S. online gaming business which is the product of a landmark partnership between TSG and FOX Sports, a transaction which he led. During that period, Mr. Chhabra led several transactions which transformed TSG into the largest publicly listed online gambling operator in the world by both revenue and market capitalization and one of the most diversified from a product and geographic perspective with revenues of over $2.5 billion. Mr. Chhabra’s M&A experience is extensive and covers multiple global geographies across the digital gaming value chain and includes the following:
• TSG/Flutter Entertainment Merger: In 2019, Mr. Chhabra led the TSG M&A team that was responsible for TSG’s $12.2 billion merger with Flutter Entertainment (LSE: FLTR). The merger between TSG and Flutter Entertainment is the largest transaction in the digital gaming industry to date. The combination created the largest publicly listed online gaming company with approximately 13 million active customers and leading product offerings, which include sports betting, online casino, fantasy sports and poker. The combined entity includes some of the world’s most iconic digital gaming brands such as Fanduel, Fox Bet, Sky Bet, PaddyPower, Betfair, PokerStars and SportsBet. TSG/Flutter Entertainment is one of the most geographically diverse digital gaming and media companies with leading positions in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland, Italy, Spain, Germany and Georgia.
• TSG/Sky Betting and Gaming (“SBG”): In 2018, Mr. Chhabra led the acquisition of SBG from CVC Capital Partners and Sky plc, Europe’s largest media company, in a transaction valued at $4.7 billion. At the time of the acquisition SBG was the largest mobile gambling operator in the United Kingdom and one of the fastest growing of the major operators having doubled its online market share in three years. The acquisition of SBG provided TSG with (a) greater revenue diversification, significantly enhanced expertise and exposure to sports betting just ahead of the judicial overturn of The Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 (PASPA) by the U.S. Supreme Court, (b) a leading position within the United Kingdom, the world’s largest regulated online gaming market, (c) improved products and technology as a result of the addition of SBG’s innovative casino and sports book offerings and a portfolio of popular mobile apps, and (d) expertise in deeply integrating sports betting with leading sports media companies, positioning TSG to create more engaging content, deliver faster growth and decrease customer acquisition costs.
• William Hill (LSE: WMH): At William Hill, from 2010 to 2017, Mr. Chhabra served as Group Director of Strategy and Corporate Development where he led several transactions which contributed to William Hill’s transformation from a land-based gambling operator in the United Kingdom to a leading online-led international business. Mr. Chhabra led William Hill’s entry into the U.S. sports betting and online lottery markets with the acquisition of four businesses, including the simultaneous acquisitions of three U.S. sportsbooks, Cal Neva, American Wagering and Brandywine Bookmaking, in 2011 for an aggregate purchase price of $55 million. These businesses ultimately led William Hill to achieve a leading position in the U.S. sports betting market with a market share of 24% in 2019. Additionally, Mr. Chhabra played a key role in structuring William Hill’s successful joint venture with PlayTech Plc (LSE: PTEC) in 2008. The combined entity created one of the largest online gambling businesses in Europe at the time of its formation and led to William Hill’s buyout of Playtech’s interest for $637 million in 2013. Prior to the transaction, William Hill had struggled in its attempt to establish a strong online gaming platform and a meaningful presence outside the United Kingdom.
Mr. Chhabra has also successfully completed four transactions worth over $1.2 billion in Australia, the world’s second largest regulated online gambling market, and various partnerships in Asia. Additionally, he completed several technology and media related transactions, including William Hill’s investment in NYX, where he worked with Mr. Davey on NYX’s transformational acquisition of OpenBet.
Prior to working in the gaming sector, Mr. Chhabra was an equities analyst and a management consultant. Mr. Chhabra received a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science.
Eric Matejevich — Chief Financial Officer
Mr. Matejevich is a seasoned gaming executive with extensive experience in both the online gaming and traditional casino industries. From February to August 2019, he served as Trustee and Interim-Chief Executive Officer of Ocean Casino Resort (“Ocean”) (formerly Revel Casino, which had a construction cost of $2.4 billion) in Atlantic City, where he successfully led the management team through an ownership change and operational turnaround effort. Over the course of seven months, Mr. Matejevich managed to reduce the property’s weekly cash burn of $1.5 million to an annualized cash flow run rate in excess of $20 million.
Prior to Ocean, from 2016 to 2018, Mr. Matejevich served as the Chief Financial Officer of NYX. At NYX, he focused his efforts on integrating the company’s many acquisitions and multiple debt refinancings to simplify its capital structure and provided liquidity for growth initiatives. Additionally, Mr. Matejevich was instrumental to the executive team that sold NYX to Scientific Games for $631 million.
Prior to NYX, from 2004 to 2014, Mr. Matejevich was the Chief Financial Officer of Resorts International Holdings and later, from 2011, also the Chief Operating Officer of the Atlantic Club Casino, a property under the Resorts International Holdings umbrella — a Colony Capital (NYSE: CLNY) entity. As Chief Financial Officer, he provided managerial oversight for all finance functions for a six-property casino company with annual gaming revenue exceeding $1.3 billion, 10,000 gaming positions, 7,000 hotel rooms and over 11,000 staff members during his tenure. Mr. Matejevich led the transition effort to integrate a four-casino, $1.3 billion acquisition from Harrah’s Entertainment and Caesars Entertainment (Nasdaq: CZR). As Chief Operating Officer of Atlantic Club, he lobbied for and was successful in obtaining the first internet gaming legislation passed in the United States. The Atlantic Club was the sole New Jersey casino proponent of the legislation.
Prior to serving in various gaming positions, Mr. Matejevich was a Vice President of High Yield Research for Merrill Lynch, where he managed the corporate bond research effort for the gaming and leisure sectors and marketed high yield and other debt transactions totaling $4.8 billion. Mr. Matejevich received a Bachelor of Science in Economics from The Wharton School and a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from The College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania.
Our Board of Directors
Morris Bailey — Chairman
Over the past 10 years, Mr. Bailey has been a leader in turning around Atlantic City, as well as being among the first gaming executives to embrace online gaming and sports betting in the United States. In his efforts, Mr. Bailey partnered with two of the largest digital gaming companies in the world, PokerStars, part of the Stars Group, and DraftKings (Nasdaq: DKNG). In 2010, Mr. Bailey bought Resorts Atlantic City (“Resorts”) and initiated a comprehensive renovation which allowed for the property to be rebranded and repositioned. In 2012, Mr. Bailey signed an agreement with Mohegan Sun to manage the day-to-day operations of the casino. In addition to Mohegan Sun’s operational expertise and ability to reduce costs via economies of scale, Resorts gained access to their robust customer database. Soon thereafter, Mr. Bailey and his team focused on bringing online gaming to the property. In 2015, Resorts established a platform to engage in online gaming by partnering with PokerStars, now part of the $24 billion Flutter Entertainment, PLC (LSE: FLTR), to operate an online poker room in Atlantic City. In 2018, Resorts announced deals with DraftKings and SBTech to open a sportsbook on-property and online. For 2020 year-to-date, Resorts has performed in the top quartile in internet gross gaming revenue in New Jersey. Mr. Bailey’s efforts in New Jersey helped set the framework for expansion of online sports and gaming throughout the United States.
In addition to his gaming interests, Mr. Bailey has over 50 years of experience in all facets of real estate development, asset M&A, capital markets and operations and is the founder, Chief Executive Officer and Principal of JEMB Realty, a leading real estate development, investment and management organization. Mr. Bailey has notable investment experience within the energy, finance and telecommunications sectors through investments in the Astoria Energy Plant, Basis Investment Group and Xentris Wireless.
Tony Rodio — Director Nominee
Mr. Rodio has nearly four decades of experience in the gaming industry. Most recently, Mr. Rodio served as the Chief Executive Officer and director of Caesars Entertainment Corporation (“Caesars”) (Nasdaq: CZR), one of the world’s most diversified casino-entertainment providers and the most geographically diverse U.S. casino-entertainment company, from April 2019 until its acquisition by Eldorado Resorts, Inc. in July 2020. Mr. Rodio led Caesars through its $17.3 billion merger with Eldorado Resorts, one of the largest transactions in the gaming industry to date. Additionally, Mr. Rodio was instrumental to Caesars’ expansion into the digital gaming industry and oversaw the implementation of new digital segments such as its Scientific Games powered retail sportsbook solution that now operates in various states throughout the U.S. From October 2018 to May 2019, Mr. Rodio served as Chief Executive Officer of Affinity Gaming. Prior to Affinity Gaming, he served as President, Chief Executive Officer and a director of Tropicana Entertainment, Inc. (“Tropicana”) for over seven years, where he was responsible for the operation of eight casino properties in seven different jurisdictions. During his time at Tropicana, Mr. Rodio oversaw a period of unprecedented growth at the company, improving overall financial results with net revenue that increased more than 50% driven by both operational improvements and expansion across regional markets. Mr. Rodio led major capital projects, including the complete renovation of Tropicana Atlantic City and Tropicana’s move to land-based operations in Evansville, Indiana. Each of these initiatives, among others, generated substantial value for Tropicana. Ultimately, Mr. Rodio’s efforts at Tropicana led to its sale to Eldorado Resorts in 2018 for $1.85 billion. Prior to Tropicana, Mr. Rodio held a succession of executive positions in Atlantic City for casino brands, including Trump Marina Hotel Casino, Harrah’s Entertainment (predecessor to Caesars), the Atlantic City Hilton Casino Resort and Penn National Gaming. He has also served as a director of several professional and charitable organizations, including Atlantic City Alliance, United Way of Atlantic County, the Casino Associations of New Jersey and Indiana, AtlantiCare Charitable Foundation and the Lloyd D. Levenson Institute of Gaming Hospitality & Tourism. Mr. Rodio brings extensive knowledge of and experience in the gaming industry, operational expertise, and a demonstrated ability to effectively design and implement company strategy. Mr. Rodio received a Bachelor of Science from Rider University and a Master of Business Administration from Monmouth University.
Marlon Goldstein — Director Nominee
Mr. Goldstein is a licensed attorney with nearly 20 years of experience in the gaming space. He joined The Stars Group (Nasdaq: TSG)(TSX: TSGI) in January 2014 as its Executive Vice-President, Chief Legal Officer and Secretary until his retirement from the company in July 2020 following the merger of TSG with Flutter Entertainment, PLC (LSE: FLTR). Mr. Goldstein also previously served as the Executive Vice-President, Corporate Development and General Counsel of TSG. Mr. Goldstein was also the senior TSG executive based in the United States and was one of the primary architects of TSG’s strategic vision for its U.S.-facing business. During his tenure, TSG grew from an approximately $500 million market-cap company to an approximately $7 billion market-cap company through a combination of organic growth and strategic mergers and acquisitions. Mr. Goldstein participated in numerous M&A transactions and capital markets offerings at TSG, including several transformational transactions in the digital gaming industry. Notable transactions in which Mr. Goldstein was involved include:
• TSG/Flutter Merger: In 2019, TSG merged with Flutter for a $12.2 billion transaction value, the largest transaction in the digital gaming industry to date.
• TSG/Fox Bet Partnership: In 2019, TSG entered into a partnership with FOX Sports to create FOX Bet in the U.S., a leading U.S. online gaming business. Wall Street Research estimates an approximate $1.1 billion valuation for Fox Bet post-partnership with The Stars Group.
• TSG/Sky Betting & Gaming: In 2018, TSG acquired Sky Betting & Gaming, the largest mobile gambling operator in the United Kingdom at the time, for $4.7 billion.
• TSG/CrownBet and William Hill: In 2018, TSG simultaneously acquired CrownBet and William Hill, two Australian operators, for a total of $621 million in a multi-part transaction.
• TSG/PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker: In 2014, TSG acquired The Rational Group, which operated PokerStars and Full Tilt and was the world’s largest poker business, for $4.9 billion.
Through his ability to legally structure large and complex transactions, Mr. Goldstein was integral to TSG’s vision of becoming a full-service online gaming company. Additionally, he assisted in structuring TSG’s capital markets activity, which generated liquidity for acquisitions and strengthened its balance sheet.
Prior to joining TSG, Mr. Goldstein was a principal shareholder in the corporate and securities practice at the international law firm of Greenberg Traurig P.A., where he practiced for almost 13 years. Mr. Goldstein’s practice focused on corporate and securities matters, including mergers and acquisitions, securities offerings, and financing transactions. Additionally, Mr. Goldstein was the founder and co-chair of the firm’s Gaming Practice, a multi-disciplinary team of attorneys representing owners, operators and developers of gaming facilities, manufacturers and suppliers of gaming devices, investment banks and lenders in financing transactions, and Indian tribes in the development and financing of gaming facilities.
Mr. Goldstein brings experience and insight that we believe will be valuable to a potential initial business combination target business. Mr. Goldstein received a Bachelor of Business Administration with a concentration in accounting from Emory University and a Juris Doctorate with highest honors from the University of Florida, College of Law.
Sean Ryan — Director Nominee
Mr. Ryan is a digital media and technology operator with extensive global experience in online payments, e-commerce, marketplaces, mobile ad networks, digital games, enterprise collaboration platforms, blockchain, real money gaming and online music. Since 2014, Mr. Ryan has been serving as Vice President of Business Platform Partnerships at Facebook, Inc. (“Facebook”) (Nasdaq: FB), where he leads a more than 500 person global organization that manages the Payments, Commerce, Novi/Blockhain, Workplace and Audience Network businesses. Prior to his current role, Mr. Ryan was hired in 2011 as the Director of Games Partnerships to lead and grow the global Games business at Facebook. While the Director of Games Partnerships, Mr. Ryan focused on re-shaping Facebook’s games and monetization strategies to derive more value for Facebook, its users and its partners, including the addition of a Real Money Gaming offering in regulated markets. Mr. Ryan’s team helped accelerate a major trend in engagement through cross-platform games and therefore the opportunity to increase users through establishing games on multiple platforms. Prior to joining Facebook, Mr. Ryan created the new social and mobile games division at News Corp, an American multinational mass media corporation controlled by Rupert Murdoch. While at News Corp, Mr. Ryan led the acquisition of Making Fun, a San Francisco social-game start-up, that created News Corp’s games publishing division.
Before joining News Corp., Mr. Ryan founded multiple digital businesses such as Twofish, Meez, Open Wager and SingShot Media. Mr. Ryan co-founded Twofish in 2009, a virtual goods and services platform that provided developers with data analytics and insights for individual application’s digital economies. Twofish was later sold to online payments provider Live Gamer, where Mr. Ryan served on the board of directors. From 2005 to 2008, Mr. Ryan founded and led Meez.com, a social entertainment service combining avatars, web games and virtual worlds. The white label social casino gaming company Open Wager was spun out of Meez and was later sold to VGW Holdings, Mr. Ryan also co-founded SingShot Media, an online karaoke community, which was sold to Electronic Arts (Nasdaq: EA) and merged into its Sims division.
We believe Mr. Ryan’s experience will be valuable to a potential initial business combination target and would provide an expanded perspective on the digital gaming landscape. Mr. Ryan received a Bachelor of Arts from Columbia University and a Master of Business Administration from the University of California, Los Angeles.
Tom Roche — Director Nominee
Mr. Roche has more than 40 years of experience in the gaming industry as a regulator, advisor and independent auditor. Mr. Roche joined Ernst & Young (“EY”) as a partner in 2003 and opened its Las Vegas office. He was subsequently appointed as the Office Managing Partner and Global Gaming Industry Market Leader. In 2016, Mr. Roche relocated to the EY Hong Kong office to supervise the expansion of the EY Global Gaming Industry practice in the Asia Pacific region. Mr. Roche has been integral to numerous transactions that have shaped the current gaming landscape, including:
• Wynn Resorts (Nasdaq: WYNN) initial public offering: Mr. Roche was the lead partner on Wynn Resort’s initial public offering, which raised $450 million in 2002.
• Harrah’s Entertainment/Apollo Management Group & Texas Pacific Group: Mr. Roche headed the regulatory advisory services on the buyout of Harrah’s Entertainment, the world’s largest casino company at the time, for $17.1 billion.
• Dubai World/MGM Resorts: Mr. Roche headed the regulatory and due diligence advisory services to Dubai World in its approximately $5.1 billion investment in MGM. Dubai World bought 28.4 million MGM shares, or 9.5 percent of the casino operator, for $2.4 billion. It then invested $2.7 billion to acquire a 50% stake in MGM’s CityCenter Project, a $7.4 billion 76-acre Las Vegas development of hotels, condos and retail outlets.
• MGM Growth Properties (NYSE: MGP) initial public offering: Mr. Roche provided tax and structural transaction services to MGM Resorts in the creation of MGM Growth Properties, a publicly traded REIT engaged in the acquisition, ownership and leasing of large-scale destination entertainment and leisure resorts. MGM Growth Properties raised $1.05 billion in its 2016 initial public offering.
Mr. Roche also directed EY advisory services to boards and management teams for profit improvement and technology related initiatives. In addition, Mr. Roche provided advisory support to the American Gaming Association on several research projects, including those specifically related to sports betting, the revocation of The Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 (PASPA) and anti-money laundering best practices in the gaming industry. Equally, he has assisted government agencies in numerous international locations with enhancing their regulatory approach to governing the industry especially in the online gambling sector.
Prior to joining Ernst & Young, Mr. Roche served as Deloitte’s National Gaming Industry Leader and as the co-head of Andersen’s Gaming Industry Practice in Las Vegas. In 1989, Mr. Roche was appointed by then Governor of the State of Nevada, Robert Miller, to serve as one of three members of the Nevada State Gaming Control Board for a four-year term, where he was directly responsible for the Audit and New Games Lab Divisions. As a board member, he spent a substantial amount of time assisting global jurisdiction regulators enact gaming legislation in the design of their regulatory structure. During his career, Roche has been involved in numerous public and private offerings of equity and debt securities. His background includes providing casino regulatory consulting services to casino licensees and to federal and state agencies including the National Indian Gaming Commission and the Nevada State Gaming Control Board, and industry associations such as the Nevada Resort Association and the American Gaming Association.
We believe Mr. Roche’s highly regarded reputation as a gaming auditor and advisor in the gaming industry will be valuable for us and a potential business combination target. Mr. Roche is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and is licensed by the Nevada State Board of Accountancy and Mississippi State Board of Public Accountancy. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from the University of Southern California.

