Developer Larry Silverstein‘s PR peeps released additional renderings of The Avenir over the weekend and they are certainly impressive. Few additional details of the proposed resort have been made available but the striking exterior is the work of veteran casino architect Paul Steelman, far outdoing his work for Resorts World New York. For our money, it’s pretty much a tossup between this and Sands Nassau for the most curb-appealing design statement and we hope that New York State authorities will have a hard time choosing between the two. If a casino simply must go into Manhattan, Silverstein gets our vote hands down. More pretty pictures after the jump.
Sports betting revenue in Arizona dropped 12% in May, hitting $48.5 million. Handle was $451 million, so luck tended to be with the players. Nearly one dollar in three of revenue went right back out in promos ($15 million), as the industry continues to try to buy business. Four operators represented most of the action: FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM and Caesars Sportsbook, in that order. FanDuel took home $21 million to DraftKings’ $15 million, while BetMGM policed up $7 million and Caesars $4 million. Barstool Sports, WynnBet and BetRivers were all flailing away well south of the Mendoza Line ($1 million).
One cagey bettor thought he’d struck it rich on a Women’s World Cup parlay. Kris Benton put down $3K on a three-leg parlay that had Netherlands beating Vietnam. After the Vietnamese got clocked 7-nil, Benton thought he’d see a $214,500 payday for his genius wager. BetMGM, however, retroactively rescinded the bet, claiming that there was an “obvious error with the odds.” How could they tell? People were winning! But seriously, BetMGM’s opaque excuse ran, “There was an issue that caused the corners market to have inflated the odds, but they were not supposed to be offered at that price. Therefore, we are not able to find out what the correct odds would have been, that is why the wager was voided.”
Sounds like the mistake was BetMGM’s and it ought to pay up. Instead, Benton got a mingy $100 free bet of his choice, to add insult to injury. As Benton said, “They said because of their mistake they can do whatever they wanted to do with my account [!] and on top of that, the mistake they claim happened, they can’t back that up with any evidence.” This sounds like the worst sort of corporate arrogance. BetMGM is good for the money and should to honor its own, posted odds. Derek Stevens wouldn’t pull this sort of crap.
The fouls are continuing to pile up for Iowa State University QB Hunter Dekkers, who used his mommy as a front for his betting activities—and wasn’t even of legal age. Although he’s a low roller—$2,799 in lifetime DraftKings action—Dekkers makes up for his picayune wagers with his frequency. He’s placed 340 bets, not including 26 he illegally made on Cyclones games. Dekkers’ lame-ass actions are excused by his equally lame-ass attorneys, who bluster that “This charge attempts to criminalize a daily fact of American life … This prosecution interferes with and politicizes what is the business of Iowa State University and the NCAA.” Sounds like they could get a job shystering for Donald Trump. As for Dekkers he’s avoiding a probable benching but sulking in his tent instead of attending football camp. As for his legal strategy (“Millions of people share online accounts of all kinds every day”) it seems to be a prelude to pushing dear old Mom under the bus. What a kid.
Jottings: Congratulations, Barcelona. You’ve aced out Paris, Madrid and incumbent London to host the 2025 ICE gaming trade show, the biggest in Europe. We’re only sorry that we can’t attend ourselves … Politicians in Brazil, having taxed sports betting at 18%, now worry that the impost will hurt business. That’s a laugh, judging by higher-taxed American businesses. Rush Street Interactive certainly voiced no Brazilian tax worries when surveying the market last week … Having lost Great Britain‘s national lottery contract on the merits, International Game Technology tried to claw it back the old-fashioned way—via litigation. But the U.K.’s highest court was having none of it and backhanded IGT last week … Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) having screwed up the compact between New York State and the Seneca Nation, the Lege may convene a special session to sort it out. Why the urgency? The current Seneca compact expires in early December … Wall Street gaming pundits perversely continue to hope against hope for a recession. Some cherry-picked statistics support one masochistic bear case, if S&M’s your thing.