Category: Casino News

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Station accentuates positives; Wynn gets richer, Adelson poorer

Do Station Casinos execs really want to double their footprint in seven years? Yesterday they reported flat 3Q22 revenues of $414.5 million, all but $3 million of which were Vegas-derived, unwittingly highlighting the company’s exposure to a single market. Company leadership promised better times ahead—and soon. CFO Stephen Cootey spun the disappointing first blush by pointing out that, on a same-store basis, it was the best third quarter in the company’s history. Although foot traffic was flat with 2Q22, Cootey said spending trends are strong, with F&B recording its best third quarter ever. While pledging not to look into his crystal ball, CEO Frank Fertitta III said, “We don’t see anything that would suggest that it will be any different than it has been historically, other than the last third quarter, when we had a bunch of stimulus money in the economy that may have made things a little harder to read.” In other words, comparisons to to 3Q21 don’t count.

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Strip still booming, locals flat; Gambling with democracy

Nevada scored yet another $1 billion-plus month in September, up 8% from 2021. As you might expect, the Las Vegas Strip drove the big gain, booking $693 million in win, up 8%. Strip slot revenue was $409.5 million, a 17.5% vault in coin-in. Table games not called ‘baccarat’ saw 10.5% more wagering and the whales appear to have returned to the baccarat table, where betting volume was 34.5% larger. Luck wasn’t with the house, which saw 3% less baccarat win.

This more than compensated for a Las Vegas locals market that has leveled off from last year. Downtown was more like its old self, gaining 1.5% to reach $74 million while Laughlin hopped 5% to $39 million. Boulder Strip casinos took a hit, down 8.5% to $74.5 million. This negated most gains in the rest of the locals picture. North Las Vegas was up 5% to $23.5 million, proving out Station Casinos‘ contention that demolishing two casinos wouldn’t hurt the region. Miscellaneous Clark County climbed 4% to $142 million.

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Bullish for Boyd; Abbott does Texas two-step; D.C. remorse

Bad economy? Not if you’re Boyd Gaming. The regional giant significantly improved third-quarter income, from $843 million in 3Q21 to $877 million this year. Said CEO Keith Smith, “Continuing into October, customer spending has been very consistent with the trends we’ve seen throughout this year. While there are clearly headwinds in the economy, we haven’t seen any meaningful change in our customers’ behavior.” Rated play was up 5%, compensating for a faling-off of unrated, stimulus-driven spending. Hotel revenue was also up 5% and occupancies up 6%, those rooms being filled with what Smith characterized as high-value guests (10% higher gaming win). Food and beverage was a revenue geyser, jumping 11% and nowhere was business better than in Sin City’s Downtown, where earnings leapt 17.5% to $49.5 million, driven by the reopening of Main Street Station and by the return of business from Hawaii, a Boyd mainstay.

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Vegas scores own-goal; Housing slowdown begs casino growth

In their rush to book a Formula One racing event, Las Vegas city fathers have intentionally or otherwise conducted a 20,000-person human sacrifice in the form of a forfeited convention. Congratulations, Sin City, you’ve just lost the 2023 NAR NXT, a major conference of Realtors. Your loss shall be Anaheim‘s gain. Let’s let the official press release tell the story, shall we?

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Upsurge in Louisiana; Stitt stiffed; Fubo Sportsbook folds

In a major reversal of fortune, Louisiana casino revenue vaulted 18.5% over September 2021. Foot traffic rose 41.5%, which more than made up for thriftier gamblers: On average they lost 16% less per player. It helped the year/year comparison that Louisiana in autumnal 2o21 was still reeling from Hurricane Ida. However, even compared to the previous peak (2019) the numbers were 3% higher. Even sports betting is showing signs of life, with $32 million in revenue derived from handle of $207.5 million.

Not all markets benefited. Baton Rouge was in the doldrums with even L’Auberge Baton Rouge (pictured) flat at $13 million. Belle of Baton Rouge tumbled 21% to $1 million and Hollywood Baton Rouge slipped 10% to $4 million. Lake Charles saw a bonanza though, with Golden Nugget rocketing 41% to $32 million, past L’Auberge du Lac‘s $30 million (+14%), while Delta Downs gained 12.5% to achieve $13.5 million. Boyd Gaming‘s two rural properties fared poorly, however, with Amelia Belle sinking 10% to $3 million and Evangeline Downs down 12.5% to $6 million.

