Author: David Mckee

American Gaming Association President Bill Miller likes to say—and quite rightly—that communities should welcome casinos because Big Gaming is willing to pay big taxes. Until now, that is. Las Vegas Sands has barely planted its flag in Nassau, New York, and is asking for (get this) tax breaks. For crying out loud, Rob Goldstein! Way to hobble your campaign to be downstate’s third resort-casino. According to an unnamed Sands source, the megabuck company ($45 billion in market capitalization) wants “a reduction in the mortgage recording tax” in return for higher education levies, among other things. Oh, and a lower sales tax on construction-related items. Such freeloading ill-behooves a company as esteemed as LVS and has us rethinking our endorsement of its Five Boroughs pitch.

Gambling revenue from Nevada locals players dipped 2% last month. Now, before anyone shrieks “Recession!” or looks for the sky to fall, be it noted that we’re still streets ahead of 2019, which was the go-go ‘new normal.’ If, as Deutsche Bank analyst Carlo Santarelli predicts, Las Vegas Strip revenues drop over the summer, that will be cause for a reappraisal. For now it’s blue skies for the Strip, which was up 5% from April of last year. Strip casinos grossed $625 million, driven in part by 8% greater slot win (on a commensurately larger amount of coin-in) and 4% more table game revenue, despite slightly lower wagering. Baccarat cleaned out the house again, with win falling 11% in spite of 12% more diñero wagered. Downtown enjoyed an even better April up 10.5% to $74.5 million, so bully for Glitter Gulch. With a newly revamped Plaza Hotel joining newish Circa and the renovated Fremont Hotel, reinvesting in Downtown continues to pay dividends for owners.

So long, Tropicana Las Vegas. Say hello, National Basketball Association and Major League Soccer. And let’s not forget lacrosse and badminton. Since there is no stadium deal for which the Nevada Lege will not bend over and grab its ankles, it appears to be a lead-pipe cinch the public subsidies to attract the worst team in MLB to Sin City are all but signed, sealed and delivered. Already the Nevada Independent, abandoning its vaunted independence, is shaking the pom-poms for bringing the Oakland Athletics to the soon-to-be-former site of the venerable Trop. And where one stadium deal is, albeit not as rich as that gifted to the Las Vegas Raiders, others will follow as night segues day.

Last week, Deutsche Bank analyst Carlo Santarelli hit town and gave a rundown of the major players in Sin City. His overall theses can be found at CDC Gaming Reports. Basically, it boiled down to Macao great, Las Vegas Strip excellent, Las Vegas locals very good and regional casinos a bit iffy. But he also looked at a number of operators in granular detail and that is what occupies us today.

Boyd Gaming expects little or no impact from the debut of Durango Resort. If there is any, it will be felt at Suncoast. The expected result was described as “competitive strategy changes,” as Boyd is confident of keeping its Suncoast customers. On the plus side, growth in the Las Vegas Valley is likely to redound to the benefit of Aliante Casino. Rival Station Casinos read the tea leaves right on this one—but 15 years prematurely. In light of Boyd’s heavy exposure—seven casinos—to the Gulf Coast, management allowed that they are “actively dissecting” the underperformance of Mississippi and Louisiana. For one thing, unrated play (which is soft) is higher in this region. Also, the relative poverty of these two states means that they’re where macroeconomic challenges will be felt first. In the Midwest, Blue Chip and Kansas Star have shaken off the impact of ‘historical horse racing’ machines. Belterra Resort, not so much. Boyd seems likelier to be a buyer than a seller these days, particularly if something digital complements its online assets.

Casino winnings in Atlantic City dipped a bit last month, down 1.5% to $231.5 million. Slot revenues led the way, down 3% on flat coin-in. Table games actually did better, up 3% despite flat wagering but A.C. is a slot player’s town. Only less weekend day this year didn’t help, either. Only two casinos were revenue-positive in April: The Golden Nugget courted enough low rollers to gain 6.5% to $13 million, while Ocean Casino Resort surged 30% to reach $34 million, hard on the trail of Hard Rock Atlantic City ($39 million, -4.5%). New-look Borgata sputtered somewhat, down 6% to $58 million, still good enough to kick everyone else’s patootie. Last place went to Resorts Atlantic City, tumbling 13% to $12.5 million. Golden Nugget’s uptick wasn’t enough to overtake Bally’s Atlantic City ($14 million), in spite of the latter’s 4% setback. That leaves the Caesars Entertainment threesome, with Caesars Atlantic City (-3%) and Tropicana Atlantic City (-13%) all knotted up at $19.5 million. No surprise, Harrah’s Resort did best with $21.5 million, although it dipped 6%.