STATESIDE
Stateside T
he mid-term elections are finally over, following long months of speculation and hundreds of millions spent on campaigns. This year, America’s electorate resoundingly ousted thousands of politicians, many after
decades of holding office, on every governmental level.
Extensive advance polling predicted a Republican landslide. They bounced back from their 2006 and 2008 defeats with a vengeance, recapturing historic numbers of Congressional seats, 10 governorships and 682 seats within state legislatures. The far-reaching results stunned those shell-shocked politicians now facing unemployment in January 2011. Soon, they will pack their bags to go home for good.
To many, I say good riddance. Lots of politicians
Lots of politicians have held office too long, enjoying cushy lives while clueless to the tough personal choices real people face
have held office too long, enjoying cushy lives while clueless to the tough personal choices real people face every day.
In January 2011, the Republicans will control the House. The Democrats, led by Nevada Senator Harry Reid, will maintain control of the Senate, but with a smaller majority. This guy has nine lives, managing to pull off another victory, despite a less than 50 per cent approval rate among Nevada residents.
The gaming industry mostly supported him, though
I have heard some CEOs did so reluctantly. CEO speakers at the recent G2E Keynote seminar reasserted that Reid’s reelection would benefit gaming. They cited Reid’s 1977 to 1982 chairmanship of the Nevada Gaming Commission (NGC) as providing him with a thorough understanding of past and present issues.
Reid has served in Congress for decades. However, his support of the 2009 “Stimulus Package”, which specifically excluded financial help for casinos, probably garnered little affection for him. Also, America’s crippling housing crisis has impacted both Las Vegas and northern Nevada. They rate as the country’s highest unemployment and home foreclosure rates, happening under Reid’s watch as Senate Majority Leader. But the theory prevailed that with Reid, these executives knew what they had.
Reid’s son Rory did not fare as well in the Nevada
governor’s race. Republican Brian Sandoval, another former chairman of the (NGC), federal judge and Nevada attorney general, easily defeated the younger Reid by more than 11 percentage points.
10 DECEMBER 2010
Sharon Harris brings the ins and outs from US gaming
MGM Resorts International Chairman of the Board and CEO Jim Murren believes that Sandoval’s knowledge of gaming will stop any tax increases for the struggling gaming industry in the 2011. Statewide, gaming represents more than 40 percent of the state’s budget – approximately 11 per cent from MGM Resorts.
Nothing will matter if Washington politicians fail to
grasp the importance of private industry. Repeatedly, numerous vocal and visible lawmakers publicly demonized privately-owned businesses and American corporations, accusing them of operating against the best interests of “working families”.
To me, that phrasing is code for unions who
donated $200 million to Democratic candidates. Tough luck… dozens lost their races. Isn’t everyone who draws a paycheck part of a “working family”? I have spent most of my career employed by privately-owned businesses, so that characterization turns me off.
Au contraire… I submit that millions of hard-
working people comprise multiple components of the gaming industry. Fighting only for extra benefits is tone deaf to today’s reality. Forming unions by eliminating secret ballots – an issue probably now dead – seems counterproductive. Instead, working effectively not only maintains one’s own job, but also ensures a healthier company that creates new jobs.
Congress has returned for their “lame duck”
session before adjourning for the year. As of this writing, they still have not determined the future tax rates, beginning January 1. Again, not one business or individual taxpayer knows their financial obligations.
Every member of Congress has known this day was coming for years, and has done nothing. That in itself proves their oblivion. Maybe some new blood in the halls of the Capitol will shake things up, improving the business atmosphere for America.
We need it. At the G2E convention, many
exhibitors told me they had busy, productive shows. I also heard the term “new normal” throughout the three days. In other words, everyone will have to adjust their business plans and expectations to a new reality, which, if done correctly, can still mean solid profits for 2011.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54