Casinos in Atlantic City are having trouble catching a wave from the Great Reopening. Last month’s brick-and-mortar revenues were $214.5 million, 9% down from 2019. Slot win ($154 million) was 8% lower on 11% less coin-in and luck wasn’t with the house at the tables: 16% less revenue ($58.5 million) on only 1% less wagering. Borgata ($56.6 million) was luckier in that respect than most, with its table win flat despite 11% less betting, while slots plunged 20% on 23% less coin-in for an overall -13%. The Caesars Entertainment threesome slid 15%, on 17% lower slot win (18% less handle) and an 8% dip at the tables, where players bet 7% less than two years ago. Caesars Atlantic City fell 14% to $20 million last month, Harrah’s Resort slipped 13% to $21 million and Tropicana Atlantic City tumbled 18% to $21 million.
The only-revenue positive casinos were Ocean Resort, gaining 14% to $23 million (outdoing any Caesars property), and Hard Rock Atlantic City, surging 17% to $35 million. It will take more than new, pink windows to turn around Bally’s Atlantic City, plummeting 30% to $11 million. Also falling on hard times was the Golden Nugget, down 23% to $12 million, which left Resorts Atlantic City, down 11% to $14 million.
Sports betting had a bully month, with revenues of $71 million. New Jersey does not break out numbers by operator but JP Morgan analyst Joseph Greff estimated FanDuel to be tops with $45.5 million, then DraftKings, way behind at $13 million, followed by BetMGM with $7 million and William Hill with $4 million. Handle was $767 million, driven by high-hold (18%) parlay betting, with books holding a better-than-usual 9%. Explained PlayUSA analyst Dustin Gouker, “No market can completely overcome a lack of betting inventory, but New Jersey’s sportsbooks continue to find ways to capitalize on what the sports world is offering, most notably the NBA Playoffs and baseball.” Basketball—$191 million—led the wagering, no surprise. Now it remains to see how the entry of the 888/Sports Illustrated betting venture shakes up the market.
Internet gambling continues to be robust, with $107 in revenue, led by BetMGM’s $34 million tally, then Caesars/WynnBet‘s $15.5 million, closely followed by DraftKings with $14.5 million and, further back, Golden Nugget Online‘s $9 million. PlayUSA seems to think that erstwhile terrestrial players are sticking to the newfound joys of i-gaming. Said analyst Eric Ramsey, “$1 billion in annual revenue seems like a certainty now. And more growth could come this fall, even with Atlantic City recovering.” Gov. Phil Murphy (D) had better be happy, as i-gaming kicked nearly $19 million in taxes into state and local coffers.
Over in Pennsylvania, the pace wasn’t quite as torrid, with the Keystone State seeing $420 million in handle and $42.5 million in revenue. “Betting volume typically falls over the summer, but sportsbooks tend to win more per bet on sports like golf and tennis,” elaborated Gouker. The big winner, though, was Gov. Tom Wolf (D). Explicated analyst Valerie Cross, “Importantly, with more than $111 million in state and local taxes over the fiscal year no state takes in more in tax revenue from sports betting than Pennsylvania. That is where the state truly stands out.”
FanDuel dominated online betting with $162.5 million in handle and $20 million revenue. DraftKings was predictably second with $86 million and $6.5 million respectively. Barstool Sports slipped to fourth place with $32 million in handle for $3 million in revenue. It was leapfrogged by BetMGM ($37.5 million/$3 million). Also-rans included BetRivers ($18.5 million/$1.5 million) and Parx Casino ($10 million/$1 million). Seven other operators failed to crack the $1 million threshold in win. Retail betting was led by Rivers Philadelphia‘s $8 million handle and Parx’s $6.5 million. “With no Sixers to bet on and with the Phillies and Pirates sagging in the standings, sportsbooks will have to get creative in driving action in July and August,” Gouker said. As for Barstool’s struggles, Deutsche Bank analyst Carlo Santarelli noted that this was the company’s lowest level of action since its inception, a fact perhaps not particularly helped by the market’s third-highest outlay in promotional freebies.
Internet-casino revenue was $101 million, cooling off a bit from May. Penn National Gaming, which agglomerates four brands, brought in $37 million, followed by Rivers Philadelphia and its three skins with $27 million. Betway tiptoed into the market at Philadelphia Live but no data is presently available. Mount Airy continues to lead in i-poker with $2 million.
