While gamblers in Ohio were playing more than ever, citizens of the Free State cut back their play substantially. Maryland casinos were down 8.5% last month and nobody came out ahead of the game. Despite slowing 9%, MGM National Harbor comfortably led with $66 million. Maryland Live suffered much less, down 2.5% for $57 million. Still wilting is Horseshoe Baltimore, -17% to $14.5 million. That waterfront location has backfired rather sadly. Ocean Downs was down 13% for $6 million and Hollywood Perryville slipped 7.5% to $6.5 million. Century Casinos‘ takeover of Rocky Gap Resort has coincided with a declivity in its fortunes, with January bringing a 36.5% collapse to $3 million. The only consolation was that Maryland gambling halls were still doing 12% better than in 2019.
Although we’ve been at sea (literally and figuratively) these past couple of weeks, we couldn’t miss some salient developments in the industry. Fontainebleau has sacked four of its top executives now and brought in Maurice Wooden, late of Wynn Resorts, to steer the foundering ship off the shoals. Having been at Wynn, Wooden presumably knows the high-end trade, which is so much the better for F-blue. And if Wooden doesn’t succeed, the Koch Family has a surefire way (for them) to evade insolvency and its consequences. If you haven’t heard of “the Texas two-step,” you soon will. It’s an unethical but perfectly legal stratagem whereby worthless assets are steered into one entity for the sake of having their valueless carcass attached to creditors. Meanwhile, anything of value is sheltered in another entity. Gary Loveman did something like this when Caesars Entertainment went on the rocks many years ago.
The Kochs pulled this shady maneuver on their victims of asbestos contamination at Georgia Pacific and it’s hardly a stretch to think they’d do it to Fontainebleau creditors. Over 60,000 Georgia Pacific plaintiffs have been hanging for seven years, thanks to Koch chicanery. Unlike them, F-blue creditors stand only to lose their shirts, not their lives. But if you hear about F-blue filing legal papers in Texas, be worried. Be very worried. As one victim said of the Kochs, “They’re evil. They’re right up there with the Sackler family.”
Speaking of that which is unethical but legal, a judge in New Jersey has absolved Borgata from responsibility for compulsive gambling that occurred on its premises. That’s right, casinos are under no duty to intervene between a disordered gambler and his mounting losses. At Caesars, they call this the Terrance K. Watanabe Memorial Business Plan. Rationalized Judge Madeline Cox Arleo, Garden State law is “notably silent on whether casinos or online gambling platforms may induce people who present with compulsive gambling behavior to patronize their businesses.” She was ruling in the case of Sam Antar, a problem gambler who was the victim of MGM Resorts International‘s marketing. MGM knew he was a pathological gambler, Anto contends, but did nothing to stop him. This, sadly, is nothing new. Casinos in New Jersey have won twice before when sued by problem gamblers. So it’s no wonder that they apparently continue to enable them.
Antar bears at least part of the responsibility, having failed to place himself on New Jersey’s self-exclusion list. Then he would be well and truly off-limits to casino marketers. Also, Arleo reasoned, the onus is on the Lege to outlaw that which MGM did. Given the lack of spinal fortitude in Trenton we’re not holding our breath on that one. Meanwhile, Antar is planning a (probably doomed) appeal, giving him lots of time to ponder the $30 million he wagered at Atlantic City casinos and quanity how much he actually lost. A convicted felon, Antar is hardly the most sympathetic victim and we take some consolation in knowing that MGM probably repatriated some of the money that Antar made by bilking investors back in 2013 and again in 2023. His lone hope is that MGM is found to have committed “unconscionable” acts under the state’s Consumer Fraud Act. Which would be richly ironic.
Jottings: In case you missed it, Bally’s Corp. will close the Tropicana Las Vegas on April 2, in order to make room for a $1.5 billion baseball stadium. Oakland Athletics owner John Fisher has already started to weasel out of his commitment to put up $1.1 billion. Instead, he will sell minority positions in the wretched team. He’s also being coy about making the stadium’s design public … A Dallas governmental committee has swung its support behind casinos in the Lone Star State. This comes on the heels of news that Las Vegas Sands has acquired two potential resort sites and Vici Properties has dibbed a third. Said one councilman, “I see this as a huge, missed opportunity if we don’t tap into a new statewide source of revenue for police and fire pensions.” … Multiple gambling options are on the table in the Alabama Lege. Going the route of a constitutional amendment is the soft underbelly, as it would require only a legislative majority, not a supermajority. If that’s how it goes, a lottery stands the best chance of statewide passage, sports betting the weakest … The social platform formerly known as Twitter wants to be the next big thing in sports betting. It’s counting to BetMGM to make it happen, using the posting of odds on X to funnel customers to BetMGM … Thinking of skimping on the amenities at your new casino? Don’t. A new survey shows that, for the younger set, amenities are the tipping point when deciding where to gamble. Unsurprisingly, Hard Rock International was tops with respondents, closely followed by MGM Resorts International, while Caesars Entertainment needs to pick up its game, as it were … It’s out with the old at Casino del Sol in Tucson. The tribal venue is planning a new, 65,000-square-foot gambling hall … Finally, forget Formula One. It’s the upcoming Super Bowl that is setting records for hotel-room rates in Las Vegas. Absurdly, Sin City casinos continue to refer to the Super Bowl as “the Big Game,” even though it’s being played right in town, by a league that actively partners with sports betting providers. Sheesh!
Quote of the Day: “We firmly believe that iGaming harms the best part about casino gaming in New York State, which is jobs. No matter how much state revenue iGaming creates, if it comes at the cost of hurting the prospects for jobs at casinos, in our minds it’s a no-brainer that it’s the wrong thing to do.”—Bhav Tibrewal, New York Hotel & Gaming Trades Council political director, opposing the latest push in the Empire State for Internet casinos.
So Bally’s and the A’s have 35 acres of land to try and build a hotel-casino, a baseball stadium and possibly a parking garage. Since the Tropcana is closing April 2nd the renderings of both projects should be out before then.