FTC Goes After ‘Junk’ Resort Fees with New Rule
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Dec. 17 announced a new rule related to the disclosure of resort fees, one of the types of “junk fees” that have come under scrutiny from US President Joe Biden’s administration.
The commission said the new bipartisan rule, known as the Junk Fees Rule, aims to do away with “bait-and-switch” pricing. This refers to businesses–namely those “in the live-event ticketing and short-term lodging industries”–that advertise a low price and then tack on additional fees later on. For the gaming industry, this is aimed at casino-resorts that charge resort fees.
Such fees will not be banned under the new rule. Rather, resorts will be required to “clearly and conspicuously disclose the true total price inclusive of all mandatory fees” for any short-term lodging. It will also require the total price of lodging to be displayed “more prominently than most other pricing information.”
Finally, any resorts that do exclude fees from advertised prices must “clearly and conspicuously disclose the nature, purpose, identity and amount of those fees” before payment is consented. The FTC claims the rule is primarily a timesaver, in that consumers will spend less time searching for deals. In a statement, the commission estimated Americans will save 53 million hours annually looking at pricing information.
Sanborn Appeals NH License Revocation
As was expected, embattled Concord Casino owner Andy Sanborn has appealed the revocation of his New Hampshire gaming license. According to a Dec. 16 report from the Concord Monitor, Sanborn filed his appeal in Merrimack County Superior Court. This was expected, as Sanborn’s legal team had vowed to appeal when the state rejected a potential sale in late November.
A prospective buyer had been in place for months, which allowed previous deadlines to be extended. Both the state lottery commission and attorney general’s office conducted suitability reviews. Originally, the state’s rejection was said to be related to the buyer, but it was later clarified that the structure of the sale was at issue. Sanborn’s attorneys claimed that the buyer had worked with the state to appease these concerns, to no avail.
In the appeal, his camp alleges that the state “attempted to intimidate buyers” and caused delays so as to “run out the clock on the revocation deadline.” This intimidation is a reference to Sanborn’s pending legal liabilities. Per state law, any person or business convicted of a felony may not hold a gaming licence for 10 years. The appeal alleges the state suggested that prospective buyers “would face criminal liability,” thereby undercutting the chances of a sale.
Culinary Announces Agreement with Fontainebleau; Virgin Strike Continues
In the early hours of Dec. 19, the Culinary Union announced that it has reached a tentative labor agreement with the Fontainebleau that will cover approximately 3,300 employees at the casino. The union did not give details on the contract but said it was “LVStrip standard,” which presumably means it features the same terms as deals reached last year with Wynn, Caesars and MGM.
Those contracts featured 32 percent wage increases over the life of the contracts and several other provisions related to employee benefits and protections against potential job-impacting technologies such as artificial intelligence. The deal was expected, as a neutrality agreement had been in place before the casino was even opened.
Meanwhile, Culinary members are still on strike at the off-Strip Virgin Hotels Las Vegas. That strike was in its 35th day as of writing, and Virgin officials have continued to push back on Culinary’s demands, saying they are not “economically viable” for the casino.
Cedar Rapids City Council Gives Blessing to Casino Project
In Iowa, the Cedar Rapids City Council Dec. 17 voted to approve a development agreement for a proposed casino project in the city. The developers, Peninsula Pacific Entertainment and the Linn County Gaming Association, have already made their pitch before the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission (IRGC). Now stakeholders will anxiously await the commission’s ruling on whether to issue a license Feb. 6.
Through the agreement, the developers would purchase the property at market value if a license is awarded and additional commitments are met. After the casino’s first year of operations, it would then pay monthly payments of 2.25 percent of net gaming revenue to a city betterment fund, on top of the 8 percent and 0.5 percent of adjusted gross revenue that would go to local charities and the city itself, respectively.
The project has been in the making for many years, and was already denied twice. A moratorium on casino licenses in the state expired earlier this year, giving new life to the Cedar Rapids project. But this could be the last shot, as there has been speculation that lawmakers could move to enact a new moratorium in this upcoming legislative session.
