Author: David Mckee

Casino revenues were flat overall last month in Atlantic City, which grossed $203 million in the aggregate. The one really dramatic shift involved Hard Rock Atlantic City and Ocean Casino Resort. The former plunged 14% to $36 million, right in striking distance of Ocean, which surged 9.5% to $35.5 million. Borgata, meanwhile, jumped 7.5% to $53.5 million. What ails Hard Rock, we wonder? In the middle tier (i.e., Caesars Country), Harrah’s Resort fell 8.5% to $17 million, Caesars Atlantic City hopped 3.5% to $14.5 million and Tropicana Atlantic City was flat at $16 million. Bally’s Atlantic City jealously guarded last place ($10 million) despite a 6.5% bounce, while Golden Nugget was a few dimes ahead of it, also grossing $10 million on a 3% slippage. Resorts Atlantic City rounded out the grind joints with $11 million, a 5.5% dip.

Continue reading Hard Times for Hard Rock

It’s that time again, dear readers. With a lot of help from veteran oddsmaker Johnny Avello of DraftKings, here are some thoughts on what’s going to go down on Sunday night. First off, we’re picking a mild upset, on the strength of Sinners‘ (+500) surprise Best Ensemble win at the SAG Awards. We think it rides that momentum, great box office and a record number of Oscar nominations to Best Picture status. Yes, One Battle After Another (-500) has led from wire to wire, but it’s a hard film to warm up to (although incredibly pertinent) and frontrunners have a tendency to fade in the home stretch. Our metaphorical money is on Ryan Coogler‘s Dixie vampire opus. Besides, it’s been a few years since the Motion Picture Academy embraced a blockbuster. We think it’s going to happen this weekend. Should win: Sinners. Will win: Sinners.

Continue reading Fearless Oscar Forecast

Nobody can snatch defeat from the jaws of victory quite like Dr. Miriam Adelson. The ancient meddler and majority owner of Las Vegas Sands saw another slate Sands-proxy candidates go down to defeat last night in the Lone Star State’s primary. Texas voters applied a 10-gallon boot to Adelson’s carpetbagging posterior, in yet another rejection of her ham-fisted agenda. It takes a special kind of reverse political acumen to take a state where a majority of the electorate favors casinos and sports betting, and then turn them into a vociferous bunch of NIMBYs. But Miriam has done it again.

Continue reading Texas-Sized Defeat

Earlier this week, Caesars Entertainment CEO Tom Reeg pissed on your head and told you it was raining. “There’s really no crisis happening in Vegas,” Reeg sniffed.  “This is normal economic-cycle activity. The city’s and all of our properties are doing quite well.” In case you’re wondering, “normal” activity looks like 4.5% less revenue for all of 2025. If visitation was to Las Vegas down again in January (the numbers aren’t out yet), it will mark a full year of decline. We’d call that a crisis. And, with international visitation to the United States off by 11 million people, it might be time for Reeg’s overpaid sphincter to start puckering.

Continue reading Caesars: And if you believe that …

In spite of construction disruption that should have dampened revenues, Station Casinos beat Wall Street expectations for 4Q25. Cash flow of $213 million came in 4% above Wall Street’s consensus projection. Not to be outdone, revenues of $512 million were also ahead of forecasts. Investors were further pleased with $48 million in share repurchases and a $1/share special dividend. For one, Barry Jonas of Truist Securities was moved to boost his price target from $75/share to $80.

Continue reading Station: Better than Ever?