On June 2, the Illinois Senate passed a bill that expands its gaming industry, in part allowing up to six new casinos. Local experts say once the bill is signed by Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, it’s sure to open new opportunities for gaming companies, including some based in Las Vegas. But with a tax structure that demands far more than Nevada’s, some companies may pass on the chance to move to the Windy City. In 2018, the effective tax rate for the 10 casinos in Illinois was 33.8 percent, including state and local wagering and admission taxes. The new Chicago casino is expected to have a 66 percent effective tax rate. By comparison, Nevada’s tax on gross gaming revenue is between 3.5 percent and 6.75 percent. Analyst Barry Jonas
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Golden Knights right wing Mark Stone is a finalist for the Selke Trophy. The award goes to the best defensive forward in the NHL. Stone led the league in takeaways last season with 122. His competition is St. Louis Blues center Ryan O’Reilly… And Boston Bruins center Patrice Bergeron. Stone will find out if he wins Wednesday at the NHL Awards.
Former Henderson Constable Earl Mitchell is negotiating … a possible plea in his theft and public misconduct case. The case was prompted by a Las Vegas Review-Journal investigation. The story found that Mitchell wrote himself checks … spent money at casinos and traveled with county funds. A plea hearing is scheduled for July 9.
Alexa, where are you? Smart home and hospitality technology was big at CES in early January. Amazon and Google promoted their voice-activated speakers Alexa and Google Home Hub. Hospitality executives have called the speakers the industry’s future. Yet for all the hype, the revolution is unfolding at a cautious pace on the Strip as well as in other major U.S. hospitality markets. Hotels are focusing their consumer-facing technology investments on adding streaming capabilities, like Netflix, and enhancing their mobile apps, a December report by Hospitality Technology showed. Voice-enabled technology is 10th on that priority list.
The Fontainebleau, soaring 60-plus stories above Las Vegas Boulevard, was supposed to open in 2009. Instead it went bankrupt that year. The roughly $3 billion resort was about 70% complete around the time of the bankruptcy. In 2010, billionaire Carl Icahn bought the mothballed tower for just $150 million. Developer Steve Witkoff bought it in 2017 for $600 million, renamed it the Drew Las Vegas and plans to open it in 2022.
The solar industry is bouncing back in the Las Vegas valley, with Nevada toward the top in rankings from The Solar Foundation. There were 6,680 solar jobs in Nevada in 2018. Nevada ranked first for solar jobs per capita. The state saw a 1.8 percent growth in solar jobs last year. Nevada ranked tenth for overall solar jobs. Nevada ranked fourth for the amount of installed solar capacity. 12.72 percent of Nevada’s electricity is generated from solar.
MGM Resorts International announced its MGM 2020 plan in January, The plan would improve cash flow by $200 million annually by the end of 2020 and an additional $100 million by the end of 2021. 1,070 jobs were cut as part of the cost-cutting initiative. 881 of those were Las Vegas employees, mostly in management or mid-management positions. Jim Murren
MGM Resorts International announced its MGM 2020 plan in January, The plan would improve cash flow by $200 million annually by the end of 2020 and an additional $100 million by the end of 2021. 1,070 jobs were cut as part of the cost-cutting initiative. 881 of those were Las Vegas employees, mostly in management or mid-management positions. Jim Murren
University of Nevada-Las Vegas Dentist George McAlpine … received more than $72,000 a year from College of Southern Nevada … while working his full-time job at UNLV. McAlpine also received nearly $460,000 in profit sharing … that a school attorney determined he didn’t deserve. McAlpine, Dental School Dean Karen West and school officials … declined comment on the payments.
A coin-operated gambling machine was first invented in 1895 by San Francisco inventor Charles Fey. Ten years later, he invented the first “true slot machine.” It had three reels and automatically paid winners. In 1915, the machines were camouflaged to avoid anti-gambling laws and dispensed things like cigarettes, candy and gum every time the handle was pulled. The gum was decorated with illustrations of the flavors. The fruit and bar symbols on machines today evolved from these illustrations. Source: University of New Orleans professor George Fenich’s 1996 paper, “A Chronology of (Legal) Gaming in the U.S.”