Casinos in the Free State jetted 13% above 2019 levels, grossing $172 million, a new record. MGM National Harbor led with $68.5 million (+16%) and 40% market share. Maryland Live was up 15% to $61.5 million for 35.5% market share, while Hollywood Perryville justified Penn National Gaming‘s faith in the property, jumping 23% to $8.5 million. Ocean Downs gained 19%, also to $8.5 million and Rocky Gap Casino was up 21.5% to $6 million. The only loser was—you guessed it—Horseshoe Baltimore, sagging 5% to $19.5 million. New management at Caesars Entertainment has announced no plans for the property and it’s an open question whether they have any. Now would be a good time. Over in West Virginia, casinos continue to lag the 2021 recovery, down 18%, with Penn Charles Town further behind at -20%. Overall, slots were a relative bright spot, -17%, negated by a -21% dive at the tables.
“I think there’s incredible resiliency,” restaurant impresario Elizabeth Blau says of Las Vegas. There needs to be, as the Great Shutdown took a scythe to Sin City’s dining scene. “Now with the Virgin hotel opening, Resorts World opening, and numerous hotels having major restaurant openings. Major arenas reopening—the old Vegas is roaring back,” Blau contends. The cascade of debuts includes Virgin Las Vegas‘ One Steakhouse (March), Linq Promenade‘s Sweet Sin (April) and Wynncore‘s long-awaited Delilah (July), all perfectly timed to trade in on Las Vegas’ comeback. And that’s to say nothing of the 40-plus eateries Resorts World Las Vegas will unleash upon the market, with something for every price point. Even buffets are returning, albeit few and cautiously. However, if restaurants are on the rebound, their workers aren’t getting the memo. “Half our union is still not back to work. We have half the union back to work and the other half is still waiting for the jobs. Waiting for when they call them back,” groused the Culinary Union‘s Geoconda Argüello-Kline. Even the new ‘right to return’ law can’t redress that.
In a generous move, Rush Street Gaming raised the minimum for employee salaries to $15/hour (except for tipped workers), not on account of any pressure but because it’s the right thing to do. “We believe that paying a living wage is more than a recruitment strategy,” CEO Greg Carlin. “Our team members are committed to our success each and every day. This is just another way we return that commitment.” Rush Street reckons that, once benefits are factored in, the effective wage is $25/hour. Added Rivers Casino Philadelphia General Manager Justin Moore, “There’s never been a better time to join the gaming industry.” Boy, is he right. Some casinos are downright hurting for workers. MGM Resorts International is having to advertise for lifeguards in Las Vegas and for workers across the board at MGM Northfield Park. And it’s not alone.
At Monarch Casino Black Hawk, in Colorado, management is offering signing bonuses to new hires. Monarch has 370 jobs and no one to fill them. “Have you just finished your degree in computer science? I have a job for you Marketing? That too,” remarked the casino’s Erica Ferris. That’s not all. Relocation incentives are on the table, as well as commuting subsidies. Cripple Creek is living up to its name with casinos described as “desperate” for employees. While the unemployment rate languishes at 6%, even signing bonuses aren’t enough to fill Cripple Creek vacancies. To compensate, restaurants and other amenities are going dark, and some workers are handling multiple assignments. (All-important gaming does not seem to have been affected.) Colorado unemployment benefits run to $600 per week, which is more than we make, so we can understand why some ex-casino workers may be milking it for all it’s worth. But that’s not making life any easier for their former employers. We’ll give the last word to Triple Crown Casinos‘ Scott Porter: “In 25 years here, I’ve never seen a labor drought like we have right now.”
A tweet is forever. Just ask newly unemployed ESPN sports-betting analyst Kelly Stewart. Seems Kelly was in the habit of slinging (unspecified) homophobic slurs on social media. They went viral and Stewart’s ESPN gig succumbed to the disease. Other loony-tunes views held by Stewart were that Covid-19 is a hoax and so on and so forth. Covid Kelly was basically unrepentant, saying in part, “I cannot apologize for standing up to the vicious attacks I, and so many other female personalities, endure from anonymous online trolls.” Yes, especially when you feel the need to call them “fags,” huh? Stewart lives in Las Vegas, which means that the 9% unemployment rate there just went up an increment.
More bad news for Macao: Cases of Covid-19 are on the rise in all-important Guangdong Province, gateway to the gambling enclave. Visitors from Guangdong (and points beyond) will have to tested for Coronavirus upon arrival. With Hong Kong still off-limits, this is not what Macanese gambling moguls wanted to hear. “Obviously, this is a step backwards for a Macau recovery, and we’d expect a sequential retrenchment in what has been recently a gradual recovery in visitation and gross gaming revenues,” wrote JP Morgan analyst Joseph Greff, who added that a “travel bubble is unlikely to happen in the very near-term.” Considering the Coronavirus did not ravage Macao to the extent that it did Las Vegas, the Chinese outpost is having a devil of a time recovering from it.
Jottings: Harness racing fans can return to MGM Empire City in Yonkers on June 9. While the racino has been conducting races for a year it has been doing so without spectators. Starting Wednesday they can attend, albeit in limited capacity … Cedric Cromwell is out and Brian Moskwetah Weeden is in at the Mashpee Wampanoag chairmanship. Weeden is already breaking with previous tribal policy by suggesting the Mashpee Wamps look beyond woebegone casino Project First Light for economic development … Arizona‘s new tribal-gaming/sports-betting compacts flew through Interior Department scrutiny in record time. Now we’ll see if Florida fares so well … Pennsylvania Lottery games can continue to compete with i-gaming in the Keystone State. A court ruling held that the lottery offerings do not infringe upon casino-based games … Congratulations to Clayton Mason, new CFO of Four Winds Casino. The property is owned by the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi and Mason has been with it since 2007.
What about the employees who are making $20 per hour? Do they get a raise too or just the employees making under $15? If so then what is the incentive to take on more responsibility and move up in an organization?
ESPN should have done their homework on this employee, losing more Americans in one year than we did in WW2 is not something to downplay, ESPN is a mainstream sports network, not a cable TV politics network. Picking winners is very difficult, it requires you to overcome your biases, to rise above your conventional thinking, it’s just not for casual fans, and if you rely on others for your handicapping you will absolutely lose. The very best handicappers will sometimes be unable to pick winners for extended periods, the best clues you can get come directly from the oddsmakers themselves, not touts trying to sell you their picks. If during the NFL season you strongly disagree with a point spread and have data that backs you up, pull the trigger and don’t bet the family farm, it’s recreation. If the handicapper you are listening to denies Covid, they are obviously laden with bias, steer clear… And as far as the hourly wage question, $20 is way more than $15, your incentive to earn more has nothing to do with others who earn less, it’s up to your employer to set up incentives, if they don’t, find a better situation IMHO…