Resorts World a smash hit; Cranky Maine woman stiffs tribes

Some of us thought Nevada would never regain the giddy gambling heights of 2007. We were wrong. May was the best month in Silver State history, as casinos raked in $1.2 billion. (The previous high was in October 2007, on the cusp of the Great Recession.) Admittedly, it was a long march—14 years, but Big Gaming is arguably healthier than it has ever been. Look for that new record to fall soon. It was achieved in a month during which casinos were still operating with capacity constraints. Think what’s probably been happening since Gov. Steve Sisolak (D) lowered all the restraints on June 1. In May it appears to have been a case of fewer players wagering more, as occupancy hovered at 71%, averaging 88% on weekends. That’s still shy of 2019 levels. Slot play, however, hit an all-time peak, while sports betting saw $27 million in revenue from $477.5 million in handle. All of this bounty fattened Sisolak’s tax coffers to the tune of $107 million.

Resorts World Las Vegas, meanwhile, is out of the starting blocks fast. It saw 20,000 visitors its first weekend and is, if my sources are to be believed, the new must-see attraction in Las Vegas. That’s quite a journey from being an iffy prospect when Genting Group took it over, lo, those many years ago. Genting’s patience has paid off and it opened just as the wave of Vegas tourism curled and crested. It’s far too soon to assess its long-term prospects but it throws a lifeline to Circus Circus and Sahara, two casinos whose business plan seems to have been to hunker down and wait for Resorts World to rescue them. There’s already some rather precipitate talk about putting a megaresort across from the Sahara but, in the time it will take to build one, we’ll have a much better idea if the north Strip is here to stay, so to speak. As for Resorts World itself, we will leave the assessments to those who have actually seen it, which Yr. Humble Blogger will be unable to do until Global Gaming Expo in October. In the meantime, have one on us, Sin City. You’ve earned it.

With a resounding “squish!” New Jersey‘s Jellyfish-in-Chief Phil Murphy (D) offered the following profile in irresolution, “Would I be open-minded, would I be constructive on [anti-smoking] legislation, because I need to do this statutorily, that could come to me in the future, to extend that ban or make it more permanent? I would be very constructive on that.” While Americans for Nonsmokers Rights tried to hype this as a seismic shift, it’s just more meaningless waffling by Murphy, who has already refused to extend the pandemic-era ban on smoking in Atlantic City casinos. ANR upped the ante by demanding action from Murphy and state Sen. Stephen Sweeney (D) the next day. Sweeney is steadfastly in favor of smoking but ought to listen to casino employees like Borgata deal Nicole Vitola, who says, “I was pregnant with my son, and I’ve had been in a high roller room with six people smoking cigars and I had to just stand there and deal, and I did.” Sweeney would have Vitola dummy up and inhale. (The fact that the impact of secondhand smoke falls disproportionately on such second-class citizens as Blacks, Latinos and women ought to keep Sweeney and Murphy up nights.)

Virginia sports betting is heating up fast. The Cavalier State has become the fastest to reach $1 billion in cumulative handle. Last month saw $227 million in handle and $23 million in revenue—$16 million after all the promotional credits are deducted, while the state booked $2.5 million in taxes. Playoff runs by the Washington Wizards (remember when they were the Washington Bullets?) and Washington Capitals are credited with bolstering the numbers. But Virginia’s ban on in-state collegiate wagering meant forfeiting some potentially strong action on the College World Series. Observed PlayUSA analyst Jessica Welman, “Launching just in time for the Super Bowl got the market off on the right foot. But the state’s sportsbooks still reached the $1 billion milestone mostly without the benefit of football and during two months when sports betting typically slows. That makes the record all the more impressive.”

Across the border in Tennessee, sports betting struck an ebb tide, its lowest in six months. Handle was $161 million and revenue was $15.5 million before promotional deductions. It didn’t help that the Nashville Predators and Memphis Grizzlies had abortive playoff sprees. Welman: “There is no avoiding a summer slowdown, especially in states like Tennessee where football has an outsized importance to sportsbooks.” Futures betting on the Tennessee Titans and star wideout Julio Jones can only get you so far. FanDuel was tops in handle with $57 million, followed by BetMGM, 200 grand behind. DraftKings took $39.5 million in wagers. Revenue was commensurate: FanDuel made $6.5 million, BetMGM $5 million and DraftKings $3 million.

A Stiff of the Week award goes out to crusty battle-axe Gov. Janet Mills (D) of Maine, who did as we feared and vetoed a bill that would have given casinos to the state’s four Native American tribes. Nor was there enough sentiment in the Lege to override Mills’ troglodyte action. Private-sector casinos, however, must be heaving a sigh of relief, even though they already control most of the major Maine markets. Mills’ paternalistic veto upholds a dreadful law, the 1980 Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act, which the Lege has been trying to fix, at least in a narrow way. Crabbed Mills, by way of an excuse, “The tribal gaming facilities that the legislation would authorize could be large or small, anything from a grand casino to a few slot machines in a convenience store, and the state and adjacent non-tribal communities would have little or no influence over their placement.” She also wants more blood money from the tribes.

This brought a strong reproof from Passmaquoddy Tribe representative Rena Newell, who said, “The chief executive’s veto was a rejection of an opportunity to help people who have lived in Maine since time immemorial pursue economic self-sufficiency. It is an action that only helps to serve casinos run by out-of-state companies that send their profits to Kentucky and Pennsylvania.” Amen! State Rep. Benjamin Collings wondered why the grumpy guv would balk at giving Maine tribes the rights they’re due under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, saying, “This was a law that was passed by bipartisan overwhelming support in Congress, signed by a Republican president, Ronald Reagan, and over the years has been implemented in states across our country [and] been a huge success story. Why on earth, if we do the same thing here … will it be terrible? Do we not have faith in the tribes and the communities and leaders of Maine to do the same thing? I think we do.”

Philadelphia Live gets no love from our East Coast bureau, which continues to chafe at Cordish Gaming‘s marketing approach. The latest ploy is to offer a gift “if you can prove you will leave the casino for a baseball game.” Whatever happened to ‘time on device,’ the Holy Grail of gambling? In another faux pas, Cordish said  “two lucky winners will drive off in a brand new car.” So is that one car for two players (who may or may not be related) or two discrete cars? Get it together, Cordish.

J0ttings: WynnBet has staked out another territory for itself, teaming with the San Carlos Apache Tribe to purse a sports-betting license in Arizona. Regulatory approval is pending but we don’t think it will be a high hurdle to clear … The Catawba Nation‘s ramshackle (but smoke-free) temporary casino opened yesterday. Delaware North is managing gaming for the Catawba, whose $273 million Class III casino won’t be ready until this time next year … The Caesars Entertainment brand is going to Columbus, Nebraska. The company has comitted to build a horseracing track, a casino and dining—and all for $75 million.