Category: Casino News

Some of us thought Nevada would never regain the giddy gambling heights of 2007. We were wrong. May was the best month in Silver State history, as casinos raked in $1.2 billion. (The previous high was in October 2007, on the cusp of the Great Recession.) Admittedly, it was a long march—14 years, but Big Gaming is arguably healthier than it has ever been. Look for that new record to fall soon. It was achieved in a month during which casinos were still operating with capacity constraints. Think what’s probably been happening since Gov. Steve Sisolak (D) lowered all the restraints on June 1. In May it appears to have been a case of fewer players wagering more, as occupancy hovered at 71%, averaging 88% on weekends. That’s still shy of 2019 levels. Slot play, however, hit an all-time peak, while sports betting saw $27 million in revenue from $477.5 million in handle. All of this bounty fattened Sisolak’s tax coffers to the tune of $107 million.

Resorts World Las Vegas, meanwhile, is out of the starting blocks fast. It saw 20,000 visitors its first weekend and is, if my sources are to be believed, the new must-see attraction in Las Vegas. That’s quite a journey from being an iffy prospect when Genting Group took it over, lo, those many years ago. Genting’s patience has paid off and it opened just as the wave of Vegas tourism curled and crested. It’s far too soon to assess its long-term prospects but it throws a lifeline to Circus Circus and Sahara, two casinos whose business plan seems to have been to hunker down and wait for Resorts World to rescue them. There’s already some rather precipitate talk about putting a megaresort across from the Sahara but, in the time it will take to build one, we’ll have a much better idea if the north Strip is here to stay, so to speak. As for Resorts World itself, we will leave the assessments to those who have actually seen it, which Yr. Humble Blogger will be unable to do until Global Gaming Expo in October. In the meantime, have one on us, Sin City. You’ve earned it.

Continue reading Resorts World a smash hit; Cranky Maine woman stiffs tribes

May’s gaming revenues from Nevada are in and they are blockbuster. When the Strip is 26% higher than 2019 (winning $655.5 million) and locals play is 25% stronger it is fair to say the recovery has been achieved—and far sooner than expected. One analyst had predicted only a 3% uptick on the Las Vegas Strip. There, slot revenue was $385 million (+24.5%) on 23.5% more coin-in Baccarat winnings fell 97% and haven’t been able to get up—and won’t until international travel returns in a meaningful way. Non-baccarat table games saw 14% less wagering but won 9% more than two years ago. Locals slot revenue vaulted 24% to $219 million and table play yielded $39 million, up 34.5%. May was the first month of 100% capacity in Nevada casinos and players obviously turned out in force, including a substantial number (approximately 60,000) traveling to and from Sin City by air.

Continue reading Merry month of May in Las Vegas; Beehive of activity in Atlantic City

This is how it’s done. Or supposed to be done. DraftKings and FanDuel are teaming to back a petition drive to legalize sports betting in Florida. Aimed at the November 2022 election ballot, the resolution would dedicate tax revenues from sports betting to funding for education. As opposed to Gov. Ron De Santis‘ Hard Rock International-controlled setup of sports betting, the proposed constitutional amendment would create an open market. The federal Interior Department is currently scrutinizing the DeSantis compact, which uses a rather absurd construal of ‘tribal lands’ whereby you could place a mobile wager from your back porch and—because it must pass through a Seminole Tribe computer server—it is deemed ‘tribal’ gaming. Also, the Florida Lege is constitutionally enjoined from authorizing any expansion of gambling in the Sunshine State. Even if Interior Secretary Deb Haaland signs off on this misshapen afterbirth of the congress between DeSantis and the Seminoles, litigation at the state level is already in train. We hate to agree with Rob Sowinski of No Casinos but the compact really needs to be struck down.

We don’t know the full details of the DraftKings/FanDuel proposal yet but it appears on the surface to be a more-palatable alternative. One thing Florida Education Champions don’t address is tribal sports betting. Their amendment would simply deal parimutuels and professional sports parks into the action. Seminole Gaming spokesman Gary Bitner fumed that the petition drive “is a political Hail Mary from out-of-state corporations trying to interfere with the business of the people of Florida.” Ah, but it was those same people of Florida who decreed that the Lege had no say in the spread of gaming. Harrumphed Bitner, “They couldn’t stop Florida’s new gaming compact, which passed by an overwhelming 88 percent ‘yes’ vote from Florida’s elected legislators and enjoys 3-to-1 support from Floridians and guarantees $2.5 billion in revenue sharing. The guarantee is the largest commitment by any gaming company in U.S. history.” Constitution be damned! The next hurdles for the PAC are to get 891,589 valid signatures and to have the Florida Supreme Court OK the ballot language. What could hobble them out of the gate is that the window is rapidly closing to collect campaign contributions, capped at $3K apiece as of this Thursday. Petition drives are seven- and eight-figure enterprises, so DraftKings and FanDuel may run out of money sooner than signatories.

