Merry month of May in Las Vegas; Beehive of activity in Atlantic City

May’s gaming revenues from Nevada are in and they are blockbuster. When the Strip is 26% higher than 2019 (winning $655.5 million) and locals play is 25% stronger it is fair to say the recovery has been achieved—and far sooner than expected. One analyst had predicted only a 3% uptick on the Las Vegas Strip. There, slot revenue was $385 million (+24.5%) on 23.5% more coin-in Baccarat winnings fell 97% and haven’t been able to get up—and won’t until international travel returns in a meaningful way. Non-baccarat table games saw 14% less wagering but won 9% more than two years ago. Locals slot revenue vaulted 24% to $219 million and table play yielded $39 million, up 34.5%. May was the first month of 100% capacity in Nevada casinos and players obviously turned out in force, including a substantial number (approximately 60,000) traveling to and from Sin City by air.

Downtown boomed, leaping 37% to $75 million, North Las Vegas gained 5% to $27 million, the Boulder Strip climbed 27.5% to $89 million and miscellaneous Clark County casinos were up 28.5% to $143 million. Mesquite pulled in $15 million and Wendover $22.5 million while Laughlin was up 6% to $48 million. Strangely, vacation destination Lake Tahoe was almost flat, up 1% with $20 million. Reno gained 19.5% to $66 million and Carson City was up 24% to $12 million. If there’s a spider at the picnic it’s a report by the American Lung Association that Nevada vaccination rates wallow at 38%, particularly in at-risk populaces like communities of color. Said the association, “the vaccination rates in these communities remain particularly low, with the vaccination distribution rate of at least one dose for Non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Natives at only 0.6% and the Non-Hispanic Black community rate at only 5.8%.” What they were too diplomatic to say is that if you catch the Delta variant of Covid-19 and haven’t been vaccinated you’re toast. And if you have any remaining qualms about getting the needle, the Lung Association has a tool kit for you. People, get your shots! Don’t be like this ass.

In Atlantic City, casinos continue to get blowback from Americans for Nonsmoking, who wrote to Casino Association of New Jersey President Terry Glebocki (above) to say that “there is no currently available or reasonably anticipated ventilation or air cleaning system that can adequately control or significantly reduce the health risks of [smoke] to an acceptable level.” ANR prexy Cynthia Hallett added, “The engineers who know these filtration and ventilation systems best say they do not protect casino employees and guests from the well-established harms of secondhand smoke exposure.” In addition, according to industry journalist Damien Connolly, only 21% of average casino customers smoke, meaning that Big Gaming is bending over backward to placate a small minority. The Garden State casinos’ official position is that current ventilation systems negate the baneful effects of secondhand smoke, a claim ANR calls balderdash, more or less.

Press of Atlantic City columnist Darryl D. McEwen reports there’s a new, ‘diet’ twist at the Laurel Lounge (for Diamond-level players) at Tropicana Atlantic City: You’re handed a plate and given only one trip through the buffet line. ElDiablo strikes yet again! They’re technically following a Carl Icahn tradition, whereby Uncle Carl’s minions handed out the tiniest plates possible. On the governmental front, Gov. Phil Murphy (D) did indeed sign a four-year extension of Trenton rule over A.C., whose city council voted to allow legal cannabis sales, so long as they are outside the tourist district. As our correspondent wrote, “Makes sense to send people into the ‘hood’ for legal pot sales.” Also, the city will attempt (emphasis on “attempt”) to get underage citizens home by 10 p.m. by sounding the siren system at 9:30 every night. Good luck with that. Bart Blatstein continues to make news, this time with a cannabis convention entitled ‘Boardwalk Budd.’ Tickets ran from $25 to $175. Blatstein has such a creative imagination that it’s a shame he’s being kept out of the casino industry.

This sorry sight was seen at Caesars Atlantic City, which “welcomes” you with a couple of broken entryway phones, just off the self-park garage. Talk about never getting a second chance to make a first impression! Writes our A.C. bureau, “I guess the Caesars renovation missed this spot, actually the renovation so far has missed most of the whole casino.” Where’s the promised $400 million capex going? Still, Caesars was “busy,” when visited on Tuesday, as were the Golden Nugget, Hard Rock Atlantic City (“crazy busy” on a Monday) and Borgata. Glad to hear it.

Today was a big day at Mohegan Sun, as its parent company launched Mohegan Digital. The Internet casino will debut in Connecticut, logically enough. Evidently fond of alliteration, Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment named Rich Roberts as president and Aviram Alroy as his deputy. “We’ve consistently seen strong growth in digital gaming across our properties, especially in this past year, and as legal sports betting continues to expand in the U.S., the timing was right for us to launch Mohegan Digital,” said MGE CEO Ray Pineault. The new brand means MGE doesn’t have to share the ‘Net action at its properties with outside providers. Roberts is, despite his boyish appearance, a longtime participant in developing digital media and gaming for the private sector. Alroy is an MGE veteran and moves over from the Mohegan Interactive division, which will be subsumed into the new entity. Washington State, Pennsylvania and Ontario are next on the checklist of Mohegan’s target markets.

South Point was the scene for a Nevada first last Saturday. 22-year-old Kataluna Enriquez was crowned Miss Nevada USA. What’s the big deal? She’s transgender, putting a new wrinkle into beauty pageants. This was the apex of a pageant career that Enriquez began at age 16. We frankly don’t know how to react to the news but it’s definitely a radical change for Nevada, which was a steadfastly conservative state when we moved there 22 years ago.

Rest in peace, John Ascuaga, creator of the former John Ascuaga’s Nugget in Sparks. The cause of death is undisclosed but, considering that Ascuaga was 96, he may simply have perished of old age, as so many of us aspire to do. The son of Basque immigrant shepherds, Ascuaga started with a diner and some slots, and parlayed it into one of the area’s best-known casinos. The Nugget’s showroom was famous for Bertha, an African elephant that Ascauga purchased in Baraboo, Wisconsin, adding one of the most unusual gaming amenities to his property. As colleague Ferenc Szony notes, Ascauga’s success as a casino operator is all the more impressive for having been accomplished outside the Reno casino core. As for the many players he knew by name, he’ll sorely be missed.