Inside Asian Gaming

INSIDE ASIAN GAMING | December 2013 32 T he gaming industry won most of its battles at the ballot box, but lost the public relations war. In Maryland, voters passed Question 7, 52% to 48%. This will not only allow the five previously authorized slot casinos to add table games, it also permits a giant sixth Las Vegas-style casino, right next toWashington, DC. MGM’s Prince George’s County casino will have as many as 3,000 slot machines. Rhode Island voters approved adding table games to the slot halls at Twin River and Newport Grand, giving the state two full-scale casinos. Geneseo, Illinois, voters narrowly recommended the city have video gaming. Oregon again voted against privately owned casinos. But that is mixed news, since it would have meant competition to the state’s Indian casinos. The continuing Democratic majority in the US Senate means Nevada casinos keep one of the best friends they have ever had, Harry Reid (D.-NV), as majority leader. Tribal gaming also keeps its friend, Barack Obama, as president, and added individuals like Heidi Heitkamp (D.-ND) to the upper house. For Internet gaming, die-hard supporter Barney Frank (D.-MA) may have retired, but so did opponent Jon Kyl (R.-AZ). All of these successes pale in the face to the major p.r. hit casinos took in the media on 6thNovember and the days that followed. The fault lies primarily with two individuals: Donald Trump and Sheldon Adelson. But Steve Wynn and Penn National Gaming also did their share to hurt gaming’s reputation. There is not much to say about Mr Trump. I have to admit that I used to admire him. I have taught law school classes in negotiating, and I respect not only his skill but his willingness to do whatever it takes to win. When one of his Atlantic City casinos went bankrupt, he threatened the bondholders to tie up the proceedings in messy litigation for years. He knew as an equity holder he had almost no legal rights. But he also knew the lenders were Adelson’s Bad Bet By Professor I. Nelson Rose Gambling and the law big investors from Japan, who would do anything to avoid having their names dragged into a public fight. So, they let Mr Trump keep his name on the casinos, and gave him shares in the new business. Similarly, I oftenwork as a consultant and expert witness. This means getting people to know my name, so they will hire me. Until recently, no one could compete with Mr Trump when it came to self-promotion. But his lack of restraint led to headlines like this: • “Trump calls for revolution, blasts Electoral College.” • “Donald Trump goes berserk on election night.” • “Donald Trump Wins Election Night’s ‘Most Unhinged Conservative’ Award.” NBC reporter Brian Williams said, on-air, “Donald Trump, who has driven well past the last exit to relevance and peered into something closer to irresponsible here, is tweeting tonight.” Mr Trump’s response led to new headlines: “Donald Trump Twitter Tirade Continues with Criticism of Brian Williams.” Mr Trump was most upset that Barack Obama appeared to have won the electoral college but not the popular vote. Mr Trump had not complained in 2000, when George W. Bush was elected president with fewer votes than Al Gore. Common sense would have told Mr Trump to wait until the votes from the West Coast had been counted: Mr Obama beat Mitt Romney by more than 3 million votes. “If Churchill were alive today, he would have said about this election, ‘Never have so few spent so much to affect so little.’” James Carville