A Boardwalk Christmas; Mega-Jottings

Most people wouldn’t spend Christmas Day in a casino or two but our East Coast correspondent did. He reports, “At the Golden Nugget on Christmas, Chart House, Lillie’s Asian, the Grotto (Italian), Michael Patrick’s coffee shop, Bean & Bread for breakfast sandwiches and light bites, and the Chairman’s Club lounge were open. At Bally’s, the valet parking closed to the intake of vehicles at noon, rather than the usual 5 p.m. Sunday. Their (alleged) VIP lounge was closed all of the weekend. The three restaurants on their sixth floor were closed. The pizza place was closed. If you want Dunkin Donuts or a simple sandwich, you’re in luck, otherwise go somewhere else for food.

“We had our ‘strange’ Christmas this year,” our reporter explains. “For the first time, we stayed in Atlantic City for Xmas, starting Friday for three nights. Friday started off with rain and strong wind, then our first snow of the season, followed by a ‘flash freeze’ in the afternoon (good reasons to not live in New Jersey). When we got to Golden Nugget, the valet intake was like a wind tunnel. A visit to Hard Rock included early dinner at their lounge. We went back to Golden Nugget and went to their Chairman’s Lounge at 10 p.m. as it was open until 11 p.m. on Friday. It was almost completely empty, as the photo shows, and it was so very cold due to to all of the windows.

“At Hard Rock, I was unaware we could ‘Save The Planet’ by gambling there. Their lobby bar was lightly attended Friday afternoon. Bally’s is ‘Saving the Planet’ by keeping their 1994 Wild Rose slot machine (no need for a new LED machine).” The Bally’s jokes just keep writing themselves, don’t they?

Jottings: Here’s some bad news that DraftKings could definitely do without. 67,995 of its punters had their data exposed by a breach of cyber security. The credential resulted in $300K in funds being stolen, monies that DKNG is refunding … FY22 was the best in Mohegan Sun’s history, with cash flow of $404 million. Virgin Las Vegas was but a minor contributor to the overall bounty … What’s one-third the size of Allegiant Stadium and costs $300 million more? If you said “MSG Sphere,” go to the head of the class. The $2.2 billion boondoggle’s managers are having to do some fast spinning to explain to Wall Street how they’re going to recoup those megabucks. The magic word is “sponsorships.” “Companies and brands are going to want to be associated with this experience,” claimed Madison Square Garden CFO David Brynes … Want to gamble your money away in the Bahamas? You no longer have to invest it with Sam Bankman-Fried. Ground has been broken on $250 million Calypso Cove. The overall development has been described as including “a port area, a 200-room hotel, an 18-hole golf course, a casino, a waterpark, and marina facilities for mega-yachts” … Sports purists can start tearing their hair out. A sports book is planned for Hall of Fame Village in Canton, Ohio. The 10,000-square-foot book will be operated by BetRivers. Given the amount of betting being done by NFL players and coaches (paging Miles Austin) we find this only appropriate …

By dint of being acquired by Churchill Downs, platform provider Exacta Systems has leapt to the forefront of the ‘historical horse racing’ market. CHDN could make life very difficult for other Exacta clients, who comprise most of its Kentucky competition. The $250 million, all-cash deal also strengthens Churchill Downs’ reach into Virginia. Now, virtually every slot maker producing HHR games will find its path to market running through CHDN … Nothing’s ever a sure thing at Fontainebleau but it stands a much better chance of opening by year’s end after receiving $2.2 billion in completion money. The final price tag was not disclosed but it will surely exceed Resorts World Las Vegas as the priciest megaresort on the Las Vegas Strip … That proposed Caesars Entertainment casino for Times Square has landed another major ally. The Coalition for a Better Times Square, a consortium of restaurateurs, business owners and unions has weighed in behind Caesars. “Bringing almost half a million new theatergoers into our theaters, a commitment to union jobs, and unprecedented investments in safety and traffic flow will be beneficial for Broadway and its workers,” said David Levy of Actors’ Equity Association. They’re making believers of us … Former Osage Casinos CEO Byron Bighorse is being investigated for living rather high on the hog during his tenure in the C-suite. Seems he was in the habit of chalking up new golf clubs as business expenses, etc. … Keen-eyed stock analyst Frank Fantini likes the 2023 outlook for Full House Resorts. He writes that the majors “don’t have nearly the same growth potential” as FLL. Well done, Dan Lee.