Woman Charges fraud in Viejas Giveaway.

Although I do not often post on this site any more, an article in my North County news today caught my attention, and I am reprinting the article by Morgan Cook which appeared in the San Diego Union Tribune and also on the internet.  Draw your own conclusions.

Merida Manipoun, also known as Anoma Sengvixay, of Clark County, Nevada, filed a lawsuit Nov. 16 in San Diego Superior Court against a local car dealership, Aston Martin of San Diego, and people who worked for Viejas Casino & Resort.

Manipoun won the car in a drawing at Viejas in May 2016, the lawsuit said.

According to the lawsuit, Manipoun played various slot machine games to earn chances to participate in the casino’s “Dream Machine” drawing to win the sports car. She was publicly congratulated at the casino and posed for promotional photos, the lawsuit said.

Shortly thereafter, one or more defendants (casino workers) urged Manipoun to forego the car and accept a comparatively small cash compensation instead, based on “the apparent theory” that doing so would provide her tax benefits, according to the lawsuit. Manipoun refused and demanded the car.

Manipoun did not receive the car, but she was issued a tax record (Form 1099-Misc) reporting $134,000 in income — the vehicle’s approximate market value, the lawsuit said. Manipoun’s understanding was that the casino reported the income to the Internal Revenue Service in accordance with governing tax law, the lawsuit said.

When Manipoun went in person to the dealership to collect her Aston Martin, she was told that the dealership did not have paperwork entitling her to the car, and she would not be receiving it, according to the lawsuit.

Aston Martin of San Diego did not respond to a request for comment. Viejas Casino & Resort declined to comment because litigation was ongoing.

Manipoun’s lawsuit alleges fraud, conspiracy to commit fraud, breach of unfair competition law and breach of unilateral contract. Manipoun seeks compensation including unspecified damages, attorney’s fees and court costs.

Other sources on the internet explain that the suite is against casino employees rather than Viejas because the tribe is a sovereign nation and can not be sued.  

Marijuana is going to be bigger than bingo.

”Marijuana is projected to be a $21 billion industry by 2020. Medical marijuana is legal in most states, and eight states already have recreational marijuana laws. And the Justice Department decided in December 2014 to allow marijuana to be grown on reservations — even if the drug is illegal in the state where the reservation is located.

Not only does it seem as if tribes will get regulatory advantages, but they will also be subject to fewer taxes than non-Indian neighbors engaged in similar enterprises. They won’t have to pay federal income tax on revenues from the cannabis business, and they won’t have to charge customers state sales tax on their purchases.

If this sounds familiar, it’s because we’ve been down this road before. American Indians were also offered significant advantages on the sale of cigarettes, alcohol and gasoline. In the 1980s and 90s, businesses on Indian territories weren’t charging state sales tax, and they attracted customers with their significantly lower prices, sometimes making 300% profit on these items.

Because American Indians can’t actually own land on reservations, they  have trouble getting business loans (since they have no collateral) and there are a limited number of enterprises they can get into. But convenience stores don’t require a big investment, so many Indians have gone into those businesses.

In 1991, with the settlement of the case of Oklahoma Tax Commission v. Citizen Band, Potawatomi, the Supreme Court held that although tribes needn’t charge tax on their own members, they did have to collect tax if they sold cigarettes to nonmembers.

Enforcement of the law was difficult, for obvious reasons.  Are you really going to prove that you’re an Indian every time you buy cigarettes? What counts as proof? Why can’t you buy them for someone standing outside the store? In principle, it could be no more difficult than checking someone’s ID before the purchase of liquor, but in some areas, enforcement was simply nonexistent.

 In 2010 the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act was passed.  It’s goal was to halt the sale of untaxed cigarettes online to minors - and to limit the tobacco black market, which the feds said was being used to fund organized crime and even terrorist activities. The major effect of the new law, though, was to ensure that online and mail-order retailers couldn’t evade state and federal taxes.

The result was “major economic devastation.” Businesses that weren’t meeting the reporting requirements had to close down. For others, without the advantage of being able to sell cigarettes tax-free, profit margins plunged. These businesses simply couldn’t undercut the competition off the reservation anymore.

Meanwhile, tribes were exploiting another advantage that Indian reservations have: the right to set up gambling businesses. Most gaming operations on territories are small, catering mostly to Indians themselves. But a number of them have hit the jackpot.

