Hardly the cruelest month, April made up for some recent and discouraging numbers for Las Vegas in particular and Nevada in general. Gambling receipts on the Las Vegas Strip tallied $666 million (the Mark of the Beast?), a 6.5% improvement over 2023 and 38% higher than May 2019. Locals casinos fared up even better, being up 16% overall, to $270 million. Table game hold was up on the Strip and baccarat was much tighter as well. Wagering at the tables (+20%) and slots (+43%) eclipsed 2019 figures. Baccarat winnings vaulted 80% from last year (when, to be fair, hold was very loose) and non-baccarat table games nosed up a percentage point. The one-armed bandits saw a 4% decline in coin-in.
Downtown shot up 11% to $83 million and the Boulder Strip rose 8.5%, hitting $83 million as well. Miscellaneous Clark County casinos, which should be called “Durango Resort andsomeotherpeople”) rocketed 24.5% higher, reaching $162 million for the month. Cooler were North Las Vegas ($24 million, -3%) and Laughlin ($43.5 million, -7%). Two Utah-facing markets fared differently. Mesquite saw $17 million, up 1%, but Wendover plunged 10% to $20 million. Reno ($59 million, -6%) and Sparks ($14 million, -9%) also missed out on the party, but ever-volatile Lake Tahoe erupted 31.5%, gaining $18 million.
Despite the zeal of Steve Cohen‘s partisans to put a beatdown on her, state Sen. Jessica Ramos (D) held firm and said “nay” to a Cohen-owned casino in Queens. We admire her fortitude, especially after the unpleasant spectacle of multiple special interest groups trying to gang up on one woman. As far as the merits of an $8 billion Citi Field casino, we are of no opinion, although the mooted participation of Hard Rock International would be a definite plus. Then again, Hard Rock is one of several New York City casino aspirants that is also trying to protect its Atlantic City flank. We prefer those who are unconflicted, like Las Vegas Sands. As for Ramos, it’s hard to fault her for putting her constituents first: “After three town halls, a poll, a survey and I can’t tell you how many conversations I’ve had around the district, I’ve concluded that the vast majority of our neighbors would not welcome a casino in our backyard.”
There’s the rub with New York City casinos. Except for the two that already exist, they’re fraught with NIMBY issues. Since there has to be a third casino, someplace, politicians are going to have the devil’s own time finding out where to place it. In the case of Cohen, the fix appeared to be in, since he was tight with Gov. Kathy Hochul (D). The governor’s non-kosher influence on casino selection is unwelcome, especially as she has had conflict-of-interest issues in the past where gambling was concerned. Ramos’ concerns were, she said, more with quality-of-life matters. “People want a lot more parkland,” said Ramos. “They want spaces where they can enjoy their family. And that’s really where our collective focus should be.”
The Cohen-aligned forces might still try to get a non-Queens lawmaker to bigfoot Ramos’ district and move for the necessary waiver (aptly called “alienation”), although that would fly in the face of legislative precedent. Sulked Cohen mouthpiece Karl Rickett, “While we respect Senator Ramos’s point of view, the state never intended any one person to have the ability to single-handedly stop or approve a gaming project.” Rickett cited “overwhelming support from elected officials, unions, and the local community,” although that’s something of an overstatement. Unions are all in but support from other quarters has been less than overwhelming.
Standing Rickett’s logic on its head, Queens Borough President Donovan Richards tweeted that Hochul should intervene and overrule Ramos, just the sort of lead-sap move we’ve dreaded. One party that could be heartened by Ramos’ opposition is Bally’s Corp. Its golf course land, the former Trump Links (above), could be ‘alienated’ into gaming-enabled status … and state Sen. Nathalia Fernandez (D) appears tractable. There are many potential winners from yesterday’s news, including every other casino proposal for the Big Apple. But there’s only one loser: Steve Cohen.