Category: Casino News

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Warm breeze in Atlantic City; Indiana heats up

December brought an acceleration in most forms of New Jersey gambling revenue. Atlantic City casinos managed a 1.5% increase over the end of 2019 but sports betting revenue dropped 11% year/year, blamed on low hold. Sticking close to home, Internet gamblers lost 34% more than last year, the brightest spot on the horizon (unless you were a player). Boardwalk grosses were $212 million, i-gaming yielded an impressive $133 million and sports betting engendered $59 million. Slot revenue was flat at $150.5 million on 2% less coin-in while table games captured $59.5 million (+5%) on 10.5% less wagering. Borgata stabilized at -1% or $54 million, too late to save Melonie Johnson‘s presidency. Hard Rock Atlantic City vaulted 37% to $35.5 million while Ocean Resort climbed 27% to $26.5 million.

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Weekend jottings

Late last week, MGM Resorts International unveiled its plans for a BetMGM-branded sports book at State Farm Stadium in Arizona. No budget was announced for the facility but, given the infinitesimal amount of retail wagering in the Phoenix area, it’s a prestige facility—i.e., a loss-leader. If completed on schedule, it will be the first sports book at an NFL stadium. Like the cost, specific infrastructural details were mostly vague … “massive video wall,” yada, yada, yada. (OK, if you read the fine print, it says 38 TVs spread over 265 square feet.) The book will hold 500 people, have 25-plus freestanding betting kiosks and cover 16,800 square feet. It will be a year-round, day-in/day-out sports book, although it’s an open question over whether that will trump the convenience of online betting. But hey, it looks great:

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Illinois slouches; Boyd, Churchill praised; DraftKings assessed

Not even Rivers Casino Des Plaines was spared the impact of Hard Rock Rockford, as the newbie helped take a 4.5% bite out of Rivers’ December casino revenues compared to 2019, for a Des Plaines gross of $43 million, still easily the best in the state. Prairie State casinos grossed $110 million, down 12% from two years ago. Without the Hard Rock infusion, those numbers would have been worse still (-15%). The latter brought in $4 million, as did Bally’s Quad Cities (-25%), while Argosy Belle clung jealously to last place with $2.5 million (-35.5%). Other than Rivers, Grand Victoria suffered less than most, down 8% to $13 million. Business was not so kind to its sister properties, with Harrah’s Joliet off 27% to $11 million and Harrah’s Metropolis down 22% to $5 million.

Penn National Gaming wasn’t much more fortunate upstate than in Alton. Its Empress Joliet plunged 26% to $7 million and Hollywood Aurora slipped 13.5% to $9 million. Boyd Gaming‘s mid-state Par-A-Dice was down 14% to $5 million and DraftKings Casino Queen plummeted 30.5% to $6 million. God help ’em when the wave of temporary casinos fully comes online—let alone if the Lege legalizes i-gaming. Perhaps the winningest operator in the Land of Lincoln is MGM Resorts International, which had the good sense to get the hell out.

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Ohio, Missouri booming; Of sports and sports betting

Scarcely had Deutsche Bank analyst Carlo Santarelli projected 12% gaming growth in Ohio over December 2019 than the numbers came in and it was 16%. The $197 million gross showed play heating up from November, too. Slot revenue was up 17.5% on 18.5% more coin-in and table win grew 8.5% on 6.5% heavier wagering. One extra weekend day obviously helped, but still … Belterra Park was up 5% to $8 million, Scioto Downs leapt 21% to $19 million and Miami Valley Gaming hopped 19% to $19 million. MGM Northfield Park clung to the top spot, just barely, with $23 million (+3.5%). It was closely contested by Hollywood Columbus ($22 million, +12.5%) and Jack Cleveland (pictured, ditto). Also bunched at the summit were Hard Rock Cincinnati ($21 million, +18%) and Hollywood Toledo ($20 million, +12.5%). Jack Thistledown catapulted 37% to $17 million, Hollywood Dayton leapt 34% to $13.5 million and Hollywood Mahoning Valley was good for $13 million, an 18% gain.

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Meet the new National Harbor boss, same as the old boss

Maryland closed out 2021 hot, up 16% from 2019 with a gross of $173 million in December. As usual, MGM National Harbor was in the lead with $74.5 million. Maryland Live booked $62.5 million for a 20.5% gain and 36% market share. Hollywood Perryville‘s $7 million represented an 18.5% vault and Ocean Downs‘ $7 million was good for a 19% leap. Rocky Gap Resort grossed $5 million, up 18%. The only loser was—you guessed it—Horseshoe Baltimore—down 9% to $17 million.

