Our man in Atlantic City has posted a flurry of dispatches, mainly concerning his new stomping ground, Harrah’s Resort. What you see above is the indoor pool, which doubles as a nightclub. When last visited, there was a (short) line to buy nightclub tickets. Next door, where the buffet formerly reposed, is Bobby’s Burger Bar, another in the McFranchising of Bobby Flay line. It’s described to us as “very plain looking, probably ‘naming rights’ only.” Adds our correspondent, “I should have said it is alleged to be a Bobby Flay restaurant. Since I’ve seen fancier food courts, it doesn’t have the look of a Bobby Flay-branded place.” Below the fold is, believe it or not, the Harrah’s casino floor. We say ‘believe it or not’ because Harrah’s is the best-performing of the Caesars Entertainment threesome in Atlantic City and one would expect it to be doing better. As our scribe writes, “Harrah’s is quite large and is well maintained. It’s hard to understand why they don’t have more customers.”

Continue reading Atlantic City doldrums; Black Tuesday; Culinary wins one

Last week, Deutsche Bank analyst Carlo Santarelli hit town and gave a rundown of the major players in Sin City. His overall theses can be found at CDC Gaming Reports. Basically, it boiled down to Macao great, Las Vegas Strip excellent, Las Vegas locals very good and regional casinos a bit iffy. But he also looked at a number of operators in granular detail and that is what occupies us today.

Boyd Gaming expects little or no impact from the debut of Durango Resort. If there is any, it will be felt at Suncoast. The expected result was described as “competitive strategy changes,” as Boyd is confident of keeping its Suncoast customers. On the plus side, growth in the Las Vegas Valley is likely to redound to the benefit of Aliante Casino. Rival Station Casinos read the tea leaves right on this one—but 15 years prematurely. In light of Boyd’s heavy exposure—seven casinos—to the Gulf Coast, management allowed that they are “actively dissecting” the underperformance of Mississippi and Louisiana. For one thing, unrated play (which is soft) is higher in this region. Also, the relative poverty of these two states means that they’re where macroeconomic challenges will be felt first. In the Midwest, Blue Chip and Kansas Star have shaken off the impact of ‘historical horse racing’ machines. Belterra Resort, not so much. Boyd seems likelier to be a buyer than a seller these days, particularly if something digital complements its online assets.

Continue reading Las Vegas A-Z; Bally’s bumbles; Smoke gets in your face

Casino winnings in Atlantic City dipped a bit last month, down 1.5% to $231.5 million. Slot revenues led the way, down 3% on flat coin-in. Table games actually did better, up 3% despite flat wagering but A.C. is a slot player’s town. Only less weekend day this year didn’t help, either. Only two casinos were revenue-positive in April: The Golden Nugget courted enough low rollers to gain 6.5% to $13 million, while Ocean Casino Resort surged 30% to reach $34 million, hard on the trail of Hard Rock Atlantic City ($39 million, -4.5%). New-look Borgata sputtered somewhat, down 6% to $58 million, still good enough to kick everyone else’s patootie. Last place went to Resorts Atlantic City, tumbling 13% to $12.5 million. Golden Nugget’s uptick wasn’t enough to overtake Bally’s Atlantic City ($14 million), in spite of the latter’s 4% setback. That leaves the Caesars Entertainment threesome, with Caesars Atlantic City (-3%) and Tropicana Atlantic City (-13%) all knotted up at $19.5 million. No surprise, Harrah’s Resort did best with $21.5 million, although it dipped 6%.

Continue reading All Atlantic City, all the time; Bally’s blunder