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Las Vegas Sands blossoms in Singapore, challenged in NYC

Cash flow at Vegas-less Las Vegas Sands during the third quarter came in far above Wall Street‘s expectations, driven by “accelerating” business at Marina Bay Sands. As Credit Suisse analyst Ben Chaiken reported, “Macau is still largely uncertain pending the travel/COVID policies within China.” Still, he thinks a speedier-than-anticipated recovery in Singapore bodes well for Macao eventually. Once the government gets its act together, that is. He felt that at its current $36.50 a share, LVS stock is fairly priced, even a bargain when one looks to the future. For instance, when Shanghai denizens are allowed back into Macao (where they have represented 55% of visitation), favorable monetary demographics bode well for the premium mass-market segment, the new must-have customers in the enclave.

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Saturation in Pennsylvania; Makeover for Venelazzo

Adding more and more casinos isn’t ‘growing the pie’ in Pennsylvania. Instead, the bottom fell out of September’s numbers, which were 8% below 2019 ones (i.e., the good old days). Against last year, they were 1% lower, for a tally of $280 million. Parx Casino, the Keystone State’s only smoke-free gambling den, was 5% off last year’s pace but still was rolling in dough to the tune of $49 million. Next best in the Philadelphia market was Philadelphia Live, having picked itself up off the canvas, posting a 1.5% gain to $18.5 million. Rivers Philadelphia (above) fell 10% to $17 million, Harrah’s Philadelphia slid 11% to $13 million and Valley Forge Resort brought up the rear with $11 million, a 5% slippage. Outstate, the runaway winner was Wind Creek Bethlehem, up 2% to $43 million and a great success story for tribal gaming.

In the Pittsburgh area, Rivers Pittsburgh clobbered the competition with $30 million (-3%), as Hollywood Meadows also ceded 3% to hit $16 million and Pittsburgh Live gained 1.5% for $9 million. Smokers flocked back to Mount Airy, which jumped 9.5% to $17 million, whilst Penn National tumbled 11.5% to $14 million. Presque Isle Downs was down 4% to $10 million, Lady Luck Nemacolin plunged 17.5% to $2 million, Hollywood York vaulted 20% to $9 million and newbie Hollywood Morgantown contributed $5 million. Returning to Philadelphia Live for a moment, since 2019 it has cost Harrah’s 34% of its revenue and Rivers Philadelphia 28%, while leaving Parx unaffected. Really, how wise was it to site five casinos in the greater Philly area? Not very.

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Atlantic City slows, Massachusetts doesn’t; Mega-Jottings

Atlantic City casinos grossed $252 million last month, up 1% year/year. A 2.5% hop in slot revenue ($186.5 million) on 1% more coin-in more than made up for a 2% dip in table win ($63.5 million) on 5% lower wagering. Borgata was comfortably in front with $62 million (+3.5%), outdistancing Hard Rock Atlantic City‘s $44 million (+6%) and Ocean Casino Resort‘s $30.5 million (+5%). Caesars Entertainment‘s threesome suffered a -15.5% reversal at Harrah’s Resort ($23 million) while Caesars Atlantic City was revenue-positive ($22.5 million, +2%), but Tropicana Atlantic City wasn’t ($23.5 million, -4%). Caesars’ official position is ‘Let’s wait and see when the $400 million capex kicks in’ but it may have to settle for middling status in a market dominated by relative newcomers. By contrast, Bally’s Atlantic City enjoyed a comeback month, leaping 13% to $16 million. Resorts Atlantic City sagged 3% to $17 million, while Golden Nugget enjoyed one of its better months, climbing 4% to $13.5 million, not enough to keep it out of last place.

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Caesars bares all; Midwest flattens; Adelson pledges neutrality

Landing a meeting with Caesars Entertainment CEO Tom Reeg, as well as several top execs, J.P. Morgan analyst Joseph Greff didn’t hear so much as a peep about the mooted Las Vegas Strip asset sale, which he assumes is on hold “given present financing terms for sizable asset sales and that CZR retains until market conditions improve.” Even so, Reeg & Co. asserted that “demand remains strong” and that neither macroeconomic conditions (read: inflation) nor gas prices were putting a dent in business. They expect even better things from next year thanks to Formula One, which they say will bring in “hundreds of thousands” of tourists, just as it drove 300,000 people to visit Singapore. It will also shore up one of the traditionally weakest weekends of the year.

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