November was good for casinos in Massachusetts, up 6% from last year to a gross of $93 million. Encore Boston Harbor led the way with $59.5 million, an 8% gain. MGM Springfield chipped in $22 million, up 2% despite an 18% plunge in table winnings. A 9% jump in slot win saved the day. Plainridge Park was nice and steady, up 4% from both last year and 2019 for $11.5 million in the kitty. Wynn Resorts got another piece of good news when WynnBet became the first mobile sports-betting provider to be licensed in the Bay State. Wynn has clearly learned how to do business in Massachusetts, where regulation is taken seriously (unlike Nevada, where regulators bend over and grab their ankles). The Steve Wynn imbroglio was definitely a teaching moment and Wynn Resorts benefited from it. By contrast, MGM’s sports-betting push got pushed back by a vaporous business plan and Plainridge Park’s has a serious problem that can summarized in two simple words: Dave Portnoy. Until and unless Penn Entertainment CEO Jay Snowden overcomes his codependent-abusive relationship with Portnoy, expect regulatory grief to continue.
The joint was jumping last weekend at Ocean Casino Resort, to judge by the capacity-filled parking garage (which, brilliantly, is directly connected to the hotel lobby). Things were no less salubrious at Hard Rock Atlantic City, whose crowded lobby bar is seen above. The good news for Las Vegas is that property President Joe Lupo is ticketed to reinvent The Mirage as a Hard Rock. The bad news for Atlantic City is that he’s leaving it. Lupo has been a godsend to the casino biz on the Boardwalk. Who ever thought a dump like Trump Taj Mahal could be reborn as one of the two hottest resorts in town?
Criticizing Bally’s Atlantic City is getting to be like tripping a dwarf but they keep asking for it. Our East Coast reporter went to Bally’s on a Saturday and was presented with Friday’s menu. “Sad that Bally’s doesn’t know the day of the week or the date (but my phone does).” The picture also shows the ‘Chef’s Choice’ appetizer: “The chef’s choice was obviously limited to about $0.25 of food. When they brought my ‘soup,’ it was quite pathetic and I asked the server to take it back and bring the small salad.” Perhaps Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot (D) should have stayed at Bally’s A.C. before handing the company the keys to the Windy City.
Returning to Ocean, we don’t know which is more dispiriting: the puny menorah or the unmanned concierge desk. To venerate Santa Claus, however, no expense was spared, as can be seen below in a photo of the “Jingle Bell Bar.”
Apollo Management is at it again, this time with a proposed retail offering aimed at wealthy folk. The sales pitch is that “it says [Apollo] can replicate the annual 10-12 per cent returns of the S&P 500 but with less volatility.” Of course, Apollo being Apollo, it’s covering its ass by charging high fees of its clients. The idea is receiving some additional scrutiny after a run on Blackstone Group‘s $69 billion property fund. Also, Apollo seems to be trying to cash in on the real-estate fad of the moment. “Private equity firms never wanted retail. Retail was not smart money. Now they are knocking on our door,” a Wall Street source told the Financial Times. Fund co-founder Marc Rowan boasted, “I truly believe this could be the single biggest product inside the Apollo family in the not-too-distant future.” Unfortunately for you, it won’t contain Venelazzo, which Apollo merely leases from Vici Properties.
Blackstone’s bath is already causing that firm to shift to a go-slow approach. Small wonder, when your investors are clamoring to get out. So far Blackstone’s gaming investments have panned out well. Ditto Apollo’s Venelazzo lease. But this attempt to find new tranches of investors for speculative purchases bears watching. When it comes to gaming, never underestimate private equity’s ability to—not to put too fine a point on it—fuck shit up.