HERALD COLUMNIST SAYS GENTING GETTING ‘DESPERATE’ OVER MIAMI-DADE CASINO
Florida’s never-ending casino wars are heating up again, in the press and in court.
In a
scathing op-ed in the Miami Herald, columnist
Fabiola Santiago threw shade at Genting, the Malaysian casino operator, over their recent move to sue Miami-Dade County and state attorney
Katherine Fernandez-Rundle, saying the move “smacks of desperation.”
“Somebody ought to tell Genting that Miami is not Malaysia or Bimini,” wrote Santiago.
In this country, courts don’t step in and legislate, nor do they pre-empt police and prosecutors from doing their jobs and enforcing laws. A frivolous lawsuit that will cost taxpayers money doesn’t buy you any friends either.
Santiago piled on over Genting’s “frivolous” lawsuit, which seeks to force the county to allow the group to run gaming operations at a site they claim they were promised they could.
The area, now a thriving arts district, is not territory poised to become gamblers’ row. But the Malaysian casino refuses to take no for an answer from local authorities, voters or the state.
After spending millions in political campaigns — and losing legislative battles to expand gaming in a way that would allow them to build the massive casino resort — Genting’s Resorts World Omni is suing Miami-Dade County and State Attorney Katherine Fernandez-Rundle to force the state to allow card games and slots in the old Omni mall space.
They’ve concocted a deal to get around a 2014 denial by state regulators to move a Gulfstream Park pari-mutuel permit to the Omni, and they’re asking a judge to declare it lawful — and to pre-empt police and prosecutors from filing criminal charges against what would be illegal Omni casino operators.
Really?
Enough already. Go away, Genting. Flip the land while it’s a boom market. The bust is always around the corner in South Florida’s storied real estate history. Take the money and run while you can.
Santiago accuses Genting of treating Florida like a second-rate tax haven where money opens all doors — a characterization not all would disagree with.
In Bimini, the Genting gambling invasion was easier to ram down islanders’ throats despite predictable damage to the ecosystem. But here, the cards are stacked against the company — despite promises of a jobs bonanza when, in reality, the industry is moving toward cutting labor costs with automation.
This might have all gone away quicker had our politicians stood firmly against turning Miami into Las Vegas.
But city keys were handed out and Genting threw money at political campaigns up and down the state. The idea could have died permanently after the state commissioned a $400,000 study that didn’t endorse the expansion of gambling and mega casino resorts as a good thing for the state. Genting threw around more money into campaigns. They clearly expected a victory — and for the last five years the issue has been brought up by lawmakers in some form of legislation, but it has never come to pass.
Faced with public backlash, the obliging mayors of Miami and Miami-Dade came around and said, no thank you. Even the governor and Florida Legislature, which couldn’t care less about the fate of South Florida as long as they’re raking in revenues from us, have spared us (for the time being) from the quality-of-life-changer that Genting’s gambling dreams mean for the city.
Santiago quotes Democratic Rep. Jose Javier Rodriguez and a local investor, who essentially said Genting is way off base in trying to sue their way into running slots in Miami.
She ends her gleeful romp with a twist of the knife infused with a little local color.
Instead of adding to the clutter in our courts, Genting would do better to hire a babalao — a Santeria priest might be of help, Miami-style — to sell the land. The anti-gambling ghosts that presided over Miami in life are still roaming the town.
http://floridapolitics.com/archives/209660-herald-columnist-says-genting-getting-desperate-miami-dade-casino
Genting Singapore's Q1 profit slumps 83% on bad debts
RWS operator also hit by large foreign exchange loss as slowdown in region and China weighs on results
The subdued regional economy and China's slowdown weighed on the first-quarter earnings of Genting Singapore, operator of Resorts World Sentosa.
Heftier-than-expected bad debt provisions of $92.4 million sent net profit slumping 83 per cent to $10.8 million from the $62.7 million posted a year earlier. Not helping were other charges, including a large foreign exchange loss.
Bad debt provisions swelled 21 per cent to $92.4 million from a year earlier, while finance charges grew by the same amount, coming in at $11.2 million.
The group's profit also took a hit from a net foreign exchange loss of $43.5 million, compared with a gain of $119.3 million a year earlier.
"Genting's earnings came in below our expectations owing to greater-than-expected bad debt provisions," Union Gaming Research said, which maintained a hold call on the stock.
"While we had expected continued bad debt write-downs through at least mid-year 2016, we were expecting the first quarter to be broadly in line with the fourth quarter's (bad debt provisions of) $45 million," Union Gaming managing partner Grant Govertsen said yesterday.
Genting management's tone on VIP remains decidedly bearish, he said.
"With bad debt exceeding our expectations this quarter, coupled with an incrementally bearish outlook on credit collections over the next few quarters, a retooled credit policy initiated in March 2016 will take time to right the ship."
Revenue for the three months to March 31 slipped 5 per cent to $608 million. Gaming revenue fell 9 per cent to $450.5 million as the group continued to tighten its credit policy and exercise caution with its VIP gaming business.
Its mass gaming segment "started 2016 on a better note with strong electronic gaming machines' performance", it said. "We have seen encouraging progress with the implementation of our new marketing strategies to grow the foreign premium mass market," it added.
Still, according to Union Gaming, RWS continues to lag MBS on market share, even as MBS' casino revenues for the first quarter fell 28.3 per cent to US$453.1 million (S$622.8 million).
During the Chinese New Year period, Genting's attractions drew nearly 950,000 tourists, up 15 per cent year on year, contributing more than one-third of total visitor arrivals to Singapore, the group said.
"Our IR (integrated resort) hotels maintained a high occupancy rate of 92 per cent... Genting Hotel Jurong achieved an improved occupancy of nearly 90 per cent from 78 per cent in 2015," it said.
The casino operator reported earnings per share of 0.09 cent compared with 0.52 cent for the same period last year. Net asset value was 61 cents as at March 31, unchanged from Dec 31. No dividend was declared for the quarter.
Genting Singapore shares closed 1.9 per cent, or 1.5 cents, down at 78.5 cents yesterday.
A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on May 14, 2016, with the headline 'Genting S'pore's Q1 profit slumps 83% on bad debts'.
Print Edition |
Subscribe
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment