It’s in full swing at Marina Bay Sands and we’re covering it for CDC Gaming Reports, which means there won’t be much S&G this week. In the meantime, check out this he-said/she-said scandal involving former Interior SecretaryRyan Zinke (who seems to have a problematic relationship with the truth) and his apparent hanky-panky involving the attempted Tribal Winds casino in Connecticut. That project would be totally forgotten and unnecessary, given the struggles of once-feared MGM Springfield, had not Zinke’s inability to come clean not brought it back into the headlines.
Remember Viva? The Fertitta Brothers would prefer you didn’t.
Imagine an 8.5-mile Las Vegas Strip. You may not have to because “experts” say “it’s in the cards.” What’s the cause of this crazed optimism? No, it’s not the economy. The prospect of a baseball stadium at Sahara Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard bookended by a basketball one at Blue Diamond Road is spurring such fantasies of untrammeled growth. Already, Dream Las Vegas has leapfrogged Mandalay Bay as the nominal southern terminus of the Strip and Station Casinos has undisclosed designs on a major site immediately below South Point. Former MGM Resorts International spokesman Alan Feldman thinks developers could get so carried away, they’ll extend the Strip all the way down to M Resort but “At some point, water is going to be a limiting factor. It almost already is.”
Motown casinos grossed $106 million last month, off 8.5% from July 2021 (and way down from 2019, excepting stellar MGM Grand Detroit). MGM led with $51 million, MotorCity followed with $35 million and, as always, Hollywood Detroit brought up the rear with $20 million. Year/year comparisons were not available by property. Analysts seem much more excited by Internet gambling ($126.5 million) and sports betting ($23 million, minus $7.5 million in promotions). BetMGM was the pace car of i-gaming with $48 million, pursued by DraftKings ($25 million) and FanDuel ($18.5 million). Others who got a decent share were BetRivers ($9 million), Caesars Entertainment ($6 million), Barstool Sports ($4.5 million), WynnBet ($4 million), FoxBet ($2 million) and dark horse BetGLC ($1.5 million). As for everybody else, you wonder why they even bother.
You could say the same thing about sports betting, dominated by FanDuel ($8 million) and BetMGM ($5.5), with DraftKings close behind at $5 million. Barstool Sports and Caesars Sportsbook each collected $1 million, and it was chicken feed for everyone else, a hundred grand here, two hundred grand somewhere else.
Despite a 12.5% dropoff in revenue from July 2021, Parx Casino outpaced the rest of the Pennsylvania pack last month, booking $51 million in revenue. The only other casino to come close was Wind Creek Bethlehem, riding a 13.5% surge to $48 million. As for Parx’s competitors in the Philadelphia market, only Valley Forge Casino Resort was revenue-positive with $12 million (+2%). Rivers Philadelphia and Philadelphia Live were both in free fall, with Rivers having the worst of it, plunging 26% to $17 million, while Live dove 16.5% to $18 million. Harrah’s Philadelphia, despite an 11% tumble, actually found itself within striking distance of the downtown casinos with its $15 million.
Revenues on the Boardwalk jumped 8% last month from July 2021, reaching $299 million on the nose. Slot winnings were good, up 5.5% on 6.5% more coin-in but table win was even better, growing 16% on only 4% higher wagering. Surging 20%, Borgata was way out in front with $77 million. Hard Rock Atlantic City leapt 11% to $53 million, while Ocean Casino Resort catapulted 33% to $40.5 million. Rebranding and renovation helped Bally’s Atlantic City, the only other revenue-positive casino, climb up 3.5% to $17 million. Last place went to Golden Nugget, down 7% to $14.5 million. Strongest of the Caesars Entertainment properties was Tropicana Atlantic City with $28 million (-5.5%). Despite a 9% decline, Harrah’s Resort came in next with $26.5 million, then Caesars Atlantic City with $25 million (-3%). Rounding out the picture was Resorts Atlantic City‘s $18 million, down 2%.
