Category: Casino News

Although third-quarter results were announced last week for Caesars Entertainment, they took a distant back seat to the news that the company was selling its Ferris wheel and Linq Promenade at a steep loss. Howard Stutz of The Nevada Independent cut to the quick, pointing out that the $275 million payday was a 50% discount to how much Caesars spent to develop these dubious assets. The High Roller “observation wheel” was a particular dog, having been built in an awkward location from which there was precious little to see except the backside of the former Imperial Palace and its curious, swastika-like configuration.

“Not-so-buried Treasure,” said Truist Securities analyst Barry Jonas about Boyd Gaming, in a playful allusion to its new Treasure Chest casino, which has been steadily outperforming the New Orleans market. Even so, he kept his price target at $77/share but rated the stock a “Buy.” Big deals were deemed unlikely, Penn Entertainment takeover talk having long since gone off the boil. Boyd beat Wall Street estimates across all divisions, delivering net revenue of $961 million and cash flow of $337 million.

That dingbatty mess you’re contemplating is the proposed “master plan” for Bally’s Las Vegas. Or whatever it will be called. If it gets built. A big “if.” Since it centers upon the proposed—but still improbable—Sacramento Athletics stadium in the middle, it’s more that a colossal “IF.” Before we get into why this megaresort is highly unlikely to transpire, let’s unpack what passes for a design.

Global Gaming Expo is a time when Wall Street analysts descend upon Las Vegas to romance Big Gaming’s high and mighty. Among those being wined and dined was Station Casinos CFO Stephen Cootey. (What, Frank Fertitta III couldn’t make it?) Cootey was wooed by J.P. Morgan analyst Joseph Greff, who hosted the investor dinner. The essence of the meeting was that the song remains the same. High-end properties, strong; low-end casinos, weaker. Promotions? “Rational.”

… with apologies to the great Willie Nelson. Our hejira has taken us in a week from Lexington, Virginia to Charlottesville, to Charlotte, North Carolina and Columbia, South Carolina—all in the name of getting back to Augusta, Georgia, only to find a city devastated by Hurricane Helene. Never have we seen such destruction firsthand. (A state reeling from Helene’s wrath may finally be tractable to sports betting and maybe even casinos. We can but hope.) And yesterday we flew from Augusta to Las Vegas for this year’s installment of Global Gaming Expo. Above you see the surprisingly palatial press room at the Venetian Expo Center. We rate!