According to an article in Forbes last year, the Seminoles have a “privately owned global business that spans 71 countries and boasts 168 Hard Rock cafes, 23 hotels and 11 casinos. Including franchisee sales, system-wide revenue is slightly more than $5 billion.” Tribal members receive a yearly stipend of $128,000, and thanks to trust funds set up for children, members are already multimillionaires by the time they turn 18.

But the gaming industry is not what it used to be, and it is more crowded now that more states have legalized casino gambling. The Mhantucket Pequot tribe, which runs the Foxwoods Resort in Connecticut, once paid its thousand or so members more than $100,000 annually from its profits, but in 2012 they got nothing. Some tribe members moved elsewhere in search of work. The casino was $1.7 billion in debt.

Marijuana promises to bring a whole new round of profits to some tribes. But like the casinos, marijuana will be a tribal business — meaning that the money will go to the tribal government to be distributed like lottery winnings (or welfare payments, depending on your perspective).

The kind of dependency that these tribal enterprises have created is not surprising. Tribes like the Seminoles and the Senecas (whose gaming operation made about a billion dollars between 2002 and 2014) find that their members have little incentive to work or get an education, and they too often get tangled in drug and alcohol addiction.

Growing marijuana on reservations probably won’t help.  But there may not be much more that tribal leaders can do. With few options for individuals to earn income, the tribes depend on these enterprises to survive. And the federal government continues to put incentives in place for these tribes to pursue loophole economies — rewarding them for finding areas in federal and state law that Indians can exploit to gain a financial step up.

The biggest hurdle is that American Indians on reservations do not have private property rights, a problem that is deeply rooted in federal and constitutional law. If we were serious about giving Indians the autonomy over their land that, as American citizens, they are entitled to, we should look to a proposal in Canada. The First Nations Property Ownership Act, which is working its way through parliament, would give Indians the underlying title to their land, allowing them to buy, sell or borrow against it. The land itself would still remain part of the reserve, but the reserves would act more like small independent cities. They would still be subject to the national government’s laws, but residents would gain more autonomy over their property.

While waiting for solutions, we have made Indian territories into places where fewer and fewer Americans would choose to live and raise families. Making cigarettes, gambling and drugs cheaper and more widely available than in surrounding areas is a recipe for more poverty, crime and social dysfunction. Sadly, American Indians are the victims of that.”

I did not write this article myself. The information consists of edited portions of a press release I was sent. To contact the author of this story, write to  Naomi Schaefer Riley at Naomisriley@gmail.com

Roundabout Route to San Diego County HWY 76 Casinos.

I don't post on this blog very often, but every now and then an article appears in my local newspaper about a gambling related topic I can share.  This is taken from the San Diego Union-Tribune paper, North County edition and written by J. Harry Jones.

" Construction has begun at the dangerous intersection of State Route 76 and Valley Center Road where a modern roundabout -- a rarity on state highways -- should be built by the fall of 2018. The project is expected to cost $15.5 million and will cause periodic lane closures.  The first is expected to take place in about two weeks.  It will occur overnight according to CA DOT with one way traffic control in place.

The roundabout will replace the existing three-leg intersection, realigning the curves east of the intersection and increasing sight distance for vehicles approaching from the west.  Other features include wide walks, a new bus pull-out,  and landscaping.  The roundabout will have four entrances, the one to the north to allow access to a business.

The area has long been known as "the stage coach stop" and has been the site of numerous fatal and other accidents over the decades. The only traffic control at the intersection now is a lone stop sign along Valley Center Road.  HWY 76 drivers have the right-of-way and zip though the intersection quickly - sometimes too quickly - while those wishing to turn onto the highway have to wait.

A roundabout is a circular roadway through which vehicles travel counterclockwise within the intersection. Entering traffic must yield to circulating traffic.  Studies show roundabouts reduce crashes because they require drivers to slow down significantly before entering.  Between 2005 - 2009 there were 35 accidents at or near the site, 4 times the statewide average for similar intersections. More recent data isn't available.

Cues will include flashing beacons placed on all three legs, visible well before vehicles approach the intersection.   The roundabout will also feature a raised central island around which traffic circulates and also spotter islands separating traffic entering and exiting the roundabout.  A report from US DOT found roundabouts on two-lane rural highways reduce crashes by up to 68% and injury crashes by up to 88%."

The news story did not include any information or opinion about how all this new construction will affect the gamers who travel HWY 76 to visit Pala, Pauma, Harrahs SoCal, and Valley View.  My husband and I travel that route every week...so I guess we'll soon find out.
   

