Category: Casino News

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.

Alas, today’s top story is of the “If it bleeds, it leads” variety and is written out of sheer necessity, not desire. A thirty-something Latino man, Yoni Barrios, is in custody after going on a knife-wielding spree in front of Wynncore. It seems that the individual, who was packing a large kitchen knife, didn’t take well to being spurned in his request to have his photo taken with a group of showgirls. The latter, who were employed as Wynn Resorts greeters, were among the eight people who were subsequently stabbed, two fatally. Several tourists also fell victim to this Sin City iteration of Jack the Ripper, who fled the scene only to captured in front of Venelazzo, slashing one person during his attempted getaway. The assailant’s sleeves were coated in blood, so he’ll have a hard time explaining that away in court. We thought we’d seen the last of the Las Vegas Strip as a lawless frontier once tourists starting returning en masse but evidently not. And with that … words fail us.

While Bally’s Corp. may not be the laughingstock of the casino industry, it isn’t for want of trying. You would think that Bally’s Atlantic City (above) would want to pimp nearby Bally’s Dover Downs to its customers. Instead it sent a lengthy mailer touting all the great deals to be found … at Bally’s Vicksburg. We mean, if you’ve driven to Atlantic City regularly, what’s a quick little runout to Vicksburg, the vacation capital of Dixie? (Not.) Don’t get us wrong. We’ve been to Vicksburg. We like Vicksburg. But it’s not exactly the destination that Bally’s customer base is slavering to be incentivized towards. Actually, Bally’s apparently needs to induce players to stay in Atlantic City anyway. Through the end of the month it’s offering room rates starting at $19 a night, though one wag suggested that was $15 too much (and yes, he’s stayed there).

Casinos on the Las Vegas Strip won $660 million last month, a 5% bump over last year, as business continues to trend well into 2023. (It was also up a whopping 27% over 2019.) Strip numbers also benefited—although locals ones did not—from July having ended on a Sunday, meaning last-minute slot winnings were rolled into August. Strip slot win, $381 million, rose 6% on 11% more coin-in on an 8% hold. Table games yielded $186.5 million, also up 6% despite 5.5% lower wagering. Baccarat play eked up 2% for 1% more house win. Locals play stayed on an even keel ($250 million) with the year before, but was a sky-high +41% over pre-pandemic 2019.

Today we conclude our review of Deutsche Bank analyst Carlo Santarelli‘s recent field trip to Las Vegas. We resume with Station Casinos, which seems to be accelerating its development timetable. Once it gets Durango Station up and running, it will proceed with both Inspirada and Skye Canyon, both of which are currently in the design phase. They enjoy favorable demographics, with Skye Canyon having been named one of the top 10 master-planned residential communities in the country. No word on what Station plans for the 100-acre Wild Wild West site, although Santarelli said the land gives the company “valuable optionality as the Strip continues to expand.” (Is that code for ‘flip’? It would be out of character for Station.)

Durango seems to be moving toward an early 2024 opening, although the timeline is kind of hazy, but it’s on budget and will be in an area that has 50 adults per gaming position, double the number surrounding Red Rock Resort—a Strip-caliber property stranded out in the ‘burbs. Household income in the Durango Station area is also only 8% below that in Summerlin, yet another positive harbinger. Santarelli doesn’t expect staffing of the new casino to be “problematic,” for several reasons, including Station’s status as a preferred employer in town. The company told him it is fully staffed at present and “Management noted that it has adapted a more disciplined approach to cost control via hourly wage management, given wage inflation.”