MGM employees can expect to see a familiar face in the C-suite. Borgata President Melonie Johnson has been demoted to her former post in Maryland, where she’ll return to the challenge of fending off hard-charging Cordish Gaming. We don’t mean to indulge in schadenfreude by saying we sensed something like this coming. (“Guess she’s finished reducing player’s benefits in AC,” wrote one wag.) Borgata has been struggling of late, despite being at the top of the Atlantic City heap, and November’s calamitous numbers must have been the last straw for MGM Resorts International.

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Doldrums in Macao; “Love” in jeopardy; Mega-Jottings

There’s an Eeyore sweatshirt that says, “Could be worse. Not sure how, but it could be.” That pretty much sums up the situation in Macao, which finished 2021 44% ahead of 2020 when it comes to gambling revenue … but could one envision a worse scenario than 2020? Not sure how, but we could. The world’s gambling capital managed almost $11 billion in revenue last year, Las Vegas-like numbers but we have come to expect so much more. Of course, it’s difficult to open the throttle on Macao given the Chinese government’s newfound disapproval of gaming, and its habit of dialing access to the casino enclave up and down like the burners on a stove.

Then there’s the matter of concession renewals, which seem like a done deal but still have their skeptics, like Jefferies analyst David Katz, who cited “uncertainty” surrounding the concessions, leading him to take “a conservative stance” on Macao-centric stocks. Indeed, the market has punished stocks that are heavily reliant on Macanese casinos. Las Vegas Sands has fallen 35%, Wynn Resorts 20%. Galaxy Entertainment took a 33% bath and Melco Resorts & Entertainment got walloped 43%. “China Lite” MGM Resorts International, however, made out like a bandit, seeing its share price vault 51%.

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Why is this man smiling?

Could it be because MGM Resorts International CEO Bill Hornbuckle came justhisclose to being S&G‘s Executive of the Year? Could it be for his vigorous pursuit of diversity within the lion’s house? Might it be for MGM’s very proactive “Convene with Confidence” anti-Covid program that promotes safe meetings and conventions with innovations like in-room testing? Perhaps it is for being the first Las Vegas CEO to drop the hammer and mandate Covid-19 vaccinations for salaried employees? Or maybe it’s for a canny string of real estate deals, culminating in the $1 billion sale of The Mirage, that have left MGM awash in liquidity?

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Congratulations, Las Vegas

Regardless of what happens next week, you have a football team with a winning record in the Las Vegas Raiders, who snared a potential wild-card playoff berth with a last-second win over the favored Indianapolis Colts. After hitting a 6-7 nadir against the Kansas City Chiefs, the Raiders got their act together and started winning when it counted. Cleveland … Denver … Indianapolis … it hasn’t been pretty but they’ve done it and we have to tip our cap to the Silver & Black for returning from a near-death experience. A playoff spot isn’t in the bag just yet but if the Los Angeles Chargers (currently ahead in their game) hang on to win, Allegiant Stadium gets treated to a winner-take-all tilt next Sunday. If the Chargers lose today, the Raiders are—we think—in the playoffs but somehow it would be a fitting reward for Las Vegans if their team were playing for all the marbles next Sunday night at home. In so many ways it’s been a season Raider Nation would sooner forget but it’s ending memorably.

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Las Vegas explodes

But in a good way. Despite having one less weekend in which to gamble than in 2019, gaming revenues were off the charts last November. The Las Vegas Strip vaulted 46% to $755 million and locals revenues, expected to level off, instead catapulted 45% to $263.5 million. Some of the latter was fattened by end-of-October slot win, not tallied until the following Monday. Statewide, the leap was 41% to $1.3 billion. The magic number for the Strip was a 45% increase in baccarat win (remember, more international players were allowed into town) on 35% more wagering plus tighter hold. Strip slot win—$408 million—was a 47% jump on 31% more coin-in (and 9% hold), while non-baccarat table games rallied 45% on 35% larger betting and tight hold.

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Programming note

Due to a mysterious fatigue, my doctor has put me on bed rest for the remainder of the week. That means no S&G. Fortunately, it’s been a glacially slow news week, unless you count the passing of former gaming regulator (and U.S. senator) Harry Reid, who succumbed after a plucky battle with pancreatic cancer. What the Mob couldn’t do with a car bomb decades ago, carcinogens did. At least he lived just long enough to see Las Vegas‘ airport renamed in his honor. Rest in peace, senator.