Category: Casino News

“Some of the restrictions make sense and others, well, let’s just say they are ill-conceived. The fact that restaurants and bars are still being hit with arbitrary and capricious restrictions is maddening, especially when visiting retail stores and seeing how little restrictions are in place. Diners have to make a reservation in advance for a restaurant, but 437 people can walk right into a Costco without the blink of an eye. Our ‘leaders’ are failing us.”—Carson Kitchen owner Cory Harwell on Las Vegas restaurant restrictions.

Sheldon Adelson‘s Horatio Alger success story came to an abrupt end today, when the Boston Globe broke the news of his death from lymphoma at age 87. Adelson had a good run in the industry, longer than most, and his career—despite a costly money-laundering scandal—was never tripped up the kind of ethical failings that brought contemporaries Steve Wynn and J. Terrence Lanni low. He outlasted all his major competitors on the Strip and successfully steered Las Vegas Sands through two recessions, among myriad other accomplishments. But his reign in Las Vegas as the doge of Venelazzo was not without taint, local, national and international. We’ll get to that in a minute.

Reactions to Adelson’s passing were quick to roll in. The American Gaming Association, with which he had been sometimes at odds, issued the following statement from President Bill Miller, which read in part, “I had the pleasure of knowing Mr. Adelson for more than 15 years, long before joining the American Gaming Association … It is his leadership and generosity that stand out the most to me. There’s no greater example of this than serving his community and prioritizing his employees’ well-being during the last year as our country and industry grappled with the global pandemic … may his memory be a blessing.”

Sports betting in Iowa crossed the $100 million threshold in handle last month and that was without some key players like BetMGM, which launched earlier this month. Wagers are expected to vault now that Gov. Kim Reynolds‘ stay on mobile registration has expired. Bookmakers captured $7.5 million on $105 million in bets in December. “What Iowa’s sports betting industry has achieved, becoming the seventh-largest market in the U.S., in spite of a significant handicap like in-person registration has been impressive,” said PlayUSA analyst Jessica Welman. 2020 handle reached $575 million despite Reynolds’ restriction and a depleted menu of collegiate and major-league sports. Online wagering is also expected to grow this year from 70.5% of the mix to something like Indiana’s 85%.

Iowa casinos had a relatively good December, down only 6% for a statewide gross of $121.5 million, driven mainly by a 22% revenue increase at the racinos. Ameristar Council Bluffs grossed $13 million, down 12%, Diamond Jo Dubuque slipped 17% to $5 million and Diamond Jo Worth gained 14% to end at $8 million. Isle Bettendorf grew 12% to $6 million while Isle Waterloo was flat at $7 million. Harrah’s Council Bluffs tumbled 32.5% to $4 million and Horseshoe Casino fell 20% to $13 million. The state’s top grosser was Prairie Meadows racino, plunging 25% to $14 million. The misfortunes of the big dogs were offset by success stories at small casinos that included a 54% moonshot at Rhythm City, closing the month at $10 million.

Sheldon Adelson hasn’t left the building at Las Vegas Sands but the exit door has opened. Moments ago the company announced that the 87-year-old plutocrat would be taking a leave of absence for treatment of lymphoma. Adelson has been battling the disease since March 2019. COO Rob Goldstein ascends to the post of acting chairman/CEO. Goldstein knows the industry like the back of his hand and Sands isn’t expected to miss a step. As JP Morgan analyst Joseph Greff puts it, “Mr. Goldstein, 65, has been at LVS for ~25 years in a number of executive positions and is universally respected–and liked–by investors, casino operator peers, employees and, importantly, the Adelson family, which owns a majority/controlling stake in LVS.” Yes, Sheldon, like his pal Donald Trump, values personal loyalty above all else (keeping then-President William Weidner on even after, according to Adelson’s sworn testimony, he breached his fiduciary duties). Goldstein also adds the duties of acting chairman/CEO of Sands China to his portfolio, meaning his desk will be very full for some time to come. We wish Adelson a speedy recovery, as do the many politicians whose careers depend on his largesse.

There’s nothing like a budgetary dose of Covid-19 to bring some people to reality. Case in point, New York State Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D). He has been against mobile sports betting for years—much to the state’s detriment—but will embrace it in next week’s State of the State address. This is big, especially for the gaming industry, but we’ll get to that momentarily. As the governor put it, “New York has the potential to be the largest sports wagering market in the United States, and by legalizing online sports betting we aim to keep millions of dollars in tax revenue here at home, which will only strengthen our ability to rebuild from the COVID-19 crisis.” (We think California will be a bigger market still but the voters have yet to speak on the issue.)

How will Cuomo finesse his previous insistence that mobile sports betting was unconstitutional? He’s dropped a hint that it’s merely up to the Lege, while also flirting with the idea of marijuana legalization. The tax haul from sports betting might be no more than $6 million a month but that’d be $72 million more than Cuomo has now. The Empire State would also be able to claw back 20% of New Jersey‘s sports-betting revenue, provided that the rules are sufficiently attractive to players. (None of this in-person registration crap, guv.) While Cuomo has dropped his demand for a constitutional amendment, he does expect online providers to team with brick-and-mortar casinos, throwing a lifeline to struggling upstate operators.