Florida gets tag-teamed; Penn upbeat on 2021; Vegas room rates soar

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.

Sowinski was no more receptive to the proposed amendment than he was to the compact, blowing a gasket about the potential legality of prop bets. “Countries that have this type of betting have shown troubling spikes in teen gambling and addiction, a recipe for long-term social and economic costs that far outweigh any perceived benefits,” he huffed, while implying that point-spread and win/loss betting is OK. But we know he’s bullshitting us on that. You can take it to the betting window.

Penn National Gaming couldn’t resist teasing its second-quarter numbers, predicting approximately $1.5 billion in revene, comfortably above Wall Street consensus. “Given the monthly [gross-gaming revenue] results for April and May to date, we don’t believe these results will be viewed as too much of a surprise,” wrote Deutsche Bank analyst Carlo Santarelli. Echoed JP Morgan‘s Joseph Greff, “Results indicate that demand remains strong, unsurprising given recent state GGR reports.” Cash flow should be between $540 million and $580 million, 10% higher than Street consensus. Added Greff, “We think that this is likely the first of significant earnings … beats for operators in our coverage universe with leverage and exposure to domestic regional and LV casino markets.” Those would be Caesars Entertainment, MGM Resorts International, Station Casinos, Boyd Gaming and Wynn Resorts—also in Massachusetts. (For Wynn, anyway.) Good to hear it.

As Las Vegas heats up, so do Las Vegas Strip room rates. For the July 18-24 timeframe they’re up 39%, helped by a +26% surge in midweek prices. Only Caesars Entertainment is having trouble moving the needle on weekdays (+1%) but is up 35% on weekends. MGM Resorts International saw a 32% midweek upheaval and 69% weekend spike. Wynncore hit the jackpot on weekdays, up 65%, while weekend prices are +55%. Venelazzo is enjoying a 22% weekday lift and a 95% (!) one on weekend days. Before we leave the subject of July in Sin City, it’s been rated one of the top 15 cities in which to celebrate the Fourth of July by WalletHub. It’s #1 in the legality of fireworks (we thought that was Augusta, Georgia), tops in the prevalence of “affordable” 4.5-star restaurants, seventh in lowest price of a three-star room and third in the number of Glorious Fourth celebrations and events. Vegas scored poorly in walkability (55th), and in beer and wine prices (#48), to cite two of our biggest qualms about Sin City.

Colorado sports books bucked the trend of a May slowdown with a slight improvement over April, generating $249 million in handle and $15 million in revenue, diluted to $5.5 million by heavy promotional outlays. The uptick in action is credited to playoff runs by the Colorado Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche. NBA wagering was $87 million, followed by $49 million for baseball, even with the Colorado Rockies having an off year. NHL wagers were $15.5 million, while Colorado fave table tennis ($10 million), edged out soccer ($9 million) and regular tennis ($8 million). “With both the Avalanche and Nuggets eliminated and the Colorado Rockies struggling, Colorado won’t be as lucky as it has been for the remainder of the summer months,” said PlayUSA analyst Ian St. Clair. “But baseball’s All-Star Game should generate some interest, as well as an influx of out-of-state bettors.”

Jottings: Parlay betting is so yesterday in Canada now that single-game betting is (nearly) the law of the land, except for First Nations. GGB News has the skinny … It’s also game-on for sports betting in Louisiana, now that Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) has signed the last of the enabling legislation … Elsewhere in the Pelican State, Diamond Jacks is one step closer to reopening in Slidell now that a tax-distribution deal has been worked out. Relocation of the Peninsula Pacific casino is still up to local voters in November … G-Men will be probing six cyberware attacks on Oklahoma tribal casinos. It is unclear (but probable) whether the saboteurs demanded ransom … Horseracing may have to stand on its own fetlocks in Pennsylvania. Polling shows 83% of Keystone State residents supporting an end to casinos’ forced subsidy of the sport of kings. The latter extracts $250 million/year from heavily taxed (54%) casinos. Gov. Tom Wolf (D) wants the money rechanneled toward education … Four Maine Native American tribes could obtain Class III gaming, thanks to the Lege’s reworking of state law. It’s now at the mercy of cranky old Gov. Janet Mills (D) and her veto pen.