DICKINSON WRIGHT
TRANSITION TEAM EFFORT Dickinson Wright’s Jeff Silver, Of Counsel, and attorneys Greg Gemignani and Patrick Sullivan discuss severing ties with 2020, and assess the lay of the land in a new year and a new administration. Nobody was able to predict anything about 2020, but in the hopes of bringing some clarity back into our lives this year, I will try to discern how the Biden administration will view the gaming industry. Although there was more than $1bn wagered on the Presidential election by foreign nationals, President-elect Biden himself doesn't appear to have a personal appetite for gambling. Unlike Donald Trump, who has owned casinos and currently has real estate investment in Las Vegas (Trump Tower), President-elect Biden’s recent and frequent trips to Nevada were strictly campaign events, soliciting support from union members and pointing out how stimulus funds had been held up by his predecessor. At least for those in the hospitality industry, the focus of these visits underscored the desperation of beleaguered workers whose lives have been decimated by 8 GAMINGAMERICA
resort and restaurant closures, and convention and special event cancellations leading to dramatic declines in visitor volume and gaming revenues. The consensus was that President Trump understood and had empathy for brick-and-mortar casino operators like himself. However, it’s expected that the Biden administration would be more vocal about the plight of the average worker. That attitude will certainly be a mixed-bag for the gaming industry. Of greatest immediate importance to the resort sector is whether there will be a mandate to impose a national lockdown on non-essential businesses. While in most jurisdictions, liquor stores and marijuana dispensaries were deemed to be essential, as readers may recall, the casino industry was clothed by Washington bureaucrats in the trite and discredited, “sin industry” apparel.
