August was an unremarkable month, in terms of percentage changes in Las Vegas‘ gambling scene. The Las Vegas Strip was a point up from last year (to $667 million), locals casinos a point down ($247.5 million). That being said, it was the biggest August that Sin City has ever seen. Strip slots won 3% more despite 1.5% less coin-in, while non-baccarat table games dipped 1.5% on 5.5% less wagering. The difference maker was baccarat, where the house played lucky. Win leapt 24% on 6.5% larger betting. Locals slot revenue slipped 3.5% on 3% less coin-in, while tables jumped 15% on marginally (-1.5%) lower wagering. Compared to 2019, the Strip vaulted 28% while the locals numbers were a 40% moonshot. Visitation to Vegas was up 4% to 3.3 million, if still 7% below 2019 numbers. Occupancy levels in hotels averaged 80% (90% on weekends, 77% midweek) but convention trade (647,000 souls) was booming, up 64% from the previous autumn. Another major differentiator was air traffic, up 4% from 2019, if flat from last year.
Off a point from last year, Downtown casinos grossed $64 million, while North Las Vegas ($23 million) was flat and the Boulder Strip was 6% down to $83 million. Laughlin ceded 4.5% to reach $34.5 million, while miscellaneous Clark County was up 2% for $142 million. Reno also gained 2%, grossing $69 million, while Lake Tahoe stumbled 11.5% to $26.5 million. The dramatic impact of Legends Bay on Sparks is beginning to slow but the town was up 5% to $15 million. Utah drive-in markets Wendover and Mesquite went in opposite directions. Mesquite shed 3% to land at $13 million, while Wendover reached $22 million, a 4% gain. As Wendover goes, so goes Nevada.
In a typically muddled move, the NFL lessened some of its strictures on sports betting while tightening others. The much-vaunted ‘simplification’ of the supposedly onerous restrictions actually made them considerably more complicated. The ban on betting from team facilities could be described as, ‘Fool me once, shame on me. Fool me thrice, shame on you.’ First-time offences are now met with two games. Six games’ suspension is the penalty for a second offense and if you screw up three times you get booted without pay for a year. Confused yet? It gets more byzantine. If you bet on the NFL per se you’re out a year but if the wager involves your own team, it’s two years. Adds NFL.com, “Actual or attempted game fixing will result in a permanent ban from the NFL, while providing inside information and tipping will elicit an indefinite suspension (minimum of one year), as will third-party or proxy betting.”
The immediate consequence of this is that the resurgent Detroit Lions get wideout Jameson Williams back immediately. Ditto the Tennessee Titans and offensive lineman Nelson Petit-Frere. In non-betting-related NFL news, the Las Vegas Raiders proved themselves yet again to be astute judges of character when they had to release Chandler Jones. The offensive defensive end was arrested for violation of a domestic-violence protection order. What a peach. As though that weren’t sufficient provocation, the troubled player had been hospitalized for mental illness and had posted a 25-minute apologia pro vita sua on social media in which railed against Raiders leadership. (OK, a lot of Raider Nation would probably agree with him on that.) Seriously, where do the Raiders find these people?
There were virtually no holdouts in Detroit, where 99% of casino workers, belonging to four different unions, voted to strike when their collective-bargaining agreement lapses in two weeks. Negotiations have been in progress for almost a month but employees evidently are running short of patience. “Workers are fed up in an economy that is broken: costs keep going up, but when profits came back to the gaming industry, they didn’t go into workers’ pockets,” wrote Unite-Here Local 24 prexy Nia Winston, sounding a familiar refrain. She added, “We expect the casinos to heed our concerns to avoid a strike.” As for the casinos, they’re probably looking to labor talks in Las Vegas to get their lead.
Penn Entertainment wouldn’t say how much it paid to be shot of Barstool Sports but it must have been sweet. ‘Stool fool Dave Portnoy just plunked down $42 million for a crib on Nantucket with a private beach. It better be nice. That’s far more than an acre on the Las Vegas Strip will cost you.
Driven mainly by “cocktail-party chatter” he’d heard and by his own ego, Nevada Gaming Control Board Chairman Kirk Hendrick continues to push for a reckless deregulation of game approval for the Silver State. “One of the reasons I took this job was to make radical change,” threatened Hendrick. He nonsensically justified fielding relatively untested slots by saying, “We want to be the best in the world.” The NGCB presented its case to the Nevada Gaming Commission last week, complete with some predictable inanity by George Assad, the Control Board’s assclown-in-residence. Deregulate, said Assad, and let ensuing lawsuits sort it out. Yikes.
Jottings: Those cyber-assaults on Caesars Entertainment and MGM Resorts International may be the straw that breaks insurers’ backs. Both companies are counting on insurance bailouts to cover their cyber losses. At the very least, major premium increases will probably be forthcoming … Another reason to avoid the MSG Sphere, aside from insane parking levies: Creepy robots will greet you at the entrance and orate upon the Sphere’s history. Doubtless they will omit the part about its runaway cost … Got $10,000 to drop on food? Bellagio wants you. The resort is throwing a big culinary bash to mark its 25th anniversary. Your $10K buys you three meals, supervised by the top chefs in town, as well as Wolfgang Puck … The first Sports Illustrated-branded retail sports book has opened. And where? Island Resort & Casino in Harris, Michigan. We know: Where? … Q Casino in Dubuque‘s temporary facility will open on Oct. 13 (yes, Friday the 13th), superstition be damned. The temporary will occupy the upper level of a former greyhound-racing track … As Bally’s Kansas City‘s revenue continues to grow, so do its aspirations. A new hotel is being mulled, something that the casino lacks (unlike its Kansas City rivals). Such a move has been contemplated before without the trigger ever being pulled. Let’s hope this time is the charm.