Million Dollar Suites at the Cosmopolitan

The top four floors of the Cosmopolitan hotel in Las Vegas have been vacant since the day the casino opened in 2010.  But they’ve finally been furnished and opened to the public.  Well, sort of. The 21 Boulevard Penthouse suites that now fill those top floors have balconies overlooking the Bellagio fountains and Vegas strip, designs by Adam Tihany, and $56,000 bottles of Louis XIII Black Pearl cognac—and a minimum buy-in of $1 million at the Reserve, the Cosmopolitan’s high-roller lounge. According to travel specialist Jack Ezon of Ovation Travel, that may make them the most expensive hotel rooms anywhere in the world.

About that Price Tag …

In Vegas, a million-dollar buy-in isn’t unheard of—at least not on big weekends such as those that straddle the Super Bowl, the Chinese New Year, or New Year’s Eve. But even the nicest rooms in town—such as the villas at Bellagio and the Mansions at the MGM Grand, where built-in massage rooms, indoor swimming pools, and billiard rooms all can come inside the suite—are regularly available for far less money. MGM’s Mirage Villas? They hover around $20,000. The 10,500-square-foot, David Rockwell-designed villa atop the Nobu Hotel (which is part of Caesars Palace)? It’s dripping with gold, besides having an Instagram-worthy tub and piano—and it’s about $35,000 per night.  

Prices shift depending on time of year, who you are, and what kind of a relationship you have with the marketing manager, but sometimes these palatial rooms can go for as little as $5,000. Not bad, compared with the Cosmopolitan’s buy-in. From a business perspective, the move has helped the hotel compensate for midweek slumps, when whales aren’t working the baccarat tables.

A Risky Bet

Here’s why many Vegas managers have been ditching the “high roller” in their high-roller suites: According to the University of Nevada Las Vegas Center for Gaming Research, casino revenues have declined sharply, and consistently, since 1984. Back then, gaming represented nearly 59 percent of total revenue on the Strip, with hotels pulling in just 16 percent. By 2012, that had shifted to 36 percent casino revenue and 25 percent hotel business. Today, that gap has continued to narrow, with casinos now pulling in 34 percent and hotels yielding 28 percent.

It goes to show that whales aren’t the only big spenders in Vegas. The conference business, it turns out, is where MGM is putting its money. “It’s not always about the casino guests,” said Aria’s Bailey “It’s about functions and hosted events—a wedding or the launch of an app, or anything in between—and the importance of conventions.”

But hotels in Sin City can’t yet survive without a great casino—and high-roller suites are still a big catalyst for that key business. Since gambling has never been the Cosmpolitan’s strongest suit, investing in this weakening-but-still-strong industry is a play the hotel needs to make, even if it has already missed the boat on the industry’s best days.

Cosmopolitan’s Benowitz estimates that his 21 suites will add 10 percent to 20 percent to his bottom line. It’s not as much as MGM resorts like Aria make on their suite products—Bailey says her suites represent far more than 20 percent—but Benowitz sees it as an incremental play worth making.

The Value Proposition

It’s hard to argue that the Cosmopolitan’s suites are “worth” their million-dollar price tag—particularly when the competitors offer a similar range of amenities. But if what you want is exclusivity and style (at any price), the Boulevard Suites will win your affections.

Here’s what they promise: around-the-clock butler service, chauffeured airport transfers in a variety of luxury SUVs, and a full culinary team that will “create whatever our guests desire,” said Benowitz. “If a guest wants stone crabs for dinner in their Penthouse, we’ll go to Joe’s and procure them.”

Welcome amenities are selected based on each guest’s preferences and could include a hard-to-find bottle of bourbon or a humidor full of their favorite cigars. Living-room walls are swapped for resin panels trimmed in 24-karat gold, and bathrooms have floor-to-ceiling marble and pod-like soaking tubs. A white grand piano stands in the living room. And whereas Sin City’s other megasuites all conform to kitschy themes, the Cosmopolitan’s are worthy of the name.

The True Cost of Entrance

Not everyone gets in to the Boulevard Penthouses. To do so, you have to prove your net worth, clear a few security hurdles, and have paperwork submitted to the Gaming Commission—which gets you into the high-roller lounge called the Reserve, where you’ll play your requisite million.

There are, and will be, exceptions to those rules—this is Vegas after all, where rules are meant to be broken. “Some of our slot guests don’t have as much as a bankroll per individual trip but they come often, so their value is still very high,” Benowitz said. “Anyone who spends over $100,000 on a given trip could be considered.”