Here’s ya bloody coffee!

27th January 2020
US equity futures are falling ahead of the cash open given the continued coronavirus contagion which saw the global cases reach 2700 and the deaths toll topped 80 over the weekend. Travel focussed stocks, such as United Airlines (UAL), American Airlines (AAL) and Southwestern Airlines (LUV) are trading in the red, with some holding losses of over 4% on travel disruption concerns, as is Trip.com (TCOM). Casino names like Las Vegas Sands (LVS), Wynn Resorts (WYNN) and Melco (MLCO) are facing even further pressure as the confirmed cases in Macau increased to five. Copper miner Freeport McMoran (FCX) is lower as copper prices fall to 8-week lows on global growth concerns, while gold miners (GOLD, NEM) are benefitting as the precious metal rises in a safe haven bid. China listed ADR’s (BABA, JD, BIDU) also hit as the death toll increases.
This week’s Barron’s articles highlight that the Super Bowl will be a huge opportunity for sports betting names, as it focuses on expansion in mobile sports betting, highlighting that the street has been enthusiastic in the rising stock price in Diamond Eagle Acquisition (DEAC). Further on the Super Bowl, Barron’s says that advertisers like Omnicom (OMC) and Interpublic Group (IPG) hold less appeal, amid a further inflow of larger tech names partaking in the advertising space. Elsewhere the journalists highlight that largest tech companies such as Amazon (AMZN), Microsoft (MSFT) and Alphabet (GOOGL) are competing for a larger share in esports. Finally, Barron’s notes investors in HP (HPQ) are likely to benefit as it has made it clear it would prefer to lever up and buy back large amounts of shares, instead of submitting an offer to Xerox (XRX).

DOW

Apple Inc. (AAPL) Ahead of its earnings on Tuesday, Credit Suisse analyst Matthew Cabral is looking for continued improvements in iPhone revenue trends due to a strong start for the iPhone 11. However, he believes the focus is shifting to the upcoming 5G iPhone in H2 20, which should help it drive revenue growth. Elsewhere, RBC Capital analyst Muller maintains an outperform rating on the tech giant with a USD 330 PT (last closing price 318.31). The analyst states his data checks suggest its estimates for Q1 are reasonable, whilst highlighting a slight beat on consensus figures could be seen due to strength in iPhone and wearable sales.
Boeing Company (BA) A Boeing jet reportedly crashed in Ghazni, Afghanistan, which was operated by Ariana Afghan. The number of casualties is currently unclear, however, separate reports state the airline denied the crash. Elsewhere, Boeing successfully staged its first flight of its 777X jet.
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) raised its Guyana offshore estimate to above 8ln BoE as it continues to develop the Guyana oil block.
Intel Corp. (INTC) has been downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Northland, with a USD 70 PT (last closing price: 68.47). Analyst Gus Richard notes that while he forecasts several both positive and negative catalysts, he is unclear what will come first. The analyst expects Intel to fix or jettison underperforming product lines, although sees headwinds which could impact the stock, perhaps as soon as Q2 2020. Gus Richard highlights structural issues, including its design flow and manufacturing.

NASDAQ 100

Alphabet Inc Class A (GOOGL) US State Attorney Generals are to meet with the DoJ to collaborate information on a probe which relates to the co.’s monopolistic behaviour for online advertising which could harm consumers, according to people familiar with the matter.
Kraft Heinz Co (KHC) CEO is pushing for growth, noting its aim is for fewer and bolder bets to increase its sales, according to WSJ.
Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) and Yum China Holdings (YUMC) have closed all its shops and suspended delivery service in the Hubei province due to the coronavirus.
T-Mobile (TMUS)/Sprint (S) are reportedly facing a potential hurdle from the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), the only remaining state utilities board to not approve the deal, according to WSJ, who note the CPUC is continuing its review which threatens to further delay or even derail the USD 26bln merger.

S&P 500

AbbVie Inc. (ABBV) announced that China is testing an HIV drug as a treatment for the coronavirus. Elsewhere, AbbVie Inc. (ABBV) / Allergan, Plc (AGN) agreed to divest its Brazikumab and Zenpep drugs, where Nestle (NESN SW) will take ownership of Zenpep, and AstraZeneca (AZN) will acquire Brazikumab. The approval of the deals is dependent upon FTC and EC approval.
Arconic Inc. (ARNC) Q4 19 (USD) Adj. EPS 0.53 (exp. 0.54), revenue 3.4bln (exp. 3.48bln). Forecasts FY20 Adj. EPS between 2.22-2.42 (exp. 2.37), revenue expected between 13.9bln – 14.2bln (exp. 14.16bln). Q1 20 Adj. EPS forecast 0.47 – 0.53 (exp. 0.53)
Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) has been upgraded to Neutral from Sell at UBS, raising the PT to USD 900 from USD 690 (Last closing price USD 869.71). Where analyst Dennis Geiger is more confident in the sustainability of the company’s strong sales and earnings growth, highlighting recent performance has significantly exceeded his expectations.
D. R. Horton (DHI) Q1 20 (USD): EPS 1.16 (exp. 0.92), Revenue 4.02bln (exp. 3.77bln), homes closed +13% to 12,959. CEO believes they will continue to see good demand across their markets. FY20 revenue forecast at 18.5bln to 19bln (exp. 18.82bln, prev. 18.5bln – 19.1bln) FY20 home closes expected to be between 60,000 and 61,500 (prev. 60,000 to 61,000). Expects Q2 revenue at USD 4.25 - 4.4bln (exp. 4.25bln) and Q2 home sales between 13,800 and 14,300 homes.
Lilly (Eli) & Co. (LLY) and Incyte (INCY) announced its BREEZE-AD4 trial, evaluating Baricitinib in combination with Topical Corticosteroids for treatment of adults with moderate to severe atopic dermatitis met its primary endpoint.
Marathon Petroleum (MPC) increased its quarterly dividend to USD 0.58, a 9.4% increase.
Simon Property Group Inc (SPG) is reportedly considering teaming with Authentic Brands to look at an acquisition of Forever 21, the bankrupt teen retailer, according to people familiar with the matter.
Sprint (S) Q3 19 (USD): EPS -0.03 (exp. -0.05), Revenue 8.08bln (exp. 8.22bln); wireless post-paid net additions 494,000 (prev. 309,000); wireless post-paid ARPU 42.04 (exp. 42.30). Sprint is optimistic about the necessary regulatory steps to complete merger with T-Mobile (TMUS, DTE GY) Sees Q4 EBITDA to remain flat sequentially. Capex seen around USD 1bln in Q4.
Yum! Brands Inc (YUM) increased its quarterly dividend to USD 0.47 from USD 0.42/shr.

OTHER

Crispr Therapeutics (CRSP) had a stake cut to 6.2% from 7.3% by Bayer Global Investments.
Fiat Chrysler (FCAU) urged a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit from General Motors (GM) which accused the automaker of racketeering and bribing UAW officials to put General Motors (GM) at a multibillion-dollar labour cost disadvantage.
General Motors (GM) announced a USD 2.2bln investment at its Detroit facility to produce a variety of EV trucks and SUV's, noting its first electric truck is expected to begin production in late 2021.
D.R Horton (DHI) expects modest price increases this year.
Starbucks (SBUX) - Guggenheim analyst Matthe DiFrisco states Starbucks has the highest exposure to China out of the restaurant stocks he covers, followed by McDonald's (MCD) and Domino's Pizza (DPZ).
Adobe (ADBE) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Cleveland Research

