You know it’s a slow news week when today’s front-and-center lead story in the Las Vegas Review-Journal is that a Lotus of Siam will open in a refreshed Red Rock Resort. With nothing of pressing urgency in the press these last few days, we’ll update you with various odds and ends, such as … Cirque du Soleil‘s Love has received a one-year stay of execution at The Mirage, extended into and perhaps through 2023. All bets are off once Hard Rock International consummates the purchase. Only CEO Jim Allen knows for sure and he ain’t talking, including addressing the bigger question of whether The Mirage proper will remain open during the massive rebranding of the resort. Love‘s marquee is conspicuously missing from the Hard Rock rendering above …
The return of Adele to Caesars Palace has got off on the wrong foot, with Ticketmaster arbitrarily reassigning dates to ticket holders, regardless of whether they can attend or not. (It’s not called ‘Ticketbastard’ for nothing.) What remains to be seen is whether Adele 2.0 will be a music-first show or a reboot of the super-spectacle that crashed and burned last January … Bally’s Corp.’s August 4 earnings call will have to spin the holdup on its unpopular, $110 million State College satellite casino. The problem isn’t Bally’s but co-owner Ira Lubert, who wasn’t qualified to partner with Bally’s—or so Cordish Gaming contends. Cordish, having lost out on State College, is not exactly impartial … With inflation still on the upswing and U.S. disposable income on the decline, the long-running casino recovery could be about to expire. Recent state GGR revenue reports certainly support this. Economist Paul Girvan warns, “The next quarter of revenue data will be definitive.” …
“Liar, liar, pants on fire!” is the latest campaign tactic of California tribes who oppose private-sector-backed Proposition 27, arguing that 90% of the profits from sports betting will be exported out of state. We’re skeptical that Prop 27 will raise “hundreds of millions” to combat homelessness, as backers contend but both it and tribal-centric Proposition 26 have serious drawbacks. The American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees came out against Prop 26, saying it would “bankrupt community cardrooms” …. Sports betting was a success in May in Arizona, generating $55 million in revenue—less $14 million in free play and promos. 18 operators vied for a piece of the action but four were dominant: FanDuel ($25 million), DraftKings ($14 million), BetMGM ($10 million) and Caesars Sportsbook ($3.5 million), leaving crumbs for everyone else.