A good decision: No, we’re not talking about the selection of Gary Loveman as gaming and lodging’s CEO of the Year (although we’re not arguing with it, either). This is the fourth year Institutional Investor magazine has bestowed the honor upon Loveman.

No, Herbst Gaming has elected to keep Ferenc Szony at the helm of its newly expanded Northern Nevada gambling operation, which will be re-slugged with the Terrible’s brand. Read about Herbst’s (and Szony’s) plans here. Szony knows what it takes to keep a casino alive in the besieged Reno market.

Commendable also is Herbst’s decision to leave 1,100 Sands Regency employees in place. Some folks down here haven’t forgotten the massive employee purge that took place when Station Casinos took over the Santa Fe from Archon Corp. and the Fiesta from George Maloof, displacing the workforce in favor of Station people. Business promptly suffered, following the customer-service boo-boo, one that Herbst is thankfully not emulating.

On a sadder note: We were informed today of the passing of former Golden Nugget Vice President of Slot Operations Dan Williams. The late executive had forsaken a career in gambling for the vocation as a Christian author. "He was a wonderful man and many, many people at the Nugget really loved him," writes a former employee.

Branson into Macao: This has been slightly overlooked amid the firestorm surrounding the British government’s (secret) plans for massive casino expansion and (explicit) admission that problem gambling will substantially increase. However, Sir Richard Branson is taking a flier, if you will, into the Macanese resort market. His $3 billion, three-hotel project would also include a casino.

The big question, of course, is ‘How?’ Since Macao’s boss, Edmund Ho, has decreed a freeze on casino concessions, much hinges on Branson’s choice of joint-venture partner. The likely outcome is that the casino itself will be farmed out to one the six existing concesssionaires, with Branson recouping his investment via the hotel component. But … hotel occupancy in Macao is not keeping pace with capacity. Still, let’s hope that this works out better than Branson’s half-forgotten TV series.

Thought for the weekend: What’s wrong with the SciFi Channel? First, they cancel my favorite TV series of all time, Stargate SG-1. Then comes word that extraordinary actress Torri Higginson is being pushed off Stargate: Atlantis. Now SciFi exec Mark Stern (the fool who pulled the plug on SG-1), is on the brink of canceling the Peabody Award-winning Battlestar Galactica, leaving the SciFi Channel with … wrestling?!?!? (That’s right: wrestling.) Not even the prospect of Kristanna Loken headling the new Painkiller Jane is enough to relieve my gloom.