And then there were nine. Take a good look at that rendering. You won’t see it again. Yesterday, Wynn Resorts pulled in its horns and announced it was decamping from New York City‘s casino derby. The stated reason? “Political opposition.” For those who oppose casinos on the grounds that they appeal to the lowest common denominator, this event is ironic. Wynn’s casino, if approved, would easily have been the most high-end in the Five Boroughs.
However, neither Wynn nor its real estate partner, Related Cos. reckoned on the strength of neighborhood residents and activists, who did a good job of mustering opposition to the megabuck project. The final nail in Wynn’s coffin was pounded by Councilman Erik Bottcher, who said he couldn’t support the $12 billion megaresort. After reading the tea leaves, Bottcher said, “This casino  did not meet the high bar of community support that a project like this requires.” Related pivoted, suspiciously fast, to a new, 4,000-unit housing project it hopes will palliate West Side denizens. Posh casino out, affordable housing in!
Taking its ball and going home, Wynn announced petulantly that it would spend its billions instead on stock buybacks and overseas development. Take that, America! “The recent rezoning process has made it clear to us that there are uses for our capital more accretive to our shareholders, such as investment in our existing and upcoming developments and stock buybacks, than investing in an area in which we, or any casino operator, will face years of persistent opposition,” huffed the company.
But it has no one to blame but itself. Manhattan isn’t the Las Vegas Strip and, no matter how the issue was framed, this project was sure to run into a wall of opposition. Cantankerous New Yorkers were never likely to roll out the red carpet for a firm like Wynn, unlike the folks back home. Noblesse oblige doesn’t cut it with Gothamites. True, no NYC casino project has found widespread support, although Steve Cohen is doing better than most with his Citi Field proposal. It seems that Big Apple residents aren’t too thrilled with the idea of massive casinos being plopped on their doorstep, no matter how many jobs (5K in Wynn’s case) or investment are promised. With Las Vegas Sands (whose Nassau option is going begging) and Saks Fifth Avenue now out of the running, the score is NIMBYs 3, Big Gaming 0.
Meanwhile, Jay-Z Carter was making the rounds in Albany, arguing on behalf of a Caesars Entertainment casino in Times Square. His biggest obstacle may be that the proposal, unlike Wynn’s, is too budget-conscious. Two other Manhattan sites remain in play: Soloviev Group and Mohegan Sun are shopping a project near the United Nations building. And Rush Street Gaming was just this week designated as operator for the midtown Avenir possibility that we happen to like (not that THAT matters a whit).
At this point, any Manhattan casino is a long shot, which is good news for Cohen (especially), Bally’s Corp. and the Thor Equities consortium pursuing Coney Island—and not finding much of a welcome out there. It may be even better news for MGM Resorts International and Genting Group, who are hoping to have their mega-slot parlors upgraded to full-service-casino status. Even though both companies (like Wynn) have recently been pilloried for money laundering, this is so far a non-issue in New York State. Better a money launderer in Yonkers or Queens than one in Manhattan, or so it seems.
Last month, gamblers in New Jersey played somewhat less at Atlantic City … and a lot more from home. iGaming receipts soared 25% as Boardwalk tallies dipped 2.5%, $235 million to $211 million. Evidently the physical casino experience is expendable, but gambling itself is not. The player defection was felt most at Atlantic City’s grind joints, with Bally’s Atlantic City plunging a calamitous 21.5% to $10 million, whilst Golden Nugget Atlantic City dropped 13% to $11 million. Resorts Atlantic City was comparatively unscathed, down 2% to $12 million. The Caesars Entertainment Cerberus was becalmed. Harrah’s Resort did best, flat at $16 million, as Caesars Atlantic City slid 8.5% to $14.5 million and Tropicana tumbled 11% to $15.5 million. As for the upper echelon, it was just fine. Borgata led with $58.5 million despite being flat, as Ocean Casino Resort (pictured) jumped 6% to $30.5 million and Hard Rock Atlantic City gained a point to $41.5 million.
