Boardwalk bulletin; George gesture from Apollo

Pressure to end smoking in New Jersey casinos continues to ramp up on legislators. Said former governor Richard Codey (now a state senator), “When I was governor, we passed smoke-free legislation that covered almost all of our state. Restaurants complained their businesses would suffer, but, in fact, the opposite happened — customers loved the smoke-free environment. The same will happen with the casinos.” The latter, of course, are resorting to Chicken Little tactics that have little basis in reality. Heck, industry publisher Roger Gros will be happy to tell you how much gaming executive complain (privately) about the costs, especially in wear and tear on their properties, caused by smoking. But in public they tie themselves to the mast of a sinking ship.

One former casino exec who’s had enough of the hypocrisy and scare tactics is Richard Schuetz. He scolds his colleagues, “You broke revenue records last year and most definitely are not struggling, especially after New Jersey just gave you tens of millions of dollars’ worth of tax breaks.” (OK, so that PILOT program turned out to be unconstitutional, but business was damn good in 2021.) In addition to the baneful effects of secondhand smoke on employees and other innocent bystanders, Schuetz notes the “high degree of comorbidity” between problem gambling and nicotine addiction. “In other words, allowing smoking in casinos is like placing a welcome mat out for problem gamblers.” Heck, Spectrum Gaming Group tacitly acknowledges this in its apologia for the casinos when it identified smokers as higher-value customers. Make the smokers go outside to puff away would put a useful brake on their gambling jones.

As Schuetz puts it, “Too many casino executives suggest all types of ruin stands in the future of their operations if they cannot subject their employees to secondhand smoke. They appear more concerned about their bonuses than the health of their employees. They even talk of a study recently that they hope will convince legislators that subjecting their employees to a health-threatening work environment, and exploiting those suffering gambling harm, is worthwhile.” We could not agree more.

How’s that Bally’s Atlantic City rebrand coming? Let’s put it this way: Rome wasn’t built in a day. Even so, Chairman Soo Kim might want to concentrate more resources on it instead of hankering after a megaresort in Chicago or a baseball stadium in Las Vegas or … well, other things far outside Bally’s skill set. Says our East Coast correspondent, “this is the 6th floor of Bally’s former meeting/convention space. It’s a 1980’s time machine, exactly the same as when it was built.” At least a player who won $800 (less coin-in) got upgraded to free parking, which was a “george” touch.

Aforesaid player then scored $1,000 at the Golden Nugget, aided perhaps by sparse competition on the slot floor (below). Nugget management was feeling generous, too, giving her a pair of frying pans (“you can never have too many frying pans”). And, unlike skinflint Caesars Entertainment properties, the Nugget still has a players’ lounge. Good on them.

Bally’s may be slow to renovate but “Seems like someone at Bally’s believes in ‘player development'” because our gambler friend got a dinner invitation despite being at the lowest player-card level. Casino management was seen walking the floor after dinner, another good sign for the future. Bally’s was described as “very busy,” while Golden Nugget was but “moderately busy” (on a weekend). Other casinos handing out goodies included Hard Rock Atlantic City, gifting our correspondent with a pair of $50 food coupons for the Sandpiper restaurant. Yet another casino bucking the Caesars pinchpenny trend is Borgata, which continues to maintain its players’ lounge and the gesture was reciprocated: The casino was reported to be “very busy.” Music to new President Travis Lunn‘s ears, no doubt.

(Bally’s The Claridge is also featured in a less-than-flattering piece on the contemporary Atlantic City, one which reminds us of Dan Lee‘s blunder in tearing down the Sands and replacing it with … nothing. Then there was Trump Taj Mahal, which needed $1.3 million a day in revenue to remain solvent—does anybody other than Borgata make that kind of dough?—and ended its days as the gaudiest grind joint on the Boardwalk. Today it prospers as Hard Rock A.C.)

With casino gambling still a distant glimmer on the horizon, Virginia punters are going mad for sports betting. January handle was $485.5 million, which meant $39 million in revenue—minus $17 million in promotional spending and $4 million in unspecified “deductions.” Unfortunately, no breakdown by operator is available. Across the country, in Colorado, the action was almost as good: $574 million in handle. “The NFL’s decisions to add an extra week of regular-season games and expand the playoffs were a boon for sportsbooks, but the NBA continues to be the state’s hottest bet,” said PlayUSA analyst Ian St. Clair, adding, “With the Super Bowl in February and the NCAA Tournament in March, sportsbooks should continue to see heavy betting volume numbers before seasonally tapering off in spring.” Yeah, especially with no baseball. Thanks, Rob Manfred.

Colorado revenue was $34.5 million but operators continue to give away the store, spending $21.5 million on promotional credits. (Spend $2 to make $1!) That meant a mingy $12 million in revenue and a poor payday for the state. The NBA led handle with $163.5 million in wagers, followed by the NFL ($144 million), college basketball ($63 million), hockey ($25 million), tennis ($20 million), college football ($16 million) and soccer ($15 million).

We’d be remiss if we ended the week without saluting Apollo Management for being very “george” with Venelazzo employees. The fund has garnered a lot of adverse coverage (and deservedly so) but merits an attaboy for incepting a revenue-sharing program with employees. There’s a catch: You have to stay with Venelazzo until it’s flipped to another owner, at which point you get a cut of the sale proceeds. That’s an estimated $10,000-plus payday. “It’s equity-like,” said Apollo spokeswoman Erin Clark. “We think it’s an example of good corporate governance.” What remains to be seen is how many current Venelazzo employees are still around to collect on this theoretical bonanza. Still, it’s a good sign that Apollo is incentivizing workers to stay during a time of apprehension.

Jottings: Better late than never, we guess. Oblivious to the fact that Resorts World Las Vegas has been operational since last June 24, the Nevada Gaming Control Board only just got around to licensing President Scott Sibella and six Genting Group executives. Sibella is very well qualified and there’s no excuse for this kind of regulatory slow-pokery. Group business at Resorts World is said to be steady and even accelerating, one of a number of positive auguries … Remember how the Macao government was ready to reassess the enclave’s six casino licenses in June? Well, now it’s going to be more like Christmastime, as re-tender of the concessions has been postponed until late December. That gives operators six more months to try and recoup their pandemic-driven losses … Texas, gambling-phobic though it is, has three tribal casinos and now one casino-management program. The University of North Texas has launced the course, although it’s more likely to be the gain of neighboring states, Oklahoma especially.

Quote of the Day: “Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.”—the Dalai Lama