Nevada gambling winning catapulted 18% last month—yes, almost a 20% increase over post-Covid numbers (although January 2022 was dampened by Omicron). The good times just keep on rolling, to the tune of $1.2 billion. The Las Vegas Strip led the charge with a 26% vault, grossing $713 million. Strip slot revenue grew 24% on 24.5% more coin-in. Table games were good for the house, with winnings up 23% on only 5% more wagering. Baccarat saw players take a hiding, as the house won 42.5% more on 22% bigger betting.
Downtown kept pace, leaping 25.5% to $85 million. Laughlin (+1%, $42 million) missed out on the party. The Boulder Strip was up 13% to $96 million, North Las Vegas gained 8% to $24 million and miscellaneous Clark County jumped 17.5% to $152.5 million. Utah-fed Mesquite was up 8.5% to $16 million. But favored Mormon getaway Wendover slipped 2% to $21 million. A harbinger of things to come? As Wendover goes, so goes Nevada. Indeed, Reno was down 19% to $42 million, while Lake Tahoe nudged 2% higher to $17 million. Sparks continues on the comeback trail, up 17% to $14 million.
Wall Street analysts paid relatively little attention to Churchill Downs‘ 4Q22 earnings report, although J.P. Morgan‘s Omer Sander took a look and found it “somewhat messy.” This was partly because of the integration of Peninsula Pacific casinos, as well as a restacking of revenue segments such that live racing and historical horse racing are now reported as geographic categories rather than by property. CHDN’s $480 million in 4Q22 revenues was a hair under Morgan projections, but $181 million in cash flow came out slightly ahead. Slot-route Rosie’s contributed $62.5 million, as casinos outperformed and racing ($175.5 million) underperformed. The company is carrying $4.6 billion in debt, thanks to the pricey Peninsula Pacific acquisition ($2.7 billion), along with the much-cheaper Exacta Systems purchase (a thrifty $250 million). The beauty of the Exacta deal is that now anybody wanting horsie slots, er, historical racing has to go through Churchill Downs to get it.
“We think there is a lot to like in the CHDN story with several capex projects across the portfolio (Churchill Downs Racetrack, historical horse racing in Kentucky, Virginia, and New Hampshire, and casinos expansion in Indiana),” Sander wrote after the formal earnings call. The company is limited to 5K horsie slots in Virginia, presently climbing from 2,606 to 3,750 when two more slot-route parlors open. The company is “monitoring” the rollout of bonafide casinos in the Cavalier State, although “any impacts would be most immediately felt at its Rosie’s Hampton location given its proximity to Rivers Portsmouth.” The company has expanded to Iowa and New York State, with Hard Rock Sioux City and Del Lago casino contributing $46.5 million.
The next 12 months will be busy for the company, as Derby City Gaming in Kentucky is completed this spring, Derby City Downtown opens sometime after mid-year and next year brings Ellis Park‘s debut. A New Hampshire horsie-slot parlor opens next year and—last but far from least—Terre Haute Casino bows early in 2024. Tally ho!
When placing Academy Awards wagers, now’s the time to take the National Board of Review Curse into account. Then NBR has reliable anti-Oscar mojo. Whatever it anoints crumbles down the stretch. Last year it placed its clammy benediction upon Top Gun: Maverick (currently a +1600 long shot) and Steven Spielberg (+600). Neither has fared well this awards season, with the traditionally conservative Producers Guild slamming the coffin lid on Maverick last Saturday by going with the film that’s become a phenomenon, Everything Everwhere All At Once (-1200), which also swept the Screen Actors Guild awards. The modestly budgeted, surrealist movie is only likely to pick up even more momentum at next week’s Independent Spirit Awards, making the Oscars a foregone conclusion, with DraftKings favoring Everything to win five statuettes outright and vie closely for two others.
The only consequential suspense remains in the acting categories, where Best Actor is a seesaw battle between The Whale‘s Brendan Fraser (-165) and Elvis‘ Austin Butler (+110). Michelle Yeoh has come from behind to lead Tar‘s Cate Blanchett by a too-close-to-call -125 to -115, and Jamie Lee Curtis‘ surprise SAG win has her at breathing down Angela Bassett‘s neck, +150 to +110. Barring some wild happenings at the Independent Spirits (where films costing over $15 million cannot compete), those are the likely rankings heading into March 12.
