Our man on the Boardwalk stayed at Borgata last weekend and reports that the property is fully decorated for Christmas, juxtaposing Santa and slots. Golden Nugget is still getting started (way to go, guys) while Bally’s Atlantic City had “some small stuff” on view. That’s the holiday spirit. Not. Speaking of the last-place Nugget, it is requiring players to accumulate 200 tier credits before obtaining a December $25 gift card, which is a big outlay for players. Bally’s, by contrast, “will be offering $125 gift cards eight times, $150 one time, and $175 one time.” That’s mighty George of them.
Staying with the Nugget (above), if we must, it has distinguished itself with the lowest occupancy in town (67%), according to The Press of Atlantic City. The casino also imposes a usurious $39.50/day resort fee. As as our correspondent writes, “If Tilman Feritta is determined to stay in last place, the recent increase in ‘resort fee’ from $30 to $39.50 will help him stay there.” It sure will. Who has the highest occupancy in Atlantic City, by the way? That’d be Hard Rock Atlantic City at 96%. As we’ve said before, it’s the best brand name in gaming.
Is Harrah’s Resort worried about competition from Bart Blatstein‘s water park at Showboat? Seems that way. The latest e-mail blast from Harrah’s touts its indoor pool, as well as a kiddie arcade, “Featuring old-school classics and kiddie games.” As our correspondent observes, “you don’t have to leave the casino.” Harrah’s and Caesars Atlantic City are getting some free publicity on Capitol Hill, meanwhile, thanks to revelations that serial fabulist George Santos splurged campaign dollars at their casinos. Maybe after his congressional career comes to an ignominious end he can work as a Harrah’s greeter, preferably in his Carmen Miranda alter ego.
Meantime, problems continue at City Hall, as Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R) is demanding a federal takeover of the Atlantic City Housing Authority due to unsafe living conditions in its properties. Said Van Drew, “Because of the total lack of leadership by the Atlantic City Housing Authority and its complete inability to do its job, families in the authority’s communities have been left with no heat and no hot water as we approach the height of winter, which will have significant impacts on the health of its residents. This is unacceptable and deeply disturbing that Atlantic City bureaucrats have faced no accountability and no consequences for the terrible conditions residents are faced with.” As for the Housing Authority itself, our reporter clues us in that it has applied “to demolish Stanley Holmes Village. No mention of not having any replacement housing for the people living there, Guess it’s the renters ‘own problem.”
Over in the City of Brotherly Love, things didn’t go as promised at a big giveaway planned by Philadelphia Live (above). Or was any planning involved? Our man got there at 2:30 p.m. for a noon-8 p.m. event and “found out that two floors of the four floor parking garage were completely full. They had to open up their third level, usually reserved for high-level players.” To add insult to injury, only one of two parking garage elevators was operational. “The one elevator was totally packed each time and we couldn’t get to the casino! … We saw a few people leaving with ‘trinkets’ rather than the gift promised. We asked one person who had the promised gift, and he said, ‘They ran out at 12:30.’ Running out after half an hour is a fiasco.” Indeed it is. Cordish Gaming, for shame. Coal and switches for you this Christmas.
I-gaming was mega-lucrative in Michigan, where it brought in $160 million last month. BetMGM dominated with $45.5 million. DraftKings and FanDuel were closely spaced, at $39 million and $37 million respectively. (Who’d have thought they’d have excelled at casino games?) BetRivers‘ $10.5 million and Caesars Entertainment‘s $6 million rounded out the significant players. Sports betting revenues of $45 million (on handle of $533 million) were diluted by promo giveaways to the tune of $21.5 million (!). Surging 64% from last year, DraftKings took a huge bite out of the competition, especially BetMGM. FanDuel still held the field with 46% market share but DraftKings was up to 36% and BetMGM plunged to 15%. Not a good day in the lion enclosure.
Jottings: Nov. 14 marked the launch of ESPN Bet, overshadowing investor day at DraftKings. The new OSB platform’s rollout has been accompanied by intriguing TV ads, which aim toward female punters and adopt a refreshingly low-key tone. ESPN Bet went live in 17 states and once, and partner Penn Entertainment has to hope it’s not chasing losses, having incurred $923 million in red ink from its ill-starred marriage to cretinous Barstool Sports … Tim Brooks will continue to direct but no longer own the Emerald Island and Rainbow Club casinos in Henderson. They were purchased by businessmen Ron Winchell and Marc Falcone (the latter late of Station Casinos) for an undisclosed price … You can never go wrong with a steakhouse in Las Vegas. The latest such is Peter Luger Steak House at Caesars Palace. It armed itself for Formula One weekend by stockpiling $1 million worth of aged beef … Work starts next month on Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tejon (pictured) in Mettler, California. The 400-room resort will finally give people in the Bakersfield area something to do … Big with the Arabs, LPM Restaurant & Bar has now come to the Las Vegas Strip. The Mediterranean menu at LPM is mouth-watering and we like the idea of cocktails inspired by Jean Cocteau. It also gives us an excuse to run this, from the opening:
Au revoir.