Category: Casino News

That’s how JP Morgan analyst Joseph Greff described an evidently persuasive virtual meeting with BetMGM covering the latter’s recent results and strategic objectives. “To us, this was a credible presentation (particularly with its customer acquisition and retention objectives and operating model as well as profitability ramp) and investors can’t argue with or dispute the [joint venture’s] recent operating momentum and share gains,” Greff declared. He was impressed with BetMGM’s nationwide market share of 23% and its potential to edge out either DraftKings or FanDuel for the second spot in the sports-betting universe, to say nothing of Internet gambling. “BetMGM now expects the total addressable market in the U.S. and Canada to be approximately $32b (long-term, timeline not specified but our guess it’s 2030 +/-),” Greff wrote, adding that net revenues for the company were growing exponentially and could reach $1 billion next year. BetMGM has gone live in 12 U.S. jurisdictions, expected to grow to 20 by April 2022. That’s 40% of the American populace. (California remains out of reach until after the 2022 elections at the earliest.)

We’re going to have revise our prediction that Atlantic City would recover from Covid-19 faster than Las Vegas. Not at the rate things are going. March casino win was down 17% from 2019, coming in at $185 million. The Caesars Entertainment threesome slid 29%, with slot win down 29% and table win -26%. That’s far worse than citywide averages, which saw slot win -17% and tables -16%. Borgata‘s $46.5 million, while more than enough to lead the market, was 22% off from 2019’s halcyon days. We already knew Hard Rock Atlantic City had a good month, as President Joe Lupo took a press-release victory lap even before the revenue numbers were released. It grossed $31 million, a 25% leap over 2019. Ocean Casino Resort vaulted 33% to $20 million. The next closest thing to a ‘good’ number was Resorts Atlantic City‘s 19% dip to $12 million. Thanks to Hard Rock and Ocean, that -17% overall declivity looks a lot better than it was. Bally’s Atlantic City slid 33% to $10 million and Golden Nugget plunged 38.5% to $11 million. Caesars Atlantic City shed 23% to $18 million, Harrah’s Resort fell 33% to $18 million and Tropicana Atlantic City slid 30% to $19 million.

After a hiccup in Indiana, gaming revenues continued to march (pun unintended) upward from 2019 levels, which were pretty darn robust. Missouri gained 6% for a gross of $176.5 million, “one of the best months ever” according to JP Morgan analyst Joseph Greff. Slots represented $155 million of the haul. “Similar to other March regional [gross gaming revenue] reports, results for the month reflect a nice positive inflection given lower infection and higher vaccination rates. Moreover, impressive results don’t include significant rebound in the core 55+ customer, which we expect to follow in the coming months,” wrote Greff. Lumiere Place (pictured) continues to turn around, up 8% to $17 million, good news for Caesars Entertainment. Also feeling the love was Boyd Gaming, up 12.5% to $28 million at Ameristar St. Charles. Not having such a good time of it was Penn National Gaming, flopping 23.5% at Hollywood St. Louis ($17.5 million), while River City was down 9% but bettered Hollywood with $19 million.

While Coronavirus and the ensuing shut-ins were very good for DraftKings by virtually every metric, CEO Jason Robins says the fun is just beginning. He told the Boston Globe that the pandemic has ratified his business model, which presumed the widespread acceptance of i-gaming. The stock market has also been good to DKNG, which is riding a market capitalization of $24 billion. It’s a reward for those who bought into Robins’ strategy, which was predicated on patience, prioritizing expansion over profits. Indeed, DraftKings lost $855 million last year and could be a billion in the red this year. However, DraftKings has secured a monopoly in two states (New Hampshire and Oregon) and appears juiced into a duopoly in another (New York State). Although daily fantasy sports, DraftKings’ early signature business, has taken a back seat to real-life sports betting, the DFS experience built valuable brand equity. PlayUSA analyst Dustin Gouker calls the DraftKings and FanDuel customer wellsprings “better than a regular casino’s database.”

It didn’t hurt that DraftKings was well-suited for its employees to work offsite as Covid-19 surged. “We adjusted faster than I would have thought to the working environment talking to each other over computer screens, and I think we’ll adjust to whatever comes next,” Robins told the Globe. However, he has to catch FanDuel in the OSB sphere. FanDuel posted $645 million over the last three years compared to DraftKings’ $501 million. And Robins isn’t laughing off new-is competition from Big Gaming. However, DraftKings may have to temper its brash advertising approach. “There’s always got to be a tieback to responsible gaming, and not an oversaturation of advertising and marketing and being in too many people’s faces,” industry consultant Sara Slane told the paper. Ironically, DraftKings remains a prophet (if not profit) without honor in its home state. Sports betting is still illegal in Massachusetts and the Lege is getting nowhere fast on the issue.

Criticizing Illinois‘ casino performance is usually like tripping a dwarf: much too easy. But the Land of Lincoln posted some surprising results last month. Yes, it out performed March 2020 (+122%) but we’re comparing a full month of business with the onset of the Great Shutdown. Measured, apples to apples, against March 2019, Illinois was only -16% and that’s with casinos currently operating at 50% capacity. Think what they could do if completely full. One casino posted standout results, Harrah’s Metropolis, gaining 86% to $5.5 million. Best of the rest was (you guessed it) Rivers Casino Des Plaines, down 11.5% to $38 million. Harrah’s Joliet slipped 13% to $14 million and Grand Victoria (above) was 13.5% down to $12.5 million.

Others were less fortunate. Empress Joliet tumbled 31% to $7.5 million, Hollywood Aurora slid 25.5% to $8 million and Argosy Belle was down 31.5% to $3 million. Maybe a rebrand to Bally’s will help Casino Rock Island. Something needs to, as it toppled 44% to $4 million. Par-A-Dice shed 19.5% to finish at $6 million, while Casino Queen ceded 23.5% to $7 million. The total statewide gross was $1o6 million, not great but a good deal better than what we’ve seen in quite a while.