It’s No Go Ho for MGM Resorts. Maybe Vietnam is Asia’s first big bust gambling community things are certainly not looking cheery for the MGM Ho Tram Strip these days ( just for want of the ‘p’ are the jokes on that name not endless).

According to A securities that is recent and Commission (SEC) filing, MGM Resorts International exercised its directly to terminate their agreement to manage the property based for a lack of pre-opening milestones having been achieved as of March 1, 2013. The task is partially owned by Las Vegas-based Pinnacle Entertainment.

Bad Bet

The tale began in August of 2011, with Pinnacle purchasing a $95 million stake in Asian Coast Development, with Harbinger Capital Partners being the majority owner. Pinnacle had been a 23 percent stakeholder; apparently, that was not a harbinger of good things to come.

By 2012, Pinnacle had already written off $25 million on their investment, due to delays. A prominent gaming safety analyst, Chad Beynon of Macquarie Securities, told investors he expected that Pinnacle could well simply take even more write-offs on the Vietnamese property.

‘The undeniable fact that MGM Hospitality will no longer be associated with this project will significantly detract from the success of this resort/casino,’ said Beynon in a report that is recent. ‘MGM perhaps not only provided an international brand title, but it absolutely was also a significant an element of the design and vision for the phase that is first. It remains uncertain who can actually manage the phase that is first of project now.’

Under Development

Asian Coast Development, Ltd, the designer associated with Ho Tram Strip integrated resort complex in Vietnam, is currently into the first of five planned stages for the property. The plan is for a group that is integrated of to be built on more than 400 acres of land and about 1 1/4 miles of beachfront in Ho Tram, a seaside resort known for over a century as a wellness sanitorium for treatment of many different diseases using its mild environment and sea water. Along side its sister beach city Ho Coc ( we simply report these items, folks), the region is poised to become a major resort destination for the region.

The area is also home to a 27-acre rainforest that was designated as a nature book in 1975. Although most of the more expensive wildlife ended up being either poached, killed or moved (numerous of the area’s elephants finished up in Thailand), many birds that are wild monkeys still stay into the rainforest.

Can a witness is got by me? Adelson Heading Back to Court in Breach Case

Forget all the shows about what are the results in Vegas casinos; they require to produce a series in what continues behind the scenes. The drama is unending; just take the situation of one-time Las Vegas Sands Corp. consultant Richard Suen, who’s returning to court in with Sands chairman and CEO Sheldon Adelson already served to appear as the defense’s lead witness april.

Offered with Bodyguards

Adelson, who perhaps understandably goes every where with bodyguards, was apparently served papers by a process server when he emerged from another deposition on September 6 of last year. Actually, it turns out the subpoena was actually handed to his lawyer, who was of course with him in court; that is the effectiveness of having an attorney that is good.

Breach of Contract Alleged

It all dates back in to Suen’s allegations which he was responsible for Sands’ now really lucrative entrée into the Macau gaming market back in 2004. He claims to have arranged meetings with key Chinese government officials that paved just how for the deal (we can just see Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn shaking his head in disgust here). In fact, former Sands president Bill Weidner brought Suen on in 2001 for a $5 million charge, plus 2% of any casino revenue if their ‘work,’ (i.e., connections) led to securing a gaming permit. See, that’s what we like about Asian politics: there’s none with this Victorian coyness about political bribes or any of the rot that is silly.

Looks like the presssing issue is how you determine ‘work;’ Las Vegas Sands later contended that Suen never really did any. In a trial that is nearly month-long in 2008, Suen had been granted $43.8 million, therefore apparently the jury thought he did some anyway; that amount finished up being a very good $60 million once interest had been tacked on.

Nonetheless, that verdict had been overturned this year by the Nevada Supreme Court when it uncovered expected errors by the trial judge. While some thought a settlement was eventually reached, evidently not, as the actual situation is now heading towards Round Two in that boxing band known as Clark County District Court. The new test date is set for April 3, following jury selection and allowing for the Sands CEO to keep his scheduled Passover journey to Israel from March 26 through April 2.

China Embracing Capitalism, One Casino at the same Time

It’s always similar story that is old these ex-Communist nations; the minute they get a taste for the joys of evil capitalism, all hell breaks loose and the communal fervor is displaced by all types of things that money can find. Gambling is no exclusion, as proven by the slow and steady creep of casinos onto, gasp, mainland China.

