Inside Asian Gaming

inside asian gaming FEBRUARY 2016 44 Nevada residents flock to gamble in California On January 13 the US recorded history’s biggest lottery jackpot, when US$1,586,400,000 came up for grabs in the Multi-State Lottery Association’s twice-weekly Powerball draw. The kitty was over twice as big as the previous record of US$656 million, set by another US multi-state lottery, Mega Millions, in 2012. With so many people buying tickets, three entries turned out to have picked all of the six winning numbers needed to win the grand prize, and the money was split accordingly. That compared to nobody choosing all six in any of the nineteen previous draws, causing the jackpot to be rolled over each time. The huge sum on offer resulted from a change in the lottery’s number generating machinery. Previously, five white balls were chosen at random from from a pool of 59, plus one red “powerball” chosen from a pool of 35. But in October last year the MSLA increased the number of white balls to 69 and reduced the red balls to 26. This lengthened the odds of choosing all six from about one in 175 million to one in 292 million, boosting the likelihood of a rollover. The intention was to increase ticket sales and it certainly seems to have worked. Revenue from the January 13 mega-jackpot draw alone was about 80% of the US$4 billion raised over the whole of 2015, and more than Powerball’s total sales for any single year before 2010. The nationwide commotion whipped up gave rise to the bizarre spectacle of residents of Nevada, which does not participate in Powerball, driving to California to gamble after queuing up in the cold outside ticket outlets just across the border. While casino interests keep lotteries of any kind out of Nevada, religious beliefs ensure they are banned in Alabama, Mississippi and Utah. Some of the biggest sales for Powerball come from cities bordering on all four states, according to the MSLA. In an era of tight budgets, January 13’s jackpot has therefore given ammunition to those pressuring for change. In Alabama, Republicans and Democrats have introduced rival lottery bills for the legislative session that begins in February. Bill sponsor and Republican state Senator Jim McClendon said the January 13 jackpot highlights the huge number of Alabamans buying tickets elsewhere. In Mississippi, state representative Alyce Clarke has repeatedly sponsored a lottery bill, but says religious opposition always kills the idea. That could change this year because of Powerball, she says, enabling the state to raise money to improve its schools, and fix its roads and bridges. INTERNATIONAL BRIEFS New measures to save Atlantic City Atlantic City has stumbled into compromise to save itself from bankruptcy. On January 26 the city council approved a revised plan proposed by New Jersey State Governor Chris Christie, aimed at rescuing the gambling hub’s moribund finances through greater state control and new revenue sources. Earlier, New Jersey Senate President Stephen Sweeney had introduced a bill to have the state take over running Atlantic City, allowing it to dissolve city departments, consolidate and privatize municipal services, terminate contracts with labor unions and sell city-owned assets. The city, led by Mayor Don Guardian, opposed the plan, saying it would disenfranchise voters and that similar emergency takeovers have not worked in the past. Instead, Guardian was backing a group of bills, dubbed the “Atlantic City Rescue Plan,” aiming to tax more casino revenue. But after the legislature passed the bills, Chris Christie called them “a waste of tax payers money” and exercised his veto. Contemplating bankruptcy, Guardian was forced into a trade off. Backed by both Guardian and Sweeney, the latest plan therefore combines elements of the previous opposing plans. It would allow both a state takeover and also measures to extract more revenue from casinos. Amid this struggle, on January 12 rival lawmakers in New Jersey reached another compromise; between competing bills that would allow a referendum to end Atlantic City’s monopoly on casino gambling in the state. The idea is to build new casinos in the state’s north, less than a half-hour’s drive fromManhattan, tax them, and channel some of the extra funds to Atlantic City. While Sweeney was insisting that only Atlantic City’s existing operators be allowed to build new projects, Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto wanted outsiders to be allowed to bid for one too. In the end Sweeney’s bill was adopted with the amendment that any new developer must invest at least US$1 billion. If three-fifths of the State’s legislature can agree, the referendum will be held in November. Pennsylvania allowed casinos in 2006 and other states neighboring New Jersey soon followed. Since then Atlantic City’s casino revenue has fallen from US$5.2 billion to US$2.5 billion. In 2014 alone, four of its 12 casinos closed. The Forbidden City comes to Sin City The zoning commission of Las Vegas gave the go ahead for construction on what will be the city’s first new big resort for eight years, Resorts World Las Vegas. According to the developer Genting Americas Inc., its new Chinese-themed, “gaming-changing” project will feature “modern interpretations of Chinese details,” a recreation of Beijing’s Forbidden City and a panda exhibit. On the 35-hectare site at the northern end of the Las Vegas Strip, an initial phase will center on a single hotel tower with 3,300 rooms and 61,000 square meters of public space, with a cinema and convention facilities. Ultimately the project should cost US$4 billion and have four high- rise hotels, adding more than 7,000 hotel rooms to Las Vegas’ total of nearly 125,000. For 48 years until 2006, the landmark Stardust resort and casino operated at the site. Owner Boyd Gaming Corp imploded the Stardust in 2007 and started work on its replacement development Echelon, which the global financial collapse halted in 2008. In 2013 Boyd sold the site to Genting for US$350 million. Las Vegas’ gaming revenue fell 3.6% last year to US$6.3 billion,