Breaking Fake News Update (v26)

 Fake News Broke on November 16, 2025!

I have to say, no one is more shocked than I am, seeing two consecutive breaking fake news reports related to professional sports! Last week, it was the NFL's Dynamic Kickoff, and today, it's the NBA All-Star Game? Who had that on their bingo cards for 2025? 

The NBA, for unknown reasons, has decided to totally revamp the format for its mid-season celebration, which will be played during the same time as the Winter Olympics. I'm guessing that might be one reason for the change to the 'USA against the World' team alignment, outlined in the bulletin above. 

I understand from my fake news sources that, if two or more teams end up with the same record after the seven rounds, a draft of the tie-breaker indicates that bonus points will be awarded to the team with the most Americans, but they haven't seen the final plan.

In a 'we thought of everything' move, the league has even devised a way to make sure they can field the teams they want if the voters don't pick enough of the right players. After all, it would be horrible if folks did a little too much America First-ing when they voted. 

If NBA All-Star voting does not result in the selection of 16 U.S. players and eight international players (which can include American players with ties to other countries if necessary), then NBA Commissioner Adam Silver will select additional All-Stars to join either group to reach that minimum.  In that case, at least one team would have more than eight players.

One would hope that they'd do a whole lot of  'splaining on the new process so that they won't have to resort to the backup plan - especially now that there are four fake teams in the mix. And one would hope that the league's betting partners are well-versed on all of the changes so they can adjust their plans accordingly, too.

As always, if fake news is breaking, I've got you covered. And if you have a fake news tip for me, let me know!

The Update Desk: Sports Betting and More

I've done several updates on the experiment with non-Native American casino gambling here in New York, most recently in April, when sports betting was approved, the new regs came out, and all that excitement filled the air. Here's Schenectady-area Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara, quoted in the April post.

Allowing sports betting in our upstate casinos brings sports betting out of the shadows and at a benefit to the taxpayers. It levels the playing field so we can create a responsible market for sports betting in a safe regulated manner... The additional revenue to the state makes it a win-win. 

Well, sure, except for reports of revenue falling well short of projections in other states that have already moved forward. Sort of sounds familiar, doesn't it?

Anyway -- the sports books at Tioga Downs, Resorts World Catskills and the Rivers Casino in Schenectady were up and running earlier, and del Lago's opened last Friday, with former SU and Philadelphia Eagles QB placing the first bet. I'll give an update on this latest "win-win" gamble once we have some data.

There are ownership changes on tap at two casinos. First, Wilmorite, the developer of del Lago and several shopping malls in the CNY area, is getting out of the casino owner business. The company, owned by the Wilmot family, is selling its shares to the property's co-owner, Peninsula Pacific. The investment firm's chairman and managing partner, M. Brent Stevens, said

This will position Peninsula Pacific as the sole owner of the property and signals our further commitment to be the premier source of gaming and entertainment in the Finger Lakes region. 

Stevens made it clear Peninsula Pacific is aware of the financial situation with del Lago and the other casinos in New York. noting

Sure, it has been disappointing. Sure, there are structural issues in the overall gaming market in upstate New York, But in the long term, we have faith in this property and we are as excited today as we ever have been about the ability to do the right thing, to grow our operations and have the right things happen within the broader industry in New York. 

Speaking on behalf of Wilmorite, chairman Thomas Wilmot Sr. said

del Lago Resort and Casino is good for our community - it has created employment opportunities, an entertainment destination and a new stream of revenue for the town and county. The continued success of del Lago is good for everyone in the Finger Lakes region.  

Meanwhile, Empire Resorts, the public company that runs the $1.2B Resorts World Catskills property, is losing money and suggested that bankruptcy might be the answer. In the end, Empire reached a deal to sell its stake to the majority owner, Kien Huat Realty and Genting Malaysia. The buyers are paying nearly $10 per share of Empire Resorts, about 15% higher than the trading price when the deal was announced. There's also an increased funding commitment - $77M - which will help with debt repayment.

Genting Americas president Ed Farrell said in an interview

We're in a unique position where we can assist with the management of Resorts World Catskills through our Resorts World New York property at a low costs. We can bring synergies to both projects and by just operating at a higher sale, we're going to be able to put the cost structure in a way that Resorts World Catskills can turn to black and we can make money going forward.

Are you a gambler? How much would you wager on any of the casinos turning things around, either through sports betting or the ownership changes?

Given their collective track record, I'm out.

The Update Desk: Sports Betting

Back in January, I did a quick recap of what New York's Sonofa Gov Andrew Cuomo had on his State of the State wish list, which included sports betting. He can wish for that now, because the Supreme Court ruled that all states could dip their toes into this gambling stream, which previously was a Nevada exclusive.

Since that update, the state's Gaming Commission has issued draft rules, and we're a couple of weeks into a 60-day comment period on them. Among other things, the proposed rules would allow only in-person betting, and

The state rules also prohibit betting on college sports taking place within New York state, or on any events in which a New York college team plays, regardless of location. 

Regardless of the limitations, there's a bit of excitement with some members of the Legislature, including Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara, who's on the Assembly's Racing and Wagering Committee. Take a look.

Allowing sports betting in our upstate casinos brings sports betting out of the shadows and at a benefit to the taxpayers. It levels the playing field so we can create a responsible market for sports betting in  safe regulated manner...Upstate New York is home to four gaming resorts, including Rivers Casino here in Schenectady that would benefit immensely from legalized sports betting, giving our region another boost. The additional revenue to the state makes it a win-win. 

We have those upstate casinos, you'll recall, because we were literally hemorrhaging gamblers to neighboring states, according to the Sonofa Gov. And that of course is also happening now, as New Jersey and Pennsylvania are both up and running with sports betting already, and Connecticut and Massachusetts are getting close.

And I have to ask myself if we've learned anything at all since we approved gambling back in 2013.

The Update Desk: Casino Gambling (again)

Can it really be time to do another update on New York's ill-fated decision to allow non-Native casino gambling?  Why yes, yes it is - and this update is about the same as the last one, and the one before that.

As has consistently been the case, the news is not good for our Vegas-style casinos in the Finger Lakes area, the Southern Tier, the Capital region, and the Catskills.  Leading the way, again, is the del Lago Resort and Casino down the Thruway a bit from Syracuse.

We're told of another downgrade in their credit rating and a likely continued 'negative' outlook.

If the two-year-old del Lago Resort and Casino in the Finger Lakes is to survive, it's going to need new cash investment or face a difficult restructuring of its debts and finances.

The issue? Lower than expected revenue growth and, oh yeah -- too many other opportunities for throwing your money away. The same issues confound the other three, which are not meeting their revenue estimates, either. del Lago was about 57% short of projections. Here's what Moody's said, in part.

The downgrade and the negative outlook consider that despite a slight pickup in del Lago's monthly gamin revenue, this improvement is not enough to alleviate Moody's concern that Lago will be challenged to support its annual fixed charges of about $50M going forward.

And there's more news on the casino front, which is not necessarily going to be helpful to the cause, either.