NJ casino regulators give green light to new Bally’s owner

By David Danzis, Atlantic City Press

The Casino Control Commission approved Twin River’s interim casino authorization — a preliminary step toward full casino licensure — but stipulated that $25 million of capital improvements should begin within the first year of ownership and at least $75 million over the first three years. Rhode Island-based Twin River committed to spending a minimum of $90 million over five years at Bally’s.

“It is clear that Twin River’s executive team has put a great deal of thought into the best path to improve Bally’s fading conditions,” said James Plousis, chairman of the Casino Control Commission. “Given the amount of improvements planned in the first year, we expect a considerable progress report at the plenary licensing hearing next year.”

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Twin River agreed to purchase Bally’s for $25 million from Caesars Entertainment Inc. and VICI Properties. The sale is expected to close within the next two weeks.

“Twin River is going to be the new owner and operator of this property, and I feel, and I’m confident, with the testimony that was presented, that they possess the right vision, the right management and the experience, and that this once grand property will be restored, renovated and updated to become a vital and competitive part of the gaming industry in Atlantic City,” Commissioner Alisa Cooper said.

Those plans include a permanent FanDuel sportsbook in the space where the former Blue Martini lounge was, the renovation of more than 900 hotel rooms, the creation of 30 to 40 mini suites, a new restaurant and bar portfolio that will be open by summer and a revamped spa and fitness center.

Those plans include a permanent FanDuel sportsbook in the space where the former Blue Martini lounge was, the renovation of more than 900 hotel rooms, the creation of 30 to 40 mini suites, a new restaurant and bar portfolio that will be open by summer and a revamped spa and fitness center.

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They’re dancing in the streets for Biden, Harris

By BILLYPENN

Philadelphia erupted yesterday in giant party as Biden won and Harris made history.

People were shouting, children were whistling, horns were honking and the days-long dance party that started earlier this week erupted across the city as people learned their state had been called for Joe Biden, and with it, the presidency.

Philadelphians were equally excited about Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, who will make history as the nation’s first woman, first Black and first South Asian American VP.

“I feel amazing,” one South Philly resident told Billy Penn. “Such a relief, so much joy, so much hope where there wasn’t hope before.”

A Rollicking N.Y.C. Celebration for Biden’s Win, Well Into the Night

From the New York Times

People cheered, danced, broke out champagne and honked horns in New York City, which is President Trump’s hometown but had turned on him.

European and allied leaders didn’t wait for President Trump to concede.

From VOX

In the hours after the race was called by several news outlets, world leaders sent out tweets of support, with many allies promising to work closely with the next president.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, for instance, called the US and Canada “close friends, partners, and allies” with a “relationship that’s unique on the world stage,” and said, “I’m really looking forward to working together and building on that with you both.”

One of President Trump’s closest European friends, United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson, also sent out congratulations to Biden and Harris, noting he hoped to collaborate on climate change — an area Trump has clashed with his European counterparts on — as well as trade, a pressing issue for a United Kingdom set to soon finalize its exit from the European Union.

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Finally, it’s over. Biden wins, Trump loses

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrat Joe Biden defeated President Donald Trump to become the 46th president of the United States on Saturday, positioning himself to lead a nation gripped by the historic pandemic and a confluence of economic and social turmoil.

His victory came after more than three days of uncertainty as election officials sorted through a surge of mail-in votes that delayed the processing of some ballots. Biden crossed 270 Electoral College votes with a win in Pennsylvania.

Biden, 77, staked his candidacy less on any distinctive political ideology than on galvanizing a broad coalition of voters around the notion that Trump posed an existential threat to American democracy. The strategy proved effective, resulting in pivotal victories in Michigan and Wisconsin as well as Pennsylvania, onetime Democratic bastions that had flipped to Trump in 2016.

Biden was on track to win the national popular vote by more than 4 million, a margin that could grow as ballots continue to be counted.

Trump seized on delays in processing the vote in some states to falsely allege voter fraud and argue that his rival was trying to seize power — an extraordinary charge by a sitting president trying to sow doubt about a bedrock democratic process.

As the vote count played out, Biden tried to ease tensions and project an image of presidential leadership, hitting notes of unity that were seemingly aimed at cooling the temperature of a heated, divided nation.

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Related news stories:
Joseph R. Biden Jr. Has Won the Presidency (NY Times)
World leaders congratulate Joe Biden and Kamala Harris (CNN)
Joe Biden Wins 2020 Presidential Election (Wall Street Journal)



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New Jersey Coronavirus Update

By NJ Spotlight

Public-health statistics continued to head in the wrong direction for New Jersey today, a third straight day with more than 2,000 new cases reported and a new recent high set in those being treated for COVID-19 at hospitals in New Jersey.

