Category: Casino News

Congratulations, Las Vegas Golden Knights. For the second time in a year, Las Vegas has announced itself as a major-league city by bringing home a championship trophy. First it was the Las Vegas Aces of the WNBA, now the Knights, who slammed the door last night on the outmatched Florida Panthers, 9-3. (Nothing says “hockey” like Florida against Nevada.) Even better, they did it on the home ice, clinching a 4-1 Stanley Cup triumph—the second time the Knights have been in the cup finals in their six years of existence. No NHL team has won Lord Stanley’s cup so quickly. Now the pressure is on the dysfunctional Las Vegas Raiders to do more than merely appear in a playoff game. They’ll get eight prime-time TV slots next season. Let’s hope they do Sin City proud.

Continue reading Case Bets

Mr. & Mrs. America’s torrid, post-pandemic love affair with casino gambling is finally cooling. It’s not cause for alarm, as we knew this was coming—in fact, it was expected to happen much sooner. And while players are dropping less at regional casinos, the picture is still quite roseate. Maryland gaming receipts slipped 5% last month, reaching $169.5 million, 11% better than 2019. MGM National Harbor was off 5.5% to $72 million. Reliable runner-up Maryland Live was good for $59 million, albeit down 6%. Horseshoe Baltimore turned in its usual $17.5 million, flat over last year, while Hollywood Perryville grossed $7.5 million for a 7.5% tumble. Ocean Downs plunged 8% but brought home $8.5 million while Rocky Gap Resort also fell 8% to $5 million. Given the circumstances, we’d say the relative stability of Horseshoe counts as a doggone moral victory. Thanks to strong slot play, West Virginia was actually 1% up last month, despite weak table play (-7%). Hollywood Charles Town outperformed the state, +4%, again buoyed by a good month (+6%) at the one-armed bandits.

Continue reading Maryland droops; Boardwalk bulletin; Barstool blunder

Casino revenues are finally cooling off around the country, later than Wall Street expected. Ohio was down 5% last month, reaching $204.5 million—yet still 28% higher than pre-Covid April 2019. So the sky is definitely not falling. Two racinos defied the Buckeye State trend. MGM Northfield Park was up 3.5% to $26.5 million, easily the best in the state, and Miami Valley Gaming hopped 2% to $20.5 million. Hardest-hit was Scioto Downs, falling 12% to $20 million, along with Belterra Park, plunging 13% to $7.5 million. Metro casinos all ceded ground, with Hollywood Columbus off 5% to $23 million and Hollywood Toledo plunging 9.5% to $19 million. Jack Cleveland slipped 5% to $22 million and Hard Rock Cincinnati tumbled 8% but made $22.5 million.

Continue reading Ohio cools a bit; On the Boardwalk; Regulatory fist-shaking

With a rival Coney Island casino proposal TKO’d and Steve Cohen‘s Citi Field one on the ropes, Wynn Resorts is stepping up its push for getting the brass ring at Manhattan‘s Hudson Yards area, adjacent to the Javits Center. A $10 billion proposal was unveiled over the weekend, including a 1,700-room hotel tower. In addition to fine dining and retail, the project (co-crafted with Related Cos.) would entail 250,000 square feet of gambling. Apartment and office towers would also be included in a complex that attempts to be all things to all people. Given the proposed size of spend and co-developer Stephen Ross‘ financial closeness to Gov. Kathy Hochul (D), Wynn now has to be seen as the favorite.

The not-unconflicted Hochul holds one of the six votes that will determine where the megaresorts go and, at this point, nobody thinks incumbents MGM Empire City and Resorts World New York will be snubbed. Given that Wynn’s site sits on the much-traveled #7 line of the New York City subway system and wouldn’t involve displacing anybody or anything, we think this is the prohibitive front runner as the RFP deadline draws nigh. Sands Nassau is making impressive progress but we rate it an underdog.

Continue reading Wynn, Caesars jostle in New York City; Penis envy

Our man in Atlantic City has posted a flurry of dispatches, mainly concerning his new stomping ground, Harrah’s Resort. What you see above is the indoor pool, which doubles as a nightclub. When last visited, there was a (short) line to buy nightclub tickets. Next door, where the buffet formerly reposed, is Bobby’s Burger Bar, another in the McFranchising of Bobby Flay line. It’s described to us as “very plain looking, probably ‘naming rights’ only.” Adds our correspondent, “I should have said it is alleged to be a Bobby Flay restaurant. Since I’ve seen fancier food courts, it doesn’t have the look of a Bobby Flay-branded place.” Below the fold is, believe it or not, the Harrah’s casino floor. We say ‘believe it or not’ because Harrah’s is the best-performing of the Caesars Entertainment threesome in Atlantic City and one would expect it to be doing better. As our scribe writes, “Harrah’s is quite large and is well maintained. It’s hard to understand why they don’t have more customers.”

Continue reading Atlantic City doldrums; Black Tuesday; Culinary wins one