Category: Casino News

Our East Coast correspondent had a good experience at Ocean Casino Resort last weekend. It started with no line at the “Prime” players-club check-in … although it was a quite a different (and worse) story if you fell into a lower player tier. Ocean rewards guests who “go green” (i.e., opt out of maid service) with a $20 F&B credit. “So our Saturday morning breakfast sandwiches were a few cents short of free. When we checked out, our balance due was $0.26 total. The employee asked if he should use ‘comps’ for the balance, but I paid cash.” Incidentally, Bart Blatstein holds several vacant lots in Ocean’s vicinty, but has announced no plans for them.

Don’t hold your breath if you’re waiting for Tilman Fertitta to break ground on what will probably be a Post Oak Hotel on the Las Vegas Strip. The mogul is keeping his powder dry, or as Truist Securities analyst Barry Jonas summarized him, “No firm start date has been set, and management is willing to wait for clarity on economic conditions.” That could be a long wait. Already Fertitta’s high-end-dining business is softening, though Tilman expects his Joe Sixpack customers to be most affected by any economic downturn. And if you were wondering whether Tilman would expend any of his considerable political capital on behalf of Texas casino legalization, the answer appears to be no. Fertitta kept mum on the subject, beyond saying that Texas tribal casinos wouldn’t hurt his Lake Charles business, which hardly comes as a shocking analysis.

Don’t look now, Las Vegas but we may have another failsino on our hands. Construction has ground to a total halt on Dream, the south-Strip resort project that looked like a sure thing not so long ago. Developer Bill Shopoff is as much as $30 million in hock, stalling work on Dream. Shopoff is evidently renegotiating with his principal lender, for reasons undisclosed. (Cost overruns?) With a budgetary cap of $575 million, Dream has been proceeding so far from cash on hand, leaving it $400 million-plus short of the finish line. That’d require a “bridge loan” big enough to span Long Island Sound.

Gambling revenues inched upward in New Jersey, plus 1% statewide, mainly driven by Internet casinos (+9%). In Atlantic City, slot winnings rose 3.5% to ($159 million) on 4% more coin-in but tables slipped 4.5% to $54 million as wagering dipped 1%. The comp-sweating Golden Nugget tumbled 14% to $11 million, tightening its stranglehold on last place, well behind Bally’s Atlantic City ($12 million and an impressive +14%) and Resorts Atlantic City ($12.5 million, -2%). Borgata put even more distance between itself and the competition, up 9% to $57.5 million. Hard Rock Atlantic City was flat and way back at $37.5 million. Ocean Casino Resort slid 11.5% to $26 million. Does the Illitch Family still fantasize about having the top casino in A.C.? That leaves the Caesars Entertainment triumvirate, led by Harrah’s Resort‘s $21.5 million (+8%), lagged by Caesars Atlantic City ($19 million, +1.5%) and the Tropicana Atlantic City with $17 million, flat in February.

Maryland aside, gambling revenues continue to trend upward. Even in Iowa, where they nudged only 1% higher from last year (undoubtedly due to new competition from Nebraska) but were high heavens (+38%) over 2019, aka the good old days. Indiana’s gain was also a modest 1% from 2022 for a $199 million haul. Hard Rock Northern Indiana surged 9% to $34.5 million, while Horseshoe Hammond‘s decline slowed to 1.5%, bagging $28 million. Ameristar East Chicago slid 8% to $16.5 million and Blue Chip was up 4.5% to $11 million. To the south, Horseshoe Indianapolis galloped 8% faster, winning $26 million, while Harrah’s Hoosier Downs cantered +1.5% to $17.5 million.

Best of the non-racinos (other than Horseshoe Hammond) was Caesars Southern Indiana, grossing $21.5 million for a 9.5% gain. Bally’s Evansville peaked at $14 million and a couple of its competitors got hit hard. Rising Star fell 20.5% to $3 million and Hollywood Lawrenceburg tumbled 14% to $13 million. Belterra Resort rounded out the unfortunates, down 7.5% to $6.5 million. French Lick Resort climbed 8.5% to $6.5 million, enabling us to end on a positive note.