List of Las Vegas Casinos that Never Opened

List of Las Vegas casinos that never opened
Over the years there have been several casinos and resorts planned for the Las Vegas Valley that never opened. The stages of planning may have been just an announcement or groundbreaking.[1][2][3]
Asia Resort and Casino
Where the Palazzo Casino and Resort currently stands (adjacent to the Venetian Hotel and Casino and the Sands Expo and Convention Center), an Asian themed casino was proposed but was rejected for the present Palazzo project.[4]
Alon Las Vegas
A proposed luxury hotel and casino located on the Las Vegas Strip on the former site of the New Frontier Hotel and Casino, announced in 2015.[5] The project was put in doubt after Crown Resorts announced in late 2016 it was suspending its involvement in the development.[6] Crown announced in December 2016 that it was halting the project and seeking to sell its investment. The remaining partner Andrew Pascal announced he was seeking other partners to proceed with the project. However in May 2017, the land went up for sale.[7] The land was later purchased by Steve Wynn.
Beau Rivage
Steve Wynn, who had purchased and demolished the Dunes hotel-casino, had originally planned to build a modern hotel in the middle of a man-made lake. He later built the Bellagio with a man-made lake in the front of the hotel.[citation needed] The name was later used by Wynn for a resort built in Biloxi, Mississippi.
Caribbean Casino
In 1988, a sign for a proposed casino was erected on a fenced vacant lot on Flamingo Road. Standing near the sign was a scale model galleon. For several years, that was all that stood on the property. The empty lot was the source of many jokes by the locals until the ship, which was later damaged by a fire started by a homeless person, was torn down in the 1990s and the lot became the site of the Tuscany Suites and Casino co-owned by Charles Heers, who has owned the property since the 1960s.[8]
Carnival
In 1990, the Radisson group proposed a 3,376-room hotel next to the Dunes, with a casino shaped like a Hershey's Kiss.[9]
Cascada
A proposed resort that was to have been built on the site of El Rancho Vegas. The parcel is now partially taken by the Hilton Grand Vacations Club and Las Vegas Festival Grounds.[4]
City by the Bay Resort and Casino
A San Francisco-themed resort was proposed for the site of the New Frontier Hotel and Casino. The project was rejected in favor of the Swiss-themed Montreux, which was also eventually cancelled.[4]
Countryland USA
A country music-themed resort was planned for construction of the site of the former El Rancho Hotel and Casino. For some years, the El Rancho sign stood with the words "Coming Soon - Future Home of Countryland USA."[10][11]
Craig Ranch Station
Main article: Craig Ranch Station A Mediterranean-themed hotel-casino for North Las Vegas, proposed by Station Casinos in March 2000.[12] The project faced opposition from nearby residents,[13][14][15] which led to the proposed location being changed to a vacant property on the nearby Craig Ranch Golf Course.[16] Residential opposition to the new location led to the project being rejected by the Nevada Gaming Policy Committee in March 2001. Station Casinos still had the option to develop the project on the initial site,[17][18] but the project was cancelled entirely in July 2001, following a weak financial quarter for the company.[19]
Crown Las Vegas
Main article: Crown Las Vegas Formerly known as Las Vegas Tower, the Crown Las Vegas was to have been a supertall skyscraper built on the former site of a Wet 'n Wild water park. In March 2008, the project was canceled and the property was put up for sale.[20]
Desert Kingdom
In 1993, ITT Sheraton purchased the Desert Inn casino, and had announced plans to develop the large parking lot into a Balinese themed resort to complement the Desert Inn. The project was never developed and the site is now the location of Wynn Las Vegas.[4]
DeVille Casino
After building the Landmark Hotel and Casino on Convention Center Drive and selling it to Howard Hughes, developer Frank Carroll built the DeVille Casino across the street from the Landmark at 900 Convention Center Drive in 1969. Chips were made for the casino (and are sought-after collectibles), but the casino never opened.[21] The building was renovated in 1992 as a race book parlor named Sport of Kings which closed after nine months.[22] It became the location of The Beach nightclub, which was demolished in 2007 to make room for a planned 600-unit tower[23] that was never built.[24] The land sits currently empty.
Echelon Place
Main article: Echelon Place An announced project by Boyd Gaming planned to have a hotel built on the property of the former Stardust Resort & Casino. Construction was suspended on August 1, 2008 due to the Great Recession. In March 2013, Boyd Gaming sold the proposed site for $350 million to the Genting Group, which is redeveloping the project as the Asian-themed Resorts World Las Vegas.
Fontainebleau Las Vegas
Main article: The Drew Las Vegas Located on the Las Vegas Strip and originally known as Fontainebleau Las Vegas. Construction began in 2007, and the resort was to include a casino, 2,871 hotel rooms, and 1,018 condominium units.[25] Construction on the $2.9 billion project ceased in 2009, the year of its planned opening. Investment firms Witkoff Group and New Valley LLC purchased the unfinished resort in 2017.[26] In 2018, Witkoff and Marriott International announced a partnership to open the renamed project as The Drew Las Vegas in 2020. The resort will include a casino and three hotels totaling nearly 4,000 rooms, with the condominium aspect removed from the project.[27]
Harley-Davidson Hotel and Casino
A resort themed after the motorcycle manufacturer Harley-Davidson was proposed, complete with hotel towers shaped like gigantic exhaust pipes, but was never built.[4]
Jockey Club Casino
The Jockey Club is a condominium and timeshare resort at 3700 Las Vegas Boulevard South. It was planned to have a casino, and chips were made for its use, but the casino was never opened.[28]
Kactus Kate's
By April 1994, Gold Coast Hotel and Casino owner Michael Gaughan was interested in building a hotel-casino in North Las Vegas,[29] at the northeast corner of North Rancho Drive and Carey Avenue. In January 1995, the city planning commission approved the rezoning of the land for use as a hotel-casino. The resort, to be named Kactus Kate's, would be built by Gold Coast Hotel/Casino Limited. The hotel would include 450 rooms, and the casino would be 105,000 sq ft (9,800 m2),[30] later decreased to 102,000 sq ft (9,500 m2).[31] The resort would be located directly north of the nearby Fiesta and Texas Station resorts.[31]
In December 1998, Coast Resorts, Inc. received approval from the planning commission for a use-permit relating to the undeveloped property. In November 2000, the planning commission unanimously approved a two-year extension on the permit, giving the company more time to decide whether it would build Kactus Kate's. Because of a 1999 Senate bill that placed restrictions on casinos in neighborhoods, Coast Resorts had a deadline of 2002 to build the casino. The hotel would measure over 100 feet (30 m) high, and Coast Resorts was required to notify the Federal Aviation Administration of its final plans, due to the site being located less than 1,000 feet (300 m) from a runway at the North Las Vegas Airport.[32] In January 2001, Station Casinos purchased the 29-acre (12 ha) site for $9 million. Coast Resorts president Harlan Braaten said, "As we saw the competitive nature of that area intensify, in terms of the size of competing facilities, we just felt we would have to build something much bigger than we had intended to compete with Texas Station and Santa Fe Station. It was just going to be a very expensive project, and we didn't feel the returns would be that good." Station Casinos planned to sell the property as a non-gaming site.[31]
Las Vegas Plaza
Main article: Las Vegas Plaza Not to be confused with the Plaza Hotel & Casino.
This was to have been modeled after the Plaza Hotel in New York City. The project was announced shortly before the demolition of the New Frontier Hotel and Casino, where the new hotel would be built. Las Vegas Plaza was cancelled in 2011 due to the Great Recession.
London Resort and Casino
This announced project was to have been themed around the city of London, and featuring replicas of the city's landmarks. The project was to be built on land across from the Luxor Hotel and Casino. A second London-themed resort was to be built on the former land of the El Rancho Hotel and Casino. Neither project ever began construction.[4]
London, Las Vegas
This was a proposed three-phase project using London as its design inspiration. When completed, the 38.5-acre (15.5 ha) property would have featured 1,300 hotel rooms, a casino, a 500-foot-tall (152.4 m) observation wheel named Skyvue (partially constructed), and 550,000 square feet (51,097 square meters) of restaurants and shops — all of which would be architectural replicas of various British landmarks and neighborhoods.[33] The project was to be constructed on land across from the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip, where — as of November 2019 — the partially-constructed Skyvue still stands. The wheel was to be "Phase I of London, Las Vegas".
Montreux Resort
This Swiss-themed resort was to have been built on the property of the former New Frontier Hotel and Casino, but was ultimately cancelled.[34]
Moon Resort and Casino
Proposed by Canadian developer Michael Henderson, this is a planned 10,000-room, 250-acre (1.0 km2) lunar-themed casino resort.[35] Gaming experts doubt it will ever be built in Las Vegas, simply because the space planned for it is too large for the Las Vegas Strip.[4]
NevStar 2000
Further information: Craig Ranch Station § NevStar 2000 Proposed by NevStar Gaming in 1998, the NevStar 2000 entertainment complex in North Las Vegas would have included a hotel and casino,[36] but the project faced opposition from nearby residents who did not want a casino in the area.[37][38] The project was cancelled when NevStar Gaming filed for bankruptcy in December 1999.[12]
North Coast/Boyd Gaming project
In May 2003, Coast Casinos had plans for the North Coast hotel-casino, to be built at the southwest corner of Centennial Parkway and Lamb Boulevard in North Las Vegas. The project would be built on approximately 40 acres (16 ha) of vacant land, surrounded by other land that was also undeveloped. At the time, the North Las Vegas Planning Commission was scheduled to review requests for zoning changes and approvals for the project. The project was not scheduled to be built for at least another four years, after completion of a highway interchange at Lamb Boulevard and the nearby Interstate 15, as well as the completion of an overpass over nearby railroad tracks. Bill Curran, an attorney for the land owner, said, "We're going through the zoning changes now so everybody knows what's going to be out there." The North Coast would include a casino, a 10-story hotel with 398 rooms, a bowling alley, movie theaters, and a parking garage.[39] In June 2003, the Planning Commission voted 6 to 1 to approve preliminary applications necessary to begin work on the North Coast.[40][41]
Boyd Gaming, the owner of Coast Casinos, announced in February 2006 that it would purchase the 40-acre site for $35 million.[42] Jackie Gaughan and Kenny Epstein were the owners at the time.[43] Boyd Gaming had not decided on whether the new project would be a Coast property or if it would be similar to the company's Sam's Town hotel-casino. At the time, no timetable was set for building the project.[42] In March 2007, the project was put on hold. At the time, Boyd Gaming had been securing construction permits for the project but decided to first review growth in the area. Construction had been scheduled to begin in mid-2007.[44] In August 2013, Boyd Gaming sold the undeveloped property for $5.15 million.[43]
Palace of the Sea Resort and Casino
This was to have been built on the former Wet 'n Wild waterpark site. Conceptual drawings included yacht-shaped towers that housed suites, a casino resembling the Sydney Opera House and a 600-foot (180 m) tall Ferris wheel-type attraction dubbed a "Sky Wheel". It never left the planning stages.[4]
Paramount Las Vegas
A casino and hotel and condo resort with more than 1,800 units that was planned by Royal Palms Las Vegas, a subsidiary of Royal Palms Communities.[45][46] The project was to replace the Klondike Hotel and Casino at the south end of the Las Vegas Strip,[47][45] beside the Las Vegas welcome sign.[48] The resort was approved in October 2006,[45] but an investor pulled out of the project in August 2007, and the land was put up for sale in May 2008.[46]
Pharoah's Kingdom
Pharoah's Kingdom was planned as a $1.2 billion gaming, hotel and theme park complex to be built on 710 acres (290 ha) at Pebble Road and Las Vegas Boulevard, five miles south of the Las Vegas Strip.[49][1] Construction was approved in October 1988,[49] with Silano Development Group as the developer.[50]
