The Adams Daily Report
Compiled exclusively for Compton Dancer Consulting
Thursday, June 20, 2002
Tourism execs attack INS's visa proposal.
National (Legislation) - Steve Tetreault, Stephens Washington
Bureau - Washington -- Tourism industry executives
complained to Congress on Wednesday about a
government proposal they said will discourage foreign
visitors from planning long and lucrative trips to the
United States. …proposed regulation that will require
many foreigners to explain their U.S. travel plans to
border inspectors if they want a B-2 tourist visa to stay in
the country longer than 30 days. The proposal has caused
an uproar across the tourism sector and among foreign
visitors like Canadian "snowbirds" who flock to Las
Vegas and other warm U.S. locations for up to half a
year.
http://www.lvrj.com/lvrj_home/2002/Jun-20-Thu2002/business/19011903.html
Progress reported in talks.
Nevada (Las Vegas-Union) – Jeff Simpson, Gaming Wire Recent movement in talks between union officials and
casino operators have renewed hopes that a downtown
casino strike can be averted before a July 1 strike
deadline, key players in the talks said Wednesday.
"There's discussion and there's movement, and that's a
good thing," downtown casino lawyer Gregg Kamer said
Wednesday, adding that his clients don't want a strike.
…One of the positive steps Kamer was referring to was
Culinary Secretary-Treasurer D. Taylor's request that
Boyd Gaming Corp. Chairman Bill Boyd try to get other
downtown property owners to join a prospective contract
with Boyd properties Main Street Station and the
Fremont.
http://www.lvrj.com/lvrj_home/2002/Jun-20-Thu2002/business/19015254.html
Barbary Coast, union agree.
Nevada (Las Vegas-Union) – Jeff German, Las Vegas Sun Culinary Union Secretary-Treasurer D. Taylor said late
Wednesday he has reached a new five-year collective
bargaining agreement with the Barbary Coast that mirrors
the rich contract signed by Strip megaresorts.
http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/gaming/2002/jun/20/513608129.ht
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Riviera will refinance $215 million.
Nevada (Las Vegas-Finance) – Las Vegas Sun - Casino
operator Riviera Holdings Corp. of Las Vegas is the latest
gaming company tapping the junk bond market to
refinance existing debt. Riviera, which owns and
operates the Riviera Hotel and Casino on the Las Vegas
Strip and the Riviera Black Hawk Casino in Black Hawk,
Colo., is offering $215 million in senior secured notes to
refinance the company's 10 percent first mortgage notes
due 2004 and Riviera Black Hawk Inc.'s 13 percent first
mortgage notes due 2005.
http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/gaming/2002/jun/20/513608203.ht
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New York bank seeks to seize President.
Missouri (Finance) - Peter Shinkle, The Post-Dispatch President Casinos Inc. has defaulted on a $25 million
bond issue, according to a New York bank that has filed
suit to seize the President Casino on the Admiral at
Laclede's Landing to pay off the debt. The Bank of New
York filed suit Tuesday in U.S. District Court in St.
Louis, alleging that President Casinos defaulted on the
bonds in November, when it missed an interest payment
of $1.1 million. …Meanwhile, President Casinos, which
is based in St. Louis, is trying to sell part of its operations
and to restructure its debt to survive, according to a
document filed this month with the Securities and
Exchange Commission.
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/business/stories.nsf/Business/9534EDE9C53
E392786256BDE0008C2DA?OpenDocument&Headline=New%20York%20b
ank%20seeks%20to%20seize%20the%20President%20
CCC gives Trump OK for $70M. loan.
New Jersey (Finance & Regulation) - Joe Weinert Atlantic City - The request by Donald Trump's casino
company to borrow $70 million received a blessing and a
warning Wednesday. The Casino Control Commission
voted 3-0 to approve the Deutsche Bank loan, which
Trump Marina Casino Hotel will use to refinance $67
million in debt due in 10 months. …The Division of
Gaming Enforcement did not object to the loan but
warned commissioners and Trump Hotels that the
company had better get serious about restructuring its
$1.7 billion in high-interest public debt.
http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/businesscasino/062002CCCMEETINGJUN20.html
Keeping the control in CCC.
New Jersey (Regulation) - Joe Weinert - Atlantic City Politicians, gaming executives and regulators defused an
explosive change to the Casino Control Act late
Wednesday afternoon, removing language that would
have let casinos act first and receive permission second
on matters involving money-handling, accounting and
gaming security. The amendment is one of 31 in a
sweeping casino-deregulation bill introduced by state
Sen. William Gormley, R-Atlantic, in concert with
gaming regulators and casino executives.
http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/businesscasino/062002CASINOBILLJUN20.html
Taj accused of indecent exposure.
New Jersey (Regulation) - Joe Weinert - Atlantic City - To
Clarence Williams, a thong-clad Trump Taj Mahal
billboard model is "offensive." To Taj officials, she's "a
work of art." Williams, who describes himself as a
grandfather and a Christian, complained Wednesday to
the Casino Control Commission that the Taj's
"Experience The Allure" billboard on the Atlantic City
Expressway violates the bounds of decency. …The
casino commission does not regulate such advertising.
Ads within the casino hotel, however, cannot show real
or simulated sex acts, fondling or six listed body parts.
Bare behinds, however, are OK, indoors or out.
http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/businesscasino/062002TAJSKINJUN20.html
Caesars fined $75,000 for letting high
roller touch.
