Category: Casino News

We warned you. Last week we predicted February’s casino numbers in Las Vegas (and indeed in Nevada) wouldn’t be pretty. And they’re not. The Las Vegas Strip plummeted 14% and the Silver State overall was down 9%. Mind you, the plunge had more than a little to with February 2024 seeing a Super Bowl in Las Vegas while February of this year had no such drawing card. Indeed, Super Bowl Weekend in Sin City this year was reported to be pretty weak. In case you’re wondering, when compared to 2023, the Strip was still down—albeit just 3%.

Continue reading The Big Chill

Ancient casino vizier Steve Wynn finally ran out of luck. He appealed all the way to the Supreme Court to have libel laws reinterpreted in his favor because … well, because he’s special, we guess. Wynn used to fancy himself “the most powerful man in Nevada” and all that absolute power corrupted him absolutely. He got to the point of thinking that he could play hide the salami with Wynn Resorts employees and get away with it. He couldn’t and that was the end of a hitherto spectacular career in casinos.

Continue reading The biggest loser … and other dirty linen

We can’t help but enjoy it when the holier-than-thou opponents of gambling are caught in bed with Big Gaming. Such is the case in Arkansas, where the churchy set has been cohabiting with a regional casino power. This was exposed by Ministry Watch, a publication that practices what others merely preach. The hypocrites who have been discovered with their pants down are Pastor Larry Walker and Deacon Jim Knight of the First Baptist Church of Russellville. They were so het up at the thought of a casino in Pope County that they rationalized it all the way to taking money from the Choctaw Nation … to the tune of almost $22 million. You evidently can justify a great deal of “pure, unadulterated wickedness at its origins” when your sugar daddy is so munificent.

Continue reading Sleeping with the enemy

“No matter how horrible things are, they can always get worse.”—from Executive Suite by Ernest Lehman.

A faltering economy has claimed its first victim in gaming. Thanks to the new administration’s ‘yes/no/maybe/but maybe not’ policy on tariffs, we’re starting to see pushback against U.S.-based firms. Specifically, Alberta has put the kibosh on the purchase and import of American-made slots and VLTs. Howard Stutz reports that “the province’s action could cost major gaming manufacturers headquartered in Las Vegas millions of dollars in lost sales.” If you don’t “share a free trade agreement with Canada” you’re SOL, pal.

Continue reading The party’s over

Malaysia we have a problem. The signature American attraction of Genting Group, its $4.3 billion Resorts World Las Vegas, is a dud, a flop, dead in the water, stale, old news. Why do we say this? Because when 4Q24 numbers were disclosed last week, it was revealed that Resorts World LV had cash flow of a bare $1 million. And why is that significant? Because it’s the customary measuring stick for return on investment. Meaning that Resorts World’s ROI for a period that included Formula One Weekend and New Year’s Eve was so small you’d need an electron microscope to see it, a tiny fraction of a percentage point. (It was $58 million in 4Q23, for the record.)

Continue reading Resorts World implodes