If iGaming was having a good April, sports betting was not. Handle dipped 5% to $994 million and win plunged 15% to $90.5 million. The saving grace were parlays, which held at a usurious 17%, unlike OSB (which held 9%). We don’t call them “sucker bets” for nothing. Parlay champ FanDuel easily led the field with $32 million. DraftKings collected 18.5% more this year but couldn’t quite catch up, netting $22.5 million. Despite a 61% falloff in win, Fanatics came seemingly out of nowhere to seize third place and $13 million. Then came BetMGM ($8 million), Bet365 ($5.5 million) and ESPN Bet, having a good month with $3.5 million. Caesars Sportsbook did no better than $1.5 million and BetRivers fell below our Mendoza Line.
It was a very similar story in neighboring Pennsylvania, where casinos were flat as flat can be with $283.5 million as iGaming surged 31% to $227.5 million. Parx Casino and its $47.5 million were dead even with last year, easily dominating the crowded Philadelphia market. At the other end, Harrah’s Philadelphia was also flat with $11 million. Valley Forge Resort rose 4% to $12 million, while in downtown Philly Sugar House had a rare, 4% gain to $19.5 million. Unfortunately for it, Live Philadelphia (above) had an even better April, up 7.5% to $22 million. Across the state in Pittsburgh, smoky, unsanitary Rivers Casino‘s image problems were but a minor hindrance as it booked $27 million (-3%). Pittsburgh Live got walloped ($9 million, -11%) while Hollywood Meadows slid 7% to $15 million.
Hollywood Penn National was also down 7% to $13 million, as Mohegan Pocono dipped 6.5% to $17 million and Presque Isle Downs ceded a point to $8.5 million. Wind Creek Bethlehem was up 4% to $46.5 million, Mount Airy Resort slipped 5.5% to $14.5 million and Lady Luck Nemacolin surged 9% to $2 million. Hollywood York enjoyed the most dramatic result, soaring 16% to $9 million, as Hollywood Morgantown receded 2.5% to $6 million and Parx Shippensburg hopped 1.5% to $3 million.
Sports betting witnessed handle of $681.5 million and income of $40.5 million (+5%), although $19 million of that went back out into promos. Despite a stark, 25.5% gain by DraftKings, the lead was retained by FanDuel with $27.5 million to DraftKings’ $17.5 million. PointsBet was a surprising third with $4 million, leading ESPN Bet ($2 million), Caesars Sportsbook ($1.5 million) and even BetMGM ($3 million).
Sports betting is never much of a factor in Louisiana but new Louisiana Live (above) certainly is. It drove a 9% increase to $201 million. Even without the Bossier City newcomer, casinos were up 4%, so it was decidedly a good month for the Pelican State. Margaritaville took a hefty, 13% hit from the newcomer but still led the market with $13.5 million, as Louisiana Live raked in $9.5 million. Horseshoe Bossier City got wiped out, however, plunging 36.5% to $5.5 million. Bally’s Shreveport as got dinged 13%, falling to $7.5 million. The also-rans were Boomtown Bossier ($4 million, -12.5%), Sam’s Town Shreveport ($3 million, -13%) and Louisiana Downs ($3 million, -14%), as Cordish Gaming ate everybody’s lunch.
By contrast, everyone had a jolly month in Baton Rouge, even miserable galleon Belle of Baton Rouge, up 22% to $800,000. L’Auberge Baton Rouge stanched its bleeding with a 6% increase to $15.5 million and popular newbie Queen Casino leapt 12% to $9 million. If Dan Lee is to be believed, Boyd Gaming cut corners on Treasure Chest and could have made 50% more by going whole hog. Even so, the joint is jumping: +81% last month to $13 million. Caesars New Orleans did some jumping of its own: +16.5% to $22.5 million. Boomtown Bossier was flat $10 million but racing season sure was good for Fair Grounds, galloping +18% to $3.5 million.
A major comeback is shaping up in Lake Charles, where Horseshoe Lake Charles may still be in last place but its $9.5 million represented a 44% moonshot. The Golden Nugget Lake Charles/L’Auberge du Lac seesaw continues. In their heated contest for supremacy, the Nugget slipped 2% to $24 million and second place, while L’Auberge’s $24.5 million represented a 3.5% uptick. Delta Downs was flat at $13.5 million. Two outlying properties went in exact opposite directions. Amelia Belle sank 2.5% to $2.5 million while the ponies were auspicious for Evangeline Downs, up 2.5% to $6.4 million.