Category: Casino News

What passes for entertainment at Bally’s Atlantic City continues to go over like a lead balloon with our man on the Boardwalk. Underwhelmed by the big second-quarter, tentpole event—a former Billy Joel backup singer—he notes acidly that nothing else is planned until October, five months distant. At that time, Bally’s will present two dates on the Gigi D’Alessio world tour. “You can’t imagine how long I have (not) been waiting for Gigi to take the boat from Italy to the U.S.A.,” he writes. “When Bally’s opens their casino in Chicago, perhaps they can offer tours of the Mob-related places led by Gianni Russo.” In between now and Gigi, the major events at Bally’s A.C. are last weekend’s host party and Wednesday-night dinners at Guy Fieri‘s restaurant.

Wall Street analysts rolled over and lit a cigarette after hearing Caesars Entertainment‘s first-quarter earnings call. J.P. Morgan analyst Joseph Greff said the results were pretty much as expected “with Las Vegas Strip upside more (way more) than offsetting a (modest) Northern Nevada adverse winter weather-related shortfall in its Regional segment (absent this impact, the segment would have been ahead) and a steady reduction/rationalization in Digital, with a near breakeven result.” Breakeven in digital? That is big—and good—news. Greff was moved to utter a “wow” when reporting that Caesars is gaining traction in Strip midweek bookings (good) and convention traffic (even better), with the latter accounting for 21% of room nights, up 50% (with help from triennial CONAG) from a pre-Covid 14%. We’d be orgasmic too if we had skin in the CZR game.

Resisting the temptation to call it Aladdin 2.0, executives at Wynn Resorts unveiled designs of their United Arab Emirates casino resort, Wynn Al Marjan Island. Noting that its’ the company’s first oceanfront resort, Wynn is quick to assure us that the casino is 1,000 feet above sea level, presumably safe from the depredations of global warming. The company is specific about the budget ($3.9 billion) but vague regarding what the finished product will offer. “The project will pave the way for the accelerated growth of allied business sectors,” we are promised. What the company is prepared to say is that there will be 1,500 guest rooms and suites, 24 unspecified eateries, and oh yes, “a gaming area.”

The Great American Gambling Craze isn’t abating, although Las Vegas Strip revenues slipped 3% in March, down to $724.5 million. This was paradoxical, as it came in a month in which airline passenger loads into and out of Las Vegas grew 25% year/year, buoyed by two Taylor Swift concerts and March Madness. Part of the problem was bad luck by the house. Baccarat win plunged 50% despite on 5% less wagering as the man saw relatively little ($63 million) of the $604.5 million that was bet. Other table games revenue was actually up 7% to $239 million, while slots did well also, hopping 6.5% to $422 million. Still, the baccarat bath was sufficient to pull Strip table revenues from 7% up to 14% down.

Casino winnings in Pennsylvania stuttered last month, hitting $311 million, flat with March 2022. Spreading more gaming wealth among a greater number of properties obviously isn’t helping on a same-store basis. Parx Casino maintained its supremacy with $53 million, despite a 5% slippage. Elsewhere in the Philadelphia area, Philadelphia Live jumped 5.5% to $22 million, besting nearby rival Rivers Philadelphia ($21.5 million, -6%). Harrah’s Philadelphia plunged 10% to $14 million, falling tantalizingly close to Valley Forge Resort, whose $13 million represented a 2.5% gain. In the Pittsburgh market, Rivers Pittsburgh was flat at a still-impressive $33.5 million. Rival Hollywood Meadows galloped 17.5% faster to hit $19 million while Pittsburgh Live gained 5% to reach $10.5 million.

As for the outstate casinos, Wind Creek Bethlehem dipped 1% to a massive $45 million, leaving behind Mohegan Sun Pocono ($19 million, -2%) and smoky Mount Airy ($16 million, +8%). Presque Isle Downs was down 11.5% to $9 million, Hollywood Penn National slipped 3.5% to $16.5 million and Lady Luck Nemacolin plunged 21% to $1.5 million. Amongst the satellites, Hollywood York leapt 14% to $9 million, Hollywood Morgantown vaulted 22.5% to $6.5 million and Parx Shippensburg booked $3 million.