Continue reading Florida gets tag-teamed; Penn upbeat on 2021; Vegas room rates soar

We were stumped for a lead item until we got this snap from our Atlantic City bureau. One has to puzzle at Borgata‘s cretinous idea of a welcome, particularly its implicit slap at women. Did property President Melonie Johnson sign off on this affront?

Next door in Pennsylvania, terrestrial casinos are still having a difficult time catching up to the palmy days of 2019, being 2.5% behind last month for a gross of $278.5 million. Surely what we’re seeing is a saturated market, exacerbated by a string of new-casino openings that has not yet played out. Parx Casino continued to be untroubled, up 5% to $56 million. As for the other Philadelphia-area casinos, Philadelphia Live‘s tight-fisted marketing habits may be catching up with it. It slipped incrementally behind Rivers Philadelphia (still -33%), which came in $300K ahead of Live’s $19 million. Valley Forge Resort suffered a bit, down 10% to $11 million and Harrah’s Philadelphia suffered a lot, sliding 21.5% to $16.5 million. Cordish Gaming won $8.5 million at Live Pittsburgh, while competitors Rivers Pittsburgh ($28 million, -14%) and The Meadows ($16.5 million, -23%) felt the pinch. Rivers Pittsburgh, meanwhile, is upping its game with a $60 million hotel.

Aside from Parx, the only revenue-positive casino in the state was Mount Airy, up 8.5% to $17.5 million. Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs was down 12% to $18 million and Wind Creek Bethlehem won $36.5 million, a -16.5% slippage. Presque Isle Downs dropped 16% to $10 million, Hollywood Penn National made $20 million, off 8% and Lady Luck Nemacolin tumbled 29% to $2 million.

Continue reading Same to you, fella; Mega-Jottings

Casinos in Atlantic City are finally catching up with the rest of gaming’s recovery. Last month they were only 3% off the 2019 pace. They grossed $213 million, a substantial improvement over April. Slot win was $158 million on 8% less handle, while tables won $53.5 million on 2% higher wagering volume. Borgata was a trifle unlucky, with table win down 6% and slots off 15% for a 7% overall decline. The Caesars Entertainment threesome slipped 13% but did fairly well at the tables, down only 2%, while slot win dropped 17%. Broken out by individual casino, Caesars Atlantic City held steady at -2% for $22.5 million, Harrah’s Resort slid 15% to $21.5 million and Tropicana Atlantic City stumbled 21% to $20 million. Borgata’s $49 million gross put it comfortably in first place but the only revenue-positive casinos were Hard Rock Atlantic City, vaulting 22% to $35 million and Ocean Resort, rocketing 51% to $24.5 million (a higher gross than any Caesars property, it should be noted). Resorts Atlantic City hung in there pretty well, down 5% to $15.5 million, while Bally’s Atlantic City skidded 21% to $12 million (to its credit, new management acknowledges that the place needs a refit) and Golden Nugget shed 23% but stayed out of last place with $13 million.

Sports betting was feeling the same May slump-let as everyone else, although handle was a healthy $814 million, up April’s $748 million. NBA action can be thanked, what with the Philadelphia 76ers, Brooklyn Nets and New York Knicks all in the playoffs, engendering $217 million in handle. Major-league baseball was responsible for another $186 million in handle. FanDuel/PointsBet was the revenue leader with $30 million, followed at some great distance by Resorts Digital/DraftKings/Fox Bet‘s $9.5 million. BetMGM held $5 million, Monmouth/William Hill/SugarHouse/TheScore scored $2 million and William Hill’s Ocean Casino outpost snagged another $1 million. Nobody else came close to the million-dollar threshold. Internet casinos held steady, grossing $108 million. BetMGM came in first with $33 million, then Caesars/WynnBet with $15.5 million, DraftKings with $14 million and Golden Nugget Online with $10 million. Concluded PlayUSA analyst Eric Ramsey, “Online revenue has clearly been resilient, but hopefully the retail market can sustain this return to pre-pandemic levels.” Amen.

Continue reading Atlantic City casinos rebound; Slow thaw in Massachusetts