At first blush, Pennsylvania‘s gambling economy looks all right, up 1% from August of 2019 and 2% from last year. But factor in the plethora of new casinos that have entered the fray and the Keystone State is down 14% from 2019. Clearly, more casinos does not equal more money. At least not if you’re casino owner. For a tax collector it’s a different story. Not even a 5% uptick in table game winnings (or losses, if you happen to be a player) could paint a smiley face on the portrait, despite $286 million in casino win.

Despite being absolutely flat in revenue, Parx Casino held onto its top spot with $50 million in takings. Wind Creek Bethlehem made a brave run at statewide supremacy in July but had to content itself with $45 million and a 10.5% upsurge. Only a few dollars separated Rivers Philadelphia (pictured, +10%) from Philadelphia Live (+4%), deadlocked at $19 million in their seesaw struggle for downtown supremacy. Harrah’s Philadelphia tumbled 15% but remained ahead of upstart Valley Forge Resort (-4%), $12 million to $11 million. To the west, Rivers Pittsburgh (+4.5%) regained market share for $29 million, outpacing Hollywood Meadows ($17 million, +5%) and Pittsburgh Live ($9 million, +1.5%).

Flinging Resorts World Las Vegas CEO Scott Sibella to the wolves might not have saved Genting Group‘s bacon—and may have inflicted collateral damage on MGM Resorts International. According to the New York Post, the Sibella revelations have upset the once-universal assumption that Resorts World New York and MGM Empire City were juiced into casino licenses when ones for the New York City area are (eventually) awarded. Contacted by the Post, Genting elaborated on its previous comments in re Sibella by saying that he was given the chop for  “failing to disclose certain information required under company policies.” Which deepens the mystery rather than explaining it. Genting’s gnomic statement was not elaborated upon.

Although the Post thinks Genting, by scapegoating Sibella, is out of the woods, new evidence (see below) suggests otherwise. The paper continues, “The picture may be more complicated for MGM, which now may have questions to answer about what happened on Sibella’s watch several years ago.” That’s as it should be … but why would Resorts World, where the malfeasances were more recent, get a free pass? “Ethics is going to be a huge deal in deciding who gets the licenses,” said a Post source. “The ethics and the relationships with the communities where they are putting their casinos is where this is going to be fought and won.”

Different day, same story for MGM Resorts International, brought to its knees by a cbyer-assault of still-unknown provenance. The FBI has been brought in although, per standard operating procedure, the G-Men aren’t commenting on what went down. MGM is daintily referring to the attack as a “cyber issue,” but its 28 casinos nationwide may face a long road back to recovery. UNLV‘s Yoowhan Kim is of the firm opinion that it was a ransomware raid that MGM was asked for “several million dollars” to resolve the ‘issue,’ one that may have been years in the making. Kim delicately implies that a cost/benefit analysis will come down in favor of paying up.