Category: Casino News

At first blush, Pennsylvania‘s gambling economy looks all right, up 1% from August of 2019 and 2% from last year. But factor in the plethora of new casinos that have entered the fray and the Keystone State is down 14% from 2019. Clearly, more casinos does not equal more money. At least not if you’re casino owner. For a tax collector it’s a different story. Not even a 5% uptick in table game winnings (or losses, if you happen to be a player) could paint a smiley face on the portrait, despite $286 million in casino win.

Despite being absolutely flat in revenue, Parx Casino held onto its top spot with $50 million in takings. Wind Creek Bethlehem made a brave run at statewide supremacy in July but had to content itself with $45 million and a 10.5% upsurge. Only a few dollars separated Rivers Philadelphia (pictured, +10%) from Philadelphia Live (+4%), deadlocked at $19 million in their seesaw struggle for downtown supremacy. Harrah’s Philadelphia tumbled 15% but remained ahead of upstart Valley Forge Resort (-4%), $12 million to $11 million. To the west, Rivers Pittsburgh (+4.5%) regained market share for $29 million, outpacing Hollywood Meadows ($17 million, +5%) and Pittsburgh Live ($9 million, +1.5%).

Casinos in Atlantic City were up 2% in August, reaching $280 million. Slot winnings were 3% higher, on a commensurate increase in coin-in. The gambling halls weren’t so lucky at the tables, where 5% higher wagering translated into flat win. There were a few have-nots, with Bally’s Atlantic City ($15 million), Tropicana Atlantic City ($25 million) and Resorts Atlantic City ($17.5 million) all slipping 4.5%, while Harrah’s Resort ($24.5 million) ceded 2%. Both Hard Rock Atlantic City ($51 million, +11%) and Ocean Casino Resort ($39.5 million, +8%) were turbocharged, and put even further distance between themselves and the Caesars Entertainment threesome. The only one of the latter to post a gain was Caesars Atlantic City ($22 million), up 1.5%. Borgata, of course, was the dominant property with $73 million to its name, a 1.5% uptick. Golden Nugget remained stuck in last place with $13 million but also gained 1.5%.

Different day, same story for MGM Resorts International, brought to its knees by a cbyer-assault of still-unknown provenance. The FBI has been brought in although, per standard operating procedure, the G-Men aren’t commenting on what went down. MGM is daintily referring to the attack as a “cyber issue,” but its 28 casinos nationwide may face a long road back to recovery. UNLV‘s Yoowhan Kim is of the firm opinion that it was a ransomware raid that MGM was asked for “several million dollars” to resolve the ‘issue,’ one that may have been years in the making. Kim delicately implies that a cost/benefit analysis will come down in favor of paying up.

Chicago‘s first casino opened to “dozens of people” Saturday. Only dozens? That’s not a good sign for Bally’s Corp. It’ll need to stir up a lot more excitement than that if it’s to make back its nut on $1.7 billion Bally’s Chicago. If Chicagoans couldn’t be bothered to get out of bed for the 8 a.m. debut of a casino conveniently located at Medinah Temple, what does that bode for the megaresort, three years hence? Then again, nobody ever went broke with customers like the gullible group of gamblers who exclaimed, “We’re seniors … We’re in there to get this money.” Still, the images of the early morning opening were distinctly underwhelming. We expected better, frankly.

For some football, that is. NFL season literally kicks off tonight with the much-hyped Detroit Lions visiting the champion Kansas City Chiefs. But the on-field action threatens to be overshadowed by the off-field brouhaha surrounding sports betting. (Nor is it a football-only problem.) The league has been talking out of both sides of its mouth on this issue, decrying wagering by coaches and players, yet raking in the dough from a trio of partnerships with sports betting firms. After spending decades bitching and moaning about the threat to its ‘integrity’ posed by legal wagering, the NFL couldn’t get in on the action fast enough. So it’s ill-qualified to occupy the moral high ground.

That being said, there’s no excuse for the dog-ate-my-homework attitude of players caught with their hand in the betting cookie jar. League rules are pretty simple. Don’t bet on pro football and don’t bet (at all) while at team facilities. That’s not rocket science. And although few NFL players could be accused of being rocket scientists, there’s no excuse for not understanding the betting rules, whose critics would have us believe are an arcane formulation that would put advanced calculus to shame.