Viewpoint JULY 2012
YOUR GORRO IN THE RING
THROWING
CIRSA’S MATCHING OF LAS VEGAS SAND’S OFFER IS AS MUCH A CHALLENGE TO THE LOCAL GOVERNMENTS’ GREED AND LACK OF CONSISTENCY, AS IT IS TO SHELDON ADELSON.
The boxing expression, to throw your hat into the ring, describes a protagonist’s act of defiance to his antagonist. It’s first usage has been attributed to the 1805 issue of the ‘Monthly Calendar of the Transactions of the Turf, the Chace, and every other Diversion Interesting to the Man of Pleasure, Enterprise and Spirit - a journal that believed in leaving little to the imagination. The bid to create Europe’s first Las Vegas-style mega-resort took an unexpected turn this month as Spanish operator Cirsa threw its domestic head-wear in the general Catalonian direction.
Las Vegas Sands’ Sheldon Adelson has made clear his intentions to build a EuroVegas resort in northern Spain, playing the regional authorities in Madrid and Barcelona against one
another. His demands have been very specific, lower taxes, relaxed labour laws, smoking and infrastructure concessions. While the authorities have been trampling over each other in a scramble to secure the promised 180,000 jobs the 12 hotels and six casinos would create, casino operators, not just in Spain but across Europe, are seething over the concessions being offered to Las Vegas Sands. Falling visitation, lack of customer spending power and higher taxes are crippling
the gaming industry in Europe, with the smoking ban helping to smother any sparks of recovery. Stories such as the one in this month’s news of San Remo’s Council raising its ludicrously high 66 per cent tax to 81 per cent, is an example of bureaucrats failing to grasp simple economics. Wherever politics meets the gaming industry the outcomes tend to make little or no sense. In the case of the EuroVegas project, the fact that the scale of the development would break all the tax, labour and smoking restrictions currently facing the gaming industry in Europe is testament to this dangerously fickle relationship.
Cirsa’s declaration of interest in matching Las Vegas Sand’s offer is as much a challenge to the local governments’ greed and lack of consistency, as it is to Sheldon Adelson. That small to medium-size operators should pay the highest levels of taxation, be subjected to assaults on their business that are simply waived and circumvented when it suits the interests of those governing us, makes a mockery of that authority.
I don’t think anyone has an issue with Las Vegas Sands winning these concessions and creating its EuroVegas resort - the creation of jobs and interest in casino gaming at the highest level of entertainment will benefit gaming as a whole - provided that those same concessions are granted fairly to everyone else. A one size fits all.
Lewis Pek Editor - Tel: +44 (0) 1942 879 291, Email:
lewis@gamingpublishing.co.uk
John Slattery Commercial Director - Tel: +44 (0)7917 166471, Email:
john@gamingpublishing.co.uk Phil Martin News Editor - Tel: +44 (0)161 236 6669 Email:
phil@gamingpublishing.co.uk Karen Southall G3 Spain - Associate Editor, Email:
karensouthall@gmail.com John Carroll G3 Germany, Email:
carroll@carrollconsulting.de
Lisa Nichols Sub Editor, Gareth Irwin Senior Designer, Paul Jolleys Production Manager,
John Malin, David Addison, Bepi Mottes, Alexandre Rotenberg Contributors, Jennifer Pek Subscriptions Manager John Pek Commercial Administrator, Cover Image Lightemotion - Revel Casino, Atlantic City, US
For sales enquiries contact: John Slattery, Tel: +44 (0)7917 166471 - Email:
john@gamingpublishing.co.uk July 2012 PAGE 4
For editorial enquiries contact: Lewis Pek, Tel: +44 (0)1942 879 291 - Email:
lewis@gamingpublishing.co.uk Gaming Publishing Limited, Samson House, 457 Manchester Road, Manchester M29 7BR, UK
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 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60