As for the 98 percent occupancy rates that most hotels in Vegas like to brag about? They don’t apply here—which is to say, the Boulevard Penthouses will never be given away for next-to-nothing. “We’re not overly concerned if a room goes vacant because there’s an opportunity cost of getting someone in there,” Benowitz said. “They’re not at the same occupancy as the rest of the hotel, but on weekends? The demand is astronomical.”

Guess I won't be staying there anytime soon.  How about you ? 

To contact the author of this story: Nikki Ekstein in New York at nekstein@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: James Gaddy at jgaddy@bloomberg.net

David Hasselhoff Assumes Duties as Mayor of Funner

It's all fun and games in Southern California, and this past week David Hasselhoff, remembered best for his role in Baywatch and Knight Rider, was sworn in as Mayor of San Diego County's newest town, Funner California.  If you missed the inauguration and swearing in, don't worry, the Hoff will be returning to Harrahs SoCal every few months to carry out his duties and enjoy the Southern California sunshine and the casino's Lazy River.  Here's an article that appeared recently in San Diego Magazine you might enjoy....the video is fun too.

David Hasselhoff Puts the Fun in Funner, California

The tiny North County town gets a fun-loving new mayor

  

by Sanna Bowman Coates in San Diego Magazine.

Funner. According to the TV commercials you might have seen on local networks, “it’s not a word, it’s a place.” That place, specifically, is the 40-something acre lot that’s home to Harrah’s Resort SoCal in Valley Center.

 As part of a big rebranding campaign by the resort, its location was renamed Funner by the Rincon Band of Luiseño Mission Indians last year, and is now official with road signs, a GPS destination — and a new mayor.

This week, former Baywatch star David Hasselhoff was inaugurated as the first-ever mayor of Funner, California. “I won because nobody was running against me,” he joked in a quick interview before the inauguration ceremony. 

The ceremony was held at the Dive on May 18, with Baywatch Babes, aka fun enforcement, standing by to keep the looky-loos at bay.

Following the swearing in, the press sat down with “The Hoff” in the newly decked-out Mayoral Suite at Harrah’s, covered in Hasselhoff memorabilia from different stages of his career. The man himself was casually dressed in his vacation finest: white pants, a loosely buttoned shirt, and a blue blazer.

Being mayor of Funner is a tough job, but someone’s gotta do it. “My official responsibilities are to make sure that when you come to Funner, California, you have fun,” says Hasselhoff. Having fun, according to “The Hoff,” is the solution to most of the world’s problems. “I’ve learned to laugh at all my mistakes, laugh at everything. It’s really helped me a lot,” he says.

Since he doesn’t seem to take life too seriously, being appointed mayor of Funner is not necessarily the first step toward a career in politics. Although, there is one position he would consider.

 “Somebody asked me the other day — because Dwayne Johnson said he’s going to run for president — they asked me if I would be on his staff. And I said I probably would,” Hasselhoff says and laughs. “I would be on his staff. I’d want to be Entertainment Director, and make sure that everybody gets along.”  

  

As for his mayoral duties in Funner, Hasselhoff will be checking in at Harrah’s at least “four to five times a year, making sure that everything’s cool.” He also says he comes down to San Diego a lot, calling it “an untouched, secret paradise.”

 “San Diego to me is just perfect. It’s just so nice and so much fun and people are so friendly,” he says, adding: “I’m sorry you lost your football team.”

From Casino to Cannabis Cultivation

Santa Ysabel Casino

     On April 11, 2007 a tiny Indian-owned and operated casino opened its doors with the intention of incorporating a resort into the complex.  The casino had 349 slot machines and six gaming tables as well as live poker and live blackjack. It was located on SD Highway 79 near Lake Henshaw, Julian, and Warner Springs. Plans for constructing a resort were scrapped due to finding difficulties shortly after construction.

     On April 20, 2011, a gamer from nearby Ramona, CA, won a penny jackpot of $1,036,253 - the first Gold Series progressive won in California.  On July 2, 2012, the casino filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy following massive losses and unpaid fees.  Total debts were believed to have exceeded $50,000,000 according to the Union Tribune - San Diego.  On February 3, 2014 after a judge ruled the casino as ineligible to take bankruptcy as a federally recognized tribe, and Feb 3, 2014 the casino closed after eventually going out of business.

     So, what’s the tribe to do…well maybe the answer is the one found in the UT article excerpted below:  Medicinal Majijuana.

