On an altogether lighter note, TheLines.com is warning that NFL playoff underdogs tend to perform better than expected, at least where the point spread is concerned. “Unlike in the Wild Card round, the home teams in the Divisional Round are historically the best teams in the NFL that season,” said analyst Brett Collson. “Even with the new playoff structure, the top four seeds will host this weekend. But picking a home favorite is never automatic, especially as the quality of teams improve as teams advance in the playoffs.” Going against the underdogs is the stat that home teams win in the divisional round by a better than 2-to-1 ratio.
As of press time, the Cleveland Browns‘ Cinderella carriage was expected to be turned into a squashed pumpkin by the Kansas City Chiefs, favored by 10 points, with a 55.5-point over/under. Jared Goff‘s wild-card heroics notwithstanding, the Green Bay Packers are preferred over the Los Angeles Rams by seven. Near-tossups are Tom Brady vs. Drew Brees, with the latter’s New Orleans Saints given a three-point edge, while the Buffalo Bills are projected to edge the Baltimore Ravens by 2.5. Nothing has changed significantly in the Super Bowl standings, led by the Chiefs at +200, with the Browns a distant +2,800. Offshore sports books are expanding their number of Super Bowl prop bets but, in deference to American Gaming Association President Bill Miller, we won’t get into that … for now.
We’re four days out from the opening of Philadelphia Live, a $600 million casino in the sports district and the latest attempted challenge to Atlantic City. When it opens, Philly Live will offer 2,100-plus slots and electronic table games, plus 179 standard table games, poker included. There’s a modest hotel (208 rooms) and 12 restaurants. Atlantic City may have less to worry about than other casinos in the greater Philadelphia market, which will be well and truly saturated, if it wasn’t already. Cordish Cos. Executive Vice President Joe Billhimer, no stranger to gaming, predicts that “What we have created here is unrivaled anywhere in the country. Sports fans, foodies, gaming enthusiasts, and anyone looking for a night of fun and excitement only has to make one stop to experience it all.” Mind you, that’s roughly what they said about Horseshoe Baltimore. The decisive question is whether Cordish can leverage its strategic location into gambling dollars and, more importantly, draw off customers from suburban casinos. For one, its alliance with FanDuel strikes a blow against Valley Forge Casino Resort, which has dominated sports betting in the Keystone State.
Believe it or not, Philly Live was 17 years in the making, the concession having passed from Foxwoods Resort Casino to Comcast and eventually to Cordish. The biggest obstacle to a successful opening is an ongoing ban on indoor dining but that is expected to be lifted today. Said Billhimer, “We’ve gone through extraordinary measures to meet and exceed Pennsylvania’s COVID-19 guidelines to ensure all of our guests have fun and feel safe.” Let the games begin.
Mark your calendars for June, when the World of Concrete expo returns to Las Vegas. As the Las Vegas Sun says, it’s the yardstick that will measure whether conventioneers are ready for Sin City again. Little is expected before then but a third-and-fourth-quarter recovery is anticipated. It will also be a test of Gov. Steve Sisolak‘s caps on convention attendance: World of Concrete usually draws 50,000. Even the projected recovery is contingent upon efficacious distribution of Coronavirus vaccines, something that is far from a given at this point. At the moment, Las Vegas is reeling from the $283 million negative economic impact of losing the Consumer Electronics Show and its 170,000 attendees thanks to the pandemic. We’re supposed to be attending Global Gaming Expo in October but haven’t penned it in on our datebook yet.
Restaurateur Thomas Keller continues to be at the center of controversy. His coziness with the right-wing establishment earned his French Laundry eatery a Paycheck Protection Program loan 17X larger than what comparable restaurants were getting. Now an innocuous tweet marking the passing of Sheldon Adelson has spawned a furor that has prompted Keller to delete his Twitter account. We’re all for free speech but … c’mon, people! Get a sense of proportion.
Jottings: Our favorite Inauguration Day event? I has to be “Smoking to Trump’s Sorrow,” a peaceful get-together where the participants will “smoke marijuana and celebrate the end of Trump’s presidency” … International Game Technology is looking for ways to integrate cryptocurrency into its slot machines. One-third of Caesars Palace guests, for instance, are part of the key bitcoin demographic … Can wellness-centric Majestic Las Vegas (no relation to Majestic Star) succeed without gaming but with a spa and 720 suites near the Las Vegas Convention Center? That’s the $850 million bet placed by developer Lorenzo Doumani, who just broke ground on the old Greek Isles site. We like his confidence … Tribal casinos in Connecticut suffered badly from the Covid-19 pandemic and consequent restrictions. Mohegan Sun fell 28% to $715 million in net revenue while Foxwoods Resort Casino dove 31.5% to $539 million. The megaresorts are recovering slowly, with Mohegan Sun having only just reopened its poker room.
Best Wynn Pic EVER! Always gets me. Thanks.
I think Cordish is a decent operator, but the timing of their opening; unfortunately, could not be any worse.
Yesterday (1/15) the Phila TV stations showed the casino interior, and today their website has “enter your player card # to reserve a time slot”. The TV stations said it was open by invitation now, and in Feb to the public.