Totem Guardians

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While Station has remained steadfast in its opposition to Culinary, the union has made gains elsewhere in recent years. The entire Las Vegas Strip is now unionised, and Culinary used city-wide strikes as leverage in late 2023 and early 2024 to gain new multi-year labour agreements with the city’s major operators, including Wynn, Caesars and MGM.

Other than Station, Las Vegas Sands had been the other largest non-union holdout in Las Vegas for many years. But when the Venetian-Palazzo was sold to Apollo Global Management in 2021, the firm had no issues with Culinary and ratified the property’s first-ever deal with the union in 2024.

The animosity between the sides has become political over the years. Station is owned and operated by the Fertitta family, who have been prominent Republican donors for many years. Culinary is a largely Democratic organisation that typically supports and endorses left-leaning candidates.

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The LVCVA and Harry Reid International Airport have not yet released their August reports. Truist Securities analyst Barry Jonas isn’t expecting a major rally.

Jonas projected on Friday (Sept. 18) in his Las Vegas room survey a soft third quarter. Jonas said Q3 rates for Las Vegas Strip casino rooms are “mostly lower,” with MGM Resorts rooms down 9% and Caesars Entertainment down 11%.

August rates trended lower, with Strip Proxy down -14%, MGM -17%, Caesars -18%, and Wynn Resorts flat. September is also lower with Strip Proxy down -10%, MGM -11%, Caesars -15% and Wynn +2%, as weekend rates were a bit higher but weighed down by the still soft weekday rates,” Jonas wrote.

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Through its membership with AiA, SmartSoft will participate in events such as regulatory discussions, strategic roundtables and research initiatives, alongside other operators and suppliers in the market.

SmartSoft CEO Guram Gotsadze said the company’s decision to join the AiA reflected its growing focus on the continent and its commitment to supporting the development of regulated and sustainable gaming markets.

“Africa is an important and growing part of SmartSoft’s international strategy, and joining the African iGaming Alliance represents an important step in strengthening our long-term commitment to the continent,” he commented.