A small Indian tribe in a remote stretch of San Diego County has traded its failed dream of casino riches for what could be the next big payout — marijuana cultivation — according to an article by J. Harry Jones in the May 3 SD Union Tribune newspaper.  The Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel closed its 35,000 square foot gaming hall in February 2014, buried under $50 million in debt.  It has now transformed the vacant space into a high-tech medical marijuana operation, and it is leasing part of the property to growers who cultivate and distribute the drug to legal dispensaries throughout the state of California.  More than a dozen greenhouses are in various stages of construction on the building’s sprawling parking lot, awaiting more tenants.

The tribe is the first in SD county to embrace the marijuana industry.  This comes in the wake of a December 2014 memo by the US Justice Department that declared sovereign nations would not be prosecuted for growing pot on tribal land in states that had legalized the drug.

In 2007, when the Santa Ysabel Resort and Casino opened on a hillside off state Route 79 overlooking Lake Henshaw, the tribe envisioned building a hotel to serve the hordes of gamblers who would surely flock there.  But it never happened because there were too many other casinos closer to San Diego and major highways.  The 700 member tribe watched as its neighbors grew rich and their own prospects evaporated.

So, in early 2015 tribal leaders quietly jumped at the opportunity for a new revenue source.  They created laws regulating marijuana on the reservation and established a regulatory commission to oversee the venture.  For the past 18 months marijuana cultivated at the site has been shipped to legal dispensaries across the state, according the Dave Vialpando, head of the agency.  The operation is still very small.  Its two rooms house less than 1000 plants.  But it will not be all cultivation. There will be processing rooms and trimming rooms and storage rooms.  The testing lab is about to open and there is a possibility that other cannabis products such as lotions could be produced in the future.

Federal law prohibits the cultivation and distribution of marijuana, but current policy allows for pot to be grown on reservations as long as certain requirements are met according to the SD county Sheriff’s Department, which does not license, inspect, or regulate marijuana cultivation on tribal lands.  The Iipay Nation is operating tribal law and authority.  The DA’s office is aware of the grow operation at Santa Ysabel and has cautioned the tribe against breaking any state laws which might result in investigation and potential criminal charges.  Vialpando, who worked as an officer of the CA Justice department before retiring in 2011 to head the tribe’s gaming operations and now its cannabis ones says he is confident everything is being done by the book. 

Security is a priority. To get to the former casino requires a long drive up a paved road that is blocked by a security gate and an armed guard.

     California voters approved Proposition 64 in November, legalizing the recreational use and cultivation of pot.  The tribe’s laws only allow the cultivation of medicinal marijuana. They have no plans to expand those rules to include recreational marijuana.  No other local tribe in currently involved in the pot business.  The tribe has its eyes on Washington, and the new administration, but is moving forward with its plans.  Let’s see what happens in the months to come. 

Betting on Trump -- And It's Not an April Fools Joke

If you're the gambling type and you have a keen interest in American politics, your dream job has arrived.

The Irish gambling company Paddy Power is looking for a head of Trump betting to manage a surge in wagers related to the U.S. president.

At Paddy Power, you can bet on whether Obamacare will survive President Trump's first term. You can take 500-to-1 odds and bet that Trump will paint the White House gold. You can even bet on whether an American state will try to secede.

British and Irish betting houses accepted about £230 million ($286 million) in bets related to the U.S. election last year, making it the biggest non-sports event in industry history.

When Trump won, Paddy Power was burned badly. The company, lost a total of $5 million on the upset.

The election is over, but tens of thousands of dollars are still being wagered on the young administration, said Lee Price, a Paddy Power spokesman. Interest in Trump-related bets is about 50 times what it was when Barack Obama moved into the White House.

The company is already offering bets on how long members of Trump's Cabinet will serve, plus some more personal presidential wagers. They are looking for someone to manage Trump gambling and come up with creative bets.

"The job is to be an expert in all things Trump," said Paddy Power representative, Lee Price. "In the spirit of Donald Trump's presidency, we're saying no experience required."

The job is full time -- three months for now, with a possible extension.

"If demand continues, so will the role," Price said. "We're sure Trump will keep us busy."

The company listed the job in its online Careers section in March but recently began placing ads in the classified sections of two popular British newspapers to drum up interest.

Price said the company has received hundreds of applications but many were too "jokey" and the firm wanted more serious candidates. Paddy Power managers plan to start interviews by the end of next week.

This article was published in CDC Gaming Reports April 8, and was written by Alanna Petroff