The project would have an Egyptian theme, including two 12-story pyramids made of crystal, with each containing 300 suites. The hotel would have a total of 5,000 rooms,[50] making it the largest in the world.[51] The 230,000 sq ft (21,000 m2) casino would include 100 table games and 3,000 slot machines, while an RV park, mini-golf, a bowling alley, and a video game arcade would be located beside the casino area.[52] Three of the project's various pyramid structures would house the 50-acre (20 ha) family theme park. Other features would include sphinxes, man-made beaches, waterways resembling the Nile river, an underwater restaurant, a 24-hour child-care facility, a 100-tenant shopping promenade, and a repertory-style theater that would be overseen by actor Jack Klugman.[52] Additionally, the resort would feature an 18-hole PGA Championship golf course,[52] and a monorail located within the theme park.[50] The project would have one mile of frontage along Las Vegas Boulevard.[52]
Frank Gambella, president of the project, stated that financing was in place, with groundbreaking planned for March or April 1989. Gambella said the project would be financed by several entities, with the money coming from a Nevada corporation, suggesting the entities would be grouped together as an umbrella corporation. Gambella stated that the project could be opened by Labor Day 1990. The resort was expected to employ 8,000 people. Following the completion of the resort, Gambella said a complex of 750 condominiums would be built on the land along with 900 retirement-care apartments.[52]
The project was cancelled shortly after it was announced, as authorities became suspicious of developer Anthony Silano's fundraising efforts for the project. It was discovered that Silano and his associates hacked into the Switzerland bank accounts of Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos following his death in 1989. Silano pleaded guilty to federal conspiracy charges. Another Egyptian-themed resort, Luxor Las Vegas, would open on the south Las Vegas Strip in 1993.[1]
Planet Hollywood Resort (original plans)
Not to be confused with the current Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino.
Originally planned to open in the late 1990s on the site of the Desert Inn, it was to be one of the largest hotels in Las Vegas. Because of the bankruptcy of Planet Hollywood Restaurants, the hotel was never built. However, in the 2000s, a group of investors bought the new Aladdin Hotel and Casino and remodeled it with a modern Hollywood theme.[4]
Playboy Hotel and Casino
A proposed casino resort themed after Playboy magazine was rejected in favor of a nightclub and suites built at the top two floors of the new Palms tower.[4] The planned location for the Playboy Hotel and Casino, on the Las Vegas Strip, was later used for the Cosmopolitan resort.[53]
Santa Fe Valley
Main article: Santa Fe Valley Santa Fe Gaming, which owned the Santa Fe hotel-casino in northwest Las Vegas, had plans for a second Santa Fe property in 1996.[54] The Santa Fe Valley would be built on a 40-acre (16 ha) lot[55] in Henderson, Nevada, adjacent to the Galleria at Sunset mall. The start of construction was delayed several times because of poor financial quarters for Santa Fe Gaming,[54] and because of the company not yet receiving financing for the project.[56] Site preparation started in July 1998, with an opening date scheduled for December 1999,[57] but construction never began. In 1999, the property was sold to Station Casinos,[58][59] which sold the land a year later for use as a shopping center.[60]
Shenandoah Hotel and Casino
A project by Wayne Newton. Although the hotel operated for a short time at 120 E. Flamingo Road, the management was unable to get a gaming license. After years of floundering it was sold to a Canadian company and became Bourbon Street Hotel and Casino.
Silver City proposals
By January 2000, Luke Brugnara was planning to build a San Francisco-themed resort on the site of the closed Silver City Casino.[61] Brugnara intended to give Silver City a multimillion-dollar renovation, with plans to have a fully operational hotel-casino by 2002.[62] In March 2001, Brugnara's request for a gaming license was rejected.[63] In May 2002, it was announced that Brugnara had sold the casino while retaining six acres located behind the building.[64] In 2003, Brugnara was planning to build a 24-story, 304-room hotel and casino resort on a portion of the Silver City property. The resort, to be named "Tycoon", was to be designed by Lee Linton, with an expected cost of approximately $100 million.[65]
Starship Orion
International Thoroughbred Breeders (ITB) announced plans to demolish the El Rancho and construct Starship Orion, a $1 billion hotel, casino, entertainment and retail complex with an outer space theme, covering 5.4 million square feet (501,676 square meters). The resort was to include seven separately owned casinos, each approximately 30,000 square feet (2,787 square meters).[66][67] Each potential casino owner was to contribute up to $100 million to own and operate a casino within the complex.[68] The complex would have included 300,000 square feet (27,871 square meters) of retail space, as well as 2,400 hotel rooms and a 65-story hotel tower. ITB hoped to begin construction later in 1996, with a planned opening date of April 1998.[67]
Sunrise
This was to have been located at 4575 Boulder Highway. Property developer Michael Mona Jr. built the hotel-casino and stated that he was going to break tradition by starting a "casino without a theme". He failed to get an unrestricted gaming license when suspicions arose concerning his associations with alleged organized crime figures. Chips were made for the casino, but were never used.[69] The building was opened as Arizona Charlie's Boulder.
Titanic
In 1999, Bob Stupak was planning a 400-foot-high (122 m) resort themed after the RMS Titanic, to be built on a 10-acre (4 hectares) property he owned near downtown Las Vegas. The resort would have included 1,200 rooms, 800 of which were to be used for timeshares to help finance the project. That year, planning commissioners rejected Stupak's request to change the zoning to allow for a hotel.[70] The project was later planned for the former site of the El Rancho Vegas on the Las Vegas Strip, but was rejected by the Las Vegas City Council.[4]
W Las Vegas
Main article: W Las Vegas W Las Vegas was proposed in August 2005, as a $1.7 billion joint project between Starwood and Edge Resorts, with a scheduled opening in 2008. The project would include a 75,000 sq ft (7,000 m2) casino and approximately 3,000 hotel, condo hotel, and residential units.[71][72] The project was cancelled in May 2007, after Starwood pulled out of the deal.[73]
Wally's Wagon Wheel
Wally's Wagon Wheel was to be developed by Walter Weiss through his company, Magna Leisure Partnership.[74][75] The project was proposed for 2200 South Boulder Highway in Henderson,[76][77] between Wagon Wheel Drive and Roberts Road,[78] near Henderson's Old Vegas western theme park. Manga Leisure Partnership purchased the 15.5-acre property in late February 1988. Weiss, at that time, had tentative plans for a western-themed, 112-room property known then as the Wagon Wheel Hotel and Casino. The Wagon Wheel was expected to cost $15 million, and financing had yet to be obtained for the project, which Weiss expected to open in early 1990.[74] The project, which would include a 55,000 sq ft (5,100 m2) casino, was to be built in two phases.[79]
By October 1991, Wally's Wagon Wheel remained unbuilt due to difficulty obtaining financing.[80][76] That month, the Henderson Planning Commission voted to give Weiss more time to make progress on the project. At that time, the project was to include 204 hotel rooms and would be built on 13.30 acres (5.38 ha). Weiss noted that the nearby successful Sam's Town hotel-casino opened with 204 rooms, and he believed his project would be successful if he opened with the same amount of rooms for good luck.[76] By the end of 1992, Weiss had still not acquired financing for Wally's Wagon Wheel. At the time, the project was the largest of five casinos being planned for Henderson. The three-story project was to include 200 rooms, two restaurants, a theater lounge for country and western entertainment, and a large bingo room. Weiss stated that groundbreaking was scheduled for May 1993, with an expected opening in June 1994. The hotel-casino would employ approximately 600 people upon opening.[81]
Weiss met with nearby residents to discuss the project, and he had the original design changed to include a larger buffer zone between homes and the hotel-casino. In November 1994, the Henderson Planning Commission voted to recommend approval of Weiss' requested zone change as part of the redesign. The project, at that time, was to include a one-story casino and a four-story hotel with 400 rooms.[82][83] In December 1994, the Henderson City Council rejected Weiss' plans for a 200-foot (61 m) buffer.[84]
In July 1997, the unbuilt project received its sixth extension from the Henderson Planning Commission for a use permit and architectural review.[85] In August 1997, the Henderson City Council approved the sixth extension, but denied Weiss' appeal for a one-year extension, instead giving him six months to make progress on the project.[77] Up to that time, $1.7 million had been invested in the project by Magna Leisure Partnership.[86] As of 1998, the project was expected to cost $80 million and employ at least 1,200 people, and the proposed site had increased to 19 acres (7 ha). At that time, Weiss stated that he was close to obtaining financing for the project from a casino operator.[87] The project was never built.
Wild Wild West
Not to be confused with Wild Wild West Gambling Hall & Hotel. As of 1993, Station Casinos owned a 27-acre (11 ha) site on Boulder Highway with the potential to be developed as a casino. The site was located across the street from Sam's Town hotel-casino.[88] In January 1998, Crescent Real Estate Equities Co. announced plans to purchase Station Casinos, which had intended to sell the land prior to the announcement.[89] By March 1998, Station Casinos was planning to develop a hotel-casino complex on the land, which was occupied by a vacant strip mall. The complex would be known as Wild Wild West, with local residents as the target clientele.[90][89]
Crescent's purchase of Station Casinos failed in August 1998, and Station Casinos subsequently slowed its plans to build the project.[91] By the end of the year, the project had received approval from the Clark County Planning Commission for a 273,000 sq ft (25,400 m2) casino and a 504-room hotel.[92] No timetable for construction was announced,[92][93] and Station Casinos had already decided by that point not to start any new projects prior to 2000.[92] Station Casinos sold the undeveloped land for $11.2 million to Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. in April 2004.[94]
World Port
In 2000, Howard Bulloch, David Gaffin, and their partner Tom Gonzales transferred ownership of the Glass Pool Inn property to their group, known as New World, with plans for a megaresort.[95] New World purchased several other nearby motels to accumulate a 77-acre (31 ha) parcel located on the Las Vegas Strip and east of the Mandalay Bay.[96] In January 2001, plans were announced for World Port Resorts, a megaresort consisting of hotel-casinos, a convention center and a fine arts facility. The project was to be built on the 77-acre (31 ha property, a portion of which was occupied by the Glass Pool Inn.[96]
World Trade Center
To have been located at 925 East Desert Inn Road. Leonard Shoen, co-founder of U-Haul truck rental, purchased the property of what had been the Chaparral Hotel & Casino in 1996, renovating it into the World Trade Center Hotel. A gaming license was applied for, but when it was discovered that two of Shoen's closest partners were convicted felons, the application was denied in 1998. He withdrew his application, and died in a car crash in 1999 that was ruled a suicide. Cards and gaming chips were produced for the World Trade Center Casino, but were never used.[97] The property has since been demolished and is now a parking lot, part of the Las Vegas Convention Center Annex.
World Wrestling Federation
A casino resort themed after the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) was proposed for a property near the Interstate 15 freeway across from Mandalay Bay. The project never went past the proposal stage.[4] The land where it would have stood is now Allegiant Stadium.
WWF also proposed to open the project on the property once used by the Clarion Hotel and Casino, which was demolished in 2015 to become a parking lot.
Xanadu
In February 1976, the Clark County Commission approved the 23-story Xanadu resort, to be built on the Las Vegas Strip at the corner of South Las Vegas Boulevard and Tropicana Avenue. The resort would include approximately 1,700 hotel rooms and a casino, as well as convention facilities, a showroom, dining, and indoor tennis courts. The resort was to be developed by Tandy McGinnis – of Bowling Green, Kentucky – and his Xanadu Corporation, and would be built on 48.6 acres (19.7 ha) owned by Howard Downes, a resident of Coral Gables, Florida.[98][99][100] The Xanadu would feature a pyramid design, and was expected to cost $150 million.[100] It would have been the first themed mega-resort. Much information and many artifacts of the project are housed at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas library. The Excalibur Hotel and Casino ultimately opened on the property in 1990.[101]
See also
Category:Defunct casinos in the Las Vegas Valley List of Atlantic City casinos that never opened