Tysons Casino a National Security Threat?
A coalition of 109 individuals—former senior members of the defense and intelligence communities, government officials and members of Congress—sent a letter Dec. 16 to Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, all members of the state’s general assembly and the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors arguing that a proposed casino in Tysons would represent a serious national security threat.
“We raise our acute concern about a possible casino at Tysons,” the letter said, according to Patch. “Within a ten-minute drive or less to such an establishment is a population of over 20,000 federal employees working at our most sensitive national security organizations: the Central Intelligence Agency, the National Counterterrorism Center, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.”
The group argued that problem gambling and gambling debt can make defense and intelligence officials susceptible to foreign influence and potentially blackmail. Efforts to bring a casino to Tysons stalled out in the last legislative session and Senate Bill 675 was held over to the 2025 session.
Previous sponsor Sen. Dave Marsden will not introduce the bill this time around—instead it will be Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell, Patch confirmed.
Caesars Virginia Holds Grand Opening
On Dec. 17, Caesars Virginia, located in Danville, held its grand opening, which among other festivities, featured an appearance from NBA legend Dennis Rodman.
The casino, which is a partnership between Caesars and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, features approximately 1,500 slots, 79 live tables, 48 electronic tables, a poker room and a sportsbook.
“Really, everything here at the end just comes together so quickly,” General Manager Chris Albrecht told WFMY. “And now just to see it as a beautiful casino that you just can’t believe now exists here. And the folks that got a chance to see it on the front end have just been blown away about what they’re seeing. And really that this is going to be a game changer for Danville.”
Another Record Month for NJ iGaming
New Jersey set a new iGaming revenue record for the fourth straight month in November, as all licensed verticals grew year-on-year. Overall gambling revenue for the month hit $556.9 million, the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) reported Dec. 16. This is comfortably clear of $482.4 million last year and 11.4 percent above $499.8 million this October.
Online revenue increased 24.7 percent year-on-year to $214 million in November. This narrowly beat the existing record of $213.6 million, from October this year. Online slots and table games accounted for $211.7 million of this total, up 24.9 percent from last year. The other $2.3 million came from peer-to-peer poker, with this some 12.7 percent higher than November 2023.
Despite another record month of iGaming revenue, the segment slipped back behind land-based casinos in terms of the area that generated the most gambling revenue in New Jersey. Revenue from land-based casinos in November topped $223.9 million, which is 4.2 percent more than last year and 7.3 percent ahead of October.
East Peoria Mayor: Peoria Casino Saga is ‘Old News’
In a WCBU interview Dec. 16, John Kahl, mayor of East Peoria, Ill., appeared to downplay the ongoing saga with neighboring Peoria over the relocation of a casino from the former to the latter. Boyd Gaming has operated the Par-A-Dice riverboat casino in East Peoria for years, and an agreement between the two cities splits tax revenues equally but also stipulates that any future land-based facilities be built in Peoria.
The city of Peoria has made it clear it intends to woo Boyd into moving there, and the city council recently approved the hiring of consultants and counsel to help make that happen. Kahl, however, said he was disappointed in the move but overall was nonchalant in his comments about the situation.
“It’s kind of old news, from my perspective,” he told WCBU. “I’ve pretty much laid out what my position is in those email exchanges between two mayors, and I’ve not moved from my stance at all. And out of respect for Boyd, I really don’t care to entertain what Peoria has going on.”
Kahl went on to add that he previously felt that he and Peoria Mayor Rita Ali had a good working relationship. But he lamented, “I don’t feel (that) so much today.”
Investors Sue Developer of Failed LV Arena Project
Jackie Robinson, the former UNLV basketball player who for years tried to build the All Net Arena project on the Las Vegas Strip before it was killed by county officials last year for inactivity, is now being sued by investors in the defunct project.