It’s Not Just Macau Anymore

All of it began, of program, with Chinese Special Administrative District Macau, now the revenue-producing gambling zone that is highest in the entire world (out-earning Vegas annually by double-digit billions); but now the area province of Hainan is joining the fray. The smallest and southernmost province regarding the individuals Republic of China (PRC), Hainan is now poised to become the gambling region that is newest for Asia’s betting-hungry population.

Even though the first entrant in to the Chinese gambling juggernaut, the recently shut-down Mangrove Tree Resorts Sanya Bay, is temporarily closed, you can bet your last yen that that won’t be the case for long. According to iGamiX managing partner Ben Lee, the ‘cashless’ casino (patrons were paid in some form of benefits markers) was actually a test by Beijing authorities to see if locals would gamble closer to the home front than Macau (which gets its share of Chinese nationals of most income levels). Lee says that nine more of the casinos that are cashless waiting to be unleashed now that the capabilities that be see these things sells better than do-it-yourself furniture at Tarjay.

To Be Slowly Unfurled

Apparently some sort of furor ensued once word leaked out about the Jesters Casino Bar at free wheres the gold Mangrove Tree, inducing the shuttering that is speedy but we understand they’re just counting 5-4-3-2-1 before they reopen not just Jesters, but a lot more too. Not merely that, but based on Lee, Beijing will ultimately turn these cashless casinos into real-money gambling joints, but he says that may happen in stages so since not to ‘dump the residual licenses available on the market in a short timeframe.’

Lee also says the gaming licenses will be restricted to ‘domestic’ companies, but with Caesars Entertainment and MGM Resorts establishing ( for the present time) non-gaming presences in Hainan with new luxury resorts, you’ll bet they are thinking differently. In the end, they are both in the gambling company, not just the hotel business. Back in September 2011, Caesars CEO Gary Loveman announced plans to construct a $470-million 1,000 room luxury resort on Hainan called Caesars Palace Longmu Bay; the house is prepared for a 2014 opening that is grand. Meanwhile, the MGM Grand Sanya is already open for business and tourists that are wowing. We are guessing that, like so many casino properties across the world, Asia will eventually recruit Vegas-based operators to run their casinos aswell, as let’s face it: nobody does it better.

Nevada Gaming Revenues Spiral Down for January

Just when you think the news for nevada is picking right on up with Genting’s announcement of the new massive Strip project on the old Stardust/Echelon site, bad news hits: an 18.7 percent revenue tumble on the Strip for January 2013 set alongside the same time frame a year ago. What’s going on??

New figures simply released by Nevada’s Gaming Control Board showed a 12.4 percent drop overall in the Silver State for January, with $909.2 million in video gaming revenues, which is a drop that is significant $1.038 billion just a year ago. For the Strip specifically, those numbers were $507 million, versus $623.5 million in January 2012.

Maybe Not A happy New Year…Yet

One explanation for the drop that is big have one thing to do with the moving lunar dates for the very profitable Chinese New Year for bringing in a large amount big-money gamblers to Las Vegas. This year, it fell in February whereas January 2012 encompassed the holiday last year. Gambling dollars from high-end baccarat play, constantly a big household benefit game for casinos, thus weren’t as impressive as in the same time period in 2012, when Nevada had its very first billion-dollar plus month because the economy fell in the bathroom there right back in September 2008.

Baccarat is Bread and Butter

Lower than normal baccarat revenues were accountable for 85 percent of the downfall in January. Strip casinos pulled in $99.5 million from the game this which was a 50.8 percent downfall from 2012 year. Actual amounts wagered during the game were obviously less also, at $794.8 million, which had been 48.9 per cent reduced than a year ago. (That does, however, show a pretty nice edge for your house, regardless; no wonder gambling enterprises love this game.) At minimum the hold levels, meaning exactly what the gambling enterprises got to keep versus what customers won back, was pretty steady with 2012; at 12.02 this compared to 12.47 in 2012 year.

Combined revenues Might be Snake Charmed month

Before you sob uncontrollably at the sadness of it all, examine these thoughts from Wells Fargo Securities gaming analyst Cameron McKnight, who addressed investors last week: ‘We believe the January-February combined comparison will offer you a more meaningful look into annual growth,’ McKnight told the gathering.

Another analyst, Chad Beynon of Macquarie Securities, said that ‘management groups from Las Vegas Strip casino operators have boasted that the ‘Year for the Snake’ was good one. The poor optical outcomes were significantly affected by the timing of the New Year that is chinese.’

Good thing, that, or some of their jobs might have been rattled.