This post is syndicated by the Las Vegas Advisor for the 888 casino group. Anthony Curtis comments on the 888 article introduced and linked to on this page.
Continue reading Player or Banker: The History of BaccaratCaesars hedges on NYC; Buyer’s remorse in Ohio
Although he currently has the frontrunner for a Manhattan casino, Caesars Entertainment CEO Tom Reeg is waffling a bit. Potentially ceding momentum to deep-pocketed rivals like Wynn Resorts and Las Vegas Sands, Reeg said Caesars wouldn’t get into an “arms race,” spending heavily on its Times Square project. Trouble is, if Caesars looks like it’s trying to get something major for little capital input, it risks losing the game. Reeg is playing a similar gambit in Texas, where he openly covets a megaresort but isn’t lifting a finger to get the enabling legislation passed by the Lege. It’s fish or cut bait time and Reeg looks like someone who’d prefer not to fish.
Continue reading Caesars hedges on NYC; Buyer’s remorse in OhioHow Do I Figure?
I received the following email. It requires more analysis than I normally do without charge for strangers, but since I can get a column out of it, why not?
Continue reading How Do I Figure?How the mighty have fallen; Pennsylvania saturated
Pity poor fellow Kelsey Grammer. The superb actor (Boss) and Shakespearean leading man has been reduced to tending bar at an Atlantic City casino. And not some prestigious Boardwalk gambling hall but last-place Golden Nugget. As our East Coast correspondent, who adeptly spotted this ad, puts it: “Guess he didn’t save enough money for retirement, and/or he has a really bad agent that can’t get him better gigs at casinos.” True that.
Continue reading How the mighty have fallen; Pennsylvania saturatedAtlantic City leaps; DraftKings beats The Street
Gambling revenues in Atlantic City defied the cold last month, surging 15% to $212 million. Borgata, naturally, led the market with $58.5 million, a 20.5% vault. Next up was Hard Rock Atlantic City with $36 million, a 3.5% nudge, followed by Ocean Casino Resort‘s $30.5 million, a moonshot of 26.5%. The Caesars Entertainment threesome all gained–indeed, nobody in town was revenue-negative. Harrah’s Resort was up front with $20 million, a 16% gain. Then came Caesars Atlantic City with $17 million, up 5%, and Tropicana Atlantic City‘s $16 million, a 12% jump. The remaining three were all bunched at the rear, with Bally’s Atlantic City doing $11.5 million (a 31.5% catapult … management must be finally gaining traction), and Golden Nugget and Resorts Atlantic City fighting for last place with $11 million (+5.5% and +20% respectively). All in all, a very encouraging report.
Continue reading Atlantic City leaps; DraftKings beats The Street5 Easy Video Poker Tips That Every Casino Player Should Know
This post is syndicated by the Las Vegas Advisor for the 888 casino group. Anthony Curtis comments on the 888 article introduced and linked to on this page.
Continue reading 5 Easy Video Poker Tips That Every Casino Player Should KnowA.C. says: This article was written by Bob Dancer. Nuff said with regard to its accuracy. It was written in 2016, but the information is timeless, with the exception of the recommendation for using the Video Poker for Winners software, which is no longer available; other tutoring products are, however. These are just five basic tips, but they’re important and there are some good nuggets included, e.g., when to keep two pair in Deuces Wild. These concepts are taken much further in Dancer’s book, Video Poker for the Intelligent Beginner.
Sports betting bungle; Smoke gets in their ears
Good going, MGM Springfield. It has become the third Massachusetts casino to ‘fess up to taking illegal wagers in the opening days of lawful sports betting. Did the Bay State go live too soon? It’s looking that way, as regulators say they’ll be learning to “set the goalposts” on what is and isn’t permitted, a tacit admission that they got caught with their pants down. Look, this isn’t rocket science and none of three bungling companies is a novice to sports wagering, making this all the more inexcusable. Putting a ‘pause’ on the March 10 launch of mobile betting seems only sensible while the Massachusetts Gaming Commission gets its act together.
Continue reading Sports betting bungle; Smoke gets in their earsA Different Sort of Promotion
Bonnie and I took a trip to Reno and played at the ROW, the threesome of connected casinos (Eldorado, Silver Legacy, and Circus Circus) that are now part of the Caesars system. I’d played there previously but this was Bonnie’s first trip.
When we swiped our cards at the kiosk at the start of our visit, we discovered that we each received 20,000 bonus drawing tickets for a drawing coming up in several weeks, and a 20x ticket multiplier for all of our play that day. Every day we were there, we got another 20x multiplier. When we departed Reno, we each had several hundred thousand drawing tickets. I’ve never had so many drawing tickets in my life!
Continue reading A Different Sort of PromotionMassachusetts booms; Know your enemy
January was very, very good for Massachusetts casinos, which raked in $97 million, pretty darn good for a state with only three gambling halls and a 17.5% leap over last year. The biggest overachiever was Plainridge Park, vaulting 24% to $12 million. Scarcely to be outdone, MGM Springfield jumped 23% to $23 million, mainly on the strength of strong slot winnings (+28%), while tables were up 4%. The big dog, Encore Boston Harbor ‘only’ hopped 15% to $62 million, driven by a 23% increase in slot winnings, whilst table win was 6% higher.
Continue reading Massachusetts booms; Know your enemyBig Bally’s shakeup; Smoking swatted; Mega-Jottings
Back on Jan. 25, we wrote that Bally’s Corp. CEO Lee Fenton was “possibly laying the groundwork for his own exit,” when he said, The pandemic boosted our business and we continued to hire at full pelt. I now can see that we may have over-hired in some areas and I take full responsibility for that.” This coincided with the sacking of 15% of Bally’s staff, followed today by Fenton falling on his sword. Although he’s technically CEO until March 31, Fenton wasn’t even allowed a voice in the official press release, his role being usurped by CEO-to-be Robeson Reeves. The latter comes from the company’s interactive side, which is where the problems are concentrated. Brick-and-mortar prexy George Papanier‘s job is safe.
Continue reading Big Bally’s shakeup; Smoking swatted; Mega-Jottings