According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, a one-count racketeering lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Nevada by Kent Limson, partner at California-based Tacsis APC.In it, Limson says that Robinson “ lured individuals into loaning funds to his entity for the project with the promise of high interest, quick repayment and foolproof lending,” but ultimately those loans were never repaid. The suit seeks more than $6.4 million in damages.
Robinson and his associates tried for years to make progress on the project, and the suit lays out an alleged scheme that he used to pay himself and others with no real intention of paying the money back. The site, which is located on the Strip near the Sahara and Fontainebleau, is now being developed for a separate arena project by LVXP. That project recently received approval from the Clark County Commission.
NJ Lawmakers Debate Reducing Punishment for Underage Gambling
A bill that would lessen the penalties for underage gambling in New Jersey has passed an Assembly committee and will now proceed to the full Assembly for a vote, the Associated Press reported Dec. 16. It must go through both houses of the state legislature before it can reach Gov. Phil Murphy’s desk.
The proposed bill would reclassify underage gambling from a disorderly persons offense to a civil offense, with fines of $500 and $1,000 for first and second offenses and $2,000 for any additional offenses. Money from the fines would go toward problem gambling-related programs.
“The concern I had initially was about reducing the severity of the punishment,” Assemblyman Don Guardian told the AP. “But the fact that all the money will go to problem gambling treatment programs changed my mind.”
OCCC Approves Use of Mobile Driver’s Licenses for ID
Gamblers in Ohio may now use mobile driver’s licenses as a form of ID to enter state casinos, following approval from the Ohio Casino Control Commission (OCCC) Dec. 18. Earlier this year the state approved the use of mobile licenses in Apple Wallet, and casinos may now accept them as well.
The OCCC also announced that those traveling from Arizona, Maryland, Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, California, Puerto Rico and New Mexico may also use mobile licenses from their states.
“From a regulatory perspective, accurate, safe and secure identification for entry into Ohio’s casinos is foundational to ensuring the integrity of casino gaming,” said OCCC Chair Tom Stickrath, per WTOL. “The Ohio Mobile ID leverages cutting-edge technology to provide a simple and secure method for verifying age and identity.”
Latest Casino Opens in New Hampshire
On Dec. 18, New Hampshire’s latest casino, the Revo Casino and Social House, opened its doors in Lebanon. The property features 135 historical horse racing machines, live tables, poker and more.
“This property will be a catalyst for further development here on the Miracle Mile. The buildings sat empty for more than four years. So, to bring it back in a big way with a property like this, with entertainment, dining and, of course, gaming, I think it is going to be a lot of fun,” Todd Moyer, chief marketing officer of operators Peninsula Pacific Entertainment, told WCAX.
El Cortez Hoping for Feb. Opening for New Expansion
The El Cortez in downtown Las Vegas is close to finishing a $20 million, 10,000-square-foot expansion that will include hundreds of new slots, a high-limit area, two new bars and a new restaurant. Officials told the Las Vegas Review-Journal Dec. 16 that the goal is to open the new space in early February.
“It’s still El Cortez – upgraded,” General Manager Adam Wiesberg told the outlet. “I really don’t know that I would change anything. I think it’s a perfect design to accomplish that.”
Delano Rebrand to W Hotel Now Complete
The previously announced rebranding of the Delano Hotel to the W Las Vegas was officially cemented Dec. 18, per the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The facade of the building has been changed and MGM Resorts confirmed to the outlet that the property’s booking and reservation system has been transferred over. The rebrand was first announced in October, and is part of an overarching agreement between MGM and Marriott International.
Treasure Island Launches New Loyalty Program
Las Vegas’ Treasure Island Hotel & Casino Dec. 17 launched a new loyalty program, dubbed the Treasury Players Club. According to a release, players will now be able to accrue reward points for every $1.50 wagered on slots and $4.50 on video poker. The casino said that existing members will be able to simply exchange their cards and roll over any accrued points or rewards.
