Las Vegas Advisor

Posted on November 30, 2021September 14, 2023 by David Mckee — 1 Comment

Strip sizzles, locals thriftier; Penn’s pride and joy

While tourists were more open-handed than ever, cash flow among Las Vegas locals may be drying up, as win/day fell 11% from September. By contrast, the same metric from the Las Vegas Strip was +6%. Further tipping the scales against locals-oriented casinos was the fact that Oct. 31 fell on a Sunday, meaning that two days of weekend slot revenue will be sloughed into November, per ancient Nevada accounting quirk. No need for crying towels: Locals still shed 3% more than in 2019. Slot win was up 2% on 11% more coin-in. That paled in comparison to the Strip, though, up a whopping 30%. Strip slot revenue of $368 million rose 21% on 26% more coin-in (and lower hold) while non-baccarat table win was 26% higher on 49% greater wagering. But the number that gladdened casino executives’ hearts the most was the amazing, 63% rise in baccarat win ($91 million)—even before international players have returned in earnest—despite 13% less wagering. Overall, Strip casinos won $702 million.

Posted on November 30, 2021August 24, 2023 by Bob Dancer — 11 Comments

What’s Wrong with Jacks or Better?

In terms of number of hands played, or number of dollars played, 9/6 Jacks or Better has been the video poker game I’ve played most in my career. Not so much recently, but certainly over my entire career.

The major things I like about the game are:

Posted on November 29, 2021August 30, 2023 by James Grosjean — 23 Comments

The Infield Fly Rule and 6:5 Even Money

Sports aficionados take great delight in explaining the esoteric rules of their favorite sport, so much so that those rules are no longer esoteric. Sunday couch potatoes know the difference between “the call stands” and “the call is confirmed.” Olympic hockey fans know why T.J. Oshie became the Russian nemesis. And those who watch regular-season baseball games know about the Infield Fly Rule, probably the most famous “esoteric” rule in sports.

Posted on November 26, 2021August 30, 2023 by James Grosjean — 5 Comments

Colin Jones (S2 E6): The Woman at the Card Table

Nowhere in The 21st-Century Card Counter did I see the percentage of BJA members that are women, but I’m quite curious. I suspect the figure is quite low, as it is even in some other fields that do not involve a meaningful physical component—such as chess or computer science. I remember scanning the auditorium for the first lecture of CS51 (CS150 in those days), and seeing maybe three women out of 100-200 students.

Posted on November 24, 2021September 14, 2023 by David Mckee — 2 Comments

Seminoles to feds: “F*** off”; Strip casinos drive down employment

In a big “up yours” to the federal judiciary, the Seminole Tribe—after momentarily pausing—has resumed taking sports bets and is effectively daring the courts to do something about it. If that weren’t nervy enough, the Seminoles have asked Judge Dabney Friedrich for a stay of her own order shutting down the new compact with the state of Florida. Tribal government has some strange ideas about how to make friends and influence people. We don’t think Judge Friedrich is going to be amused by this one-finger salute from the Seminoles and it makes any plea for clemency that much more implausible. By showing themselves to be bad actors, how do the Seminoles argue before the court that they deserve a reprieve while the judge’s ruling is appealed, a process that is expected to take six months and is not expected to be successful? It all comes down to buying time for more sports betting, period, but Chairman Marcellus W. Osceola has a funny way of going about it.

Posted on November 23, 2021 by Bob Dancer — 12 Comments

A Trip to New Orleans

This year, Caesars Entertainment merged with Eldorado. I have Seven Stars status at Caesars and haven’t played at any Eldorado property for several years.

Because of the pandemic, I played not at all at Caesars in 2020. My Seven Stars status was extended to January 1, 2022, and any Seven Stars unused benefits that would usually expire in 2020 could be used in 2021. This was very generous of Caesars/Eldorado.

Posted on November 23, 2021September 18, 2023 by David Mckee — 1 Comment

Seminole compact nixed: Biden, DeSantis, Seminoles all lose

Floridians, we hope you enjoyed sports betting for all of the three weeks in which it was legal in the Sunshine State. Why? Because last night a federal judge struck down the Seminole Tribe‘s new compact with Gov. Ron DeSantis (R). Basically, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland screwed up and approved a compact that violates the terms of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. (Still unresolved is the state constitutionality of the compact, which is dubious at best.) District Court Judge Dabney Friedrich threw out the Biden administration’s daffy interpretation that gambling in cyberspace is happening on “tribal lands” so long as that’s where the servers are located, a line of reasoning the court dismissed as “fiction.”

