GALAXY GAMING GENTING POKER MACAU EU AFRICA SIDE BETS August 2019
FOR THE GAMING PROFESSIONAL WORLDWIDE
Stateside
Sharon Harris discusses the latest top-level developments in North American gaming.
T 8 AUGUST 2019
his summer has been a scorcher, even at the Jersey Shore where I live. You’d think that would slow the news cycle down during these “dog days” of August, but when it comes to gaming, the big news rolls in every day.
One big surprise was Penn National CEO Tim Wilmott’s announcement of his planned December retirement. Current President and Chief Operating Officer, Jay Snowden, will succeed Wilmott. Now in his early 60s, Wilmott has long been a prominent and smart casino executive at both Harrah’s Entertainment – now Caesar’s Entertainment – and Penn National. He is also the current Chairman of the American Gaming Association (AGA). Wilmott spent 20 years in Harrah’s upper echelons in Atlantic City and their Eastern Region before moving to Penn National in Pennsylvania in 2008. Under his leadership, Penn National has doubled its revenues to a projected $5 billion for 2019. He also oversaw the 2018 acquisition of Pinnacle
Entertainment for $2.8 billion. As a significant regional company that now owns and/or operates properties in the South, Canada, the Midwest and Pennsylvania, Penn National employs close to 26,000 people. As one of the Philadelphia region’s highest paid executives,
Wilmott earned $8.88 million in total 2018 earnings. But, so what…doesn’t an executive who helps double the revenues at that rate deserve a reward? Obviously, Wilmott kept his plans close to his chest. I just
saw him on the CEO panel and reported on his commentary at the June East Coast Gaming Congress (ECGC) in Atlantic City. Wilmott’s departure will leave a void since he always
provided expert industry insights and analysis of gaming’s changes since his start in the 1980s. Wilmott has been an outspoken critic of governmental
bureaucrats who lack real-life business experience. He has lamented how they often hurt commerce instead of helping it. In my July column I relayed Wilmott’s strong opinions about the rights and wrongs of different gaming states’ taxing/regulatory programs; he is clearly willing to play hardball and exit any jurisdiction that blindly uses gaming as a perpetual “cash cow.” For Wilmott, expanded gaming opportunities nationwide
have offered executives numerous investment and operating options. He objects to being held hostage by legislators who think heavy regulations and increased taxes benefits their communities. It never does. Based on my own experience in coin-op amusement
operation, I agree. High, unfair taxes kill jobs, plain and simple. One key event this summer was the official kick-off of the
2020 election cycle. So far, 20 Democratic candidates are challenging Donald Trump’s reelection in November 2020. The nation was treated – or subjected to, depending on
your viewpoint – two televised debate nights in late July. Millions watched as the candidates were split into two groups of 10. Both evenings’ conversations frequently became heated, with a few candidates verbally attacking each other on stage. However, some messages came over loud and clear from a
few contenders who not-so-subtly alleged that most corporations are greedy, uncaring organizations. It hit home because many gaming companies are now public corporations on the stock exchanges. These candidates urged greater control, taxation and
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