Category: Casino News

For the second time in a month, we have a major civic leader diving under the table instead of making a firm decision. After dithering for seven months, Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D) opted to let LD 1164 become law without her signature. Not exactly Profiles in Courage stuff. Why is this bill important? Because it opens up the Pine Tree State to iGaming, via the four tribes of the Wabanaki Nation. Three of them are aligned with Caesars Entertainment and one with DraftKings. Pouting on the sidelines are a variety of interested parties, including FanDuel, BetMGM and Fanatics, all of whom find themselves on the outside looking in.

Tourism to Las Vegas fell 5% in November and flattened Las Vegas Strip gambling revenues along with with it. Casinos should be grateful that the fewer players they’re getting are spending more. Strip gambling houses grossed $784 million the month before last. (The Nevada Gaming Control Board snuck the numbers out on New Year’s Eve.) Although miscellaneous Clark County casinos were flat, most everybody else prospered. Downtown dens were up 10% to $87 million, the Boulder Strip saw a 20% leap to $79.5 million and North Las Vegas was up 4.5% to $25.5 million. Along the borders, Laughlin jumped 11.5% to $38 million, Mesquite climbed 10.5% to $18 million, while Wendover was 4.5% to $24 million.

Over the weekend, a rather bizarre story appeared in Sin City’s whipped cur of a newspaper, the servile Las Vegas Review-Journal, play toy of Dr. Miriam Adelson. Since Jonathan Halkyard has been functioning as CFO of MGM Resorts International since 2020, one might assume he’d been licensed for that position in Nevada. Well, you know what happens when we assume. Seems that only now is the sleepy Nevada Gaming Commission getting around to vetting the man who’s been #2 at MGM for five effing years now. Halkyard is squeaky clean but this is a prime example of how rotten apples like Scott Sibella can have time to taint the barrel whilst Silver State regulators catch up on their naps.

It was the best of times … for Borgata, Hard Rock Atlantic City and Ocean Casino Resort. It was the worst of times for everyone else. Borgata takings rocketed 25% to $72 million, outpacing everyone else. Hard Rock Atlantic City was up 2% to $45 million and Ocean Casino leapt 14.5% to $39 million. The only other casino to hold its own was Harrah’s Resort, flat at $18.5 million. Caesars Atlantic City plunged 24% to $12.5 million and Tropicana Atlantic City fell 4.5% to $16 million. In other words, it took Caesars Entertainment three casinos to make slightly more than Hard Rock did.

Casinos in Illinois nudged up a point last month, garnering $155 million. Take away underachieving Fairmount Park ($1.5 million) and they were flat with November 2024. Newfangled Hollywood Joliet continued to tear up the marketplace, vaulting 51% to $11 million. Three casinos in Chicagoland were reeling—and we’re not referring to their slot machines. Market leader Rivers Des Plaines got walloped 13.5%, spiraling down to $37.5 million. Bally’s Casino downtown didn’t have a chance to gloat, also getting clocked 13.5% to $8.5 million. Even so, Bally’s Corp. and Gaming & Leisure Properties Inc. remain (delusionally?) convinced that $2 billion Bally’s Chicago will be a barnburner.