200 cases or more were again reported in Essex, Bergen and Passaic counties, and more than 100 were seen in six others: Hudson, Middlesex, Union, Camden, Monmouth and Burlington.

Murphy again said officials were considering restrictions to help curb the spike in cases, but again gave no specifics.

“We’re working on making sure we got a right balance between strategic, scalpel-like actions and some broader actions that we will almost certainly take sooner than later,” he said today.


 

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Texas becomes first state to reach 1 million coronavirus cases, nearly double New York

Texas coronavirus
Texas Department of Public Safety State Troopers, wearing masks due to the coronavirus, check motorists at a checkpoint in Orange, Texas, near the

By Geoff Herbert, , Post-Standard

Texas is the first U.S. state to hit 1 million coronavirus cases, nearly double that of New York.

NBC reports Texas confirmed 1,000,589 cases of COVID-19 on Friday night, eclipsing California for the highest number of cases. Texas passed California, which has 968,000 cases as of Friday, last month; California is the most populous state with 39 million residents, and Texas is second with 29 million.

Florida is third with 833,000 cases, according to The New York Times.

New York is fourth with 527,000 cases, despite having the most cases in the nation at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.

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Pennsylvania has had about 224,000 coronavirus cases and 9,000 deaths. It reported a one-day record number of new cases on Friday – 3,384 – and has seen hospitalizations rise.

New York still has more coronavirus deaths than any other state with 33,664, according to John Hopkins University, but NBC notes New York City was especially hit hard early in March and April when testing was limited and scientists were still learning about the virus.

Texas has the second-most deaths from COVID-19 with 19,046 as of Saturday morning, followed by 17,938 deaths in California and 17,014 deaths in Florida.

NBC reports 91% of Texas deaths from COVID-19 have occurred since May, and deaths haven rise 10% over the past two weeks.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott previously paused the state’s reopening in June as Texas hospitals became overwhelmed with Covid-19 patients, but didn’t issue a statewide mask mandate until July. The El Paso Times reports hot spots like El Paso have seen intensive care units go over capacity this past week, forcing the county to shut down nonessential businesses.

Many states have seen a surge in coronavirus cases while America’s attention has been on the election. NBC reports new cases were up 40% in Texas and 31% in California over the past two weeks as the U.S. topped 100,000 new daily cases for the first time this week, reaching a record high of 122,365 cases Friday.

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Cable News Needs to Take Election Day Off

The networks are filling the airways with chaff, treating tiny developments like a major news. They should just tell us there’s nothing to see right now, and move on.

People watch a poll projected on the side of the building.
People watch a projection on the side of a building as poll reports begin to roll in on Election Day, Nov. 3, 2020 in Washington, D.C. | Samuel Corum/Getty Images

By JACK SHAFER, Politico’s senior media writer

As Election Day 2020 coasted to a crawl and the West Coast voting precincts closed shop, the cable news networks were dazed to learn that even though the pollsters had predicted a flush, green, blossoming victory for Joe Biden, the presidential contest insisted on worming its way into the early a.m. hours, into the next morning, and maybe even beyond, pushing it into the sort of overtime periods and extra innings one associates with a sports event that refuses to end.

Surely the networks were prepared for such a contingency? But no, around the dial on Wednesday morning, the anchors and correspondents filled the air with journalistic chaff, noting incremental changes in vote totals in the contested states as new ballots were counted as if that were real news. It was enough to make the average viewer pray that the commissioner of baseball would take over the networks and decree that in the case of a tight election whose count threatens to go on forever, each candidate could place a metaphorical man on second at the beginning of their extra half-inning in hopes of hastening victory for one or the other.

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But no such intervention has occurred. As I write Wednesday, the three major cable networks continue to cover the no-news of the protracted count. But instead of honestly conceding that there’s not much to report and won’t be for hours or even longer, they’re attempted to sustain a permanent state of excitement, fluffing their viewers with fancy finger-work on their big boards, zooming in to individual counties in Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and elsewhere, zooming out, tapping the various in-play states on the map to create competing scenarios in which Biden or Donald Trump crest the 270 summit. Everybody in TV news is guilty of this crime, but nobody has a bigger rap sheet than CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, who can shout himself into a panic whenever a single county’s vote count inches upward.

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