Top casino executives convened in Atlantic City to predict fire, flood, famine and pestilence should New York City go ahead with casino megaresorts. Well, casinos are definitely coming to Gotham … less likely coming to New Jersey horse tracks. What does Big Gaming propose to do? Hold its breath until it turns blue? It sounds like a prelude to corporate welfare. Cue also the predictable refusal to ban smoking in A.C.’s casinos, the subject of protests outside Hard Rock Atlantic City, where the East Coast Gaming Conference was being held.
Hard Rock International CEO James Allen was on hand to predict that the Boardwalk would soon be reeling from the loss of 25% to 30% of its revenue. Six of the nine casinos might close. Dogs and cats will fornicate with each other. OK, we made up that last bit. But we’re not impervious to the irony of Hard Rock’s Allen decrying NYC casinos while helping pour $8 billion into Steve Cohen‘s Metropolitan Park megaresort in Flushing. As in flushing Atlantic City down the nearest toilet. No stranger to hypocrisy, Bally’s Corp. is backstopping Bally’s Atlantic City (the city’s only money-losing casino) with $4 billion Bally’s Bronx. For them, it’s adapt or probably die.
If Allen really meant what he said, he’d refrain from the Big Apple’s casino derby. But that ship has long since sailed. Besides, he’s got one of the three likeliest casinos to survive, so he can afford to feign indignation. Caesars Entertainment, which has three also-ran casinos in Atlantic City, tried to double down in Times Square (above). And MGM Resorts International was on the verge of a Yonkers megaresort before pulling the chicken switch and opening the door for Bally’s Bronx. At least Borgata will be the last casino to close in Atlantic City, so MGM can take some solace in that.
Other than the casino workers who may find themselves out on the streets (if secondhand smoke doesn’t get them first), we have scant sympathy. Big Gaming knew damn well what was happening in NYC and didn’t lift a finger to stop it. Quite the contrary. Meanwhile, it coasted in Atlantic City, trying to get by on second-tier products (for the most part) and protectionism. The free market that the Allens of this world worship has selected out the Boardwalk from the evolutionary process. Harsh, but there it is. Atlantic City had its time (damn near 50 years of it) but casino gambling has moved on relentlessly, picking off one feeder market (hello, Philadelphia) after another (greetings, Baltimore). If Big Gaming wants to blame someone for A.C.’s lack of a future, it might try looking in the mirror.
Elsewhere in Atlantic City, two casinos are running duplicate promotions. Whoops. Next month, you can get free Michael Kors handbags at Borgata … and at Ocean Casino Resort. The latest Borgata promo was a corded (huh?) lawnmower, drop-shipped to your home. Seriously, who runs a lawnmower off an electric cord anymore? Is this some new and idiotic brainwave from the federal Department of Energy?
In case you missed it (we sure did), two people were stabbed at the former Showboat casino. Calling the ensuing absence of coverage “shameful,” our Boardwalk correspondent brings us up to date: “The Press of Atlantic City never reported what was shown on Philly TV: a crowd full of teenagers running inside Showboat before the stabbing. The Press had exactly five sentences in last Tuesday’s newspaper, with zero comments about what was on Showboat’s cameras.” That’s civic boosterism for you.
Although gambling revenue is still up in Illinois, its neighboring states were less lucky. In Indiana, casino takings slumped 6.5%. Only Hard Rock Northern Indiana was revenue-positive, up 1%. As one Hoosier State newspaper helpfully pointed out, this lone casino represented 18% of the state’s casino revenue. We never tire of pointing out that the then-mayor of Chicago, the inept Lori Lightfoot, targeted Hard Rock Gary specifically when she pushed for a casino downtown in the Windy City. Well, Hard Rock continues to prove impervious to competition. It grossed $39 million last month. Horseshoe Hammond dropped 11% to a still-hefty $22 million, while Ameristar East Chicago plummeted 12% to $12.5 million. Blue Chip was off 2.5% to $11.5 million.
Normally popular Caesars Southern Indiana sustained the hardest hit of March, plunging 16% to $18.5 million. Belterra Resort was off 4.5% to $7 million, French Lick Resort took a 12% licking to $6 million and Bally’s Evansville dipped 2% to $15 million. (It’s undoubtedly the most successful casino in the Bally’s chain.) Rising Star was off 1.5% to $4 million, Hollywood Lawrenceburg subsided 4% to $13 million and Terre Haute Casino was down 5% to $12 million. In the Indianapolis area, Horseshoe Indianapolis fell 7% to $26.5 million and Harrah’s Hoosier Park stumbled 8.5% to $20 million.
If casinos were unlucky, so were sports bettors. Despite handle subsidence of 6% ($518 million), books made out like bandits, grossing $49 million, a 37% percent moonshot and 9.5% hold. DraftKings outdueled FanDuel, $17 million to $15 million. BetMGM and Bet365 each made $4 million, leaving behind Caesars Sportsbook ($3 million) and Fanatics Sportsbook (also $3 million). At $1 million each, BetRivers and theScore Bet vied for participation trophies.
A dip in casino winnings in Missouri was less severe, just 1.5%. Visitor spending was up incrementally, largely negating a 2.5% dent in foot traffic. (It’s a now-familiar dynamic—fewer players gambling more.) Mone of the fluctuations were dramatic. As usual, the top performer was Ameristar St. Charles, down 3.5% but still in front with $25.5 million. Close behind was River City with $25 million, flat, while Hollywood St. Louis was getting accustomed to third place, up 2.5% to $23 million. Horseshoe St. Louis was flat at $15 million.
To the west, Ameristar Kansas City made 9.5% less, $17 million. Also smacked 9% was Bally’s Kansas City at $11 million. Argosy Riverside dropped 6.5% to $14.5 million, while the one casino in town that didn’t lose business was Harrah’s North Kansas City, up 5% to $16 million. Outstate, Isle of Capri Boonville was up 6% to $8.5 million and Mark Twain Casino was down 6% to $3 million. Century Casinos was up 2% at star performer Caruthersville ($5.5 million) and 4.5% in Cape Girardeau ($6.5 million). St. Jo Frontier was off a point to gross $4.5 million.
Quote of the Day: “Imagine you owe taxes on money you never earned. We call that phantom income. Sounds unfair, right? … Not only is this fundamentally unfair, but this provision will incentivize individuals to engage with offshore, unregulated operators and the prediction markets which, unlike legitimate gambling sources, do not invest in bricks and mortar, hire union labor, pay state taxes, or contribute to problem-gaming efforts.”—Rep. Dina Titus (D), today on the subject of the federal tax increase on gambling losses.
The casinofication of America is complete. New York City needs casinos to diversify its hospitality industry and overall economy just as much as North Dakota needs surfboard shops. But for the lege in Albany, that sweet gaming tax revenue just simply cannot be turned down. As one who’s been in gaming for many years, it’s disgusting that the industry is just viewed as a giant piggy bank for politicians.