Author: David Mckee

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Wall Street weighs in

Due to a variety of pressing issues, such as Big Gaming’s rebuff by the 2024 electorate, the last round of earnings season got pushed onto a back burner. Time to make amends. Let’s start with Wynn Resorts, whose results were described by J.P. Morgan analyst Joseph Greff as “mixed.” Which is never what you want to hear from Wall Street. The news from Las Vegas and Boston was good, that from Macao less so (an 8% undershot). In the latter, Wynn missed projections but was still better than the competition.

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From Flyover Country; Adieu, Woo

Before we get to individual states and how they did in October, today we are in receipt of some very concerning news from Jefferies Equity Research. Namely, that regional casino markets are seeing a downward trend in foot traffic, with October -4%. This isn’t good news for anybody and particularly bad for those markets that never rebounded from Covid-19. Should the economy tank in the next three-six months (and we have reason to believe it will), Jefferies is the canary in the coal mine. And with that cheery thought …

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An election inflection point

Tuesday’s election wasn’t good for the gaming industry. It went 2-for-7 in popular votes, an outcome that American Gaming Association President Bill Miller will be hard-pressed to spin. Indeed, Miller has been uncommonly quiet this week. Thanks to one unqualified mandate in Virginia and a much narrower one in Missouri, the night wasn’t a complete fiasco for Big Gaming. But it sure makes one sit up and think. Has the industry become over-confident? Has it succumbed to that feeling of invincibility known in Japan as “victory disease”?

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Election Special: Mixed message

By the time you read this, most of the 2024 election will have been decided. It happened faster than expected and probably without another malfunction by that musty anachronism known as the Electoral College. There will be much furrowing of brows about What Happened and What Does It Mean—but not here. That’s above our pay grade. One national-level result worth mentioning that the elevation of Sen.-elect Jim Justice (R), outgoing governor of West Virginia, means that the Senate now counts a casino owner among its ranks. Beyond that …

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Caesars takes a bath; MGM weak

Although third-quarter results were announced last week for Caesars Entertainment, they took a distant back seat to the news that the company was selling its Ferris wheel and Linq Promenade at a steep loss. Howard Stutz of The Nevada Independent cut to the quick, pointing out that the $275 million payday was a 50% discount to how much Caesars spent to develop these dubious assets. The High Roller “observation wheel” was a particular dog, having been built in an awkward location from which there was precious little to see except the backside of the former Imperial Palace and its curious, swastika-like configuration.

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The sky isn’t falling

Yes, the Las Vegas Strip is mildly swooning. It was down 2% last month, the third straight month of declivity. But before one ascribes to headline-writer hysteria, remember that this is a decline from the most dizzying heights Big Gaming has ever scaled. People may complain about price gouging, high table “minimums” and lousy odds in Las Vegas casinos, but that sure hasn’t stopped them from staying and playing, in droves. We’re not going to take a victory lap, like American Gaming Association CEO Bill Miller did at Global Gaming Expo, but neither are we pushing the panic button.

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Love and kisses from Wall Street

“Not-so-buried Treasure,” said Truist Securities analyst Barry Jonas about Boyd Gaming, in a playful allusion to its new Treasure Chest casino, which has been steadily outperforming the New Orleans market. Even so, he kept his price target at $77/share but rated the stock a “Buy.” Big deals were deemed unlikely, Penn Entertainment takeover talk having long since gone off the boil. Boyd beat Wall Street estimates across all divisions, delivering net revenue of $961 million and cash flow of $337 million.

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On the radio

This morning saw (heard?) us do a guest stint on KNPR-FM‘s State of Nevada. We expounded on various and sundry topics, mostly Global Gaming Expo and the sorry condition of what passes for casino regulation in Nevada. Smoking in casinos—and why it persists—was dwelt upon, as was the failsino that Bally’s Corp. is fancifully planning for the Tropicana Las Vegas site. After his laughable project design was met with much Sin City derision, Bally’s Chairman Soo Kim was quick to walk it back, via his reliable PR organ, the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

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Silliness, sleaze and s**t

That dingbatty mess you’re contemplating is the proposed “master plan” for Bally’s Las Vegas. Or whatever it will be called. If it gets built. A big “if.” Since it centers upon the proposed—but still improbable—Sacramento Athletics stadium in the middle, it’s more that a colossal “IF.” Before we get into why this megaresort is highly unlikely to transpire, let’s unpack what passes for a design.

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Atlantic City & other distractions

Atlantic City dip; Another strike in Motown? 2

Expect many cries of anguish and much rending of garments from Big Gaming over the September casino grosses from Atlantic City. To hear them tell it, the Boardwalk is going to dry up and blow away any minute now. What’s the latest provocation? Last month’s tally of $230.5 million was 6.5% down from last year—but 3% higher than pre-pandemic 2019. And there was one weekend less than last year, which ought to soften the blow. iGaming, meanwhile, was a bonanza, leaping 27% year/year.

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