Potential worth of Steve Wynn?

Las Vegas trip report (restaurant heavy)

I went on vacation to Las Vegas with my wife from July 2nd-7th. This was my 5th trip and our 3rd together. Here's my (excessively long) trip report:
Hotel
This time we stayed at the Cosmopolitan, and we had a Terrace Studio Fountain View room. It was our first stay at Cosmo (I'd been to Wynn, Luxor, Aria Sky Suites, and Bellagio previously), and the hotel was great. I thought our room was nicer than the one we had at Bellagio last year and for a cheaper price (friend who is a travel agent got us a pretty good deal). Literally the only downside I can think of is not being able to listen to the fountain music on TV. We were in the Chelsea Tower (which is larger than Boulevard), and had a great balcony view.
Cosmo definitely attracts a younger crowd than some of the other casinos on the strip- lots of people in their 20s and 30s staying here. There are two main pools, one in each tower. When we went down to the Chelsea Pool around 11am on the 3rd, literally every seat was already taken. Note: Chelsea Tower is much larger than Boulevard, but its pool is much smaller. We hiked over to the Boulevard Pool and settled in. Great view looking over the strip with a livlier atmosphere than you'll find at the Bellagio's pools. Also worth noting the water is pretty shallow- no more than 4' deep. The most amusing part of our swimming experience was watching an Asian kid, probably 10 years old, swim all around the place, bumping in to every other group there, and saying hi. Seemed odd that he was basically on his own at that age, but he was clearly having a helluva time.
One of the best parts about Cosmo is its location- right in the center of the strip, which makes an easy walk to most of the other casinos. It has a great selection of restaurants (see below) and modern decor as well. One notable omission in my opinion is it doesn't have any shows/productions in house. The casino also doesn't have a poker room, but I didn't end up playing during this trip anyhow. Easy walk to the Bellagio or Aria poker rooms regardless.
Checkin to the hotel was very easy. Our flight got in to Vegas at about 8am on Sunday, so the room wasn't ready yet when we arrived. They took down all my info, and we left our bags with the bellhop. They sent a text message when the room was ready around noon, and they brought the bags up to our room. I used the online checkout on Friday morning. Easy peasy.
Uber
Side note- I'd never used Uber before this trip. Definitely recommend it for others in the same boat. Cheap/easy to use, and I liked riding with the average Uber driver more than the average cabbie. Each hotel has its own pickup/dropoff location for UbeLyft- just ask any employee, and they'll point you in the right direction. I never had to wait more than five minutes to get my ride.
Shows/attractions
The only show we saw on this trip was Ka at the MGM Grand. I'd pretty much recommend any Cirque du Soleil show on the strip- they're all pretty amazing. O at the Bellagio is probably my favorite, but Ka was great in its own right. Supposedly it's unique among Cirque shows in that it has a big storyline, but uh... I'd just say there's not much of one. Amusing moment before the show: I get a text message from my wife, who is sitting right next to me. "Am I sitting next to a drag queen?" I looked over. Yes, yes you are.
We also made a trip to the Shark Reef Aquarium at Mandalay Bay. I felt like the line for tickets was pretty absurdly long. I realized the reason for that when we got in- the whole aquarium was about half as big as I expected, so they needed to keep the flow of people in fairly slow. Having said that, the exhibits they did have were great, and there was no shortage of staff floating around to answer any questions you might have. Definitely a good spot to bring the family to in Vegas.
Food
The biggest reason we love Vegas is the food. Yes, my wife and I are the annoying people who post pictures of thier food on Facebook. The great thing about Vegas is there's multiple restaurant for just about any cuisine you can imagine right on the strip.
Wicked Spoon Buffet at Cosmopolitan (7-2-17 brunch): I like to hit up a buffet once whenever I visit Vegas, and none have disappointed. These places definitely aren't the Golden Corral. Our flight got in pretty early Sunday, so stuffing ourselves at the buffet and having extra time before dinner seemed like a good idea. To start things off, I'm a sucker for an omelette station, so I grabbed a Denver style omelette. Added some cheesy hash brown casserole (one of the best things I had), and a verrine. I have no idea what a verrine is, but it was basically a shot glass filled with mashed avocado, grapefruit, and a bit of crab. Good stuff. Had I stopped here, I would have had a normal sized brunch by most people's standards. Of course the entire point of a Vegas buffet is getting full value by stuffing yourself so full you can't walk, so I made more trips.
Next up I grabbed a jerk chicken thigh, a few pieces of spicy tuna sushi, some house-made italian sausage, and yogurt/fruit. The jerk chicken was perfect in that after the first bite I thought- that's not that spicy. 3 bites in, I'm feeling it a bit. By the end, I'm chugging my coffee/juice.
Finally it was time for dessert. When I first visited Vegas back in 2005, my friend informed me that the #1 rule of Vegas buffets is that you must try the bread pudding. You are not supposed to question the reasoning behind the rule, nor are you supposed to debate whether it's necessary. You simply do it. Wicked Spoon featured a bourbon white chocolate bread pudding. It was good, but I wasn't sure what to make of it since it tasted more like butterscotch than bourbon to me. I also had half a mango danish and some little chocolate tart. I thought I was done at this point until my wife brought back some gelato. I couldn't sit there and watch her eat, so I ended up getting some coconut-lime gelato for myself. The selection is pretty ridiculous- about 18 flavors to choose from. After the gelato, I finally waved the white flag.
Picasso at Bellagio (7-2-17 dinner): We've been wanting to visit Picasso for a while now. I was going to book a reservation here for our honeymoon back in 2014, but as it turns out they typically take a 2 week vacation in July every year. We ran into the same problem last year, but they were open on Sunday the 2nd this time before closing. Finally, we had our chance.
Picasso is basically fancy-pants French fine dining at its best. If you've ever seen the movie Ocean's Eleven, the restaurant scene was filmed there. We were seated at a table next to the window with the Bellagio fountain outside, and my wife had a real Picasso painting above her shoulder. So uh... not bad. I wore a suit and tie, but you really don't need to- wear khakis and a nice shirt, and you'll fit in fine.
We both ordered from the four course prix fixe tasting menu. My goal when eating out at nice places is to get stuff I don't cook myself / haven't tried much before. First course I got the poached oysters. The dish was basically smooth, melt-in-your-mouth like butter. Next up was the foie gras. This was the second time I've foie gras, and I've decided it's just not my thing. I could tell it was prepared properly, but I just don't think it has much flavor. The rhubarb chutney on the side was good, though. For the entree, I had the roasted milk-fed veal chop. After the first bite I literally started laughing, basically thinking, "Where has this been all my life?" Literally one of the best things I've ever eaten. If I had to nitpick, it was cooked a touch rare for my liking. But it was amazing. I wanted a lighter dessert given how much food I'd stuffed myself with that day, so I got a pineapple tart with prickly pear sorbet. Almost too pretty to eat.
Picasso is definitely the type of restaurant you take your date to if you're wanting to impress them. I like Le Cirque a bit more based on my two trips there previously. Le Cirque is a much smaller restaurant, just feels like a more intimate setting, and the service seemed a little more personal. But really you can't go wrong either way. Also, it was a nice touch seeing the chef, Julian Serrano, as we left the restaurant.
China Poblano at Cosmopolitan (7-3-17 lunch): The best way to explain China Poblano is that it seems like one person wanted to start up a Mexican restaurant at Cosmo, one person wanted to start up a Chinese restaurant, and then some executive asked, "Why don't we have both?" There are literally two different kitchens in the same restaurant, and the food is served tapas style- dishes just come out one by one whenever they're ready.
We started off with the queso fundido for an appetizer- pretty standard stuff. I ordered two tacos from the Mexican menu, one taco suadero (brisket), one carnitas. The brisket was good, the carnitas was great. Because if eating a taco with pork rinds on it is wrong, then I don't want to be right. I decided to get Mongolian beef lettuce from the Chinese menu, because I remember reading an IAMA from a Chinese restaurant owner a while back who said that was one of the best things on the menu that people rarely ordered. And he was right. We skipped dessert since our stomachs were still half full from eating the day before.
Estiatorio Milos at Cosmopolitan (7-3-17 dinner): Milos is proof that food doesn't have to be fancy to be fantastic. They just use high-quality ingredients, use a simple preparation, and let the food do the talking. The neat part about this place is that they really don't have specific fish on the menu. Instead you walk up to the fish case, pick out the one you want, and let your server know how you want it prepared. And marvel at the produce while you're at it.
We ordered the tzatziki as an appetizer, and at first I wasn't going to take a picture of it since it's just tzatziki. And then I tasted it. And I decided it deserved a picture- the best I've ever had. Next up was a Greek salad which was ridiculously good. Those definitely aren't the tomatoes you buy at Kroger. We chose lithrini, which seemed like a generic white fish, for our entree. Pan-seared with lemon, capers, and herbs. Some basic potatoes and broccoli for our sides. Milos is one of our top recommendations for people visiting Vegas.
Milk Bar at Cosmopolitan (7-3-17 dessert): We skipped dessert at Milos because we wanted to try out the Milk Bar. I grabbed one of the much-hyped compost cookies, which I actually thought was nothing special, and a spiked chocolate malt milkshake. The shake was awesome. I ended up coming back later in the trip and got a spiked coffee shake as well. Not sure they're worth $12 apiece, but you're in Vegas, so what the hell.
Eiffel Tower Restaurant (7-4-17 lunch): My wife had put this on the list of places to visit a month ahead of time, so we ended up going here for lunch. You enter the restaurant by going up an elevator in the main floor of the casino, and the doors open to give you a nice view of the kitchen. I always like restaurants where you can see people work in an open kitchen, so I thought this was a nice touch. We had reservations for when the restaurant opened, so we managed to snag one of the best tables in the place with a great view of the strip. We started off with the cheese tray as an appetizer, which was most notable for the honeycomb. I think that's the first time I've ever had real honeycomb, and it was delicious. I decided to go brunch-ish for my meal and order the lobster eggs benedict, which was easily the best eggs benedict I've ever had. We shared a frozen strawberry souffle for dessert, and the best compliment I can give about this is that we immediately began looking up recipes to make our own when we got back to our hotel room. Overall a great meal, and I think we'll head back here for dinner during our next trip to Vegas.
Tetsu at Aria (7-4-17 dinner): I'd wanted to visit a Japanese steakhouse while in town (especially since the favorite place in my town was run down by new ownership and closed), and I was a little surprised to find there weren't many options. Tetsu is actually a sectioned off portion of the BarMasa restaurant in Aria, and you can order sushi from BarMasa's menu while there. Which I did. I'm far from a sushi connoisseur, but I thought it tasted like a standard salmon roll- good, but I wasn't blown away by it or anything.
As far as the hibachi grill itself goes, the first thing to note is that the chefs basically just prepare the food in front of you but don't put on any sort of show. So if you're wanting to impress the family with a flaming onion volcano and eggs juggled on a spatula, this isn't your place. It's about the food, and the food was fantastic. I had the whole lobster, which is every bit as good as it looks. The chili shrimp cilantro fried rice was as good as the lobster, and I had some brussels sprouts on the side. My wife got the fingerling potatoes as a more photogenic side dish to her chicken. They also serve prime A5 Japanese Ohmi beef, but I couldn't justify spending $132 on a 4 oz steak. We had chocolate sesame ice cream for dessert, and the sesame was actually a lot stronger than I thought it would be (might actually put some people off).
Of course one of the fun parts of eating at these places is talking to people seated with you at the table. One of the ladies next to us teased a server, trying to get his name badge, Harvey (definitely not his given name), since apparently a guy named Harvey founded the golf club she worked at. Even went so far as to summon the manager to see if she could get the badge, but ultimately she failed in her negotiations. Everyone at the table had a laugh about the situation.
Burger Bar at Mandalay Bay (7-5-17 lunch): We were looking for a lunch spot down on this end of the strip before heading to the aquarium, and the Burger Bar (actually located in a walkway between Mandalay Bay and Luxor) came recommended by several people. To start with, they had a great beer menu. I ordered the classic bacon cheeseburger with onion rings. Great burger, cooked perfectly. I know there are several excellent burger joints on the strip, so it's probably not worth making a special trip far out of your way to come here. It's a great option if you want a burger and are on the south end of the strip, though.
Lemongrass at Aria (7-5-17 dinner): Next up, some Thai food. We had some pot stickers for an appetizer, which I thought were pretty average. Nothing to stand out here from your average takeout in either taste or presentation. My wife decided to order some wonton soup to share, and I'm glad she did. It was freakin' amazing- easily the best part of the meal. I wanted something light for my meal, so I ordered the garlic and lime steamed cod. The surprised reaction of the waitress seemed to imply that nobody ever ordered that. It was good, but you better love lime if you get it.
As luck would have it, the one time we received poor (exceptionally slow) service on the trip was when we had our meal before a show. We had to skip dessert so that we could make it down to MGM Grand in time to see Ka.
Olives at Bellagio (7-6-17 lunch): We thought about hitting up Lago for lunch, but since we were headed to Sinatra for dinner we wanted to avoid back to back Italian. Olives had a nice deal on a 3 course prix fixe lunch menu, so we ordered from that. I had the Caesar salad to start, followed it up with fish and chips, and finished it off with tiramisu. A bit of an odd combo, but a good meal. Nothing exceptional. Great server, though.
Sinatra at Encore (7-6-17 dinner): Another place we'd wanted to visit on previous trips but never had a chance to. There's tons of Frank Sinatra themed memorabilia in the place, including a Grammy, Emmy, and Oscar as you walk in the door. I'd describe the place as lively but classy as hell- which is pretty much what you'd want when going to a Rat Pack themed place.
To start off with, I ordered an Old Fashioned. It's one of my favorite drinks to order because everyone does it differently, and you never know what you're going to get. Well, it was the best Old Fashioned I've had in my left. I meant to ask the waiter what type of boorbon they used, but ultimately forgot. We ended up sharing the estiva for an appetizer, which is basically a watermelon salad. I ordered the gnochetti for my entree, which tasted great, but the portion size kind of left me wondering where the rest of it was. We shared the panna cotta for dessert, which was as good as it looked.
Eggslut at Cosmopolitan (7-7-17 breakfast): Eggslut is a casual stand at Cosmo that pretty much sells egg sandwiches all day long. I had the Fairfax with bacon, which is pretty much what they're known for. I think the reason why it was such a great sandwich was they kept the eggs inside creamy, whereas most breakfast sandwiches have the eggs cooked hard as a rock. When you walk up to the place your first thought is- whoa! Only $8... finally a reasonably priced meal. And then you realize they charge $5 for a cup of coffee or orange juice, and you remember you're still in Vegas. Regardless, this place is a good stop for breakfast or a late night snack.
Overall a great trip. Can't wait to go back again and try some different places.

After banning 'Star Wars' slot machines, Disney spends millions to change Florida gambling law to "protect" its theme parks and properties - including Galaxy's Edge

Today, I heard about recent efforts by Disney against the gambling industry. I thought you guys would be interested in hearing about it, as it also heavily involves Star Wars...and particularly, Disney's plans in 2019 for Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge, and the Star Wars hotel, at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida.
It also involves Disney's existing, popular offering "Star Wars Day at Sea", and other Star Wars-related plans for its cruises in 2019, which is parly based out of the Port of Miami in Miami, Florida, and Port Canaveral (Orlando, Florida).
The tl;dnr of it is as such: (broken down into smaller sections)

Before Disney purchased Lucasfilm, Lucasfilm had allowed the construction and use of character-themed slot machines, and other gambling aspects, as related to the Star Wars brand. This was presumably done for Lucasfilm to make money off of licensing fees and royalties.
Disney, after buying Lucasfilm in 2012, "phased out" (re: banned) Star Wars and Marvel slot machines at casinos, and online gambling games, after being "exposed" as [now] owning them by New York Times reporters Lizette Alvarez and Michael Snyder. They have done so to protect their "family-friendly" brand, of which they now consider Star Wars to be a part of.
Casino owners and online vendors were against the move, saying it would hurt their businesses by taking away some of their slot machines / online gambling games.
Casino owners in Florida, seeking to expand their business(es), formed pro-gambling-growth groups, designed to try and stimulate local economies and businesses by building new casinos across the state. This would presumably include in tourism-heavy areas, such as Orlando (of which Walt Disney World is a major feature) and Miami (which is a major port for Disney Cruise Lines).
Disney has now collaborated with the Seminole Tribe of Florida, the latter of which is a major gambling monolith and owns the Hard Rock franchise, to try and pass law to change current Florida rules. The change would make it harder for people to build and open new casinos in, and around, their properties (including Disney's currently-in-production Star Wars Orlando theme park, Galaxy's Edge) by making it so that 60% of state voters would have to vote "Yes" on gambling and casino expansion in the future.
Disney has spent an estimated $17.5 million, in conjunction with the Seminole Tribe, since 2015 to combat gambling expansion in Florida. (Source) Disney donated $5 million to anti-gambling expansion efforts in April 2018, which the Seminole Tribe matched. (Source)
Disney also donated $400,000 to support the campaign of Florida governor candidate Adam Putnam, who supports Disney's anti-gambling expansion stance.
Disney has invested an estimated $1 billion in the construction of Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge. As the theme park is doing something never before done - building a land around an entirely new environment within the franchise, rather than an existing one - they are taking a huge financial risk. Their anti-gambling expansion efforts are also related to protecting their financial interests in Galaxy's Edge, as well as their planned Star Wars hotel and resort.