Wrote Friedrich, “over a dozen provisions in IGRA regulate gaming on ‘Indian lands,’ and none regulate gaming in another location. Indeed, if there were any doubt on the issue, the Supreme Court has emphasized that ‘[e]verything—literally everything—in IGRA affords tools … to regulate gaming on Indian lands, and nowhere else.’” Chastising Haaland, the judge continued, “The Secretary must reject compacts that violate IGRA’s terms.” As gaming law expert Daniel Wallach said, “The avalanche of legal authority was on the side of invalidating online sports betting. She recognized the obvious—that a customer located in Jacksonville or Key West or Pensacola is not on Indian land when they initiate the wager.” He added that “the state of Florida and the Seminole Tribe were operating in a state of delusion.” (You can place tribal sports bets in Michigan, Arizona and Connecticut … but only if you’re on Native American land at the time.)

Posted on November 22, 2021September 14, 2023 by David Mckee — 5 Comments

Chicago reveals all; Rumblings from Macao; Riot in Vegas

The City of Chicago unveiled the applications for its casino license late Friday, effectively burying it at the end of a news cycle, in another triumph for Mayor Lori Lightfoot (D) and her administration. The five submissions “are in line with our vision to develop a world-class experience in Chicago that will drive significant economic growth and employment opportunities for our communities,” said Lightfoot. The pitches break down alphabetically as follows:

Bally’s Corp. #1: To be sited at the Chicago Tribune Publishing Center, “an economic sleeping giant,” this $1.8 billion, two-phase project would include 100 hotel suites, 20,000 square feet of expo space, three restaurants—curated by Paul Kahan and Erick Williams—and rooftop “green space.” The casino would feature 95 table games and 2,700 slots. A “Best of Chicago” theme is planned. In a dig at its rivals, Bally’s wrote, “As our flagship property, Bally’s Chicago has no conflicting interest in the Chicago market. We don’t operate, own or partially own casino properties located elsewhere within the Chicagoland market. Simply put, Bally’s is conflict-free.” Even so, the company noted that it is already licensed in the Prairie State. Bally’s predicts a 20% ROI on the project (and if it doesn’t reach it, won’t build Phase II), which will have 25% Black and Latino ownership. This plan really needs to pencil out economically, as most of the amenities are in the second stage.

Posted on November 19, 2021September 18, 2023 by David Mckee — Leave a comment

Big month for MGM in Michigan; Las Vegas, city of stiffs

Cumulative Internet gambling and sports betting revenues racked up $134 million last month, the vast majority going to i-gaming, some $110 million. Sports books essentially gave away the store, with 81% of revenues going right back out the door in promotions (and this was a decrease from September). BetMGM dominated i-gaming with $41.5 million, followed by DraftKings ($20 million), FanDuel ($17.5 million), BetRivers ($7 million), Golden Nugget Online ($5 million) and Barstool Sports ($4.5 million). There are quite a few other operators in the Wolverine State but their grosses rarely add up to beans. As for sports betting, handle was an impressive $463 million but erstwhile favorite son BetMGM was only third with 22% market share, lagging FanDuel (27%) and DraftKings (26%). Fighting for scraps were Barstool (9%) and Caesars Sportsbook (8%), leaving precious little for anybody else.

When the bets were paid off, it was a decisive win for FanDuel, which netted $10 million to BetMGM’s $7.5 million and DraftKings’ $3 million. Caesars was the only other operator to break the $1 million threshold. Among those making little or nothing (and perhaps overdue to reconsider their Michigan presence) were Golden Nugget, BetRivers, Parx, Four Winds and WynnBet.

Posted on November 18, 2021September 14, 2023 by David Mckee — 1 Comment

Atlantic City still booming; Churchill Downs wins in Terre Haute

It was another bonanza month for the Boardwalk, as casinos grossed $237.5 million in October, 17% above 2019. Slot win was up 22% on 19% more coin-in and tables won 6% on 9% higher wagering and despite lower hold. Borgata wasn’t so lucky at the tables, being down 9% yet 32% greater slot win propelled the megaresort to a 20% higher tally of $62 million, by far the highest in Atlantic City. A distant second was Hard Rock Atlantic City‘s $37.5 million, despite a 53% gain. Ocean Casino Resort accelerated 63.5% to firmly grasp third place with $30 million. The Cerberus that is Caesars Entertainment dipped 2% overall, as table win slipped 6% and slots edged 1% lower. Harrah’s Resort was 1% up, leading the CZR pack with $24 million, followed by $24.5 million, followed by Tropicana Atlantic City (-3.5%) and Caesars Atlantic City (-2.5%) with $21 million each. Resorts Atlantic City made an impressive, 20.5% gain to $14.5 million, while Bally’s Atlantic City grossed $12.5 million but slid 4.5%. That left Golden Nugget, down 3.5% to $14 million.

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