Posted on by — 2 Comments

Special Edition

So we leave on vacation (I checked into the Westin O’Hare and didn’t leave the building for three and half days) and all hell breaks loose in Big Gaming. The breaking story was MGM Resorts International‘s decision to shuck Gold Strike Tunica. It’s unloading a non-core property to the fast-expanding Cherokee Nation Entertainment. The fact that the Cherokee got 1,100 hotel rooms and a casino for a below-average 6X cash flow speaks for itself. Vici Properties remains the landlord and will collect $40 million a year from Cherokee Entertainment. MGM collects $350 million in cash, net, money it will hopefully not sink into the Osaka pit. The transaction is expected to take a year to close.

Although 2022 is still shaping up as a better year than 2019 for the industry, the post-pandemic recovery is definitely cooling. Indiana came out of May down 4% from last year, booking $212 million in revenue. With $36 million, Hard Rock Northern Indiana was the clear winner, besting nearby Horseshoe Hammond, falling a precipitous 24% to $29 million, and Ameristar East Chicago, plunging 34% to $17.5 million. Over to the east, Blue Chip was relatively unruffled, off 3.5% to $12 million. Elsewhere in the state, Hollywood Lawrenceburg was flat at $14.5 million and everyone else was down except Bally’s Evansville, up 7% to $14.5 million. Horseshoe Indianapolis banked $29 million, off 4.5%, and Harrah’s Hoosier Downs was down 1% to $21 million, both of them making up for the leakage up in Hammond.

Continue reading Special Edition
Posted on by — 8 Comments

Traveling Through the Canadian Rockies — Part II of II

This is a non-gambling trip report begun last week. Bonnie and I spent a week traveling in Western Canada. We decided that we’re both getting older, maybe we won’t be able to travel in five years, so let’s go out and have some fun. This is the first trip under that program. We had a Panama Canal trip scheduled, but that was cancelled due to the pandemic. We’ll probably do that one next.

We spent 36 hours in Jasper, which is in the Jasper National Park. The only excursion scheduled by our travel agent was a 2-hour motorcycle sidecar trip. This was definitely NOT on my bucket list of things I wanted to do, but it turned out to be one of the best parts of the trip. Our driver/guide was driving a Harley-Davidson with an attached sidecar. Bonnie and I took turns sitting in the sidecar and sitting behind the driver.

Continue reading Traveling Through the Canadian Rockies — Part II of II
Posted on by — 14 Comments

Traveling Through the Canadian Rockies — Part I of II

In a recent column, I mentioned that Bonnie and I were taking a week-long train trip through the Canadian Rockies. Turns out we didn’t. We only spent two days on the train, and only about three hours of that was in the Rockies. I didn’t intentionally mislead you. I just didn’t understand the nature of the trip for which we had signed up.

We arrived in Vancouver on Monday May 23, checked into our hotel, had a nice dinner, walked a bit through the downtown area, and went to bed early.

Continue reading Traveling Through the Canadian Rockies — Part I of II
Posted on by — 1 Comment

Maryland weaker, Illinois stronger; Mickelson in denial

Even as playing levels normalize from last year, gambling revenues continue their upward tread. Maryland, for instance, was 4% higher in May than a year ago (and 17.5% above 2019). Had there not been one fewer weekend day than in 2021, that tally should have been more impressive still. However, the growth was generated almost entirely by MGM National Harbor, which banked $76 million, an 11% surge. Maryland Live was 2% higher, grossing $63 million. Everyone else found consumers curbing their spending habits. Horseshoe Baltimore brought home a weak $18 million, down 9.5%. Out west, Rocky Gap Resort grossed $6 million (-5.5%) while Hollywood Perryville, in the east, netted $8 million but slipped 3%. That left Ocean Downs, which dipped 1% to $8.5 million. Established brands have little to worry about, it would appear, but smaller fry have cause for concern going forward.

Continue reading Maryland weaker, Illinois stronger; Mickelson in denial
Posted on by — 1 Comment

Smoke signals in Atlantic City; Discontent in Las Vegas

Atlantic City gambling halls like Ocean Casino Resort (pictured) may get a summer’s reprieve from a smoking ban, as the New Jersey legislative session winds down without resolution on the contentious issue. Even if both chambers were to vote by June 30, there’s a good chance that the legislation would contain a grace period to soften the blow. A pre-Labor Day ban seems out of the question. The bill in question is creeping toward majority support with 16 state senators and 35 assemblymen having co-sponsored it. “Passing this legislation is the least we can do for frontline casino employees who worked throughout the pandemic, keeping our already struggling gaming industry open for business during some of the bleakest moments over the last couple of years,” said Assemblyman William Spearman (D), one of the newest signatories.

Continue reading Smoke signals in Atlantic City; Discontent in Las Vegas
Posted on by — Leave a comment

Resorts World sheds a problem; Big Gaming fleeced in N.Y.

With the discreet closure of Tacos El Cabron, splashy Resorts World Las Vegas finds itself down one restaurant—and happy to be so. Evidently in their haste to get everything on line, Resorts World management didn’t fully perform their due diligence on Tacos El Cabron, which turned out to be partly owned by convicted felon David Stroj. This came to light as part of a rupture between Resorts World President Scott Sibella and gambler Brandon Sattler. The latter’s scattershot accusations included the assertion that he and Sibella “probably had sex with multiple women at the same time.” Probably? Well, did they or didn’t they? If we’d participated in an orgy with a casino president that’s something we’d remember, for better or worse. Such roundhouse swings by Sattler only further reduce his credibility and increase the (good) chances that Sibella will be cleared by the Nevada Gaming Control Board.

Continue reading Resorts World sheds a problem; Big Gaming fleeced in N.Y.
Posted on by — 1 Comment

Atlantic City casinos blow smoke

With a mealy-mouthedness that is becoming all too familiar, Atlantic City casino operators took advantage of the Covid-19 pandemic to plead poverty, warning of “grave danger” to their businesses unless they got tax cuts yesterday. One of their arguments was they were losing business to Internet gambling (largely operated by themselves). But hey, it worked. Gov. Phil Murphy (D) told the Lege to give the casinos what they wanted—and it did. According to a new Pro Publica report, “under the changes, companies will collectively pay … $55 million less than they otherwise would have this year—cuts that will disproportionately impact Atlantic City, the distressed capital of the state’s gaming industry.”

Continue reading Atlantic City casinos blow smoke