Is Ocean Casino Resort‘s new leadership sweating comps? Our East Coast correspondent tried to score two for a Boz Scaggs concert, couldn’t, but paid anyway. What did he see? “The concert was far from being sold out. Do you think they could have given away ‘comp’ tickets for at least some of those empty seats?” Even so, the casino floor “was still very crowded” at 11 p.m. He did spot a construction flaw in the ultra-popular casino: “The other photo is in the self-park garage. I’m not an engineer, but isn’t the concrete supposed to meet the metal? The light you see is from the garage level below.”
Amidst all the gloom-and-doom talk about the U.S. economy, one sector is doing better than ever: gambling. 2Q22 was an industry-best and the year is on track to be the biggest in history (despite curtailments in international play). The American Gaming Association reported $14.8 billion in casino revenue for the last quarter, 9% better than a year previous. 2021’s final tally was $53 million and 2022 is on pace to shoot well past that. Factor in record tribal-gaming revenues ($39 billion in fiscal year 2021) and it’s time to pop the champagne corks in the C-suites. Slot play was flat year/year but table win surged 18%. AGA President Bill Miller tempered his enthusiasm by saying, “we are cognizant of the continued impacts of inflation and labor challenges, as well as marketplace concerns of potential recession.”
In an escalation of its not-so-cold war with Resorts World Las Vegas, Local 501 of the Operating Engineers is deploying the Commie card against Genting Group. The latter has been playing dirty pool in Local 501’s attempt to organize at Resorts World. In retaliation, the former sent an open letter to Gov. Steve Sisolak (D), highlighting Genting’s chumminess with Red China. “Genting Group has unique relationships with Chinese SOEs that appear to be unprecedented among Nevada gaming licensees. This level of political and economic exposure can adversely influence the operations of Genting, its subsidiaries, and its ownership group,” it warned. Continuing, the union said it had “discovered ties” between Genting and the Chicomms in the form of partnerships with a state-owned enterprise, SDIC Power Holdings, to exploit petroleum and natural gas in the Pacific Rim.
After a somnolent Tuesday, all heck has erupted in the gaming universe and we’ll try to cram at least some of it into today’s dispatch. Gaming revenues continue to flicker here and there, while remaining high heavens above 2019’s outstanding numbers. Missouri casinos grossed $169.5 million last month, 1% higher than last year, as gambling fever continues to level off, albeit at an elevated level. A nice problem to have. Gamblers visited 5% less but spent 7% more in Show-Me State casinos. Starting in Kansas City for a change, Ameristar Kansas City (above) led the market with $18 million (flat). Rebranded Bally’s Kansas City continues to devour market share, up 11.5% to $10.5 million. One of its victims was Harrah’s North Kansas City, down 7% to $15 million, while Argosy Riverside was flat at $16 million.
Cynicism, thy name is Big Gaming. Whereas its chips were all in with Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak (D) the last time around, now it has a dampened finger held upwards, testing which way the wind is blowing. The Las Vegas Review-Journal has done some digging through public records, and found some surprising Sisolak backers and opponents in the C-suites. Numero uno is Venelazzo, which has flung $250,000 into the Sisolak coffers. It’s followed by Caesars Entertainment, which has chipped in another 90 grand. True believers in Sisolak’s opponent, former Clark County sheriff Joe Lombardo (R) mostly represent smaller fry, like Golden Entertainment ($90,000), perhaps to punish Sisolak for his financially costly (but necessary) 78-day shutdown of Nevada’s signature industry, in an effort to squelch Covid-19. Then you have the cynics, foremost among whom is Boyd Gaming, sending $40K to Sisolak but $30K to Lombardo, enabling it to claim it’s on the winning side regardless of what happens in November. Phil Ruffin, the El Cortez, Ellis Island and Longhorn Casino are comparable bet-hedgers.