The Walt Disney Company is one of the most successful media conglomerate companies in the world. Just about everyone has heard of the Disney theme parks stationed in Florida, California, and abroad. Just about everyone has seen classic Disney films like Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast. Not everyone knows about Disney's relationship with the gambling industry, however, and it is a noteworthy one.
Over the years, Disney has acquired the rights to several major entertainment companies and their licensed characters. In 2009, Disney bought the Marvel Entertainment company, creator of the famed Marvel comic books and a slew of popular superhero characters. In 2012, it purchased all rights to LucasFilm, the parent company that created the Star Wars brand.
Disney announced its plans to phase out all Star Wars and Marvel-themed casino slot machines in the United States last fall. The multimillion dollar company has the power to do this, because it now owns all rights to these brands.
According to a Disney spokeswoman, the character-themed slot phase-out is not a new decision. As part of Marvel's “integration” with Disney, she said the decision was made several years ago to let the machines gradually fade out through attrition. Only a few Marvel license agreements remain at this point, and they are set to expire within the next several years. Star Wars-themed slots will also trickle away, but it will take a few more years for that process to complete.
[...] Disney wields a certain amount of power over casinos, both on land and online, because of these acquisitions. Instead of promoting Star Wars and Marvel characters via slot machines, the company prefers to use their likenesses in movies that serve to perpetuate the Disney brand.
As the owner of LucasFilm, Disney has another trilogy of Star Wars films currently in the works. [...] Fans can expect to see Disney continue to advance their brands through avenues other than the gaming industry.
Disney has made its opinion of the gambling industry known in Florida: It does not support the addition of more resort casinos to that area. Not only does Disney plan to phase out Marvel and Star Wars-themed slot machines, it also hopes to prevent the development of new casino resorts in the state.
As it stands today, Orlando's Walt Disney World is the top tourist attraction on the globe. Over 50 million people visit the entertainment resort every year and partake of theme parks like Magic Kingdom, Epcot, and Hollywood Studios. From a business standpoint, it makes sense that Disney would not want another tourist draw infringing on its potential customer base in the Orlando area.
Disney denies that self-interest is its main motivation for opposing new casinos. Andrea Finger, a spokeswoman for the company, said the corporation opposes casino expansion for “many reasons.” One of the primary reasons is the fact that Florida is a “family friendly” vacation spot; adding more casinos to the landscape would tarnish that. Finger lauded Florida's efforts in “research, innovation, and entrepreneurship” and indicated that adding more casino resorts would create an “inconsistent” atmosphere in the state.
Finger made no statement suggesting that Disney is protecting its own interests by objecting to more casinos. This inference has been made, however, by critics based on the connection between Disney and its Marvel and Star Wars slot machines that recently came to light.
Critics also cite the fact that increased Florida casinos might steal valuable convention contracts from the Mickey Mouse company. At this point, Disney hosts approximately 700,000 square feet of convention space in its Florida resorts.
Disney's ownership of Marvel and LucasFilm slot machines was brought to the public's attention by New York Times reporters Lizette Alvarez and Michael Snyder. Critics immediately began shouting hypocrisy at the fact that Disney, a vocal gambling opponent, owns and profits from character-themed casino slot machines.
The Times reporters asked Disney whether its ownership of the slots “undercut” its casino gambling stance. A spokeswoman responded that the company's affiliation with the casinos was only temporary, and that it would take a few years for current slot machine contracts to expire.
[...] When Marvel and Star Wars-themed slots do eventually disappear from casinos, their absence will be a blow to the gaming industry. Casino patrons are drawn to the colorful games touting Spider Man, Darth Vader, and other exciting Hollywood characters. Until the machines are completely phased out, the characters will continue to entertain casino patrons both online and on land.
The online gaming industry will definitely be affected by Disney's prohibition. The Spider Man Slot game, for example, is an enticing game for online gamblers that was introduced in 2012. Other Marvel-themed online slots include Iron Man 2, Iron Man 3, the Fantastic Four, Captain America, Thor, and Wolverine Slots. The eventual loss of these games will leave a gaping hole in customers' palette of gaming choices.
[Possibly in response to Disney's decision], a group called the Associated Industries of Florida launched a new pro-casino campaign. This group is lobbying for more casinos in the area as a means of promoting jobs and stimulating the local economy. Analysts expect the battle between Disney and pro-casino lobbyists to become more heated as politicians compete for voter support in the upcoming election. (Source)
[However, Orlando isn't the only city that Disney is engaging in anti-casino efforts with.] The biggest challenger standing between [the city of] Miami and casinos is a mouse.
Walt Disney World, the giant resort near Orlando whose four theme parks draw more than 45 million visitors a year, has made preventing "destination" casinos a top priority. And few, if any, businesses carry as much weight in Florida as Disney, which employs more than 60,000 workers, generates nearly $600 million a year in tax revenue — and doled out more than $2 million to political candidates and causes during the past election cycle.
Some analysts say Disney — and, by extension, Orlando's entire tourism industry — has good reason to be wary of casinos. Though adult-oriented resorts in South Florida are unlikely to appeal to Disney's core audience of families with young children, they could siphon away travelers in narrower segments that are also important to the resort, from South Americans to conventions to weddings.
"Disney has lots of little pockets or niches that they're really good at getting market share in. And it adds up," said Duncan Dickson, a professor at the University of Central Florida's Rosen College of Hospitality Management. "Disney doesn't want another Las Vegas anywhere close to them. Who needs the competition?"
[Case in point, Disney also has Disney Cruise Lines, based in both Miami and Port Canaveral (Orlando).] Disney Cruise Line has revealed it will extend its popular "Star Wars Day at Sea" program through 2019, with the addition of nine cruises -- each of which will include a Star Wars-themed sea day, complete with special programming and restaurant menus. Family-friendly activities include Star Wars character meet-and-greets, movie nights (featuring new releases), Star Wars trivia, and a Jedi training show, where kids can learn lightsaber skills and battle Darth Vader.
Throughout the day, restaurants and bars also will serve themed foods and cocktails. The sea day will end with a fireworks show and deck party, hosted by Star Wars heroes and villains. All cruises span seven nights and depart from Port Canaveral (Orlando), Florida. (Source)
[...] Disney has always opposed efforts to expand gambling, [citing it as being againts its "family-friendly" image].
The Walt Disney Co., one of the most brand-protective companies on the planet, does not want to jeopardize its kid-friendly reputation by any association whatsoever with casinos and the taboo images they often conjure. The company's cruise line is the only major operator to sail ships without onboard casinos, which are typically one of the biggest generators of on-board spending.
"We've studied this issue carefully and remain opposed for many reasons," said Disney spokesman Mike Griffin, "including the fact that it is inconsistent with Florida's brand as a family-friendly destination, and with the efforts we've long supported to diversify Florida's economy through research, innovation, and entrepreneurship."
The legislation to be considered in Tallahassee would authorize three "destination" casinos in Miami-Dade and Broward counties. Each would boast a luxury hotel, shops, restaurants, convention space and casinos with every major game, from blackjack to roulette and craps. Any company awarded a casino license would have to spend at least $2 billion building the facility.
Las Vegas Sands and Wynn Resorts, both based in Las Vegas, and Genting, a Malaysian-based resort developer, are among the companies expected to seek licenses. Genting has already spent more than $300 million to buy bay-front property in downtown Miami and has announced plans for a $3.8 billion resort.
All have promised they will create thousands of jobs in South Florida, making the deal attractive to lawmakers hoping to lower the state's 10.6 percent unemployment rate.
Analysts say anyone that invests that much capital to build a resort also will have to spend lavishly to market the property. At a minimum, that will force Disney to ramp up its own spending on advertising, eroding its profit margins.
"Anytime you've got to fight and compete with more marketing dollars, which you know these folks have in abundance, it makes Disney's job that much harder to battle against," said Vicki Johnson, a tourism-marketing expert in Orlando.
More specifically, casinos could prove attractive draws in key markets for Disney. Executives at Genting, for instance, have said they would market heavily in Latin America.
Latin America — particularly Brazil, its biggest country — has become one of Disney World's most valuable markets in recent years. This summer, even as overall attendance at the resort was about flat with a year ago, Disney officials said traffic from Brazil was up by a double-digit percentage.
Though Disney doesn't disclose exact attendance numbers, national data show that visitation from Brazil is up 27% to more than 833,000 so far this year. And though Miami is the most popular destination for South American travelers, Orlando is growing more rapidly.
Disney says its business from Brazil is predominantly family-leisure travel, the group least likely to be swayed by casinos. But some industry followers say lavish resorts, when combined with the boutique shopping already in Miami, might be enough to peel away some of that business, especially Brazilians with older children or none at all.
"All of a sudden, it really cuts into their [Disney's] South American markets," Johnson said.
Group meetings and conventions business is also a growing profit center for Disney, which has nearly 470,000 square feet of meeting space spread among its hotels. It also routinely picks up lucrative private parties and other business tied to shows using Orange County's massive, publicly owned convention center.
Finally, allowing casinos in South Florida could lead to pressure to build more in other parts of the state. Already, some hoteliers in Orlando — led by Harris Rosen, owner of three major convention hotels — have made rumblings about bringing casinos to Central Florida. And officials at Port Canaveral — Disney Cruise Line's home port — are interested in casinos, too.
"Once they get their foot in the door, what's next? Orange County is going to say, 'Well, if it's legal in Dade County, why isn't it legal here?' " said Dickson, the UCF professor.
Disney has worked to enlist broader business groups to fight the casino legislation, most notably the Florida Chamber of Commerce, even though more than half of the businesses represented on the chamber's board of directors say they are neutral on the issue.
And the opposition from Disney has put casino boosters on the defensive during the past few days.
"Florida's identity cannot be changed because one casino or two destination resorts open in Miami-Dade County," said state Rep. Erik Fresen, R-Miami, who is sponsoring the casino legislation in the Florida House of Representatives.
"Florida will always be the Sunshine State," he added. "The dominant trademark of Florida will always be Disney World. I don't think they have anything to worry about when it comes to that." (Source)
There have been multiple attempts to garner support in the state legislature for non-Native American casinos and other forms of gambling expansion in the state. Currently, the Seminoles control the ability of Florida to expand full-fledged casinos per their current compact. And the power of the Seminoles in the state is substantial.
In order to change current law, there must be a constitutional amendment backed by the voters of Florida. There is one such opportunity on the ballot for the November 6, 2018 election.
The Casino Gambling Initiative, if approved, would give voters the exclusive right to authorize casinos going forward, casinos being comprised of card games, slot machines, and other casino-style games. All ballot measures in the future would then require a citizen-initiated process by which a number of signatures of registered voters must be obtained for ballot consideration.
Currently, however, the Seminoles reserve the exclusive right to offer blackjack, craps, and roulette in Florida, which would present a problem that would have to be addressed. The agreement with the Seminoles was signed by Governor Rick Scott in 2015, and is effective for 20 years.
While this may end up in a legal fight, poker rooms are not an exclusive right of the tribe, and would not be an issue.
If Amendment 3 passes in November by 60% or more of the popular vote, a new day may begin for casinos in Florida. This will also drastically increase the opportunity for poker rooms throughout the state. (Source)
The US Supreme Court repealed the longstanding federal sports betting ban known as PASPA (Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act). The landmark decision allows states to dictate their own sports wagering laws.
That means sports betting could be coming to Florida casinos, should the legislature pass market regulations. But Republican gubernatorial candidate Adam Putnam said this week that if he’s elected, he would oppose such legislation.
[Putnam also echoes Disney's reasoning.]
“I’ve always been one who has said we don’t need to expand the footprint of gambling in Florida,” Putnam declared at a campaign stop. “It’s not who we are as a state. We’re a family-friendly vacation destination. We’re a small business-oriented state.”
“If I lived in the middle of the desert in Nevada, [like Las Vegas], maybe I would grasp onto whatever straw or life raft somebody threw me,” he continued. “But we live in Florida, and we’ve got unlimited opportunities, and we don’t need to sell our state short.” (Source)
Earlier this year, Disney also gave $400,000 to Florida Grown, a committee supporting Putnam's gubernatorial bid.
[...] Disney officials would not agree to an interview, but in a statement, Jacquee Wahler, vice president of Walt Disney World Resorts, wrote, “We support candidates who understand issues important to our company, and demonstrate strong support for business and tourism in Florida.” (Source)
[Meanwhile, Disney is busy constructing what it hopes will be its next big moneymaker: Galaxy's Edge, a Star Wars-themed land in Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World in Orlando. Disney also plans to construct a Star Wars-themed hotel and resort adjacent to Galaxy's Edge.]
The ongoing success of high-profile films, like the Marvel and Star Wars franchises, can play a big role in the theme parks ability to tap into new characters and storylines for rides and shows.
Experts have said the success in theme park rides today are built on characters and properties that resonate with visitors outside the park. Thus new lands themed after popular franchises have proven to be a boon — like Disney's Star Wars and Frozen attractions, and Universal Orlando Resort's success with the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.
[So far this year], the theme parks division for the quarter saw a 13% increase in revenue to $4.87 billion, up from $4.29 billion for the same time last year. The division also saw a 13% increase in revenue for the first six months of the year to $10.03 billion, up from $8.85 billion for the year-ago period.
According to the earnings report:
"Results included a benefit from a shift in the timing of the Easter holiday relative to our fiscal periods. The current quarter included one week of the Easter holiday, whereas the entire Easter holiday fell in the third quarter of the prior year. Higher operating income at our domestic parks and resorts was primarily due to increased guest spending, attendance growth at Walt Disney World Resort and higher sponsorship revenue, partially offset by increased costs.
Guest spending growth was due to increases in average ticket prices, average daily hotel room rates and food, beverage and merchandise spending. The increase in costs was primarily due to labor and other cost inflation, an increase in depreciation associated with new attractions and higher technology spending." (Source)
[Driving this growth are Disney's planned new additions, including Galaxy's Edge, which is currently under construction ("labor costs").]
Disney’s new Star Wars land won’t open until next year, but it is not too early to declare that Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge will be the most ambitious theme park land ever built.
The numbers alone might justify the claim. At 14 acres each, Disney’s twin Star Wars lands will be the largest the company has built at the Disneyland and Walt Disney World resorts. Disney has not confirmed a budget for Galaxy’s Edge, but the project is believed widely within the industry to be costing at least one billion dollars. (Source)

With proposal to change CFR to allow tip theft ending comment period, I made an argument demonstrating illegality due to conflicts with the FLSA.It is ready share with WHD.

