Some of us thought Nevada would never regain the giddy gambling heights of 2007. We were wrong. May was the best month in Silver State history, as casinos raked in $1.2 billion. (The previous high was in October 2007, on the cusp of the Great Recession.) Admittedly, it was a long march—14 years, but Big Gaming is arguably healthier than it has ever been. Look for that new record to fall soon. It was achieved in a month during which casinos were still operating with capacity constraints. Think what’s probably been happening since Gov. Steve Sisolak (D) lowered all the restraints on June 1. In May it appears to have been a case of fewer players wagering more, as occupancy hovered at 71%, averaging 88% on weekends. That’s still shy of 2019 levels. Slot play, however, hit an all-time peak, while sports betting saw $27 million in revenue from $477.5 million in handle. All of this bounty fattened Sisolak’s tax coffers to the tune of $107 million.

Resorts World Las Vegas, meanwhile, is out of the starting blocks fast. It saw 20,000 visitors its first weekend and is, if my sources are to be believed, the new must-see attraction in Las Vegas. That’s quite a journey from being an iffy prospect when Genting Group took it over, lo, those many years ago. Genting’s patience has paid off and it opened just as the wave of Vegas tourism curled and crested. It’s far too soon to assess its long-term prospects but it throws a lifeline to Circus Circus and Sahara, two casinos whose business plan seems to have been to hunker down and wait for Resorts World to rescue them. There’s already some rather precipitate talk about putting a megaresort across from the Sahara but, in the time it will take to build one, we’ll have a much better idea if the north Strip is here to stay, so to speak. As for Resorts World itself, we will leave the assessments to those who have actually seen it, which Yr. Humble Blogger will be unable to do until Global Gaming Expo in October. In the meantime, have one on us, Sin City. You’ve earned it.

Today, MGM Resorts International bought the last remaining chunks—Aria and Vdara—of CityCenter from erstwhile Dubai World. They’ll only make a brief stopover in the lion’s den before being flipped to Blackstone Group. Since we’re covering the story for CDC Gaming Reports we’re constrained from elaborating further in S&G … but we’ll link you to in-depth coverage as soon as it goes online.

Update: Read about it in full detail.

This is a head-scratcher. Despite sports betting sweeping our great country, Scientific Games is opting out of the sports-wagering business. And the lottery biz, too, even though that remains a robust market segment. Reported JP Morgan analyst Joseph Greff, “management noted that its plan is to fully divest these businesses and its goal is to move quickly (process well underway).” An IPO is one of several routes being contemplated for the spinoff. Greff viewed the announcement positively, especially if SGMS uses the proceeds to pay down debt. He estimates the company’s leverage could go from an eye-popping 9.6X equity to 4X. That would have Wall Street breathing more easily. Added Deutsche Bank analyst Carlo Santarelli, this crash diet would leave Scientific with three pillars: SciPlay, slot manufacture and i-gaming. Wrote Santarelli, “These business lines, in aggregate, generated roughly $1.0 bn of 2019 adjusted [cash flow]. SGMS again noted that it believes its digital gaming businesses will be comparable in scope to its land based gaming business in 3 years.” So Scientific is selling the present in hopes of making up for it in the future. It’s a radical move but the company shouldn’t lack for takers.

This is how it’s done. Or supposed to be done. DraftKings and FanDuel are teaming to back a petition drive to legalize sports betting in Florida. Aimed at the November 2022 election ballot, the resolution would dedicate tax revenues from sports betting to funding for education. As opposed to Gov. Ron De Santis‘ Hard Rock International-controlled setup of sports betting, the proposed constitutional amendment would create an open market. The federal Interior Department is currently scrutinizing the DeSantis compact, which uses a rather absurd construal of ‘tribal lands’ whereby you could place a mobile wager from your back porch and—because it must pass through a Seminole Tribe computer server—it is deemed ‘tribal’ gaming. Also, the Florida Lege is constitutionally enjoined from authorizing any expansion of gambling in the Sunshine State. Even if Interior Secretary Deb Haaland signs off on this misshapen afterbirth of the congress between DeSantis and the Seminoles, litigation at the state level is already in train. We hate to agree with Rob Sowinski of No Casinos but the compact really needs to be struck down.

We don’t know the full details of the DraftKings/FanDuel proposal yet but it appears on the surface to be a more-palatable alternative. One thing Florida Education Champions don’t address is tribal sports betting. Their amendment would simply deal parimutuels and professional sports parks into the action. Seminole Gaming spokesman Gary Bitner fumed that the petition drive “is a political Hail Mary from out-of-state corporations trying to interfere with the business of the people of Florida.” Ah, but it was those same people of Florida who decreed that the Lege had no say in the spread of gaming. Harrumphed Bitner, “They couldn’t stop Florida’s new gaming compact, which passed by an overwhelming 88 percent ‘yes’ vote from Florida’s elected legislators and enjoys 3-to-1 support from Floridians and guarantees $2.5 billion in revenue sharing. The guarantee is the largest commitment by any gaming company in U.S. history.” Constitution be damned! The next hurdles for the PAC are to get 891,589 valid signatures and to have the Florida Supreme Court OK the ballot language. What could hobble them out of the gate is that the window is rapidly closing to collect campaign contributions, capped at $3K apiece as of this Thursday. Petition drives are seven- and eight-figure enterprises, so DraftKings and FanDuel may run out of money sooner than signatories.