Michigan continues to creep on Pennsylvania, posting $89 million in i-gaming revenue last month, even though it was down 5% from May whereas online sports betting grew 30% over the same period. BetMGM was tops with $34 million, then DraftKings and FanDuel, duking it out $15.5 million to $15 million. Hanging in there were BetRivers ($6 million), Golden Nugget ($4 million), FoxBet ($3 million) and Barstool ($3 million). On the OSB front, handle was $235 million for $25 million in revenue, a figure diluted by $8 million in promotional outlays. (Terrestrial wagering accounted for another $2 million in revenue.) Punters was may have played unwisely, as OSB operators saw a best-ever hold of 10.5%. FanDuel saw $77 million in handle and $10 million in revenue. Next were DraftKings ($56.5 million/$5 million), BetMGM ($52 million/$6 million) and Barstool Sports ($17 million, $2 million). It was small potatoes for nine other operators, none of whom won $1 million or more and of whom WynnBet lost money—a harbinger of its pact with the lowly Detroit Lions?
The Southern Nevada Health District isn’t a bunch of alarmists, in our experience. Nor can they issue mask mandates. That remit lies with the state. But when the SNHD recommends resumed mask-wearing in Las Vegas we take it seriously. So do the managements of Westgate Las Vegas and Las Vegas Sands, which have reinstated masking for their employees. MGM Resorts International, sailing close to the wind, says it “is closely monitoring the situation” before doing anything. And with a staggering 97% of hospital admitees with Covid-19 being unvaccinated, the Culinary Union is encouraging everyone to, like duh, get the f**k vaccinated. Holdouts are Station Casinos and head-in-the-sand Derek Stevens, who is bound to reap what he is sowing. This is a fast-moving story and we hope to have more tomorrow.
Jottings: Poker players in Massachusetts may be het up about the lack of playing venues but their ire is falling on deaf ears at Encore Boston Harbor. “Based on current market conditions and the resulting need to prioritize space, Encore Boston Harbor will not be bringing back live poker at this time. If and when poker should return to Encore, it will likely be at a reduced capacity,” said a property rep. The most intriguing aspect of the story is the hint that poker rooms may be scrapped in favor of sports books, should the Lege ever get its head screwed on straight … Fitch Ratings has moved its Vegas-recovery timeline forward a year—to 2023. That long? “Revenues are now projected to be down about 20 percent and six percent in 2021 and 2022, respectively, relative to 2019, compared with our previous forecast that revenue would be down 50 percent and 20 percent in 2021 and 2022,” Fitch explained … Casinos technically become legal in Japan today. Actual casino openings, however, still look to take place somewhere around the twelfth of never … In the U.S., hotels have been busy eliminating breakfast buffets and customers are pissed.
Quote of the Day: “Who wants to go to a job fair? It’s not a human experience. It’s a cattle call. I want to go to a ‘you-value-me’ fair.”—human resources consultant Jeanet Wade.
In light of the spike in covid cases and the implementation of mask wearing, casinos should restore the smoking restrictions that were previously in place. We know that the virus can be spread through respirtory droplets which are contained in exhale from smokers.
Vaccination has been the only dent in the Covid cycle, so therefore, as a non-scientist, I have concluded that we are mired in a stalemate, the forces that decided rallying political factions trumps the health of the populace and the financial well being of the businesses and society in general are “winning”… There are diverse factions in the anti-vax crowd, but what has emerged as the driving force is just simply “own the libs, don’t get vaccinated”, the right wing that has favored corporate interests since the beginning of our Republic is now holding the Las Vegas convention business hostage. Kudos to Sean Hannity, last night he came to his senses and realized that human lives are at stake, he encouraged his viewers to get vaccinated… But his colleague Tucker Carlson continues to spew lies about this, even though it will kill some of his viewers off, these are amazing times we are living in. Canada has now surpassed the USA in vaccinations, even though we were once light years ahead of them, Canada does not allow cable TV political shows that lie, so they are not hamstrung by a system that has created a force willing to subject it’s own followers to a suffocation death for a perceived political “gain”… Las Vegas casino/resorts find themselves in the center of this, they can stay silent and watch their business models crumble, or they can get bold and try to take action. Big companies are not going to send their workers to conventions if the virus is spreading, the sooner that is realized, the sooner actions can be taken to remedy that…