At this point, I'm sure everyone on this subreddit is reasonably familiar with the recently proposed tip pool regulation changes to allow employer ownership of tips when they don't take a tip credit. These changes would nullify the effects of 1974 amendments protecting employee ownership of tips by modifying the CFR to create loopholes. These changes won't just affect servers, baristas, and bussers. They will be applicable to anyone regularly receiving more than $30 a month in tips, which includes (but is not limited to) barbers, hotel cleaning staff, cab and limo drivers, casino dealers, and even exotic dancers. At the bottom of this post, I have included a comment to be sent to Wage and Hour Division before February 5th as well as a few attachments with further information. Please feel free to share this information with the government, your coworkers, friends, or even employers.
The current administration's Wage and Hour Division (WHD) of the Department of Labor (DOL) has proposed a rule change (RIN 1235–AA21) that would amend the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), a bulletin interpreting the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), to allow employers to require minimum wage tipped employees to turn over all tips to the business. They would do this by deleting a 2011 rule requiring employees retain tips whether or not the employer takes advantage of the tip credit and adding “that takes a tip credit” after employer to exempt such employers. This rollback in employee protections would transfer ownership of tips from the employee to the owner when the employer does not take advantage of a tip credit. These proposed changes completely violate the FLSA, which was initially crafted to protect employees from unfair labor practices,.
The National Restaurant Association (NRA) is ostensibly lobbying for these rule changes to allow tip sharing between traditionally tipped employees (servers, bussers, bartenders, etc.) and traditionally nontipped employees (dishwashers, cooks, etc.). While I consider such tip pool arrangements reasonable and even legal under the FLSA, the actual wording of the proposed changes creates a massive loophole that would:
1) remove customer's ability to determine the recipient of their gift
2) allow employers to use employee tips for reasons other than permitted as a wage by law
3) remove requirements to notify employees of required tip pool amounts
4) remove requirements that employees retain tips
5) allow employer tip theft
Their interpretation of the rule changes are repeated in the benefits section of the NPRM, which suggests that forgoing 3(m)’s tip credit provision by paying legislated minimum wage would allow employers to equalize wages and employers could then reallocate “customer” tips to lower prices, increase work hours, or hire new workers; basically, pocket tips. After this, they suggest that changing the CFR will reduce litigation concerning the improper application of tips by deleting the 2011 protections and creating loopholes for employers who do not take advantage of the tip credit. They are wrong: if anything, it will increase litigation because the CFR would disagree with the FLSA as written and intended by legislature and some proposed benefits contradict the CFR itself.
In my argument, I begin with definitions from the FLSA to define employers, employees (tipped and nontipped), and the tip credit wage. I then pull from Senate Report 93-690, in which the 1974 amendments of the FLSA were before the Comittee on Labor and public welfare, to demonstrate legislative intent. Next, I present opinion letters from 1974-1975 to demonstrate the DOL's understanding of the effects of the amendments and upcoming CFR changes. Those recommendations were revisited in 2008 and amendments to the CFR were finalized in 2011. With these as a foundation, I demonstrate how the proposed changes would violate the law and how a number of potential alternative uses of tips outlined in the Benefits section completely violate the FLSA. I counter their argument that the changes will reduce legislation while addressing some controversial Circuit Court decisions and suggesting a writ of certoriari from the Supreme Court would be preferable to writing loopholes into the code, reminding concerned parties that the FLSA was made to protect hourly employees, ensuring a fair day's pay for a fair day's labor.
If you feel like sharing this opinion with WHD, you can copy the comment below and paste it in the comment section on this page. If you want to share a personal experience, there are 114 characters remaining. Here are some attachments I would like you to include with your comment. Attachment 1 is a more fully fleshed out discussion of the laws and how they would be made absurd if transference to employers were allowed. 2-6 are PDFs of cited sources that are mentioned in the argument and quoted in attachment 1.

I oppose proposed rule change (RIN: 1235-AA21). I consider customers, employers, tipped, and non-tipped employees to be affected. Regarding effects on the economy, the FLSA was designed to protect employees, not a golden calf. Attached are a full position and quoted documents.
There's potential for interpretation of the law that allows for tip pooling between tipped and nontipped employees under the FLSA without giving undue control over tips to employers: 203(d) clearly defines employers (person acting in interest of employer in relation to employees), (t) tipped and nontipped employees by requiring $30/month in tips, and (m) the rules governing tips applied as wages, tip distribution, and employer requirements if taking a tip credit.
The current wording and interpretation of 3(m) allows for a portion of tips to be counted as wages (tip credit) but that does not mean tips are a wage. The final sentence requires informing of law and receipt of tips by the employee as conditions of applying tip credit as wage but does not change the meaning of tips. Tips are a gift to employees to be retained by employees according to (t). Persons employed as employers (d) may not retain tips, which belong to employees
1974 SR 93-690 says the legislative intent is to require all tips be paid to tipped employees and employers cannot use tips to satisfy more than allowed by 3(m). It also states: employers lose the benefit if tipped employees are required to share tips with traditionally nontipped employees.
Later opinion letters further stated: tips are not wages except for as allowed by tip credit; tips belong to employees; no agreement can change that, saying an employee has not been paid by an employer when money used is the employee’s own money. They suggested the CFR be updated to reflect changes.
It took over 30 years but in 2008, the DOL finally proposed changes to clarify: tips are property of employees; tips received exceeding allowed tip credit aren’t wages paid by the employer; deductions of tips would be a violation unless the employer paid above minimum wage and didn’t deduct an amount that would reduce wage below minimum wage. These changes were finalized in 2011 after years receiving comments.
The deletion of 2011 regulations and addition of "that takes a tip credit" in three parts of the CFR in the NPRM creates massive loopholes that would undermine legislative intent by transferring ownership of tips to employers.
These changes:
1) remove customer's ability to determine the recipient of their gift
2) allow employers to use employee tips for reasons other than what’s permitted as a wage under 3(m)
3) remove requirements to notify employees of required tip pool amounts
4) remove requirements that employees retain tips
5) allow employer tip theft
My concerns are underscored by the benefits section of the NPRM: it suggests that eschewing 3(m)’s tip credit provision by paying legislated minimum wage would allow employers to equalize wages and employers could reallocate “customer” tips to lower prices, increase work hours, or hire new workers. Basically, pocket tips. By deleting 2011 employee protections linked to 3(m)’s tip credit, the DOL would undo the legislative intent of the 1974 amendments.
The benefits section also suggests that these changes will decrease litigation. If the regulations don’t reflect the law, the law is made absurd. The case that kicked off the uptick in legislation was Cumbie v. Woodie Woo, as decided in 2010, supposedly exposing statutory silence. Judge O'Scannlain noted in his opinion that the unamended text of 531.52, a result of Williams v. Jacksonville, allowed agreements transferring ownership of tips from employee to employer. Refusing the DOL's Amici Curie and proposed rule changes, the court noted that the Secretary of Labor had not bothered to amend the CFR in over 40 years (though they were in the process). The employee argued that 1974 amendments had overruled Williams, rendering such arrangements invalid as they subsidize wages of nontipped employees by deducting tips from tipped employees to below minimum wage. The court did not find the possibility so absurd or unjust as to warrant a departure from the plain language of the statute. The 2011 changes overturned Cumbie, noted in ORLA v. Perez and Cesarz v. Wynn. For this reason, The lower courts deserve a writ of certiorari from the Supreme Court instead of rule changes that violate legislation.
Maybe Judges forgot while applying the Chevron deference: Justice Murphy of the Supreme Court stated in 1944: “FLSA provisions are remedial and humanitarian in purpose; courts should not apply them in a narrow, grudging manner. These provisions are made to protect hourly employees, ensuring them a fair day's pay for a fair day's labor." Lawyers, judges, employers and the DOL would do well to remember that.

The Stadium: What we know so far and how to voice your opinion.

Trump's admin to make it legal for employers to steal employee tips. Comment period ends tomorrow. We've got out over 300,00 comments, but most are statements of position without supporting arguments. I crafted a legally supportable opinion that proves their regulations illegal. Please pass it on!

I'm sure most people on this subreddit have heard of the recently proposed tip pool regulation changes to allow employer ownership of tips when they don't take a tip credit, so I won't moralize about how these changes would affect a vulnerable workforce. Instead, this is a call to action. The DOL stops taking comments on February 5th. Many of the over 300,000 are form letters stating opposition without supporting arguments. Because the DOL requires a legal argument, I've crafted a comment that demonstrates the illegality of such a rule change. At the bottom of this post, I have included it to be sent to Wage and Hour Division as well as a few attachments with further information. Please feel free to share this information with the government, your coworkers, friends, or even employers.
The rest of this post is just a simple, short explanation of the proposed regulations, parties affected, and my argument.
The current administration's Wage and Hour Division (WHD) of the Department of Labor (DOL) has proposed a rule change (RIN 1235–AA21) that would amend the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), a bulletin interpreting the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), to allow employers to require minimum wage tipped employees to turn over all tips to the business. They would do this by deleting a 2011 rule requiring employees retain tips whether or not the employer takes advantage of the tip credit and adding “that takes a tip credit” after employer to exempt such employers. This rollback in employee protections would transfer ownership of tips from the employee to the owner when the employer does not take advantage of a tip credit. These proposed changes completely violate the FLSA, which was initially crafted to protect employees from unfair labor practices.
These changes would nullify the effects of 1974 amendments protecting employee ownership of tips by modifying the CFR to create loopholes. These changes won't just affect servers, baristas, and bussers. They will be applicable to anyone regularly receiving more than $30 a month in tips, which includes (but is not limited to) barbers, hotel cleaning staff, cab and limo drivers, casino dealers, and even exotic dancers.
The National Restaurant Association (NRA) is ostensibly lobbying for these rule changes to allow tip sharing between traditionally tipped employees (servers, bussers, bartenders, etc.) and traditionally nontipped employees (dishwashers, cooks, etc.). While I consider such tip pool arrangements reasonable and even legal under the FLSA, the actual wording of the proposed changes creates a massive loophole that would:
1) remove customer's ability to determine the recipient of their gift
2) allow employers to use employee tips for reasons other than permitted as a wage by law
3) remove requirements to notify employees of required tip pool amounts
4) remove requirements that employees retain tips
5) allow employer tip theft
Their interpretation of the rule changes are repeated in the benefits section of the NPRM, which suggests that forgoing 3(m)’s tip credit provision by paying legislated minimum wage would allow employers to equalize wages and employers could then reallocate “customer” tips to lower prices, increase work hours, or hire new workers; basically, pocket tips. After this, they suggest that changing the CFR will reduce litigation concerning the improper application of tips by deleting the 2011 protections and creating loopholes for employers who do not take advantage of the tip credit. They are wrong: if anything, it will increase litigation because the CFR would disagree with the FLSA as written and intended by legislature and some proposed benefits contradict the CFR itself.
In my argument, I begin with definitions from the FLSA to define employers, employees (tipped and nontipped), and the tip credit wage. I then pull from Senate Report 93-690, in which the 1974 amendments of the FLSA were before the Comittee on Labor and public welfare, to demonstrate legislative intent. Next, I present opinion letters from 1974-1975 to demonstrate the DOL's understanding of the effects of the amendments and upcoming CFR changes. Those recommendations were revisited in 2008 and amendments to the CFR were finalized in 2011. With these as a foundation, I demonstrate how the proposed changes would violate the law and how a number of potential alternative uses of tips outlined in the Benefits section completely violate the FLSA. I counter their argument that the changes will reduce legislation while addressing some controversial Circuit Court decisions and suggesting a writ of certoriari from the Supreme Court would be preferable to writing loopholes into the code, reminding concerned parties that the FLSA was made to protect hourly employees, ensuring a fair day's pay for a fair day's labor.
If you feel like sharing this opinion with WHD, you can copy the comment below and paste it in the comment section on this page. If you want to share a personal experience, there are 114 characters remaining. Here are some attachments I would like you to include with your comment. Attachment 1 is a more fully fleshed out discussion of the laws and how they would be made absurd if transference to employers were allowed. 2-6 are PDFs of cited sources that are mentioned in the argument and quoted in attachment 1.

I oppose proposed rule change (RIN: 1235-AA21). I consider customers, employers, tipped, and non-tipped employees to be affected. Regarding effects on the economy, the FLSA was designed to protect employees, not a golden calf. Attached are a full position and quoted documents.
There's potential for interpretation of the law that allows for tip pooling between tipped and nontipped employees under the FLSA without giving undue control over tips to employers: 203(d) clearly defines employers (person acting in interest of employer in relation to employees), (t) tipped and nontipped employees by requiring $30/month in tips, and (m) the rules governing tips applied as wages, tip distribution, and employer requirements if taking a tip credit.
The current wording and interpretation of 3(m) allows for a portion of tips to be counted as wages (tip credit) but that does not mean tips are a wage. The final sentence requires informing of law and receipt of tips by the employee as conditions of applying tip credit as wage but does not change the meaning of tips. Tips are a gift to employees to be retained by employees according to (t). Persons employed as employers (d) may not retain tips, which belong to employees
1974 SR 93-690 says the legislative intent is to require all tips be paid to tipped employees and employers cannot use tips to satisfy more than allowed by 3(m). It also states: employers lose the benefit if tipped employees are required to share tips with traditionally nontipped employees.
Later opinion letters further stated: tips are not wages except for as allowed by tip credit; tips belong to employees; no agreement can change that, saying an employee has not been paid by an employer when money used is the employee’s own money. They suggested the CFR be updated to reflect changes.
It took over 30 years but in 2008, the DOL finally proposed changes to clarify: tips are property of employees; tips received exceeding allowed tip credit aren’t wages paid by the employer; deductions of tips would be a violation unless the employer paid above minimum wage and didn’t deduct an amount that would reduce wage below minimum wage. These changes were finalized in 2011 after years receiving comments.
The deletion of 2011 regulations and addition of "that takes a tip credit" in three parts of the CFR in the NPRM creates massive loopholes that would undermine legislative intent by transferring ownership of tips to employers.
These changes:
1) remove customer's ability to determine the recipient of their gift
2) allow employers to use employee tips for reasons other than what’s permitted as a wage under 3(m)
3) remove requirements to notify employees of required tip pool amounts
4) remove requirements that employees retain tips
5) allow employer tip theft
My concerns are underscored by the benefits section of the NPRM: it suggests that eschewing 3(m)’s tip credit provision by paying legislated minimum wage would allow employers to equalize wages and employers could reallocate “customer” tips to lower prices, increase work hours, or hire new workers. Basically, pocket tips. By deleting 2011 employee protections linked to 3(m)’s tip credit, the DOL would undo the legislative intent of the 1974 amendments.
The benefits section also suggests that these changes will decrease litigation. If the regulations don’t reflect the law, the law is made absurd. The case that kicked off the uptick in legislation was Cumbie v. Woodie Woo, as decided in 2010, supposedly exposing statutory silence. Judge O'Scannlain noted in his opinion that the unamended text of 531.52, a result of Williams v. Jacksonville, allowed agreements transferring ownership of tips from employee to employer. Refusing the DOL's Amici Curie and proposed rule changes, the court noted that the Secretary of Labor had not bothered to amend the CFR in over 40 years (though they were in the process). The employee argued that 1974 amendments had overruled Williams, rendering such arrangements invalid as they subsidize wages of nontipped employees by deducting tips from tipped employees to below minimum wage. The court did not find the possibility so absurd or unjust as to warrant a departure from the plain language of the statute. The 2011 changes overturned Cumbie, noted in ORLA v. Perez and Cesarz v. Wynn. For this reason, The lower courts deserve a writ of certiorari from the Supreme Court instead of rule changes that violate legislation.
Maybe Judges forgot while applying the Chevron deference: Justice Murphy of the Supreme Court stated in 1944: “FLSA provisions are remedial and humanitarian in purpose; courts should not apply them in a narrow, grudging manner. These provisions are made to protect hourly employees, ensuring them a fair day's pay for a fair day's labor." Lawyers, judges, employers and the DOL would do well to remember that.

