Masquerade

What is Masquerade?

“They are people losing their jobs and communities losing long-established high-street businesses,” David wrote.

In his interview Done framed these closures as part of a broader decline in high street retail venues. He predicted that by 2030, betting shops could disappear entirely. 

“I believe that by 2030 we will have no betting shops. The high street will be dead. We’ve already worked it out that with the increases in taxes and salaries and other wages it won’t be worth operating,” he said.

About Masquerade

“The combined entity will be able to deliver the same rate of growth and the same rate of shareholder distribution, but with a larger pro forma free float and liquidity,” Angelozzi outlined.

“So you get the same stable and predictable growth and you get the capital returns. You get no additional risk, and you get the benefits of the new markets and the online opportunities on top of the synergies, which are also pretty significant. So that’s why this makes a lot of sense to us.”

Cirsa CEO Antonio Hostench echoed Angelozzi’s confidence, adding: “On our side, we see this as a great opportunity because as Guglielmo said, there is no overlap between the companies, almost no overlap.

How to play Masquerade

Station and Culinary have been at odds for many years, and this has included everything from back-and-forth barbs in the media to complaints before Nevada regulators and ultimately a number of court challenges. The December 2019 Red Rock election has proved to be perhaps the most significant development in their relationship thus far.

Station’s corporate leadership had approved and announced a new benefits overhaul for all of its 14,000 employees across ten properties on 19 November 2019. Two days later, Culinary, which represents workers at seven other Station properties besides Red Rock, petitioned to represent workers at that casino.

Red Rock employees rejected unionisation the following month by a 627-534 vote, although the NLRB and the DC appeals court have held that the company took steps to prevent a fair and honest election. The timing of the benefits rollout and unionisation petition have been a central issue in the matter in the years since.