New Jersey (Legal–touching the cards) - Associated
Press – Atlantic City (AP) - New Jersey regulators fined Caesars
Atlantic City Hotel Casino $75,000 on Wednesday for
allowing a high roller to touch his Pai Gow cards after the
hand was set. The fine stemmed from three incidents in
April 2000 in which a gambler violated rules that ban Pai
Gow players from touching their cards. State Division of
Gaming Enforcement investigators identified the gambler
only as ''A.B.''
http://www.boston.com/dailynews/170/region/Caesars_fined_75_000_for_letti
%3A.shtml
Casino denies that it supplied prostitutes.
Indiana (Legal-touching the player) – Associated Press –
Vevay, Ind. - Belterra Resort and Casino officials deny
claims made in a federal lawsuit that the Ohio River
casino supplied prostitutes to participants in a golf
weekend last summer. Two women who worked as
player-development managers at the casino filed the
lawsuit in February, claiming Belterra flew
prostitutes in from California who groped and
fondled the male guests during a kickoff party for
the golf tournament.
http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/gaming/2002/jun/20/513607785.ht
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Lawmaker to support dockside gambling.
Indiana (Legislation) - Mike Smith - Associated Press Indianapolis - With time running out on the special session,
the fiscal leader in the Indiana Senate said Wednesday
that he could support dockside gambling as part of a taxincrease and tax-restructuring compromise. But Senate
Finance Chairman Larry Borst, R-Greenwood, said he
would not accept proposals he considers an expansion of
gambling, including allowing a casino in Orange County
in south-central Indiana or slot-like machines at horse
racing venues in central Indiana.
http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/gaming/2002/jun/20/513607783.ht
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Youbet.com Names Former Governor to
Board of Directors.
National (Internet) - Los Angeles--(Business Wire) Youbet.com, Inc., the leading online live event and
wagering company, today announced the appointment of
former Illinois Governor Jim Edgar to its Board of
Directors, effective June 19, 2002. Gov. Edgar's career in
government spans 30 years. He served in the Illinois
executive branch for 20 years, including two 4-year terms
as Illinois's 38th Governor and 10 years prior to that as
Secretary of State. He worked in the legislative branch of
government for 10 years, which included his election to
the Illinois House of Representatives.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/020620/200024_1.html
Isle of Capri considering casino sales.
National (Deals) – Associated Press – Jackson, Miss. - Isle of
Capri Casinos Inc. is reviewing proposals for the sale of
its casinos in Tunica County and Las Vegas but isn't
identifying the suitors. Isle officials said they hope to
close deals by year's end. The Biloxi-based company
owns 15 casinos in Mississippi, Louisiana, Colorado,
Iowa, Missouri and Nevada.
http://www.lvrj.com/lvrj_home/2002/Jun-20-Thu2002/business/19013320.html
State could get 5,000 more slots.
California (Indian Gaming) - Benjamin Spillman, The Desert
Sun - The California Gambling Control Commission is
considering a decision that could result in 5,000 more slot
machine licenses in a pool shared by the state’s tribal
governments, according to one tribal attorney. …If the
licenses are added -- either by reissuing old licenses or
creating new ones -- it would appear to push the overall
number of machines past what both Gov. Gray Davis and
Attorney General Bill Lockyer have insisted is the
statewide limit of 45,206.
http://www.thedesertsun.com/news/stories/business/1024438147.shtml
People Drink Alcohol at Casino Tables.
International (UK) - James Daley, Sunday Business, London,
Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News - The first of Sir Alan
Budd's proposals for liberalising the UK gaming industry
comes into effect this week with the end of a 40-year-old
rule banning alcoholic drinks being served at casino
gaming tables. The change, first reported by The
Business in March, is one of only a handful of Budd's
recommendations that can be implemented without
legislation. Most of the rest will have to wait until the
new Gaming Act, which is not expected to make it into
the Queen's speech before autumn 2003. Local authorities
will receive a wave of applications to take advantage of
the liberalisation, with the first casinos expected to
introduce drinks to gaming floors within weeks.
…Grosvenor Casinos, owned by gaming giant Rank, says
it has already applied for one of the new licences.
http://www.hotelonline.com/Neo/News/2002_Jun_16/k.SUG.1024511100.html
Forecasting Gauge Points to Slow
Recovery.
National (Economy) - Mark Wilkinson - Washington (Reuters) A key indicator of U.S. economic activity rose in May,
signaling that the world's richest economy could pick up
momentum in the second half of the year, a private
research firm said on Thursday. The Conference Board
said the U.S. index of leading economic indicators rose
0.4 percent in May after posting a revised 0.3 percent
drop the previous month. The data pointed to a slow
recovery with strength in consumer spending and
investment, the board's chief economist, Ken Goldstein,
said. …"What we have in the first half of the year is a
weak recovery with pockets of strength," Goldstein told
Reuters. "There is no risk of a double dip ... but we are
not looking at a roaring recovery yet." Consumer
spending, which accounts for two-thirds of gross
domestic product and has almost single-handedly fueled
the first-quarter bounce, went through a "temporary
moderation" in recent months, Mickey Levy, chief
economist at Bank of America told Reuters.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=580&ncid=580&e=3&u=/
nm/20020620/bs_nm/economy_index_dc_2