The Stadium: What we know so far and how to voice your opinion.

ELI5: How much control does an owner of a private business really have over that business?

With 4 more days to comment on controversial tip pooling regulation, over 300,000 comments have been received. Most are ineffective form letters without legal argument. I have a comment that demonstrates illegality of such changes. Please send a copy to WHD and help spread this message!

I'm sure most people on this subreddit have heard of the recently proposed tip pool regulation changes to allow employer ownership of tips when they don't take a tip credit, so I won't moralize about how these changes would affect a vulnerable workforce. Instead, this is a call to action. The DOL stops taking comments on February 5th. Many of the over 300,000 are form letters stating opposition without supporting arguments. Because the DOL requires a legal argument, I've crafted a comment that demonstrates the illegality of such a rule change. At the bottom of this post, I have included it to be sent to Wage and Hour Division as well as a few attachments with further information. Please feel free to share this information with the government, your coworkers, friends, or even employers.
The rest of this post is just a simpler explanation of my argument and discussion of affected parties.
The current administration's Wage and Hour Division (WHD) of the Department of Labor (DOL) has proposed a rule change (RIN 1235–AA21) that would amend the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), a bulletin interpreting the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), to allow employers to require minimum wage tipped employees to turn over all tips to the business. They would do this by deleting a 2011 rule requiring employees retain tips whether or not the employer takes advantage of the tip credit and adding “that takes a tip credit” after employer to exempt such employers. This rollback in employee protections would transfer ownership of tips from the employee to the owner when the employer does not take advantage of a tip credit. These proposed changes completely violate the FLSA, which was initially crafted to protect employees from unfair labor practices.
These changes would nullify the effects of 1974 amendments protecting employee ownership of tips by modifying the CFR to create loopholes. These changes won't just affect servers, baristas, and bussers. They will be applicable to anyone regularly receiving more than $30 a month in tips, which includes (but is not limited to) barbers, hotel cleaning staff, cab and limo drivers, casino dealers, and even exotic dancers.
The National Restaurant Association (NRA) is ostensibly lobbying for these rule changes to allow tip sharing between traditionally tipped employees (servers, bussers, bartenders, etc.) and traditionally nontipped employees (dishwashers, cooks, etc.). While I consider such tip pool arrangements reasonable and even legal under the FLSA, the actual wording of the proposed changes creates a massive loophole that would:
1) remove customer's ability to determine the recipient of their gift
2) allow employers to use employee tips for reasons other than permitted as a wage by law
3) remove requirements to notify employees of required tip pool amounts
4) remove requirements that employees retain tips
5) allow employer tip theft
Their interpretation of the rule changes are repeated in the benefits section of the NPRM, which suggests that forgoing 3(m)’s tip credit provision by paying legislated minimum wage would allow employers to equalize wages and employers could then reallocate “customer” tips to lower prices, increase work hours, or hire new workers; basically, pocket tips. After this, they suggest that changing the CFR will reduce litigation concerning the improper application of tips by deleting the 2011 protections and creating loopholes for employers who do not take advantage of the tip credit. They are wrong: if anything, it will increase litigation because the CFR would disagree with the FLSA as written and intended by legislature and some proposed benefits contradict the CFR itself.
In my argument, I begin with definitions from the FLSA to define employers, employees (tipped and nontipped), and the tip credit wage. I then pull from Senate Report 93-690, in which the 1974 amendments of the FLSA were before the Comittee on Labor and public welfare, to demonstrate legislative intent. Next, I present opinion letters from 1974-1975 to demonstrate the DOL's understanding of the effects of the amendments and upcoming CFR changes. Those recommendations were revisited in 2008 and amendments to the CFR were finalized in 2011. With these as a foundation, I demonstrate how the proposed changes would violate the law and how a number of potential alternative uses of tips outlined in the Benefits section completely violate the FLSA. I counter their argument that the changes will reduce legislation while addressing some controversial Circuit Court decisions and suggesting a writ of certoriari from the Supreme Court would be preferable to writing loopholes into the code, reminding concerned parties that the FLSA was made to protect hourly employees, ensuring a fair day's pay for a fair day's labor.
If you feel like sharing this opinion with WHD, you can copy the comment below and paste it in the comment section on this page. If you want to share a personal experience, there are 114 characters remaining. Here are some attachments I would like you to include with your comment. Attachment 1 is a more fully fleshed out discussion of the laws and how they would be made absurd if transference to employers were allowed. 2-6 are PDFs of cited sources that are mentioned in the argument and quoted in attachment 1.

I oppose proposed rule change (RIN: 1235-AA21). I consider customers, employers, tipped, and non-tipped employees to be affected. Regarding effects on the economy, the FLSA was designed to protect employees, not a golden calf. Attached are a full position and quoted documents.
There's potential for interpretation of the law that allows for tip pooling between tipped and nontipped employees under the FLSA without giving undue control over tips to employers: 203(d) clearly defines employers (person acting in interest of employer in relation to employees), (t) tipped and nontipped employees by requiring $30/month in tips, and (m) the rules governing tips applied as wages, tip distribution, and employer requirements if taking a tip credit.
The current wording and interpretation of 3(m) allows for a portion of tips to be counted as wages (tip credit) but that does not mean tips are a wage. The final sentence requires informing of law and receipt of tips by the employee as conditions of applying tip credit as wage but does not change the meaning of tips. Tips are a gift to employees to be retained by employees according to (t). Persons employed as employers (d) may not retain tips, which belong to employees
1974 SR 93-690 says the legislative intent is to require all tips be paid to tipped employees and employers cannot use tips to satisfy more than allowed by 3(m). It also states: employers lose the benefit if tipped employees are required to share tips with traditionally nontipped employees.
Later opinion letters further stated: tips are not wages except for as allowed by tip credit; tips belong to employees; no agreement can change that, saying an employee has not been paid by an employer when money used is the employee’s own money. They suggested the CFR be updated to reflect changes.
It took over 30 years but in 2008, the DOL finally proposed changes to clarify: tips are property of employees; tips received exceeding allowed tip credit aren’t wages paid by the employer; deductions of tips would be a violation unless the employer paid above minimum wage and didn’t deduct an amount that would reduce wage below minimum wage. These changes were finalized in 2011 after years receiving comments.
The deletion of 2011 regulations and addition of "that takes a tip credit" in three parts of the CFR in the NPRM creates massive loopholes that would undermine legislative intent by transferring ownership of tips to employers.
These changes:
1) remove customer's ability to determine the recipient of their gift
2) allow employers to use employee tips for reasons other than what’s permitted as a wage under 3(m)
3) remove requirements to notify employees of required tip pool amounts
4) remove requirements that employees retain tips
5) allow employer tip theft
My concerns are underscored by the benefits section of the NPRM: it suggests that eschewing 3(m)’s tip credit provision by paying legislated minimum wage would allow employers to equalize wages and employers could reallocate “customer” tips to lower prices, increase work hours, or hire new workers. Basically, pocket tips. By deleting 2011 employee protections linked to 3(m)’s tip credit, the DOL would undo the legislative intent of the 1974 amendments.
The benefits section also suggests that these changes will decrease litigation. If the regulations don’t reflect the law, the law is made absurd. The case that kicked off the uptick in legislation was Cumbie v. Woodie Woo, as decided in 2010, supposedly exposing statutory silence. Judge O'Scannlain noted in his opinion that the unamended text of 531.52, a result of Williams v. Jacksonville, allowed agreements transferring ownership of tips from employee to employer. Refusing the DOL's Amici Curie and proposed rule changes, the court noted that the Secretary of Labor had not bothered to amend the CFR in over 40 years (though they were in the process). The employee argued that 1974 amendments had overruled Williams, rendering such arrangements invalid as they subsidize wages of nontipped employees by deducting tips from tipped employees to below minimum wage. The court did not find the possibility so absurd or unjust as to warrant a departure from the plain language of the statute. The 2011 changes overturned Cumbie, noted in ORLA v. Perez and Cesarz v. Wynn. For this reason, The lower courts deserve a writ of certiorari from the Supreme Court instead of rule changes that violate legislation.
Maybe Judges forgot while applying the Chevron deference: Justice Murphy of the Supreme Court stated in 1944: “FLSA provisions are remedial and humanitarian in purpose; courts should not apply them in a narrow, grudging manner. These provisions are made to protect hourly employees, ensuring them a fair day's pay for a fair day's labor." Lawyers, judges, employers and the DOL would do well to remember that.

wynn casino ownership video

Wynn Resorts Ltd is going the extra mile in keeping its key employees by offering them ownership in the company. And its CEO, Matt Maddox, is again leading the way by giving up his shares for the grant.. A Thursday filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) showed the company is setting up a share grant and is using it to stimulate its top leaders in Las Vegas and Boston. Wynn Resorts has outlined the vision for its interactive division, as the casino developer and operator details continued struggles for its land-based operations in its Q3 report.. The company, which initially inked a deal with sportsbook and casino operator BetBull in October 2018, says that Wynn Interactive was formed following a merger of its online sports betting and gaming business ... Wynn Resorts Ltd. is a holding company, which engages in the development, ownership, and operation of destination casino resorts. On September 16, 2014, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) awarded a gaming license to Wynn Resorts WYNN to build a 27-story hotel casino on the Mystic River in Everett, MA, just outside of ... Wynn and Encore Las Vegas feature two luxury hotel towers with a total of 4,748 spacious hotel rooms, suites and villas, approximately 194,000 square feet of casino space, 22 dining experiences featuring signature chefs and 11 bars, two award-winning spas, approximately 560,000 rentable square feet of meeting and convention space, approximately 160,000 square feet of retail space as well as ... Steve Wynn Ownership a Big Concern. For a time, it was looking like Steve Wynn was not going to be able to sell his shares. This was due to part of his divorce settlement with his ex-wife. Wynn had tried to get it overturned, but the judge ruled that it was too closely tied to another ongoing lawsuit. That lawsuit was settled recently, which allowed the shareholder’s agreement between Wynn ... Wynn Macau is one of 4 properties owned by Wynn Resorts, Limited and Wynn Macau Limited. The following ownership information is a subset of that available in the Gaming Business Directory published by Casino City Press. For more information about Gaming Business Directory products visit www.CasinoCityPress.com. Casino Jobs. Wynn Resorts employees belong to a work environment uniquely dedicated to hospitality and service. We provide our employees access to benefits with low deductibles and comprehensive coverage. When we take care of our employees, we take care of our guests. Wynn Resorts employees take ownership of their role to create a memorable gaming experience. We maintain integrity of the games ... Wynn Resorts Ltd. is a holding company, which engages in the development, ownership, and operation of destination casino resorts. It operates through the following segments: Wynn Macau, Wynn ... Wynn Resorts to temporarily close Wynn Las Vegas and Encore Resort In an effort to reduce the spread of COVID-19, the closure of the two Las Vegas Strip properties begins 17 March at 6 p.m. and is expected to be in effect for two weeks. Casino City’s Friday Five: COVID-19 edition

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With proposal to change CFR to allow tip theft ending comment period, I made an argument demonstrating illegality due to conflicts with the FLSA.It is ready share with WHD.

The Stadium: What we know so far and how to voice your opinion.

Trump's admin to make it legal for employers to steal employee tips. Comment period ends tomorrow. We've got out over 300,00 comments, but most are statements of position without supporting arguments. I crafted a legally supportable opinion that proves their regulations illegal. Please pass it on!

The Stadium: What we know so far and how to voice your opinion.

ELI5: How much control does an owner of a private business really have over that business?

With 4 more days to comment on controversial tip pooling regulation, over 300,000 comments have been received. Most are ineffective form letters without legal argument. I have a comment that demonstrates illegality of such changes. Please send a copy to WHD and help spread this message!

wynn casino ownership video

wynn casino ownership top