“Class” with a capital K. That’s what the Adelson family brings to Big Gaming. They’re the casino equivalent of that embarrassing, nouveau riche uncle who shows up wearing a loud, polyester leisure suit, smoking a noxious cigar and waving a wad of greenbacks. That’s certainly been their heavy-handed approach to the state of Texas, which continues to resist these garish blandishments. So crass is Las Vegas Sands‘ siege of Texans that it’s almost enough to make one sympathetic to the mossbacks and prudes who oppose Sands.
As Howard Stutz revealed this week, Dr. Miriam Adelson‘s and Sands’ attempts to juice their way into a casino license are so garish that they continue to backfire. The most galumphing effort was Dr. Adelson’s purchase of the Dallas Mavericks, just in time for last spring’s title run (which ended in lopsided defeat by the Boston Celtics). If old Miriam thought this would make her look like less of a carpetbagger, she figured wrong. Nobody is being fooled.
The Adelsons’ politics, familiar via the pages of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, are so doctrinaire that they spurn any effort at bipartisanship in the Texas Lege. But even if they did, it wouldn’t get them past Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R, above) and the hard-liners in the state Senate for whom any kind of gambling is anathema. So long as Patrick is setting the calendar for the upper chamber, casino and sports-betting legalization will be going precisely nowhere.
Nor are Sands’ chances improved by the blunderbuss (emphasis on ‘blunder’) of the company’s top lobbyist, Andy Abboud. Time and again he has parachuted 70-plus lobbyists into Austin, a high-profile move that not only underscores Sands’ outsider status but also its go-it-alone approach to the issue. Texas politicians clearly haven’t responded well to the hard-sell assault force, as noted by Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, which posits that the casino/OSB issue is a goner in the 2025 session. 2027 is the earliest they think gambling will be legalized, leaving the Widow Adelson with plenty of time to count her money and contemplate the futility of her actions.
As Stutz succinctly puts it, “Extraordinary lobbying efforts and big campaign contributions centered on legalizing casinos in Texas have emboldened the state’s anti-gaming community and are actively hurting the chances that the Lone Star State will legalize sports betting next year.” “Emboldened” the opposition? “Actively hurting” the cause? With friends like the Adelsons, does the industry need enemies? Think of the late Sheldon Adelson‘s bludgeoning efforts to stamp out iGaming, which continue to crimp the industry long after his demise.
But, like the Bourbon monarchs they generally tend to resemble, the Adelsons have evidently learnt nothing and forgotten nothing. A new Mavericks arena is being made conditional on embedding a casino within it. Mavs boss Mark Cuban (an unlikely bedmate for Mrs. Adelson) offered the elegant formation that “In order … to be able to compete financially, we had to be able to say what comes next for the arena.” In case anybody missed the plot, he was less subtle: “the 10% of the people who gamble pay for everything else.”
The Adelsons having screwed the pooch for themselves in Texas and everyone else, there is little that can be done now but wait until 2027 and try, try again. Eilers & Krejcik are optimistic that at least sports betting will pass that year, incepting in time for the Dallas Cowboys to take the field in 2028. Casinos … who knows? But don’t expect that to stop Abboud from resuming his gauche approach to the Lege, making few converts and reinforcing enmities. Nice work, Miriam.
Casino saturation continued to take its toll on Pennsylvania last month. Revenue slipped 5% from last year and 3% from 2019. But, on a same-store basis, they were down 15% from pre-pandemic times. Expansion giveth, expansion taketh away. With the impressive exception of Philadelphia Live (up 3%) and the satellite properties, everybody was revenue-negative for the month. The strategically sited Cordish Gaming casino cleaned up with $21 million. In terms of sheer improvement, the star performer was little Lady Luck Nemacolin, jumping 11.5% to $2.5 million, which is boffo for that hole in the wall. Other satellites who outperformed were Hollywood York ($8 million, +4.5%), Hollywood Morgantown ($6 million, 11%) and Parx Shippensburg ($3 million, +8.5%). The lone disappointment amongst the small fry was Pittsburgh Live, down 3% to $9.5 million.
The Keystone State’s top dog remained Parx Casino, off 2% to $48.5 million. Best of the outstate casinos, as always, was Wind Creek Bethlehem, sliding 6% to a still-whopping $46 million. Rivers Philadelphia dipped 3.5% to $18.5 million, Harrah’s Philadelphia (in Chester) plunged 15% to a dismal $10.5 million, while Valley Forge Resort was off 5.5% but still bested Harrah’s with $11 million. Pittsburgh saw Rivers Casino fall 9.5% to $27 million, as rival Hollywood Meadows toppled 13% to $15 million. Elsewhere in the state, Mohegan Pocono slid 6% to $17 million, Presque Isle Downs was down 6% to $9 million and Mount Airy Resort stumbled 7% to $17 million. Hollywood Penn National made headlines this week by seeking permission to remove 169 slot machines. Penn Entertainment blamed black-market slot routes for the move but the racino has been underperforming for a while, so it just plain makes sense. Last month was no exception: The casino was down 4.5% to a mediocre $13.5 million.
Whatever was ailing the terrestrial casinos wasn’t afflicting iGaming or OSB. Internet-casino revenues leapt 31% to $174 million, with $64 million going to Hollywood Casino. Next up was FanDuel with $45.5 million, then BetRivers with $30 million. Sports betting brought in $38.5 million, a 20% jump, on handle of $415 million. From that, operators spent $14 million to buy business through promo giveaways. Before promotional allowances, FanDuel reigned supreme with $23.5 million, distantly rivaled by DraftKings‘ $12.5 million. Further back were BetMGM ($3 million), BetRivers ($3 million), ESPN Bet ($2.5 million), Caesars Sportsbook ($1.5 million) and Parx ($1 million).
Revenues from iGaming and OSB were also robust in Michigan last month, up 25% and 31% respectively. Internet casinos won $191.5 million while sports books garnered $29.5 million on handle of $250 million, thanks to 12% hold. BetMGM clung to the top spot with $50.5 million, closely rivaled by FanDuel ($46.5 million) and DraftKings ($44 million). The middle of the pack was represented by BetRivers ($12.5 million) and Caesars Palace Online ($11.5 million). Bringing up the rear were Hollywood Casino ($4.5 million), FoxBet ($2.5 million) and BetGLC ($2.5 million). Sports betting was game, set and match to FanDuel ($12 million), trailed by DraftKings ($8 million) and BetMGM ($4 million and falling close to fourth place). Also-rans were Fanatics ($2 million), ESPN Bet ($1.5 million) and Caesars Sportsbook ($1 million), with BetRivers fading from sight.