Jottings: New Bally’s Corp. CEO Robeson Reeves took a severe, schoolmarmish tone in a brief and gloomy 4Q22 earnings call, scolding the “mistakes” made under predecessor Lee Fenton. Most marquee Wall Street analysts skipped the call and sent their deputies … Both Vici Properties and Gaming & Leisure Properties Inc. exceeded Wall Street expectations for 4Q22. Vici, however, has run up a worrisome $17 billion in debt … A half-dozen states are presently considering sports betting in their legislatures. These run the gambit from All But Certain (North Carolina) to No Way in Hell (Alabama), with Georgia‘s scope the most ambitious of all … Century Casinos‘ exit from Bermuda was a rude wakeup call for Premier David Burt. He blames the decade-long stalemate on excessive regulation … Maverick Gaming was (rightly) sent packing in its attempt to revoke tribal sports-betting sovereignty in Washington State. However, Maverick CEO Eric Persson is going to fight this all the way to SCOTUS, if he can … Another day, yet another delay in the oft-promised/incessantly postponed White Paper on gambling from the British government. It’s now in the portfolio of Lucy Frazer, the latest Tory minister who’s not up to speed …
Follow the bouncing baseball. The Oakland Athletics’ quest for a Las Vegas stadium site has moved on from penurious’ Bally’s Tropicana Las Vegas to vacant land north of Circus Circus (but Phil Ruffin nixed the deal) and now to The Rio. Don’t fear for Las Vegas’ most beautiful resort: The stadium would be built on underdeveloped land out back of The Rio and potentially drive business to the casino-hotel, as Vital Vegas reports. Rio owner Dreamscape Propeties has big plans ($850 million big) for the resort … The patron saint of lost causes needs to be with Nevada state Assemblyman Cameron “C.H.” Miller as he pushes for a state lottery, with the backing of the Culinary Union. Proceeds of the extremely unlikely lottery (the bane of Big Gaming) would go towards the Silver State’s “woefully inadequate” mental-health support system, which could definitely use the help … Although Fontainbleau Las Vegas took $350 million in REIT money to get across the finish line, its owners say a sale-leaseback isn’t in the cards. And if you believe that … Kudos to Hard Rock Atlantic City, which is doling out $10 million in well-earned bonuses to staffers. No wonder Hard Rock A.C. was hailed by Forbes as one of the U.S.’ “Best Large Employers” …
Pennsylvania satellite casinos are reviving foot traffic at the malls that host them. As Spectrum Gaming Group‘s Joe Weinert pithily observed, “If someone is making a clothing purchase, they may decide to spend five minutes to an hour playing slots” … Aristocrat Technologies has paired with BetMGM to offer Anaxi i-casino games in the U.S. … Next stop, Scarborough. That’s where Merkur Slots hopes to open a 24-hour casino. Unfortunately, “the proposed location is in a depressed commercial area in which many properties have closed their operations over the past year.” At least local bobbies are on board with Merkur … The “new buffalo,” casinos, is no longer enough to sustain Native American ambitions for self-sufficiency. Indigenous tribes are now diversifying into a wide swath of commercial industries, including cybersecurity. More power to them … Despite best-ever revenue and cash flows last quarter, profits at Resorts World Las Vegas remain “below expectations,” which may explain the recent rash of pink slips, as reported by Scott Roeben. Resorts World took in $227 million in 4Q22, including $47 million in ROI, which may be a sticking point for the ultra-costly megaresort …
Bravo to MGM Resorts International CEO Bill Hornbuckle for being the first casino CEO to sign onto the United Nations CEO Water Mandate. MGM reduced its water consumption 37% during the 2007-2021 period, which spans several administrations. “The ongoing drought and effects of climate change in the western U.S. are a wake-up call that we need to do more,” Hornbuckle said—and we agree … $5 billion Inspire Resort in South Korea got an extra $119 million in “non-dilutive equity capital contributions” (read: cost overruns) from Mohegan Gaming Entertainment. The money is described as “crucial” to completing the megaresort. We’ll bet! … So long, Century Movie Park Theater in Tucson. It’s been leveled to make room for a Pascua Yaqui Tribe casino. The city will get a 12% cut of the proceeds … Flummoxed by out-of-date tech at your hotel? Blame pinchpenny hoteliers who look at it as a cost-cutting opportunity.
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