Fail, Caesars; Taxation vexation

Sorry, imperator. The votes have been counted in Missouri and the initiative Caesars Entertainment tried to block, Amendment 2, has eked out the narrowest of wins. With victory within its grasp, Caesars told its troops to stand down three weeks before the vote. Now it emerges that the Roman Empire’s real motive for throwing in the towel was opportunistic and hypocritical: It could get one online sports betting license for every casino it has in the Show-Me State plus one, not the feared single license. Considering that Caesars has more online brands than it can shake a fasces at, this is good news for CEO Tom Reeg and his digital minions. However, had they sought a legal opinion sooner they might have saved themselves $15 million in wasted campaign money.

The passage of Amendment 2 was nip and tuck, with late votes from aptly named Christian County dropping its lead to as few as 368 votes. But—and this is why it is imperative to count EVERY vote in an election—Amendment 2 stormed back. Rather, it limped back, eventually posting a 2,971-vote margin of victory. That’s not much of a mandate but it’s a win all the same. DraftKings and FanDuel will take that outcome any time they can get it, even at a shared cost of $41 million. Inception of OSB is still many months away, although some naive Missourians think the floodgates will open immediately. Slim as the voting margin was, don’t expect a recount. Opposition leaders, having been left at the altar by Caesars, aren’t inclined to ask for a do-over.

Sports betting found few political friends in Ohio. The Lege and Gov. Mike DeWine (R), having legalized it, immediately suffered buyer’s remorse and tried to smother the golden goose by doubling the tax rate to 20%. The move was driven more by ideology than financial need and the high-tax forces weren’t coy about. Fortunately, state Sen. Niraj Antani (R) remembers the days when his party favored low taxes. He’s proposing returning the levy to 10%. “Our border states, Kentucky, Michigan, Indiana and West Virginia, now all have significantly lower tax rates. This puts us at a significant regional and national disadvantage,” Antani argues.

Mind you, he’s got to go through both houses of the Lege as well as DeWine, none of whom ever saw a gambling tax they didn’t like. (Just wait ’til iGaming comes up for debate.) We’re not optimistic about Antani’s chances but we’re sure pulling for him.

We could use a Niraj Antani in Louisiana. There, just when OSB was starting to show traction, comes state Rep. Roger Wilder (R) with the bright idea of raising taxes on operators from 15% to 51%. That’s not a misprint. Yelped Wilder, “If you lose your bet, we will tax the online sportsbook company 51% to help lower the income tax on our citizens. This bill puts Louisiana first!” Lobbyists for operators responded that Pelican State bettors would more likely see watered-down odds (and probably fewer promos, too).

Reaction from the gambling industry was swift and severe, as it came down on Wilder like a ton of bricks. Within a week he had meekly walked his bill back to the Island of Misfit Ideas. Casino veteran Richard Schuetz discerns a bit of misdirection in Wilder’s tax-and-spend ploy. Aside from the obvious shakedown, Schuetz sees Wilder as ginning up interest in a repeal of the Louisiana law that prevents casino companies from making campaign contributions. It’s a preposterous, feel-good law that ought to be stricken. If that’s the endgame of Wilder’s highway robbery, however, it feels and looks a great deal like a scam.

Casinos in Louisiana, meanwhile, finally got the dead-cat bounce they’ve been seeking. Yes, revenue decline seems to have finally bottomed out. Gambling winnings were up 3.5% last month, albeit still 1% down from 2019. But hey, we’ll chalk it up as a win for the long-suffering industry in the state. The total gross was $180.5 million, led by Golden Nugget‘s $24 million (+1%) in Lake Charles. Arch rival L’Auberge du Lac (above) trailed slightly with $22.5 million (+1.5%). Delta Downs galloped 10.5% faster to $12 million while Horseshoe Lake Charles looked like a bad bet indeed, falling 17.5% to $5.5 million.

Non-factors in New Orleans were Fair Grounds racino ($3 million, +12.5%) and Amelia Belle ($2.5 million, +10%), despite very good Octobers for both. Harrah’s New Orleans led with $22 million, up 13%, while newbie Treasure Chest continued to impress with $11.5 million (+81%). Boomtown New Orleans rounded out the leader board with $9.5 million (+11.5%), as a rising tide for Caesars Entertainment and Boyd Gaming helped lift all boats. Amazingly, up the river, Belle of Baton Rouge is somehow still open for business, scraping together a pitiful $300K, as business plummeted 59%. This blight on Baton Rouge can’t be gone soon enough. L’Auberge Baton Rouge took in $13.5 million (+1%), while Queen Casino‘s rapid growth slowed a wee bit to 13% or $7 million.

Outlying Evangeline Downs was flat with $6 million. Which brings us to Bossier City/Shreveport, where Cordish Gaming is rapidly progressing with a Bossier City casino that’s certain to shake things up and soon. In the meantime, Margaritaville lapped the field with $15 million (+2.5%), leaving Horseshoe Bossier City ($7.5 million, -43.5%) to eat its dust. Everyone else in the market was revenue-positive. Bally’s Shreveport was up 8.5% to $6.5 million, Boomtown Bossier rose 4% to $3.5 million, Sam’s Town ascended 3% to $3 million and Harrah’s-free Louisiana Downs leapt 12.5% to $3 million.

Programming note: As of yesterday, we can no longer be found on Twitter/X, having deactivated our accounts. The reason? Two words: Elon Musk. He can get along without any further help from us. In place of @Stiffs_Georges on Twitter, you’re cordially invited to follow @StiffsGeorges on Bluesky. New address, same groovy content. See you there.